388 22 - 28 February 2008 16 Pages Rs 30
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#388 22 - 28 February 2008 16 pages Rs 30 Weekly Internet Poll # 388 Q. How would you describe the Madhes general strike? Total votes: 4,735 Dark Ages hronic shortages of electricity, fuel, water and now food have brought about a serious dislocation of Weekly Internet Poll # 389. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.com C businesses, trade and livelihoods throughout the country. Q. Given the crisis in the Madhes should the elections be: The shortages come at a time of deepening political crisis in the Madhes in the run-up to elections. They feed the public’s perception of government incompetence. What is surprising is that people are still queuing up for fuel, gas and water without complaining. But public patience is running thin, and relatively minor incidents can spiral out of control as seen last week in Bhaktapur. Photo essay: p 8-9. SAM KANG LI 2 EDITORIAL 22 - 28 FEBRUARY 2008 #388 Published by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd, Editor: Kunda Dixit Design: Kiran Maharjan Director Sales and Marketing: Sunaina Shah marketing(at)himalmedia.com Circulation Manager: Samir Maharjan sales(at)himalmedia.com Subscription: subscription(at)himalmedia.com,5542525/535 Hatiban, Godavari Road, Lalitpur editors(at)nepalitimes.com GPO Box 7251, Kathmandu 5250333/845, Fax: 5251013 www.nepalitimes.com Printed at Jagadamba Press, Hatiban: 5250017-19 A War on Tolerance When the people feel abandoned... AMSTERDAM — When ‘tolerance’ He thinks that Europe is in peril hostile to capital cities. Brussels, becomes a term of abuse in a place of being ‘Islamized’. “There will the capital of the European Union, POWER TO THE PEOPLE like the Netherlands, you know soon be more mosques than stands for everything that Not even if someone wanted to deliberately sabotage the country that something has gone seriously churches,” he says, if true populists, whether left or right, would they be as successful as the Seven Minus One party wrong. The Dutch always took Europeans don’t have the guts to hate. And Muslim immigrants live alliance running this country. We have given them credit where it pride in being the most tolerant stand up and save Western in Amsterdam, London, or is due in this space. We have tried to look at the glass as half full people on earth. In less feverish civilisation. Marseilles, not in the kind of and tried to convince ourselves (and you) that we should cut the times than these, no one could Some commentators suggest small towns where right-wing politicians some slack. After all they have brought us this far possibly have taken exception to that Wilders, born and raised as a populists find most of their since April 2006. Yes, it has taken longer than it should. Yes, our rulers have Queen Beatrix’s speech last Catholic in a provincial Dutch support. behaved as if there is no tomorrow. But the country is now finally Christmas, when she pleaded for town, is, like his Muslim Still, the politics of coming to the grand finale of this messy transition. What has tolerance and “respect for enemies, a true believer, driven by resentment works best when it can happened in this country is an extraordinary makeover of our minorities.” But Geert Wilders, the goal of keeping Europe ‘Judeo- tap into real fears. There are state structure with relatively little violence. The reason it is Christian’. Perhaps, but this is reasons for people to feel anxious taking longer than expected is also because of the conspiracies of GUEST COLUMN probably a red herring. His war on about economic globalisation, pan- status quoists and those extremists who still haven’t given up Ian Buruma Islam is also, and perhaps even European bureaucracy, the huge their futile dream of a communist utopia. mainly, a war on the cultural and and not always effectively But the main reason for the current instability is because of political elites, the Dutch controlled influx of immigrants, the individual short-sightedness of our political leaders and their leader of the right-wing, anti- intellectual establishment, the and the aggression of radical collective fecklessness. They have achieved what we all thought Muslim Freedom Party, was so Eurocrats of Brussels, and the political Islam. These anxieties was impossible: to fritter away the gains of the pro-democracy uprising of April 2006, let the people down once again and be a disgusted by the Dutch queen’s liberal-minded queen. Indeed, his have too often been ignored. There total failure in governance. Compared to this, at least where it “multi-cultural rubbish” that he speeches are studded with is a sense among many Europeans concerns service delivery, the dictatorial monarchy is beginning wanted her to be stripped of her references to arrogant elites who that they have been abandoned in a to look like the golden years. It takes breath-taking incompetence constitutional role in the are out of touch with the feelings fast-changing world, that multi- and a complete lack of accountability to succeed in being so government. of the common man. ‘Tolerance’ is national corporations are more unsuccessful. Wilders, a popular rabble- seen as weak and elitist, typical of powerful than nation-states, that The breakdown of law and order is so complete that a rouser whose party occupies nine people who live far removed from the urban rich and highly educated paramilitary police force armed with automatic weapons cannot seats in the Dutch parliament, the harsh realities of the street. do fine and ordinary folks in the open a major highway artery when it is blocked by a couple of compares the Koran to Hitler’s This notion of the elitist provinces languish, while tyre-burning hooligans because one of them was arrested for Mein Kampf, wants to stop appeaser is not confined to the democratically elected politicians robbery. Muslims from moving to the Netherlands. In Israel, the are not only powerless, but have It doesn’t surprise us one bit that the Madhes has been allowed to burn. At press time on Thursday afternoon, the prime Netherlands, and thunders that educated Jewish activists who abjectly surrendered to these larger minister had suddenly woken up from deep slumber and was in those who are already in the criticise Israeli abuses against forces that threaten the common meetings with Madhesi leaders. Going by past experience, country should tear up half the Palestinians, the peaceniks who man. whatever is agreed on will be too little too late. Koran if they wish to stay. believe that negotiation is better Wilders, and others like him, The people’s disgust at the crippling shortages of fuel, power Tolerance towards Islam is than violence and that even Arabs are not just attacking Islamic and water is now turning into outrage. Yet, even at a time of deep cowardly appeasement in his eyes. have rights, are called, with a extremists. His success is based on crisis like this all our rulers can do is sling knowing sneer, ‘beautiful souls’. that sense of tolerance as betrayal. mud at each other, blame everyone but The common man, rooted in the And, as so often happens, the themselves and warn of dark conspiracies real world, supposedly knows loathing of elites has found an afoot. better: uncompromising outlet in the loathing of outsiders, The public’s opinion of politicians in toughness, the hard line, is the who look different and whose Kathmandu is mud. They have stopped expecting any statesmanship from this only way to get results. ways are strange. We must fight bunch, and are getting on with their lives The association of elites with Islamic extremism, but not by despite unprecedented hardships. foreignness, tolerance, and tapping into the darkest gut It is precisely because the people now metropolitan cities is nothing feelings of the unthinking mob. have a chance to throw out this class of new. Elites often can speak Nothing good ever came from failed politicians that they are so scared of foreign languages, and big cities that. (Project Syndicate) elections. Time to give power (both political are traditionally more tolerant and and electric) back to the people. open to mixed populations. Ian Buruma is professor of human Modern populism is invariably rights at Bard College. SUBODH SINGH A deal on the Madhes needs Can’t wait to be struck, and quickly he prime minister and his NC fierce state response in places. slight changes in the electoral system, is as much to do with the influence of colleagues are primarily responsible The deadlock stems from a complete some concrete steps regarding inclusion, royalists and the Hindu right on the MJF. T for the present mess the country is trust deficit. Madhesi groups see any and behind the scenes electoral Madhesi groups need to be careful not in. And it’s not just the shortages, overture by the state as a trap. Government assurances. to overplay their card. Their tactics have Baluwatar never saw the writing on the wall negotiators think that demands of protesting To be sure, Madhesi groups also have generated a lot of resentment in Kathmandu, in the Tarai. groups are excessive, and engineered from their multiple insecurities. They are and could fuel further anti-Madhesi It ignored the resentment that was elsewhere. privately quite happy with state brutality, sentiment. They have a strong bargaining building up and under-estimated the The government is also incapable of which gives their movement more position with Koirala on the back-foot, and Madhesi groups. Instead of reaching out, grasping the angst of Madhesis. The people momentum. But it also complicates things should use it to win concessions. As long national leaders made provocative on the streets are angry because of real by enhancing expectations on the ground.