DOCSLIB.ORG

Beijing Is Sending a Senior Party Leader to Nepal As Political Crisis

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Beijing Is Sending a Senior Party Leader to Nepal As Political Crisis WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXVIII No. 299 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 24.6 C -6.4 C Sunday, December 27, 2020 | 12-09-2077 Biratnagar Jumla Beijing is sending a senior party leader to Nepal as political crisis unfolds Guo Yenzhou, a vice-minister in the Chinese Communist Party, is arriving today, days after Nepal Communist Party split following the House dissolution by Prime Minister Oli. ANIL GIRI team to Nepal for a four-day visit, KATHMANDU, DEC 26 according to sources in both factions of the Nepal Communist Party. In May this year, when the wrangling Bishnu Rijal, deputy head of the within the Nepal Communist Party Department of Foreign Affairs of the was at its peak, Chinese Ambassador Nepal Communist Party (Dahal-Nepal Hou Yanqi visited the ruling party’s faction), confirmed to the Post that the top brass and President Bidya Devi Chinese had communicated about Bhandari. Gou’s visit to Kathmandu. “I don’t There was a temporary truce in the have much detail to share with you at party. this point of time,” said Rijal. Again in July, Hou had to do the The Chinese leadership, observers rounds as the bitter infighting within say, made a lot of efforts to bring the the party erupted once again. then CPN-UML and Maoist Centre Subsequently, matters settled down together so as to form the Nepal once again. Communist Party, and their interest But Prime Minister KP Sharma to keep their unity intact continues. Oli’s decision to dissolve the House of “They have invested hugely in Representatives on Sunday, knowing Nepal and are competing with India so POST PHOTO: HEMANTA SHRESTHA well enough that it could lead to a split their interest is growing,” said Dinesh Writers, poets, artists, intellectuals and citizens protest against the Oli government’s decision to dissolve the House of Representatives, at Maitighar in Kathmandu on Saturday. in the party, seems to have caught Hou Bhattarai, a former ambassador who and her political masters in Beijing by served as foreign relations adviser to surprise. prime ministers Sher Bahadur Deuba Beijing is now sending a senior and Sushil Koirala. “Now, with the Chinese Communist Party leader to sudden political changes in Kathmandu. Kathmandu, they must be concerned.” Tired of Oli’s actions, Dahal and Nepal decide Guo Yezhou, a vice-minister of the After a gap of almost a year, Delhi, International Department of the with which Oli’s relations had soured Chinese Communist Party, is arriving over border issues, in October sudden- in Kathmandu on Sunday, according ly began to show its renewed interest to at least two Nepal Communist Party in Nepal. to join hands. But can they coexist? leaders. He is leading a four-member >> Continued on page 2 Unless Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Nepal make their unity a result of conviction rather than convenience and fight for the larger interest of common people rather than their personal gains, their association may not last long, analysts and insiders say. there between Oli and Dahal and that is likely to be seen between Dahal and Nepal too, according to Dulal. “It’s just a matter of time.” Though Dahal and Nepal may have known each other for a long time by virtue of both being communist lead- ers, they got closer when then sev- en-party alliance, a grouping of politi- cal parties practising the parliamenta- ry system in Nepal, was in a bid to end the conflict and bring the Maoists overground. Nepal, as one of the interlocutors appointed by the seven-party alliance, had met with Dahal on a number of occasions and in various places with- in Nepal and India. After the 2006 peace deal, when the country voted to elect the Constituent Assembly in 2008, Nepal, just like many other UML leaders including Oli, lost. POST PHOTO: ANGAD DHAKAL Taking responsibility for the drub- Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal have declared a war on KP Sharma Oli and his bing of his party, the UML, Nepal move of dissolving the House of Representatives. stepped down as its general secretary. By then, he had led the party for 15 TIKA R PRADHAN Oli’s move unconstitutional. The mat- years. KATHMANDU, DEC 26 ter is with the Supreme Court now. Though Oli had assumed ministeri- Observers say Dahal and Nepal al portfolios after the restoration of Politics makes strange bedfellows, and coming together against Oli may gain democracy in 1990, he was dominated Nepal’s communist movement has some traction for a while. But since by leaders like Nepal and Khanal seen this happening a lot. both the leaders have followed differ- within the UML. After Nepal, Khanal uHhasf] speed This time, a dramatic turn of events ent principles during their political took the mantle of the UML. in the Nepal Communist Party, which careers, it will be too early to say how When Oli won the 2013 Constituent had emerged as the strongest commu- long they will go along as leaders of a Assembly elections, he had also risen nist force in the country just two and a party. in the party. In 2014, he defeated Nepal dHhfsf] internet experience half years ago, has brought together Bishwa Bhakta Dulal, a former and became the chair of the UML. Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Maoist leader who writes extensively When he became prime minister in Kumar Nepal. Both are now crying on contemporary political and social 2018, for a second time, Oli had become foul at KP Sharma Oli, whom Dahal matters, said Dahal and Nepal’s unity strong in the party. His high-handed- xfd|f] gofF Dual Band Router sf] ;fydf, had embraced 31 months ago and with lacks any ideological basis, just like ness was becoming quite apparent, whom Nepal spent more than four the unity between Oli and Dahal did. much to the chagrin of some UML decades in one party. “It’s as clear as day that Dahal and leaders like Nepal and Khanal. On one On Friday, while addressing a press Nepal joined hands out of compul- occasion, in July 2019, he even relegat- meet of the Dahal-Nepal-led Nepal sion, as they were trying to fight one ed Nepal to the fourth rank in the Communist Party, Jhala Nath Khanal enemy,” Dulal told the Post. unified part y. Blazing Uninterrupted said both the chairs will have an equal When Oli and Dahal announced the After the Nepal Communist Party status in the party. Dahal and Nepal birth of the Nepal Communist Party was born, Oli and Dahal declared Speed Video Streaming have declared war on Oli and his move after merging their CPN-UML and themselves the party chairs. But as of dissolving the House of Maoist Centre in May 2018, it was seen Oli ran the government and the party Representatives. as a historic moment for Nepal’s com- unilaterally, he continued to alienate Oli’s sudden move of dissolving the munist movement. Nepali communist Dahal as well as some of his UML-day Lag-Free Seamless House after he came under intense leaders have a notorious history of colleagues, including Nepal, thereby pressure from Dahal and Nepal to step failing to be under the same roof ever providing an opportunity for them to Gaming Connectivity down resulted in a split in the Nepal since the first Nepal Communist Party unite. Communist Party (NCP). Various was established seven decades ago by Dahal and Nepal, however, hold soft political parties, lawyers and experts Pushpa Lal Shrestha. corners for each other, unlike the hos- on constitutional matters have termed Oli, 69, and Nepal, 68, shared the tility that existed between Oli and same party for over four decades Dahal. and in the UML until recently While Nepal had come to know For more Information Dial : 9801523050 , 01-5970050 when it merged with Dahal’s Dahal closely during the insurgency Maoist party. days, it was Dahal who brought Nepal Or Visit : www.worldlink.com.np Both Oli and Nepal had into the first Constituent Assembly embraced the People’s even though the latter was defeated. Multi-party Democracy as their Unlike Oli, Nepal has not been criti- guiding principle and accepted cal of Dahal’s “people’s war”. the multi-party parliamentary As Dahal and Nepal appear to be system, something Dahal was controlling the majority members, averse to. they might also feel comfortable to Dahal, 66, led a decade-long share the post of chair in “their” “people’s war” from 1996 to 2006. party. The clash of ideologies was >> Continued on page 2 C M Y K SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2020 | 02 NATIONAL With Gulf countries banning commercial flights, labour migration sector stares at uncertainty The emergence of a new strain of coronavirus has forced many countries to once again close their borders. CHANDAN KUMAR MANDAL Nepali workers once again can’t travel KATHMANDU, DEC 26 to work in these countries until these restrictions remain in force. Nepal’s foreign employment sector, Earlier this year, when the corona- which was slowly recovering after virus had spread in the Gulf coun- months of shock from the Covid-19 tries, they had also banned the entry pandemic, has hit another snag, as of outsiders. Such a ban stalled Nepali labour destination countries, mainly migrant workers’ movement, as the in the Persian Gulf, have closed their government also stopped issuing borders over fears of new variants of labour permits in mid-March. the coronavirus.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Switching Over to Identity Politics Nepali Left Political Parties Have
    1 1. Introduction: Switching over to Identity Politics Nepali left political parties have come to regard caste and ethnicity equivalent to class disseminating new ethnic-based identity that demonstrates how the very foundation of communist ideology has been shifting from class into identity politics. The politics of identity that emerged and spread from 1990 received prominence in Nepali politics especially after 2006 April Uprising which ultimately popped up as an apple of discord when political parties failed to deliver new constitution through the Constituent Assembly (CA) bickering over it. Ultimately, the CA got dissolved on May 27, 2012 after parties apparently failed to make consensus on identity-based federalism. Though a number of identity-based organizations emerged before 2006 as well, the trends of forming identity-based organizations and focusing on identity groups rather than class soared after the second people's movement. Moreover, polarization due to the identity politics has heightened in Nepali politics after the CA dissolution. Left political parties of Nepal who are guided by the Marxist slogan as 'Worker's of all countries, unite' gradually gave way to identity politics that was diluted from 'class struggle' itself. As the time changes, everything changes with it except the 'change' itself. Same is the case with ideology. It shifts from one to the other as Daniel Bell in his book " The End of Ideology: on the Exhaustion of Political Ideas in the Fifties" claims that the older humanistic ideologies developed during the nineteenth and early twentieth century is ebbing gradually (1960). During 1960s and 70s, in contrast to the logic of Marxist and Neo-Marxist theory, social movements were focused on culture and identity such as civil rights and women's movements challenging the class structure (Bernstein 49).
    [Show full text]
  • Communists Sweep the Nepali Elections, a Blow to the Establishment Parties
    Communists Sweep the Nepali Elections, a Blow to the Establishment Parties Their competition was wracked by corruption scandals, infighting and a lack of vision. By Prof. Vijay Prashad Global Research, December 19, 2017 AlterNet 13 December 2017 You might as well imagine a large red flag fluttering from the summit of Mount Everest. That’s what the outcome of the parliamentary and provincial elections in Nepal suggests. The Communists have won both decisively. In the parliament, the Communist alliance will hold close to a two-thirds majority. The government that this majority forms will not only be able to last the full five year term – the first time this would have happened since Nepal adopted parliamentary democracy in 1990 – but it will be able to revise the 2015 Constitution. Both the parliamentary and provincial results show that the Communists won across the country from the countryside to the cities. Even though they have a strong mandate to govern according to their agenda, the likely Prime Minister K. P. Oli said carefully, “We have seen in the past that victory often tends to make parties arrogant. There is apprehension that the state will become oppressive. Winners tend to become indifferent to their responsibility.” This is not something the Communist government will do, said Oli. What allowed the Communists to win so conclusively? The incumbent, the Nepali Congress, was wracked by corruption scandals, infighting, and the lack of any vision for the country. In 2015-16, when the Indian government closed its border to landlocked Nepal, the Congress could not find the words to condemn India.
    [Show full text]
  • Nepal: Overview of the Political Situation, Including Information on the Treatment of Political Party Members and Supporters by Opponents (2010-2011)
    Home > Research > Responses to Information Requests RESPONSES TO INFORMATION REQUESTS (RIRs) New Search | About RIRs | Help 11 January 2012 NPL103942.E Nepal: Overview of the political situation, including information on the treatment of political party members and supporters by opponents (2010-2011) Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa Political Developments, 2010-2011 In 2010 and 2011, media sources and specialists in Nepali politics described the political situation in Nepal as a "political deadlock" (Xinhua 29 Nov. 2010; The Kathmandu Post 29 Nov. 2010; BBC 26 May 2011; AFP 29 Aug. 2011; The Telegraph 2 Nov. 2011; Freedom House 2011). Numerous sources have noted the challenges posed by the lack of consensus between political parties (Time 17 Aug. 2011; BBC 26 May 2011), as well as within them (ibid.; International Crisis Group 13 Dec. 2011, 1, 3; Freedom House 2011). For example, Nepal's legislature, the Constituent Assembly, was elected in 2008 and tasked with drafting a new constitution (UN 30 Aug. 2011; Freedom House 2011; AFP 29 Aug. 2011). Its deadline to produce a constitution has passed and been extended four times: in May 2010, May 2011, August 2011 (UN 30 Aug. 2011), and November 2011 (The Hindu 29 Nov. 2011). According to media sources, the Supreme Court has ruled that the fourth extension will be the last (ibid.; The Kathmandu Post 25 Nov. 2011) and that the Constituent Assembly will be dissolved if it fails to draft a constitution (ibid.). The final deadline has been set for May 2012 (The Hindu 29 Nov. 2011). In June 2010, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, of the Unified Marxist- Leninist party (CPN-UML [or UML]) (Human Rights Watch Jan.
    [Show full text]
  • Eight-Point Agreement of the Top Leaders (Press Statement)
    Eight-point Agreement of the top leaders (Press Statement) Meeting of the top leaders of Seven Political Parties and CPN (Maoists) has been held in the Prime Minister's residence at Baluwatar today, on 16 June 2006 on the auspicious organization of the Government - Maoists Negotiating Team. The points reached in agreement in the meeting are as follow:- 1. To implement effectively and honestly the 12-points understanding reached between the Seven Political Parties and the CPN (Maoists) on November 23, 2005 and the 25-points Code of Conduct on Ceasefire reached in agreement between the Government of Nepal and CPN (Maoists) and made public by the Government -Maoist Negotiating team on 26 May 2006. 2. To express the commitment to democratic norms and values including competitive multi-party governance system, civic liberties, fundamental rights, human rights, press freedom, and the concept of rule of law, and carry out each other’s activities accordingly in a peaceful manner. 3. To request the United Nations to assist in the management of the armies and arms of both the parties and to monitor them for a free and fair election of the Constituent Assembly. 4. To frame an interim constitution to form an interim government accordingly; announce the date of the election for constituent assembly to dissolve the House of Representatives by making another alternative arrangement through consensus and to dissolve the People’s Governments formed by the CPN (Maoists). by ensuring the democratic rights achieved through the Peoples Movement in 1990 and the recent historic People’s Movement, and by making base to the commitment 1 expressed in the 12-points understanding and the spirit of the preamble of the Code of Conduct on Ceasefire; 5.
    [Show full text]
  • Chronology of Major Political Events in Contemporary Nepal
    Chronology of major political events in contemporary Nepal 1846–1951 1962 Nepal is ruled by hereditary prime ministers from the Rana clan Mahendra introduces the Partyless Panchayat System under with Shah kings as figureheads. Prime Minister Padma Shamsher a new constitution which places the monarch at the apex of power. promulgates the country’s first constitution, the Government of Nepal The CPN separates into pro-Moscow and pro-Beijing factions, Act, in 1948 but it is never implemented. beginning the pattern of splits and mergers that has continued to the present. 1951 1963 An armed movement led by the Nepali Congress (NC) party, founded in India, ends Rana rule and restores the primacy of the Shah The 1854 Muluki Ain (Law of the Land) is replaced by the new monarchy. King Tribhuvan announces the election to a constituent Muluki Ain. The old Muluki Ain had stratified the society into a rigid assembly and introduces the Interim Government of Nepal Act 1951. caste hierarchy and regulated all social interactions. The most notable feature was in punishment – the lower one’s position in the hierarchy 1951–59 the higher the punishment for the same crime. Governments form and fall as political parties tussle among 1972 themselves and with an increasingly assertive palace. Tribhuvan’s son, Mahendra, ascends to the throne in 1955 and begins Following Mahendra’s death, Birendra becomes king. consolidating power. 1974 1959 A faction of the CPN announces the formation The first parliamentary election is held under the new Constitution of CPN–Fourth Congress. of the Kingdom of Nepal, drafted by the palace.
    [Show full text]
  • Nepal Proclaims Itself a 'Federal Democratic Republic'
    nepal Nepal proclaims itself a ‘federal democratic republic’ But whether it definitely becomes one is to be decided in April BY AJAYA BHADRA KHanaL N December 2007, Nepal’S interim legislature proclaimed itself “a federal democratic republican state.” Nepal had previously Federations Iamended its constitution to become fed- eral in March 2007, but this bill abolished the monarchy as well. For this poor, land- locked former kingdom in the mountains and foothills of the Himalayas, such a 2008 change would be a huge step. Nepal, H C sandwiched between India and China, R has few natural resources beyond quartz, hydroelectric power, timber and scenery. | MA After a 10-year civil war that drastically RY A hurt tourism and other industries, all RU parties were eager for peace. The monarchists, once one of three FEB main political forces in Nepal (along with the Nepali Congress Party and the Communists), have dwindled into a minor political movement. The monar- chy’s popularity sank after the death of King Birendra in a notorious palace mas- sacre in 2001. After his brother Gyanendra dissolved parliament and took control to battle Maoist insurgents in the civil war, human rights abuses by the government turned many against the king. The resolution in parliament that abolished the monarchy was passed by 270 votes to 3, with 56 abstentions. The vote must still be confirmed by a special PHO AP T constituent assembly to be elected on O/ April 10 to draft a new constitution. bin OD JO OD S H An unlikely choice I With an average Nepali earning less than The end of the road for Nepal’s King Gyanendra came on Dec.
    [Show full text]
  • Nepali Times
    #494 19 - 25 March 2010 16 pages Rs 30 ASHUTOSH TIWARI Pressing concerns ald statements of fact are we would enjoy a strike-free year. FOR NEPALI EYES ONLY: Poster sometimes the only way to But few might have campaign to end open defecation, B get the message across, anticipated the haste with which practiced by 14 million Nepalis whether it is to raise awareness the Maoist-affiliated All Nepal across the country daily, about appropriate outlets for Tourism Workers Union Tundikhel physical necessities or for that (ANTWU) subsequently delivered matter, political necessities. The an ultimatum to trekking methods and timing are awry, difficulty lies in distinguishing agencies right in the middle of and risk a backlash not just from fact from fiction, and tourist season. In ordering tourists but also union members. commitment from lies. When all trekking agencies to stop sending The trouble with inbound the parties were cajoled into out trekking staff affiliated to the tourism, however, has in recent In-and-out signing a pledge to desist from union, ANTWU claims it is times been mirrored by a surge in activities likely to harm tourism merely pressing for outbound tourism. Nepalis are tourism during Nepal Tourism Year 2011, implementation of the Travel and travelling more than ever, and not probably no one really believed Trekking Regulations. But the just for a degree or a job. p4 & p7 2| 19 - 25 MARCH 2010 #494 PUBLISHER’S NOTE going to accept all of them, and what is holding things up is recruitment procedure into the military. The Maoist that the Army is saying ‘zero’ and the Maoists are saying leadership doesn’t want this headache to linger either, WIN-WIN ‘19,000’.
    [Show full text]
  • CA Books Layout.Pmd
    A Land of Our Own: Conversation with Dalit member of constituent A L assembly is a collection of interviews with dalit members of the A ND OF Constituent Assembly. The formation of an inclusive CA has validated the aspirations for change embodied by 10 years long A LAND OF People’s War and People’s Movement 2006. But the Dalit Liberation O Movement continues, and the dalit representatives who are a UR part of the Assembly given the duty of writing a new constitution O OUR OWN for first time in Nepalese history have become the focus of the WN Movement. This collection of interviews, which includes the voices CONVERSATIONS WITH DALIT MEMBERS OF CONSTITUENT AssEMBLY of those who raised the flag of armed rebellion alongside those Assembly Conversations with Dalit Members of Constituent Suvash Darnal who advocated for dalit rights in the parliament and from civic and social forums, contains explosive and multi-dimensional opinions that will decimate the chains of exploitation and firmly establish dalit rights in the new constitution. It is expected that this book will assist in identifying the limits of the rights of the dalit community and of all exploited and oppressed groups, and to encourage the Constituent Assembly to write a constitution that strengthens the foundations of an inclusive democratic republic. SUVASH DARNAL is the founder of Jagaran Media Center. He has served as the Chairperson of Collective Campaign for Peace (COCAP), and is an advocate for inclusiveness in democracy. Darnal, who has published dozens of articles on dalit rights and politics, is also a co-editor of Reservation and the Politics of Special Rights.
    [Show full text]
  • Chemjong Cornellgrad 0058F
    “LIMBUWAN IS OUR HOME-LAND, NEPAL IS OUR COUNTRY”: HISTORY, TERRITORY, AND IDENTITY IN LIMBUWAN’S MOVEMENT A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Dambar Dhoj Chemjong December 2017 © 2017 Dambar Dhoj Chemjong “LIMBUWAN IS OUR HOME, NEPAL IS OUR COUNTRY”: HISTORY, TERRITORY, AND IDENTITY IN LIMBUWAN’S MOVEMENT Dambar Dhoj Chemjong, Ph. D. Cornell University 2017 This dissertation investigates identity politics in Nepal and collective identities by studying the ancestral history, territory, and place-naming of Limbus in east Nepal. This dissertation juxtaposes political movements waged by Limbu indigenous people with the Nepali state makers, especially aryan Hindu ruling caste groups. This study examines the indigenous people’s history, particularly the history of war against conquerors, as a resource for political movements today, thereby illustrating the link between ancestral pasts and present day political relationships. Ethnographically, this dissertation highlights the resurrection of ancestral war heroes and invokes war scenes from the past as sources of inspiration for people living today, thereby demonstrating that people make their own history under given circumstances. On the basis of ethnographic examples that speak about the Limbus’ imagination and political movements vis-à-vis the Limbuwan’s history, it is argued in this dissertation that there can not be a singular history of Nepal. Rather there are multiple histories in Nepal, given that the people themselves are producers of their own history. Based on ethnographic data, this dissertation also aims to debunk the received understanding across Nepal that the history of Nepal was built by Kings.
    [Show full text]
  • Senior Leaders Skip CA Meetings
    Senior Leaders Skip CA Meetings Bhuwan KC Published date: 20 September 2010 http://asd.org.np/en/transition/constitution/analytical/80-skip-ca-meetings The CA sat for 100 meetings in two years. According to the CA Secretariat employees, Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala had reached the CA meeting hall only four times. When he died on 20 March 2010, he had not signed on the attendance register even once. UCPN (M) chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal attended eight meetings. He attended five meetings after resigning from the prime minister’s post. He last attended the meeting on 4 February 2010. Senior Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba attended seven meetings in two years. He did not attend a single meeting for the whole of 2066 BS (mid-April 2009 to mid-April 2010). Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal attended 16 meetings of the Constituent Assembly. Comparatively, UML chairperson Jhala Nath Khanal was more active in attending 34 meetings. Among leaders of the big parties, Nepali Congress parliamentary leader Ram Chandra Poudel has attended the most meetings. He not only attends the meetings but also participates in the discussions. He also gave presentations in his 63 meeting attendances. Leaders of the smaller parties attended most of the meetings and actively took part in discussions. Rastriya Janamorcha chairperson Chitra Bahadur K.C. attended 93 meetings. By looking at the meeting attendance of the top leaders of the major parties, it is clear that the meetings are not their priorities. They did not take part in discussions in serious issues raised in the meetings.
    [Show full text]
  • Katelyn Fritz Southeast Polk High School Pleasant Hill, Iowa Nepal, Factor 17: Good Governance Nepal: a Governmentally Unstable
    Katelyn Fritz Southeast Polk High School Pleasant Hill, Iowa Nepal, Factor 17: Good Governance Nepal: A Governmentally Unstable Country Over the years, Nepal has faced many struggles with a poor government system. In 1951, King Tribhuvan was restored back to the throne after a long Rana Dynasty. Then, in 1996, a Civil War started between the monarchy and the Maoists, a group of rebels from a Communist Party. During this civil war, in 2001, King Birendra, his wife and eight other members of the Royal family were killed when his son, Prince Dipendra, opened fire inside the palace before killing himself. The King’s brother, Prince Gyanendra Shah then took the crown. In February of 2005, King Gyanendra disbanded the government and assumed absolute power of the country. The Civil War finally ended in 2006 with the Comprehensive Peace Accord, which was monitored by the UN mission in Nepal. August 15, 2008 Pushpa Kamal Dahal, or Prachanda was elected as the Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic and was sworn in on August 18 (Major Events in Nepal's History). In 2008 the Parliament voted unanimously to become a secular nation. In May of 2009, the Prime Minister resigned after Nepal's President, Ram Baran Yadav, reinstated fired General Rookmangud Katawal. May 23, 2009 Madhav Kumar Nepal became the new Prime Minister. In June 2010, the Prime Minister made a deal with the Maoists and agreed to resign in exchange for the term of Parliament and the deadline to complete a draft Constitution until May of 2011, which averted a political crisis.
    [Show full text]
  • The Maoist Insurgency in Nepal and the Political Economy of Violence∗
    The Maoist Insurgency in Nepal and the Political Economy of Violence∗ Avidit Acharyay October 2009 Abstract This paper studies the incidence of political violence associated with the Maoist insurgency in Nepal. I take a cross-sectional approach where the unit of analy- sis is the district, and dependent variable is total killings by state and Maoists normalized by district population. I find no evidence that political and economic grievances are linked to the incidence of political violence. There is also very lit- tle evidence that district prosperity or political ideology are associated with the incidence of violence. On the other hand, I find that the intensity of violence was greatest in the Midwestern districts and in districts with low road density. His- torical evidence suggests that the dummy variable for Midwestern districts that appears significant and robust reflects the political entrepreneurship of leftist lead- ers more than half a century ago. The results support a theory of conflict that treats an insurgency as analogous to a profit maximizing firm. JEL Classification Codes: D74 Key words: conflict, insurgency, political violence, greed, grievance ∗I would like to thank Jayaraj Acharya, Jose Azar, Nicholas Sambanis, Swarnim Wagle, an anony- mous referee, and the editors of this volume for valuable comments and discussions. All errors and shortcomings are my own. yWoodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Robertson Hall, Princeton University, Princeton NJ 08544-1013 (e-mail: [email protected]). 1 1 Introduction What were the causes of insurgency in Nepal? There have been two approaches to an- swering this question. In one line of research, studies such as Murshed and Gates (2005) and Bohara, Mitchell and Nepal (2006) have used cross-sectional regression techniques to predict the effect of poverty, inequality, rough terrain, and ethno-linguistic divisions on the intensity of political violence.
    [Show full text]