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#416 5 - 11 September 2008 16 pages Rs 30 Weekly Internet Poll # 416 Q. The Prime Minister should have: Total votes: 5,361 Weekly Internet Poll # 416. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.com Q. How long will this government last? RALF DUJMOVITS PeakA busy autumnseason ahead for mountaineering he monsoon hasn’t continue to affect expeditions Jaqanese in 1956, compared to OUT OF THIS WORLD: Climbers ended yet, but the using Kathmandu as a jumping- more than 2,600 on Cho Oyu. on their way from Base Camp T autumn season for off point. Numerous groups Among the climbers on towards Camp I in 2007 to scale trekking and mountaineering is trying to climb Cho Oyu, the Manaslu will be Spanish female Manaslu, which is getting an off to a busy start. world’s sixth highest mountain, climber Edurne Pasaban and unprecedented 20 expeditions this season because of the restriction Traffic is already picking up via its Chinese northwest route Italian Nives Meroi who have on expeditions to Tibet. on the trails around the were disappointed this season. both scaled 10 of the world’s Annapurnas, Manang has seen “Tibet’s loss is Nepal’s gain,” 8,000m peaks. They will be early arrivals and hikers are said British expedition leader, racing to make Manaslu their mountaineer, Hans striking out to Dolpo, Rara and Phil Crampton, whose 11th peak. If they do so, they Kammerlander, who skied down even the Saipal slopes in far expedition is among many that will be on par with Austrian the southwest face from 7,600m western Nepal. Lukla was just have switched from Cho Oyu to climber, Gerlinde in 1998. starting to look busy, but flights Manaslu. Kaltenbrunner, who is currently th have been cancelled for the 10 Cho Oyu’s northern route is leading the pack to become the EDITORIAL straight day because of poor relatively easy, and the mountain first woman to summit all visibility. Trekkers and is regarded as a training peak for 8,000m peaks. Business as usual p2 mountaineers heading for the Chomolungma climbers. Says Autumn will also be the Khumbu have been stranded at Ang Tshering Sherpa of Asian season for extreme skiers. Swede Another first could be a the airport for the past week. Trekking: “If the success rate is Frederik Ericsson and traverse of Lhotse Shar by Italian Meanwhile, hundreds of high this year, expeditions will Norwegian Jörgen Aamot will be mountaineer Diego Fregona, who mountaineers have begun probably be back on Manaslu next trying to reach the summit of will attempt to solo climb arriving in Kathmandu for the season.” There have been only Kangchenjunga and ski down. Lhotse’ s southeast ridge and 2008 post-monsoon season. about 300 ascents of Manaslu They will be following the descent the west face. Chinese restrictions on Tibet since it was first climbed by the tracks of Italian extreme Billi Bierling 2 EDITORIAL 5 - 11 SEPTEMBER 2008 #416 Published by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd, Editor: Kunda Dixit CEO: Ashutosh Tiwari Design: Kiran Maharjan Director Sales and Marketing: Sunaina Shah [email protected] Marketing Manager: Sambhu Guragain Asst Managers: Deepak Sangraula, Subhash Kumar Subscriptions: 5542535/5542525 Hatiban, Godavari Road, Lalitpur [email protected] GPO Box 7251, Kathmandu 5250333/845, Fax: 5251013 Remarkable peace www.nepalitimes.com Printed at Jagadamba Press, Hatiban: 5250017-19 Nepalis mustn’t be made to wait for a new constitution to see real improvement in their lives BUSINESS AS USUAL epal’s unique peace Himalayan foothills, today ‘democratisation’ of the state At the very moment Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal was process has rarely gained around half the population live army, must now be implemented. addressing the Economic Summit organised by the Confederation Noutside attention since the in the fertile southern plains and But the biggest challenges go of Nepalese Industries (CNI) on Sunday, his cadres were guns fell silent two years ago. more than one third are from over to the roots of the insurgency: enforcing a ìviolent shutdownî of the Dabur Nepal factory in Bara. Yet, amid too many continuing 50 indigenous, largely non-Hindu poverty, injustice, and From the pulpit, the prime minister reiterated his conviction conflicts and failing peace communities. Others are also discrimination. One cost of the that double digit growth was possible, and his government would processes around the world, a historically marginalised from the conflict has been the retreat of do all it could to encourage foreign investors. But as with success story deserves to be social and political life of the local governance and arrested everything else about the Maoists, their actions speak louder than recognised and supported. nation, notably the Dalits. development in a desperately words. I came to Nepal in mid-2005, For these groups, the poor country. Expectations are Even as the Maoist prime minister was finally swearing in the UML members of his cabinet this week, militant youth factions of when human rights violations restoration of democracy was a high among diverse groups for the two parties were knifing each other in Dhankuta, which was committed by both sides in the step toward social transformation, greater control of their lives and under curfew for three days. The YCL and Youth Force are at enabling them to participate more resources. But what federalism equally in the life of the country. will mean in practice, taking daggers drawn over protection money from Kathmanduís casinos. GUEST COLUMN This mafia-like gang warfare proves, if proof is still needed, that Along with the success of socially account of the geographic and politics is criminalised at a time when their parent parties are Ian Martin diverse candidates fielded by the ethnic peculiarities of Nepal, members of the governing coalition.† Maoists, the Constituent remains elusive and potentially We would like to give the Maoists the benefit of the doubt when armed conflict, together with Assembly that was elected in divisive. Reaching a national they say they want to stop corruption. We want to believe that they Gyanendra’s crackdown on April represents an consensus will be a formidable are better placed than other coalition partners to launch Nepal on a democratic rights as he seized unprecedented array of task for the Constituent development and growth trajectory. We understand that militant absolute power, led the marginalised groups. Assembly, and meanwhile the Maoist unions and other party hotheads may not be under direct control of the party leadership, especially the clique led by international community to Women, too, had been almost Nepali people cannot be expected Finance Minister Baburam Bhattarai. support a monitoring presence invisible in political life—and, to wait patiently until a new But the pattern of nationwide disruption of businesses, forced from the United Nations High indeed, in the peace process. Now constitution is drafted to see real shutdowns, intimidation and extortion and threats against Commissioner for Human Rights. nearly one third of the improvement in their daily lives. companies employing non-Nepalis is too systematic. Ultimately, With no end in sight to a war Constituent Assembly’s members But there is reason to be this will undermine the Maoistsí own plans for the economy. with thousands of civilian are women—the highest hopeful. Nepal’s peace process Two weeks after the breach of the Kosi embankment, we now victims, and democracy far off on proportion in South Asia and has been truly indigenous: it has know the embankment did not breach because of heavy rains, but the horizon, nobody could have fourteenth place in the world for not been mediated or managed by heavy politics. Two years of statelessness had bred militancy and foreseen how Nepal’s people nationally elected bodies. any external party. The UN has criminality in the Tarai, directly affecting maintenance of the would express their demand for The challenges facing Prime encouraged and facilitated the levees. The breach itself seems to have been a result of Indian peace and change. Minister Dahal, the coalition process—through good offices contractors mining sand and boulders on the Kosi bed after paying off local militants. This is what made the river change course. The turning point was the government and the Constituent during the last years of the When the breach on the east embankment was noticed in early April 2006 people’s movement, Assembly, are immense and trust conflict, human rights August, contractors dispatched to when hundreds of is fragile. The NC, for example, monitoring, assistance to the the scene for repairs were thousands took to the has chosen to remain in election, and monitoring arms prevented from working because streets for 19 successive opposition, dubious of the and armies during the transition. of threats and extortion by political days. The king was Maoists’ commitment to The Maoist and non-Maoist activists from the Maoists and the compelled to hand power democratic politics. parties have asked the UN to MJF who are involved in a turf back to the political parties, Nowhere in the world has the maintain a political presence battle in Sunsari. while a peace agreement transformation of an armed while the issue of the former Finance Minister Bhattarai laid emerged that ended the insurgent group into a peaceful combatants is resolved, and we out his blueprint for the economy conflict, bringing the political movement been so quick stand ready to support peace- on Tuesday at the CNI meeting. He wants to ìleap frogî Maoists into an interim or easy. building, recovery and long-term development and launch massive parliament and government, The Maoists enter the development. But the world, too, job creation through investment in and promising elections to a government still with their own must be generous and steady in infrastructure.