#579 18 - 24 November 2011 16 pages Rs 30

Nearly there is taking money away from public welfare to rehabilitate and compensate Maoist warriors. But it may be the price we have to pay for peace.

epal’s leaders spent Many of the provisions the five years since in the 1 November Nthe signing of the agreement (return of seized Comprehensive Peace Accord property, disbanding the (CPA) on 22 November 2006 YCL, decommissioning the Nepali Times arguing over semantics. But it Maoists) are not really new. CPA 5 Special was an excuse to buy time for But the parties now have p12-13 power struggle between and to do in weeks what they COMMENT by within the parties. couldn’t do in five years Kul Chandra Gataum Now there is a concrete and try to maximize the GUEST COLUMN by plan and a multi-partisan ‘peace dividend’ from the commitment to see the Dhana Laxmi Hamal compensation cash. process through. “The If the political leaders give

major challenge now lies clear guidance, the Special Pro le of  ghter- with implementing the Committee can work it all turned-writer, agreement,” writes Kul out. The challenge is for the Tara Rai p11 Chandra Gautam in an Maoist-led Ministry of Peace analysis on p12-13, “this is and Reconstruction to work Editorial p2 no time to be nit-picking and on the rehabilitation package The 5-year cease re second guessing.” without bungling it.

BIKRAM RAI 2 EDITORIAL 18 - 24 NOVEMBER 2011 #579 THE FIVE-YEAR CEASEFIRE opes ran high when the top guns in the political deadlock of the past fi ve years. Nepalis want their parties signed an agreement to breathe new life in the politicians to get on with peace and constitution so that Hpeace process last month. The cynics among us said there can be a stable government that can deliver. Public they only did it out of a sense of guilt for having wasted fi ve opinion polls have repeatedly shown the peoples’ main years in senseless bickering. We said this was to appease a concerns are infl ation, lack of basic services, shortage of thoroughly disillusioned public so it would agree to another jobs, and security. What we are dealing with, therefore, extension of the CA term on 30 November. is a serious mismatch between the preoccupation of All that is probably true. The public perception of the politicians and the expectations of the citizens. nation’s elected leaders is at an all time low. The current The last fi ve years since the signing of the CPA has bloated cabinet is proof to many that politicians are only been a case of serial failures of the political leadership interested in a division of the spoils. Prime Minister Baburam to see the larger picture and respond to the popular will. Bhattarai has inexplicably shot himself in the foot by not just The fi rst ray of hope in a long time was the Bhattarai tolerating and coddling crooks in his cabinet, but by pro- government, which is why he needs to get the ship of actively seeking a presidential pardon for a colleague who is state back on track and restore his image and moral a convicted murderer. Bhattarai is in danger of squandering authority. most of the brownie points he earned for integrity and At an interaction in last week, the UN austerity. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression of the In times like these, it is best to distil everything down Offi ce of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to the bare essence: fi nding a leader who is partly clean. (OHCHR) and former Guatemalan democracy activist, Little in Nepal these days is black or white, there are no Frank de la Rue, said there are lessons Nepal can learn absolutes. So, we in the media look for the relatively honest from Guatemala. Peace-building, de la Rue pointed out, police chief, the bureaucrat who is comparatively less is as important as peace-making. Guatemala suffers corrupt, the minister who shows a hint of honesty. from the same post-confl ict ills Nepal faces now: the Call it “harm reduction”. A political party may have not rise of impunity, the politicisation of organised crime, the done much while it led a coalition, its ministers may have replacement of war violence with criminal violence. been involved in graft, the prime minister himself may have The only way to deal with this in the short, medium distributed cash from his relief fund to party cronies, but it and long term is by stabilising the politics with a new may still do less harm than the one that openly uses threats, constitution. For that we need closure on the provisions of extortion and violence. the Comprehensive Peace Accord signed this week fi ve Nepal now needs a political evolution of the constitution years ago. The goal is to address the violent legacy of the process so that we conclude the disarmament of Maoist war and bring a party that formerly believed in violence fi ghters, and move towards a pluralistic, democratic society into the political mainstream to guarantee sustained that can bring social justice and economic progress. peace, justice, and development. Only with a strong and This is the reason for the impatience about the political stable state is all this possible. BIKRAM RAI

ON THE WEB www.nepalitimes.com

LORDS OF IMPUNITY prime minister is astounding. I wish Dixit such as journalist Gyanendra Karki who were zThe editorial started out terrifi c and Thank you Kanak Mani Dixit for standing success as you try to redeem yourself. slaughtered before their families like goats by then descended into wishful and impractical up to these leeches of our society (‘The Parag the party that Baburam provided leadership to. contradictions. What’s with that Costa Rica Lords of Impunity’, #578). I am slowly Dixit and his civil society activists are as guilty of nonsense? It is just a code for turning starting to like you now. Wonder, though, zNepal was sucked into whirlpool of complicity in murder as Baburam and his thugs. Nepal into a de facto Indian state like where are all the well-fed civil society impunity and depravity the day Maoists You championed their ‘liberation ideology’ before Bhutan. losers? were legitimised through ‘free and fair’ the international community and helped foist Sudha Sarath G elections, observed so vigilantly the criminals on us in the name of Janandolan by you and your ‘intellectual’ friends. 2006. zInstead of giving military training to zIf you look at the rank and fi le of the Anish Party Peedit the PLA, they should have given them Maoists, who does not have blood on vocational training so they could start their hands? Same goes for the (Royal) zKanak Mani Dixit is hypocritical. His zThank you Kanak ji for shedding light on the rebuilding what they destroyed during the Nepal Army and the Nepal Police. It is blindness towards India and Girija and true realities of the kind of people Baburam has war. only a matter of who got caught. The company is responsible for the current surrounded himself with. The media is truly a Rajaram Singh Doramba Massacre perpetrated by the situation. When he had the chance to warn his voice for voiceless. Nepal Army is still unresolved. The offi cers Kangresi and Indian friends, he chose to look Tashi Lama zI agree Nepal should gradually are yet to be punished. The criminal case the other way. Now you are crying foul. Ask the downsize its army over a period of 20 of Balkrishna Dhungel is clearly non- Indians: why have they pushed BRB on us? zCan the author name a Nepali politician who years. Nepal’s economy can’t afford to political and he should be punished. After Sudh is not a bandit, reformed or otherwise? have a big army. And we don’t need it. all, Baburam turned out to be as artifi cial Lato Kosero Kamal Kishor as his Mustang. Where is civil society and zGreat article. Dr Bhattarai will never be all those ‘Kira Parosh’ T-shirt walas? counted as a serious politician who will lead zNot long ago Kanak Mani Dixit wrote dire Gaurav Nepal to a new post-confl ict era until he is warnings about the Lumbini project. Now it GOLD RUSH willing to abandon the murderers and thugs is dire warnings against implementing the Great job increasing awareness amongst zThe NC and the UML are as around him. Does Bhattarai have the intellect amnesties required by the peace agreement. all Nepalis (‘Quest for Gold’, Arun Rana, responsible as Kanak Mani Dixit for and the courage to do the right thing for the I wonder what the next dire warnings will be #578) about catch and release fi shing. This bringing parties like the Maoists to the country? His action so far doesn’t seem to about. truly could add to our tourist attraction. mainstream. Baburam as well as his indicate that, but he still has an opportunity to Arthur Niomi Thapa coterie of mainstream parties and NGOs correct himself. But will he? should stop protecting the false victims BNS SOCIAL SECURITY of the war. It is simple: the ones who The direct expenses of the Maoist compensation got booked by the law while trying to kill zNot surprising. Power fl ows from the barrel package is more than Rs 14 billion (‘Social others are not victims, they are murderers. of the gun, is what the Maoists believe and security vs military security’, Editorial, #578). Weekly Internet Poll # 579 Nirmal people elected them as CA members. Why do But there is much more in hidden costs. The Q. Compared to last month, how has your you expect them to be any different? country’s economy would have been soaring had assessment of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai z‘Dhungel went on to fi ght the CA Ram Shah it not been for extraordinary stupidity displayed changed? elections in April 2006 and terrorised the by the hypocritical intellectual supporters of the Total votes: 1,923 voters to get elected,’ writes Kanak Mani zThis selective amnesia on the part of Maoists in Nepal. Dixit. Are you sure? Didn’t you and your Kanak Mani Dixit and the ‘civil society’ of 2006 Soni ilk, who were hell bent on ousting the ‘Old is amazing. Stalin’s Gulags, Pol Pot’s Killing Regime’, term the elections free and fair? Fields and that large jail called North Korea The government should focus on improving the And where are your partners from the are sites of barbaric crimes against humanity quality of the army rather than the quantity. If civil society today? The likes of Devendra that are still highly revered as pilgrimage sites the NA couldn’t win the war against Maoist Raj Panday, Krishna Pahari and the rest by our Maobadis, especially the hardliner how can they protect Nepal against foreign seem to have gone into their holes. What ideologue Baburam. Dixit has failed to invaders? Weekly Internet Poll # 580. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.com is happening under this so-called scholar Raghu Q. Will the Maoist camps be dismantled by remind his readers of the hundreds of victims 30 November?

Publisher and Editor: Kunda Dixit Published by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd | Chief Operating Offi cer: Sunim Tamang | Hattiban, Godavari Road, Lalitpur | GPO Box 7251 Kathmandu [email protected] | www.nepalitimes.com | www.himalmedia.com | Tel: 01-5250333/845 Fax: +977-1-5251013 Design: Kiran Maharjan | Marketing: Arjun Karki, Surendra Sharma [email protected] | Advertorial/features: Ram Krishna Banjara | Subscription: Santosh Aryal [email protected] Nepali Times on Facebook Printed at Jagadamba Press | 01-5250017-19 | www.jagadambapr.com Follow @nepalitimes on Twitter OP-ED 3 18 - 24 NOVEMBER 2011 #579 Walk the talk The PM abusing his constitutional power to absolve wrongdoing makes a mockery of justice

BY THE WAY Anurag Acharya

t the SAARC Summit last week, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai exhorted South Asian leaders to Awalk the talk and deliver on the lofty declarations of the past. He may as well have asked himself whether he is doing the same back home. The initially ga-ga mainstream media has done a dramatic turnaround and remarked on a badly tarnished halo effect. We don’t know yet if this is also reflected in public disillusionment with Bhattarai, but it can’t be disputed that the prime minister’s brand equity has taken a battering in the past two weeks. Not very long ago, when the opposition flagged his ride in a Mustang as a populist move, the public support for austerity measures taken by the Prime Minister forced even the critics to acknowledge it as exemplary symbolism. But all that seems to be a distant memory now as he rides in to bumpy political landscape in an over-crowded 49 seater that threatens to derail. A prime minister who made austerity his guiding principle has made decisions which have not only put an astronomical price on the peace process, but also led to his personal political bankruptcy. But what really takes the cake is the way he has misused his office to influence cases against Agni Sapkota, Prabhu Sah and Balkrishna Dhungel. A man the nation trusted as a statesman has not been able to rise above partisan interest. Many war time atrocities need to be investigated by a future Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC) but political motives alone do not explain

BIKRAM RAI many of the human rights violations during the war. It is indefensible that cold-blooded murder of an unarmed individual has been pardoned on “political” grounds. Baburam Bhattarai must also realize that he leads a government which he himself attributed as having a historical task of bringing together ideologically diverse political groups to converge on issues of national consensus. His inexplicably explicit role in the Dhungel case will put him on a collision course with the judiciary and undermine his stated goal to make progress on the peace process. Returning from the New York visit, Maoist chairman Puspa Kamal Dahal was quick to defend Bhattarai’s move, saying the pardon had been decided by the previous government. To reduce this case to a mere technicality and to argue that the government has constitutional powers to absolve wrongdoing makes a mockery of justice and is an insult to Ujjan Shrestha’s still grieving relatives. It’s not so much about what the government can or cannot do, but about what it ought or ought not do. While one party of the conflict is under the scanner, nobody has dared to call for investigation into the crimes perpetrated by the Nepal Army. There seems to be a conspiracy of silence among the two warring sides to brush their past atrocities under the carpet. Theorists argue that claim to absolute truth overlooks its relativity and context. Hence, the call for justice in Ujjan Shrestha’s murder must not eclipse the larger need to provide justice for all. 4 NATION 18 - 24 NOVEMBER 2011 #579

NON-TOURIST VISITORS: Bechan Sah, 38, from Siraha in the Tarai with a load of pans and momo pots at Pheriche at 4200 m. He has been doing door-to-door sales here for the past 17 years. Smriti Kulung (right) is only 15 and quit school in lower Khumbu to earn money as a porter.

PICS: ALOK TUMBAHANGPHEY

friends and called into the kitchen to be served food and drinks with the Second-class citizens foreigners, allowed free charging of cell phones and Nepalis are made to feel commercially discriminated on the Everest Trail camera batteries, and even given some snacks for the only left me appalled at the Nepalis,” the manager of but only in Nepal’s tourism way. discrimination fellow Nepalis a hotel we had booked in apartheid do you see a sign They might have to sleep faced, but also made me Namche told me, rather like that. in the dining halls for lack NEPALI PAN wonder whether the tourism obnoxiously. Fortunately, our Fellow Nepalis may not of rooms, but they are not Alok Tumbahangphey industry which is supposed veteran guide knew the hotel have learnt bathroom etiquette asked to use the outhouse. to benefit us, is actually owner personally and coaxed that modernised Nepali If those promoting tourism doing so. the manager into giving room hoteliers think all westerners really want to ensure Nepal’s s a Nepali, I had Whether it’s taxi drivers to the Nepalis. Talking to have, but they are still Nepalis. tourism industry gets a always dreamt of and touts harassing foreigners the porters in our group, I If tourism entrepreneurs good name, they should Atrekking to Everest fresh out of the tarmac, or realised that they were being are really serious about be investing more on the Base Camp and seeing the hotels offering different rates accommodated elsewhere. developing the industry backbone of that industry: ‘mother of the skies’ up for domestic and foreign Never before and nowhere here, they should be training the guides, porters, kitchen close and personal. The tourists, differential tariffs are else in Nepal, had I felt more those Nepalis involved in staff and even the yak, jokyo, only deterrent was the a given in Nepal. While there ostracised in my own country the tourism industry how to mule, or donkey herder. cost involved. I had heard is no doubt that foreigners than here. better present themselves, As the media made rumours of how Nepalis were with higher income have But the shock and awe not putting up discriminating headlines of trekkers commercially discriminated higher spending capacity, and did not end there. Looking signs that reek of racism in an stranded in Lukla last week, against because we have to perhaps it is characteristic of around for the men’s room, industry that is supposed to I wondered what the Nepali pay less, and the foreigners capitalism to give priority to I followed the universal promote ‘hospitality’. guides I met on the way always get preferential those who can pay, no one sign and came upon a door Outside of Lukla and were doing. No one in the treatment. seems to be giving enough that had a sign on it: ‘All Namche, however, I noticed Kathmandu media obsessed I didn’t think it would thought to those who can’t. Nepali friends, please use the that not all lodge owners with ‘stranded tourists’ be that bad. But what I saw “We have rooms for outside toilet. Thank You.’ discriminated against Nepalis. spared a thought for them, in Khumbu last week not the foreigners but none for At least they thanked us, Guides are welcomed as old perhaps unsurprisingly.

hey come from all over the Camp at 5,380m. world, they are dentists, A trek to EBC and back is not a Tengineers, risk management Charitable challengers walk in the park. But the 21 G4G consultants, businessmen and charity challengers took it in their physical trainers. What brings them stride. They trekked past dramatic together is that they all live and work signs of glacier retreat caused by in the countries of the Gulf, love a bit global warming. of adventure. And they all care for Landing in Kathmandu from children. Lukla, the group headed straight For the past decade, Gulf for Good to Panauti with Brian Wilkie, (G4G) has raised more than $2 million the initiator of the G4G project. through 700 Arab and other nationals The orphanage currently under participating in treks in Nepal. The construction is located in the eastern charity is currently helping 35 projects end of the beautiful valley in Kavre around the world, including raising district. $110,000 from the Everest Base Camp Younger ones in the group like Challenge for a hospital in Ilam which the soon to be dad Floyd Meenan, was completed in 2004. his best mate Tom McNulty and This time, 21 participants took part fellow Irishman Brian Hempenstall, in another fund-raiser trek to support felt such a sense of accomplishment the construction of an orphanage in that they are already talking about an eco-farm in Panauti. As a means taking up next year’s G4G challenge of fundraising, members accepted the to Mt Kilamanjaro. challenge to trek up to Everest Base Alok Tumbahangphey BUSINESS 5 18 - 24 NOVEMBER 2011 #579

BIZ BRIEFS The .com generation Easy learning Lord Buddha Education Foundation has started Nepal’s fi rst computerised language learning centre, EnglishEdge. The program Nepali online stores are cashing on the spread of social networking sites has been developed in association with BBC.

discounted offers at various stores. methods of advertising such There are two main reasons for as placing ads in newspapers, Smart purchase the rise of online stores in Nepal. magazines, television, or hoardings, Teletalk, the authorised distributor of Blackberry smart phones has MY TWO PAISA Firstly, online businesses provide a online businesses can take greater introduced Blackberry Bold 9900 in the market. It offers two months Paavan Mathema win-win situation for both consumers advantage of social networking sites of Ncell Blackberry Unlimited Monthly Service on every purchase. and sellers. For the consumers, the with little to no cost. ability to purchase a wide range Facebook, Google+ and Twitter ow would you react to the of products on the web, minus the offer real-time social networks, Sensible touch suggestion of launching your burden of having to physically visit which mean information uploaded Nokia has launched Nokia N9. This touch- screen model is equipped Hbusiness on the web? You stores and the stress of commuting on a business’ primary circle can with 8 mega pixel camera, navigation, and audio technology. Its might raise a skeptical eyebrow and makes their lives very convenient. be instantly shared or retweeted to designe allows for easy use of applications, and social networking say: “Online business in Nepal? For businesses, having an online millions of users in a very short time sites. Isn’t that just for relatives at zero cost. abroad to send us cakes on The second factor birthdays and gifts during contributing to the growth of Branching out Dasain?” online stores is the escalating Bank of Kathmandu has opened four new branches at Khandbari Although traditional number of Nepali internet of Sankhuwasabha district, Beni and Baglung of Myagdi district, players like muncha.com users. The rate of internet and Birtamod of Jhapa district. These branches will provide all the and thamel.com have been usage in Nepal which stands services including deposit, loan and remittance. around for about ten years, at about 11 percent may not online businesses are still a seem very encouraging at fairly new concept in Nepal. fi rst glance, but there are E-commerce takes time now over a million Facebook to grow when people are users here. Nepal ranked still scared of putting their fourth on the list of countries credit card information on with the highest number of an online form. Google+ users in July 2011. The scene seems to The popularity of online media be slowly changing as and social networks is likely to several new online start- translate into a growing pool of ups have made their debut consumers who are willing to in the hope of replicating e- purchase products on the web. commerce models abroad. We have the eager It has now become possible consumers, we have the for Nepali consumers to products, and the only problem buy and sell electronic is the lack of a trusted online products, clothing items, payment mechanism. Credit accessories, air tickets and card companies demand groceries on the web. very high collaterals for their However, not only use and the banks here do have these new players not have the capital structure widened the market, they have also showroom allows them to cut down to withstand such risks. However, innovated new models for online on operating cost. e-banking services and local businesses. For example, harilo. Floor rental and staffi ng costs payment portals such as e-sewa and com allows users to purchase goods are reduced, and the sheer volume payway are pioneering channels from international sites, foodmandu. and variety of products that a of online payment. The fact that com lets consumers pick dishes company offers are no longer e-sewa conducted transactions from their favorite restaurants in restricted by the physical space worth NRs 110 million in its fi rst year Kathmandu valley, which are then available. Online stores also help of operations says a lot about the delivered to their doorsteps, and diminish advertising costs. Instead untapped potential of e-commerce merodeal.com gives customers of relying on traditional and costly in Nepal. LIFE TIMES

Cyclists and the city

BIKRAM RAI

directives to promote bicycle BHRIKUTI RAI For cyclists in as an efficient, environmentally friendly alternative to motorised Cycle city Kathmandu, the transport. Yet, like the proposed ith the fuel crisis certain to bicycle lane from Maitighar to n an effort to reduce Kathmandu’s get worse, and an unreliable path ahead is full Tinkune which got suspended in Igrowing air pollution and promote early 2000, the plan to build the a cycling culture, a passionate group Wpublic transport system, of potholes of youth has set out to make the more and more people in Kathmandu 44 km bicycle track in the city has capital a cycle-friendly city by the are opting for bicycles. Pedal power been shelved. year 2020. Kathmandu Cycle City is actually a faster and more reliable extra cautious. Fellow cyclist Amita “Unless there is serious (KCC) 2020. The group was formed way to navigate through the city’s Thapa Magar has had numerous close pressure from the people on the by Kathmandu University students choked roads. calls. “Cycling is especially difficult Department of Roads, cycle lanes in 2009 has been actively promoting However, given Kathmandu’s at night,” she says, “there are potholes in Kathmandu will still remain a cycling through various events and polluted and precarious road and the darkness makes it really farfetched dream for cyclists”, says workshops. condition and the absence of dangerous.” Shail Shrestha, president of KCC To mark their third anniversary, designated bicycle lanes, bicycles are Although there are just 9 vehicles 2020. KCC 2020 is organising an evening going to have an uphill ride. Rajan per 1,000 people, Nepal ranks 98th out Despite increasing pressure cycle rally with the theme ‘Get of 178 on World Health Organisation’s to build bicycle lanes, Saroj Visible’ to shed light on the problems Kathet, an avid bicyclist and the of cycling during night time. “Cycling list of countries with the highest per founder of Kathmandu Cycle City Kumar Pradhan, project manager at night carries unimaginable risks,” (KCC) 2020 says: “The lack of bicycle capita rates of traffic-related deaths. of the Kathmandu- Bhaktapur says Shail Shrestha, the president lanes is the most important factor The reason is the lack of adequate Road Extension Project says that of KCC 2020. The rally will also dissuading people from using bicycles space not just for bicyclists or building new infrastructures be a tribute to Prahlad Yonzon, as a regular means of transport.” pedestrians, but for vehicles too. The to make the city cycle friendly who died in bicycle accident after The group has been lobbying death of noted biologist and devoted presents an immense challenge. being hit by a truck in Balkhu two government bodies to build cycle cyclist Pralad Yonzon two weeks ago The city’s entire transportation weeks ago. The rally is supported lanes on newly constructed roads after the bicycle he was riding was system, he says, will need to by World Cyclist Foundation-Nepal, and accommodate cycle lanes within hit by a truck on the Ring Road, has undergo a major overhaul in order Chepang’s Mountain Bike Club, existing road networks. Says Rajan: focused attention on the dangers that to accommodate a network of cycle Cycling Association- Kabhre, and bicycle commuters face. lanes. Clean Air Network Nepal (CANN). “Everyone on the road tries to The rally will take place on 19 In 2005 a decision to construct a overtake cyclists and we are forced “It doesn’t make sense to just November starting at 5pm. to cycle and sometimes walk our 44 km long bicycle track in the city build cycle lanes from point A bicycles on the pavements.” after Nepal signed the Velo Mondial to point B,” Pradhan adds, “each KCC Facebook page Evening Cycle Motor vehicles ply left, right and Charter and Action Plan for Bicycle form of transport must complement Rally 2011- Get Visible center on the congested roads of Friendly Communities. The charter each other and cycle lanes can be www.kcc2020.blogspot.com Kathmandu so cyclists need to be provided a blueprint and a set of developed systematically.” 7 18 - 24 NOVEMBER 2011 #579 Dead on arrival

t’s 7 AM at the B&B many of them from the uniformly placed and it is Hospital’s emergency newly constructed 9.14 km hard to see them at night, Iward at Gwarko. Two Kathmandu-Bhaktapur road I have missed the concrete motorcyclists are brought in, where speeding vehicles has dividers by inches on several they are conscious but badly killed 24 people since it was occasions,” says Sajal injured. One has serious head opened last year. Shrestha who commutes to injury and the other has a Police say negligent work daily on his motorbike fractured leg. The trauma drivers and careless from Satdobato to Baneswor. centre at B&B deals with 20 pedestrians are the main A big part of the problem traffic accidents every day, reasons. “Driving licenses is the complete lack of coordination on road safety between the Department of Roads (which is supposed to undertake repairs) the Department of Transport Management (which registers and regulates vehicles and driving licenses), the Traffic Police (which enforces traffic rules) the Ministry of Environment (which issues green mission stickers), and the MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA municipality (which is supposed to these two are lucky to have are issued without really oversee strategic management survived. Many are dead on testing a driver’s capability,” of roads and parking). arrival. explains Jagat Man Shrestha At the Traffic Police, While aviation accidents of Metropolitan Traffic Police Shrestha says he has neither make big headlines, road Division, “drivers forget the budget nor the authority accidents have become so traffic rules as soon as they to maintain road safety. commonplace that most have pass their written tests.” Although driving under the come to accept it. But figures However, badly-built influence is a leading cause of show that traffic accidents highways, traffic congestion, accidents, the Traffic Police have now become the dangerously placed has few breath analysers. number one killer in the 20- road dividers and lack Moreover, there are no laws 30 age group in Nepal. Last of streetlights add to the limiting the alcohol level for year, 8,500 road accidents problem. Road dividers have drivers. across Nepal killed 1,700 been a major cause of deaths, Paavan Mathema people, half of the accidents mainly of motorcyclists who took place in Kathmandu collide with them in dimly-lit nepalitimes.com Valley. B&B alone saw 50 roads. Compensation by accident, traffic deaths last year, “Road dividers are not DEWAN RAI #564 8 LIFE TIMES 18 - 24 NOVEMBER 2011 #579

Tickets range from Rs 1500 to November, Cosmopolitan Training 4pm to 11pm. Corner Bar, Radisson Rs 3200, 18 to 22 November, Nepal Centre, Jhamsikhel, 016217752 Hotel, 4411818 ext. 1330 Tourism Board and Gurukul

Extraordinary, bring out the extraordinary in the ordinary. This is what Navin Joshi does in his art exhibition which shows a unique take on everyday life. 12 to 28 November, Park Gallery, Pulchowk EVENTS Noche Flamenca, a dance performance by the participants MLTR Concert, the hit Danish band Art for Children, various art lessons of two workshops by Maradee de is coming to Nepal, don’t miss out. for children aged between 6 to 14. Guzman of Clara Ramona & Co. 19 November, Tundikhel, 4442435 Fees: Rs 3000, 19 November, 10am 20 November, 6pm onwards, Moksh, to 12.30 pm, Artudio, Lazimpat, Jhamsikhel, 5528362 9841408425 Pashmina Week, celebrate Gypsy Jazz, enjoy the music of 18 years with Sana Hastakala by Daniel Givone and Hari Maharjan For a Healthy Diet, Christina endorsing their quality pashminas with delicious food and drinks. Reigner talks about eating healthy and authentic Nepali handicrafts. 18 November, 7.30 pm, Delices and maintaining a balanced lifestyle. 13 to 20 November, Sana Hastakala, de France, Thamel, 4260326, Fees: Rs 200, 19 November, 5pm, Kupondole, 5522628, 5526985 [email protected] Delices de France, 4260326, [email protected] MUSIC DINING Social Entrepreneurship Award, an award ceremony which will be preceded by two days of seminars DREAMS Art Competition, Piano Presentation, a piano Kaiser Cafe and exhibitions. 18 November to everyone is invited to participate recitation by Adolovni Acosta, Restaurant 19 November, Award Ceremony in an art competition to raise funds sponsored by Kathmandu Jazz & Bar, have a on 21 November, Baber Mahal to better the lives of stray animals. Conservatory. 18 November, BBQ lunch and Revisited, 9813228579, 4265051, Fees: Rs 200, 20 November, 10am Russian Cultural Centre, a glass of wine changefusionnepal.org to 1pm, Bal Mandir, Naxal, 4444289 Kamalpokhari, 5013554 or beer inside the peaceful Get Visible, a cycle rally to promote Nepal Cine Symposium, a fi lm A Changing Nepal, Maki Gurung’s Kites Band, enjoy scintillating live Garden of road safety and traffi c awareness for festival and network event aimed fi rst exhibition in Nepal which shows music by Kites Band and unwing Dreams. bicycle riders. 18 November, 5pm to to highlight young cinematic ever-changing Nepali faces painted while playing a game of snooker or 4425341, 8.30 pm, Basantapur, 9841442228 possibilities from South Asia. on Lokta paper. 11 November to 25 sipping a refreshing glass of mohito. Thamel Portraits of a proletariat

in Patiswara. With an inheritance from his father’s estate, he also constructed a commune in Kathmandu valley, where he and six others have been sharing their incomes and living sustainably for the last two years. “I don’t think capitalism is a natural way of living,” Gurung says. “People should either farm or have a technical skill like a shoemaker or a blacksmith. Today, the main occupation in the world is being a Maki Gurung protests social middleman.” repression with visual impressions Last year, Gurung planted 360 orange trees in Patiswara and plans to relocate his determination as authorities local people. So I don’t commune to the village as beat the man during a like the word Nepali. I am soon as the trees begin to Maoist banda. “When I was Gurung,” he said. fruit. For now, the would- photographing the strike, I The self-professed anti- be farmer works as an Art was also almost hit,” said nationalist communist, Teacher at CTC and hopes to Gurung, whose nameless however, admits to a sell his portraits. subjects are drawn from bourgeois upbringing in Gurung asserted: “Art news images and photos of Kathmandu that included shouldn’t be limited to the strangers he had taken. private lessons from his bourgeoisie, but it is now. It ‘Federal New Beauty’ mentor and Japanese artist should be for the proletariat. depicts a woman he found Yuki Shirai, who now runs If you’re farming for your pictured along an article CTC. While studying sound own consumption, then you about the Tamang New Year. engineering in Japan, Gurung only have to work two hours Born in Nepal to a honed his craft, holding two a day. You can spend rest eople During Change, the common disregard for Gurung father and a Japanese art exhibitions and playing of your time doing art and an exhibition of 22 manual labour in Nepal. mother, the 26-year-old artist guitar in bands. Since 2009, being creative. But right now Ppastel portraits by Gurung’s palette considers himself first and Gurung has performed the poor are working too artist Maki Gurung, paints incorporates a wide spectrum foremost Gurung and calls with the Kathmandu-based much.” a personal protest against of oil pastels and spot colours Patiswara, his father’s native anarcho-ska-punk band Naya social repression. With his that accentuate the movement village in Gorkha district, Faya. People During Change: Kathmandu debut at the of facial muscles and render home. True to his far-left Portraits by Maki Gurung Cosmopolitan Training almost palpable expressions. “The word Nepali is leanings, Gurung funnels at Space-Y, Cosmopolitan Center (CTC) in Jhamel, In a work bluntly entitled very much associated with proceeds towards projects Training Center, Moksh, Gurung confronts the ‘Police Beating a Proletariat’, invasion. The Gorkha people such as a non-profit Jhamel plight of ethnic and gender Gurung vividly captures invaded all of Nepal and had cooperative shop and 11 – 25 November, 11am to minorities, state brutality and a protester’s anger and many colonies that exploited a pig farm he initiated 6pm LIFE TIMES 9 18 - 24 NOVEMBER 2011 #579

pad thai or green curry. If you can’t oasis at the heart of Patan, and an Buddha Bar, offers a warm handle the heat, try one of their easy walk from new Bhat Bhateni and cozy space for intimate western dishes instead. Thamel, Supermarket. Patan Dhoka, Yala conversations over a large 10am to 10pm, 4701510 Maya Kendra, 5522113 selection of drinks. Thamel, 9851053235 Just Baked, a cozy café with amazing pastries and friendly New Orleans, offers a wide ambience. Old Baneshwor variety of western dishes that are scrumptious yet healthy. Try their Manny's Eatery and Tapas Bar, popular rosemary chicken and The Ghangri Café, A quiet and delightful selections of reasonable hamburgers. Jhamsikhel, 5522708 relaxing place with delicious food. and nutritious lunch. Jawalakhel, Although known for their open 5536919 momos, their Chef Salad is equally Mako’s, an elegant fi ne dining GETAWAYS scrumptious. Pulchowk, 5528703, Japanese restaurant at Dwarika’s [email protected] Hotel which serves authentic The Last Resort, be a part of the Boudha Stupa Restaurant & Café, Japanese cuisine. Timings are Amtrip Bungy or Swing Jump Event Yak Restaurant, provides authentic enjoy wood-fi red pizza, homemade 11.30 to 14.30 and 18pm to 22pm. over the Bhote Khosi river 160 Tibetan cuisine at an affordable pastas and the one and only tibetan Dwarika Hotel, 4479488 metres below or mountain biking price. Boudha gyakok. Boudha, 012130681, up to the Tibetan border. Fees: Rs 9841484408. OR2K, one of the few vegetarian 2700 per person for one day or Rs Yin Yang Restaurant, east meets restaurants in the Valley, their Middle 4500 per person for an overnight west as you choose from a variety Dhokaima Cafe, exquisite New Dish, you will be in for a treat Eastern platter is delicious and their stay, valid until Decemberhe Last of Thai and continental dishes. Add ambience, friendly service, cozy bar, here as it serves one of the best cocktails are to die for. Mandala Resort Sales Offi ce, Mandala a little spice in your life with their place to see and be seen at. Your pork momo in town. Khichapokhari Street, Thamel, 4422097 Street, Thamel, 4700525

SOMEPLACE ELSE

ut of the numerous terrace bars and Ocafes that compete for best breakfast sets or happiest happy hour deals in Chitwan, KC’s stands out with a driveway and a sizable, Spanish-style manor that looms over Sauhara. Unaffiliated with the café of the same name in Thamel, the restaurant serves typical tourist provisions, but specializes in fish and barbecue items. The Fish Fried, a battered ’ KC s MARCO POLLO trout filet served with fries and coleslaw was delectable. But once again, a pineapple and banana merge comfy, wooden lawn chairs On the main intersection well- cooked and flaky, but sauce vital to the plate was well with the rich gravy. summon a sunset kickback. in Sauhara-2, face the river lacked a complimentary unaccounted for. Considering the price The property is so large and enter either end of the sauce. A basic tartar or a KC’s Special Steak that customers pay for the that the kitchen prompts the driveway seasonal mango salsa would was unanimously the best prime setting, KC's could bow-tied waiters by mobile have outdone the dish. The choice. A decent mound be more generous with its when orders are ready to coleslaw, however, was of hamburger steak comes proportions. The restaurant table. It is surprising that in Service evenly dressed. sizzling on a heavy iron cast opens on to a manicured its decade long existence, To mix it up a bit, we and bathed in white cheese garden which ends right KC’s hasn’t established a Bread ‘n water opted for the pork on the and rum reduction. The before the riverbed and boutique lodge. Dining at Space barbecue list. The skewered steamed vegetables could overlooks the vast savannah. KC’s yields a fine ending to cubes of meat were on the have been sautéed in a butter A tree-lined walkway leads a weekend getaway in the Deal-icious drier end. A spicy, red slaw herb sauce before plating, customers from the arched national park. Rep-eat? that came with the dish was but the slices of cooked terrace to the riverside where Marco Pollo 10 HAPPENINGS 18 - 24 NOVEMBER 2011 #579

at high altitude wearing flipflops), often the shoes are ill- fitting which can WEEKEND WEATHER by NGAMINDRA DAHAL Frostbite predispose to frostbite by constricting blood flow to based drug therapy for the the feet while walking in A lingering low pressure area over eastern Nepal and Bhutan have brought overcast skies treatment of frostbite. Hence cold temperatures. Often the and precipitation to the mountains. Combined with pollution haze, this has created havoc with DHANVANTARI prevention of frostbite is socks get wet, and this too fl ights this week. Things should start to ease somewhat as the low pressure is pushed away by the prevailing westerlies. Expect misty mornings in the Valley with the sun coming out in Buddha Basnyat, MD of paramount importance. can lead the feet to frostbite. One of the things that Baron It is important to have shoes the late mornings for hazy sunshine. Some cloud build-up in the higher mountains. Larrey, Napoleon’s surgeon, that fit properly and have iving in the relative learnt during the march available extra pair of socks FRI SAT SUN warmth of Kathmandu, into Russia was that when to replace wet ones. Some KATHMANDU Lit may be difficult for soldiers heated their hands porters use extra socks to try many readers to consider why and feet at night on open to fit their foot into big shoes 19-06 21-06 21-07 frostbite is an important topic. fires and next day continued which can be problematic One of the most important their march in subzero as the trek progresses. tragedy that happens regularly temperatures, this freeze- Inadequate clothing or every trekking and climbing thaw-refreeze cycle had the shelter will also lead to season in Nepal is frostbite hypothermia and potentially amongst porters who lead to frostbite as accompany Western the blood is directed travelers. When they from the extremities suffer from severe to the main organs frostbite and need like the heart and the to have their toes or brain in hypothermic fingers amputated, situations. Warm their ability to earn clothing, proper gloves a livelihood from and sleeping bags are portering is severely important especially compromised. when the trek ascends Unfortunately the to >4000 m passes. treatment of frostbite Adequate intake of has not changed since fluids and food will Napoleon’s army in 1812 tried most deleterious effect on the also help prevent frostbite. to invade Russia in winter but frost-bitten tissues. So, once Crucially trekkers and failed miserably. Hypothermia warmed after freezing, the climbers using porters to (low body temperature) hands or feet should not be trek in the Himalayas need and subsequent frostbite frozen again. to take good care of their amongst army personnel Although many trekking porters and vice versa. was an important reason for companies now provide This ‘buddy system’ is a Napoleon’s defeat. Essentially shoes for porters (at one unique feature of Himalayan BIKRAM RAI there is no specific, evidence- time most porters trekked trekking and climbing. HALFWAY THROUGH: PM Baburam Bhattarai at a meeting of the Special Committee that approved the rehabilitation package for ex-Maoist combatants, Monday. The decision makes way for the categorization process of 19,000 Maoist fi ghters.

CZECH THIS OUT: Industry Minister Anil Jha shakes hands with the Deputy Environment Minister of Czech Republic Tomas Tesaf during a business and trade seminar on 3 November organized by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries. Also in the picture is the Honorary Consul General of the Czech Republic to Nepal, Vishnu Agrawal.

SANJOG MANANDHAR ROCKING KATHMANDU: Mikkel Lentz, Kare Wanscher and Jascha Richter (L-R), members of the Danish band Micheal Learns to Rock, arrive in Kathmandu on Wednesday. They are scheduled to perform on Saturday at Tudikhel. CPA 5 11 18 - 24 NOVEMBER 2011 #579

BOOKS ON WAR hrough ten years of civil war till the A war of words Tsigning of the Comprehensive Peace Accord in 2006, journalists, writers and even police offi cers and guerrillas tried RUBEENA MAHATO ends put her at odds with her comrades in the party. Tara to gain a clearer understanding of the Fighter turned confl ict by examining the roots of the realises how lucky she was to war and its effects on the people and t 23, Tara Rai has seen it all. writer has come out of the war alive. “I was society. A selection: She has been a guerrilla in the doubts about not raped, abused or tortured,” she AMaoist army, she has spent says with characteristic simplicity, Chhapaamaar ko Chhoro (Nepali) time in jail, and now she is the best- “I know that many of my friends Mahesh Bikram Shah selling author of an acclaimed book whether the were not as lucky. It goes to show Written by a Nepali Police Offi cer, the that has sold eight editions in one revolution was there are good and bad people book consists of several short stories year. As she prepares to bring out the everywhere.” which deal with the violence and ninth edition of ‘Chapamar Yubati Ko worth it Going back to her family after destruction during the war 1996-2006. Diary’ while working on another war- her release, Tara had to live the Dispatches from the People’s War in based novel, she is pensive and a bit life of a social outcast for being a Nepal (English) philosophical these days. “I have no Maoist. For an entire year, she was Li Onesto regrets,” she told us, “but these days afraid to step Onesto presents a largely sympathetic I have doubts about whether the war outside her village. Alone and fi rst-hand account of the ‘People’s War’ was necessary.” disillusioned with war, she took to through interviews and photographs of In her village in Ilam district in writing initially as a therapy. top ranked Maoist personnel, guerrillas, eastern Nepal, she does what most Today, five years after the villagers and political leaders which she other young women here do: help out signing of the peace accord and collected and published in 1999. her family in the farm. But in the finding success as a writer, Tara is evenings she works on her new novel. still struggling to assimilate. Many Himalayan People’s War: Nepal’s Tara left school at 15 and joined the of her Maoist Rebellion (English) Michael Hutt Maoist cultural wing. Three months friends are now in Maoist camps This anthology investigates Nepal’s later, she was arrested by the army awaiting either rehabilitation political, economic and social backdrop and sent to Ilam jail, where she nearly or integration. Many of them of the ten year war. Authors also provide died after falling sick. She was treated are young girls like her who left a comparative perspective through by the army in prison and recovered. school with discussions of Marxist rebellions and The near-death experience seems to lofty dreams of liberating the communist uprisings in other parts of have left an indelible mark on this country from feudalism. the world. fighter-turned-writer. “Our hopes have been dashed Tara’s book took the market by and promises have been broken,” Mayur Times (Nepali) storm when it was published last Tara told Nepali Times with a year. All 5,000 copies were sold out choke in her voice, “it is always The novel presents a fi ctionalised account of the war through the lives of within two months. Different from the poorest people who suffer the two young journalists, Parag and Lisara the usual narratives of Nepali war most in any war.” who work for a small newspaper in the literature, it neither demonised the She reads papers to follow Tarai. enemy nor was it over-burdened with national politics and is ideology. It gave a heartfelt, honest ambivalent about the new prime Palpasa Café (English and Nepali) account of a girl’s struggle as she minister. She has also heard Narayan Wagle battled adversity, forged emotional about new calls to go back to war While the basic premise of the novel bonds with her captors and finally by the Baidya faction, but says she revolves around the love-story between broke off from her party to start doesn’t agree with them. She tells Drishya, an artist and Palpasa, a fi rst- afresh. us: “Before taking up arms again, generation American Nepali, Wagle The sympathetic portrayal of the they should think why they want compels his readers to delve deeper into the problems faced by war-torn Nepal army in the book and her questions another war, who it is against and during the heights of confl ict. about the use of violence for political to what end.” DEVENDRA BHATTARAI Urgen ko Ghoda (Nepali) Yug Pathak sfd ;fgf ] 7nf' ] eGg ] x“b' g} . kl;gfsf ] s'g} /ª / hft klg x“b' g} . Pathak’s book, written from the perspective of the Tamangs tells the sfd u//] vfg nhfpg ' klg x“b' g} . rf]/]/, 9f“6/,] 5n/,] n'6]/ vfg kf ] g]kfn ;/sf/ story of Mhendo who takes inspiration nhfpgk5' { . hf ] hxf“ /x/] hg' sfd u5 { pm To;df} /dfpgk5' { uf}/ ;"rgf tyf ;~rf/ dGqfno from mythical Tamang hero Urgen and a ugk5'{ { / ;dlkt{ eP/ ugk5{' { . sfd g } zlQm xf,] elQm xf ] / dlQm' ;"rgf ljefu his horse and launches her own war xf ] . sfdsf ] OHht u/f,}+ kl;gfsf ] ;Ddfg u/f }+ . against the state. 12 CPA 5 18 - 24 NOVEMBER 2011 #579 No war, no peace COMMENT No surprise that we have all Kul Chandra Gautam forgotten the fifth anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace e spent much time Accord this week in the past five Wyears debating the differing understandings of what the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) and the THIS IS IT Agreement on Monitorign of Management of Arms Rubeena Mahato and Armies (AMMAA) meant by ‘integration and rehabilitation’. But all that onday, 21 November, marks the fi fth anniversary of the was settled by the major signing of the UN-brokered Comprehensive Peace Accord political parties on M(CPA) that formally ended ten years of confl ict between the 1 November with an Maoists and the state. It ended the war, but didn’t bring peace. The agreement on numbers, Maoists lowered their guns, but didn’t abandon them. They joined amounts and modalities. mainstream politics, but didn’t abjure violence. We can, of course, always Few remember the sense of jubilation that swept the nation argue and speculate how the as Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Girija Prasad Koirala signed the agreed package could have document in the presence of senior leaders and the UN brass. been better. But this is no The ceremony was held inside the BICC, that later served as the Constituent Assembly. time to be nit-picking and As I write this, the amnesty case of Balkrishna Dhungel is second guessing. The major raging like wildfi re, jolting Baburam Bhattarai’s seat of power. There challenge now lies with have been fi ve prime ministers in the last fi ve years, all of whom implementing the agreement. have failed to deliver. There may now be a sixth. Impunity is rife, Many of the provisions in and the rot starts at the top. Power cuts and fuel shortage have the 1 November agreement worsened. Farmers are having to take to the streets to demand – such as return of seized fertilisers. The middle class is struggling to keep up with infl ation. property, ending the Never mind the disillusionment this has created in the general paramilitary structure of the The way public, like a bad dream, the ex-guerillas who had fought for YCL, and bringing the Maoist change are now engaged in an intense struggle for the hearts and combatants fully under the minds of their own radicalised cadre base. In the past fi ve years, there have been 4-point, 5-point, 7-point command of the Special The 1 November agreement agreements. Promises no one intended to keep, agreements not Committee -- are not really breathed new life into the worth the paper they were written on. Everyone played for time until new. Even an agreement on they ran out of time. All they were interested in was to lengthen the numbers of combatants Comprehensive Peace Accord five their time in offi ce so they could amass wealth from kickbacks and and the financial package payoffs. Most people were past caring, they raised their heads for rehabilitation was almost years after it was signed. when Baburam Bhattarai became prime minister with slender finalised at the Gokarna hope that he would be different. But they have been tragically Resort summit a year ago, disappointed again. but was dropped because of funds from the combatants, Disbursement should also not Four years ago, just before the CA elections, I was travelling internal disagreements within the regrouping exercise is be in cash but through banking across Rolpa, the district that was the cradle of the Maoist the Maoist party. likely to produce a generally channels, and preferably revolution. Everywhere in Rolpa, hopes ran high. Infrastructure projects that had been stuck for more than a decade were being Although there are still honourable outcome for the requiring the spouse’s revived. In Thawang, ex-guerillas were building a micro-hydro a few details to be worked combatants. But whether signature. power plant. A huge festival was being organised in Jaljala, a out, the Special Committee that will also be in the best One criticism of the historically signifi cant place for the Maoists, to promote tourism in has now prepared a very interest of the nation is a 7-point agreement is that it the region. sensible plan for integration different matter. We should does not say anything about Finally it seemed like Rolpa would rise. After all, the very and rehabilitation. But, as have tried harder to maximize ‘democratisation and leaders who had taken shelter in homes that were destroyed in they say, the devil is in the the 'peace dividend' from the right-sizing’ of the Nepal bombings from helicopters had risen to power in Kathmandu. details which are ambiguous expenditure. Army, which is also a key Thawangis were sure that their time had come. or remain unresolved. If the Now, there are two component of the peace I can never bring myself to accept violence as a political tool, political leaders give clearer seemingly contradictory process. The CPA signed but could understand the anger of women who had lost all their guidance, the committee can requirements: the need five years ago this week male relatives to war, were raped and battered and were raising babies of the enemy. But even they lit up with hope talking about work out all technical and to reduce the size of the called for security sector the future. They were glad the war was over. logistical details. Nepal Army and the need to reforms to ensure genuine The dream has shattered. The Maoists turned out to be like The rehabilitation package increase its size by integrating civilian oversight over the everyone else. After getting to power in Kathmandu, they forgot is more complicated, as Maoist combatants. One way national army and other about Thawang and Jaljala. Parts of Thawang are still in ruins. the Ministry of Peace and to tackle this would be to give security services. A detailed The promises of leaders to make Thawang a model commune Reconstruction has not really priority to under-represented security sector reform (SSR) commemorating the civil war fails to elicit any response from done the required homework groups like women, plan should be developed in the villagers anymore. And there are other promises which have yet and it is questionable if it Madhesis, Dalits, and some due course keeping in mind remained unfulfi lled. The families of the disappeared are still has the capacity to implement Janajati communities. Making Nepal’s legitimate security seeking closure, thousands of internally displaced people are a sound vocational skill the Nepal Army more interests, but avoiding waiting to go back home. They have waited for fi ve years without training, job creation and inclusive and unnecessary and unaffordable result and have now given up on the government. This is the silence that is mistaken for peace today. This year, rehabilitation program. gender-balanced would militarisation of Nepali too, there will be the usual rituals marking the CPA anniversary. Complications that could eventually enable Nepal society. Leaders will wax eloquent on the historic agreement and its crop up: Maoist combatants to respond to UN Security Some Maoists have signifi cance. The people will not be listening because they have defying the agreement, Council resolution 1325, criticised the new directorate heard it all before. haggling over their ranks in under which the UN is of the Nepal Army for disaster Why not do some damage control by paying a fi tting tribute to the army, uncertainty over encouraging member states to relief as a second-class, the CPA, by immediately setting up the Truth and Reconciliation the rehabilitation package, provide more women soldiers non-armed military unit. Commission, or by forming the Commission on the Disappeared? disagreement over how much and officers in peace-keeping But such a directorate is This is what will fi nally determine the direction of the peace combatants have to contribute missions. appropriate because a process, how the grievances and discontent of the confl ict affecting to party coffers. The proposed voluntary peace-loving country like people are managed. In their squabble for power, leaders have If the combatants are retirement package offered is Nepal that has no intention of forgotten what they had actually come together for fi ve years ago. What a waste. given truly free choice, quite generous. But it would going to war against anybody and the party does not try wise to pay the amount needs to redefine the role of to manipulate or extort in several installments. its military. CPA 5 13 18 - 24 NOVEMBER 2011 #579 War during peace A ceasefire is a time to build peace, not prepare for another war.

COMMENT Dhan Laxmi Hamal

n Nepal today we are closer than ever Maoist violence was being countered to real peace with the by the state. The Armed Police Force Iseven-point deal reached on (APF) was established during that 1 November on integration and ceasefire period because Nepal Police rehabilitation. At a time when we are was proving inadequate to fight the thinking about the future, it is important insurgents and the king refused to to analyze our feelings that war is use the Royal Nepal Army to fight the somehow ‘special’ and peace is somehow guerrillas. ‘normal’. In fact, what happens during The APF was officially set up on peacetime often makes possible the 24 October 2001, and many young next conflict, the next war, and the next people who had suffered under the atrocity. Maoists joined the newly formed As a student of politics and human paramilitary force. The APF’s stated rights I have come across the work of mission was to control ‘acts of terrorism anthropologist Nancy Scheper-Hughes, and the associated trend of organized who argues that one way to understand crime’. The Maoists were officially the violence of war is to look at the declared ‘terrorists’ around this time. hidden violence that goes on during peacetime. The everyday violence of ‘normal’ times goes unnoticed and is ahead accepted by society at large, often in the name of ‘security’. November 2006 was a big turning While it remains ready for thus abandon its militarist point in Nepal’s history. Ten years of rapid redeployment for urgent mindset. It must declare, conflict officially came to an end as the national security tasks, the in a manner that will be government and the Maoists signed a army must also be deployed understood clearly by all its Comprehensive Peace Accord. Yet many precisely for development party members and the public of us were uncertain about whether work, disaster relief, or at large that it has abandoned this ceasefire would hold. The first environmental protection the politics of violence. Such a unsuccessful ceasefire with the Maoists that bolster human security. public commitment will help four years earlier ended dramatically Instead of feeling like develop public confidence in with attacks in 42 districts and the king’s second-class soldiers, peace-building and the new declaration of emergency that followed. ex-Maoist combatants joining constitution. I remember that ceasefire well. On this new directorate will be Some might say that 7 September 2001 I was forced to join the part of a vanguard the Maoists cannot do that Maoists in my home district of Mugu as a forward-looking force. because that would be ‘motivator’. I was chosen in part because Nepal’s military should contrary to their fundamental I was young (only 14 then) and had also strive to be the world’s ideological belief, and that if completed Grade 8. The Maoists used number one peacekeeper, they did so, they would be no the ceasefire to mobilise their forces and KUNDA DIXIT not just quantitatively, but different from the UML. Prime they were expanding their presence in Minister Baburam Bhattarai, with enhanced quality and Mugu. For two weeks in the Maoist camp Just as I was sent to mobilise villagers an ardent opponent of Indian integrity. Here again, I had to attend classes to learn how to by the Maoists, the APF was sent out to foreign investment signed ex-Maoist combatants could 'motivate' and train for ‘protect’ citizens from ‘terrorists’ during the BIPPA agreement with eventually be trend-setters if self-defense. There were hundreds of the ceasefire. For both the government India, proving that the Maoists a large number of combatants other young boys and girls with me, and the Maoists, a ceasefire was a time are capable of transforming being integrated were women some had been forced, and others were to take a breather, to consolidate, re- themselves. and from marginalised volunteers. Together we listened to mobilise, rest and prepare for the war For the sake of durable communities who can be instructors discuss Mao, Marx and Lenin. to start again. It was a tactical break to peace, prosperity and groomed for future We were taught how to go into enable a longer war. democracy in Nepal, let us peace-keeping roles. I would villages at night and form committees The current ceasefire has lasted five hope that the Maoists will therefore urge the Maoist to advocate social equality, to work years. But we are still trying to sort out muster the courage and leaders to be true to their to end caste, class, and gender-based the legacy of the conflict and it even wisdom to further transform proclamation of progressive discrimination. We walked for hours and seems like the Nepal Army, the APF themselves, so they can pronouncements, not just hours, sometimes for 22 hours straight. and the Maoist army are warily circling help usher a truly progressive in words but in deed, by I went with a group of ten Maoists one each other. The new deal may create an transformation of New encouraging a maximum day, and watched as they took food saved integrated Nepal Army, but there is a Nepal. number of women combatants for the winter from an elderly woman’s lot of uncertainty about how it will go. to join the new Directorate. house. She was crying as A ceasefire is a time to build peace, not Kul Chandra Gautam is a While it is urgent and they left. prepare for another war. former Assistant Secretary important to conclude the Fifteen days later I told them I had Today – even if we are lucky – we General of the integration and rehabilitation become a true Maoist, but I wanted to will have three security forces (NA, APF, and this review is adapted of ex-combatants, this is not go home one last time and say goodbye and NP). Yet some would say that even from his presentation at a enough for the real completion to my father. Instead, I left the district one professional army is too many for a workshop on 'The Peace of the peace process in Nepal. and went into hiding in India and later republic. Process in the Context of the In accordance with accepted within Nepal as the war started again. Five-Point Agreement' international norms, there can For many, the ceasefire was about Dhana Laxmi Hamal is a senior at Bard be no room for violent politics preparing for war, not peace. College in New York. in a functioning democracy. nepalitimes.com The Maoist party must Full transcript 14 FROM THE NEPALI PRESS 18 - 24 NOVEMBER 2011 #579 Bhattarai needs Double standard makeover Editorial in Nagarik, 15 November Editorial in Kantipur, 13 November a Truth and Reconciliation Commission has made mockery of rule of law. Had the Supreme Court not issued a stay order on the cabinet decision on Sunday, it would Less than three months after being sworn in as prime Scholar leader Baburam Bhattarai minister, Baburam Bhattarai has been sucked into shot to popularity as an economic and have embroiled the office of the president in controversy as well. a whirlwind of controversies ranging from granting administrative reformer with austerity impunity to criminals to being unable to curb measures and set an example of good Upon his return from the SAARC Summit, Bhattarai made lawlessness in the country. The decisions he has taken governance which even those on the so far in order to appease various parties in the coalition opposition appreciated. But the way irresponsible remarks against “a small coterie of government are tarnishing his once popular image. Bhattarai cobbled together an outsized Soon after joining office, he had announced austerity cabinet added an economic burden dollar-earning groups” blowing the issue out of measures and stood true to his words by riding the to the state. Then his decision to Nepal-assembled Mustang vehicle. However, what recommend a presidential pardon to proportion. Nobody is opposed to the formation followed was the formation of a jumbo cabinet with a murder convict proved that he is no 49 ministers, appointment of murder convicts as different from his predecessors. He has of Truth and Reconciliation committee to look into the ministers and the decision to have a presidential pardon turned a deaf ear to widespread public to a Maoist member convicted of murder by the criticism and continues to sing to his war time cases but to condone Supreme Court. These actions have tarnished own tune. the prime minister’s image. Bhattarai rode a locally-assembled individual acts of Although the task of managing Mustang vehicle when he drove to his and appeasing a discordant coalition office after being sworn in, reinforcing crime under political government is not easy, Bhattarai’s the public perception of his modest decision to induct a record-breaking ways. But with 49 ministers on board pretext will only cabinet and shelter criminals to remain and the state having to spend millions in power cannot be justified under any per year for each minister, the entire promote impunity circumstances. Therefore, to win back Mustang gesture has turned into a farce. people’s confidence he has to admit Bhattarai must know he doesn’t and anarchy. to these mistakes and withdraw the need four dozen ministers to run a pardon for Balkrishna Dhungel. transitional government. He has already Despite the power struggle between set a new record by forming a 44 the parties, the recent seven-point member secretariat of advisers at his agreement has ushered in the only ray of office and doling out ministries to stay hope for peace and constitution. It is high in power is a betrayal of the nation’s time the leaders worked together to save the trust. The government’s decision to grant country from sliding down a slippery slope amnesty to Dhungel without forming much like Bhattarai’s image has. FROM THE NEPALI PRESS 15 18 - 24 NOVEMBER 2011 #579

QUOTE OF THE WEEK Even I don’t know “ the names of all the “ ministers in my cabinet.

Intellectual Leader PhD. PM 46 Ministers Amnesty petition Largest cabinet PM Baburam Bhattarai in Fireside, Kantipur TV for a murderer in history

ABIN SHRESTHA /KANTIPUR “I eliminated a spy”

Interview with Balkrishna Dhungel in continued. Then, the party concluded Naya Patrika, 16 November that he should be eliminated.

Which level of the party had decided? Nayapatrika: What do you have to If we have to eliminate someone say about the presidential pardon for during the insurgency, we had to take you which has become an issue of permission from the party command. national politics? No district or area command could Balkrishna Dhugel: The issue has take decision on elimination. been overblown. This is an attempt to criminalise the insurgency and the What was your position in the Witch hunt Maoists. party then? We had demarcated areas from Rajdhani, 14 November What do you think is the intention Tamakosi to Ramechhap including behind this? some VDCs of Okhaldhunga, Khotang, Those who had fixed a reward on Solukhumbu and Bhojpur as our Whenever there is any mishap our heads still want to finish us off. eastern base. Biswa was in-charge of in the village of Mahadevi of They have been trying to find a way to the area and I was next to him. Saptari district, people here criminalise the Maoist movement and blame Siyadevi Mandal, 44. She people’s movement. How did the case reach the court is accused of being a “witch” following year. The government and how did you land up in jail? and is held responsible for Where were you at the time of launched a bloody operation in I was involved in politics since 1986 everything from floods and fires incident? What had actually Likhu areas in which families of the and went underground from 1996. to cows not giving milk. In a happened? Maoists and Jana Morcha were killed The incident took place when I medieval practice, villagers then It was purely political, not personal at and displaced. He played major was underground. The government get together and beat her up. The all. We found him spying on us and he role in this. The police arrested 47 launched a massive operation in the latest “witch” episode occurred was eliminated. people including me, Puskar Gautam, region. The party had concluded that two weeks ago when Siyadevi’s Shambhu Gautam, Madhav Dhungel, he was a plain clothed policeman. neighbours Shyam Prasad and What proof do you have that he was Prem Prasad Dhungel among others. Locals were arrested, tortured and Rukmani Mandal, accused her a spy? We were released on bail when forced them to sign in a paper saying of performing black magic on The government categorised the Bamdev Gautam was the Balkrishna Dhungel and Puskar their daughter and making her ill conflict affected areas and recruited home minister. Gautam were involved in killing. I was and beat her brutally. Siyadevi influential people in the regions to arrested in 1999 and released in 2006. sustained serious injuries and carry out the mission in 1996. Ujjan What did you do to Ujjan after that? had to be hospitalised. She and Shrestha used to live in Kathmandu. He was still working as an agent. What will you do if the president her farmer husband went to the He was sent to village as advised by We warned him, asked his relatives doesn’t grant you a pardon? police, but no action has yet been Bal Bahadur Rai and Gopal Rai to spy to convince him, party formally I am a responsible party member. taken against her tormentors. on us. He went back to village the approached his family but he Whatever party decides is my decision. 16 BACK SIDE 18 - 24 NOVEMBER 2011 #579 www.nepalitimes.com www.nepalitimes.com

Notes of descent ustangs will soon FG comrades get freedom from have to be flying off murder convictions. You have Mthe Hulas Motors If any of you have ever to go to the AG’s office these assembly line in Biratnagar murdered someone in cold days to see how Comrade if we are to keep up with blood or have the intention Yummy is running the show. the demand for official cars of doing so, don’t worry, we She was heard shouting to for the cabinet which, like now know how to escape him from the stairs: “Eh the universe itself, is still punishment. Here’s what Mukti Cha, thanawa!” expanding. There are four you do: join the Maoist And speaking of Comrade more vacant portfolios so party and then get yourself Hasiya, the prime minister we will have a 55 member “What happens if elected as Constituent will have to have to take her cabinet. Lot of people have I don’t shake his Assembly member. This aside one of these days and been complaining about hand this time?” is what Balkrishna, Baban tell her to shut the fog up. how this jumbo cabinet is and Comrade Ugly did, and She’s getting to be a national going to be a drain on the they will all be pardoned embarrassment. The PM’s budget. I don’t think so. It by the president. Baboon consort apparently made will actually give Nepal’s Victorious Bachelor promotions alone. If even half Sing didn’t just commit a an ass of herself by asking a budding automotive industry Gachhedar has promised the rumours are true, Deputy murder, he masterminded a Madhesi NRN in NY which a shot in the arm, create jobs that his home ministry will Prime Minster and Homely bloody massacre, and he is part of India she was from. and who knows one day we be “cleanest ever”. But Minister Victorious is raking walking around the CA in Then she asked Prabal Gurung may even be able to export old habits die hard and it in. That explains why he broad daylight even when he if he was a tailor, and ordered SUVs. At least BRB was the minister can’t seem to then scooted off with family is on the Nepal Police “Most a haku patasi gown. And, honest enuf to tell Bhusan resist plucking low hanging in tow to Manakamana last Wanted” list. When a case this is the kicker, she asked on Fireside that he can’t fruits. A DIG spilled the week to give thanks to the was filed against him, he a Nepali expert on cloud recognise members of his beans to the tabloid press God of Good Wishes. suddenly turned Gandhian computing if he generate own cabinet. last week that he was FG and went on a hunger strike. some rain in drought-infested FG asked to pay Rs 1.5 karod Prabu Sah, involved in western Nepal. to be promoted to IGP by Don in question, Acting murder of a Hindu activist in FG The prime minister’s own Gachhe’s sidekick. When Minister of Home Affairs Birganj, was not only never custom-made Mustang Max he said he didn’t have that Ganesh Lama (no relation to caught, BRB appointed him So BRB got tired of waiting (with power steering, stereo, kind of money, they sent a HH the Dalai), has apparently minister. Moral: Unless your for disgruntled comrades to and armour plated sides) notorious don in the payroll issued a secret rate list for cv says you have committed join his govt and has filled it is undergoing field trials as of the minister to have a this year’s police transfers manslaughter, don’t even up with gruntled comrades. we speak. Quite appropriate chat with him. The DIG in and promotions. bother applying for a post in The ultra faction seems to be that the model is called the question wasn’t just not ASI to Inspector: Rs 100,000 this cabinet. satisfied Mustang Max since this is promoted, but two junior + a bottle of Famous Grouse FG for now a maximum size cabinet. officers were. If that was the DSP to SP: Rs 500,000 + two just filing As one wag put it, this isn’t going rate, Victorious Babu bottles of Black Label True to his name, General notes of a “jumbo” cabinet, it is an must have made a cool DIG to IGP: Rs 1.5 karod + a Attorney Mukti is busy descent. “Airbus 380” cabinet. 30 million on those two crate of Chivas ensuring that his fellow- ISSN 1814-2613 CDO Regd No 194/056/57 Lalitpur, Central Region Postal Regd. No 09/066/67