#394 4 - 10 April 2008 16 pages Rs 30 OR ELSE: As campaign Weekly Internet Poll # 394 violence escalated, Chief Election Commissioner Q. Who still doesn’t want elections? Bhoj Raj Pokhrel Total votes: 8,264 summoned top leaders on Monday and warned them to follow rules. The very next day, Maoist attacked NC and UML rallies in Rasuwa and elsewhere, Weekly Internet Poll # 395. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.com seriously wounding Q. What do you expect the elections candidates. to be? KIRAN PANDAY Behave yourselves The ultra left and right are main threats to peaceful polls KUNDA DIXIT the Big Three to secretly assured a minimum electoral win Across the country the distribute seats among by Friday evening. Privately, Maoists have been telling voters ith only a week to go themselves. Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal they have special gadgets to find for elections, those who The violence continued this Dahal has told other leaders it out who they vote for, or they Whave the most to lose week and appears to be part of the will be difficult to control his have threatened entire VDCs with seem to be getting frantic. Maoist bargaining tactic. They cadre if there is a rout. Publicly, punishment if they let another Ultra-royalists have want guarantees that no less than however, Maoist leaders deny party win. threatened more bombs to 20 of their top leaders be allowed there is any deal. Baburam provoke communal violence. But to win from at least one Bhattarai reportedly told the EDITORIAL whatever they are planning, the constituency each. Prime UML his party doesn’t need What’s left of the right p2 nation is committed to elections Minister Koirala reportedly has “charity” from them. and it’s all systems go for said he can fix that. But the A deal may not be democratic, STATE OF THE STATE CK Lal 10 April. UML’s Madhab Kumar Nepal is but most analysts say the Maoists Observer observing observers p2 The Maoists are also getting under pressure from his own may need to be accommodated for nervous that the defeat of some of party not to give in to the the sake of their party unity and The challenge for the its top leaders would be hard to Maoists. long-term peace. They are more hundreds of elections observers, stomach for its hardline cadre. One source told us the worried about violence against including Jimmy Carter who The escalation in attacks by the Maoists are using their tried and candidates, and the Maoist arrives next week, is to focus not Maoists against NC and UML tested method of threatening to strategy of intimidating voters in just on polling day but the candidates in the past month resign from the government and constituencies where they are impact of voter intimidation followed failure of talks between boycott elections if they aren’t weak so there is a low turnout. during the campaign. 2 EDITORIAL 4 - 10 APRIL 2008 #394 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, Tanka Sitaula Circulation Manager: Samir Maharjan [email protected] Hatiban, Godavari Road, Lalitpur [email protected] GPO Box 7251, Kathmandu 5250333/845, Fax: 5251013 Printed at Jagadamba Press, Hatiban: 5250017-19 Food insecurity www.nepalitimes.com Cost of food increases hunger in Nepal y now we’ve all heard about finally might be returning to more than 10 million people in WHAT’S LEFT OF THE RIGHT it, and certainly felt it as our normal levels. Nepal are undernourished. Many of rupees buy a whole lot less Unfortunately, that optimism these vulnerable populations can’t Throughout recent Nepali history, the extreme left and the extreme B right have always shared a sense of common purpose. food at the market these days. was short lived. Market prices for produce enough food to meet their Ever since king Mahendra coopted communists to counter the Growing energy expenses, key commodities have risen needs, are too poor to buy Congress in the 1960s, the autocratic monarchy and those with competition between bio-fuel and sharply over the last few months. additional food and/or do not have totalitarian ideals have seen democrats as their main enemy. The food demands, increases in the WFP estimates that the number of access to food because they live in two have often colluded to squeeze the middle. frequency and severity of natural Nepalis struggling with food remote communities. The Maoists were talking to the palace during Birendra’s reign. disasters, variations in global security has doubled to nearly The impact of the lack of food And Gyanendra just followed Daddy’s footsteps when he negotiated weather, and changing 8 million people. General is most obvious in Nepal’s with Pushpa Kamal Dahal in January 2005 to divide up the spoils instability, civil conflict and the children. The latest National and sideline the parties. When these negotiations failed, Gyanendra GUEST COLUMN increasing number of bandas are Demographic Health Survey finds staged his military-backed coup in February 2005. Dahal, who was significant obstacles to food that 39 percent of children under ready to embrace an absolute monarchy, never forgave Gyanendra Richard Ragan access for many families. five are underweight. Stunting rates for double-crossing him. But both are still untied by a deep loathing for the political Another worrying trend is that for children under five in Nepal are parties and their fecklessness. They reason that Nepal can never consumption patterns in China households are already adopting 49 percent. Wasting, a measure of be truly independent and would never prosper under a western-style and India are some of the reasons severe coping strategies that they acute malnutrition, has increased democracy. Up to there, many in Nepal may actually agree with for the rising price of food. would normally undertake only in the past five years to 13 percent them because they have seen the parties squander hard-won Coupled with other political, during lean seasons in a low crop and in some areas in the Tarai, it is freedoms. climatic and geographical production year: migrating earlier, as high as 20 percent, which is an What they forget is that we already tried absolute monarchy for complications, this makes Nepal’s selling assets, cutting the number emergency situation according to 30 years, and it was worse. And direct royal rule after Feburary population particularly of meals, using savings or seeking WHO standards. 2005 was an unmitigated disaster. vulnerable. Drought and other credit to purchase food, selling The Government of Nepal has There are two forces that still don’t want elections. The radical natural disasters in 2006 resulted land and even taking their committed itself to make both royal right because the polls will consign Nepal’s 240 year-old in a national 13 percent cereal children out of school. agriculture and food security a monarchy to the history books, and the ultra left which foresees defeat in the polls and therefore wants to either scuttle it or usurp production deficit. Over the last few decades, priority in their new Three Year votes through threats. The Madhesi militants are also against The following year Nepal was Nepal has become a food deficit Interim Plan. Yet, the challenge of elections, but don’t have the nationwide network to disrupt voting. hit again with drought and country. Yields per hectare have achieving food security is great and There may not be collusion yet between these militancies but massive monsoon flooding. not kept pace with population it doesn’t happen overnight. Much there is a convergence of interest. There is evidence the extreme Ironically, hidden amidst the growth. In fact, Nepal has the of Nepal’s crop land remains rain- right will stop at nothing to provoke communal violence through devastation was a silver lining: lowest yield per hectare for rice fed and prone to natural disasters terrorist attacks like the one in Biratnagar on Saturday. With nothing Nepal’s summer 2007 paddy and wheat in South Asia. Even which can severely impact crop left to lose, this lunatic fringe of Nepali politics may want to take the harvest bounced back with an during a good or normal harvest production, food availability and country down with it. estimated 17 percent increase over year, millions of families struggle access, particularly for the most Ultra-radical Maoists, who always felt their leaders snatched last year’s production. to meet basic food needs. Nepal vulnerable populations. defeat from the jaws of victory by engaging in the peace process, We collectively all breathed a relies on imports from How will families already also want to sabotage elections. That is certainly the feeling one gets looking at their deliberate use of violence against candidates sigh of relief. The calamitous neighboring countries and aid to living on the edge of poverty cope and threats against voters in the past months. flooding brought water to the meet the food gap. Vulnerable, with the current trend in rising As argued last week in this space (‘Their own worst enemy’, Tarai, resulting in a bumper crop. food insecure populations rely prices and decreasing supplies? The #393) this tactic will backfire on the Maoist party and deprive it of a Some suggested food production upon complex migration patterns government, WFP and the donors fairly decent showing in the polls. to travel to places where economic must step-up our efforts to International observers and Nepali activities and food are accessible.