#647 15 - 21 March 2013 20 pages Rs 50 NOW WITH SO MUCH TO DO, SO LITTLE TIME Khil Raj Regmi glances at his watch after arriving for his fi rst day at work in Singha Darbar on Thursday after being sworn in as the Chairman of the Interim Election Council of Ministers. His fi rst order of business is to set up an 11-member cabinet, appoint an Election Commissioner, and carry out day-to- day governance. In its fi rst meeting, Regmi and two technocrat ministers decided to enforce fi scal discipline, ensure petroleum supply and work towards holding “fear-free” elections later this year. BIKRAM RAI Pre-poll poll ow that the political parties have handed Nover power to a government led by Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi, the focus shifts to voters. What do they think? Who will they vote for? Which parties do they prefer? What do they think of ethnicity-based federalism and a presidential system? What are their main concerns? Find the answers in the results of the annual Himalmedia Public Opinion Poll 2013 inside. page 3-5 Let’s face it Our opinion poll result shows that half the 3,508 respondents interviewed nationwide last month either couldn’t care less about elections, or didn’t want any of the current parties or candidates. HIGH Editorial page 2 Rabi Thapa avoids the new highway ROAD on the Annapurna Circuit by hiking on more scenic alternative trekking trails. page 10-11 DIWAKAR CHETTRI 2 EDITORIAL 15 - 21 MARCH 2013 #647 LET'S FACE IT ation states come with user manuals, they are credo. But for the reactive NC and UML to agree to called constitutions. It is a trouble-shooting guide The only take home such an unconstitutional and anti-democratic course of Nto tell us what to do when things go awry. message for party leaders action sets the wrong precedent. Nepal came with a fairly complete user manual in The main message from the Himalmedia Public 1990, but since the politicians never read it, they deemed is: reinvent yourselves, try Opinion Poll 2013 (summarised in this edition on pages it necessary to write a new one. We held elections to 3,4,5) is that the public standing of the political parties set up an assembly to draft a new constitution in 2008, to regain the public’s trust has plunged drastically. The NC and UML, especially, but after several extensions the CA was allowed to lapse before elections knew no was going to come out into the streets against because we couldn’t agree on new rules in the rule book. the Maoist plan. So they did the next best thing: agree We were still using a dog-eared interim constitution to to the CJ to get the PM to step down in the hope that run the country, but we threw it out on Wednesday night. tomorrow will be brighter than today. From here on, it is uncharted territory. Elections for the sake of elections is not the answer. The powers that be inside and outside Nepal devised Polls are important, but not enough to safeguard a clever plan: in order to get the truck to start they put democracy. There is the danger that the new CA will the conductor in the driving seat. Not only is this against be mired in the same row over federalism and state the rules, it is also fraught with all kinds of dangers, the structure. foremost being that the conductor isn’t trained to drive. Our opinion polls results show that more than half The deed is done and Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi the population either couldn’t care less about electionsor has been sworn in as head of polls later this year. We doesn’t want any of the current parties or candidates. violated the constitution to write a new constitution. The Respondents have also clearly said they are not going to justification for choosing the chief justice is that there decide on whom to vote for based on slogans, platforms, was no other option. You hear this from lifelong freedom or ideology, but will use performance criteria. fighters in the democratic parties, from the diplomats So the only thing left for us to do is to repeat what representing democratic countries, from civil society we wrote in this space last week. We need a complete stalwarts who used to believe in democracy. Actually, Election Commission to lay down the rules and there was no other option because the political parties empower the state apparatus to enforce them so that the never tried hard enough to find a solution, mired as they elections in June or November are clean and violence- were in their petty power games. free. We never expected anything better from the Maoists As for the political parties, the only take home who were the architects of this plan because democracy, message from their voters is: “Re-invent yourselves, try pluralism, and non-violence were never a part of their to regain our trust, and show us that you can deliver.” DIWAKAR CHETTRI ON THE WEB www.nepalitimes.com NEPAL’S GENDER APARTHEID I hope Deepti Gurung’s powerful and governing leadership skills, which #646). Luckily I found your paper lying glasses that a section of the West Thank you Deepti Gurung for an article is an eye opener to policy almost all politicians speak of during around in a coffee shop and after going does, and label Nepal as pariah excellent article (‘Nepal’s gender makers. Much more has to be done elections, but seem to forget as soon as over this piece, I knew I just had to nation. apartheid’, #646). It’s very sad to to eliminate discrimination against they are in power. make a trip. Thank you for information NBS see how the attitude of the state women. Werner Meyer on buses, I didn’t know where to look has changed so little. The right to Radhika because there are just too many THE RUSSIA RETURNS citizenship through the mother is WHOSE LUMBINI IS IT ANYWAY? contradictory info on travel websites. There are other notable fi gures accepted as a fundamental right What makes me really angry is the I loved the few days I spent in Lumbini Jessica Chen among the members of Mitra Kunj in most countries and does not new rule that requires students to show during last year’s autumn (‘Whose who deserve recognition (‘The even need to be debated. The fact their birth certifi cates to register for Lumbini is it anyway?’, Trishna Rana, FOREIGN DOMESTIC POLICY Russia returns’, Sunir Pandey, #646). that the bureaucracy is still afraid SLC. Imagine all the stateless children #646). I was left with limited choices in You are a pariah state if you deny Here are some names: Hari Man of some kind of mass settlement who will never get to sit for the exam choosing souvenirs: ‘made in China’ rightful entry to an internationally Shrestha (propagator of 84,000MW of Indians in Nepal and continues and not get to go to college as a result. plastic miniature Buddha statues or regarded spiritual leader like the Dalai capacity hydropower in Nepal), to use that as an excuse to deny Nicole Thkuri Wick ‘made in India’ om, marijuana, and Lama to a land that we claim is the former ministers Hari Bahadur Basnet citizenship simply defi es belief. Buddha pendants. There is so much birthplace of Buddha, just to please a and Nilambar Acharya, former vice- Even if the father is an Indian (or My maid is stateless even though potential here for local businesses and state that has no respect for any global chancellors of Tribhuvan University other) citizen, it is the right of the both her parents were Nepalis. The local people. How about local home-stay rules and values (‘Foreign domestic Madhav Sharma and Govind Sharma. children alone to decide whether parents died a long time ago, nobody programs? policy’, Anurag Acharya, #646). When Bijaya they take their fathers’ or mothers’ knows where their papers are, and at Easterngurl your old friends are in trouble, you citizenship. the time she was born there was no stand by them, not turn your back HOP ON MS birth registration process especially against them NT seems fed up with Nepali politics in remote areas like Charikot. Her in the pretext and its new interest in sex and sex Children born in Nepal to children all have citizenship through of some toys is interesting. Why not supply either Nepali mothers or Nepali their father, but she on the other hand made up some to our leaders (Gadget review, fathers, who live in Nepal should is a non-Nepali. ‘balancing act’ #646)? immediately be eligible for Nepali Sangeeta R propaganda Joshi Prakash Chandra citizenship, as simple as that. I invented by don’t see why things have to be so I am extremely curious to know the Shah NT please focus on news, issues diffi cult. how Sujata Koirala pulled it off. Deepti kings who people can connect with and don’t use Kalpana Lamichhane should write to Sujata and ask for had to come this topic as an excuse to sleaze your some pointers since she so deftly to terms with way around sex shops. I fully support Deepti Gurung's overcame the citizenship law to make their own Marc cause. However, I was sad to her daughter and grandchildren Nepali egos and read the last paragraph where she citizens. This clearly shows, there is prejudices argues that the state should allow a way (presumably a legal one) to get with their kins Nepali women to pass on their Nepali citizenship through a mother.