#110 6 - 12 September 2002 16 pages Rs 20 OOOne year later by Daniel Lak p4 OUROUR OUR DOUBLEDOUBLE DOUBLE TRIANGLETRIANGLE TRIANGLE p8-9 ANALYSIS by ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ RAJENDRA DAHAL he two protagonists in the present crisis—the extreme right and the T extreme left—want the same thing: an extension of the emergency, and neither side No one won, everyone lost cares too much for elections. The constitution Nepalis have never before faced such has provided polls as a way out of this zero, unemployment is rife. They have lost military might alone is not going to be enough stalemate, but they are not going to let the deprivation and insecurity. purchasing power, markets, food supply, health to finish off the Maoists. The idea is to put people vote. ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ services, education, and personal security. sufficient pressure on them to bolster the That is the paradox of Nepal’s politics: use Article 127 to amend the constitution and Caught between the ruthlessness of the bargaining position in future talks. And this is the enemies seem to want the same result. And take necessary powers. The resignation shows Maoists and counter-attacks from security also the intention of the Maoists who have they are pitted against parliamentary parties that political regression may not be as easy as forces, Nepalis have never before faced such already begun their senseless mayhem in the and Nepalis who haven’t given up on the rightists want. deprivation and insecurity. run-up to the 16 September strike. democracy. There are signs the extreme Given this undercurrent, it doesn’t seem to An alternative to elections would be On the political front, Deuba has played right is now more royal than the king, and matter anymore which faction of the Congress postponed elections. The Maoists have out all his cards, and his cabinet is self- the resignation Thursday of the king’s gets the tree symbol. Or if the emergency is squandered popular destructing. The media-led campaign against nominee to the upper house, Dipta Prakash extended or not. In fact, even without a support, and it would be Deuba loyalist Chiranjibi Wagle this week is Shah, is an indication that his views were formal emergency, the country is in a state prime minister is even less possible for the govern- orchestrated by his own cabinet colleagues over too hardline to digest. of emergency. powerful than it was, and the ment to keep them at bay construction contracts. “Deuba’s left hand is Shah told us: “I resigned because I sensed Since the emergency went into force in monarchy’s public image is and hold some form of destroying his right hand,” is how a political that certain forces didn’t like what I had said November, no one won. Everyone lost. quiescent. Who benefited from all this? elections. But will it be insider put it. Given this scenario, and a ROBIN SAYAMI about the role of the constitutional Parliamentary parties have been emasculated, the Certainly not the Nepali people. able to convince the army, the palace and certain rumoured meeting between Girija Koirala and monarchy.” In an interview with Rajdhani, Maoists are weakened, the strength of the army They have been the biggest losers. The foreign governments that it can? the king on Friday, don’t be surprised if the Shah had said Tuesday that the king can has been dragged into public debate, the office of economy has been battered, investments are The defence establishment is fairly clear that Nepali Congress begins reunification. Waiting for breeze One year after September 11, tourism hasn’t picked up. RAMYATA○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ LIMBU ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ ears of pre-poll violence, the emergency, an international slump in air travel post-September 11 and fears of India-Pakistan tensions F continue to keep tourists away from Nepal. Bookings for the autumn season are down, and cancellations are coming in. Although it is picking up again in southeast Asia, tourism shows no signs of recovery here. Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has tried to put on a brave face by saying that arrivals are up 35 percent this July compared to July 2001. But that is misleading because last July saw a serious post-royal massacre slump. Saskia is a Dutch tourist who was all set to travel to India and Nepal this autumn. But on advice of the Dutch government, she’s decided to postpone her plans to visit the region. Lina is a Swede, but she has decided to defy her government’s travel alert for Nepal and is coming for a trek in October. On Thursday, the US embassy upgraded its travel advisory for Nepal in lieu of the 16 September Maoist strike saying Americans and other tourists could be at risk. “Traffic to Nepal has been affected by travel advisories issued by the US, Britain and many European countries deterring travel to India,” NTB says. Still, the promotional body says Indian arrivals are double last year’s figures, and there have been dramatic increases from Australia and Japan. But the downturn for the main markets—Britain, the US, Germany and France—continues. “The unrest in Afghanistan, India-Pakistan tension and Nepal’s own internal problems have impacted heavily on tourism. Things don’t look too encouraging,” says Weekly Internet Poll # 49 Suman Pandey, President of the Trekking Agents Association of Q. Has the CIAA done enough, or should it Nepal (TAAN). go after the big fish? Nepal was voted the second “top travel destination” in May this year, ranking after New Zealand in a survey by the Guardian newspaper in London. The accolade came six months after Nepal was voted second in the Top Country Category out of 180 countries in the Wanderlust Total votes: 1335 Travel Awards 2001. But such Weekly Internet Poll # 50. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.com distinction does not show in Q. Does it really matter who gets the tree arrival figures. symbol? see p6 222 EDITORIAL 6 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2002 NEPALI TIMES NATION 6 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2002 NEPALI TIMES 333 Nepali Times is published by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd, Chief Editor: Kunda Dixit Editor: Anagha Neelakantan STATE OF THE STATE by CK LAL OPINION by KANAK MANI DIXIT Design: Kiran Maharjan [email protected], www.nepalitimes.com Advertising: Sunaina Shah [email protected] Subscription: Anil Karki [email protected] Sales: Sudan Bista [email protected] Sanchaya Kosh Building, Block A-4th Floor, Lalitpur GPO Box 7251, Kathmandu, Nepal Tel: 01-543333-7, Fax: 01-521013 Printed at Jagadamba Press: 01-521393 Distant neighbours Who will we take lessons from in forging a new, updated Fighting by the rules HOT SPOT relationship with India: Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, or Sikkim? he monsoon is about to end, and international interest focussed here than wo world leaders most conspicuous by their absence at the Earth Summit in ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ together with it may come a General Pyar Jung Thapa takes over as Chief of Army Staff in another similarly-placed country. Johannesburg this week—as far as we were concerned—were the president of the T renewed bout of bloodletting that There are therefore activists about, and BANGKOK - If distance gives perspective, more tangible. If we want favours, we must T world’s richest country and the prime minister of one of its poorest. policies towards India, then there are the people can ill afford. The Maoists have next week. He faces the challenge of fighting the Maoists they will raise a stink which otherwise then there is no better place to reflect over first know what they really want. The fact that Sher Bahadur Deuba didn’t attend just went to show that he knows chances of an action replay of the Kazi- clearly used the period to regroup and supportive governments cannot ignore. which side his toast is butered: getting a Belgian gun deal unstuck. George W, for his Nepal-India relations than while flying over Back in the “buffer” days, Nepal’s without sullying the image of the army. Chogyal showdown here. The Maoists will recruit. There are ample opportunities up To begin with, this will result in part, was too busy trying to carry on where daddy left off to bomb Iraq into smithereens this vast subcontinent and watching the independence saved the Indian army the be only too happy to dance to that tune. ahead for them to exploit the multi- cancellation of weapons deliveries and a on or before 11 September. Bush and Deuba were symbolic absentees: they sent the Himalaya recede over the northern horizon. cost of patrolling the high, hostile frontier The days of dictatorial vanity couched message that threats to the earth’s ecosphere come from both prosperity and poverty. layered political confusion that is about. shift towards providing non-lethal The necessity of rethinking the bases came with China. With Indo-Chinese detente in the terminology of nationalism and Ten years ago, the senior Bush told the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro that The Royal Nepalese Army has support for the army. The high-profile out of a chance meeting with an Indian this buffer is less important. Meanwhile, our America's lifestyle was “not up for negotiation”. His son went a step further and killed the patriotism are long over. The disadvantaged established itself firmly in the centre-stage drama in Brussels last week with the diplomat at Bangkok transit. southern border now has to be guarded by Kyoto Protocol last year, destroying even the consensus on reducing carbon emissions of Nepal are no longer ready to endure of Nepali polity even though till recently near-collapse of the Belgian government South Asia’s hub these days is Bangkok.