Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion
Posted: 25 Apr 2008 06:16
I will shortly transfer the old locked thread to the trashcan
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Right.It is not like that India-Nepal Friendship treaty did any good when it came to Nepal allowing the plane to get hijacked to Afghanisthan. A Pakistani diplomat walked right past security check and handed the weapons to doctor and burger. Or the Govt. of Nepal allowing drug traffickers and counterfeiters (that counterfeited 500 Rs notes) to operate on Nepali territory. They operated right under the nose of the Koirala/Gyanendra regime with their consent.
Indo-Nepal Treaty has been cursed for everything ranging from buffalo's low milk output to next door's son not getting passed in exams.Am sure I'm missing something. Revoking the treaties, which also provide for IA Gurkha recruitment, banning Bollywood etc by the Maoists is somehow good/not bad for India and Indo-Nepal ties? Well, maybe it is. I can't see how, though. If you know something that makes uncommon sense, pls to share.
vsudhir, satya has already said the needful....treaties of this sort are mostly theaterical it seems to me.One important lesson for India from all this is that we need to revisit the tactics and strategies that we have been following for combating Maoism in India. We need to reach out to the Maoists, even as we combat them on the ground. For this we need to rely on persons who have access to Maoists, people in whom they have trust. We must remember that the Maoists do not trust even their colleagues from the leftist parties. We therefore need to approach people on the periphery of the movement, who may include intellectuals, academics, social activists and sympathisers. Strictly speaking, it is possible to book such people under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or such other anti-terrorist legislation available in some of the states facing serious Naxalite threat. We need to introspect whether this is the right approach.
It seems to me that the wheel has turned full circle since King Gyanendra usurped power on February 1, 2005. And the ability of the Indian security establishment to think out of the box at a crucial point in time in Nepal’s history has made a huge contribution to the (by and large) peaceful transition to inclusive, multi-party democracy in Nepal.
I have always considered Nepalese our brothers and sisters. To me, they are not foreigners. So, there is no disgrace in Nepalese joining Indian army. However, their service to British army is somewhat disgraceful.
AFAIK It has been many years now that Indian army has stopped recruiting from nepalese gurkhas. The Gurkhas currently serving in Indian army are Indian citizens from areas around Darjeeling in West Bengal were there is a large native population of Gurkhas.Gerard wrote:Gurkhas at moral crossroads
Worrying times no doubt... with such a rail link, our chini 'bhais' will open up more strike options should they wish to 'teach us a lesson'KATHMANDU: China will extend its railway link from Tibet to Nepal's border in five years, Nepali officials said on Saturday, bringing the traditionally friendly nations closer and boosting trade and tourism.
The rail link with China could help Nepal reduce its heavy dependence on its giant southern neighbour India for everything from oil to motor parts and medicines.
Ai Ping, director general of China's international department, met Nepali Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala on Friday and told him that the rail link would bolster their diplomatic and trade ties, officials said.
"They discussed the benefits of the project," Basanta Gautam, special secretary in Koirala's office, said. "The railway link should be complete in five years."
China and Nepal share a more than 1,400 km border. The planned railway project would link Tibetan capital Lhasa with Khasa, a border town near China-Nepal border.
"It will be an extension of the famous railway link between China and Tibet," Gautam said. The 1,142-km rail link between China and Tibet opened in July 2006.
The world's highest, it passes through spectacular icy peaks on the Tibetan highlands, touching altitudes of 5,000 metres (16,400 feet).
The naxal human waves do the same thing in remote police posts in IndiaSanjay M wrote:There is a need to bifurcate Nepal. Some Nepalese are pro-India, and some are anti-India and pose a grave threat to us.
The anti-Indian ones have to be held accountable for their anti-Indian activities.
I've always been suspicious of how these "human waves" were able to overcome army outposts and "steal arms and ammunition" as they claim. To me, this is just a cover for China pumping in arms and ammunition to the Maoists, just like they did to Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
In which case, we have to get these guys before they get us. The Madhesis are the best place to start. We should arm them, and have them cleanse out any opposing factions within their turf, then expand it from there.
And I happen to think that these people are also being armed, trained and supplied by outsiders. If they can put up stiff resistance to the army, then it shows they're no mere malcontents, but a foreign-organized and supported force.G Subramaniam wrote: The naxal human waves do the same thing in remote police posts in India
Few days back RNA had publicly opposed prachanda's plan of merging the RNA with the maoist guerillas.satya wrote:VALID REASONS FOR A MILITARY TAKE-OVER IN NEPAL -Sh. B Raman
Are we missing something ? Is it just a warning shot to Prachanda or in real situation may turn out bad ?
Patna : Two senior Nepalese Maoist leaders have sought the release of dozens of their comrades lodged in Bihar's jails and met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in this regard.
'We sought an early release of dozens of Nepalese Maoists lodged in Bihar's jails during our meeting with Nitish Kumar,' Yami, minister for physical planning and works in the outgoing interim government, told IANS here Sunday.
Nepal Maoists need to convince opposition for powerYami is the first senior Maoist leader from Nepal to visit India after the former guerrillas emerged victorious in the April 10 constituent assembly polls.
The Maoists still command a rebel army, have refused to renounce violence and speak of a "people revolt" if they are stopped from taking power, posturing that has unnerved opposition parties about their commitment to democratic ideals.
KATHMANDU: Nepal's Maoists have pledged that the world's last Hindu monarchy will be abolished swiftly after final results from landmark polls gave the ultra-leftist party a resounding victory.
"The first meeting of the constituent assembly will definitely end the monarchy and there will not be any compromise," Maoist leader Prachanda said yesterday.
Nepal's former Maoist rebels emerged triumphant as the largest party in the country's new parliament this week, signalling they would work with the traditional political parties which they routed.
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists) will win just under 220 seats in the 601-member assembly, taking half the 240 constituencies and a third of the 335 seats allocated under proportional representation.
The cabinet will nominate a further 26 members of the assembly, which will write a new constitution and end the 240-year-old monarchy. The ruling Nepali Congress party and mainstream communist parties will each hold 100 seats.
Maoist chairman, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, a charismatic former guerrilla known as Prachanda, is likely to become prime minister.
Although the Maoists will be dominant, they cannot rule alone, and talks have begun with the established parties.
The leadership has also met the country's business community to assuage fears that they would embark on a program of nationalisation.
The Maoists also appear to be quietly shelving their election pledge to abolish Gurkha recruitment in the British and Indian armies.
There are 3500 Gurkha soldiers in the British Army, which recruits 250 men a year from villages in Nepal.
"[It] was in the manifesto but the immediate concern is forming a government," said Maoist spokesman Dinanath Sharma.
Most pressing is the ending of the monarchy and integrating 25,000 People's Liberation Army troops into Nepal's armed forces.
The party is also positioning itself as a champion of social justice, with its student wing taking to the streets to demand free education until the age of 15.
"Ultimately, we will have to fight with the Indian army. That is the situation. Therefore, we have to take into account the Indian army. When the Indian army comes in with thousands and thousands of soldiers, it will be a very big thing. But we are not afraid of the Indian Army because, in one way, it will be a very good thing. They will give us lots of guns. And lots of people will fight them. This will be a national war. And it will be a very big thing. They will have many difficulties intervening. It will not be so easy for them. But if they stupidly dare...they will dare, they will be compelled. They will do that stupidity. We have to prepare for that. And for that reason we are saying we will also need a particular international situation. And for us this has to do mainly with India, Indian expansionism. When there is an unstable situation in India and a strong mass base there in support of People's War in Nepal and there are contradictions within the Indian ruling class-at that point we can seize, we can establish and declare that we have base areas, that we have a government." ----Prachanda, the Nepalese Maoist leader in an interview to a Latin American journalist. Please see my article titled "THE MAOISTS OF NEPAL: Three perspectives" dated July 13,2001, at http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers3/paper277.html
The new situation signals three likely developments. First, Nepal’s rocky and troubled path to democracy since 1990 is unlikely to end, with the polls marking only the newest chapter in a blemished experiment.
Second, India’s relationship with Nepal is set to become more complicated, with little progress likely on addressing Indian security concerns or harnessing hydropower reserves for mutual benefit. And third, the Maoists’ hard part comes now on the twin issues of governance and Constitution framing.
Those who sought to bring about a revolution by chipping away at state institutions are being called upon to reverse state atrophy. It won’t be easy for them to embrace what the situation demands — consensus building. If anything, they are likely to make India a convenient scapegoat for their failures in office.
Despite its proverbial aversion to hard decisions, India is left with no soft options. An openborder policy is sustainable only if India moves its security perimeter to the Nepalese frontier with Tibet.The onus must be placed on the Maoists to show through actions that the government they lead deserves sustained Indian aid, or else these revolutionaries will take Indian aid and also damn India.
Then politicians in states bordering Nepal, which would be the first to be destabilized by Maoist activity, should vociferously raise the issue of UPA inaction with their voters. Because those voters have a lot to lose if the places where they live become destabilized.G Subramaniam wrote:The NDA would have approved coup]
UPA will oppose coup since the maoists are pets of EJs and commies
Not true, Lalu used to patronise naxal factions led by yadavsSanjay M wrote:Then politicians in states bordering Nepal, which would be the first to be destabilized by Maoist activity, should vociferously raise the issue of UPA inaction with their voters. Because those voters have a lot to lose if the places where they live become destabilized.G Subramaniam wrote:The NDA would have approved coup]
UPA will oppose coup since the maoists are pets of EJs and commies
This is exactly the wrong thing to do -- allowing outside powers to enter Nepal will be facilitated by such a scheme.There is a need to bifurcate Nepal. Some Nepalese are pro-India, and some are anti-India and pose a grave threat to us.
The Indo-Nepal treaty has an economic angle - pro nepalMalay wrote:Could some one here give a rundown on the Indo-Nepal friendship treaty?
What does it have that makes it unfair for the Nepalese? And would renegotiating it be good or bad? What would be the result? Is it in our interests?