Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

[Stan_Savljevic]

The meeting held between the heads of the Nepali Congress, Unified Maoists and the United Marxist Leninists’ have come to a conclusion that the current political dispute will end only after the Dashain Festival. Thus they have agreed to disagree for some time until festivals come to an end.

The NC President Girija Prasad Koirala, UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal and Maoists’ Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal until late night September 21, 2009, held discussions over the Maoists’ raised demands to restore Civilian Supremacy yet could not come to a final conclusion.

The Maoists are not taking this course because they know they don't have the numerical strength, of two-thirds, in the 601-strong Constituent Assembly (which also acts as the interim parliament). Instead, they resorted to the controversial, although not unprecedented, method of stalling house business. Maoist members of the house, however, have not stopped collecting their allowances, even when they are not working.

The main task of the Constituent Assembly is to draw up a republican constitution to replace the present one, by the end of May 2010. Progress is visibly slow, and not only due to Maoist activities. Inside the house, members are squabbling over the basis for creating federal units, official languages of the republic - and a move for legislative control of the judiciary, something unacceptable to all except the Maoists.

Last week, a question was raised about the national flag, which, some said, does not represent inclusiveness. "Are the sun and the moon, depicted on the flag, giving light and shine to all ethnic communities without discrimination?" said Ganesh Pandit, who once worked as a member of parliament after the democratic restoration of 1990. Time, energy and resources are being wasted recklessly, accentuating the concerns of Nepal's friends and donors.
....
The interim constitution has a provision to extend the life of the assembly up to six months in the event the country is placed under a state of emergency. There could be an attempt to invoke this provision as some of the members may be tempted to retain the perks and privileges they enjoy. There is also a premonition of a "political accident" which could nullify the democratic gains made since 2006. The feared "accident" may result in presidential rule with the help of the army. Another possible option is direct rule by the army. Kamal Thapa, head of a pro-monarchist party, appears hopeful of even the restoration of the kingship. His party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal, has four seats in the 601-member assembly.

The reaction of Nepal's immediate - as well as more distant - neighbors might be interesting should it be placed under another form of transition. Those placing importance on stability and order might not object. And those who are averse to seeing the Maoist phenomenon spreading in South Asia also may look at the development favorably.

[SSridhar]

Koirala slams Prachanda for favouring Presidential System

Warning against any move to “disintegrate” the country while delineating its federal structure, the Nepali Congress, a key constituent of the ruling coalition, today slammed former Nepalese Prime Minister, Prachanda, for favouring a presidential system.

“Various models of federal structures have been suggested by many but while delineating the country’s federal structure it should not lead to disintegration,” Nepali Congress chief Girija Prasad Koirala said, adding “any one who wants to disintegrate the country will have to pass over my dead body”.

He said he would not compromise on the issue of national sovereignty and integrity while deciding about the federal structure of Nepal.

“I have also talked to leaders from India, China and other international community on the matter. Nepal can learn from three democracies in the world — USA, Britain and India, the largest democracy,” Mr. Koirala said, while releasing a book on the history of Nepali Congress here.

However, the British model or the Westminster model of democracy is most suitable for Nepal, the NC chief said, adding he had also talked to Prachanda in this regard and that the Maoist chief preferred the same.

Now he is talking about the presidential system. I told him why is he making contradictory remarks, Mr. Koirala said.

I asked him “when you have already accepted the parliamentary type of democracy, why are you talking about the presidential system now,” he said. {His Cinese masters are prompting him}

So far as republic system is concerned there is no debate among the parties on this issue, he pointed out.

[Stan_Savljevic]

I asked him “when you have already accepted the parliamentary type of democracy, why are you talking about the presidential system now,” he said. {His Cinese masters are prompting him}

Even without the chini prompting, prachanda's game plan would be to favor the prez. system. Remember in Nepal, GP Koirala commands little if no respect, at least not enough to win in a presidential form. Sujata Koirala is seen as a dummy. Nor will any of the other folks such as the CPN-ML's Khanal or the MJF folks. There is massive infighting in all the parties except the maoists who are clear that status quo is not what they want. In such a game, prachanda will clearly come first (not enough for a 50% majority) only because nepalese have a zero credible choice. In a runoff, prachanda will eat GPK or anyone else for lunch and dinner. That was essentially the reason why the maoists came first in the elections, some also say widespread threat of violence played a major role, but some say people were sick and tired of all the idiots and voted for the new idiots on the block hoping that at least the new idiots will do better than it seemed like. If there is another multi-party election now, it is anyone's guess how the maoists will fare. Given this, it may be fun to fantasize a presidential form from India's viewpoint because Baburam Bhattarai and GPK could hunt each other now instead of fighting for the common good.

PS: Current PM Madhav Kumar Nepal lost twice and had to be nominated to the maha-panchayat so that he could hold the PM slot. All in the game.... His writ does nt extend even within Kathmandu, at least Karzai's writ runs in Kabul. One minister went to speak in a graduation day ceremony and maoists posing as graduands heckled him and the police had no clue what to do.

[SSridhar]

Prachanda's Inteview

How is your relation with India after resignation? You met the Indian ambassador on Thursday?

We made it clear while resigning that we won’t bow down to any regressive, feudal elements of the country and foreign powers that try to dictate to us.

It’s true that India played a positive role in bringing a change in Nepal by helping us sign the 12-point agreement. But in the later stage, there were some confusions and gaps. At this point, what I feel is India wants a consensus built in Nepal so that the peace process successfully ends.

Through my meetings with the Indian ambassador and other Indian leaders, intellectuals, and journalists I see a large group of Indians who believe that the Maoists should not be isolated but should be in the government to actively contribute to the constitution drafting and peace process. I feel the government of India is also positive about seeing our peace process end successfully.

Is the Maoists’ relation with India — that had been cold earlier — improving?

Yes, I feel it’s improving slowly.

Does India want the Maoists to take the lead?

Our talks haven’t reached there but probably we will talk about it. At the moment, we are trying to forge a consensus in the country and we hope our foreign friends including India will support us.

[kittoo]

How did this did not yet got posted here?

Extend Tibet railway line to Kathmandu, Nepal tells China

http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20091012/12 ... thman.html

In a demand that may have strategic geopolitical implications for India, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has asked China to extend the Beijing-Lhasa railway line to Kathmandu.

"The economic ties between Nepal and China could be taken to a new height if the railway line that has reached up to Lhasa from mainland China could be extended up to Kathmandu, and economic infrastructure could be developed on the Himalayan transit points between Nepal and China,"Prime Minister Nepal noted.

The 1956 km long Qinghai-Tibet railway is a high altitude line that connects Xining in Qinghai to Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous region. This railway is the first to connect China proper with the remote Tibetan region.

Nepal is committed not to allow anti-China activity from its soil, the Prime Minister said. "I would like to assure our Chinese friends to become assured on behalf of Nepal that the Himalayan republic will not allow any anti-China activities on its soil," he said, inaugurating the Chinese cultural festival in Kathmandu on Saturday.

Nepal is fully committed to the One China policy and that the basis of Nepal-China relations is the Panchasheel or the five principle of peaceful coexistence, he said.

The Nepalese people cherish the generous and important cooperation that China has been providing Nepal, he pointed out and added that the present government wished to further expand and strengthen the bilateral relations between Nepal and China.

Prachanda leaves for Beijing talks

Kathmandu: Amid their determined bid to dislodge the CPN-UML led Nepalese government, Maoist chief Prachanda left for China on Sunday along with top party leaders for high-level political consultations.

Prachanda left for Beijing on a weeklong visit along with hardliner leader Mohan Vaidya, the party's foreign bureau chief Krishna Bahadur Mahara and his son Prakash Dahal at the invitation of the Communist Party of China.

Analysts have termed as significant Prachanda's visit to China which is taking place at a time when Nepal's political deadlock has reached its climax. Prachanda is scheduled to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao, who is also the general secretary of the ruling Communist party and other senior leaders. PTI

India is loosing her China battle fast.

[SSridhar]

China visit was important: Prachanda

Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” said his weeklong visit to China was important in improving relations between the two countries.

“It was an important visit in many ways strengthening two parties’ relation[s] as well as the relation[s] of the two countries,” said Mr. Dahal on Monday. He went there on a Communist Party of China’s invitation last week.

Mr. Dahal met Chinese President Hu Jintao, leaders of the party and government officials and discussed Nepal’s peace process and the process of constitution writing among other issues.

Mr. Dahal said China was ready to help Nepal in these processes.

The Chinese side, he said, had security concerns about Tibet. The Tibetan refugees living in Nepal carry out frequent protests in Kathmandu demanding a free Tibet. Nepal maintains One-China policy and controls any anti-China activity that takes place here.

Meanwhile to a question about India’s reported dissatisfaction about his visit, the Maoist Chairman said India need not take the visit negatively as his party adopts the policy of maintaining “equidistance” with both China and India.

“If India invites us [Maoists] to discuss our peace process and the constitution-drafting task, we will certainly take it positively,” he said.

[negi]

I think we should not be surprised with the way events have turned out in Nepal ; that country has been neglected like any other remote corner of India by the GOI (thanks to our foreign policy). It is a no brainier that more than empty rhetoric,culture or other symbolic tokenism development of local infrastructure and speedy implementation of the same keeps the other party interested. China after having displayed the will and capability to connect Tibetan plateau with Chinese mainland definitely is a more assertive and reliable player when compared to India from Nepal's perspective.

Here Nepal-China Relations

And India on the other hand although provides more aid to Nepal and has trade relations that go back to ages , looses a substantial money to fake Indian currency being pumped in by ISI which is facilitated by Maoists supported from Beijing.

But then GOI as usual has higher priorities in mind instead of courting and talking Prachanda into a compromise and asking him to reign in his Maoist comrades, GOI yaps about restoring democracy and and similar mindless rabble.

Fwiw Nepal: Export of fake currency

[Stan_Savljevic]

Updates on the nepal axis:
1) GoI seems to have brought back the storm in a tea-cup raised by Prachanda's china visit to a closed circle. The most recent visitor to India to resolve the current imbroglio is Jhalnath Khanal, CPN (ML) president. Over the past few days, unbeknownst to posters who whine on this thread and Indians at large, the prominent nepali visitors to India include K.P.Oli, Bidya Devi Bhandari, Surya Bahadur Thapa, Upendra Yadav, J.P.Gupta, Pasupati Rana among others. That was before Sujata Koirala and her father met with Rakesh Sood, the Indian ambassador in Nepal.
2) While ToI created another little storm in a tea-cup wrt the chini funding close to the Indian border, what it failed to mention was that this region is the bastion of the Madhes people who have more than a blood-link to India. What it also failed to mention was that in contrast to much else, this was a chini reactionary move to Injun akshun of funding and supporting infra projects in the Mustang region, where the Khampa rebellion against chini commie-waadis was proactively taken up by GoI and CIA in the mid 60s. GoI and GoN have an agreement wherein India can invest close to 1b$ of cash anywhere it chooses to in Nepal, and India chose the Mustang region bordering Tibet .
3) The maoists seem to have taken the mud from the ground and firmly applied it on their foreheads. With the P. Jha and civilian supremacy issues slowly losing sting except with their most vociferous cadre, maoists are looking for a face-saver of sorts. Unfortunately, Shri Madhav Ku. Nepal, the current PM knows how to hunt with the foxes that are the maoists. And MKN's (not the MKN that is the fancy of one admin here , but the nepali PM) ascencion to the PM seat was a move engineered by Rakesh Sood & co.
4) Prez Ram Baran Yadav and new DPM Sujata Koirala have firmly backed the army chief to add more troops to the Nepali army. The agreement signed with the UN, by the maoists and the army, forbade such a move. But Prachanda disclosed himself in a meeting long back that he artificially boosted the number of maoist insurgents to get more cash and have more power to wield. In reaction to such bullshit, GoN chose to act and GoI, which supported that agreement chose to turn the other side .

In a few days: Tihar and Dashain festivals are done, and all the sound and fury that GP Koirala and PK Dahal promised have come and gone. PK Dahal in fact has pushed his son Prakash Dahal to the forefront of the maoist politbureau, much to the distrust and dissension of folks at the top.

In a short while: Constitution making deadline will get softly extended after the maoists get dumped from the reckoning. The maoists will indulge in threats much like they have done before. The MKN-led govt is more wiser and most folks are just asking the maoists to bring it on. The maoists'-current partner, the Upendra Yadav-led Madhes Janadhikar Forum has also threatened some violence in the border areas, but expect things to pass on just fine. UY is a chameleon of the worst kind.

Moral, if there is one that is: Even the maoist propagandoo machinery is whining about colonial mindset of GoI. From the halycon days of how bade bhai chinis are waiting to show them love, go figure . Unfortunately, this forum, as well as the country at large, are no wiser about what GoI can do or will do. After all, dont self-professed jingoes have the right to indulge in calling people by any name they choose?!

[Anabhaya]

Excellent synopsis Stan.

The Maoists not being armed anymore (Weapons locked away in UN monitored centres!) have now only Gandhigiri to resort to:
Maoists announce blockade of Kathmandu valley, international airport

Defanged, and brought into the political process.

[Kanson]

Stan, the way you put things to perspective is simply admirable, whether in bangla thread or lanka or here.

If there is any good use of this forum more voices like yours are to heard.

[sum]

Moral, if there is one that is: Even the maoist propagandoo machinery is whining about colonial mindset of GoI. From the halycon days of how bade bhai chinis are waiting to show them love, go figure . Unfortunately, this forum, as well as the country at large, are no wiser about what GoI can do or will do. After all, dont self-professed jingoes have the right to indulge in calling people by any name they choose?!

Amazing post, sir...

Thankfully, things aren't as gloomy on the Nepal front as we were led to believe..

[Anabhaya]

Remember the guy running our affairs in Katmandu is a Sood!

[negi]

Unfortunately, this forum, as well as the country at large, are no wiser about what GoI can do or will do. After all, dont self-professed jingoes have the right to indulge in calling people by any name they choose?!

Nice so the whole post was about this ?

Now can we have the names of the members and posts in question highlighted ? Else how are you different from those who call names or pass blanket statements without substantiating their allegations ? And I wonder the reason for so much specially when the latter have been dealt by the mods from time to time .

[Stan_Savljevic]

Nice so the whole post was about this ? Now can we have the names of the members and posts in question highlighted ? Else how are you different from those who call names or pass blanket statements without substantiating their allegations ? And I wonder the reason for so much specially when the latter have been dealt by the mods from time to time .

Yes and no. I dont indulge in threads I dont know much about. I dont have opinions about things based on a surface-level understanding of the issues. Not like I claim to understand everything now, but point being I dont assume that Yindia is doomed because I dont know the details. If I still have to have an opinion, I will anyday trust the patriots in the babu world even if you never hear any of them day-in day-out. Most do their jobs silently without even bothering if brf exists or not, sorry to burst the jingostic balloon right there. Brf is just one tiny microcosm of make-believe, I dont have a sky-high opinion of anything here, but thats just me. Plus, the forum at large and many a senior poster and admin has indulged in this, so this stuff about "blanket statements" and ":((" etc make zero sense. All one has to do is understand the forum politics and dynamics. I have enough common sense and comprehension of anglais to make this giant leap of a statement, so dont expect me to withdraw any line in any post above.

I am an extreme in the sense that I like to think of myself as a super-optimist, not thump my chest and whine about how mother Yindia is getting sold everyday by its traitorous politicians and leaders. I dont want everyone (or anyone) to be like me, but dont blame me if I get irritated at the pessimism and fatalistic attitude of Indians at large. It is no fun and some serious re-evaluation of forum politics is in order. While it is easier to thump the chest, reality is more nuanced and forgive me if I believ that much of this forum as well as the media in this country is bakwaas.

[Stan_Savljevic]

US Charge d’ Affaires Mr. Jeffrey Moon called on Maoist Chairperson Mr. Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda at the latter’s residence in Nayabazar, Kathmandu, today, 28 October, 2009.

Apparently, Prachanda was told to cut down his rhetorical war where he has demanded MKN to resign from the PMship and that too before Nov 1, or else the Maoists will launch another war .

Earlier, Mr. Moon had called on Nepalese Congress (NC) leader Mr. Ramchandra Poudel, 27 October, 2009, wherein they both apparently discussed the ongoing political deadlock in the country and also on the internal turmoil that NC is undergoing through of late. Mr. Moon is leaving soon upon completion of his Nepal tenure.

Sonia Gandhi and former king Gyanendra set to meet sometime soon . CT-ists in Nepal are indulging that this will result in the King's comeback and doomsday scenarios have started floating around, mostly pushed by the Maoists.

[Stan_Savljevic]

Recent developments, taken from Maoist propagandu outlets...

PM Madhav Ku. Nepal opened the Manmohan Memorial Polytechnic Institute that has been established with an assistance of NRs.46 Crores from the Government of India under India-Nepal Economic Cooperation Programme on the request of Government of Nepal. Amb. Rakesh Sood attended the opening ceremony. The institute is named after Manmohan Adhikary.

The United Marxist Leninists’ Chairman Jhalnath Khanal is heading to New Delhi on Nov 3 at the invitation of the government of India. During his meeting with the Indian leadership in New Delhi, Mr. Khanal will primarily discuss issues related to the ongoing protests organized by the Unified Maoists party and the constitution drafting process, say reports. Reports quote UML sources as saying that Mr. Khanal while in New Delhi will meet the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Man Mohan Singh, Indian Congress Party Chairwoman Sonia Gandhi, Pranab Mukherjee-Finance Minister, S.M. Krishna- Foreign Minister, Defense Minister A.K. Anthony and P. Chidambaram-Home Minister and main opposition leader Mr. Lal Krishna Advani. Khanal is scheduled to return home November 9, 2009. {A long trip by any means, esp given the next report, which just means that CPN-ML does not consider the current bakwaas by the CPN-M as anything serious.}

The second day of the Maoists’ second round of protest programs on Nov 2 saw the Maoists’ party cadres padlocking some of the Municipality Secretariats across the country. The Maoists’ cadres also gheraoed the local administrative offices across the country and halted official work throughout the day. The party cadres staged sit in protests in front of Municipality Offices, District Administration Offices and Village Development Committee Offices across the country blocking the government staffs from entering their offices.

The Maoists’ cadres had gathered at the front gate of the Kathmandu Municipality office located in front of the Nepal Army Headquarters, Tripureshwor, Kathmandu. Similarly, the Unified Maoists Party cadres captured the Dhankuta Municipality and the surrounding VDCs and declared the names of the new Peoples’ Representatives including the Municipality chief.

Chief of Army Staffs (CoAS) Chhatra Man Singh Gurung has returned to the capital on Sunday after completing his week long visit to Hawaii, United States. According to a statement issued by Directorate of Public Relations, Nepal Army, Gurung was in Hawaii to attend the gathering of the Chiefs of Defence (CHoD) from around the world. Acting army chief Toran Jung Bahadur Singh received Gurung at the airport.

[Stan_Savljevic]

Khanal met with the main opposition leader Mr. Lal Krishna Advani at his personal residence. “He was of the opinion that the fresh protests sponsored by the Unified Maoists’ Party would further complicate the ongoing Nepal’s peace process”, Khanal quoted Advani as saying. The UML chairman who has so far miserably failed to keep his party in order and discipline also met with the Indian Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee. “Mr. Mukherjee criticized the Unified Maoists’ Party for organizing protest programs”, Khanal is quoted as saying by one of the media. The Indian Foreign Secretary Mrs. Nirupama Rao threw a lavish a Luncheon in honor of Mr. Khanal at Hotel Taj. Media sources quote Indian leaders as expressing their disappointment over the fresh remark made by one of the Maoists leaders that the Maoists of Nepal had the support to the outlawed Maoists’ party of India.

Adding fuel to the fire, the Unified Maoists’ Party politburo member and the central secretariat member Mr. C.P Gajurel has said that, “If the Maoists in India are to succeed, not only in Nepal but the Maoists in the entire globe will rejoice their victory. There is no question not to support the Maoists in India if they emerge with flying colors finally.”

Finally FWIW, rumor time on why Prachanda resigned

The fact is that PM Prachanda, as the rumors had it then, was being hard pressed by the Chinese authorities to sign a similar treaty with China what the Indians had been demanding from Nepal. Prachanda just wanted to avoid this treaty signing-in ceremony in Beijing and thus the controversy of Katwal was brought to the fore to send a subtle message to China that things have gone upside down in Nepal and thus the Treaty could not be signed for the time being. Minister Shanker Pokhrel made such revelations just last week while talking to some media men in his home district-Dang.

But Maoist vice chairman Baburam Bhattarai and even Prachanda make the statement about civilian supremacy and the Katwad episode the clincher...

Bhattarai further said the priority of this agitation was to make Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) agree on the fundamental issues of "civilian supremacy". He also conceded it was a mistake not to include Nepali Congress in the Maoist-led government last year. {:rotfl: This is the NC-CPNM chai-biskoot's consequence, but GPK and his daughter Sujata have an internal tussle to capture the fiefdom... read the last report for that.}

Had we included NC in the government then, the nation's politics would have moved with consensus and present crisis would have been averted, Bhattarai said. Defending allegations that the Maoists had instigated ethnic and caste-based conflict, Bhattarai said his party's policy was wrongly explained and perceived by the public.

We have not said the federal units should be carved out based on ethnicity or caste, all we have said is the units should be named from the community dominant in a particular area, said Bhattarai, citing examples that the party had been calling for Magarat state, and not a Magar state or a Limbuwan state and not a Limbu state. {This is chai-biskoot to Upendra Yadav, who is also in the opposition and whose main plank is to form a One Madhesh state for the Madhes people.}

As a consequence, Prachanda-uvacha

Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has claimed that his party will be in power very soon. Speaking to reporters at Bhandrapur airport in Jhapa Wednesday, Dahal said the Unified CPN (Maoist) was going to come to power either through dialogue or as the result of the ongoing protest movement.

The Maoist strongman further said the talks with the parties and the protest programmes would go simultaneously until a solution to the current stalemate comes out.

And finally, the internal tussle in NC

Nepali Congress Mahasamiti meeting has concluded in Kathmandu Wednesday evening approving a statute that largely limits the authority of party president. The Mahasamiti has decided to elect about 75 percent of the 85-member Central Working Committee (CWC) from general convention. Informing journalists about the provisions on the amended statute NC leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula said, 61 CWC members will be elected by the general convention with 25 from open contest, one each from 14 zones, and 22 from reserved quotas. In the reserved quota, six seats has been allocated for women, five for Dalits, five for ethnic communities, five for Madhesis and one for Muslim. Likewise, the general convention will directly elect the president, a general secretary and a treasurer.

The party president will have the authority to propose to the elected CWC 21 members and three officials. The president will propose candidates for the position of a vice president, a general secretary and a deputy general secretary from among the elected CWC members, and the elected CWC members will approve the nominations. Likewise, the president will propose 21 CWC members with at least one representative each from women, Dalit, Madhesi, Muslim and ethnic communities to the elected CWC. In the present statute, the president has the authority to nominate 50 percent of the CWC members and all officials.

According to the amended statute, the Mahasamiti will now have five elected members with at least one woman from each constituency. The general convention will have 12 elected representatives from each constituency. The amended statute will be tabled at the general convention of the party to be organised after some months for final approval. This is the first time NC has scrapped the presidential system it had been following since over half a century. Party president Girija Prasad Koirala had strived not to change the leadership model till the last moment. He had urged the Mahasamiti members not to scrap the presidential system as it was the very identity of the party {which can further be engendered after his demise by the takeover of Sujata as the de jure leader } during his inaugural speech of the Mahasamiti meeting. Earlier, Koirala had strongly opposed the idea of calling the Mahasamiti meeting itself.

The approved statute draft is not one of the three options proposed by the drafts committee led by Sitaula. A new draft was proposed to find a middle path among the Mahasamiti members. Most of the Mahasamiti members had spoken for the option with a provision to elect 80 percent of the CWC members and all the officials directly from the general convention. The adjustment was made to accommodate the views of leaders including and supporting acting president Sushil Koirala. NC leaders Sher Bahadur Deuba, Sushil Koirala and Krishna Sitaula had shuttled between the Mahasamiti venue in Kamaladi and Koirala’s residence in Maharajgunj, Wednesday, to finalise the draft after Mahasamiti members asked the leaders to come up with a new proposal.

[Stan_Savljevic]

Some of the most important issues on the agenda of India, vis-a-vis Nepal:

1) Extradition treaty that is exclusive to India-nepal so that there are no parallels wrt pak-e-satan or china. Important to keep track of jehadis and splittists who come from the periphery.
2) Fencing the porous border in many parts without compromising Terai-Uttarakhand symbiosis or India-nepal exports going down. Its a big decision that has been taken after much thought and fencing will eventually be good provided that it does nt force the nepalis to sell out to the chinis. After BD fencing, fencing along the nepal axis will be taken up by the BRO with security provided by ITBP.
3) Discarding the useful idiots a la the maoists from the system. As Paul long time back said, the Indian establishment used the mao-pests to cut down Gyanendra to size. Paras, as a roadside romeo, was never in the big picture, ever. The mao-pests utility is over and it is time to wring their hands and throw em down the sharda river. The death throes shall get more vocal, but India is playing the cards well enough for the time being.
4) Framing the new Constitution on time and finding internal democrazy with factions like CPN-ML, NC, MJF, nepali army (yes, you heard it right) etc. being the stakeholders. Triangularization is the past --- army, king + maha-panchayat. King has no more role and transforming the "Hindu"-kingdom to make it a secular state is (was) a compromise played to cut down the king, who was seen as an incarnation of Vishnu, and who kept dallying and playing the chini-card to size.
5) Not talked about at all except for occasional exercepts from saag and idsa-material is the export of maoism from nepal to bhutan. Bhutan has thrown away (as in dis-enfranchised) these pests who are close cousins (both ethnically as well as ideologically) of the nepali mao-pests. Bhutan has refused to take them as refugees either. Many of these folks are being re-settled in US, Germany and canada. But quite a few are refusing to leave. It is the mao-pest plan to create dissension to King Jigme Dorje Wangchuk and ripen the process of people's war. JSW's abdication in 2005 and the rise of JDW, along with experimenting on microscopic democracy, are to be seen in this context. GNH (gross national happiness) can be an argument that can keep the oldies in check, but Bhutan is seeing internal cataclysms unmentioned anywhere in the media.
6) The goal of the mao-pests is to create a second red zone around the Siliguri corridor/Chicken neck area. KLO falls neatly in this grand-plan. Sikkim and bhutan and connecting with the current red zones in India are long-term plans. It is time to destroy the nepali maoists much before their plan even takes the forefront in any sense. There can only be one winner in this battle and this calls for maoist destruction, in any form and any sense. Liquidation of maoist assets, materials, not to mention the subjects is necessary to ensure that we dont fight a four-pronged ideological/material battle.
7) Melting of himalayan glaciers + global warming + poverty alleviation in nepal.
8 ) Reclaiming Tibet by opening axes from the Mustang region, in the long run, if we have a suitable govt in nepal, this is bound to happen. But for that, as a first step the maoists need to be liquidated. But the maoists are scoring own goals themselves, and we need to assist the disenchantment of the aam aadmi nepalis with the maoists. So any big-time buffoonery, short of serious action by the maoists, at this stage should be helpful for us. Slowly but steadily, the nepali army which has tactically retreated from the civil war will have to restart the fight. It is bound to happen, the nepali army has a longer memory than people credit it for.

[Paul]

Stan, thanks for the excellent summary. The whinefest on this thread and the refusal of some of the posters to coolly analyze the situation sometimes makes me wonder why BRF is considered to be a serious forum for debating India and it's security interests.

We probably take ourselves too seriously.

[Stan_Savljevic]

But the extradition treaty and the new mutual legal assistance treaty that India has been asking Nepal to sign for almost six years will still have to wait. Though the text is ready, Nepal’s caretaker government is not ready to sign it under pressure from the Maoists as well as other parties, who are calling for consensus on the issue first. The pact is likely to remain on hold till Nepal drafts a new constitution in May, which is expected to be followed by a general election to choose a new government.

At the end of bilateral security talks between India and Nepal, Indian home secretary G K Pillai on Saturday indicated that terrorism – and not Maoist activities – remained India’s main concern in Nepal. The security situation in South Asia remained the main thrust of the two-day talks in Kathmandu, the home secretary told TNN, with both India and Nepal realising that cross-border terrorism needed to be stopped by mutual cooperation. Pillai said that he hadn’t discussed the Maoist militancy in India with his Nepali counterpart Dr Govinda Prasad Kusum, indicating that ISI-sponsored terrorism was the prime concern though he did not refer to the Pakistani intelligence agency directly.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 207001.cms

Having failed to reach a consensus on condemning the action of the President, the Maoists have taken to the streets. On November 3rd, they picketed the seat of the government- the "Singha Durbar" as also the administrative offices ( DAOs across the country.) Their programme for a fortnight includes public boycott of meetings attended by the President, the Prime minister, the government officials and non cooperation in all activities relating to the government. Their attempt for the present, is to disrupt the daily schedule of government offices across the country.

Kathmandu valley witnessed thousands of Maoist cadres participating in the protest programmes. The agitation was peaceful and despite the promise of the Maoists, the protest programme may turn violent any time. Few believe Prachanda when he declared in one of his meetings at Biratmode on 5th of November, that the present agitation is not for forming a new government but for establishing civilian supremacy.

It is now realised too late in the day that in the government they had formed earlier, they should have brought the Nepali Congress into the government rather than making them the opposition. They could have according to them avoided the present conflict.

The whole idea appears to be to intimidate the present Madhav Nepal government to cave in and leave the Maoists to come back to power. This, I hope, is understood by all non Maoist political parties and the UN.

Finally, the senior members of the Nepali Congress after a lot of hesitation made bold to clip the wings of the President as in the present structure, the President is too powerful and could run the party as an autocrat as he sometimes does. When the Mahasamiti was in session, three senior members, met the present president G.P. Koirala and explained to him the changes they intend to make primarily to make the party structure and the central committee, more representative and more democratic. It is said that G.P. pleaded with them not to weaken the post of the President at the time when Nepal is facing a political crisis.

Yet the Samiti ( November 1 to 3) went through with their proposals but with a little compromise. Now 75 percent of the 85 member of the central committee will be elected (compared with 50 percent) and the president will recommend a vice President, one of the two general secretaries, and a joint secretary. The decisions of the Mahasamiti will come into effect from March next year when the party’s general convention would meet and endorse the proposals.

It is time the senior and aged Nepali Congress leaders leave the field open to youngsters like Gagan Thapa, Ram Hari Khahwada, Chandra Bhandari, Badri Narsing Kc and only they have the stamina to confront a better organised and disciplined party like that of the Maoists.

Will need to track these youngistan-brigade also from now on....
http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cnot ... te550.html
With that background, here is some news...

The Unified Maoists’ Party vice president Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai held a meeting with the Nepali Congress President Mr. Girija Prasad Koirala at the latter’s residence in Maharajgunj, Kathmandu, November 6, 2009. The Maoists’ Party mouthpiece, the Janadisha Daily, reveals that during the meeting the NC President had hinted that some steps could be made towards correcting the unconstitutional decision of President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav was concerned. Dr. Bhattarai talking to Janadisha, dated November 7, 2009, revealed that Mr. Koirala had assured him that he will advise the government to take measures to correct the unconstitutional decision of the President.

First, the news comes from a mao-pest outlet. Second, GPK seems to be a man of his own on this issue. It is not even clear if GPK is pro- or against-maopest agenda on civ supremacy. In any case, does nt matter is my gut feeling for

The majority of the Nepali Congress leaders have so far rejected the proposition for correcting the President’s move which he took while reinstating the Unified Maoists’ Party led government sacked Nepal Army Chief Rukmangad Katawal.

Mao-pest akshun...

Though the Maoists party has kept their programs to impose blockade in Kathmandu and Gherao the Government secretariat respectively slated for November 10 and November 12-13, 2009 intact, a press release issued by the party November 6, 2009, states that the party has temporarily withdrawn the declaration of Federal States slated for November 9, 2009. The press release was issued by Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai, who is the chief of the Unified Uprising Committee of the Unified Maoists’ Party.

The press release asks all the government employees not to enter into the Government Secretariat, Singh Durbar on November 12-13, 2009. To add, the Unified Maoists’ Party Chief Mr. Pushpa Kamal Dahal talking to journalists in Ilam District Friday morning had also informed that his party had withdrawn the program for declaration of Autonomous Federal States.

Sometimes I feel constrained by brf because it lacks a giant rotfl symbol .

“The Maoists must forget the formation of a National Government under their leadership”, Khanal told the New Delhi gathering. Nevertheless, Khanal also maintained that his party was in favor of a government that included the Unified Maoists’ Party.

The following report will show why one should hardly react to politicians statements in nepal, just follow their akshuns...

Hardly have some days passed of K.P. Sharma Oli’s Dinner Diplomacy on November 3, 2009, which had ended with the major political forces of Nepal assuring the mass of their commitment to peace process and constitution drafting, the political actors have once again begun targeting each other for the ongoing political stalemate. Dinner diplomacy has thus gone to the dogs.

K.P. Sharma Oli, an influential UML leader who had hosted the dinner, inviting top politicos at his personal residence located in Balkot, Bhaktapur district, in his personal bid to end the current dispute, returned to his normal posture November 5, 2009 and began criticizing the Unified Maoists’ Party-one of the invitees at his dinner. Addressing a gathering in Banepa of Kavre District, Mr. Oli opined that it was Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the Unified Maoists’ Party chief, the then prime minister who had taken unconstitutional and immoral decision to sack the then Army Chief. He added, “The President’s steps to reappoint the Army Chief was not at all an unconstitutional move”.

If that was not a kick below the belt, the following surely is...

“The Maoists while in government were trying to impose a dictatorial regime that would have been harsher than the regime under the Shah Kings and the Rana Rulers”, Oli also reminded his listeners.

[Stan_Savljevic]

In need of constant updating, the movers and shakers in nepal.. I dont know if it will help others, but surely of help to me .
A major source of info is this: http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2009/m ... nepal2.php

1) CPN-ML: Madhav Kumar Nepal (current Pime Minister), Jhal Nath Khanal (CPN-ML chairman), KP Sharma Oli (senior leader), Bidya Devi Bhandari (current defence minister)
2) Ruling establishment-ists: Dr. Ram Baran Yadav (current president of Nepal), Parmanand Jha (former vice-president of Nepal whose oath-taking in Hindi caused an uproar and is now officially out-of-office as he refused to re-take the oath in Nepali), Chhatraman Gurung (current army chief), Bijaya Kumar Gacchedhar (former MJF member and currently deputy PM as a part of NC)
3) Nepali Congress: Girija Prasad Koirala (president of NC), Senior leaders: Sher Bahadur Deuba, Ram Chandra Paudel, Sushil Koirala, Sujata Koirala (GPK's daughter and current foreign minister), Gagan Thapa, Ram Hari Khahwada, Chandra Bhandari, Badri Narsing Kc (all part of youngistan brigade of NC)
4) Maoists: Pushpa Kumar Dahal (Chairman of CPN-M), Baburam Bhattarai (vice-president of CPN-M), Dev Gurung
5) Monarchists: Gyanendra (former king), Paras (son of Gyanendra and a major roadside romeo), Rookmangal Katwal (former army chief), Pashupati Sumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (president of pro-monarchist Rastriya Prajatantra Party), Surya Bahadur Thapa (former influential member of RPP and current president of Rastriya Janshakti Party)
6) Indian side: Rakesh Sood (Indian ambassador to Nepal), GK Pillai (Union Home Secretary)
7) Madhes Janadhikar Forum: Upendra Yadav (former Maoist and current chairman of MJF), Jay Prakash Gupta (former NC member who joined MJF recently), Mohammad Nasir Siddhique (leader of the Muslim faction of MJF)
8 ) Minor parties: MJF Madhesh (a splinter group of MJF) --- Bhagyanath Gupta, Kishor Kumar Bishwash, Ram Kumar Sharma, Jitendra Sonal, Nepal Sadbhavana Party --- Rajendra Mahato
9) China:

[Stan_Savljevic]

However, the most intriguing part of the ongoing India trips of the Nepali leaders being held one after another, is their meeting with the Indian National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan. Khanal also met Mr. Narayanan on Saturday, November 7, 2009. {the right smiley is from the Injun side and from the maoist side}

There is near unanimity in the political ranks inside India on what the course should be, just for the record... Just that the nuances vary from the right to the left.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has said that for the timely drafting of the constitution and logical conclusion of the peace process in Nepal, the support of the Unified Maoists’ Party was crucial. The BJP has however urged the Unified Maoists to withdraw its declared protest programs for the overall unity and institutionalizing peace in Nepal.

Further, the following piece should warm the cockles of some jingoes' hearts...

“The Indian expansionists do not want to see peace process end successfully here in Nepal”, Maoist leader Lilamani Pokharel said adding that “the present posture adopted by the government against the UN is solely designed by the Indian government. The design is to force out the UN from Nepal.” He also charged the RAW for designing a plot to derail the entire peace process.

But for the record, the 22-party coalition's response to this utter tripe is

Stating that they have been trying to bring in other parties to the government, including the UCPN (Maoists), the parties asked why the UN had not called for a national unity government when the Maoists were in power. "Forming a government is our task and not the UN, UNMIN or any international community," said Ram Chandra Poudel, the parliamentary party leader of main coalition partner Nepali Congress after the meeting.

The very next day, UN clarified UNSG's 'suggestion' as not an intervention in Nepal's internal politics. Talking to reporters in New York Friday, UN spokesperson Michele Montas said it was intended "to encourage Nepal's political parties to achieve what they themselves have expressed about the desirability of a unity Government and does not in any way represent a form of interference."

However, UNMIN chief Karen Landgren was more critical. Briefing the UNSC on Nepal's peace process the same day, Landgren accused Nepal's political parties of not being consistent with the commitments expressed in the peace agreements. She told the UNSC that the peace process in Nepal "faced a protracted deadlock, with added risk of confrontation" due to this. Landgren said that despite continuing efforts, the level of trust among the major parties continues to dwindle. She was particularly concerned about the Maoist protest programmes which she said "carry a significant risk of confrontation and violence" and stressed that there is urgent need to 'de-escalate' the tensions.

However, political observers believe that the dissatisfaction expressed by UNSG's top envoy in Nepal less than three months before UNMIN's term ends has only raised questions on UNMIN's future. But while admitting that UNMIN's mandate cannot go on indefinitely, Landgren told the UNSC that it is difficult "to plot a structured exit for the UNMIN until the parties establish a clearer framework for cooperation , and find ways of moving forward on major elements of the peace process".

In a counter, Nepal's envoy to UN Acharya made it clear that Nepal intends to conclude the tasks of UNMIN by Jan. 30, 2010 till when the UN Mission is mandated to remain in Nepal. "For that, the government of Nepal is committed to doing everything including reaching necessary political agreements required for the logical conclusion of the peace process," he said.

It could only be a coincidence but UNMIN's former boss Ian Martin was giving a lengthy - and to some extent revealing - talk at another venue in New York (excerpts of which was carried by Sunday's edition of the Kathmandu Post) the same day in which he basically asked whether the peace process in Nepal is failing; and if so, what needs to be done to save it. Claiming that he no longer speak for the UN on Nepal and was speaking "solely as a friend of Nepal", Martin claimed that the peace process [in Nepal] will not fail if certain fundamentals are addressed by the government as well as the UCPN (Maoist) and those were -- (A) Commitment to power-sharing and consensus; (B)Commitment of the Maoists to conform to democratic multi-party norms; (C) Commitment to transformation in the security sector; (D) Commitment to political, economic and social transformation; and "the fifth and last" (E) Commitment to address the needs of victims of the conflict.

Meanwhile, back in Nepal, Landgren's assessment that Maoists' protests carry a significant risk of escalation of violence in the country is coming true. Accusing the Maoists of violating the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) by starting their nationwide agitation, government ministers, particularly Defense Minister Bidya Devi Bhandari, who perhaps sowed the seed of renewed political confrontation with the Maoists by calling for the revision of the CPA to allow the Nepal Army to restart recruitment drive and buy ammunitions, has openly warned of army deployment to quell Maoist agitation if it turns violent and poses danger to civilian life.

And few days after the youth wings of ruling CPN-UML and main opposition UCPN (Maoist) clashed in some eastern Nepal districts district as the latter was organizing its nationwide protest programmes to uphold what they call 'civilian supremacy', Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Saturday warned that his party might not only declare autonomous states but also a parallel government if it has to wage third round of protests. At another program the same day, NC PP leader Poudel again accused United Nations and its mission in Nepal of 'preaching' and meddling in Nepal's internal affairs coming under the influence of the UCPN (Maoist). "UNMIN's duty is to follow its mandate and it should work towards it. It should stop preaching being carried away by the Maoist and improve itself first," Poudel said, and accused UNMIN of failing to properly verify and monitor the cantoned Maoist combatants. In this outburst of Poudel there was inherent gripe of the democratic parties towards UNMIN's perceived soft-spot for the UCPN (Maoist).

To add, GPK's days are a-numbered, both literally and figuratively. So it should not be surprising that Rakesh Sood & co are fine with both Sujata Koirala as well as the other three seniors of NC.

The health condition of Nepali Congress (NC) President Girija Prasad Koirala is ‘stable’ but he needs to refrain from meeting visitors to lower the chances of worsening his condition, doctors involved in the treatment of the octogenarian leader said on Sunday. The NC patriarch suffers from recurrent bouts of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or bronchitis, a disease of the lungs.

[Hari Seldon]

Nepal news roundup and commentary are great. Thank you, much appreciated.

[sushilkumar]

It provides very good analysis done by Stan_Savljevic. Thanks

[Stan_Savljevic]

Xpost relevant pieces of atimes report....

Dalai Lama at apex of Sino-Indian tensions

Dalai Lama at apex of Sino-Indian tensions ---- By Peter Lee
...........
Disappointed foreign journalists - deprived of the opportunity to observe the Dalai Lama sipping butter tea in calm defiance of the Chinese dragon - might as well instead journey a mere 640 kilometers westward to find the true epicenter of Sino-Indian tension: Kathmandu. The burgeoning crisis in Nepal - and the frantic competition between New Delhi and Beijing for influence in this volatile, nascent democracy cum impending failed state - has attracted remarkably little international attention.

Nepal is an independent country stretching across the Himalayas between India and China. Predominantly Hindu, it is a major destination for Tibetans fleeing China. How many Tibetans reside in Nepal is unknown. While 30,000 are officially registered, thousands more entered the country after 1989 illegally. At the same time, the Nepalese government has bowed to Chinese pressure and began to refuse asylum to Tibetan refugees. The Tibetans - and the Nepalese government - aroused China's displeasure in 2008 when Nepal's capital of Kathmandu was rocked by angry anti-Chinese demonstrations in the aftermath of the June unrest. An unexpected turn of political events provided China with a much more enthusiastic Nepalese partner just in time to harass Tibetan anti-Olympic demonstrators in August of the same year.

India's Foreign Minister, Shyam Saran - the same Saran who was architect of India's alliance with the Bush administration - decided to do something about Nepal's independent-minded but ineffective monarchy, which was not only floundering in its attempts to suppress an extensive Maoist insurgency but also buying arms from China in the process. Saran midwifed an alliance of the Maoist insurgents and disaffected Kathmandu insiders that toppled the king and brought Nepal's 240-year old monarchy to an end.

But then, in a shocking development that neither Saran nor Nepal's self-styled revolutionary vanguard likely expected, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) - instead of becoming a marginalized junior partner destined for disarmament and irrelevance in a pro-Indian regime of cooperative Kathmandu fat cats - carried the day in the parliamentary elections and won enough seats to form the government with its chairman, Prachanda as prime minister.

The Nepalese Maoists, despite their name, are not allies of the CCP. They are ideologically closer to US Marxist Robert Avakian and Peru's Shining Path than Hu Jintao and the CCP (which had been supplying Nepal's King Gyanendra with weapons to fight them and which they describe as "revisionist"). Nevertheless, the Maoists recognized India's fundamental hostility toward their movement and extended a hand of friendship to China. Prachanda rejected the traditional pilgrimage to New Delhi for his first overseas trip and went to Beijing instead to attend the closing of the Beijing Summer Olympics. He also announced that his government intended to renegotiate the friendship treaty between Nepal and India, which he termed unequal.

China accepted with alacrity. During Prachanda's one-year tenure as prime minister, China dispatched a dozen delegations to Kathmandu, including two PLA delegations bringing security assistance and a visit by China's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yang Jiechi. A think-tank funded by the Indian Ministry of Defense, the Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis, highlighted in "Nepal: New 'Strategic Partner' of China?" [7] a series of Chinese statements that were qualitatively different from the usual barrage of flattery and economic aid that China concentrates on impoverished potential junior allies, and which undoubtedly set alarm bells ringing in New Delhi - Beijing seems to have provided something that sounds very much like a security guarantee to Nepal.

The increasing level of bilateral engagement also indicates that China is wooing Nepal as a new strategic partner. This has been confirmed by the statements made by various Chinese officials. For example, on 16 February 2009, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said in Beijing that China would prefer to work with Nepal on the basis of a strategic partnership. In fact, Vice Minister of International Department of the Central Committee of Communist Party of China, Liu Hongcai said in Kathmandu in February 2009 that 'we oppose any move to interfere in the internal affairs of Nepal by any force.' Similarly, on November 4, 2008, Liu Hong Chai, International Bureau Chief of the Chinese Communist Party, stated that 'China will not tolerate any meddling from any other country in the internal affairs of Nepal- our traditional and ancient neighbor.

Prachanda reaffirmed Nepal's One China policy, declared his government would not permit Nepal to be used as a base for anti-China activity, vigorously suppressed Tibetan demonstrations, harassed Tibetan residents, and apparently turned a blind eye when ten Chinese security personnel crossed the border into Nepal to demand that a photographer from the Agence France Presse news agency erase his camera's memory chip. It was too good to last.

Through an unknown combination of domestic incompatibility and foreign interference, the Maoists were frozen out of the Nepalese government in May 2009 as the result of a scuffle over removal of the pro-Indian army chief of staff, and an unpopular but pro-Indian moderate communist took over. (See Maoists isolated over army chief, Asia Times Online, April 28)

The Maoists went into opposition and have carried out their threat to gridlock all government business - through a parliamentary boycott - until matters are ordered to their satisfaction. The small and incestuous world of Kathmandu politics has been diverted by the non-stop bustle of Nepalese politicians to New Delhi and Beijing to consult with their patrons. The Maoist leadership visited China for an eight-day visit in October 2009, obtaining a statement from Beijing stating that the Maoists should not be frozen out of the constitution-writing and peace process activities that the Nepalese Constituent Assembly is supposed to be pursuing, despite their absence from the ruling coalition.

At the beginning of November, the Maoists announced their push for power, albeit within the context of Nepal's murky combination of post-insurgency power-sharing and democracy. They have promised to bring the current government to its knees and return to power through a program of mass action conducted over the next two weeks, ostensibly non-violent but undoubtedly accompanied by intimidation and harassment courtesy of the bullyboys of the Maoists' Young Communists League.

Signs are that they will succeed.

The Nepalese government, which unwisely exhausted its budget several months ahead of schedule despite the knowledge that the Maoists had gridlocked the budgetary process, rather abjectly requested the Maoists not to engage in their mass action. Prachanda also rather magnanimously agreed not to shut down Kathmandu's international airport at the urging of the Western embassies, and predicted he would shortly be back in power.

As Nepal threatened to descend into chaos, the Chinese government threw another $200 million dollars at the mess, in the form of a credit from its Export Import Bank for hydropower and infrastructure projects at a concessionary interest rate of 1.75%. The Maoists are keenly aware that they cannot push things too far and Nepal will not become a Chinese satrapy or a communist paradise. The implicit shadow over all Nepalese actions that displease New Delhi is the memory of what India did to Sikkim in the 1970s: destabilization of the regime of an inconvenient monarch, followed by riots, request for assistance by pro-Indian local politicians, the arrival of Indian troops in the capital, and a plebiscite in which, by a margin of 97.5% to 2.5%, voters chose to join the Indian Union.

In a tribute to the instincts of moderation and business as usual, India's Congress Party, China, and the US administration appear jointly determined to keep a lid on things in Nepal - and in South Asia. In an exercise in political triage that provided hostile advocates with opportunities for outraged posturing but reflected a sober understanding of geopolitical realities and US interests, President Obama postponed his meeting with the Dalai Lama until after his visit to Beijing, and allocated the first state visit by a foreign leader to Washington to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan.

For its part, China knows that India holds the cards - especially the Tibet card - in South Asia. It is looking for a modus vivendi that keeps the focus on economic growth instead of military adventurism. The successful continuation of the current regional security regime in South Asia - based on denial of Tibetan aspirations avoiding destabilizing actions at the Sino-Indian border - relies to a significant extent on New Delhi.

The current system will be put to a more stringent test if the bellicosely nationalistic Bharatiya Janata Party were to replace the relatively lamblike Congress party as the majority party in India's parliament. By entering into an equal alliance with the US and obtaining international validation of India's treasured nuclear program, the Congress party effectively stole the BJP's national security thunder and trounced it in the most recent elections.

Unable to score political points against the Congress party at this date for its closeness to the US, the aggrieved BJP has directed its fire at the ruling party's sensible and moderate China policy as insufficiently protective of India's security and honor. The Chinese ambassador paid a formal call on the head of the BJP, no doubt hoping for reassurance that the BJP's outbursts were mere cynical posturing and Beijing could expect the usual pragmatism if and when the BJP regained power. What he received instead was a detailed rehashing of India's security grievances against China.

If the BJP takes power and decides to exploit China's vulnerabilities in South Asia, the world might indeed get that 2012 war that Bharat Verma was talking about.

Notes
1. China may attack India by 2012, Times of India, July 12, 2009
2. What are the origins of the transformation of U.S.-Indian relations?, Article in "The National Interest" by former United States ambassador to India Robert D Blackwill, Summer 2005
3. India's voice on the global stage very important: Bush Hindustan Times, October 30, 2009
4. The China-India Border Brawl, Wall Street Journal Asia, June 24, 2009
5. Rivals China, India in escalating war of words, Christian Science Monitor, October 20, 2009
6. India and the Tibet card, Times of India, November 23 2008
7. Nepal: New 'Strategic Partner' of China?, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, March 30, 2009

Nepal to start direct flights to Lhasa
http://www.hindu.com/2009/11/10/stories ... 341200.htm

Meanwhile, the maoists throw the first shot, lets see how the MKN govt responds to this.

Autonomous Kirat State declared in Nepal

The agitating Unified Maoists’ Party has declared the Autonomous State of Kirat on November 9, 2009. The Maoists Party politburo member and the coordinator of Kirat State Uprising Committee, Mr. Gopal Kirati amid the presence of hundreds of Maoists’ cadres had made the declaration in Diktel of Khotang District. Earlier, the Unified Maoist Party had withdrawn the declaration of autonomous states after being heavily criticized by other political parties that claimed that such a unilateral declaration would make null and void the Comprehensive Peace Treaty and the Interim Constitution of which the Maoists party is a signatory.

Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai, the Chief of the Unified Maoists’ Party led United Uprising Committee had declared, November 6, 2009, that the party had formally withdrawn the program of declaring Autonomous States. However, Mr. Kirati, as per the reports, had talked straight to the Party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal prior to the declaration was made. Prachanda told him to “go ahead”. Mr. Kirati also reveals that the doors of the Kirat Autonomous State are always closed for expansionist India, the Feudal elements and the Imperialists. “We will soon appoint the representatives of the Kirat State”, adds Mr. Kirati.

The Kirat Autonomous States comprises of the Districts of Khotang, Okhaldhnuga, Bhojpur, Solukhumbu, Udaypur and Sankhusabha. The program was attended by the Maoists’ CA members representing the districts and the local Maoists’ leaders. Likewise, the Unified Maoists Party affiliated Limbuwan Liberation Front is also preparing to make a similar declaration soon. Said Sriprasad Jugube, the chief of the Front, talking to the press in the district of Ilam that the Autonomous Limbuwan State would be declared shortly, however, it will preserve the spirit of the Interim Constitution.

Nepali Congress president and former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has been admitted to Shahid Gangalal Heart Centre at Bansbari after his health condition further deteriorated. Koirala, 86, has been kept at the deluxe cabin and is attended by senior doctors at the Heart Centre. According to Koirala's daughter and Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala, he complained of respiratory problem since yesterday. "His condition is normal at the moment. He is speaking to visitors quite normally," she said, adding that there was no immediate plans to fly him abroad for treatment. She said he would be flown abroad once he regains health. Koirala was likely to be flown to Singapore today. Three doctors had been examining him at his Maharajgunj residence.

FICN rackets continue...

Four persons, including two Pakistanis, were arrested last Friday in connection with running fake Indian currency rackets inside Nepal. The police arrested the four with at least IRs. 8.1 million in fake Indian currency from two separate locations inside the Kathmandu valley, the Kathmandu Post reported Tuesday. Acting on a tip-off, police on Friday raided a house in Balaju and found nearly IRs 2.7 million in fake Indian currency in possession of Sahebi Zamindar. Sahebi, whose real name is Kavita Barmasakaha, is of Nepali origin. She converted to Islam and took Pakistani citizenship after marrying her Pakistani husband Mohammad Ali Zamindar. She was arrested along with her elder son Kabir.

However, the police failed to arrest Mohammad, as he was not at home during the raid. The same day, police busted another fake Indian currency racket in Kupandol after raiding a rented room belonging to Sheikh Ahmed, 52 from Parsa. He was arrested with at least IRs 5.4 million in fake Indian currency with his college going 18-year-old son Shahid Iqbal Ahmad. Police officers investigating the case told the Post that those arrested made important revelations about the masterminds behind the racket, but they are finding it tough to trace them as the racket is run over mobile phones whose SIM cards are constantly replaced.

The construction of the 112 km fast track road, which will link Kathmandu to Nijgadh of Bara district in the Terai, started from Monday. Deputy Prime Ministers-duo Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar and Sujata Koirala jointly inaugurated the construction of the fast track road at Budhane of Gadhi VDC in Makwanpur district. The construction contract of the fast track road that will be completed in three years has been given to the Nepal Army. The construction of the project has been delayed by four months due to controversies. The four-lane fast track will touch the East West Highway in Bara district. The estimated budget of the road is Rs. 56 billion. Once completed, the fast track road will substantially cut the travelling hours from Kathmandu to Terai. The road comprises of a 1.3 km tunnel. There are about 528 residential, commercial, community, religious, public and private foundations and 38.8 hectares of agricultural and residential areas on the way and the compensation for the affected population is estimated at Rs 1 billion.

[Stan_Savljevic]

Some updates from the atimes article... Would have liked to edit the old post, but its too old and I cant edit that.

In need of constant updating, the movers and shakers in nepal.. I dont know if it will help others, but surely of help to me .
A major source of info is this: http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2009/m ... nepal2.php

1) CPN-ML: Madhav Kumar Nepal (current Pime Minister), Jhal Nath Khanal (CPN-ML chairman), KP Sharma Oli (senior leader), Bidya Devi Bhandari (current defence minister)
2) Ruling establishment-ists: Dr. Ram Baran Yadav (current president of Nepal), Parmanand Jha (former vice-president of Nepal whose oath-taking in Hindi caused an uproar and is now officially out-of-office as he refused to re-take the oath in Nepali), Chhatraman Gurung (current army chief), Bijaya Kumar Gacchedhar (former MJF member and currently deputy PM as a part of NC)
3) Nepali Congress: Girija Prasad Koirala (president of NC), Senior leaders: Sher Bahadur Deuba, Ram Chandra Paudel, Sushil Koirala, Sujata Koirala (GPK's daughter and current foreign minister), Gagan Thapa, Ram Hari Khahwada, Chandra Bhandari, Badri Narsing Kc (all part of youngistan brigade of NC)
4) Maoists: Pushpa Kumar Dahal (Chairman of CPN-M), Baburam Bhattarai (vice-president of CPN-M), Dev Gurung, Mohan Baidya alias Kiran (all senior leaders), Janardan Sharma 'Prabhakar', Gopal Kiranti (all Politbureau members)
5) Monarchists: Gyanendra (former king), Paras (son of Gyanendra and a major roadside romeo), Rookmangal Katwal (former army chief), Pashupati Sumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (president of pro-monarchist Rastriya Prajatantra Party), Surya Bahadur Thapa (former influential member of RPP and current president of Rastriya Janshakti Party)
6) Indian side: Rakesh Sood (Indian ambassador to Nepal), GK Pillai (Union Home Secretary)
7) Madhes Janadhikar Forum: Upendra Yadav (former Maoist and current chairman of MJF), Jay Prakash Gupta (former NC member who joined MJF recently), Mohammad Nasir Siddhique (leader of the Muslim faction of MJF)
8 ) Minor parties: MJF Madhesh (a splinter group of MJF) --- Bhagyanath Gupta, Kishor Kumar Bishwash, Ram Kumar Sharma, Jitendra Sonal, Nepal Sadbhavana Party --- Rajendra Mahato
9) China: Yang Jiechi (Minister of Foreign Affairs), Liu Hongcai (Vice Minister of International Department of the Central Committee of Communist Party of China), Liu Hong Chai (International Bureau Chief of the Chinese Communist Party)

[Stan_Savljevic]

First things first, the real meeting is between babus in Yindia and Jhal Nath Khanal. Sri MMS must have just said, do as they say. I cant envision a better response from him in this meeting

CPN (UML) chairman Jhala Nath Khanal met Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in New Delhi Tuesday, discussing Nepal's messy politics and issues related to constitution-drafting and the peace process here. During the 45-minute long meeting held at 7 Race Course, the official residence of the Indian Prime Minister, Dr Singh emphasised that political parties needed to find consensus to complete the task of constitution-drafting and the peace process, reports said. The Indian Prime Minister described the current political impasse in Nepal as its internal matter which should resolved by the Nepali parties and that India was ready to provide necessary help in the efforts of the parties.

At the meeting, Khanal informed the Indian PM about the political scenario in Nepal and the efforts to find an outlet. During his stay in New Delhi, the UML chairman met a number of Indian political leaders including Bharatiya Janata Party chairman Raj Nath Singh, Indian Foreign Minister S.M Krishna, Congress (I) leader Dr Karan Singh, BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley and general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Prakash Karat. Khanal, who had flown to Delhi on November 3 is scheduled to return to the capital on Wednesday.

But hold on, some akshun inside nepal.... first,

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has cancelled his trip to Rome, Italy due to his illness, the PM’s press advisor said. PM Nepal has been suffering from flu since the past few days. He has been resting at his residence in Baluwatar and limited his public contacts to meeting with family members and close aides only. He cancelled his trip due his own illness and the deteriorating health condition of Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala, said Bishnu Rijal, press advisor to the PM.

PM Nepal was scheduled to leave for Rome, Italy on November 14 to participate in a global conference on food security leading a Nepali delegation. Agriculture minister Mrigendra Kumar Singh Yadav will now lead the Nepali delegation.

Reading in between the lines, MKN and CPN-ML seem to be attaching a bit of panic to the CPN-M akshuns, but wait p-ul-ease, there is more. Now its rumour time, read it carefully

Koirala is undisputedly one of the most influential person in Nepali politics today. He is not only like a patriarch figure of the oldest and now second-biggest Nepali Congress party which has governed Nepal on numerous occasions in the past under his leadership, but also wields enormous leverage with top leaders of other parties as well due to his bipartisan credentials. He almost holds a mythic image of a 'king-maker' who can easily make or break a government through his clever political maneuverings. So, if he is not well, then it is indeed a matter of great concern for the country, and more so when it is passing through such a difficult phase. [As if it ever was going through a good phase, says one of my colleague]

With normal life all over the country affected due to the nationwide agitation of the Unified CPN (Maoist) entering its ninth day Tuesday, the constitution drafting process precariously off the main political agenda and possibility of increase in confrontation and violence in the country to the detriment of the ongoing peace process, it is no wonder that Koirala's dwindling health comes as one tight slap. Especially under the ear of other top players of the country's politics.

Few days before Koirala again developed complications in his lungs, his residence in Maharajgunj had virtually become a power-center with Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and other party honchos regularly visiting him there. And after he was taken ill since Saturday with his personal physicians advising him not to meet visitors, President Dr Ram Baran Yadav reached Maharajgunj to meet Koirala and inquire after the latter's health. It might only be a coincidence, PM Nepal has also been taken ill by viral fever since Sunday evening and is taking rest at his residence in Baluwatar. (A cartoon published in a major daily Tuesday shows a doctor telling PM Nepal that the latter is afflicted with 'Swing flu' and he must hold onto his chair tight for some months).

However, there are some who suspect that the wily old man may even be feigning sickness just to divert the attention from the core issue: his own leadership failures and personality weaknesses. There are good reasons why such suspicion has arisen, as Koirala's deteriorating health condition is in fact starting to work on his favor. Having gambled his long political career, his legacy, even the well-being of his equally grand old party just to secure the plum post of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister for his daughter Sujata Koirala at the end, Koirala had lost both respect and clout inside his party to a great extent. Critics who used to slam Koirala for running Nepali Congress with iron fist, almost in a semi-dictatorial fashion, were surprised at seeing the voices of discord against him inside the party. The act of nepotism cost Koirala so dearly that for the first time in many years NC central leaders went against his orders and called the Mahasamiti meeting to amend the party statute so as to limit the absolute power of party president and make other major reforms. Plus, few senior and junior leaders had started to even challenge Koirala's authority.

But with Koirala suddenly ill, all this issue has again been pushed into the back-burner. This was clear seeing all the top NC honchos, second-rung leaders and large number of party activists gathered at the Shahid Gangalal Heart Center on Tuesday. It was as if they were all ashamed of their latest defiance to Koirala, of what they made him go through.

Furthermore, Koirala's health concerns has probably shifted the attention (both of the public and the media) from the nationwide protests of the Maoists, maybe even sucked vitality off it. This is perhaps why the Maoists were on Tuesday suddenly angry at, as what they described, government's apathy towards both fulfilling their demands and utter disregard for the means they have adopted to ensure it. Knowing that Koirala might again steal the show from under their nose and they will be left with nothing but to face public ire and political backlash for their vigor-less nationwide agitation, senior Maoist leaders decided to continue with the obstruction in the legislature-parliament (despite having earlier assured to allow it to resume for the passage of the government's yearly budget) and intensify the party's ongoing protest movement.

Who else but the Maoists know about the serious political consequences of ignoring Koirala's fluctuating health condition. In March this year, the Nepali Congress President had visited New Delhi to hold political consultations with top Indian leaders and establishment figures under the excuse of 'routine health check-ups'. (Let's see what suggestions Indian leaders here offer on my health, as one newspaper cartoon had him saying at that time). Some sections of the media, however, reported that Koirala was in fact in New Delhi to plot the down-fall of the Maoist-led government.

So it happened. Little over two months later the Maoists were left with no option but to step down from the government. Intending not to sound like a dooms-day aficionado the least, what if Koirala does become seriously ill now, which any person of his age could be, so as to be completely rendered unable to return to active politics? How will it affect the current party politics over which he has so much influence, and most importantly, the ongoing peace process?

Some political analysts believe that if Koirala had not envisioned the end of the decade-long bloody insurgency by bringing the Maoists into the mainstream of national politics from the jungles, peace process in the country would never have taken off in the first place and nation would have slipped further into political uncertainty and violence.

And perhaps they might be right. If Koirala indeed bows out of Nepali politics owing to his failing health, it could bring lots of complexities in the political situation of the country as well as the fledgling peace process.

After reading all this, if you wonder wth is going on, hold on till the next message...

A fringe political party backing the CPN (UML)-led coalition has withdrawn its support to the government. The party issued a press statement Tuesday saying it had withdrawn support to the present government as the latter had failed to implement agreements with the fringe parties. A central committee meeting presided by party president Keshav Man Shakya on Monday had decided to withdraw the support to the present government saying the government was taking the nation towards a confrontation by inactivating the peace process.

The party has accused the government of failing to form a high-level political mechanism, form local bodies and include all parties backing the government in various state agencies. There is no point in supporting a government which is trying to abort the peace process, the party said. Nepa National Party has only one seat in the parliament. There are now 21 parties in the parliament supporting Madhav Kumar Nepal's government.

The hint-nudge, if you ve nt got still, is the effort GoI put to stitch this grand-by-any-description-22 party coalition. The seriousness of that means that GoI could go to any extent it desires to get things done on the ground. In other words, fck with GoI at your own peril, thats for the maoist idiots or any chacha-chaudhari sitting on his deathbed out there. If you still ve nt got it, take the damn popcorn and chant your favorite mantra till the next big news comes from inside nepal. Its all maya, and South Block has the bases covered .

[Stan_Savljevic]

Home Minister Bhim Rawal is scheduled to leave for India next week on a three-day official visit. The Home Minister is visiting India from November 17 at the invitation of the Indian government, leading a six-member delegation. Inspector General (IG) of Nepal Police Ramesh Chand Thakuri and Armed Police Force IG Sanat Basnet will accompany him to New Delhi. Joint efforts to curb cross border crime and border security will figure chiefly in bilateral discussions in New Delhi, according to Home Ministry sources. The visit comes a week after the Nepal-India home secretary level meeting in Kathmandu.

But, if A goes along X-axis, B has to go along Y-axis, so we have....

The Chief of the People’s Liberation Army, PLA, of the Nepal Maoist party Mr. Nandkishor Pasang is already in China. The Maoist PLA Chief Pasang’s trip to China comes close on the heels of Prachanda’s fresh China visit. Kathmandu rumors say that Mr. Ram Bahadur Thapa alias BADAL too is soon leaving for Beijing. High placed sources claim that Mr. Badal had personally requested the Chinese Ambassador, October 3, 2009, to arrange his visit to China.

It is not like GoI is made of doofusi, folks know and let others' know...

Jhal Nath Khanal disclosed that India would not want to see a Constitution that would be of the Maoists’ preference. Interestingly, Upendra Yadav, the chairman of the Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum had said upon his return to Kathmandu from New Delhi that India would not want to see a Constitution that would be of the Communist’s likening. Khanal also claimed that India was still not fully confident of the Maoists’ credentials. “I found out that India was negative towards the activities and policies adopted by the Maoists’ party”, Khanal told the journalists. “India also suspects that the Maoists in Nepal have working relations with the Indian Maoists”, Khanal told the journalists.

But its time for more rumours now,

While the Unified Maoists’ Party leaders threaten their detractors to make their fate similar to Nepal’s last Monarch Gyanendra Shah for not accepting their demands, there are some leaders who even claim that the Maoists’ Party was the brainchild of the former Royalties and it was taking on the course traced by the Former King(s). “I see no difference between Former King Gyanendra and Prachanda”, commented Mr. Narayan man Bijukche Rohit, the chairman of the Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party.

One of the senior leaders of the Nepali Congress Party, Ram Chandra Poudel has repeatedly claimed that the Unified Maoists Party was the brainchild of Gyanendra Shah and Prachanda, a follower of Late King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah. King Mahendra, father of Nepal’s last King Gyanendra Shah, tried to restore normalcy in the country amidst chaos and uncertainty and repeated failure of the democratically elected government in the 69s, He had imposed a coup d’état in Dec 1960 with the knowledge of the Indian and the Chinese regime.

[Rahul M]

http://nightwatch.afcea.org/NightWatch_20091116.htm

India-Nepal: The security talks scheduled to take place 17 November between Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Nepalese Home Minister Bhim Rawal have been postponed indefinitely "due to Nepal's internal situation," Nepalese Home Ministry spokesman Jai Mukund Khanal said today, IANS reported. The talks were to have concerned border security and joint counterterrorism efforts.
The Indian action implies doubt that the government in office will last long enough to keep its promises. Either a national unity power-sharing government will follow or the Maoists will continue to ensure the current political deadlock persists..........
The Maoists who had blocked Singha Durbar, the official seat of Nepal government, for two days last week have given the government time until 20 November to address their demands or else face a more violent agitation. In light of this threat, the Indians decided to postpone security talks.

[Stan_Savljevic]

Rumours are that CPN-ML postponed the meeting rather than invite wrath from CPN-M and more protests.

Media reports here in Kathmandu had claimed that the Indian regime had invited Nepal’s Home Minister to provide clear-cut answers from Nepali officials this time and that Nepal should assure its territory will not be used by Pakistan against India. Some folks claim that Pakistan had pushed a draft of the Extradition Treaty of a similar nature that India had forwarded.

Meanwhile,

The Indian Prime Minister Dr. Man Mohan Singh is visiting Nepal in the first week of January 2010, say reports quoting high placed sources at the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.

So we may have an extradition treaty signed by that time, provided the current govt stays in power till then, which the MEA wants. CPN-ML seems like a divided house with Jhal Nath Khanal and others within the party seemingly favoring a fall of the Madhav Ku. Nepal govt. JN Khanal's long stay in India is seen as JNK proposing to the MEA to let the MKN govt fall. However, MEA seems to have not bought this argument. Hence, the delay in meeting MMS and till the last minute a meeting with MMS was not going to happen. JNK was pulled over from his taxi-ride to the airport [in the last minute] and made to postpone his return by a day or two. Rumours are that MMS told JNK that MKN govt wont fall and India would nt favor that and go with the babus in the North Block on this.

Prachanda is using this divide to attract the NC and the veteran GP Koirala to form a "consensus" govt. However, NC is also a divided house with folks such as Sher Bahadur Deuba favoring status quo. Prachanda has made a trip to Singapore to stitch an agreement with GPK, and his daily boasts of this MKN govt will fall in a day or two, in a week or two, in a month or two are exactly based on his assumptions that he can make a deal with someone [or anyone]. Best exemplified by

The Chairman of the Rastriya Prajatanra party, Pashupati S. Rana has said that the country has become the hostage of the indecisiveness of the three major parties ruling the roost in Nepal. Rana claimed that the major parties could not rise above their petty political interests and remained entangled in the share of power booties amongst themselves. “The King is gone however, the major parties have been ruling the nation as if they were the monarchs”, Rana opined.

Meanwhile, elsewhere

Nepal’s defense minister, Mrs. Bidya Devi Bhandari is all set to pay a friendly visit to China soon. Minister Bhandari is expected to be in China at the invitation of her Chinese counterpart Mr. Liang Gong, somewhere around the second week of December, 2009. The dates have yet to be finalized, claim reports. “The Minister was long invited by the Chinese side, however, due to her bad health conditions, she could not go to China”, says Minister Bhandari’s Press advisor Mr. Subash Devkota.

But dont ye worry cos

Mrs. Bhandari prior to her China departure will make a short trip to New Delhi.

In the mean time, Nand Kishor Pun-Pasang, the PLA Commander of the Maoist party has returned Nepal upon completion of a weeklong secret visit to China. Mr. Yam Bahadur Adhikari-the divisional commander of the Maoist PLA had accompanied Nand Kishor Pun to China, media reports reveal.

But,

Mrs. Bidya Devi Bhandari who has made many tingling remarks at the Unified Maoist Party and her advocacy in favor of amendments in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement which has left the Maoists fuming has revealed that ‘fresh recruitment in the Nepal Army is soon to begin come what may’. Minister Bhandari said, “Even the prime minister has given his clear nod to fresh recruitment in the Nepal Army”. She said the Nepal Army will recruit five thousand new soldiers. “The major role of the Army is to provide adequate security to the country”, adding “No hurdles from any quarters could be entertained in this regard. It is clearly mentioned in the Interim Constitution that Nepal Army could be deployed as and when the country and the people needed adequate security.”

Chorus on this from elsewhere,

Khadga Prasad Oli, a senior UML leader, has said that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, CPA, was meant only for six months and thus it has become redundant. Oli made these remarks prior to leaving for Delhi on November 19, 2009. According to Oli, the CPA was effective for the first six months only and that it has already been some good three years of the said agreement thus the CPA needed some “timely changes”. He is expected to meet the Indian prime Minister, Dr. Man Mohan Singh. Oli’s Delhi trip comes close on the heels of Prachanda’s secret meet with Girija Prasad Koirala in Singapore.

Saag has a paper, ensoi, till the next useful update from nepal:
NEPAL: Are the Maoists Trying to Reach a Separate Understanding with Nepali Congress? - Update No. 210
http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cnot ... te553.html

[Vikas]

Holier than thou Turkey slaughters now have a problem with Hindu festival

Comments are hilarious to read

I thought Hindus are vegetarians and believe that one can be reincarnated as animals, and wouldn't the buffaloes count as cattle, which are sacred to Hindus?
I certainly hope that the animals are sacrificed as humanely as possible. All of us need to explore how our behavior toward animals is conducted.

The cattle are fed additional hay and grain if the grass is not adequate during the summer, and just for two weeks prior to slaughter. My father-in-law takes the steers, one at a time to the slaughter house, makes certain that they are not treated badly and to see that we receive the correct beef (So much so for the problem with Sacrifice)

We also have cut our consumption of all meat to four ounces and have two meatless days a week.

[Stan_Savljevic]

Forget the title, read on...
Nepal unrest blame on Delhi
http://telegraphindia.com/1091208/jsp/f ... 835601.jsp

[Stan_Savljevic]

Personally, I find telegraph nepal's tune more like the maoist-lip sync, but anyway, here you go.
Xpost...

http://www.telegraphnepal.com/news_det.php?news_id=6768

How will China react to the fresh agreement made in between the Government of Nepal and India that allows the Southern neighbor, China’s arch rival, to construct an Air Base for the Indian Air Force in Surkhet?
The Jana Disha Daily, the Maoists’ Party mouth piece dated December 7, 2009, claims that in the consultative meeting held between the representatives of the Government of India and Nepal, December 4-7, 2009, Kathmandu, the Nepali side has provided a clear go-ahead signal to India to construct the Air-Strip for the Indian Air Force.

[Gagan]

X post
Nepal: Surkhet Air Strip for Indian Air Force, Target Tibet

How will China react to the fresh agreement made in between the Government of Nepal and India that allows the Southern neighbor, China’s arch rival, to construct an Air Base for the Indian Air Force in Surkhet?

The Jana Disha Daily, the Maoists’ Party mouth piece dated December 7, 2009, claims that in the consultative meeting held between the representatives of the Government of India and Nepal, December 4-7, 2009, Kathmandu, the Nepali side has provided a clear go-ahead signal to India to construct the Air-Strip for the Indian Air Force.

It was earlier reported that India has already built air-strips deep inside Bhutan and an air-strip in Surkhet of Nepal will serve the Indian security interests in a much more enhanced manner, say experts.

As per the agreement the government of Nepal will have to allocate some ten hectares of lands in the area to construct the Air Strip.

...

“The very idea of constructing an air belt in Surkhet is basically not a Nepali brain. Instead, it is the Indian mind to build an air strip right inside Nepal from where the Indian regime, should an imaginary war with China becomes a reality by 2012 as claimed by Bharat Burma, an Indian defense analyst, could pounce upon Tibet that adjoins the Nepalese border”, claim Nepal’s analysts.

Surkhet is close to the tri-junction, Kalapani, where China meets India in Nepali territory.
Nepal’s defense analysts claim that the Indian Army can strike the heartland in Tibet as and when India and China go to war.
How China reacts to this "benevolent" Nepal, gesture made in favor of India will have to be watched.

[Prabu]

Cross posting from Inteligence and National security thread
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, here is the scoope news from THE WEEK, dt Dec 13, 2009. I have read the cover story from the hard copy. Here are the online links, but I am not sure if it is full story. Some one who has net access to THE WEEK , please post the full story. This shows us atleast as far as Nepal is concerned , we have not compromised on RAW's external covert capabilities !
Very Interesting read ! (I hope it s not posted earlier !)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No pals in Nepal -
EXCLUSIVE

THE WEEK puts together the inside story of the biggest covert operation abroad by the IB and RAW that flushed out terrorists planning strikes in India

No pals in Nepal

INTERVIEW/ VIKRAM SOOD, FORMER RAW CHIEF
It's a game of scoundrels played by gentlemen

Bangla bhai-bhai!

Rendition explained

INTERVIEW/ MALOY KRISHNA DHAR, EX-JOINT DIRECTOR, INTELLIGENCE BUREAU
I had a safe house in Nepal

We'll not allow use of Nepal's territory against India INTERVIEW/ BHIM BAHADUR RAWAL, NEPAL HOME MINISTER

[VijayKumarSinha]

Nepal Army chief visits India

Gen Gurung was chief guest at the passing-out-parade at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun on Saturday.

Incidentally, Gen Gurung passed out of IMA in the early-1970s. Though he attended several military courses in India thereafter, he also graduated from China’s National Defence University.

[VijayKumarSinha]

Personally, I find telegraph nepal's tune more like the maoist-lip sync, but anyway, here you go.

Stan, Thank You for posting a lot of informative piece on India-Nepal here.
Please keep visiting sites like Telegraph Nepal and presenting countering the Maoist propaganda that is posted there. Also, tell me if there are other websites that contain such non-sense, so that I might try to present our point of view.

[Stan_Savljevic]

telegraphnepal.com sometimes brings information that is not known elsewhere, nepalnews.com is more like the sarkari outlet, they sound rather bland and unexcitable, unlike TN... also do check out telegraphindia (and change the settings to North Bengal) for some news on the west-nepal/Gorkhaland axis. Check out Dhruba Adhikary in atimes, he is like our AG Noorani, lotsa spin that even murali will be proud of.

Janadisha Daily is claimed to be THE mother of all maoist outlets, but it is i guess in nepali, and i hardly can locate a link to it. The maoists, like our indian maoists, operate more via blogspot to spread news -- either manufactured takleefs or viewpoints from their own idiotic vantage points (so check out people's voice, class struggle, anti-bourgeois, proletariat zindabad, people ka ghulam-type excitable names, some combination thereof should get you the latest source of propagandu). The indian maoists keep changing their propaganda outlet every 2-3 days, so one has to be really really quick and dedicated to see where things/prop. material have moved.

Saag/IDSA (comments column) brings useful info, but they are 1-2 weeks too late. The IDSA journal called "Strategic Analysis" brings comprehensive coverage, but they are damn late, as expected from a journal.

PS: I dont want to post much here cos there is really not much happening except for the standard fare of doom gloom and kaboom, most of it maoist-induced, some of it general nonsense. Most have hunkered down for the himalayan winter. I think, most folks in brf should know about D&G -- all that has happened like desi soap operas across infinitely many threads --, there is not much in kaboom anyway, it is not India (not yet), so unless the kaboom level skyrockets to make it obscene, it is the same old. in fact, if i posted something new, it will look eerily similar to what i had posted 2 months back. One thing seems rather clear: Shri Rakesh Sood and co are not duffers, the maoist whinefest is reaching a crescendo and all kindsa imaginary takleefs are brought in, it seems like GoI has prepared for a "my way or the highway" showdown, and there is going to be only one winner in this, and those are definitely not the mao-seaules. Gyanendra seems to have come out of his vanvaas, i still wont trust him, nor will GoI, i believe. May be a better update as the week progresses and work load reduces, thanks.

[Stan_Savljevic]

Manushi, the Maoist with a future role
http://telegraphindia.com/1091214/jsp/f ... 860690.jsp
as they say, maoism is a family business provided there are kids unlike with khobad gandhy... JNU is the new-age Patrice Lumumba university, i guess, exporting bilge and hatred across the region.

[Dmurphy]

Nepal Seeks Weapons From India

After a hiatus of five years, India and Nepal have revived their defence ties and will shortly initiate various projects involving procurement of defence and military equipment.

The visiting Chief of the Nepal Army, General Chhattraman Singh Gurung, has made inquiries regarding supply of tanks as well as artillery guns, INSAS rifles, ammunition, troop carriers, bullet-proof jackets and sighting equipment from India.

Defence Ministry officials revealed that Nepal has requested for 100 tanks in two phases at concessional rates. Nepal also enquired about Ajeya (T-72) tanks of Russian origin.

During the recent three-day joint-secretary level meeting in Nepal, India has agreed in principle to resume non-lethal military supplies to Nepal. Nepal and India also agreed to share intelligence and to cooperate on constructing an airbase for the Nepalese army in the western part of the country. India also agreed to provide training to Nepalese security personnel to upgrade their capabilities and to share intelligence for improving security.

Although India and Nepal have been traditional allies and virtually all of the training and supplies of the Royal Nepal Army were sourced from India, both countries stalled defence cooperation in 2005 after King Gyanenedra took over and Nepal became a republic. India was skeptical about military cooperation due to the fear of Maoist in the Nepal Army.

At this juncture, India is being optimistic and trustworthy about Nepal and has even honored Chief of Nepal Army General Chhattraman Singh Gurung with the title of “Honorary Chief of Army Staff” in India. General Gurung visited various dignitaries and participated in high-level meetings during his Indian visit.