unmin

Himalayan Daily Ramblings

Prachanda first republic of Nepal

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 23 Jan: CPN (Maoist) have decided to go to the people presenting Chairman Prachanda as Nepal’s first republic in the 10 April constituent assembly election.
The election, increasingly unlikely with daily deteriorating law and order situation, is only a vote to elect 601 member to an assembly which will draft and suggest a structure of a state after seven ruling parties smashed existing institutions through fiat and parliamentary legislation.
The parliament was restored by King Gyanendra following the three-week April 2006 revolt.
Maoists and Prachanda are clearly in a hurry.
This is reflected in a decision to project Prachanda as president of a communist Nepal even without legislative elections which an assembly election isn’t.
Another parliamentary vote has to be conducted to elect real legitimate rulers.
Maoists have decided to go to the people with eight slogans including ‘sweeping changes’ in the country.
Maoists have said the election will only formalize the demise of monarchy after seven ruling parties decided to adopt a republican agenda for the election.
Conservative parties charged a republic is being imposed on the people by the seven parties.
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UNMIN’s failed mission

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 23 Jan: The one-year mandate of UNMIN ended Tuesday and the security council was decided to extend its mandate for another six months after Nepal government agreement which has already been conveyed to UN headquarters in New York.
Armed Maoists and other groups move around freely in even in towns including the capital and the countryside even as the UNMIN has verified the Maoist army and their weapons.
The purpose was to hold elections with disarmed Maoists.
Maoists haven’t surrendered all their arms and the former rebels continue to hold and hide them; they can be brought out at a moment’s notice.
Maoists, soon after the verification was completed by UNMIN, threatened to grab the weapons stored at 27 cantonments and satellite camps and fight and overrun the country.
Government and UNMIN remained silent; Maoists are in a position to carry out their threat because hired Indian Gurkha soldiers have been sent back home after the verification was completed.
The skeleton UN staff at the camps will be just a silent spectator if Maoists carry out their threat.
UNMIN took on the enormous responsibility to disarm Maoists and oversee assembly elections on the mistaken hope and belief that disarmed Maoists would ensure free and fair elections without the threat of weapons looming large.
UN didn’t calculate Nepal has a porous and open 1,700 km border with India and seized or surrendered weapons could be replaced with new acquisitions from across the border with the connivance of friendly and corrupt Indian federal and state government officials.
This is what is happening and UN is hardly in position to stop the aberration. So why did it take on the responsibility in the first place?
Officially, UN has completed its first mission to disarm Maoists; but righting rages in the country on the brink of an internal war and disintegration.
A hill group—former Maoists- looted weapons from the police this week in a new development. Rebellion, it was presumed was limited only to areas bordering India in the south.
Probably, the UN won’t need to worry of conducting its second mission to oversee elections because signs are it won’t be held for the third time despite hopes of Washington, its allies on Nepal and even the UN.
Probably, its only success in Nepal was to collect people with experience in other battle zones and ‘educate’ Nepal and Nepalis on how to achieve peace or even to spread textbook propaganda over some friendly radio networks at huge cost on how avoid identify and avoid abandoned landmines.
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Kathmandu Diary

Kathmandu, 23 Jan: There were two major happenings Wednesday.
Students affiliated with seven ruling parties forced government to rescind a decision within days to restore prices of POL products hiked this week for the third time in three months.
Maoists ministers publicly protested the hike- enjoying and exercising simultaneously government and opposition politics.
To kill Tuesday’s rumours prime minister died, Girija Prasad Koirala was shown with an oxygen mask briefly in front of journalists on television networks briefly Wednesday .
Th entire exercise was counterproductive.
It only proved rumours the government was gravely sick as election approaches.
Maoist Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara even said election may not be lheld because of Koirala’s illness.
Mahara revealed, in the absence of the prime minister, the cabinet’ hasn’t taken important decisions to enable elections.
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