Article:
CA polls in land of lotus eaters

By Tara Sen

CA polls in the Land of the Lotus Eaters The characterization of Maoist leader Puspa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) as Comrade "Lotus Flower" is both apt and bemusing, if one forgets the 13,000 Nepalis who died in the 10 years of Maoist insurgency and terrorism from 1996. In that sense it is a blood-red lotus flower, that has facilitated Indian penetration of the politics of Nepal from without; and the domination of Nepali politics from within by ageing "neo-Brahmin of New Nepal" Girija Koirala, whom his Maoist enemies-turned-allies had late last year called Kumbhakarna, the demon Brahmin of the Ramayana, of sleepy morals and appetite to match. A few years ago SPAM Prime Minister Girija Koirala was widely reviled as possibly the most corrupt politician in Nepal, under investigation pending indictment by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) for corruption in high office amounting to possibly tens of billions. He was also reviled for being the senior most politician whose unabashed egotism and lust for power at any cost, both within his Nepali Congress party and vis-a-vis other parties, in the period from 1990, led to the collapse of parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, and the liberal-democratic Constitution of 1990. It is not entirely surprising that "Prachanda" and "Kumbhakarna" were joined together in unholy union by the Machiavellian "Chanakyas" of New Delhi, to form the Seven Party Alliance and Maoist (SPAM) combo that seized power in April 2006 through naked street politics, facilitated by Maoist terror and mobilization of protestors by "ukase" or fiat; with the whole scripted and directed by the "Dilli sarkar" of the so-called United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime of Congress and Communist parties in New Delhi; and with political and cash sponsorship by India, the UK and US, the EU, Swiss and Scandinavians. The blatant violation of national sovereignty and integrity was facilitated by the "neo-Brahmins of New Nepal" who dominate the monopoly media, academia, the "civil society" that thrives on payoffs of EU, Swiss and Scandinavian subsidies, and the professions, especially the law and journalism, who have prostituted professional integrity for party political prerogatives. It is a naked Nepal indeed, stripped of its very essence, the things that defined and distinguished it: such as the organic monarchy; the Hindu "rastra" with a Buddhist core: and the nation with an essentially Himalayan soul. "Kumbhakarna" Koirala and his Comrade "Lotus Flower" have turned Nepal into a Land of the Lotus Eaters, whose people exist in a state of naked carelessness and amoral availability, and in a state of languorous forgetfulness induced by eating the fruit of their red lotus plant. They are all 'lotus eaters"; the courts that permitted the illegalities and unconstitutionalism of the SPAM regime and its "unelected" assembly and "interim" constitution, using the utterly ridiculous cover of the "doctrine of necessity" that applies to the law of "tort" or liability for damages, rather than to the breaking of constitutions; and the Army that forgot its special status as an organic institution that originated and grew with the Kingdom of Nepal in 1869, and that therefore had special responsibilities to monarchy, the Hindu 'rastra", and the Himali soul of the Nepali nation. The most languorous "lotus eater" of late has seemed to be the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Bhoj Raj Pokhrel, who with his crew look to many like over eager boy scouts, always willing to bend over and oblige the SPAM scoutmasters who appointed them. It is because of him that SPAM Prime Minister Girija Koirala's "polls at any cost, come what may" will take place on April 10, despite a manifest lack of preparation, whether from the point of view of census and voter registration (How many ghosts will vote, and how many live Nepalis will not? How many Nepalis working abroad will find that their votes have been cast? How do you ensure fair representation in this rainbow nation when you do not even properly know distribution by caste, ethnicity, regional identification, religious or other minority status affiliation?). Or information, education, and communication (IEC) of the voters (Many do not know the Who, What, When, Where, How and Why of a Constituent Assembly or the CA polls). Or full preparation and participation by people and parties (This is too much a "CA poll by SPAM, of SPAM. for SPAM", to enable the continuation of the usurpation of political power by SPAM!); and so on. They should have had a Roundtable Conference of all stakeholders prior to decisions on the form, purpose, and timing of the polls! SPAM "minister for peace and reconciliation" Ramchandra Poudel should have talked transparently with all stakeholders at a Roundtable Conference, all talking to and with each other, rather than talking separately with him in the classic divide and rule manner of the British Raj. Also, the utter lack of overall security in which the CA polls at any cost are taking place makes it all a sham! CEC Pokhrel looks too much like a "Lotus Eater" when he says that "EC can cancel poll if coercion used" according to the pro-SPAM Kathmandu Post (30 March). Who can believe him? He seems to qualify his words by suggesting that we should tolerate conflict around the CA polls because it is a part of overall conflict resolution! Sounds Bolshevik! So how much violence is too much violence? In just the past few weeks, the RJN candidate for Banke was shot dead. Were the polls there postponed? No! We read in the papers that UML candidates were beaten bruised, and battered, often seriously, in Ramechap, Baitadi, and Siraha districts; as was the female RJP candidate for Kavre district. The papers show photos of battered, bandaged, and hospitalized candidates, such as the Nepali Congress candidate for Solo Khumbu, and the People's Front candidate for Kavre. The pro-Indian and pro-SPAM dailies like the Himalayan Times and Kathmandu Post tell us that the Maoist YCL (Young Communist League) cadres have threatened villagers with "torture" and "eviction" if they do not vote for CPN-Maoist candidates in Nawalparasi district, and that they have also warned people not to participate in RPP or UML or Nepali Congress rallies, or give food or shelter to their cadres, in districts as widespread as Dolakha, Chitwan, and Ramechap. RPP party offices and documents were destroyed in Chitwan, and we read of other party offices being destroyed elsewhere. This is but the tip of an iceberg of violence that goes back many months, very often origination from the very centre of the SPAM regime; it makes a free and fair poll utterly impossible. The futility and farce of it all was illustrated by the very recent news and photos of armed Maoist cadres leaving their UN "monitored" camps to participate in CA poll "activities". Remember also that the Maoists have still not returned the land and other property they looted and confiscated; the return of such property was a precondition for the constituent assembly polls; it is very chilling to the rule of law, and to free and fair polls. British Ambassador Hall was quoted recently as saying that the CA polls are "inevitable". Well, so is loss of innocence! But does it have to be rape? Why sponsor such stuff? It is only the "Lotus Eaters" who believe that the April 10 polls to the Constituent Assembly will be free and fair. The CEC is perhaps one of the principal Lotus Eaters in overseeing this farce! The foreign sponsors of SPAM have contributed principally to turning this once proud nation into a "Land of the Lotus Eaters" with no spirit, pride, or purpose.
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Campaigning ends midnight Monday

By Bhola B Rana


Kathmandu, 6 April: After criticizing international monitors, Maoist Chairman Prachanda issued a statement saying he and the party is not opposed to their presence in Nepal.
The opposition ,he said, was ‘not to give any kind of encouragement’ so elements opposed to peace and elections.
In the last statement, Prachanda asked observers to give immediate reaction to the election and not wait until results are out.
Final results aren’t expected two weeks after the vote.
The chairman charged the 100,000 international observers aren’t needed for Nepal and they would invalidate an election won by Maoists and certify a vote won by Congress and CPN-UML.
Campaigning for the 10 April constituent assembly ends midnight Monday.
Most of the 17.4 million voters don’t know how to vote in the constituent assembly election.
They have only voted in parliamentary vote.
Illiterate Nepalis, casting two ballots for the first time, will be confused they entered the restricted balloting area.
They don’t have to cast two ballots for the party and candidate.
But it’s likely they will come out only casting one ballot.
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