By NP Upadhyaya -
The Chairman of the RPP-Thapa, Kamal Thapa has questioned the political and moral stamina of the current republican order as to what type of the Order or say the System was which sent tremors across the country when the former King Gyanendra unknowingly shook his bulky body but in a pleasing mood at a Hotel in Kathmandu? Thapa hit the nail right on the head.
Thapa claims that had the Order been strong enough, the earth would not have shaken from under the feet of the champions of the Republicanism as the former Nepal sovereign gave a mere jerk to his body. The former King now is in Pokhara.
If Thapa is correct then what is more than clear is that the imported or say the “forcefully imposed system from Delhi” is in effect brittle and that a mere push to the system itself by the people, per chance, shall collapse the entire edifice of the farcical order which has thus far proved to have been of no use to the larger section of the people save a few who had been blessed by the regime across the border including the Nepal Maoists then residing in Delhi who had been exported to Nepal to steer the nation through the Yes men of Indian regime including Girija Prasad Koirala and his cohorts in different political parties, read the then agitating seven political parties who were summoned to Delhi by the former British slaves.
The UML men also have nearly ate the nation like a moth.
Just recall the mysterious and imposing dictates of the Indian regime then, beginning of the year 2006, which installed their trusted and tested men in Nepal’s political corridors so that Nepal as a nation-state ever remained under the Indian umbrella, the continuation of the most infamous and hated Nehruvian Doctrine, to what had till then been denied by the ruling Nepal Sovereigns for example king Gyanendra like what his slain brother King Birendra had checked till he was breathing.
The regime change of the year 2006 was just meant to keep Nepal’s sovereignty under its dirty thumb and the then seven agitating political parties, then guests of Delhi masters , when agreed the Delhi preconditions, Shyam Saran, the Indian foreign secretary, pounced upon Nepal ignoring even the secret accord that had been signed in between the political parties and the weakened monarch that even after the much sought political change, the monarchy shall remain in place and that the system shall run as usual under the command of the political parties.
The witness was none less than Dr. Karan Singh – the son of Hari Singh – the heir apparent of Kashmir nation. And Mr. Saran also.
Dr. Singh is currently the personal assistant of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi and looks after International Relations of the Indian Congress. Dr. Singh is a scholar, a vedanti in effect, of international standing.
Shyam Saran bulldozed Nepali politics as if Nepal were his fiefdom. Then came into the picture the third class communist Mr. Sitaram Yechury who was almost to be declared the First President of Nepal, however, some technical problems averted this likely event. Yechury visits Kathmandu for fetching election expenses.
The Monarchy was summarily dismissed. An institution that resurrected the dead parliament was manipulated under dictations from above to the extent that it, the parliament, did away with the Royal Institution and the weak King preferred to enter into the jungles. No qualms. Modest, coward but a true son of Nepal.
The Nagarjun jungle dweller is visiting temples after temples perhaps pleasing the deity so that he can time permitting bounce back to the throne from where he had been unceremoniously unseated. Currently he is in Pokhara.
The Luncheon denied:
King Gyanendra did a blunder. The blunder, yet it was indeed a blunder, in that the Nepal King escorted only Dr. Karan Singh to the Luncheon table inside the Royal Palace on the fateful afternoon but left the sitting Indian foreign secretary, Shyam Saran, who had been accompanying Dr. Singh all along from Delhi as an Emissary of the Indian government, to wait for the quiet luncheon to come to an end one to one. This infuriated Mr. Saran. And thus Mr. Saran did all he could which he should have avoided had he been a social personality. Had he been, would have left the Lunch lapses in the dustbin but he did not. He vowed instantly that he would uproot the entire Royal Institution of Nepal through the support of the paid servants, the domestic one in Nepal. He satisfied his ego by damaging Nepal to the extent what it stands today. At times, he visits Nepal and meets secretly his former paid servants in Kathmandu, we have been told.
King Gyanendra’s follies as seen from the US eyes as I recall:
It was February 2006. The date I forgot. And the Hotel was Annapurna wherein I was also invited by the US embassy for a press conference of sorts. We were told that the incumbent US Ambassador James F Moriarty, a lanky American diplomat that he was, was about the make his personal and official comments on the obtaining Nepali politics just after the seven agitating political parties has signed the 12 point agreement in New Delhi.
The Ambassador made his comments and his readymade comments were distributed among the media men present there. (US Embassy official Ms. Mina Kaini handed over a copy of Ambassador’s speech or say comments, if Ms. Kaini recalls).
Listening to Ambassador Moriarty’s comments, what I could grasp is here for your perusal: Firstly, Moriarty was of the view that the King and the agitating parties must go together that is they must compromise.
Secondly, he was not that happy with the 12 point agreement signed in Delhi by the Delhi residing Maoists and the Delhi stationed leaders of the seven political parties;
Thirdly, he was not happy with the Nepali Congress for having joined hands with the violent Maoists;
Fourthly, Ambassador Moriarty rebuked the NC statement made available after signing of the 12 point agreement with the Maoists in Delhi which, among others, claimed that the 12 point agreement had brought the violent Delhi residing rebels in the fold of the parliamentary system of governance;
Fifthly, Ambassador Moriarty firmly believed that instead of the NC’s claim, it had just been the other way round and that Delhi residing Maoists had brought the parliamentary party, the NC, into the fold of the Maoists.
(The US envoy perhaps had made the right assessment of the 12 point agreement imposed on Nepal parties by Shyam Saran and his clique Mr. Saran’s Nepal damage campaign yielded positive results as is evident now from the existing politics that stands today).
Sixthly, since the US envoy was not pleased with the Delhi brokered 12 point agreement, his clear preference was King Gyanendra coming closer to the agitating political parties and making some sort of compromise and continue with a system that included the King but together with a democratic System.
Seventhly, the US envoy told the press men that, having made the above mentioned comments, he was also not pleased with the King who every time as and when they met each other at the Palace, assured the US envoy that he would hand over the power to the political parties well within three months.
Eighthly, the US envoy Moriarty in an angered voice then told the gathering that those “three months” never came and that he was now against the King for having lingered him and kept the envoy waiting…
Since that very day, Ambassador Moriarty began speaking in a somewhat irresponsible manner as his utterances were not only insulting but also full of hatred against the sitting monarch.
The gist is that in the initial days, the US was against the 12 point agreement brokered by Delhi but later supported Indian regime in uprooting the Royal institution under the tacit agreements with Shyam Saran.
Back home: Kamal Thapa speaking recently in Kailali said that the Congress and the communist government(s) so far have only awarded anarchy and corruption to the people of Nepal instead of easing their problems.
Thapa further claims that his party can work together with the Congress for the restoration of the Hindu order in the country. However, the NC recently took the RPP led by Thapa as a reactionary party.
Nepal Prime Minister Oli sees Nepal to have already gone green and that “Extraordinary” progresses have already been registered by the Unified Communist party during these nine months of radical communist rule. He is speaking a white lie.
But the people at the grass root level have so far not seen any progress that could be taken as extraordinary as stated by PM Oli. Oli believes that negative comments were being aired by his detractors against the government led by him.
Having said all these, for PM Oli the potential threat to his rule emanates right from his own coalition partner and Bam Dev Gautam.
Gautam is the first man to have met Prachanda in the Rolpa Jungles and thus what could be expected that Mr. Gautam and Prachanda were even as of now very close to each other speaking on political terms.
So if Prachanda and irritated Gautam unite then Oli’s regime may collapse but for that “infrared signals” must approach both from across the border as is normal in Nepal. And if in this combination, Mr. Madhav Nepal (also being taken as Michael Nepal for unknown reasons by after the just accomplished Asia –Pacific Summit in Kathmandu.)
The Nepali Congress, a weakened party too is reconsidering on how to regain its original vibrant image and in the process bent on restoring the Hindu order together with Constitutional monarchy but in a subdued voice.
Sensing the people’s mood at the village level, the former King left for Pokhara Monday as a commoner but was awarded a grand welcome by the local people giving the hint that the King may have some plans under his sleeves this time around. The people in Pokhara appealed the King to take over the charge of the nation as early as possible.
Undoubtedly, the King though ousted but yet has lost no charm and respect among his former people.
But since he is basically coward so to expect that he may jump into the political scene any time soon taking risks shall be a self defeating exercise. But if the Nepal Army backs him and the NC supports the entire event then the politics may catapult. This is for sure. But how?
In the mean time a former Military man now retired, Mr. Prem Sigh Basnet says of PM Oli that “Nepal’s PM is just a horse of Ek Nath Dhakal-the point man of the Christian world in Nepal.
Now a glimpse to the region: The new power set in the Maldives has been already duped by the Indian PM Modi and Sri Lanka is not that politically stable as people believe that Modi has sneaked into the Island nation. The politics in Colombo is shaky and China has not yet decided on how to move ahead with the Colombo politics but Hambantota port shall not be left to the mercy of the Delhi regime. This is for sure.
The Maldives is presumed to have found a new Modi in Male.
India got a political jerk of the highest order when China took the lead and managed to mediate intimacy in between Pakistan and war torn Afghanistan.
The news collected so far says that “With the help of Pakistan, China and Afghanistan have agreed to cooperate on counter-terrorism in the region. They have also agreed to make a coordinated call to the Taliban to return to the negotiating table.
This announcement was made by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday. It comes just 48 hours after China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in Kabul to attend the second China, Afghanistan and Pakistan trilateral foreign ministers’ dialogue.
Wang met Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, as the three sides agreed to use the existing dialogue mechanism to enhance coordination and promote cooperation in security and trade. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, “It is important for the three parties to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation and to enhance communication to move forward the trilateral cooperation,” she said.
China’s encouragement of the peace talks comes months after Afghanistan confirmed that Beijing was helping Afghanistan to set up a mountain brigade in the country’s north to boost counterterrorism efforts. Afghanistan has denied reports that China had funded and started building a training camp for Afghan troops in the isolated Wakhan Corridor – a narrow strip of land from the northern Afghan province of Badakhshan to China’s Muslim region of Xinjiang.. Thus India has been distance at least for the time being.
In the mean time reports from Islamabad suggests that the Afghan-Taliban representatives met with U.S. officials this Monday amid moves to press for a negotiated end to Afghanistan’s 17-year war.
The Pakistan-organized talks were held in the United Arab Emirates. Officials who participated were not immediately available to discuss details.
The special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, led the U.S. team in the talks that included envoys from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia as well as the host country, Taliban and Pakistani officials told VOA.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the group’s representatives spoke only to the U.S. team and had no plans to speak with anyone from Afghanistan’s National Unity Government, or NUG. Taliban officials said reports to the contrary were “propaganda.”
US Praises Pakistan Role:
When asked about the talks, a State Department spokesperson told VOA this Monday that the meetings are part of U.S. efforts to promote an intra-Afghan dialogue toward ending the conflict.
“We welcome any actions the Pakistani government takes to advance security, stability and cooperation in South Asia, including the fostering of negotiations between the Taliban, the Afghan government and other Afghans, the spokesperson said.
Is it that such political overtures shall bring the US once again closer to Pakistan?
In a positive development, China is most likely to park $2 billion in Pakistan reserves sometime in the ongoing month of December, and, more importantly, the economic diplomacy with the UAE is also going to fetch the dividends. And in the month of January 2019, the country is most likely to attain $6 billion facility as is managed from Saudi Arabia, a senior official, privy to the development, told The News.
“UAE will also deposit $3 billion in Pakistan reserves, but in installments’ mode, and would also extend oil facility of $3 billion on deferment payment too.”
Back home, the Mohan Baidya group of the revolutionary Nepal Maoists has decided to forge unity with the Maoists party led by Chairman Netra Bikram Chand. This means that the Maoists terror in Nepal shall never come to an end. But which aalien force this time shall come to extend support to Baidya-Chand Maoists coalition? This also means that the threat this scribe together with the members of the family of the telegraphnepal.com shall continue simply because the Maoists were all one in the not so distant past. Though they differ on certain political counts, but for targeting the innocent civilians the Maoists every where were the same. However, as a news man we shall brave the threats come what may. We have to inform the population which is what is our duty.
And for the Roads: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has condemned the killings of seven civilians Middle of December, and three terrorists who were recently killed in an encounter in Pulwama region of Kashmir. He said the people of Kashmir must have a right to decide their own future. Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi agreed with him.
Speaking about the encounter, Khan tweeted, “Strongly condemn killing of innocent Kashmiri civilians in Pulwama IOK by Indian security forces. Only dialogue, and not violence and killings will resolve this conflict. We will raise issue of India’s human rights violations in IOK and demand UNSC fulfill its J&K plebiscite commitment.”
Before we conclude, perhaps this encouraging news must not be left unread.
The United Nations envoy for Afghanistan says the prospect of negotiated end to the war in Afghanistan is closer than it has ever been.
The comments by Tadamichi Yamamoto on December 17 came as the Afghan Taliban said its representatives met with U.S. officials in the United Arab Emirates.
The preliminary talks were seen as an important step to launch formal peace negotiations with the Taliban.
Speaking at the UN Security Council, Yamamoto called on countries in the region “to contribute” in supporting the peace talks. That’s all. (Shall meet shortly: Upadhyaya)
That’s all.
[The commentary is based on the politics as of last week-Ed.]