Why The US Support For The King Of Nepal Is Important?

Dr. Khagendra Thapa
Nepal has been fighting the violent communist insurgents for the last nine years. After two failed attempts to have a negotiated settlement of the dispute between the government and the insurgents, the violence inflicted by the insurgents against the innocent citizens of Nepal has escalated. More than 11,500 lives have been lost as a direct result of the conflict and another 23,000 have committed suicide because they could not bear the pain of loss of relatives and the property owing to the conflict.

The supposedly democratically elected government was highly ineffective to fight the insurgents because the elected politicians including the prime ministers were extremely corrupt. According to Jana Dharana, a weekly newspaper published in Nepali language, in the course of last fifteen years, the elected criminal politicians, stole Rs.92,000,000,000 that is equivalent to US $1.5 billion. It is believed that the money donated by friendly countries to fight the terrorists was also siphoned away by the elected government. The country side is just about completely controlled by the insurgents.

The elected criminals were only interested to swell their bank accounts. They had absolutely no interest in the welfare of the poor people. The per capita income of Nepalese people has actually gone down after 1990 (was $265 and now it is $213) when democracy was introduced in Nepal. The elected government not only failed to control the violence from terrorists but they also refused to hold general elections. The government was ineffective, corrupt, and failed to maintain the law and order. There was anarchy in Nepal instead of the rule of law. The newspapers and other news media had become the mouth piece of the terrorists. The terrorists were also able to use the cell phones, internet, telephones, and FM radios as a means of communications. They were using the media to issue threats against the people. Insurgents were about to take control of the whole country including the capital.


Under these circumstances, the King Gyanendra of Nepal had two alternatives: one to give up the power to the insurgents and let Nepal be another Cambodia or dismiss the corrupt government and make a last minute attempt to save the thousands of year old monarchy and also protect the fundamental rights of the people to live freely without the atrocities of terrorists. Had he chosen the first track and given up the power to the insurgents and leave the country and the people at the mercy of terrorists, then definitely the insurgents would have killed millions of innocent Nepalese people including the corrupt politicians.

Fortunately, King Gyanendra decided to stay in the country and fight back both the insurgents and the corrupt elected criminals who were indirectly supporting the terrorists. Please note that the one of the coalition partners of the dismissed government was communist party (Marxist, Leninist). I believe that King of Nepal is making a last minute attempt to save the country and people of Nepal from the violent take over by the insurgents. It is a very risky attempt. If the King fails, Nepal will turn into another Cambodia and at least a third of the people of Nepal (that is, 8,000,000) will be killed.

Therefore, it is very critical that the US and the Western countries must support the King. The Nepalese King has put both his life and his throne at stake. He has no choice but to succeed. The takeover of the power by the King was widely supported by all sections of the Nepalese society. There were huge celebrations through out the nation in support of the King?s take over. Therefore, it is unwise and unhelpful to withdraw the support and military assistance to Nepal. If the military assistance is stopped for Nepal, it is extremely likely that the ruthless terrorists will take control of Nepal and turn it into an international terrorist?s hub. I understand that a group of Nepali Diaspora living in the USA and Western Europe are against the King of Nepal. They are indirectly lobbying for the insurgents. Nevertheless, it is wrong for the US government to listen to a select few individuals who are looking for the best interests of their power hungry corrupt friends and relatives instead of the destitute people of Nepal.

It has been observed that huge peace rallies supporting the actions of His Majesty the King of Nepal have taken place in Washington DC, New York, Sidney, Australia, and even in New Delhi, India. It is estimated that over 73% of the people of Nepal support the Feb.1, 2005 actions of the King.

According to the information received from Nepal, the security situation in Nepal has improved significantly after Feb. 1, 2005. The insurgents have lost badly in the battle fields. In western Nepal, over 200 insurgents were killed in a major battle. Various newspapers in Nepal have reported that the insurgents have started fighting among themselves. It indicates that the time for peaceful Nepal is not very far.

His Majesty the King has already proclaimed that he will ensure that the local government elections are held within a year in all municipalities. This is another proof that the King means what he says and he will restore democracy within the next three years as promised if not before. If the security situation improves, it is in the best interest of both the king and the country to hold the general elections and form an elected government. One can bet with certainty that the political leaders will oppose any kind of election in Nepal. It is because they will loose the election big time. Having looted the people for the last fifteen years they do not have the guts to go to the people. Therefore, they want to revive the dead parliament so that they could be members of parliament for life. It seems these leaders are taking lessons on democracy from Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak

Nice piece of humor. I enjoyed reading it, although it's almost 2:15 in the morning and my marginal readability, understandability, and laughability are all diminishing. :)

Last thing we needed was an angry PhD with gibberish English producing his own numbers about the war in Nepal as he sits in his comfy living room in the U.S. 23,000 people have committed suicide? What is the source? Jana Dharana? Now, Jana Dharana is one heck of a paper to quote!

The elected governments were not able to fight the insurgents not because they were corrupt but because they could not formulate a clear strategy for cooperation among themselves.

If I was quoting a paper as "credible" as Jana Dharana, I would make the number much bigger than that. Why don't you say that the political leaders amassed 92 billion dollars?

"It is believed that....." Oh my, my, where did this guy get his PhD? Seriously, his "beliefs" will only make monarchist arguments weak. Some monarchist should tell this guy to shut up.

"The elected criminals were only interested to swell their bank accounts. They had absolutely no interest in the welfare of the poor people."
>>>There goes another Khagendra Thapa's theory of Unsupported Claim!

"The elected government not only failed to control the violence from terrorists but they also refused to hold general elections."
>>>Yeah right, REFUSED!

" The newspapers and other news media had become the mouth piece of the terrorists."
>>> PhD in Generalizability, I assume.

"Fortunately, King Gyanendra decided to stay in the country and fight back both the insurgents and the corrupt elected criminals who were indirectly supporting the terrorists."
>>>You forgot, (Jana Dharana, Baisakh 1, 2062)

" If the King fails, Nepal will turn into another Cambodia and at least a third of the people of Nepal (that is, 8,000,000) will be killed."
>>>I think it's 8,000,001, not 8,000,000. Did you round it off to the nearest whole number?

" The Nepalese King has put both his life and his throne at stake."
>>>Yeah right, his life!

"The takeover of the power by the King was widely supported by all sections of the Nepalese society.There were huge celebrations through out the nation in support of the King?s take over"
>>>Of course! When you surpress all those who oppose you, who else would you see on the street?

"I understand that a group of Nepali Diaspora living in the USA and Western Europe are against the King of Nepal. They are indirectly lobbying for the insurgents."
>>>Ok, seriously, you should send it to the Onion.Com!

"Nevertheless, it is wrong for the US government to listen to a select few individuals who are looking for the best interests of their power hungry corrupt friends and relatives instead of the destitute people of Nepal."
>>>Why don't you just say, you should listen to Mr. Khagendra Thapa and no one else?

"It is estimated that over 73% of the people of Nepal support the Feb.1, 2005 actions of the King."
>>>It's 73.2789, damn it! I have never -- I repeat, NEVER -- seen any person making so many numbers in one essay.

"According to the information received from Nepal, the security situation in Nepal has improved significantly after Feb. 1, 2005."
>>>You forgot to put a number here. The security has increased by 98.2 percent (Jana Dharana, Baisakh 1, 2062).


"Various newspapers in Nepal have reported that the insurgents have started fighting among themselves."
>>>Hmm...now you trust the media!

"His Majesty the King has already proclaimed that he will ensure that the local government elections are held within a year in all municipalities."
>>>A crash course in Nepali wont hurt. Local = Sthaniye, municipalities = Nagarpalika. There is a difference.

"One can bet with certainty that the political leaders will oppose any kind of election in Nepal."
>>> BET with CERTAINTY! Man, am I missing a point here?

"It is because they will loose the election big time."
>>> If all the leaders "loose" (Thapa, 2005) the election, I wonder who wins.

Ok, I should go to bed.

Dr. Khagendra Thapa le ashalee Gulaamalai garera Amerca ko rajdoot post takeko rahechha. Badhaai chha...

Does M.P. means "Master of Politics "?

Very nice analysis M.P. Jee. You go boy (girl!) !!!

I do not have any words to say to such a dumb, bunch of shit 'Khagendra'. He writes Dr. in front of his name, but I wonder from his writings whether Dr. is real or fake one. If KG wants support from such sons of the bitches, I am confused where KG is going.

Ridiculing pro-King supporters does not help anyone.

Let me explain my thoughts.

Contrary to the hopelessly self-congratulatory world-view of self-styled "republican elite" on Sajha [whose chain of logic starts with IF ONLY the King did this or IF ONLY
the King did that, everything would be hunky-dory], pro-King supporters wield an enormous influence in Nepal (at least in the ruling circles where influence matters)

This is a fact.

I am NOT saying that that's a good thing. I am merely stating that they have
influence which they can exercise and have exercised.

That is one reason why, to cite an instance, in a country where close to 90 per cent
of people are under the age of 45, where democratic forces have had their run for
12 long years, pro-King people have been able get two old Panchayat politicians back
in the saddle in no time and get things moving their way . . . and it's been almost
three months since . . . with the whole world looking on, having to drag its feet to choose between the Maoists and the Monarchy.

True, commentators such as Khagendra Sangraula can rant and rave against T Giri
and K N Bista and try to reduce them to cartoon-character levels -- but, let's be real, such ranting and raving mean NOTHING except provide momentary entertainment. Sangraula, despite its wonderful prose, has NOT changed a single thing in Nepal
through his writings (something, alas, that can well be said about yours truly as
well :-(

After all, for all their faults, pro-king supporters have been able to -- step by step --
usurp power in Nepal -- in a quiet but ultimately stunning ways since October 2002.
How the hell was all this possible?

Now, let's run through the litany of complaints that have come about because of their actions: In the process of getting Nepal to the state that it's in in April 2004, these
pro-King people have tainted the judiciary, clamped down on press freedoms, violated
people's right to travel, dented Nepal's democratic credentials, and basically made citizens' inalienable rights, well, tradable.

Fair enough.

Obviously, given this mounting evidence, any democrat worth her salt must NOW start thinking: "My God, we are NOT dealing with a bunch of loony idiots from the past. These guys mean business on their terms, and they are prepared to go to any lengths to get what they want. As such, we are dealing with a clever, cold, calculating, strategic and ruthless political machinery that can use democrats' language -- word-for-word -- for its own goals and cooly think that it can get away with the consequences borne at janata's expense."

Once the democrats' realise that their "adversary" is a powerful one, they should learn to stop ridiculing it (for that's the easiest thing to do!) but learn to see where its strengths come from, how its flexes its muscles, how it exercises its influence (for better or worse for Nepal), and see what can be done -- martial arts-style -- to make one's opponent's strengths be used against that opponent.

This is where democrats have failed.

These guys believe in pie-in-the-sky democratic ideals, and, when those are not
there, take their grivances to an international audience, hoping for a quick justice.
When that justice gets delayed in coming, they start ridiculing the opponent. When they get tired of ridiculing, they go on a yet another global road trip, and on and on it goes.

OK -- it's getting late and bhok lagyo and pyas lagyo -- so my point here is that: Nepali democrats have been too busy blaming the monarchists and spending NOT enough
time studying them to figure out what makes them tick and why so that lessons gleaned in the process can be incorporated in a more effective arguments/actions for democracy.

Else, running to international bodies to beg them to talk to the king to restore human rights only and ironically reinforces the outdated idea the king is actually a god who can snatch and give back, well, our inalienable rights after some ritual begging and singing
of bhajans.

oohi
ashu

Let us now solemnly bow to one who knows better and lectures to us from on high: all hail!

Next time, please wag thy index finger vehemently, as an egotistical--I mean, ambitious--scold is supposed to, and remember to froth at the mouth a tad more as thou seizeth yet another opportunity to predictably rant and rave, for the umpteenth time (yawn), against thy pet peeve--the supposed air-headed lefties in general and the "Republican elites of Sajha" in particular. Looks like them vermin have gotten under thy supposedly thick skin!

Oh, and while thy Imminence aims sly personal digs under cover of vigorous intellectual debate, please have mercy on us ignorants and tone down thy (self) righteous indignation. It is difficult to listen to thy irrefutable lecture with thy enraged spittle spraying our ignorant but reverent faces. Have mercy, and all hail!

hurray!!!netazneta.

wanted to add one more sentence - King G has surprisingly been able to hallucinate some of the likes of our revered academic (not Mr khagendra obviously) although his majesty's ranting of democracy clearly manifests for dictatorship.

netazneta,

Interesting observations, and you are entitled to them.

But allow me to make my PHILOSOPHICAL position crystal clear: Since Nepal is a
country we all love, I, for one, am perfectly willing to take risks to put my views in the public domain so that

others can analyse them,
decide to agree or disagree with them,
tear my points apart with BETTER arguments, and,
ultimately help make the resulting kura-kani more enriching.

That is my hope.

Such a hope does NOT come out of an "I know all" attitude.

It comes out of an

"I am thinking along this line now,my ideas here might be tentative but let me share with you anyway, read it and comment on it -- agree or disagree -- so that resulting back-and-forth conversations can hopefully add to a better collective understanding of Nepali politics"

attitude.

At the least, such an attitude is more likely to prevent us from gelling into a
narrowly uniform "group-think" -- where all think alike and act alike because
it's comfortable to do so, and NOT because verifiable evidence dictates us so.

I am aware that it can be odd to think aloud about positions NOT favored by the
most vocal people (who tend to think their passions for this and that alone make them right regardless of the evidence/doubts on the field), but, hey, one's got to do what one's gotta do to make sure that ALL views (mine included) are subjected to greater scrutiny .. . . and one can only do that PROVIDED that DIVERSE views are first in the public domain.

Anyway, that's my philosophy.
Disagreements welcome.

oohi
ashu

दर्शन । मेरो खाने दर्शन , मेरो पाद्धने दर्शन, मेरो हग्ने दर्शन । बिचरा दर्शनले घरको एउटै एैना पानि आफ्नो लज्जित अबस्थामा दर्शन नहोस भन्नाको खातिर फुटाउने अबस्था छ।

जहा सम्म डाक्टर साहेबको कुरो छ, उहि आचार्य रजनिशको शब्दहरु मा ? बिश्बबिध्यालयो ने बहुत गधोको डाक्टरेटकि डिग्रि देदि पर कोहि ज्ञानि नहि बन पाये।
रजनिशको शब्दहरुको सार्थकता को मुर्त रुप ? डाक्टर खगेन्द्र थापा।

Interesting comments here. About two khagendras.

One Khagendra doesn't have PhD, but knows a lot. Lives in the shadow of rapacious vultures of Kathmandu who have picked their prey among intellectual classes one by one in the last several months, yet undeterred, Khagendra writes what he sees. He writes for democracy, for people's right. He needs no doctorate, he needs no visit of the most developed and democratic country, he needs to dollars as his sallary, he needs no fancy English education. He has seen his country, he has known his people, he writes in the language that touches his people, people can read what he has written, and concur to it immediately. He writes policial columns that classy, he writes columns that will be memorialized as a masterpiece of literary politics, that will create a subgenre of its own in literature in the future: those columns are that good, that imbued with durability.

Another Khagendra has a PhD, lives in the world's most developed country, could have seen further but refuses to open his eyes to the truth. He manufactures data to suit his purposes in his article, he has dispensed with shame to ingratiate with the dictator, he has no courage but an infinite desire to please the puissant, he sees fault in victims and pens a paean for the oppressor, for him victims are guilty because they are victims and because they are weak.His articles are worth no one's time, they are that worthless, they are that evanescent in their impact, that momentary.

This is really a tale of two men, living in two cities. One spinning a spiderweb of lies to sleep there comfortably in illusion and possibly attract others too, another walking a path strewn with thorns so that people know how to fight for the truth.

Gyan Bahadurs are desperate:

www.kantipuronline.com

विदेशमा समेत बिक्री गरिने
साढे पाँच अर्बको शान्ति ऋणपत्र जारी हुने


विजय घिमिरे

काठमाडौं, वैशाख ६ - सरकारले खर्च धान्न आन्तरिक र अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय बजारमा बिक्री गर्ने गरी शान्ति ऋणपत्र -पिस बन्ड) निष्कासन गर्ने भएको छ । दातृ समुदायको सहयोग कटौती र राजस्व लक्ष्यअनुसार नबढेकाले यस्तो विकल्पको तयारी भएको हो ।
अर्थ मन्त्रालय स्रोतका अनुसार जारी हुने ऋणपत्र करिब साढे पाँच अर्ब रुपैयाँको हुनेछ । विश्व बैंकले चालु वर्ष कटौती गरेको करिब साढे ५ अर्ब रुपैयाँको बजेट सहयोग पूर्ति गर्न यो रकम सहायक हुनेछ । यसलाई बजेट सहयोगकै रूपमा उपयोग गरिनेछ ।

नेपालले अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय क्षेत्रमा बिक्रीका लागि बन्ड जारी गरेको यो पहिलो हो । 'खर्च जुटाउन सरकारले स्रोतहरू खोज्ने क्रममा यस्तो बन्डको निष्कासनका लागि प्रक्रिया सुरु गरेको छ,' अर्थमन्त्री मधुकरशमशेर जबराले कान्तिपुरसँग भन्नुभयो । उहाँका अनुसार ऋणपत्र अवधारणा तयार पारी अध्ययनका लागि मन्त्रिपरिषद् सदस्यहरूलाई बाँडिएको छ ।

मन्त्रिपरिषदको बैठकमा पनि अतिरिक्त बन्ड निष्कासनबारे छलफल भएको थियो । 'छलफल भयो तर निर्णय भइसकेको छैन,' स्रोतले भन्यो । केही वर्षअघि पाकिस्तानले पनि यस्तो बन्ड निष्कासन गरेको थियो । मन्त्रीका अनुसार त्यही प्रकारको बन्ड निष्कासन गर्न लागिएको हो । पाकिस्तानी अर्थराज्यमन्त्री हीना रब्बानी खारको हालैको भ्रमणमा पनि यसबारे छलफल भएको स्रोतले जनायो । आणविक परीक्षणपछि विदेशी सहयोग बन्द भएका बेला पाकिस्तानले यस्तो बन्ड निष्कासन गरेको थियो ।

बाहिरी सहयोग नआउँदा विदेशी विनिमय सन्तुलन राख्न अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय बजारमा बिक्री उपयुक्त हुने स्रोतको दाबी छ । तयारीअनुसार विदेशीले यो बन्ड खरिद गर्दा विदेशी विनिमय तिर्नुपर्नेछ । परिपक्व भएपछि भुक्तानी नेपाली रुपैयाँमा पाउने छन् । विदेशी विनिमयको उतारचढावबाट हुने जोखिम कम गर्न सरकारले यस्तो उपाय गर्न लागेको हो । ब्याजदर र परिपक्व समयबारे भने टुंगो लागेको छैन । विदेशमा बस्ने गैरआवासीय नेपालीलाई लक्ष्य गरी यो बन्ड निकालिने अर्थमन्त्रीले जानकारी दिनुभयो ।

उता स्रोत अभावमा आगामी वर्षको बजेटको आकार नबढाउने तयारी भइरहेको छ । यसपालि चैतसम्म राजस्व वृद्धिदर ५ दशमलव ४ प्रतिशत मात्र छ । राजस्वको लक्ष्य पूरा हुन १८ प्रतिशत वृद्धि हुनुपर्छ ।

Ashu,

My mock-heroic homage was directed at your penchant for writing like this:

"I am aware that it can be odd to think aloud about positions NOT favored by the most vocal people (who tend to think their passions for this and that alone make them right regardless of the evidence/doubts on the field), but, hey, one's got to do what one's gotta do to make sure that ALL views (mine included) are subjected to greater scrutiny .... and one can only do that PROVIDED that DIVERSE views are first in the public domain."

As almost always, the otherwise fairly reasonable substance of the entire post is marred by self-flattery and the irrelevant digs. You condescend to the Sajha readership in general and assume that we, unlike you, are ignorant of elementary things, like dissent, the diversity of opinions, and even empirical argumentation--or why repeat these things, oftentimes unnecessarily, in so many posts?

Furthermore, you bundle up your old grudges into straw men, against which you set yourself as the heroic, world-weary iconoclast, the lone crusading voice of reason who--oh, what a drag--has to dutifully do what must be done amidst the desert that is Sajha group-think. My god, the pomposity is indeed hilarious! (You say, to paraphrase, I am aware that it can be odd to state contrary opinions to that of the vocal minority--i.e., the straw men--as if you are doing something special, something quite original; in your world, perhaps, but here at Sajha, contrary voices are dime a dozen and appears to be the norm, nothing odd about that.) In other words, you create sham arguments to pump up your self-regard, your supposed uniqueness; as far as I know, nobody with half a brain has argued against your right to freely post your contrarian views.

In the end, all I am requesting from you is a little humility and to try and recognize that your grandiose style only works against you, besides being embarrassing. Which is unfortunate, because overall, you one of the saner voices at Sajha, one who writes beautifully, argues rigorously, introduces all kinds of wonderful articles, books, personalities, achievements, and generally injects the site with much needed energy and healthy skepticism. I--as I am sure many others--have benefited tremendously from your untiring input.

Lastly, unlike your previous post, I am grateful for your calm tone. That is my say, take it or leave it.