A Voice For the Voiceless

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The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

Plea to the Int'l Community: 4/23/06

Don't Hurt Nepalese Sentiment

COCAP report - April 23, 2006: Kathmandu

Mass demonstrations were reported from several parts of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur District. While rest of the country witnessed similar protests as more and more people joined the movement after the King's recent speech that was widely condemned by the political parties and the people, reports confirm more brutal suppression from the government.

The district administration offices of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur issued an 11-hour-long curfew (From 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.) in the areas that fall inside the ring road and certain parts of Bhaktapur. The curfew was however lifted at 7 PM local time, an hour before the scheduled time. All mobile phone services remain disrupted in the Kathmandu Valley since Saturday afternoon.

 International Concern and Comments

 Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran has said "Kings address is not enough to solve the present crisis. It is up to the people to decide what they want". Earlier, India along with other International Community including America, Britain, China and European Union had welcomed King's move. Similarly, the acceptance of Royal Announcement by EU, America, UK and other leading countries has reported to have hurt the radical and revolutionary sentiments of innocent Nepalese people. Its people are said not to accept the so called deceptive announcement by the King, though the international community seems to pressurize the parties of Nepal to compromise with the king on the basis of a share in cabinet.

The government of India is the most concerned among the International Community. India itself has considerable problems with Maoist rebels. Rebels are active in several states - Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Bihar. The rebels are fuelled by issues of land and poverty and India does not want the example of a Maoist Nepal to encourage further protest.

Public reaction towards the Royal Address

The seven parties in their press release said that the king's offer does not address their central concerns, and have pledged to continue the protests. They noted the king fell short of key demands -- the return of parliament and creation of a special assembly to formulate a new constitution.

Although the seven party alliances has been leading the protest, their comment regarding the King's recent move is to greater extent the result of the public opinion that is now almost completely against the existence of monarchy in any form. On Saturday, for the first time since the protests began, protesters were able to break through police cordons and come to within a few kilometers of the royal palace which very well suggests that this is now a people's movement.  Political analysts believe that the speech is a clever move by the king to shift attention from himself to the political parties.

Most of the Political parties still want a constitution that would make the king a ceremonial figure. But they foresee other problems too: Under the new plan, the king would still retain an undefined political role and apparently keep control of the military.

"If the seven party alliance is unable to utilize the opportunity they have been given, then it gives him an opportunity to once again exercise his powers, perhaps even use military force to quell the street protests," says analyst Umang Pandey. But many say they would have found it difficult to name a prime minister acceptable to all seven in the opposition alliance.

What Parties decide in future depends almost entirely on what the people want, especially the hundreds of thousands of protesters who have taken to the streets of the capital in the recent days. And the public sentiment says- the king's concessions are too little and too late.

Detainees of Civil Society (Citizens Movement for Democracy and Peace) from Duwakot have written an open letter addressing the envoys of international community requesting them not to hurt democratic sentiment of the people of Nepal. They have reinforced that the announcement of the king has not restored the sovereignty to the people in real sense. The content of the letter is given below-

To the Ambassadors
Of the European Union member states,
The United States, India, China,
and the Representative of the United Nations.
23 April 2006
Duwakot, Bhaktapur District

Excellencies,

We civil society detainees, kept at the Duwakot Armed Police barrack, believe that your governments’ welcoming response to Friday’s address by King Gyanendra was based on a misperception of Nepali political reality and a misreading of the address itself. Though surely based on the best of intentions, your reaction has needlessly delayed a peaceful transition in the country at a critical hour, when millions of Nepalis are on the streets agitating for an immediate return to democracy. This show of people’s solidarity carried out massively and peacefully all over the country and in Kathmandu Valley, deserves more respect than has been accorded by the international community.

While the royal address certainly indicated a step back by the king, and it might even have been adequate sometime ago, at the given moment it was grievously misplaced in both tone and substance. In terms of tone: the king justified his 1 February 2005 coup d’etat; spoke in favour of the security forces despite their dubious record; did not acknowledge the need to engage the Maoist rebels; and ignored the incredible show of people power on the streets whose essential demand is that kingship be abolished or made absolutely powerless.

In terms of substance, the king has talked about returning power that had been given to him for ‘safekeeping’, when the fact is that the events of 4 October 2002 and 1 February 2005 represented a naked power grab. Further, the king is not the custodian of sovereignty, which is naturally inherent in the people under the constitution of 1990 and it is not up to him to hand it back to the people.

Most importantly, those who welcome the royal address seem to believe that the king has unequivocally conceded sovereignty to the Nepali people. This is not our reading. Nowhere does ‘sovereign’ or ‘sovereignty’ occur in the Nepali original, unlike in the translation, apparently provided by the royal palace, where there is reference to “source of sovereign authority”. In the Nepali original, the king refers to “state power remaining with the people” as part of listing the terms of reference of the government to be formed. This phrase is included only in passing, and does not amount to the king conceding sovereignty as residing in the people.

According to two jurists, both framers of the 1990 Constitution, who are included in our Duwakot group, ‘state power’ does not by any stretch of imagination translate as ‘sovereign authority’. We believe that there is a sleight of hand involved here, by a royal palace intent on misleading the embassies. Overall, we conclude that the king is not prepared to transfer sovereign power.

As things stand, what king Gyanendra has asked the political parties to do is to set up a government with ‘executive power’ but without legislative authority. In substance and form, this government would have the same authority, under the much-maligned Article 127 of the Constitution, as given to governments constituted thrice and disbanded as many times by the king between October 2002 and February 2005. The government would be an executive at the king’s command, meant to take responsibility for the excesses committed under the royal direct rule. It would only have the power over day-to-day administration, without authority to undo the ordinances, appointments, and other actions of the king during his period of active rule. Because the executive would act without the backing of a legislature, the king would be the authority of last resort, retaining the power of dismissing the sitting prime minister.

Given the royal palace’s record, we know that the government to be formed would be hindered at every step as the latter seeks to pursue the publicly announced seven-party roadmap for peace and democracy. Nor would this government have the authority ab initio to challenge the army’s current role and the ongoing militarisation of state and society by the royal regime. Further, the royal address seeks to retain the link of loyalty between the king and the army. This is a far cry from what is needed: a government that works on the mandate of the People’s Movement and not that of the royal palace. In sum, the king’s grudging concession does not address the great issues that cry out for resolution.

We appeal to your excellencies to also recall the many times that the royal palace has played the game of deception with you, and to introspect whether king Gyanendra, retaining all the powers as head of state not responsible to a legislature, will allow any forthcoming government to act independently. Your attitude seems to be “the king has given this much, take it and make the best of it”. Unfortunately, neither the political parties nor we here in Duwakot, are confident that the royal palace will not intervene in the workings of the executive to be formed. This would be in line with the historical record of the royal palace victimizing the people whenever there has been a move toward genuine democracy.

We ask you, in the hours and days ahead, to be more alert to royal machinations and to support the political parties as they challenge the royal palace. For our part, we would hope that the political parties make a pro-active announcement and cease the moment. There is a need for such an initiative in order to prevent anarchy and dangerous collapse of state structures. For this, the political parties should unilaterally declare restoration of the Third Parliament and/or announce a parallel government. Thereafter, they should consult with the Maoist rebels who have credibly indicated their intention to enter open politics, and announce elections to an unconditional constituent assembly. We hope that the international community will come forward with immediate recognition of such a unilateral declaration, required to prevent Nepal from sinking into the pit of one kind of extremism or another. In such an evolution, we see no role for king Gyanendra other than as a mute spectator.

Please note, Excellencies, that this is the only path to stability in Nepal which both the Nepali masses and the international community want so keenly. The world community, which has harboured such enormous goodwill for the Nepali people and which has been party to our nation-building and development efforts for more than five decades, must respect the maturity of the Nepali political discourse which is speeding the current, exhilarating People’s Movement. Please also note, Excellencies, the kingship is not indispensable for the maintenance of Nepali nationhood, and that it should henceforth remain, if at all, at the cognisance of Nepal’s 26 million citizens.

The latest announcement by the Indian Foreign Secretary, about respecting the will of the people of Nepal, we believe, provides a corrective to the error evident in the Indian government’s initial welcome note. The Indian corrective, we believe, should be emulated by all other international players who wish the Nepali people well.

Sincerely,

Signed by:

1.                Anubhav Ajeet

2.                Bimal Aryal

3.                Laxman Prasad Aryal, former Justice, Supreme Court of Nepal

4.                Ramesh Bhattarai

5.                Kanak Mani Dixit, Editor, Himal Southasian magazine

6.                Dr. Saroj Dhital

7.                Daman Nath Dhungana, Former Speaker, House of Representatives

8.                Arjun Parajuli, poet

9.                Bhasker Gautam, Martin Chautari

10.            Dr. Madhu Ghimire

11.            Dr. Mahesh Maskey

12.            Dr. Sarad Wanta

13.            Dr. Bidur Osti

14.            Dr. Bharat Pradhan

15.            Charan Prasai, President, Human Rights Organisation of Nepal

16.            Padma Ratna Tuladhar, former minister and Human Rights leader

17.            Malla K. Sunder

18.            Rupak Adhikari

Today in Kathmandu

Mass demonstrations were reported from several parts of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur District, inside and outside the ring road including Basundhara, Buddhanagar, Maitidevi, Lubhu, Mangalbazar and Hadigaon.

Hundreds of thousaneds of people gathered in different parts of the ring road on the outskirts of the Katmandu Valley were met by thousands of security troops including Royal Nepalese Army, who used barbed wire to cordon off some inner alleys. The city center was guarded by soldiers patrolling in armored army vehicles. There was heavy patrolling in the areas where clashes had occurred the previous day.

Thousands of protestors defied curfew order and gathered in Koteswor chanting slogans. Security forces deployed in the area fired several rounds of tear gas shells to disperse the crowd. As the protestors persisted, the police fired several rounds of rubber bullets injuring at least three people. The injured were taken to B&B hospital. One of the injured has sustained a bullet injury in head. The protest was led by Nepali Congress leader Chakra Prasad Bastola and Manmohan Bhattrai. Protesters regrouped after the firing stopped.

More than a million people gathered in Kalanki chowk  to protest against King's recent speech, COCAP volunteer from Kalanki reported. As the demonstrators chanted anti government slogans, hundreds of policemen tried to chase them away. About half a dozen tear gas shells and several rounds of rubber bullets were fired to disperse the crowd.

A mass of about ten thousand people marched from Kapan towards Chabahil Chowk. In spite of heavy security deployed in the area, protestors managed to Chabahil. The protestors caught and beat five people that they claim to be vigilantes trying to sabotage the peaceful rally. The angry mass vandalized a house there as two other men who they claim to be vigilante as well entered the house.

Similarly, protest rallies were organized at different places of the valley like Satdobato, Balaju, Gongabu, Kirtipur etc.

Casualty Reports in the Kathmandu Valley

Dozens of casualties were reported throughout the Kathmandu valley. Two people were reportedly injured by rubber bullets in Koteswor. The injured were taken to B & B hospital in Satdobato by OHCHR vehicle.

Sources from Kathmandu Model Hospital in Dillibazar reported at least 35 cases of injury. Bimal Gautam of Narayangad sustained a  severe bullet injury in head. Other two people were left with fractured limbs while more than two dozen people sustained minor injuries mostly from rubber bullets and police sticks. At least half a dozen people were injured during the incident while at least three were arrested. Rakesh Khadka, Shabir Alam and Ram Nagarkoti were among those arrested. They were taken to unknown place in a police van, source said.

Reports from Hadigaun in Kathmandu said that the police during the course of dispersing the demonstrators there entered the house of the locals and beat them brutally with the sticks and baton. Medicare Hospital in Chabel reported an unidentified patient who was left unconscious due to tear gas and is in ventilator since.

Security force today handed over the body of Dipak Dhami to his family in TU Teaching hospital who was killed in an incident few days ago.

At least 8 people have lost their sight due to tear gas fired by the security force during last three weeks of clashes in different parts of the capital while more than two dozens were left with fractured limbs.

Till the date, at least 5000 people are reported to have been injured during last three weeks of general strike.

Report from COCAP Regional Focal Point

Eastern focal point of COCAP, NESPEC,Udayapur, has reported that a large rally was organized by political cadres and professionals.  There was an interaction program named "Royal Announcement and Further Movement" organized by different parties and activists from different walks of life about the ongoing movement. Similarly, a massive rally led by donkeys symbolizing the undemocratic government was organized here.

Western focal point of COCAP, Dalit Empowerment Centre, Baglung, has reported that there was held a peaceful rally by seven parties demanding   constitutional assembly.  The rally of over 15,000 people was peaceful and not intervened by the police, the report said.

Other report form Parbat district states that DDC Chairman Ichha Bdr. Gurung and Vice Chairman Thakur Prasad Bhusal, left the district in an ambulance on Saturday evening for Kathmandu after hearing about plans of the demonstrators to publicly mortify them on Sunday. Another nominated member of the DDC Mina Puri, has resigned from the post citing her support towards the ongoing movement.

Mid Western focal point, SAC Nepal, Banke, has reported that a massive rally of seven political parties and professionals was held in Nepalgunj. The rally was organized by Palpali Sangam Manch which was unique in   nature. Ploughmen carrying ploughs and buffalos led the rally.

On Behalf of COCAP HR Monitoring Team.