| Username |
Post |
| ashu |
Posted
on 19-Mar-03 05:15 PM
Hi all,
News early this morning (as heard on FM Radio bulletins) is that the Maoists have
said that they are for -- and I am not jiking -- open and free markets when making national economic policies.
That's like -- pardon my metaphor -- having a Punk Band that sings in Sanskrit!!
Don't know what "open and free markets" mean to the Maoists, but, for now, I assume they are refrerring to the mainstream definition of that phrase. Just a few years ago, when Deng in China passed away, the Nepali Maoists had refused to praise him, saying that he was a "revisionist".
Then again, who worries about the color of the cat as long as it catches mice?
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| paramendra |
Posted
on 19-Mar-03 05:43 PM
What is their current position on---
(1) Constituent Assembly
(2) Monarchy?
How exactly did this peace come about? Was it between the palace and the Maoist high command directly?
This time it looks like it is for real.
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| ashu |
Posted
on 19-Mar-03 06:21 PM
The government has named Kamal Thapa of RPP as Narayan Singh Pun's negotiating team member. Thapa -- a former Pancha, a gold medalist (political science) at TU and
a devastatingly mean squash player -- is supposed to be one of the reasonable politicians, though he too has his own history of being politically opportunitistic at
times.
The Maoists negotiating team includes: a bahun, a chettri, a Gurung and a Yadav.
Both teams have NO women as members -- and that's a causing much irritation to most women activists in Kathmandu.
>>How exactly did this peace come about? Was it between the palce and the Maoist high command directly?
I think unless Narayan Singh Pun sits down someday and writes his memoirs (with, say, generous advances doled out by Sajha Prakashan), we are not likely to know just what went on behind the scenes to bring about this amazing truce and the concomitantly glimmering hopes for a lasting peace in this beloved country of ours.
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| Kumar Prasad Upadhyay |
Posted
on 20-Mar-03 05:18 PM
Ashu ji:
It may be a bit premature to conclude and rest assured that the Maoists really are for free market system, but subject to them getting a reasonable say in the affairs of the state (and this could mean anything!), it is beginning to look like the repeat of the CPN(UML)'s hundred and eighty degree turn in the early 1990's.
Until the People's Movement, they (UML) were committed to New People's Revolution (Naulo Janabadi Kranti), they only offered a critical support (aalochanatmak samarthan) to the 1990 Constitution, despite the fact that they were a party to its drafting. But by the time they had their general convention in 2049, they had become a party committed to People's Multiparty Democracy (Janatako Bahudaliya Janabad). The eye opener to them perhaps came in the form of the election results of 1991, when they won 67 seats in the House, arousing their expectations to in fact rule the country at some point. That, to me, made them "mainstream" in approach and thought.
People's Multiparty Democracy was the political line that Madan Bhandari took during their convention to defeat CP Mainali, whose political line was New People's Democracy. I have not be able to understand who meant how much of whatever one said in those documents.
Regarding your introduction of Kamal Thapa, I was a bit surprised that you describe him as a squash player (about which I would say not much is known) but not as a nationally recognized football player, about which good deal is known. Plus, I have heard him being described as a gold medalist in political science a good number of times, but wasn't able to verify that at any time. I am not questioning the authenticity of that assertion, and I trust that is true, but do you mind sharing your source of information regarding KT being a political science gold medalist, please.
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| ashu |
Posted
on 21-Mar-03 02:12 AM
Kumar-ji,
I called up RPP ko headquarters in Kathmandu (Phone: 4-437-058), and spoke
to a very helpful gentleman named Govinda Khaniya.
Mr. Khaniya recited Thapa's official bio to me on the phone.
The whole conversation was over in 5 minutes.
Apparently, Thapa has mentioned his MA (political science) from TU, but his CV does NOT make any mention of the gold medal he was supposed to have been awarded.
[I asked twice about the gold medal, and Mr. Khaniya said that the CV makes no
mention of it.]
Since Thapa himself does not make any mention of the gold medal in his own official bio, it is likely that your suspicions are correct. After all, which politician would not want to mention his gold medal (that too, in political science) in his own official CV, right?
So, there you have it -- truth, truth and nothing but the verifiable truth, short of asking Thapa himself or checking with the alumni records at TU!!
{I must have picked up info of Thapa's gold medal from some obviously ill-researched newspaper pieces. :-(
On another note, Thapa, a former national football player (in the year 1975), seems to have left football and squash altogether, and has become a tennis player these days, even winning a few Veterans' Matches in Kathmandu.
With his voice palpably brimming with pride, Mr. Khaniya further informed me that Thapa, in his political life, has held ministerial portfolios in:
Suchana Mantralaya
Ban Mantralaya
Sthaniya Bikas Mantralaya
Works and Transport Mantralaya
Krishi Mantralaya, and
Foreign Affairs Mantralaya
Finallly, I asked whether Mr. Khaniya would please email me Thapa's bio.
And the answer I got: "We don't have email, Sir."
So, Czar, Baljoshi and Logical Sense -- if you are reading this -- there you have it the IT-readiness of Nepal's third-largest political party.
Kumar-ji,
Sure, your drawing parallels between the Maoists' pro-business pronouncements and CPN-UML's then pronouncements is quite apt. We live in interesting times; let's see what further events unfold.
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| bewakoof |
Posted
on 21-Mar-03 06:05 AM
rumour has it, Maoists are no longer adamant about constituent assembly either. makes one wonder what all that loss of lives was about anyway. can the Maoists just come back and accept the current constitution ? how would they justify the 'armed struggle' and loss of thousands of lives ? was all that just to they become a more prominent party?
i don't mind the 'peace' and cessation of hostilities, however it may have come about. but there is a Kafka-esque comic absurdity about the whole thing.
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| surya |
Posted
on 21-Mar-03 06:13 AM
If possible I think they should probably just be rounded up and put in jail for crimes against humanity.They claim to be ideologues and are ideoloues till it ceases to serve their purpose of wielding power... power even at the cost of human life and terror across the country. I hope this negotiation does not turn totally into about how to appease the bully who threatens to kick your butt unless you give him the candy. Clemency is fine to some extent, but there has to be a thorough investigation and people have to be held accountable for what they have done. Or am I totally off here?Thought?
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| Kumar Prasad Upadhyay |
Posted
on 21-Mar-03 11:52 AM
Ashu-ji: Thanks for taking the trouble. I too believe, based on the fact that Kamal Thapa himself does not mention his "gold medal" in his bio, it is fair to assume that he is not a gold medalist from the Central Department of Political Science at Tribhuvan University. (I can think of people like Prof. Lok Raj Baral, Keshar Bahadur Thapa--himself a gold medalist, Srish S Rana--gold medalist too, or even Krishna Hachhethu, but may be we should leave it there).
With or without the medal, I think he is one of the more intelligent and articulate politicians around, and has been extremely lucky with all the appointments and elections starting from a very young age. While the list of ministries look impressive on his cv, I would not make too much out of that, since most of that happened during the two and a half years of coalition politics during the prime ministerships of Sher Bahadur Deuba, Lokendra Bahadur Chand and Surya Bahadur Thapa. He was always on the right side of the bargain!!
KPU
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| Kumar Prasad Upadhyay |
Posted
on 21-Mar-03 11:57 AM
In the second sentence of the first para, I was trying to say, the four people I list may be able to verify Kamal Thapa's "gold medal" issue, because of their association with the Department around the time KT was a student there. Hachhethu may be a bit junior, but Bista and Rana should be just a few years senior or junior to him. And Prof. Baral must have taught him. Sorry about the mix-up.
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| hehe |
Posted
on 21-Mar-03 12:50 PM
It does not matter how talent KT is or whether he is gold medalist or not but his past career shows that he is opportunist with no any political ideology. He is articulate and comparatively a good orator in RPP but has history of changing camps from Thapa and Chand during those periods when both of these leaders (Thapa and Chand) got opportunity to form government in 90s.
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