#484 8 - 14 January 2010 16 pages Rs 30

n between phases of protestscalled by the Maoists, someNepalis may have

considered themselves lucky tohave only load-shedding and theodd life-threatening doctor’sstrike to deal with. But therewas also plenty to talk aboutwhat the usual suspects weretalking about.

Déjà vuThe tale of the tapes

continues to baffle and infuriatethose seeking to decide whatMaoist Chairman Pushpa KamalDahal is really about beyond thefact that he is lying at least someof the time. Prashant Jha (seep2) offers some insights as tothe balance of power that mighthave provoked the Chairman’s

latest outburst.But the leaders of the Big

Three parties are still talking, andagreeing to agree at some laterdate. Meanwhile, Prime MinisterMadhav Kumar Nepal came intorepeated confrontation with YCLcadres who first waved black flagsat him (in Dailekh) then stonedhim (in Chitwan). Evidentlyupset, he spent the best part ofhis Dailekh appearance railingagainst the Maoists, warningthem that attempts to seizestate power would come at a‘high cost’.

The sun also rises, but as yet,it is difficult to see whetheranything will be accomplished inthe days to come.

NEW DAY? The sunrises over Chitwan

KIRAN PANDAY

I

In our new column FOURTHESTATE, CK Lal trains hisgaze upon the Nepali media.

What lessons does SouthAfrica have for Nepal?Invictus reveals much.

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8 - 14 JANUARY 2010 #484

Publisher: Kunda Dixit | Editor: Rabi Thapa Design: Kiran Maharjan | Marketing: Sambhu Guragain, Subhash Kumar, Arjun Karki marketing@himalmedia.com | Circulation: Santosh Aryal santosha@himalmedia.com

Hatiban, Godavari Road, Lalitpur | GPO Box 7251 Kathmandu | Tel: 01-5250333/845 Fax: +977-1-5251013editors@nepalitimes.com | www.nepalitimes.com

Published by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd | www.himalmedia.com | Printed at Jagadamba Press 01-5250017-19

JOB WELL DONEThe latest edition of the paper is full ofcontents that should give your readerscomplete satisfaction. Frankly, I got thereturn for every one of the Rs 30 I paidfor it.

The warning in the editorial (‘Unitednation’,#483) has proved prophetic. We,the Nepalis, continue to be disunited. Andthe recent UDI-style Maoistannouncements for "autonomousrepublics" might add insult to the injury.

Hope to be able to see the day whenthe Nepali Times would have come outwith the materials selected in anotherpreceding decade.

Dhruba Hari Adhikary, Kathmandu

LOOKING BACK, AND BEYONDMr. Lal jee’s new year pledge to shiftfrom discussing politics to incising“the inner workings of the media” is awelcome sign (‘Looking back, andbeyond’, #483). But in countriessuch as ours where leadership is yetto mature and cultivate a newmindset, the role of the intellectualsin nurturing the body politic willpersist for many years to come.National politics still needsmicroscopic surgery from the sharppen of noted critics such as Mr. Lal.Let’s hope that function will beretained.

Devendra Pant

MAINSTREAMING THE MADHESThe sentiments of Prashant Jha are atrue reflection of our society(‘Mainstreaming the Madhes’, #483).Kudos to people like him who are atleast daring to write on issues which arepertinent but don’t catch the eyes of ourdonor-motivated scholars andjournalists.

akeshkurmi

ALL HAIL, ALL HELLFirst off, fantastic writing, absolutelyfantastic (‘All hail, all hell’, #483).Undoubtedly, our Kathmandu has all thepotential to be one of the best cities inthe world. When I descended into the

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FIVE MORE MONTHSMaoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal may havethought that he could say anything behind closed doorsin one of his periodic ‘cadre training’ sessions. But as apublic figure he should know by now that nothing hesays is off the record.

He should have learnt from the damage he causedto his own reputation within Nepal and among theinternational community with the Shaktikhor video, inwhich he boasted to his troops about what a great liarhe was in hoodwinking a gullible UN.

The half-hour tirade that he gave on Monday to agathering of his supporters proved that the Chairmanhasn’t learnt a thing. And that is the kinder explanation.More ominously, it shows that the Maoist party is fullycommitted to seizing total power to set up a people’srepublic through a decisive revolution. Hearing aboutthe Maoist endgame from the horse’s mouth should notsurprise anyone.

Many got sidetracked from that main message bythe aside that Dahal flung at his chief ideologue,Baburam Bhattarai. That there is no love lost between

the two most powerful personalities in the Maoist movementhas been known ever since the Chungbang Conference in2005 when Bhattarai, his wife and close aides were sent toa labour camp. But by naming Bhattarai publicly assomeone whom India was pushing to be the next primeminister, Dahal presented himself as a master schemer.

By now it is clear that Dahal has squandered most ofthe goodwill he earned from the international communitywhen he followed parliamentary procedures by resigning inMay last year. His latest harangue confirms that the

Maoists are not interested in the new constitution or infuture elections: they just want to seize power and wantto sweep away anyone who stands in the way. Which iswhy it has become standard operating procedure for himto blame the messenger by first saying reporters quotedhim ‘out of context’, then accuse them of ‘yellowjournalism’, and then call editors and publishers‘feudals’ or ‘smugglers’.

The Maoists and their sympathisers like to labelanyone who is critical of their posture as ‘rightwing’. It isnot rightwing to call on a party that won a majority inelections to adhere to parliamentary norms, to publiclyrenounce violence, to disband their paramilitary and tobe more serious about the peace process and theconstitution.

We urge the Maoists not to sideline or purge thosewho want to transform the party into a responsiblemainstream entity with a strong social reform agenda.We urge them to work to end the political deadlock sowe can meet the deadline for completing the newconstitution in five months time.

arxists argue that broadersocial and economicforces, rather than

individuals, shape the course ofhistory. But Nepal may still havebeen stuck in a bloody conflictbut for Dr Baburam Bhattarai andhis emphasis on democraticrepublicanism. The ongoingattempts to marginalise himwithin the Maoists reveal muchabout the balance of power andhow counterproductive it couldbe for the peace andconstitution-writing process.

Prachanda remains theunchallenged supremo. Hiscontrol over the organisationalapparatus, ability to reconcileinterests, and personal charismaare testimony to remarkablepolitical skills.

Kiran has a support base ofloyalists like Biplab who call theshots in the party’s base areas,operators like Krishna Mahara,polemicists like CP Gajurel,

ethnic champions like DebGurung, and key PLA and YCLfigures.

Judged in terms of numbersof supporters, Dr Bhattarai is notthe most powerful. He does notbelieve in patronage politics, butis a man of ideas who translatesthem into practice. Bhattaraiconceptualised the war; judgedwhen the time was ripe for peaceand convinced the party of it;ensured its aims of a republicand CA were fulfilled; and hasgiven the party respectabilityway beyond its base. Even now,it is Bhattarai and supporterssuch as Khimlal Devkota andAnanta who have been doing allthe groundwork in the CA orpeace negotiations.

Most importantly, Bhattaraihas provided Nepali Maoism anintellectual coherence on issuesas varied as federalism, thenature of the state, internalcolonisation of the Tarai, classand ethnicity, and the nature ofthe ‘semi-colonial’ relationshipwith India.

In his 1997 essay, ‘Political-Economic Rationale of the War’,Bhattarai identifies Nepal’s keystructural problems: the use of

Nepal as an exporter of rawmaterials and a secure market forfinished Indian products; theunfavourable balance of trade;control of the Nepali economythrough Indian-origin capitalists;the trend of MNCs operating inNepal through their Indiansubsidiaries; unequal watertreaties; use of cheap Nepalilabour; and the hegemony ofIndian monetary policy.Bhattarai’s articulation remainsthe single most important text on

which the Maoist insistence onredefining the relationship withIndia is based.

That is why it is a bit rich forparty rivals to accuse Bhattarai ofbeing an Indian agent. Under theradical garb lie deep fears. Kiranfeels ideologically dwarfed byBhattarai’s creative and so farsuccessful application ofMaoism, dubs him a revisionist,and is looking for a role forhimself. Prachanda is personallyinsecure, and is afraid Bhattarai

could trump him due to hispopularity across party lines,performance in government andinternational credibility. He isalso keen to cosy up to hisorthodox colleagues bycriticising Bhattarai.

Even if the end goal ofradical state restructuring andhegemonic control is commonto all Maoists, there aresignificant differences on howto get there – which haveimplications for the evolution

of the party itself.Kiran believes that class

warfare has to move to the nextstage through a violent urbaninsurrection. Bhattaraiunderstands the need for abroad multi-class, multi-ethnicalliance, and feels that acombination of mass politics,constitutional process, andelections can win the Maoistsstate power. He recognisesgeopolitical limits, and willengage with India more

constructively in contrast to theabuse in public-suck up inprivate approach adopted byPrachanda, or the blindchauvinism of Kiran. Bhattaraiknows the way to transformNepal’s structural dependenceis through internal resourcemobilisation and boostingnational competitiveness whileusing India.

Make no mistake – DrBhattarai is a committed Maoist,not a social democrat. But hisapproach will force the Maoiststo address diverse interests, andcreate checks against theirviolent impulses. This canhowever succeed only withmore openness on the part ofnon-Maoists externally, andPrachanda’s backing internally.

By snubbing Bhattarai andhis ‘line’ again – as Prachandadid by depriving him of thedeputy prime ministership inAugust 2008 and incorporatingKiran’s views at Kharipati twomonths later – the Maoists runthe risk of undermining theirachievements, repeating themistakes of their 20th centurycommunist counterparts,and failing.

Unscripted linesPLAIN SPEAKINGPrashant Jha

Without Baburam Bhattarai,the Maoists will repeat history

SAROJ DAHAL

valley on a bus from east Nepal some 30years ago I could not help falling in lovewith Kathmandu.But sadly, nobody inpower had a vision for Kathmandu. Let usact now. We need passionate activists – Ipersonally do not trust our stupidpoliticians.

R Rai

On the blogs | www.nepalitimes.com/blogs

East West: Kunda Dixit reviews Invictusand draws striking parallels between post-Apartheid reconciliation in South Africa andour own shaky peace process.

8 - 14 JANUARY 2010 #484 OP-ED|3

hen Indra Lohanipassed away inJanuary last year, the

movers and shakers of theKathmandu Valley gathered infull force at the Nepal BarAssociation premises to pay theirrespects. The glitterati grievedand the masses mourned, suchwas the force of his televisionpresence.

A graduate of the NationalLaw School in India and apractising Supreme Courtattorney, Lohani had little timefor the niceties of journalism. Heran his show Bahas with thecombativeness of a publicprosecutor. He didn’t interviewhis guests; rather, they weregrilled in penetrating sessions ofpublic interrogation. He madethe high and mighty quiverand squirm.

Journalists abhorred hisstyle, but the audience loved it.Millions would switch channelsmid-program to hear histrademark greeting Jai Hos. It’s atribute to his memory that alltalkshow hosts try to imitate hisstyle, even if they don’t possesshis perspicacity.

Context and insight are themain strengths of the printmedia. Radio encouragesconversation and helps create acommon ground for a diversityof opinions. Television,however, thrives by focusing onaction. It offers video footage ofbreaking news, erupting conflictsand emerging personalities. Intruth, TV is better at creatingcontroversy than clearingconfusion. The camera doesn’tlie, but it can never quite capture

the multi-hued truth.Innovative television

producers try to overcome theinherent weaknesses of themedium through a judiciousmix of vox pop, expert analyses,archival materials andjournalistic commentary. ButNepal lacks well-groundedtelevision anchors andnewsreaders still run mostcurrent affairs programs.

TV stations rely uponpoliticos, NGO-tsars, lawyers,activists and the gatekeepers ofthe print media to round up thedaily panorama. Since thetalking heads often lack theskills to engage their audiences,most TV talkshows are banal

affairs. It’s no wonder marketsurveys show that comedyserials are more popular thancurrent affair programs.Infotainment is a useful tool tokeep viewers tied to the idiotbox, but it hardly adds to thecredibility of television stations.

Nepal boasts 10 televisionchannels, and at least five moreare said to be in the pipeline.But everyone wants to be a bettercopy of whichever Indiansatellite they consider to be themodel: India TV, Aaj Tak or ZeeNews. A serious shortage oftrained journalists is the mainreason me-too entrants fail tobreak new ground and have torely on footage from the daily

drama at the Reporters’ Club. Ithas become a vicious circle:salaries are too low to attracttalent, which then justifies thedecision of owners to pay evenless, with obviously detrimentaleffects on program quality.

Pioneering Nepal Televisionwas created in the mid-eightiesto meet the cravings of theKathmandu middle class forentertainment of some sortunder the autocratic Panchayatregime. Unlike the nationalbroadcaster in India, whichbegan by enlisting the services ofleading litterateurs andintellectuals, NTV wasconceptualised and establishedby cine artistes. Thus it failed togroom professionals for thefuture boom in the field.

Private television channelsbegan by buying time forentertainment programs withlittle inkling of the strengthsand weaknesses of the medium.The tradition of innovationfailed to take root as everychannel wanted to play safe.They invested heavily inhardware, expecting that thesoftware would take care ofitself. Their prayers wereanswered by the likes of IndraLohani. But wishful thinkingisn’t always self-fulfilling.

In the competition foreyeballs, TV channels will haveto work to secure their niches.News channels need to nurturein-house analysts; thosespecialising in travel, businessor lifestyle have to hire theservices of professionals with aproven track record. Andeveryone will have to invest inthe enhancement of thejournalistic capabilities of theireditorial teams. With somedegree of market saturationimminent, the period ofcomplacency in the televisionindustry is now over.

Lohani’s legacy

Nepal’s TVstations will

have towork harderfor audience

loyalty

W

Top Coffee

FOURTH ESTATEC K Lal

KIRAN PANDY

8 - 14 JANUARY 2010 #4844|NATION

“Medicine is passed down like a religious lineage,from father to son. It is also like a dance and a game.People offer what they know, sometimes adding newideas from what they have seen and done. In ourtradition, we learn to take from our teacher’s ideas andour books to create new ideas, which come into fullbloom like a lotus flower when combined with thesoil of experience.”

Gyatso Bista, Co-founder of Lo Kunphen MedicalSchool, Upper Mustang

For brothers Gyatso and Tenzin Bista, RinzinWangmo could well be a lotus flower coming intobloom. She is the first government-recognisedCommunity Amchi Assistant (CAA) of HimalayanTraditional Medicine (HMT) in Nepal. Teaching herjuniors in Lo Kunphen Medical School and treatinglocals in the surrounding communities, she is carryingon an ancient tradition that might have been lost inNepal if not for the efforts of the Bistas.

There was a time when there were about 30traditional amchis (practitioners of traditional Tibetanmedicine) in Mustang, approximately one for everyvillage. Now there are only seven, the inevitable resultof out-migration and a shift towards a cash-basedeconomy that undervalues indigenous knowledgeprovided for free through masters and apprentices.

Expert amchi practitioners and hereditaryphysician astrologers to the Mustangi King in Lo-Manthang, Gyatso and Tenzin Bista, picked the threatto this millennia-old tradition early.

Strikinga balance

They then founded Lo Kunphen Medical Schoolin 2000 and designed a two-year CAA curriculum forClass Eight graduates. Now they are looking to upgradethe HMT course to a Certificate in Amchi Medicinefor CAA or SLC graduates.

HMT is based on the herbal and natural productsof Tibet and the Himalaya, and is a rigorous disciplinethat has been practiced for thousands of years.Practitioners develop a close relationship with theirpatients, and attend to chronic conditions such ashepatitis and diabetes, incorporating diagnosis bypulse and urine analysis and holistic treatmentcombining physical and spiritual wellness.

In the age of modern medicine, some aspects ofHMT – particularly its focus on Buddhist philosophy– may seem a little antiquated. But it is sometimesthe only treatment available to locals in remote areassuch as Dolpo, Upper Mustang and Mugu. What’smore, the services are provided for free bypractitioners, old and new, mirroring the ideal of theBodhisattva who sacrifices personal benefit for thatof the community.

Lo Kunphen’s ultimate aim may be to produceHMT graduates to safeguard indigenous knowledge.But the Bista brothers appear to have grasped whyHMT was under threat in the first place, and havesought to integrate traditional medicine’s aims withmodern requirements. With the help of the JapanFoundation, WWF-Nepal and US-based Drokpa, LoKunphen Medical School and the Himalayan AmchiAssociation also support the cultivation andconservation of medicinal plants.

It’s widely acknowledged that Nepal has amongthe richest diversity of medicinal plants in the world.A strong, government-accredited community ofamchis – linked with practitioners in Tibet, Ladakh,Bhutan and Mongolia – could prove essential topromoting sustainable utilisation of our ecologicalresources. This in turn could tie into a strategy forregional and international marketing of HMT thatcould provide the financial resources for its continueddevelopment, and that of the traditional communitiesthat constitute its heartland.Yoji Kamata

The Bista brothers are leadinga brave effort to revivetraditional Tibetan medicinein Upper Mustang

HAPPY GRADUATE: Rinzin Wangmo says it isn'tjust about the certificate. “I want to serve the localpeople as much as possible, as the other amchisdo,” she says.

8 - 14 JANUARY 2010 #484 BUSINESS|5

Nepali Times: Why do youwear a watch?VD Wadhwa: Watches are astyle statement. The brand, thecolour defines my style.

How is the luxury watchindustry in Nepal?The trend in South Asiancountries was that the market wasgrowing 30 per cent each year. Butthe economic recession, sinceSeptember-October, decreasedsales by 26 per cent. Yet becauseof the growing number of malls inNepal, since last year, the luxurywatch industry has boomed here.

Why did you choose Nepalto launch Timex at this pointof time?There are many reasons; Nepal isfinally coming out of its politicalturmoil and it’s the right time tostart. Another is because retailingis now well developed. Not onlyare the displays in malls great butthe distributers too do justice tothe brand.

Also, remittances are crucialto Nepal’s economy. Nepalisstaying abroad, being familiarwith the Timex brand, would liketo buy Timex watches in theirown country.

How are Timex watchesdifferent from others?Our watches have many moreadditional features: indigo dials,

Timeless Timex

heart rate monitor, data linker,digital compass, dual time, bloodpressure monitor, temperaturemonitor and so on to suit everyindividual.

Who are your maincustomers?Youth between the ages of 18 to40. But it’s not just the physicalage! Timex watches are also forthose who may be over 40 butstill go to clubs and party and areyoung at heart.

How useful are watches tothose with trendy mobilephones?Unlike in earlier times, whenpeople bought a watch and woreit for years, people today changewatches every six months or so.And being early movers, theywant to be the first to pick thelatest trends.

How are you controlling thegrey market in Nepal?There is and will continue to be agrey market in every country. Butthe only way to control it is todisplay your products well, andas widely as possible. We willalso provide certificates toauthorised distributors.

Why did you choose HimElectronics as partners inNepal?The Golcas are serious

businessmen and have gone fullblast behind every new brandthey have taken up. They are alsovery professional and have donejustice to all their brands.

What is the global turnoverof your watches every year?A billion dollars. Includingother brands of ours like Versace,Salvatore Ferragamo, Valentino,Guess, Guess Collection, Ecko,Nautica, Opex and VincentBérard.

What is the price range ofTimex watches?From Rs 1800 to Rs 20,000.

How are you promotingyour brand here?We are a long term player andbelieve that if the groundwork isgood, business will happen. Sowe’re penetrating the market asmuch as we can by learningabout Nepalis’ preferences andstudying the market. Besidesdisplaying watches andpublicising through the printmedia and hoarding boards, weare associating with local eventsas well.

What are your future plansin Nepal?In the next six months, we planto have 150 Timex outlets inNepal, including an exclusiveTimex boutique.

Timex Group has been in the watch market since 1854. With outletsin 80 countries all over the world, the group launched its products inNepal on 5 January, in cooperation with Him Electronics. NepaliTimes spoke to VD Wadhwa, Senior VP of Corporate Affairs andBusiness Development at the Timex Group.

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SUNITA DANGOL

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Dark starWith load shedding encroaching upon ourlives day and night, CG Electronics’recent launch of inverters is timely. Withthe purchase of every CG inverter,customers will get a free CG iron and with the purchase of a CGinverter as well as a luminous battery, a free CG rice cooker.

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Liquidity concernsKathmandu FrontierAssociates organised a half-day workshop on currentliquidity problems faced bybanks and financialinstitutions, and the role of

Nepal Rastra Bank, in January at the Hotel Everest.

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Remittance savioursWith a view to providing customiseddeposits products and services to itsremittance consumers, Himalayan Bankhas launched a deposit product namedHimal Remit Savings Account. It providesa minimum balance of zero, an interest rate of five per cent perannum, a free visa debit card, accidental death insurance of upto five hundred thousand rupees and more.

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Board of TradeThe Government of Nepal nominated Padma Jyoti, Rajendra K.Khetan and Diwakar Golchha as the first ever constituted Boardof Trade under the chairmanship of the Minister of Commerceand Supplies. The board will look after all the issues related tothe Commerce Policy of 2008.

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Banking boomThe 15th AnnualGeneral Meeting of theBank of Kathmanduconcludedsuccessfully with theAGM approving 40per cent bonus shares

and 7.3684 per cent cash dividend to valued shareholders. Thetotal deposits at the end of the fiscal year 2065/66 increased by14.21 per cent in comparison to the last fiscal year and similarly,loans and advances increased by 17.24 per cent to the end of thefiscal year 2065/66.

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Innovative servicesLaxmi Bank entered into aChannel Partner Agreementwith Beed Invest, the firstoperational licensedportfolio manager, to offernew investment products tocustomers. Laxmi Bank willbe the first commercial bank in Nepal to introduce portfoliomanagement products to its clientele through its variousbranches.

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Active CitizensThe British Council and the Association of Youth Organisationsin Nepal launched the project Active Citizens on 17December. The project works with young people, helping themrecognise their potential and exercise their responsibility toengage effectively for the positive development of theircommunities at a local and international level. Two hundredyoung people from Bhaktapur were chosen as Active Citizens.

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Ride away!Syakar Company, the sole distributor ofHonda Motorcycles in Nepal, has launchedthe new Honda Activa in its scooter line. Ithas special features like a combinedbraking system, low weight metal parts,fuel tank capacity of six litres, under seatstorage space, key shutter, tuff up tube and15 per cent more mileage.

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Big winnersThe winners of the Tata Passenger Vehicles-Chakkar LagauneOffer were announced last week. While 30 people gotconsolation prizes worth Rs 25,000, twelve couples won a freetrip to Pokhara including paragliding. Five more couples won afree trip to Bangkok-Pattaya and the grand prize winner,Gyanendra Subedi, won a million rupees.

8 - 14 JANUARY 2010 #4846|NATION

THIS WEEK

Breach in the ranksRifts within the Maoist party almost exploded on Tuesday afterPushpa Kamal Dahal was heard on a leaked audio tape telling hisparty cadres that India wanted Baburam Bhattarai as the new PMand that plans were underway for a decisive people’s revolt. TheMaoists convened an emergency central committee meeting thenext day, where they appeared to patch things up, though notbefore Bhattarai told reporters, “this is an attempt to assasinatemy character.” At the meeting, the Maoists reaffirmed theircommitment to democracy and decided that Dahal would be PM ifthe Maoists were to lead the government.

Nearing a deal?The Big Three party leaders made apparent strides towardsending the political impasse, nearing deals on army-PLAintegration and a High Level Political Mechanism (HLPM). OnTuesday, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal floated a plan thataimed to complete integration by 30 April and made provisions forthe education and rehabilitation of ex-combatants. Some highlyplaced sources said an informal agreement to integrate 3000-5000ex-combatants had already emerged. The parties also pledged toset up an HLPM by Friday morning, which, hopefully, willreconcile key political differences that have delayed the peaceprocess.

ShutdownThe Residents Association of the National Association of MedicalScience (RAN) shut down emergency services last week claimingthat their demands for better facilities and reduced tuition hadn’tbeen met. They had closed all other sections apart fromemergency units since 23 December. On Monday, other hospitalemployees joined in the protests in part to express solidarity withRAN, but also because they alleged their work environment hadbecome too dangerous. Emergency services reopened onWednesday following talks between RAN and the government.

Not so fast, Gen ToranOn Monday, the Supreme Court ordered the government to hold offon promoting Major General Toran Jung Bahadur Singh to the postof Lieutenant General. There will be another hearing on 10January when the court will decide whether to vacate the stayorder. Singh has been accused of involvement in thedisappearance of 49 detainees at the Bhairabnath Battalionbetween 2002 and 2003.

o the tune of a bagpipe, he bows his head low and then salutes,raising his right hand to his forehead. In this way, Bill Jenkinsof Liverpool, UK remembers the Gurkha soldiers who lost their

lives in World War I and II at the cemetry of the Gurkha soldiers, in thepremises of BP Koirala Medical Science Academy in Dharan.

“I want to remember them,” he says, simply.Seventy-five-year-old Jenkins, father of three children, says he came

to Dharan from halfway around the world to remember the forgottenGurkhas. He recalls the name of Rit Bahadur Rai of Gairi Gaun, son ofNara Bahadur Rai and Durga Laxmi, who was killed on 27 July, 1941during a battle in Iraq at the tender age of 16. Rai is among 47,000Gurkhas who died in the two World Wars. A further 150,000 Gurkhaswere also wounded.

Jenkins says, “I read hisname at the Basra CremationMemorial in Iraq in 2003, but itisn’t on official record in theUK defence ministry.” He is nowin Nepal to help set the recordstraight. Like Rai, the names ofmany Gurkhas who died inthese wars aren’t officiallyrecorded. Jenkins, who servedin the Royal Marines, startedcollecting the names of theseunsung heroes in 2003. Heobtained names from theCommonwealth War Graves commission and by visiting various placesin Nepal.

Jenkins has been trying to find Rai’s house but can’t locate GairiGaun. “I don’t have a formal education, but have brains enough to nowthat something has to be done,” he explains. “By taking the names ofsome Gurkhas, I am remembering all Gurkha veterans who lost theirlives in World War I and II for the British crown. The British governmentshouldn’t overlook those who die in its service.”

He says he has submitted a list of 43,000 names to the Indian andBritish embassies, and believes these governments can’t contrive anexcuse to ignore them for much longer. He also directs ire at the NepaliGovernment, which he says celebrates the achievements of the Gurkhasonly in speeches.

“I am not associated with any political party, religion or Gurkhaorganisation. I will be raising the issues of Gurkhas all my life. TheBritish Government has failed to recognise them but I am proud of theGurkhas,” he says.

Unsung heroes

SITA MADEMBA IN DHARAN

Bill Jenkinssalutes theGurkhas wholost theirlives in theWorld Wars

T

SITA MADEMBA

BROTHERS-IN-ARMS: BillJenkins remembers theforgotten Gurkhas in Dharan

8 - 14 JANUARY 2010 #484LIFE TIMES 7

Precious: reality bitesdapted from the award winningnovel Push by American authorSapphire, Precious is a 2009 film

directed by Lee Daniels, set in 1980sHarlem, New York. It’s the frighteninglydepressing story of an obese, black,16-year-old teenager, Claireece ‘Precious’Jones (newcomer Gabourey Sidibe) whostruggles with illiteracy, a savage, volatilemother (Mo’nique), and a father whosexually abuses her, giving her a secondunwanted pregnancy.

Boosted by fantasies of becoming astar in her darkest moments, Preciousshows incredible resilience despite thegruesome reality she’s living in. But the

t is rare that you start takingnotes furiously whilewatching a movie. And it is

even more surprising if it is aClint Eastwood film.

A Nepali watching Invictuscan’t but help draw strikingparallels between post-Apartheidreconciliation in South Africaand our own shaky peace process.What helped South Africa wasthat it had a statesman of thestature of Nelson Mandela.

Invictus is the story ofMandela’s determination to uniteSouth Africa following thedivisions wrought by its racistpast. Even though he suffered twodecades of incarceration at RobbenIsland, Mandela was willing toforgive and take blacks and whitestogether towards a prosperousnew future with a bitter whitepopulation, and blacks bent onrevenge, this was a formidabletask.

Eastwood’s film takes the casestudy of the South African rugbyteam, and depicts how Mandelaused that white-dominated sportto forge unity and inspire theteam to an improbable, butsymbolic, victory in the 1995rugby world cup in South Africa.

No state withoutstatesmen

major turning point takes place when shemoves to an alternative school, meets newand supportive people, and mostimportantly a teacher who completelychanges her outlook on life. Also part of hersupport group are Mariah Carey in the role ofa completely de-glammed social worker andLenny Kravitz as a male nurse.

Precious is as depressing and distressingas you might imagine. It is ultimatelyuplifting, though thankfully not at all in themanner of countless coming-of-ageHollywood productions, and it offers astartling glimpse onto the mundaneness ofmuch American urban experience.

No critic could have said it better than

Oprah Winfrey, one of the producers,“I realised that, Jesus, I have seen that girl amillion times. I see that girl every morningon the way to work, I see her standing in thecorner, I see her waiting for the bus as I’mpassing by in my limo, I see her coming outof the drugstore. And she’s been invisible tome. I’ve done exactly what the people in thisfilm did to her. I’ve seen her and not seenher. And I thought, that will never happento me again. This is for all the Precious girls.”

Precious is only the third film to winboth the Grand Jury and Audience prizes atthe Sundance festival, and the Oscars are wellwithin its grasp.Duksangh Sherpa

A

So, what’s all that got to dowith Nepal? First off: you realisehow lucky the South Africanswere to have a leader like Mandelaand how unlucky we are with ourpolitical lilliputs. Mandela stoodfor what he knew was right, eventhough most of his own people,including his closest advisers andfamily members, initially didn’tagree with him going against thepublic current.

Here in Nepal we have leaderswho don’t lead. They follow.They concoct populist slogans,stoke pseudo-nationalism andspew invectives. They alwaysreact, and are rarely proactive.They sow hate, xenophobia andparanoia rather than try to unite.

Watching Invictus, you

wonder when we will get a netawho will say, “The past is thepast, we look to the future now,”as Mandela does, and really meanit. When his former ANC guerrillabodyguard wants to accompanyhim to a function, Mandela tellshim to stay away from view withthe words: “I don’t want to talk tothem hiding behind men withguns.”

Mandela is playedconvincingly by Morgan Freeman,who even cultivates a faintAfrikaans accent, as he forces hisblack bodyguards to work withwhite bodyguards.

“Reconciliation starts here,”Mandela reminds the formerenemies, “forgiveness startshere…forgiveness removes fear.”

InvictusOut of the night that covers me,Black as the Pit from pole to pole,I thank whatever gods may beFor my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstanceI have not winced nor cried aloud.Under the bludgeonings of chanceMy head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tearsLooms but the Horror of the shade,And yet the menace of the yearsFinds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,How charged with punishments the scroll,I am the master of my fate:I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley (1849-1903)

Mandela uses the medium ofsport, in this case rugby, to stitchhis country back together througha sense of national pride.Although Eastwood’s film depictsthis as a success, we all know thatthe reconciliation process hasn’tbeen all that smooth in SouthAfrica. Maybe this year’s footballWorld Cup will help finish whatMandela started 15 years ago.

Mandela’s words in the moviehave a haunting relevance inNepal. “In order to build ournation, we all need to exceed ourexpectation,” he says, “we needinspiration.” What a contrast toour paranoid leaders, not one ofwhom seems to be able to riseabove personal and partisaninterest. None of them have learnt

from the bloody history of ourrecent past.

The film is named after apoem (invictus meansunvanquished) by an obscureVictorian named William ErnestHenley, the words of whichMandela says helped get himthrough the long years ofdetention.

The lesson for us in Nepal,perhaps, is that destiny is notfated, we have to carve it out ofour present.Kunda Dixit

ClintEastwood’s

latestdirectorial

turn hasrather

differentlessons for

Nepal

I

8 - 14 JANUARY 2010 #4848|LIFE TIMES

In the Eye of the Storm, launch of a book of drawings byManuj Babu Mishra, 8 January, 5pm, Siddhartha Art Gallery, BabarMahal Revisited, followed by a documentary on the artist by AshaKazi Manandhar. A collection of the artist’s rare drawning andpaintings will also be on display. Exhibition until 21 January.Siddhartha Art Gallery and Summit Hotel will also be presentingthe art installation Roots by Dutch artist Peter Shrader at theSummit Hotel, Sanepa, 10 January, 3pm.

Landscape and Life History in the Himalaya, SocialScience Baha lecture series XXXIV by David Zurick (FoundationProfessor of Geography at Eastern Kentucky University andUniversity of Kentucky) at Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka, 11January, 4pm

Poet’s Corner at Lazimpat Gallery Café, write, read and vote,entries accepted until 24 January, voting from 24-31 January,4428529. Where the wild things are, movie screening 11January, 5.30pm.

People After War, permanent photo exhibition, every day11am-4pm, Madan Puraskar, Patan Dhoka, for bulk schoolbookings call 5521393

EVENTS

REVIEW

Q. If there were elections today,what percentage of votes would theMaoists secure?

Weekly Internet Poll # 483

Q. How do you feel about 2010?

Total votes: 2,238

Weekly Internet Poll # 484. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.com

WEEKEND WEATHERby NGAMINDRA DAHAL

KATHMANDU

FRI SAT S U N

22-2 22-3 21-3

Catch the last two performances of the stageadaptation of Sanjeev Uprety’s novel Ghanachakkarat Gurukul this Friday and Saturday at 4:30pm,(call 4466956, 2101332 for directions). If you getthere on time, you’ll be ushered in by ruffiansdressed in military fatigues and thereafter treated toa mind-bogglingly adept and intimate performancefrom the talented cast directed by Sunil Pokharel ofAarohan Theatre Group. By the end of an hour and ahalf of mindgames, you may stagger out wonderingif you haven’t yourself been fundamentallydisoriented.

Ghanachakkar Ghanachakkar is running in its second season herein Nepal, and depicts the mental state of a universityprofessor (ostensibly the alter ego of writer SanjeevUprety, who is an English professor at TribhuvanUniversity). The protagonist himself is split into twoalter egos played brilliantly by Kamal Mani Nepal andBibhusan Basnet, and struggles to discern whether heis really going mad (as everyone seems to think), or if itis everyone else who is actually going mad.

Despite the morbid premise, Ghanachakkar is also agenuinely comic production, and the excellentlighting, music and choreography make for aspellbinding performance. Let’s hope for an English-language production based on the upcomingtranslation in the not-too-distant future.Rabi Thapa

Launch ofnepalphotography.org,an online photographymagazine by young Nepaliphotographers, accompaniedby the ongoing exhibitionPhoto Kavya, Nepal ArtCouncil, Babar Mahal, 9January, 2.45pm

Oddly, this past week parts of the Tarai wereactually cooler than cities at higher altitudes.For example on Wednesday, it was 22 degreesin Kathmandu, which sits at 1400m, whileBiratnagar, Simara, Bhairawa andNepalganj recorded maximum temperaturesof 13-20 degrees. Meteorologist call thisphenomenon temperature inversion, whichoccurs in valleys when a layer of cloud actsas a lid, keeping the ground layer of aircolder than the upper air. The satellite pictureshows a thick layer of smog hanging over thewestern Himalayan foothills and Gangeticplains in India, extending eastward toBangladesh. Although skies in the Taraicleared up this week, westerly winds may pushclouds back over the western Tarai thisweekend. Expect sunny days, clear nightskies and chilly mornings in mountains andthe valleys.

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

8 - 14 JANUARY 2010 #484 LIFE TIMES|9

Wrathchild, Nepal’s ‘first heavy metal band’, live at Moksh,Pulchok, 9 January, 7.30pm, 5526212

Celebrating Diversity: A Musical Caravan, a series ofconcerts by Kutumba and Minap in Amargadi (Dadeldhura)Jan 8, Taulihawa (Kapilbastu) Jan 11, Kalaiya (Bara) Jan 14, Lahan(Siraha) Jan 16 and Phidim (Panchthar) Jan 19. Performance inKathmandu at the Garden of Dreams on 1 Feb and BasantapurDarbar Square on 2 Feb.

Live music from Inner Groove on Fridays at the Rox Bar andSunday Jazz brunch at The Terrace from 12-3.30pm, HyattRegency, Boudha. 4489362, 4491234

Some like it hot, every Friday BBQ and live music by Dinesh Raiand the Sound Minds, Rs 899 at Fusion, Dwarika’s Hotel, 7pm,4479488

Live band every Fridayand rooftop BBQ everydayat Kausi Kitchen, DarbarMarg, 4227288

Happy cocktail hour,ladies' night onWednesday with liveunplugged music at JatraCafé & Bar, Thamel, 5-7pm

Nepali Ghajals at D’Lounge Beijing Duck Restaurant, everyThursday 6.30pm, 4468589

Rudra Night live fusion music by Shyam Nepali every Friday,7pm at Gokarna Forest Resort, 4451212

Jazz evening at Delices de France restaurant every Wednesday,11am-2pm, 4260326

MUSICDINING

Arabian Nights for Middle Eastern specialitiesevery Friday from 6.30pm, Oriental Nights, flavoursand specialities of Asia every Wednesday at TheCafé, 6.30pm, Hyatt Regency, 4491234, 4489362

Chez Caroline for French and Mediterraneancuisine, Babar Mahal Revisited, 4263070

Live continental BBQ Fiesta, exclusive BBQDinner at Splash Bar & Grill, Radisson Hotel, from6.30-10.30pm everyday

The Corner Bar, 5-7pm, 3-11pm, RadissonHotel Kathmandu, 4411818

Lavazza Coffee and Baskin n’ Robbins, atBlue Note Coffee Shop, Lazimpat, 4491234

A cafe’s café, Dhokaima Café, Patan Dhoka,5522113

Jazzabell Café, TGIF, 10% discount all day,happy hour 6-8pm, Jhamsikhel, 2114075

Al Fresco, for homemade pasta, steak andfreshwater trout, Kakori, for biryanis, curries andkebabs, 7-10.45pm, Soaltee Crown Plaza, 4273999

Teppanyaki meat items and garlic rice at LeRestaurant, Gairidhara, 4436318

Reality Bites, The Kaiser Café, Garden of Dreams,operated by Dwarika’s Group of Hotels, 9am-10pm,4425341

Relax Package at the Hyatt forRs 6,200 plus taxes for one night

accommodation for two, includingbreakfast at The Café. Package valid till

Feb 20, 2010, only for local residentsand Nepalese citizens for a maximum

of 3 nights. 4491234 , 4489800

GETAWAYS

Starry night barbecue at Hotel Shangri-La withlive performance by Ciney Gurung, Rs 999, at theShambala Garden every Friday 7pm, Plat Du Jourat Hotel Shangri-La, Lazimpat, Rs 600, 4412999

Himalayan Rainbow Trout at Hotel Yak andYeti, Darbar Marg, 4248999

Tiger for Breakfast, breakfast everyday at 1905,Kantipath, 4215068

Stupa View Restaurant, for vegetariancreations & clay oven pizza at Boudha Stupa,4480262

Gokarna Forest Resort for a variety of sizzlersat Tripti bar, 44512126

Wine and cheese, every Friday & Saturday,5-8pm, Strawberry High Tea, 4.30-6.30pm,TheLounge, Hyatt Regency, 4491234, 4489362

8 - 14 JANUARY 2010 #48410|HAPPENINGS

SO LONG: Maoist ex-combatants prepare to leave Dudhouli cantonmentin Sindhuli on Thursday, three years after they were first disqualified bythe United Nations Mission in Nepal.

U N M I N

BLACK COATS: Members of the Nepal Bar Association take out a rallyat Babar Mahal on Monday calling on the CA to complete writing theconstitution by 28 May.

DESERTED: The Emergency Room at Bir Hospital is empty onWednesday following agitations by the Resident Association of theNational Academy of Medical Science.

KIRAN PANDAY

KIRAN PANDAY

BOMBS AWAY: Pushpa Kamal Dahal releases a book on Sunday aboutveteran republican leader Ram Raja Prasad Singh entitled, 'GanatantraKo Lagi Sangarsha' [Struggle for Republic], written by Sitaram Baral.

KIRAN PANDAY

CHAMPION: Sabin Sapkota lifts a trophy after winning the Surya NepalEastern Open in Dharan last week.

SOHAN SHRESTHA

8 - 14 JANUARY 2010 #484 NATION|11

f Pushpa were alive, he would havecelebrated his twenty-second birthdayon 6 December. Dhirendra would be

celebrating his twenty-sixth birthday on 31January. But there has been no trace of themfor the last seven years. Mention of thebrothers brings their mother, Chandra KumariBasnet, close to an emotional breakdown. Shecaresses the photographs of her sons and says,“Where have you gone, pieces of my heart?”

The Basnets are from Damak. Both Pushpaand Dhirendra passed the SLC exams withdistinction from Himalaya SecondarySchool. Pushpa graduated with a Bachelor’sdegree from behind bars in 2003, andDhirendra had also passed his ISc when hewas jailed. That was the first time theywere jailed.

But it wouldn’t be the last. A contingentfrom the Bhairabnath Battalion led by RajuBasnet arrested them on charges of allegedinvolvement in Maoist activities. Pushpa wasarrested from Kalimati on 5 November 2003and Dhirendra was arrested later on 14November. That’s all Chandra Kumari heardfrom eyewitnesses. Birendra, her fourth child,was also detained in Bhairabnath Battalionand caught a glimpse of his two brothers.“After that the government neither releasedthem nor gave me the dead bodies of mychildren,” laments Chandra Kumari.

Two of Chandra Kumari’s five sons havedisappeared, both in government detention.

he issue of justice andimpunity is once more inthe headlines because of

the promotion of Toran BahadurSingh, the in-charge of theinfamous Bhairabnath base, andthe army’s attempt to preventNiranjan Basnet from appearingin a civilian court.

Such blatant attempts toobstruct the path of justice havesignificantly weakened Nepal’shuman rights movement andhave also given the Maoists anexcuse to get away with their ownabuses. The issue of transitionaljustice and truth has become acharade.

Government bodies andhuman rights groups currentlydealing with missing personsalso display a lack of seriousnessregarding justice for the affectedfamilies. Perpetrators of warcrimes, far from being punished,are being rewarded. SupremeCourt verdicts and courtdirectives have been ignored.

The families of thedisappeared have been forgottenand their need for truth, justiceand compensation have beendeliberately ignored. Theiruncertainty and pain is felt dailybecause they still don’t know

She breaks down when she is asked how manychildren she has and what they are doing. “Ifit was leaders’ sons that disappeared theywould be concerned, but who will help findmy sons?” she says, carefully holding theirphotographs.

She has appealed to a whole roster offormer prime ministers: Lokendra BahadurChand, Sher Bahadur Deuba, Surya BahadurThapa, Girija Prasad Koirala and PushpaKamal Dahal, and met the home and defenceministers who served under them. She hasasked them all where her sons are, but hasgotten the same reply: “Have patience, we willfind them for you." She sighs.

Sita Devi Dhakal of Damak-13 has asimilar story. Her husband, Punya PrasadDhakal, was known in the village as JungeHawaldar (‘constable moustache’). The couplehad just fixed the date of their eldest daughterMuna’s marriage and were makingarrangements. But three days before theceremony, Punya left for Chandragadi earlyin the morning and never returned. Sita Devicould never figure out who took himand where.

GOPAL GARTOULA IN DAMAK The families ofthe disappearedhaven’t receivedthe help theywere promised

Disappeared

A resilient Sita Devi didn’t put thewedding off and Muna was duly married on7 June, 2005. When she bid goodbye to herbeloved child, the pent-up grief camebursting out. “The wounds get deeper as theyget older,” she says.

Punya was a pensioner and an ex-policeconstable, but his family hasn’t received apenny since his disappearance. They weretold by the Jhapa District Police that thepensions of the disappeared are nottransferable. She flashes his pension card and

says, “No one helped me transfer hispension.”

These stories have recurred countlesstimes across the country. In the beginning,human rights organisations went from doorto door and listened to stories, preparedreports, organised workshops, and printedtheir photographs in newspapers. But thevictims neither got any help nor patronage.

“One has to live no matter what you haveto face,” says Sita Devi, as she works on anold sewing machine at home.

whether their loved ones are deador alive. This trauma isaccentuated by the psychological,economic, social, political andlegal problems that they have tobear.

The victims’ movement isbecoming increasinglydisillusioned and weakened bypolitical divisions and theinterests of NGOs and donors.Transitional justice has been an

elite discourse limited to urbancentres. The affected ruralfamilies are unsure about how theprocess will work, the resultsbeing promised and whether itrepresents the fulfillment of theirdemands or not.

The Disappearance Billdrafted in Kathmandu, whichwas approved in late 2009,focuses largely on amnesty andreconciliation. But how can we

have true reconciliation through abill drafted by the movers andshakers in Kathmandu without aword of input from those affectedby what the bill proposes tocorrect? The Bill itself will likelylinger before the Disappearanceand Truth Commissions, andwith no timetable for itsacceptance, the government is offthe hook on ending impunity anddelivering justice to the families.

The DisappearanceCommission should have beenformed after the peace accord ifthe political parties were reallyserious about it. Now thegovernment is preparing to just gothrough the motions ofperforming a ritual to keep donorshappy. And why do we need twocommissions?

In the villages, a single familyis often a victim of different casesinvolving disappearances,killings, torture and rape. Familymembers don’t need to face twocommissions and go through theexcruciating trauma of publiclyreliving their memories. If thegovernment and political partiesare serious, they should ask us,the victims, what we want.

A single commission to dealwith the issue of disappearancesand war crimes should beindependent and have the powerto prosecute those involved.Otherwise negative history will berepeated as it was with the Mallikand Rayamajhi commissions set

GUEST COLUMNRam K Bhandari

up to investigate past abuses.Unfortunately, many families

have lost hope for justice andreconciliation and feelmarginalised by the peace process.Families and witnesses do notfeel secure, and rights activists inthe field like me face regulardeath threats.

The CDO, DSP and army majorin Lamjung who were responsiblefor my father’s detention anddisappearance are still servingand have even been promoted.The Toran Singh and NiranjanBasnet cases prove that impunitystarts at the very top and sets aprecedent for those in thedistricts.

We doubt the intentions ofthe government and the Maoists,and we fear that they want toreturn to war. The movement tolearn the whereabouts of Nepal’sdisappeared citizens is also at thecrossroads. Seeking justice is anessential part of building adurable peace.

Ram Kumar Bhandari, whosefather was disappeared in 2001, isa human rights activist based inLamjung.

Also see:Without a trace, #450Vanishing hope, #466The long, long wait, #409How can we forget?, #389“For lasting peace, we mustdeal with the missing”, #351

Missing justice

I

Impunity and the longshadow of war

T

GOPAL GARTOULA

KIRAN PANDAY

8 - 14 JANUARY 2010 #48412|NATION

INTERESTING TIMESMallika Aryal

n the early 2000s, locals inareas where vultures nestedstarted noticing increased

numbers of rats and dogs.Carcasses of dead animals by theriverbeds were left untouchedfor days and vulture nests in theforests started disappearing.

Conservationists confirmedthat the vulture numbers hadindeed dropped alarmingly – in15 years 95 per cent of vultureshad vanished from south Asia.Studies of dead vulturesrevealed that an anti-inflammatory drug calledDiclofenac, used on livestock,was causing kidney failure invultures that fed on theircarcasses.

A vulture summit wasorganised in 2004, andgovernment officials andconservationists from Nepal,India and Pakistan committed totake action immediately.Diclofenac was banned in Nepaland a safer substitute,Meloxicam, was found.Organisations like Nepal’s BirdConservation have been workingproactively in monitoring theban, educating farmers and cattleowners about the use of

Circling back

Meloxicam, and in setting upvulture restaurants (where birdscan feed safely on healthy meatput out by restaurant owers) inNawalparasi, Rupandehi andDang.

There are no official numbers,but ornithologists say thatnesting has increased, especiallyaround the vulture restaurantareas. In 2004, no colony had beenfound in the Koshi Tappu area. InOctober 2009 a similar surveyfound 32 nests of the White-rumped Vulture. It is not known

whether this is a new colony, orone made up of vultures thatwithstood the effects ofDiclofenac. But the initiativereally took off last month whenlocals of nine districts declaredthey would become Diclofenacfree.

Experts warn that vulturenumbers may not go back towhat they were 15 years ago, buttheir re-emergence is a positivesign. This journey for vultureconservationists hasn’t beeneasy, but locals in native vulture

areas are once again seeing newnests appearing every season,more birds are circling in theskies and animal carcasses aredisappearing within hours ofbeing put out. Today evenneighbouring countries haveacknowledged this success:Pakistan has opened a vulturerestaurant in Sindh and similarinitiatives are in the pipeline invarious states of India.

This is a big success story forNepal, from which there are manylessons to learn. It is a perfect

Nepal’s effort to save vultures is yetanother example of community power

id you make any New Year ’sresolutions? Perhaps you resolvedto get fit, to lose weight, to save

more money, or to drink less alcohol. Oryour resolution may have been morealtruistic: to help those in need, or toreduce your carbon footprint. But are youkeeping your resolution?

We are not yet far into 2010, butstudies show that fewer than half of thosewho make New Year ’s resolutionsmanage to keep them for as long as onemonth. What does this tell us about humannature?

PETER SINGER Part of the problem is that we makeresolutions to do only things we are nototherwise likely to do. We use the occasionof the New Year to try to change behaviourthat may be the most difficult to change. Thatmakes failure a distinct possibility.

Nevertheless, presumably we makeresolutions because we have decided that itwould be best to do whatever it is that we areresolving to do. But if we have already madethat decision, why don’t we just do it? In theProtagoras, one of Plato’s dialogues, Socrates

says that noone chooses what they know tobe bad. Hence choosing what is bad is a kindof error: people will do it only if they think thatit is good. If we can teach people what is best,Socrates and Plato seem to have thought,they will do it. But that is a hard doctrine toswallow – much harder than eating the extraslice of cake that you know is not good foryou.

Aristotle took a different view, one thatfits better with our everyday experience offailing to do what we know to be best. Ourreason may tell us what is best to do, hethought, but in a particular moment our reasonmay be overwhelmed by emotion or desire.Thus, the problem is not lack of knowledge,but the failure of our reason to master other,non-rational aspects of our nature.

That view is supported by recent scientificwork showing that much of our behaviour isbased on very rapid, instinctive, emotionallybased responses. Although we are capableof deciding what to do on the basis of rationalthought processes, such decisions oftenprove less powerful than our instinctivefeelings in moving us to action.

What does this have to do with keepingresolutions? Richard Holton, a professor ofphilosophy at MIT, points out that a resolutionis an attempt to overcome the problem ofmaintaining an intention when we expect that,at some future time, we will face inclinationscontrary to our intention. Right now, we wantto lose weight and we are rationally convincedthat this is more important than the pleasurewe will get from that extra slice of cake. Butwe anticipate that, faced with cake tomorrow,

How to keep a New Year’s resolution

The emotionalpull of chocolatecake can distortyour reasoning

Dour desire for that rich chocolate texturewill distort our reasoning so that we mightconvince ourselves that putting on just alittle more weight doesn’t really matter allthat much.

In his recently released book59 Seconds, professor of psychology atUniversity of Hertfordshire RichardWiseman sets out the things that you cando to make success more likely:

Break your resolution into a series ofsmall steps.Tell your family and friends about yourresolution, thus both gaining supportand increasing the personal cost offailure.Regularly remind yourself of thebenefits of achieving your goal.Give yourself a reward each time youachieve one of the steps towards yourgoal.Keep track of your progress towardsyour goal, for example by keeping ajournal.

Individually, each of these factorsseems trivial. Collectively, they are waysof exerting our self-control not only now,but in the future as well. These tools forkeeping a New Year’s resolution can helpus to make progress, not only in losingweight or staying out of debt, but also inliving more ethically. We may even findthat that is the best resolution to make, forour own benefit and that of others.Project Syndicate

I

KRISHNA MANI BARAL

example of pan-regionalcooperation, for one. Butcommunity has had a crucial roleto play. Considering the stigmaattached to vultures in manysouth Asian cultures, it’s hard tobelieve communities in ruralNepal would want to save thesebig scavengers. Not anymore, sayvulture experts at BirdConservation Nepal (BCN), whichleads the vulture conservationeffort. In the areas where thevultures roam, the communitiesunderstand why savingscavengers is important. In fact, itis because of the community’sinvolvement that the vulturerestaurants have been sosuccessful. The community looksafter the restaurants, monitors thetrees where the vultures arenesting so they are not cut down,and plays an important role inadvocacy.

The biggest lesson here is thepower of community. Fromsaving forests to roads and usingradio as a development tool,community involvement has veryoften been key to the success ofprojects in Nepal. As we startanother new year, here’s hopingpolicymakers understand the truemeaning of people power andpromote projects for communitypartnership and ownership.

See also: Vultures arecircling again, #398 and Soaringagain, #286

8 - 14 JANUARY 2010 #484 NATION|13

t has been nearly four years since thewar ended, Nepalis are still dyingfrom leftover explosives, and the

government is dragging its feet in signingthe Mine Ban Treaty.

More than 155 countries have signedthe Ottawa Treaty since it came into forcein 1999, although the US, India, Chinaand Sri Lanka have refused to ratifyit. Landmines and improvised bombswere used by both sides during the Nepalconflict, causing at least 1,500 fatalities.People have continued to die and beinjured since the war ended. In 2009 alone16 people were killed (6 boys, 3 girls, 5men, 2 women) and 54 injured (24 boys,5 girls, 13 men, 12 women).

Since the end of the war, the UnitedNations has spent $5 million in Nepal tohelp clear minefields, destroyed Maoistexplosives, trained Nepal Army personnelin demining and invested in riskeducation. However, there are still 36minefields covering 3.25 sq km that needto be cleared and another 18,000unexploded Maoist bombs, a job that maytake another two years.

While Nepal has been praised for itsdemining work, its delay in signing theOttawa Treaty could hinder futureinternational support. “Failure to sign thetreaty is a blot on Nepal’s otherwiseexcellent global citizenship record.What’s holding this up?” asks the UN’sResident Coordinator, Robert Piper.

Indeed, it seems Nepal has nothing tolose and everything to gain from signingthe treaty. It has a stockpile of only about3,000 outdated anti-personnel mines andthe international trade in mines hasvirtually stopped. Experts say Nepalwould have little trouble in meeting treatyobligations because it only includesvictim-activated devices and gives

signatories four years to destroy stockpilesand ten years to clear minefields.

Says Piper: “The time for Nepal to jointhe treaty is way, way overdue.”

Successive Nepal governments have,however, been unenthusiastic. The Armysays minefields on base perimetersprevented heavier casualties during thewar. The top brass feels that it may haveto resort to anti-personnel mines again ifhostilities resume.

Peace Minister Rakam Chemjong led afive-member delegation to a treaty reviewconference in Colombia last month, andmade a weak commitment to “eventuallysign” the treaty. Officials have hintedNepal could ratify the treaty after the newconstitution is written.

Purna Shova Chitrakar of the BanLandmines Campaign Nepal says she sees“some forward movement” in thegovernment position. She says: “There isreally no reason Nepal shouldn’t sign, wewill gain international goodwill and itwon’t hurt the military’s battle readinessat all.”

Stephen Robinson of the UnitedNations Mine Action Team in Nepal saysthe Ottawa treaty allows Nepal anopportunity to show its commitment topeace by banning these horrific andredundant weapons. “It will alsoacknowledge the hard and dangerous workof the men and women engaged inaddressing the anti-personnel mineproblem,” he says.

Some government officials say the realreason for Nepal not signing is not thearmy’s opposition, but the lack of politicalwill, leadership uncertainty, lack ofcoordination between ministries andgeneral lethargy.

Robert Piper concludes: “Theinternational community has beengenerous to a fault in helping Nepal dealwith this legacy of the civil war. UntilOttawa is ratified there is no guarantee wecan close this chapter forever.”

There is no reason Nepal shouldnot ratify the anti-landmine treaty

Anti-ordnance ordinanceKUNDA DIXIT

PICS: A BJORNSON

COVERNationalism or Treason?Prachanda uses nationalism card after beingblocked by India on PM bidMaoist Trick or Treat by JB Pun Magar1950 Treaty by Dhrub Kumar

EDITORIALThe Army should hand Basnet in

EDUCATIONGo to school to get a free meal

COPENHAGEN DEBRIEFEveryone Talked, No One Listened

CONSTITUTION SUPPLEMENTDraft Constitution by Radheshyam AhdikariDevolve power to local units byDhruba Simkhada7-point agenda for constitution by JanardanSharma (Prabhakar)Mahendranagar Interaction

INTERVIEWMadan Krishna Shrestha

31 December-14 January 2010

HimalKhabarpatrika

I

8 - 14 JANUARY 2010 #48414|FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal spoke to his cadres on Sundayin a closed session once more leaked out to the public. The party’sultimate aim, he maintains, is still to capture power through revolt.Translated excerpts of the leaked audio tape:

Nagarik, 6 January

The issue of government under our leadership as the biggest party,civilian supremacy, and national independence are phoney claims.We may or may not get to lead the government. The old modus operandidoes not seem to work, so we will launch a decisive revolt once thepreparations are complete. A school of thought in our party thinks weshould first write the constitution, run for elections, win a two-thirdsmajority, and only then revolt. But this is not the party line.

We should make preparations to fight on four fronts. This will be adecisive revolt. We will revolt whether we are in government or not.

In our central committee meeting I once said that I wouldn’t think ofbeing the PM until the movement was completed. But the centralcommittee did not formally approve of it.

Meanwhile, this has been a big problem. Who will be the PM? If itwas only about choosing a person, we would have done it. But theenemy started playing one against another, especially imperialist India.

India offered the deputy PM-ship to one of our comrades. Youunderstand the gravity of the situation. It took a nasty turn when theyoffered Baburam Bhattarai the PM-ship.

However, there is no actual fight between the leaders.We reached a consensus on the party chairman leading

the government if we went into government. But themain focus should be revolt. Our party will

consistently head towards revolution.

Interview with Baburam BhattaraiRabindra Mishra, BBC Nepali Service, 5 January

Does India really want you to become the PM?This is just propaganda, an attempt toassassinate my character. Those who have anorthodox mindset and disagree with my campaign

for democracy andsocioeconomic transformationhave created this propaganda.There is no truth in it.

Then your own party chairmanattempted character assassination, and

Character, assassinated

India is applying pressure to make him the prime minister…

…is not what I’m saying.

Abin Shrestha in Kantipur , 7 January

he has an orthodox mentality because he said it.I don’t want to blame him, but the way it is beingdisseminated through different media, I think thisis a conspiracy. You can have differences but youcan always discuss them. To portray someone asa foreign agent is not the correct political culture.

The media did not present you as foreign agent.You must have already listened to what Dahal saidin the audio tape. You cannot blame the media,rather blame your chairman, don’t you think?We discussed this in the central committeemeeting. In today’s (Monday) press meet heclarified that a lobby in India wanted him tobecome the PM while another proposed my name.This is how they played one against another iswhat he said in his clarification.

But why does Dahal keep on linking your namewith India? Earlier, he said there was pressure towithdraw the party’s action on you. Why does ithappen?Look, our political culture is faulty.This is just a manifestation. I don’twant to blame anyone. We candisagree but it does not mean you go sofar as to assassinate someone’s character.Whenever you disagree it should be put clearly.

But Dahal did not put it to the politburo butin another place, right?I don’t want to put it that way. Things havebeen cleared now, he has alreadyclarified it. I think I would go by hisclarification and move ahead.

Ultimate revolt

President Ram Baran Yadav inNagarik, 1 January

I begin with an incident. AlokBohara, with whom I studied, nowlives in the US and supportsKathmandu University. He wantedto see me, and I met him. The nextday, a newspaper reported that thepresident had met a RAW agentnamed Alok Joshi. I did notcomplain, did not even clarify, asadvised by my press advisor. Thereare things that are better notspoken of. However, the truthshould come out, which is theresponsibility of journalism.

The opposition accused me ofcapturing booths during the CAelections. When I was a minister,some papers reported that I went tothe UK for treatment of AIDS. Thepress council for journalistsshould be what the medicalcouncil is to medical doctors andthe Nepal Bar Association is tolawyers. One has to pass a

Code of conductfor journalists

standardised exam followed bynine months of training to jointhe security forces. Civil servantstake a government exam. Butjournalists acquire a licensewithout having to take any suchtest. The Nepal Press Councilneeds to think of some test forjournalists. Even a driver needs topass the trials, why notjournalists?

The Interim Constitution has

emphasised consensus, as did theelection results. Press peopleshould understand the InterimConstitution, the CPA and theSpecial Committee on PLAIntegration are the guidelines forcompleting the peace process.

Reporters should write in thenational interest. They shouldplay the role of socialcoordinators. More articles shouldbe written about national unity,integrity and ethnic harmony.Violence of any kind can never beoverlooked. Journalists have beentargets recently. There are highprofessional hazards but they arenot supposed to keep quiet.

Our media seems superficial,they do not go deep into issues. Idon’t like to read about ethnicand regional issues. The pressshould pacify the situationinstead of aggravating it. I wishthere would be more write-ups infavour of the national interest thatwould help maintain regionalharmony between the himal, hilland Tarai regions.

A reporter needs tounderstand the pros and cons ofdeciding on states based onethnicities. My request to thepress people is they should workhard. What is the use of medicineafter death?

PICS: KIRAN PANDAY

8 - 14 JANUARY 2010 #484 CONSTITUTION 2010|15

In the penultimate edition of theConstitution Yatra, Himal Khabarpatrikainteracted with the people of Kanchanpur,Mahendranagar on the constitution-makingprocess, in which participants emphasisedthe need for consensus, and vigilance fromthe media and civil society.

How do you view the ongoingconstitution-writing process?

Tekraj Pant (associate professor): Itis time for civil society to be vigilant anddo something for the nation instead ofgoing after the political parties. Partycadres should put aside their fears of beingexpelled from the party and decide onissues with their own conscience, ratherthan waiting for party directions.

Yagya Raj Joshi (UCPN-Maoist):There is little time remaining forpromulgation of the new constitution andagreement on state restructuring.Intellectuals, political parties andinformed citizens all have to take thisseriously. If consensus is not reached, thecountry might slide back into chaos.

Yagya Raj Joshi (NC): We might losethe achievements of Jana Andolan II if thecurrent deadlock persists. Everyone hasmade mistakes, but the Maoists, as thebiggest party, have not acted responsibly bynot returning captured land, capturingmore land, and assaulting journalists.They have diverted the focus from writingthe constitution. Civil society and themedia should point this out and bringthem back on track.

Ishwari Prasad Kharel (UML): Therehas been some progress, but the politicalparties have failed to address theaspirations of the people. We have to findout who is responsible for delaying thewriting of the constitution. Despite talksabout consensus, the Maoists have alreadyannounced federal states, which is the taskof the CA. Writing the constitution is

“Civil society has become passive”

Prabhu Sah Teli, Chairman, Committee on JudicialSystem, UCPN-Maoist

Did your party unilaterally announce autonomous regionsbecause you didn’t think the CA had relevance?We announced it in order to pressure the CA to get its acttogether.

So, this is only pressure?The people want federalism. But when that wish fell intothe shadows, we declared autonomous regions.

You say other parties have conspired to stop the passage of federalism in the CA,yet your party called a Nepal bandha that obstructed the CA.Yes, that happened, but our aim isn’t to obstruct the CA.

What will happen after the announcement of the federal regions?It will wake up people’s hopes for federalism, and will help the CA meet thedeadline and facilitate state restructuring.

Madhesi and janajatis opposed your declaration of autonomous regions, right?This isn’t final. There’s still a lot of discussion left to be done.

You gave Koch a state of their own, but there is a much larger Maithili population.They didn't get a state, why?The number of provinces will only be decided after rounds of discussions.

It seems like you’re bypassing the CA?No, rather we’re strengthening it.

impossible if the Maoists try to imposetheir ideas on others.

Has there been enough pressure onpolitical parties?

Nara Bahadur Saud (civil societymember): Civil society and the press arenot pushing the issue as they did duringJana Andolan II. However, the realproblem is that the leaders are nothonest. Five months will be enough tocomplete the constitution if the leadersof major political parties work together inearnest. There is no alternative toconsensus.

Bhawaraj Regmi (NGOFederation): In the past, NGOs playedtheir part in creating public awareness.Now, we have been organising interaction

and discussion programs with CA memberswhere they make promises they never keep.

Chitranga Thapa (journalist):Political parties could not deliver on thepromises they made during Jana AndolanII. They are not focused on their real tasks.Civil society and the media shouldpressurise the political parties to write theconstitution first.

How can we reach a consensus?

Yagya Raj Joshi (UCPN-Maoist): Theother political parties are conspiring tostage a presidential coup instead of writinga new constitution by May. They want todefeat the Maoists by tagging them asterrorists once again. This should beexposed and a consensus should be forgedamong the political parties. The past

Minendra Rijal, Ministry of Federalism, NC

What’s happening in the CA?Discussions for the the preliminary draftsand concept papers of theCommittee for StateRestructuring and Distributionof State Power, Committee onJudicial System, and theConstitutional Council shouldhave been completed by 25December. The submitteddrafts will be discussed until21 January.

Since the Maoists havealready declared states, whatis the point of delineatingstates by the Committee onState Restructuring?This shows the Maoists'nervous mentality. Having failed to garnermajority in the parliament, the Maoistswanted to mobilise the masses as astrategy to capture state power. Staterestructuring can never be based on a mapdrawn by a particular party. The process ofdelineating states through consensus has

“We’re puttingpressure on the CA”

“Maoists using peopleto capture power”

agreement should be reviewed and a newunderstanding reached.

Yagya Raj Joshi (NC): Civil society andthe press should point out who isresponsible for the delay in writing theconstitution. The Maoists feel superior afterwinning the CA elections and are boostedby the strength of the PLA. They shouldwithdraw the declaration of federal states,immediately end the capturing of privateproperty, and discard the idea that they cancapture power through street protests.

Ishwari Prasad Kharel (UML): Civilsociety should bring together leaders of thethree political parties and point out theirmistakes. The Maoists’ totalitarian ideologywon’t be realised. We have to come to anagreement and move ahead and give people anew constitution by the stipulated time.

been further complicated by the Maoist'sunilateral announcement of states.

How come the NC hasn’t submitted itsproposal for staterestructuring?It has already said on whatbasis federalism must beinstituted. It’s not their job toput forth a very detailed plan.It's up to the state restructuringexperts to draw up a map.

Do you think you will still be aCA member after May 28?This wouldn’t cause legalproblems, but the politics willbecome difficult. The partieswill have to reach aconsensus to extend thedeadline. It’s not that the state

restructuring committee can’t finish its workwithin the allotted time; it can be done if wehave a state restructuring commission. But itis unlikely in the current fluid politicalsituation. So, whether I will still be a CAmember after May 28 depends on the actionsof the parties.

INDRA LAL SHRESTHA

ISSN

181

4-26

13

CDO Regd No 194/056/57 Lalitpur, Central Region Postal Regd. No 09/066/67

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8 - 14 JANUARY 2010 #48416|BACK PAGE

ive months after mooting ahigh-level politicalmechanism, the three

useful idiots of the NewRepublic have come full circle.On Wednesday, they once morediscussed how to discuss settingit up. The Eh-maleys andKangresi dissidents seem to havecome around to agreeing to letGirja Bau become the GrandAyatollah of the NewMechanics. Now that he hasbeen nominated for the NobelPiece Prize, everyone is suddenlyfeeling generous about lettinghim lead the samyantra if hewants it so desperately.

And this just in: even ifGPK doesn’t get to go to Oslo

Three Asses

later this year, we have it on goodauthority that he has beennominated for a consolationdosallah from the Nobel Academyright here in Baneswor.

Makunay had a hard time gettingover the fact that Barack Obamarecognised him in a crowd of 190heads of state in Copenhagen lastmonth. (“Hey, aren’t you theguy who gave me thatrock?”) And he was even morechuffed that the Reds gave himthe red carpet treatment inBeijing recently. Which sent astrong signal to the Baddies backhome that China is in no moodto see the Gang of Four

resurrected in its backyard. Andto really rub their noses into it,they used the Makunay visit toinvite President Ram Baron overin spring, the guy the Maoistsmost love to hate.

But before he goes off on anymore state visits, Makunayshould tell Gayatri Madame shecan’t attend banquets inReeboks. And someonewhisper to the FinancialMinister that when it says ‘blacktie’, he can’t appear in a NorthFace down jacket and makal topi.Then there is the scandal aboutthe prime minister and his 35-member entourage flying backfrom Hong Kong on Dragon Airwhen RA410 was at the next gateflying half-empty direct toKathmandu. Nepal Airlinesnot good enuf for Mr Nepal,or what?

Not to be outdone, Com Red PKDalso airdashed on Dragon AirWednesday night, ostensibly atthe invitation of NRNs inHonkieland. But the real reasoncould be another tetete withAvdesh Bihari Mathur, hand-picked as Nepal handler by PMOspook-in-chief MK Narayanan.Awesome met Mathur in Londonand Singapore and promised tobehave himself, but hasn’t.Maybe both should end thiscloak-and-dagger charadeand just meet in Delhi orKathmandu.

K-town is also abuzz with thepublic falling out between PKDand BRB. It was bound to happensooner or later, but for Laldhojthe public humiliation byChhabilal was the last straw.Comrade (“Can’t-Help-Shoot-Myself-In-The-Foot-Everytime-I-Open-My-Mouth”) Awesome did it again:after the Shaktikhor Video andthe Baneswor Harangue, it is nowthe Khanna Garment Tape.Comrade Faux Pas said theInjuns wanted BRB to be primeminister knowing full well that

is the kiss of death to his chiefideologue.

Plans are still up in the air, butas soon as he gets back from HKAwesome scoots off to Kalapanito raise the Double Triangleover occupied Nepali territory. Ifhe really wants to usenationalism to stem a split in hisparty, may the Ass suggest he takethe Nepali flag andplant it not on thebanks of the Kali,but the Sutlej?

ass(at)nepalitimes.com

F