Weekly Internet Poll # 459. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.com

Q. What is the foremost reason for thespike in crime?

Weekly Internet Poll # 458

Q. Should the Maoists have beenincluded in the new government?

#458 3 - 9 July 2009 16 pages Rs 30

Total votes: 4,031

wo months after the resignation of the Maoist-led coalition, it’s not just the new governmentand parliament that are stuck: the whole country

has ground to a halt.There is a simple way out of this stalemate. The NC

and UML just have to agree to a Maoist proposal to havePrime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal make a speech inparliament containing the following sentence: “TheMaoists regard the president’s move on the army chiefas unconstitutional…”

But the UML and NC have said there is a legal issuewith calling the president’s move “unconstitutional”because that would make the current coalition alsounconstitutional.

“That’s all that is holding things up,” the primeminister’s press adviser, Bishnu Rijal, told NepaliTimes on Thursday.

The Big Three have been meetingall week trying to find a compromiseformula, but have found it difficultto untangle themselves from theirrigid positions on the president’sreinstatement of the army chief on 4 May, the move thatprecipitated this crisis.

What has complicated matters is that the Maoistshave had to deal not just with the NC and UML, butalso with a radical faction that doesn’t want anydealings with the other parties. At the Politburomeeting this week, Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahalmanaged to get a compromise declaration to form a‘nationalist, republican and leftist national unitedgovernment’.

“We agreed that if there is a guarantee that thepresident’s unconstitutional move is addressed inparliament, we are willing to help form a unitednational government,” Maoist Politburo memberDevendra Poudel explained. He said his party wouldstake the claim to lead a future government, but added adecision on that hadn’t yet been made.

With a solution so close, most analysts say it isirresponsible for the leaderships of the parties to playpolitics while the country descends further intolawlessness. The constitution-writing process is behindschedule, the peace process is frozen and at this rate thebudget is sure to be delayed.

SUBASH DEVKOTA

Easyway out

EDITORIAL p211 month to go

T

THE EYES HAVE IT: A boy poses with an owlet in Tanahu last week. Nepal, alreadya trans-shipment point for wildlife contraband, has become a major hub for thesmuggling of endangered bird species.

AMRIT GURUNG

Full story p4

2 3 - 9 JULY 2009 #458EDITORIAL

Published by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd, Editor: Kunda DixitCEO: Ashutosh Tiwari Design: Kiran MaharjanDGM Sales and Marketing: Sambhu Guragain marketing@himalmedia.comMarketing Manager: Subhash Kumar Asst. Manager: Arjun KarkiCirculation: Prakash Raut

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GUEST COLUMNSeira Tamang

here is something oddabout the news thatNepal’s Defence Minister is

releasing a report on child carehomes. You would think that in‘post-conflict’ Nepal, where thepriority should be issues like theintegration of Maoist combatantsand reform of the security sector,the defense minister would haveother more pressing engagements.Even when the government offormer Defence Minister Ram

Bahadur Thapa was in politicalparalysis (a situation that existstoday but for other reasons) hewas not undertaking suchactivities.

Bidya Devi Bhandari isNepal’s first female defenceminister. In the recent years ofchange, women in Nepal havehad an amazing number offirsts. But neither DefenceMinister Bidya Bhandari norForeign Minister Sujata Koiralacan be viewed in the samemanner. It has been argued thattheir appointments tar the

victories ofthe manywomen inNepal whohavestruggled andactually wonelections totakepositions inthe CA andgovernment.

Giventhat losing(even twice)does notaffect thepositions ofmen, thequestionmight arise as

Gendering failure?Too early to rejoice about having womenhead two powerful ministries

to why women should be heldto a higher standard. Andshouldn’t we be grateful thatfinally women are not justrelegated to ‘soft’, ‘feminine’posts like the Ministry forWomen, Children and SocialWelfare but head powerful,‘manly’ ministries like defenceand foreign affairs?

Furthermore, isn’t Nepalfinally joining the rest of SouthAsia in placing importance inkinship ties in propellingwomen into positions of highpolitical power? In otherwords, while family relationshave historically played a keyrole for women within Nepalipolitical parties, such ties havenot led to their holding ofpowerful state positions at thesame level as Benazir Bhutto(Pakistan), Indira Gandhi(India), Khalida Zia andSheikh Hasina Wajed(Bangladesh), and SirimavoBandaranaike and ChandrikaKumaratunga (Sri Lanka).

But our case is different forthe obvious reason that all theabove South Asian womenactually won elections. Theyhelped institutionalise thepractice of multi-party,democratic politics and thelegitimacy of people’s votes.

Making explicit the contrastin Nepal is the commonlyvoiced refrain on Nepali streets:“Why did we have an electionif politicians who were rejectedby the people at the ballotboxes ended up in poweranyway?” Why was so muchmoney spent on the elections,from the technical andadministrative expenses to thewidespread publicising of theimportance of Nepali citizensexercising their democraticfranchise, if the bypassing ofthe peoples’ will is seen asacceptable “given theexceptional political

circumstances”?In the past, rights and

democracy activists have decriedthe equation of democracy withonly periodic elections. The stateof exceptionalism has negatedthe worth of even this exercise.And the threat of beingpunished by the people inelections has lost its value.

Putting aside the issue ofnepotism, the early selection ofthe two female ministers behindclosed doors of ‘consensus’raises other issues, besidesunaccountability, at a time whencommentators have noted boththe increasing willingness offoreign players to intervenedirectly in internal Nepalipolitics and the rising politicalindependence of the army.

Firstly, if politicalmalleability and the politics ofthe beholden are key for thisgovernment as a whole, one canguess this would especiallyapply for these particularministries. It is hard not tosuspect patriarchal calculations,albeit from different angles, ofthe advantages of having womenin these posts to facilitate suchdynamics.

Secondly, given Nepal’sdominant militarised notion ofnational security and theconcomitant masculiniseddomain of national securityexperts, it is unclear whatsubstantive role can be played bya civilian female. We doremember, however, the wellknown practice of women beinggiven election seats by their malepolitical counterparts in theconstituencies that they knowwill be lost. Nepali women havehistorically been set up by mento take the downfall.

Seira Tamang is a politicalscientist and chairperson of theresearch and policy institute,Martin Chautari, in Kathmandu.

LLLLL E T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R S

CASTE AWAYSIs it just me who found Prashant Jha’sPlain Speaking column (‘Caste aways’,#457) this week so shocking? Taking acloser look, there are several things verywrong with the whole affair. One of thefirst promises the communists make tothe people is to create a classlesssociety. It doesn’t refer strictly to money,but also to a position of a person in thesociety. By telling the campus chief he isof a wrong caste to be the chief, they areclearly breaking their own ideology. Do asI say not as I do? And by brutally beatinga person and making him sign aresignation under duress clearly makesthe resignation invalid. Nothing to discussthere. At the court, the government lawyergets threatened and ‘runs away’?Unthinkable in the democratic world. Whorules the court? There is a near riotbreaking out and the CDO wants a‘written request’? Is he out of his mind?

Luba Svrcina, email

CRIME WAVEYour editorial (‘Struggle andconstruction’, #457) suggested thatkidnapping, murder and instances ofviolence like the Khyati Shresthakilling are readily employed bypolitical outfits and that such brutalityresonates with the current socio-political condition. However, thenature of this particular crimecorresponds solely to the fact that theone who murdered Khyati acted tofulfil his greed and had no remorseand no fear of punishment. Crimes ofsuch nature and subsequent impunityhave been so rampant, that it will bevery hard to get out of this viciouscycle. It can only be concluded thatwe have no laws that are harshenough to punish such crimes. Thus,nothing less than capital punishmentcould be the answer to avert anddiscourage such murders.

Amit Pyakurel, Tinkune

T11 MONTHS TO GOD Day for the completion of the new constitution is now only 11months away. The Constituent Assembly’s self-imposed deadlinehas been pushed back over and over again. The deadline for thecommittees to complete their drafts have also been postponed.

Maoist chairman Puspha Kamal Dahal said after his Politburomeeting this week that his party will lead a national government.How that will be possible considering the non-Maoist parties areon the other side is difficult to imagine. Maybe the strategy is tosplit the big parties, but then domestic and international geo-politics are both against them.

Egged on by hardliners, Dahal is finding it difficult not to goalong with the Baidya Plan to foment anarchy and ride a wave ofchaos to capture state power. What the Maoists couldn’t achievewith armed struggle and elections, they will now try to do bymobilising a mass movement on the streets.

Meanwhile, the reason for the delay in constitution-writing isnot just because the cabinet is still incomplete after fourinductions. It is because the Maoists have put up roadblocksevery step of the way in the committees.

They have changed their mind on their proposal to create11 federal provinces and two sub-provinces, and are nowproposing the addition of two ethnic units and to make alllanguages spoken by more than one per cent of the population‘national’ languages. The intention is clear: to use identity politicsand stir ethnic passions to bolster their power base. They havechanged their mind about an executive president being elected bythe people and now want the president to be elected byparliament.

Of the three drafts, the one submitted to the Committee on theNational Interest got stuck over the Maoists proposal forcompulsory conscription of all 18-year-old Nepali males. The onlyreason to bring up such a hare-brained scheme at the presenttime is to stall the whole process.

Similarly, the Committee for Safeguarding the Basis ofCultural and Social Solidarity is deadlocked over semantics andthe Maoist insistence on calling their 10-year insurgency a‘people war’.

The UML, NC and other parties say they are against Maoistattempts to impose totalitarianism,but have remained mute spectatorsto all this. Instead of trying tocreate a united stance againstMaoist moves, they are hopelesslysplit. They haven’t even been ableto appoint the head of theConstitutional Committee to replaceMadhav Kumar Nepal after hebecame premier.

Maoist leaders have admittedpublicly that the new constitution isan obstacle to total state capture.They have said they will not allowa constitution to be written unlessthey have a majority voice in theassembly.

This raises the question: is allthis just a charade to sabotage thenew constitution?

CIVILIAN PARTIESYou sound like a cranky kid waking up tofind your Narnia gone in your editorial(‘Civilian Parties’, # 456). Worse still youblame someone elsefor your impossibledream. Let’s clear it,once and for all: theMaoists neverpromised us peace.They never reallyclaimed they’d give upviolence and joinpeaceful, ‘mainstream’politics under aparliamentary system.That dream was of yourmaking. By ‘you’, Irefer to the media,‘intelligentsia’, civilsociety, and politicalparties of Nepal who banded up together tokick out the king and ‘safeland’ the Maoists.A lay-person can be forgiven foolish

dreams, but those who aspire to political andintellectual leadership of a nation earn theirstatus in society not by advocating fanciful,self-serving dreams but by engaging in

serious, clear-headedand impartial thinking thatbenefits all. Societyfollows them because wetrust them to have donethe rigorous thinkingexpected of them. Insteadof whining andpontificating at theMaoists (believe me,they’re not listening), useyour editorials to tell uswhat you mean by‘mainstreaming theMaoists’ in the firstplace, and whatconvinced you it was

possible? It is our right to know and yourresponsibility to answer.

Satyajeet Nepali, email

KIRAN PANDAY

33 - 9 JULY 2009 #458OP-ED

ON THE EAST-WEST HIGHWAY: It’s a normal day between Dhalkebarand Lahan, two highway towns in eastern Tarai. By late morning, fourdifferent bandas have already been announced.

A family of farmers is enforcing the first one. With a loan from theAgricultural Development Bank, they had bought a buffalo few monthsago. It was killed by a hit-and-run truck. With their main source ofincome gone, the family has blocked the road to demand compensation.

Second, ex-Maoist Matrika Yadav has called for the blockade of thenational highway to pressurise the DDC to release funds for a local

school. Why the DDC is holdingback the money, if they are, no oneknows. It could be that the schoolcommittee wasn’t keeping properaccounts.

The third highway hartal is against a search operation conducted bythe APF. Since the beginning of the Maoist insurgency, villages alongthe Kamala-Balan River had been left to their own devices. They wereconsidered too dangerous to patrol. Now, the APF has begun to try tobring this lawless land into the ambit of state control. But the survivalof too many villagers here is tied with criminal activities of armedgangs. The banda is so strict, only a wedding procession is allowed topass. There is no explanation for the fourth impromptu barricade putup near the shade of a tree where a couple of half-naked teenagers aresmoking beedis.

Welcome to the banda capital of Federal Democratic Republic ofNew Nepal (FDRNN). By eight in the evening, Lahan is shut down.Eateries that serviced long-distance truckers and passengers wear adeserted look. Under the duel stress of rampant lawlessness andunpredictable load shedding, towns in the Tarai have lost thecharacteristic commotion of late summer evenings when the localintelligentsia debate national and international politics over lassiand pan.

Pahadis and now also fashionable Madhesis have all migrated toKathmandu. “We don’t stock good quality leather chappals anymore,”explains the owner of the boot house in the bajar. “Everyone who couldafford them have gone to Kathmandu.” The Rauniyars were the first ones to transform Lahan from asleepy village to a thriving bajar. The Rauniyar Dharmshala is the mostpopular community building. The Shardas turned Lahan into afunctioning town. Then came the Chaudharys and Yadavs fromsurrounding villages as the settlement gained prominence. All of themlived happily with Bahun government officials posted here and Chhetrijamindars coming down from Kathmandu once in a while.

The fourth wave brought Pahadi entrepreneurs from the hills thatlaid the foundation of service industry and enjoyed lucrativegovernment contracts as the town burgeoned. Once the Pahadicommunity gained a critical mass, government officials began toinvest part of their earnings here in land and buildings. Remittance-beneficiaries from the inaccessible interior of the district are the mostrecent settlers.

Today, Lahan is a town with overflowing drains and anoverpowering odour of sewage. At a roadside tea-stall, the debate is overwho would be a better bet to put an end to all this anarchy: the militaryor the Maoists.

Even the town where the Madhes movement was born seems to havelost all hope. That perhaps is the real cause of the spreadinglawlessness: an affronted sense of fairness and loss of hope that thesystem will correct itself. It prompts everyone to take the law in theirown hands. The looming anarchy has begun to frighten people into theembrace of the devils they know, and have learnt to live with.

STATE OF THE STATEC K Lal

Four bandasand a wedding

Even the town, where theMadhes movement wasborn, has lost hope

CUSTOMER CARE@5547002

4 3 - 9 JULY 2009 #458NATION

ROBIN SAYAMI

ith over 864 species,Nepal has the world’srichest diversity of

birdlife on the planet. Traffickers,who were already usingKathmandu airport’s lax andcorrupt customs for smugglingout contraband, are now turningto birds.

Charismatic mammals likerhinos, tigers and leopards graball the headlines, but birdsmuggling through Nepal is agrowing problem, says DiwakarChapagain, wildlife trade expertat the Worldwide Fund for Nature(WWF). “Owls and parakeets arejust not exciting enough,” he says.

Ram Bahadur Gurung, aretired policeman was arrestedwith a eurasian eagle owl (huchilin Nepali) from Shankhamul inMay. He claimed that he foundthe bird on a tree near Chobar, butit was actually trapped and rearedat home for sale in theinternational market.

The Kaski District Forest

Office raided and rescued fiveowls from three villages of thedistrict in June with the help ofthe green group, Roots and ShootNepal. Villagers said they didn’tknow capturing the birds wasillegal, and said they wereplanning to rear them as pets.

But Manoj Gautam of Rootsand Shoots, who went undercoveras a trader, suspects that’s not thereal story. “We offered to buy theowls and pay more than the othertraders, and they quotedRs 400,000,” says Gautam.

Among all the birds trappedin the wild for sale, owls seem tobe gaining popularity. Of the 38owls which had been trapped inKaski’s villages, 31 had been soldalready.

The supply of owls is beingdriven by a surging internationaldemand for the nocturnal birds,which are prized in Europe andsultans’ palaces in the Gulf aspets. There is also a growingdemand in India, where owls areused in tantrik rituals to exorciseevil spirits and the bones of dead

PLAIN SPEAKINGPrashant Jha

he last few months have been marked by a display of nakedlust for ministerial office.

The delay in forming the cabinet due to the bargainingbetween and within parties has drawn derision and ridicule.

It has reminded people of the worst of the 1990s political culture.Apathy and disillusionment have soared: among the middle class inKathmandu's restaurants, villagers near the Dhanusha border,rickshaw pullers in Biratnagar. They will all tell you: “All thesenetas are chor-daaka, thieves and dacoits.”

Thirst for power, desire to make money by hook or crook,enhanced status and reputation are the conventional explanationsoffered for this shameless ambition. All of this is undoubtedly true.

But they offer only a partialpicture.

Politicians want to beministers because they arealready eyeing the nextelections. A powerful

assumption is that they have a higher chance of winning if theyhave access to the state machinery. This gives them a hugeadvantage over rivals, makes the local bureaucracy compliant andmeek, and provides them with patronage opportunities.

Here is how MPs and MP-aspirants present their side of thestory.

Leaders need to cultivate key individuals from each village intheir constituency by catering to private needs: jobs, assistanceduring a police case, recommendation for a promotion. They needmusclemen in the smaller bajars. They have to keep themunicipality officials and VDC secretaries in good humour so thatthey can get work done. They have to take local journalists out fordrinks and sekuwa, if not pay them directly, to ensure good presscoverage.

They have to engage with the wider constituency: give moneyfor someone’s daughter’s wedding, attend cremations, give giftswhen a constituent’s child is born. With rising aspirations, they alsohave to show they are committed to ‘bikas’ and get a school or roadto his area.

To do all this, this leader needs a good working relationship withgovernment departments and money. And the best way to ensurethat is by becoming a minister. To show this works, a favouriteexample in political circles is that of Bijay Gachhedar who mustrank among the most discredited politicians in Kathmandu.

And he is among the most successful mass politicians. ABiratnagar youth leader told us that when he was caught for amurder case, Gachhedar helped him get off the hook because hewas a loyal follower. A Tharu in Sunsari raves about Bijay’s helpwhen he needed money to pay hospital costs. At election time, manylike them come out on Bijay’s side.They do not care if Gachhedar isa royalist or NC democrat, Madhesi or Tharu leader, or who heallies with in the capital. All they know is that Bijay will be therewhen they need money or help.

To understand why politicians are behaving like they are, youhave to understand the ground reality. Mahanta Thakur is a reluctantparticipant, and because his party’s financial balance-sheet istotally in the red he has little choice but to join the government.

When an MP was asked why he had joined Gachhedar’s factionof MJF, he replied, “There are only two ways to bring bikas in myconstituency: either I have influence in the government and theyallot money for a project, or the Indians build a school or hospital inmy area. Right now, my party is in power and Delhi is happy withus. This is better than being with Upendra Yadav on the streets.”

This premise of needing state power to win polls does notalways hold empirically. Many ministers or former ministers lost inlast year’s CA polls. Leaders who have never been a part of theruling class won, with Maoists and the MJF the most obviousexamples. The benefits of capitalising on the anti-incumbency waveoften outweigh the advantages of being in government.

But politicians persist with the messianic belief that they need tobe close to the powers ascendant to be successful. The system isdesigned in a way where political power has come to mean theability to loot the state and share the spoils so that political power isreinforced.

There is no point in blaming the politicians till this incentivestructure is overhauled. And creating this kind of new politicalstructure is what the CA should have ideally been discussing.

Political power has come to meanthe ability to loot the state

By hookor crook

T

Feather fiendsNepal is emerging as a hub for the

trafficking of endangered birdsDEWAN RAI owls are believed to have

medicinal properties. There arereports of night-visionexperiments conducted on owls.

The depletion of owlpopulations can have adevastating impact on the localecology because owls control thepopulations of pests like miceand rats.

Villagers can sell an adulthuchil to local middlemen for upto Rs 400,000. The bird can canfetch up to 10 times more by thetime it is sold to a buyer in theMiddle East. Chicks, which areeasy to capture, cost anywherebetween Rs 5,000-Rs 20,000.

“Owls are easy to catch, andthey fetch such a high price, thatis the reason for the supply,” saysRaju Acharya of Friends of Naturewho has just co-authored a reporton the owl trade. Owls are beingseverely depleted in 20 districts,with Kanchanpur, Mustang andKaski the worst affected.

The Department of NationalParks and Wildlife Conservationseems to be in denial.Spokesperson Laxmi Manandhartold us: “I don’t think smugglingof birds is possible. Even thosewho want to keep birds arerequired to obtain permissionfrom the government.”

There is evidence that Nepalis also becoming a trans-shipmentpoint for wildlife smuggling inthe region. A cargo of 254 exoticbirds coming from Pakistan wasfound atthe Kathmandu airportin April 2007. The consignmentcontained cockatiels, African greyparrots, macaws worth $1 millionin the international market.

Customs officials assuredconservationists that the birdswould be sent back to where theycame from, but were reportedly alldestroyed that night. Now,activists suspect officials sentthem on to their destination inEast Asia after receiving heftypayoffs.

Gautam and otherconservations say the airport isjust the tip of the iceberg, the realsmuggling routes are on the roadlinks across the northern andsouthern borders.

W

PICS: MANOJ GAUTAM

53 - 9 JULY 2009 #458BUSINESS

W

ECONOMIC SENSEArtha Beed

hen visiting professionals and academics ask this Beed whyour politicians are corrupt, he has trouble answering. Apartfrom pointing to their selfishness, there’s no other way to

explain their behaviour. There is very little to suggest that thepoliticians are working to defend an ideology. It’s laughable that theyeven pretend to help the people, particularly the poor.

In Nepal, politics is a profession that requires no qualification.While criminals will never be allowed to run a company, there is nolaw that bars them from running for office. Unfortunately for Nepal,all parties and politicians have taken advantage of this oversight.

Politicians should takeguidance from Nandan Nilekani,formerly of Infosys has beenoffered a cabinet rank and is nowrunning a government program tocreate an all-purpose ID that will

serve many of their holders' official needs. Of course, we havebusiness people in politics and politicians in business in Nepal, buthave we ever thought of getting our professionals to help thegovernment?

Had our politicians been better informed they would know aboutKhimti Project School, which hydropower developer Himal Powerstarted 14 years ago. Today the school’s graduates have all passed withfirst division honors. This proves that although private-publicpartnership may take time, they do work. We should try to repeat thissuccess elsewhere.

But politicians are not interested in that. Instead, they willdemand that these partnerships dole out freebies that will ultimatelydouble their cost and finally thwart them. If grassroots levelpoliticians don’t understand that these freebies inflate the cost ofproduction, our ‘intellectual’ politicians should explain to them justhow unreasonable these demands are.

Perhaps the starting point could be for politicians to get to thebasics: to establish a code of conduct that self regulates and appliesequally to all. Perhaps they don’t understand that the free drinks andmeals at the parties are the perks political leeches enjoy? Or howmuch it costs to drive them around in government vehicles?

Nepal’s feudal history has created a patronage-based society whereeveryone in a position of power thinks that they can do whatever theylike. But, we are now a people’s republic so we should behave likeone. www.arthabeed.com

When can we cure our myopia?

Wake up

KIRAN PANDAY

6 3 - 9 JULY 2009 #458FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

Nagarik, 27 June

“Politics cannot bring people together, nor can religion. ButMichael Jackson brought the world together with his music,”said fans the world over after learning of his death. MichaelJackson may be among the few Western singers who havemanaged to leave a mark in the hearts of many Nepaliyoungsters. Singer Sanjay Shrestha who is a ardent fan, says:“I owe my high-pitched singing style to Michael Jackson.”Singer Nabin Bhattarai could not hold back tears when heheard of Jackson’s death. Abhaya Subba of the group Abhayaand the Steam Injuns recalls her teen years when all four wallsin her room used to be plastered with the pop idol’s posters.She says, “I took his music as a path from which I could createmy own style”.

Kiran Bhandari in Nagarik, 30 June

Falsely blamed for trying to kidnapchildren, five Indian tourists were beatenand then imprisoned in Dumre, Pokharathis week. Ashok Kumar Yadav and RameshKumar Shah were stuck in a highwayblockade in Tanahu and decided to walk toa nearby village for sight-seeing. Forty-year-old Yadav was taking pictures of a little boyin the village, who he says resembled hisson, when he was attacked for being asuspected kidnapper. Their friends whowere waiting in the car were assaulted.

The police imprisoned the tourists fortwo days. “The suspicion was based onrumours, but we had to detain them fortheir own safety,” said police officerRajendra Bista. Ironically, villagers

demanded compensation for the injuries they suffered when theybeat up the tourists. Despite being proven innocent, the touristswere compelled to pay up. The Indian tourists cancelled theirvisit to Pokhara and flew back.

Durga Khanal in Kantipur, 27 June

Naresh Bhandari, a Maoist CA member representing Jumla, is forlorn.After he won elections to the assembly, he hoped to help hisconstituents, perhaps as a minister.

But his hopes have been thwarted. Dilli Mahat, whom Bhandari beatin the CA elections, has superseded Bhandari to become Minister ofPeace and Reconstruction, an office to which Bhandari must report. “Itis sad and humiliating,” he says.

Congress CA member Suprabha Ghimire, representing Kathmandu 4,beat UML vice chairman Bidya Bhandari. She became Minister ofDefense. “It’s a mockery of democracy,” says Ghimire.

After TMLP’s Ramchandra Kushbaha became Minister of Education,NC member Ajay Kumar Chaurasia, representing Parsa 3, receivedhundreds of phone calls from disaffected villagers. Chaurasia beatKushbaha in CA elections by 5,000 votes.

After four sets of inductions, the Council of Ministers now holds30 people. Yet, 10 of these are not CA members. And among the rest,only 11 were directly elected into the CA. The remaining nine, all ofwhom hold powerful portfolios, weren’t elected either. Prime MinisterMadhav Kumar Nepal himself lost CA elections in two localities,although he was finally nominated into the assembly.

All this comes under the auspices of the interim constitution,which doesn’t bar non-CA members from becoming ministers. Politicalanalysts urge revisions to the document.

Rituraj in Himal Khabarpatrika, 30 June-15 July

Given the level of involvement foreignambassadors in Kathmandu have in Nepal’saffairs, there should be a shadow governmentmade up of the following cabinet members:

Prime Minister: Indian ambassadorDeputy PM and Home Minister: AmericanambassadorDefence and Health: British ambassador(knows about Gurkhas and Britain has goodhealth care)Finance: Japanese ambassador (can teachNepalis about how to do well in a recession)Industry-Commerce: Danish ambassador(thinks he is a South Asia expert and deliversprescriptive speeches about development)

Culture and Education: French ambassador(thinks he is an art expert and academic)Water Resources and Energy: Norwegianambassador (ex-PM had gone to Norway to finda way out of the energy crisis)Foreign: Not necessaryPeace and Reconstruction: Swiss envoy(peace talks are usually in Geneva)Communication, Science-Technologyand Forests: Finnish charge d’affairs (land ofNokia and shows lots of interests in ourforests)Sports and Agriculture: Australianambassador (cricket champs with richfarmlands)Tourism, Civil Aviation: Canadian envoy(land of the Twin Otter)Labour and Employment: South Koreanambassador

Shadow government

The King is dead

Vigilantejustice

Unelectedministers

Helpless state

“This is exactly what a national government is…”

Robin Sayami in Nagarik, 2 July

Editorial in Nepal Samacharpatra, 28 June

Nepalis have never felt as insecure as they do right now. Kidnappinghas become an easy way to make money. Businessmen and school-children are easy prey.

The attempt to abduct Menaka Piya of Sauradeep School in broaddaylight and then the abduction and subsequent killing of KhyatiShrestha have left a deep impact on the Nepali psyche. Kathmanduwas relatively safe, not anymore. And yet the Home Ministry is doingnothing about punishment and prevention. This encouragesimpunity.

On Friday, there were three attempts of kidnapping in Thecho,Galkopakha and Thapathali, averted by the vigilance of locals. Thereare many other cases that go unreported because families are warnednot to go to the police.

The police say that the criminals are politically protected. Thatmay be true, but they should not use it to hide their incompetence. Ifthere is pressure from political parties, shouldn’t that be madepublic? Bhim Rawal, the new Home Minister, and his predecessorshad all given directions to maintain law and order to the police.Political parties must make a collective commitment to give thepolice full authority to tackle crime.

KIRAN PANDAY

RSS

73 - 9 JULY 2009 #458CONSTITUTION 2010

A member Amrita Thapa recalls themealtimes of her childhood inPokhara being dominated by heated

political arguments, instigated by herfather who taught her about the power ofthe people and encouraged her to ask

he CA session resumedon 11 June after a break oftwo weeks because the

assembly had no business toattend to. There were somechores after the Committee forthe Support of Cultural andSocial Solidarity and the StateStructure Committee submittedtheir drafts. But that business isnow done, and the assemblydoesn’t have anything elseplanned.

The committees weresupposed to submit theirproposals by 23 April but thisdeadline was extended to 22May. Out of 11 committees, onlytwo kept the deadline andsubmitted their concept drafts.Another two submitted theirdrafts a month and a half afterthe deadline. For the rest of thecommittees the deadline hasagain been extended to 9 July.

Says Radheshyam Adhikariof the Judiciary Committee: “Allthe committees are stuck andhave not been able to make theinitial draft for the assembly.There is need of a politicalmechanism composed of seniorpolitical leaders.” It seems thecommittees have been unable toreach a consensus because ofparty instructions. Seniorleaders have to intervene tocorrect this.

The debates within thecommittees have now embroiledthe CA’s meetings. Although theissue of language had alreadybeen concluded in thecommittee meeting, it was raisedagain in the CA where Madhesimembers insisted that Hindishould also be used for official

A new constitution also means learning from pastmistakes, says Maoist CA member

Second-generationrevolutionaryquestions about inequality,discrimination and poverty.

Born in Syangja, Thapa eventuallystudied at Pokhara’s Prithbi NarayanCampus at the time of the 1990 JanaAndolan, when students really started tomobilise and demonstrate. “It was anamazing time, everyone was questioningthe kind of society we were living in,everyone was united for a people’sdemocracy,” Thapa recalls.

What attracted her to the party wasits Maoist ideology. After the 1990movement she was involved in theMaoist party’s Unity Centre as a studentleader until the ‘people’s war’ broke outand she had to go underground. Sheexplains, “We believed that an armedrebellion was necessary for the kind of

change people desired, which has provento be true.”

Although living as a fighter wasphysically taxing, she has found thatmainstream politics has not been withoutits challenges. “There’s never a dull day inthe parliament.”

During the war years she served ascentral bureau chair for Sunsari, Morangand Kapilabastu, as a central committeein-charge for east Nepal, brigadecommissar for Mechi, general secretary ofthe All Nepal Women’s Association(Revolutionary), member of the interimparliament and now a CA member andchair of Natural Resources, EconomicRights and Sharing of Revenuescommittee.

Thapa is well aware of the

The constitution drafting process is stuckDHURBA SIMKHADA

Clash of the committeespurposes. Others wanted Nepalias the official language forcommunication betweenprovinces.

In the Committee forProtection of the NationalInterest there is a deadlock overwhether the words ‘people’s war’should be used to describe theconflict. NC leaders also feel theMaoist recommendation to havecompulsory military training forall citizens above 18 should alsobe removed from their draft.

The ConstitutionalCommittee will not be able tosubmit its draft by 1 July. It hasstopped functioning after itschair, Madhav Kumar Nepal,became Prime Minister. Theissue of citizenship is alsoholding up the meetings asMadhesi CA members argue thatforeign women who marry aNepali should immediately beissued a citizenship. TheJudicial Committee is stuck overissues like who will define theconstitution and who will havethe authority to nominate andterminate the Chief Justice?

The State ReconstructionCommittee and Natural Resource,Economic Rights and RevenueDistribution Committees are alsostuck. Unless there is a high-level mechanism, this impassewill continue. The StateReconstruction Committee isdeadlocked over federalismissues like autonomy, politicalrepresentation, the number ofprovinces, boundaries andcapitals. Buddha RatnaManandhar, member of thecommittee and Maoist CAmember says: “We will notgive in to the pro-status quogroups.”

disenchantment many Nepalis feelabout the constitution not beingwritten on time. “The constitution willbe written on time only if we rise abovethe political wrangling and focus onthe writing process,” she says.

With a full schedule at thecommittee and the assembly, Thapahasn’t been able to travel as much asshe would like to but she did get aglimpse of rural Nepal while travellingto collect suggestions for the newconstitution and was struck by thelevel of political awareness.

She says: “In village after villagepeople asked us to learn from pastmistakes and keep them in mind whilewriting the new constitution.” Mallika Aryal

C

T

KIRAN PANDAY

KIRAN PANDAY

A long,tall glassT

Orangeboom

here’s nothing Nepalis love more than beer, it seems, savemaybe dal-bhat.

But things weren’t always this way. In the beer-scarce1980s, when there was only one local brand of beer available

(Star) you would be hard-pressed to find a beer that hadn’t gone flat.Fresh beers are now abundantly available. Most restaurants offer as

many varieties of beer as dishes. But its prevalence isn’t its only pluspoint. It’s also cheaper than wine, a popular alternative. So, unlessyou win a handsome lottery forget wine and buy beer.

Long gone are the days when parties modestly offered little morethan small talk and musical chairs, or perhaps among braver crowds,charades. With booze, people party differently. Or maybe the word is:raucously.

Gorkha Brewery dominates the beer market with its Carlsberg,Tuborg and San Miguel brands, but it is seeing stiff competition nowfrom new entrants likeLowenbrau, Nepal Ice,Everest andOranjeboom.

NirvanaChaudhary ofChaudhary Groupis upbeat aboutthe increasingconsumption ofbeer, and saysthere is greatdomestic growthpotential as wellas a market forNepali beersabroad.

“Nepal Ice is thefirst Nepali beer toreach internationalmarkets like UK,Hong Kong andJapan,” saysChaudhary.

Within Nepal, Chaudhary’s target group are party-going youngstersand young professionals who look forward to coming home to a long,tall glass of chilled beer.

Gaining ground in a market dominated by locally made beer is theGerman-based Lowenbrau. But it is an uphill task, admits SuranjanDe' of Pepsi Nepal, which also markets Lowenbrau in Nepal.“Lowenbrau is becoming widely accepted in Nepal too, but it isdifficult to move in the same velocity as the other companies,” Detold Nepali Times. Sabhyata Timsina

rom chyang to ela to frothybeer, Nepalis are nowincreasingly turning towine. In cafes, restaurants

and bars urban Nepalis areswitching to wine in droves.

When once a bottle of Barsacwould be carelessly storedalongside a packet of alu chips,in many kitchens wine now has acabinet to itself.

Wine wholesalers inKathmandu say the bottles areflying off the shelves. Wineimporter Akhil K Chapagain ofAkhil Trading Concern says winehas caught on in a big way. “Not asingle celebrationin Kathmandu is completewithout wine,”says Chapagain.

Amit Agrawal of GreenlineCentre agrees. Agrawal andChapagain both note that wineconsumption is going up sharplybecause women have becomeenthusiastic tipplers. “Womenare our main consumers, alongwith youngsters,” says Agrawal.

Laws banning liquor salesafter 9PM haven’t caused a dentin wine sales either. However,obstacles for the sale of winestill remain. “Duties areextremely high for wineimports,” says Ashish Agrawal,director of Global TradingConcern, adding that while ithasn't caused much difference toposh hotels that can affordtariffs, the sales would be muchhigher if the price differentialwith other drinks was not sohigh.

Industry sources say that with3,000 wine brands in the market,there is stiff competition in aprice-sensitive market. AshishBista of Gorkha Brewery whichalso markets wines, explains:“With so many varieties availablethe wines compete witheach other.”

Ashish Agrawal saysignorance about wine quality

Old wine in anew market

F means that consumers go for thecheaper brands at first. “Mostcustomers can’t tell the differencebetween a wine costing Rs 450and a wine costing Rs 4,000,” hesays.

Wine distributors are tryingto change this by organisingfrequent wine-tasting events incollaboration with embassies ofthe countries from where thewines originate, like Australia,France and the United States. Asmore Nepalis return from studiesor work abroad, they bring back acultivated taste for wine and thisis also spreading awareness. Subeksha Poudel

10 NATION 3 - 9 JULY 2009 #458

KISHOR RIMALin DHORPATAN

hen the Maoistsattacked Beni in2004, thousands of

guerrillas trekked up and downthe rugged mountains ofcentral Nepal from Rukum.

Led by the present MaoistPLA Commander, NandaKishore Pun (Pasang), theguerrillas probably were not inthe mood to admire thescenery. More than 100 people

Guerrilla A new trekking routefrom Myagdi to Rukum

follows trails used by theMaoists during the war

were killed in the Battle forBeni as the fighting raged allnight in the district capital ofMyagdi.

The Maoists carried theirwounded and walked back toRukum and Rolpa, with thearmy in hot pursuit. They werebombed from the air byhelicopters and sufferedserious casualties.

Now, trekkers can retracethe footsteps of the guerrillasand imagine what it must havebeen like to hike and fight in

this kind of terrain. The trailstarts in Beni, skirts Baglung,passes the Dhorpatan HuntingReserve and on to Rukum andRolpa and take up to 13 days.

All along, there arespectacular views of theDhaulagiri range from highridges and large meadows fringedby pine forests.

Says Kuber Bista of the NepalTourism Board: “The trail has ahistoric attraction, but there arealso challenges of infrastructureand making locals aware of how

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ALL PICS: KISHOR RIMAL

C (above), a 12-year-old, earns Rs 4,000per month selling plastic bottles hecollects from garbage piles in Thamel.It’s only 4PM, he has just begun his shiftand still has a long working day ahead. As the bars empty of tourists, the streetsbecome dangerous. He works until 2AMbut, unlike many other street children, islucky to have a home. His familymigrated here from India a few years ago,searching for a better life. The wholefamily works selling garbage. When hegets home, C sleeps for a few hours untilhe wakes up for school, a privilege hehas thanks to an INGO that supports himby providing him with books and amandatory school uniform.

K (right) is 16 and earns Rs 1,200 asa domestic worker. When she was onlysix her father brought her to the city andplaced her hand into a stranger’s with thewords: “Take her”. For the next fiveyears, she worked as an unpaid domestic

worker, suffering from emotionalneglect. Her memories from that period areblurred; she only remembers endless daysof crying and one specific memory of beingforced to work from sunrise to sunsetwithout food, causing her to faint fromhunger. Today, K is in ninth grade andworking only a few hours a day. Afterhaving suffered as a child labourer, shedoes not want to marry or to have children.She says, “Those who are poor, they shouldnot have children… there is so muchsuffering.” J (above) is a micro-bus conductor and

earns Rs 3,000 a month. Though he canafford a meal, he goes to sleep hungry manynights a week because he is too homesick toeat. He came to Kathmandu four months agowith a friend. “The day I arrived in the citywas the saddest day in my life,” says J. Allhis expectations for a better life wereshattered when he could not find a job, butnow he works as a conductor and dreams ofsomeday becoming a microbus driver.

These are three of the stories of childworkers in Nepal in The Faces Behind theNumbers, a video testimonial to be launchedthis week. Produced by the Israeli INGO,

Children of the streetsA film that reminds us of the lives behind thestatistics of child labour in Nepal

Tevel Be’Tzedek in partnership withContemporary Vision, the documentary isa collection of searing testimonies ofKathmandu’s street children and childworkers.

There are anywhere up to 3 millionchild workers in Nepal, and despite thework of child rights organisations thenumber seems to be growing. The filmshows that children are not just statistics,they have individual stories of tragedyand hope, struggle and survival. Nonumber can tell the story of the workingchildren of Nepal. These children deservea better childhood, one withoutresponsibilities and financial duties. But alot must change in the country in order forthis to become a reality.

In the meantime, their rights need tobe protected so they do not risk becomingvictims of abuse. They must be providedthe opportunity to receive an education toensure better lives for their children.

The Faces Behind the Numbers will be screenedat a seminar on child workers on 9 July at 5PMat the Vajra Hotel. Free entrance.

they can benefit from tourism.”NTB is partnering with the

National Trust for NatureConservation and the local

Jaljala Tourism DevelopmentCommittee to popularise theRukum trekking route from thecoming autumn season.

113 - 9 JULY 2009 #458NATION

DAY 1: Kathmandu-Beni (8 hours by bus)

DAY 2: Beni to Takam (6 hours)From the Myagdi district headquarter you follow a gravelroad for 24km to Darbang and start walking. Takam is threehour walk away with Gurja Himal towering overhead.

DAY 3: Takam to Lamsung (6 hours)This is where the scenery starts getting even moredramatic. This is what Nepal used to be like before thetrekkers got here. Locals are not used to foreigners and havea lot of stories to tell about the war.

DAY4: Lamsung to Gurjaghat (7 hours)Climb through dense pine forests, with musk deer dartingin the undergrowth. The meadows on the ridge offer180 degree views of Dhaulagiri and entire range up toChuren Himal in the west.

treks

unfire is once more being heard in the Dhortpatan HuntingReserve as professional hunters from all over the world

come to this region below Dhaulagiri to bag trophies of bluesheep, mountain goat and other wildlife.

Royalty from the hunting is supposed to go to thegovernment, with permits costing anything between $10,000 to$25,000. A park ranger is supposed to accompany the hunters,who fly in by helicopter direct from Kathmandu, take the hornsand depart.

However, there are complaints from the hunting expeditionswho say that despite having paid the permit fees to theDepartment of National Parks and Wildlife, they are extorted bylocals. VDC committees in Rukum and local Maoists in Baglungcharge up to Rs 100,000 from expeditions. In a recent incident,Maoists exploded pipe bombs to scare away animals when theydidn’t get the amount they had demanded, said a villager.

The most coveted trophy is blue sheep, but hunters can alsoshoot Himalayan tahr and deer. Endangered animals likeleopards, black bear, red panda, danphe pheasants, musk deerare out of bounds for the hunters.

DAY 5: Gurjaghat to Dhorpatan (5 hours)You cross over from Myagdi to Baglung and into the formerTibetan refugee camp which was serviced by an airfieldbuilt by the Swiss in the 1950s. This is also the entrance tothe Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve, where shooting mountaingoats and blue sheep is now allowed for fee-payingprofessional hunters from all over the world.

DAY 6: Dhorpatan to Nisi Dhor (5 hours)This is the paradise for birds. Watch danphes, pheasants,and other migratory species that you have seen only in birdguides. Hard to imagine that people fought a war here.There are cow sheds in the monsoon, but in winter thesehigh pastures are deserted.

DAY 7: Nisi Dhor to Tallo Sera (7 hours)Cross over from Baglung to Rukum into Magar country andenter the former Maoist base area. There are dense forests allthe way so it must have been easy to hide here from thehelicopter patrols. The villages are picturesque and there isalways some kind of Magar festival going on.

DAY 8: Tallo Sera Rujhikhola (6 hours)Walk to Lukum in Rukum, a village populated only byMagars and Dalits. This is about as medieval as it gets inNepal nowadays. Rujhikhola is where Pasang (now PLAcommander) planned the Beni attack.

DAY 9: Rujhikhola to Thabang (5 hours)Thabang is the cradle of the Maoist revolution. It wasdamaged in army attacks and parts of the town wereflattened by 'tora bora' mortars shells dropped fromhelicopters. There has been some development ofinfrastructure after the war ended, and the people are eagerand friendly.

DAY 10: Thabang to Jaljale (5 hours)The highest point in Jaljala is Dharampani (3,900m) andthere is a great view from Api-Saipal in the west to

Dhaulagri in the east. This is also where the PLA was givenweapons training during the war.

DAY 11: Jaljala to Jelbang (6 hours)Now we’re moving down from the high mountains and thevillages are ethnically mixed.

DAY 12: (Jelbang to Suliochaur (6 hours)This is where we finally get to Rolpa and the roadhead.Rolpa was also a rebel base area and for many of the ten yearsof war under total Maoist control. You can eat at one ofmany commune restaurants run by Maoist cooperatives,where staff are relatives of those who were killed in thefightings.

DAY 13: Sulichaur to Kathmandu(13 hours by bus)Take a pillow.

More shootingG

12 JULY 22, TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE 3 - 9 JULY 2009 #458

hatever you are doing on themorning of 22 July, drop it. Getup early. Get ready for the

astronomical event of the century: you’renot going see a total solar eclipse that laststhis long again.

The total eclipse, the first since in 2006,will traverse a path that begins in India,passes through Nepal, Bhutan, Burma andthen to China and the Pacific Ocean.

Those who see no distinction betweenastronomical events and astrology, say thetiming is ominous. Eclipses are regarded asa bad omen and could portend morepolitical turmoil ahead. Whatever itsmythical or political significance, theeclipse will be a spectacular sight. Crossyour fingers and hope that the monsoonclouds will part and allow us a good view.But even under the cloud cover, there willbe total darkness beneath the umbralshadow for about 3.5 minutes.

In Nepal, we have a ringside view of thetotal eclipse in the country’s south-easterncorner: Ilam, Bhadrapur, Biratnagar, Dharan,Rajbiraj, Dhankuta and Janakpur. Fikkal inIlam will be one of the best places to viewthe eclipse as the shadow crosses the south

Are you ready for the first and longest solar eclipse of the 21st century?

STARGAZINGKedar S Badu

Darkness after sunrise

face of Kangchenjunga.In the rest of Nepal,the eclipse will be

partial. The new moon will obscure96 per cent of the sun’s disc as seen fromKathmandu where the eclipse will start at5.45AM, reaching its climax at 6.42AM and

ending at 7.45AM.Though perhaps the sight will be

unwelcome in a city where people jaded bypower cuts and political wrangling havegrown bitterly indifferent to the darkness.

Hopefully it will be more cheerily

welcomed in Pokhara. Here, the eclipsewill first appear at 5.46AM, end at7.44AM, and reach it maximum extent,obscuring 93 per cent of the sun, at6.42AM . In Dadeldhura in far-westernNepal, the eclipse will shield only 85 percent of the sun but should last longer from 4.46-7.42AM.

So, now you have the facts. Turn youreyes away for the tv, disinter your nosefrom your books, and be a witness to thisrare cosmic event.

kedarbadu(at) gmail.com

ECLIPSE VIEWING TIPSDon’t ever view the sun directly,even during a partial eclipseUse certified glasses or flitersDon’t use sunglasses, photographicfilms, slides, x-rays or any otherdark lensed deviceProlonged viewing is dangerous

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133 - 9 JULY 2009 #458REVIEWS

ith politicians blamingKathmandu-basedambassadors of interfering in

Nepal’s internal affairs, you’d havethought the diplomats wouldn’t havetime for anything else.

But it looks like they do spend quitea bit of time not interfering, and insteadindulge in their shared passion forphotography. India’s ambassador Rakesh Sood, Americanambassador Nancy Powell and Danish ambassador FinnThilsted are getting together for a joint exhibition of theirphotographs with proceeds going to charity.

When James Giambrone of Indigo Gallery first askedoutgoing US ambassador Nancy Powell to exhibit herphotography at the Indigo Gallery, she proposed expandingthe concept to include Sood and Thilsted as well.

“We put it all together in just a few weeks and I am

hen Rinchen Choegyal crosses the startline in London for a car rally to UlanBator on the Mongol Rally on 18 July he

won’t just be rallying, he’ll be rallying for a cause.Choegyal’s car will be among 300 that will be

flagged off in London to make their way toMongolia, crossing deserts, mountains andsteppes. All cars will haveengines less than one litre.

Choegyal, who grew upin Kathmandu and is nowstudying economics at theSchool of Oriental andAfrican Studies inLondon will be raisingmoney for the EstherBenjamins Trust (EBT),which has been workingsince 2002 to stop thetrafficking of Nepalichildren and girls toIndian circuses.

The Trust’s founder,Philip Holmes, says allknown Nepali traffickingagents who were preyingon vulnerable ruralfamilies are now inprison. In India, thedemand for Nepalichildren at the circuseshas dried up because ofthe adverse publicity andlegal consequences thatfollowed daring rescues bythe Trust and its Indian partners.

A court case is currently underway in Indiaagainst one circus owner who is accused of rape.Another, Siraj Khan, the owner of the Raj MahalCircus that the Trust raided last June (See:‘Juggling with young lives’, # 405), has abscondedafter being charged with employing bonded labour.

Excellencies makeexcellent photographers

delighted that all three were willing andable to give the effort to pull this showtogether,” says Giambrone.

The exhibition is titled ‘More thanambassadors’ and shows that aside fromrepresenting their countries in Nepal, theambassadors are also keen observers ofculture and humanity.

Says US ambassador Powell: “Nepalremains a photographer’s paradise with its beautiful andincredibly tolerant people, its fascinating cultural artifactsand architecture and its amazing landscapes from Chitwanto Mustang. My photos will bring back many pleasantmemories of my time in Nepal."

Danish ambassador Thilsted started taking picturessince he was six, and says he takes his camera in all histravels. “As a diplomat, the camera is a good instrumentin getting to know a country,” says Thilsted, “taking

photos gives one the opportunity toconcentrate on seeing the details andcharacteristics of the people andlandscape.”

Indian ambassador Sood startedtaking and developing his own black andwhite prints when he was a teenager.“Till I came to Nepal, Afghanistan hadbeen my most challenging and alsorewarding assignment,” says Sood, who is exhibiting hisAfghan images.

‘More than Ambassadors’photographs byNancy J. Powell, Finn Thilsted and Rakesh SoodIndigo Gallery, Naxal4-19 July, 8AM to 6PMTel: 4413 580

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Rallying to a causeThe Trust is now working to create a legitimate

pathway for Nepal’s young people to enteremployment inside genuinely reformed Indiancircuses by setting up a circus training school inKathmandu next year. “But for now we most needfunds to support the care of children at risk whomwe have rescued from the circuses and who live at

our refuge in Godavari,”Holmes says.

One boy, Bicky, whowas retrieved by the Trustfrom an Indian circus inJanuary 2004, has justpassed SLC in firstdivision. Two other boyswho were freed along withBicky, Aman and Bijay,won gold medals ingymnastics in theNational Games in May.Aman scooped no fewerthan three gold medalsmaking him one of thetop 10 athletes in theGames.

Choegyal aims to raise£3,000 over the monththat he is on the road andthat will ensure his10,000 mile journey isuphill all the way. SaysHomes: “Charities arefeeling the fundraisingchill that comes with theeconomic recession but

every penny raised will help rescued children inNepal find a future.”

To donate to Rinchen Choegyal’s Mongol Rally seehis online sponsorship form atwww.justgiving.com/rinchen Esther BenjaminTrust: www.ebtrust.org.uk

CIRCUS BOYS: Aman and Bijay show off theirmedals at the National Games in May. Both wererescued from Indian circuses and are now beingsupported by the Esther Benjamin Trust, which israising funds by being a part of the London-UlanBator car rally this month.

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COVERStrengthen

Singha DarbarThe government has to assert itself to resolve

the growing lawlessness in the country

REPORTSAn Epidemic of SuicideNeglecting the Far-West

HIV/AIDS in the Far WestMaoist, Inc.

CONSTITUTION SUPPLEMENTForest and Timber

Which District Has How Much?5 States and 16 ProvincesThe Maoists’ Ethnic Card

Doti Speaks

10+2 SUPPLEMENTHimal’s Top 14 List

Himal Khabarpatrika3 0 J u n e - 1 5 J u l y

14 3 - 9 JULY 2009 #458CITY

ABOUT TOWN

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Call 4442220 for show timings at Jai Nepalwww.jainepal.com

In Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaur, life begins to change forManny (Ray Romano) and his friends. Scrat (Chris Wedge)is still on the hunt to hold onto his beloved acorn whileManny and his new mate Ellie (Queen Latifah) are expectinga baby. Diego (Denis Leary) is fed up with being treatedlike a house-cat and Sid (John Leguizamo) begins to wishfor a family of his own, and so steals some dinosaur eggs.This leads him into the underground world where dinosaursroam free and where his herd must rescue him.

For inclusion in the listing send information to editors(at)nepalitimes.com

KATHMANDU VALLEY

WEEKEND WEATHER by NGAMINDRA DAHAL

The monsoons have finally arrived, and they will continue to bringheavy rains to central and eastern Nepal. Those in the west shouldexpect more rain this weekend. This satellite picture taken onThursday morning shows a band of monsoon showers grazingNepal’s southern border, these will slowly drift northwestwards tothe central hills. Temperatures will also drop by about four degrees.Light rains this weekend and early next week should bring humiddays and cool nights. The showers should persist all week, but realheavy rains are some ways off.

KATHMANDU

EXHIB IT IONSConcepts of balance, an exhibition of artwork by Keepa Maskeyat The Art Shop, Darbar Marg til 2 July.4267063Journey of Karnali, a photo exhibition reflecting the Karnaliculture at Lecture Hall, Nepal Tourism Board, 2 July 11.30AM–12.30 PMRuposhi Bangala, photo exhibition of photographers ofBangladesh at Lecture Hall, Nepal Tourism Board, 2 July,2PMInside is outside, an exhibition of paintings by Saroj Bajracharyaat The Art Shop gallery, durbarmarg 3-17 JulyIn a Different Light an exhibition of Photography by ZoeChilderley at Siddhartha Art Gallery, Baber Mahal Revisited,1-18 July at 5PM. 4267063More than Ambassadors, a photographic exhibition by theambassadors of USA, India and Denmark, Indigo Gallery,Gairidhara 4-19 July at 8AM -6PM. 4413580Secrets of Shangri-La and Caves of Mustang, a visual programon discoveries near the Nepal-Tibet border by Brot Coburn atIndigo Gallery, Gairidhara 4 July, 7PM 4413580

E V E N T SDepartures, a Japanese movie screening at Lazimpat GalleryCafé, 5.30 PM. 4428549

MUSICKathmandu Music For Peace Festival by the Americansoprano Lindsay Feldmeth and the Japanese pianist AyakoWatanabe, their last concert, 3 July Nepal DJ gig, by DJ Flex at Insomnia near Yak and Yeti, 4 July

Live band every Friday and rooftop bbq everyday at KausiKitchen, Durbar Marg. 4227288Sunday Jazz brunch barbecue and live jazz music at the Terrace,Hyatt Regency from 12-3.30 PM. 4491234Jazz evening at Delices de France Restaurant everyWednesday, 11AM-2PM. 4260326Some like it hot every Friday BBQ and live music by Dinesh Raiand the Sound Minds, 7PM onwards, Rs 899 at Fusion,Dwarika’s Hotel. 4479488Happy cocktail hour, 5-7PM, ladies night on Wednesday with liveunplugged music at Jatra Café & Bar.Live Sensation, performance by Yankey every Saturday, 9PM,Hyatt Regency, Kathmandu. 4491234Live Band Sensation performance by Aprilrush, every Saturdaytill late, Rox Bar, Hyatt Regency Kathmandu. 4489362Sunday Jazz Brunch by Inner Groove with barbeque, Sunday,12PM-3.30 PM, The Terrace at Hyatt Regency Kathmandu.4489362Nepali Ghajals and songs at D’Lounge Beijing Duck Restaurant,every Thursday 6.30 PM onwards. 4468589

DININGA cafe’s cafe Dhokaima Cafe, Patan Dhoka. 5522113Pan Pizza & Risotto, for pizza cooked in pan with varioustoppings in wood-fired oven at the Rox Restaurant on Sunday,Monday & Tuesday. 4491234The Corner Bar, 3-11PM, 5-7PM, Radisson Hotel Kathmandu.44118187th Annual Monsoon Wine Festival 2009, from until15 September, Kilroy, Thamel. 4250440Mango Etagere with hi-tea at The Lounge from 4.30- 6.30 PM.Hyatt Regency. 4489362Pizza & Pasta at the Rox Restaurant every Monday & Tuesday,Hyatt Regency. 4489362Mediterranean cuisine every Friday from Greece, Italy and theMiddle-East at The Café, Hyatt Regency. 4491234Teppanyaki meat items and garlic riceright at Le Resturant, Gairidhara. 4436318Plat Du Jour at Hotel Shangri La,Kathmandu, Rs 600. 4412999Reality Bites, The Kaiser Café, Garden ofDreams, operated by Dwarika’s Group ofHotels, 9AM-10PM. 4425341Starry night barbecue at Hotel Shangri-lawith live performance by Ciney Gurung, Rs 999, at the ShambalaGarden, every Friday 7PM onwards. 4412999Himalayan Rainbow Trout at Hotel Yak and Yeti, Darbar Marg.4248999

GETAWAYSRelax Package at Hyatt Regency Kathmandu for Rs 5555 plustaxes, for a night on double occupancy with breakfast,complimentary use of spa and, offer valid to Nepalis and localresidents only. 4489800Feel the Hyatt touch, a 60-minute Ayurvedic massage andaccess to pool and spa with breakfast or lunch at The Café orhi-tea at The Lounge. 4491234/ 4489359

Fri Sat Sun

27-18 27-17 29-19

3 - 9 JULY 2009 #458 15HAPPENINGS

FLU AWAY: An official notice at Tribhuban International Airport directsvisitors from listed countries to the health desk to check for symptoms ofthe H1N1 virus.

KIRAN PANDAY

KIRAN PANDAY

SPLASH OF COLOUR: Kathmandu locals can finally fan out theirumbrellas as they enjoy early monsoon showers after a long dry spell.

RAIN CATCHER: Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal inspectsKathmandu Upathyaka Khanepani Limited's projects during a meetingon rainwater harvesting on Sunday.

WEED OUT WEED: An activist sports a 'no ganja' sign on his cheekduring the International Drug Day awarness rally last week.

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

KIRAN PANDAY

MOBILENATH: A devotee uses her mobile to take a picture of the PatanKumari during the Machhendranath chariot procession last week.

KIRAN PANDAY

ISSN

181

4-26

13

CDO Regd No 194/056/57 Lalitpur, Central Region Postal Regd. No 04/058/59

3 - 9 JULY 2009 #45816 BACKSIDE

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B y joining the Maoists enmasse the other day andgiving Chairman Awesome

the red salute, Kollywood actorsshowed that they all deserveOscars in the Best-SupportingActor role. They played theirparts so well, we never guessedthey were unreformedmandalays all along. This is apersonal victory for Awe-inspiring, who is on record assaying in interviews even whileunderground that he likedwatching movies. Just like thepot boilers that Nepali actors playin, we can now tell the differencebetween the good guys and thebad guys. The only question iswhich will be the next professionto swear allegiance to the redflag: Pashupati’s priests,Thamel’s masseurs or us hacks?

The mass conversion to Maoismhas led to speculation that a

semi-autobiographical movieabout Fearsome the Great (tobe called Prachanda Path) is inthe works with the lead role beingplayed by the man himself. Allthose years he hung around Noidacatching the matinee shows musthave rubbed off on Ferocious. Onthe other hand, if the kangresiscould make a movie aboutGaneshman Uncle and the UML afeature film on Comrade MadanBhandari, nothing wrong with athree-hour musical extolling theheroism of Comrade Shock andAwe. Guess the only diff is thatGanesh Man and Madan Dai werealready dead when the filmsabout them were made.

When things get a bit toostressful, Ferocious has the habitof putting on the disappearingact. He went to Sanga last timeand made his decision to resignover a bottle of dry whiteAustralian. Last week when boththe meteorological and political

heat got too much to bear he spedoff to the cool climes of Damanwhere his krantikari union hasclosed down the only good hotelthere. This weekend, theChairman was grilled so hardby fellow-comrades at thePolitburo meeting that he scootedoff to Narayangad. However muchhe tried to keep the visit a secret,the word spread and pretty soonthe entire Chitwan press corpshad descended upon the HotelRoyal Century. The irony ofthe choice of hotel seems to havebeen lost on the comrades.

As far as the international pressis concerned, nothing ofimportance ever seems to happenin Nepal these days. How manytimes can the wire services file astory that the rostrum is stillbeing gheraoed in parliament?What’s new about yet anotherhighway blockade, or how many

different ways can you writeabout a kidnapping? Luckily forthe world media, there was anitem of news to break themonotony this week: thedecision by the Ministry ofUncivil Aviation to make baggagehandlers at Gauchar weartrousers without pocketsbecause they were in the habit ofslashing open checked-in luggageto partake of their contents. Thiswill send a very positive messageall over the world about ourcountry ahead of the VisitNepal Year 2011, that we areserious about cracking downon crime.

All well and good about puttingants in the pants of baggagehandlers, but who is going totackle the cops at the airportsecurity check? How do youprevent them from going throughyour wallet and pocketing

Pants without pocketssuspicious-looking $20 billsthat they deem to be a nationalsecurity threat? Taking thepockets out of their trousers ain’tgonna stop the cops fromdemanding ghoosh, or theimmigration chaps from stoppingNepalis at random to extort theliving daylights out of them.More drastic action is called for,viz: they need to be stripped andmade to work in their birthdaysuits. Only if they are starkraving naked can we be sure theyhaven’t stolen anything from us.

The Ass’ solution to the politicalstalemate is simple: let ComBaburam lead a new govt ofnational unity. Makunay can stepaside, since he has served hispurpose. As Finance Minister,Laldhoj pumped in Rs 30billioninto the national coffers. Onething we can be sureof, at least this manwon’t stash cash inhis own trousers, evenif it has pockets.

ass(at)nepalitimes.com