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Nepal Research Website on Nepal and Himalayan Studies updated: 06/12/2019 ![]() Dudh Kund (Womi Tso), 4.500m, north of Hewa, Solududhkunda Municipality 1, Solukhumbu, in December 2017
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Websites: Nepal Research Nepal Research Videos Nepal Research Languages Nepal Observer (ISSN 2626-2924) Human Rights Forum Nepal (HURFON) Hewa-Nepal Sherwa mi The following trekking agencies are run by persons from Hewa (Solududhkunda Municipality 1) who invest a lot of time and money in the development of their village. By bringing tourists to Hewa, they contribute to improve the income of the villagers and to sustain the projects: ![]() Himalayan Paradise Trek & Expedition (P.) Ltd. P.O. Box 23304, Kapan-8, Kathmandu, Nepal. Phone: +977-1-4823172, Cell: +977-1-9841212248 E-mail: info@himalayanparadisetrek.com Website: http://www.himalayanparadisetrek.com ![]() Panorama Himalaya Trekking Pvt. Ltd. P.O.Box: 25301, Kathmandu, Nepal. Phone: +977-1-2297661, Cell: +977-1-9841426784 Website: http://www.panoramatrekking.com, E-mail: pasang2001@hotmail.com , kusang_sherpa2008@yahoo.com ![]() Annapurna Foothills Treks & Expedition (P.) Ltd. Boudha Naya Basti 4, Kathmandu, Nepal. Phone: +977-1-6211187, Cell: +977-1-98411579429 Website: http://www.annapurnatreksexpedition.com, E-mail: info@annapurnatreksexpedition.com |
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Today's links on the crisis situation: 06/12/2019: Police arrest brother-in-law of Parbati Budha who died in a menstruation hut in Achham: This is the first arrest since the country criminalised Chhaupadi in August 2017, by Binod Ghimire (kp), Nepal is positive about being part of State Partnership Program under Indo-Pacific Strategy, minister tells visiting US official: Defence Minister Pokhrel’s communication comes at a time when Kathmandu has been rejecting any role and engagement in the US-led comprehensive policy, by Anil Giri (kp) [??], Without calendar, House sessions are called at government’s convenience: Officials say winter session will commence soon, but no one knows when, by Binod Ghimire (kp), Electoral reforms: To ensure free, fair polls, by Krishna Man Pradhan (ht)
Comment: Democracy
and the Rule of Law in Federal Nepal Let's start with the government. Based on the November/December 2017 election results, Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli was elected Prime Minister by an overwhelming majority on February 15, 2018. The disciplined electoral alliance of his CPN-UML with the Maoist Centre had given the two left parties an almost two thirds majority in the House of Representatives. In May last year, these parties formally merged into a single party, the Nepal Communist Party (NCP). With the Federal Socialist Forum, a collection of ethnic and Madheshi parties, a government partner was found who perfected the two thirds majority. The second Tarai party in parliament, the Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN), also supported the government for some time without officially joining it. Negotiations are currently underway to merge the Baburam Bhattarai’s Nayan Shakti Party with the Federal Socialist Forum, the RJPN and the Janamukti Party. This could create a third force that would have about half as many MPs in the House of Representatives as the main opposition Nepali Congress (NC). In view of its large parliamentary majority, the NCP government cannot actually be overthrown from outside, which could be a good basis for political stability that has been lacking for so long. But problems can arise from within the party itself. These include, for example, the Prime Minister's extremely weak performance in his first year in office, the competition from his co-chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and, in particular, the fact that the two left-wing parties were united only from the top and that there can still be no evidence of a socially inclusive party. Although the party has recently asserted that the merger has now been completed at all levels, there are doubts about it. A real unity still does not characterise the NCP. But
the
overwhelming majority also has its downsides. PM Oli has to
put up with the justified accusation of authoritarianism. It
turns out that he wants to keep the entire state apparatus
firmly under his personal control and that of his party.
Besides, the sometimes hours-long blocking of roads and
airports, when used by leading politicians, is a detached
and downright arrogant behaviour, which was taken over from
the former monarchy and which labels the frustrated citizens
and tourists as second-class people. Even more serious is the continuing lack of clarity about the distribution of resources. For example, inappropriate double taxation has repeatedly occurred, or the provincial and local levels still face decisions by the central level that, according to the constitution, actually fall within the competence of the lower level. The latter often does not have the necessary funds to fulfil the tasks provided for by the constitution. Above all, there is a lack of continuous dialogue between the three levels. The national level continues to see itself as fully empowered to issue directives. The
outside
observer even has doubts as to whether the leaders of the
national level are still behind the federal system that they
praised as the country's future system after the royal
putsch in 2006. Not even the names of the provinces and the
names of their respective capitals, which should have been
determined by the provincial assemblies by August 2018 at
the latest, have yet been determined for all the provinces.
If one looks at what the elected provincial assemblies have
achieved so far, it is not much more than nothing. The
recent threat by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, co-chair of the NCP, to
overthrow the government of Province 2 (the only province in
which the NCP does not have a majority) suggests that
Nepal's leading politicians have not understood the
principle of federalism. (Post-earthquake
reconstruction): The second task of the government
I would like to mention here is post-earthquake
reconstruction. Just now, the fourth anniversary of the
severe earthquake of 2015 has passed. Reconstruction is
still extremely slow. The Reconstruction Agency (NRA), like
all the country's institutions, is politically staffed and
has proved to be incompetent since its creation. It has just
announced that a further 3.5 billion euros will be needed
for reconstruction, i.e. roughly as much as the
international community has already pledged as aid in 2015,
of which only a part has been called up to date. Only a
portion of the aid of Rs. 300,000 intended for the affected
families has still been received by the people. Those who
did not want to continue living in emergency shelters had to
borrow expensive money. At the same time, the inflation rate
over the past four years has caused construction costs to
rise by an additional 20 percent. The latter applies to all
still unfinished construction measures, including in
particular numerous destroyed cultural monuments. (Freedom of the media and information): The Oli government has been particularly negative in curtailing the fundamental right to freedom of information and expression. Freedom of the media and freedom of demonstration have been drastically restricted. Criticism of the Prime Minister and the government, including through social media, is threatened with punishment (example: a man was arrested because he showed the PM a black flag and was only released after 10 days after the SC intervened). At the same time, the political parties (and this applies to all of them) cover up and court criminal elements. Convicted criminals or people accused of participating in crimes are given party functions, nominated as candidates in elections and even sworn in as “people's representatives” in parliaments. (Fundamental rights / womens' rights): In this context, there are other fundamental rights to which insufficient respect is paid. In particular, women's rights continue to be severely restricted in Nepal, which remains an extremely patriarchal country. Against the background that the male leaders of Nepal refuse to accept women as fully equal citizens, a highly differentiated citizenship law has been created, which continues to this day the traditional discrimination against women and their children, if the father does not have full Nepalese citizenship, including countless discriminations. The annual human rights report of the American Department of State speaks of well over 5 million people in the country without citizenship. Even the rights enshrined in the constitution and subordinate laws for better participation of women are simply disregarded, for example by the ruling NCP in appointing the functionaries after the merger of the two left parties. Violence against women is rampant, at least the media report about it intensively, but their prosecution is often politically prevented. The new constitution contains numerous provisions for better inclusion and participation of traditionally excluded social groups (Janajati, Madheshi, Dalits, Muslims and women in general). However, the composition of the government, parliaments, party leaders and virtually all public institutions continues to speak a distinctly different language. By
the
way, the law on the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)
is also under discussion in these days. A government bill
aims to have the Commission monitored by the government.
This would turn its task upside down. Apart from that, all
the governments of recent years have paid little attention
to the reports and directives of the NHRC. Nepal's handling
of fundamental human rights still does not match its status
as an elected member of the UN Human Rights Council
(2018-2020). This is due to the squad of old party leaders, who have all repeatedly failed miserably in the past, but continue to cling to their posts vigorously. A prime example is the party chairman, Sher Bahadur Deuba, who has already failed four times as prime minister. He is already in his mid-70s and, despite everything, is firmly convinced that the future of the party is inextricably linked to his person. There are some hopeful younger politicians within the party who could help the NC to regain a better reputation. Ultimately, the NC lost the 2017 elections in a landslide only through the direct election system and because of the electoral alliance of the then two left-wing parties. The party was not that far behind in the second votes. State integrity (Hindu state): Similarly unconstitutional and threatening are the demands for a return to Hindu state and monarchy. Such demands have been made for years by the various factions of the National Democratic Party (NDP), the assembly of the politicians of the former non-party Panchayat system, (and of course occasionally by the deposed King Gyanendra), without this leading to any arrests. The NDP was only able to secure about 2% of the second votes in the elections, which does not support its demand. It is worrying, however, that a very large number of the leading politicians of the main opposition party Nepali Congress are now calling for a referendum on this issue as well, including their Secretary General. But with a renewed link between state and religion, the rights of the traditionally excluded groups would again be reset to the level of 1990 at most. The entire Maoist uprising and its few striking achievements would become meaningless in one stroke. But Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multicultural and multi-religious state, which was only gradually accepted after 1990. Secularism, which was still denied in the 1990 constitution, is therefore a prerequisite for the country's peaceful future and must not be called into question. (CPN): The Communist Party of Nepal (CPN), the remaining radical wing of the Maoist party under its leader Netra Bikram Chand, is directed not only against these two movements, but also against the constitution in its present form. This party had already attracted attention in the elections at the end of 2017 through militant attacks, which it has recently intensified again. The Oli government is not only prosecuting these crimes, but has now outlawed the entire party. This approach is very controversial among constitutional experts. We know from our own country that it is not easy to legally ban a radical political party. In any case, hundreds of CPN politicians have been arrested in recent weeks; the number of attacks has decreased. But even the beginnings of the Maoist movement were militantly suppressed by the state in 1995 (then under PM Deuba), as you know, it didn't do any good. (Foreign policy):
Finally,
I think a few foreign policy remarks are appropriate. Until
a few years ago, Nepal was extremely oriented towards its
southern neighbour India. This has changed dramatically with
the rapidly growing interest of China and its global policy
(let me just mention the Road & Belt Initiative). Nepal
is thus opening up new opportunities, but the country must
manage the balancing act between its own independence and
neutrality on the one hand and excessive dependence on one
of its two major neighbours on the other. What the latter
can mean has been demonstrated in the past in various
economic blockades by India. The third factor that has
recently come into play more strongly is the US, which is
pushing for Nepal's participation in the Indo-Pacific
security alliance. The latter, however, is based primarily
on American interests and also differs from India's
interests. I think Nepal should, in the sense of “Nepal
first”, preserve its own independence through friendly and
balanced relations with both major neighbours and not allow
itself to be drawn into the American-Chinese rivalries.
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