The world
abruptly woke up to revelations about Nepal's internal problems on June 1,
2001, the day it was told that the kingdom's crown prince had killed his
parents and other royals, then turned the gun on himself: According to official
reports, it was all the result of a dispute over the prince's choice of a wife.
The news sparked a nationwide trauma, and brought the world press to the
streets of Kathmandu.
The massacre s grisly details-though none of forensic
significance - were dutifully reported to the world. The archaic funerary rites
were also widely broadcast. But none of the bulletins offered real insights
about the country: the poverty, the failing democracy, the army's role in
Nepal's politics, or the insurgent Maoist movement that controls over a quarter
of the countryside and has the support of as much as half the nation's 23
million population, and possibly more.
Since then, an occasional Nepalese commentator has
forecast privately, "The truth will come out in a few months. Watch,"
they say. While the international press accepts the more acceptable
conclusion-"We may never know what happened in the palace"-we would
do better to listen to that guarded warning. Those off-the-record comments
actually mean "keep your eye on the changing power relations between the
king, his army, the government, and the Maoists."
Several months after the massacre, while the new king
maintains a low public profile, a new political dynamic has emerged. First,
confrontations between the Maoists and police have reached a new level, and,
for the first time, the army is assuming an active role in trying to suppress
the peasant movement.
During the past five years, as the largely rural
rebellion grew, only the prime minister and police have been involved in trying
to thwart Maoist actions. While the Maoists undermined the power and efforts of
both, the army remained completely out of the picture.
Although the king became a constitutional monarch when
democracy was restored in 1990, he retained his post as commander-in-chief of
the army. In that role, he kept the army at bay.
CLEARING A PATH?
Nepal's army is an even more secret institution than the
palace. But most citizens are all too familiar with its record of selective,
brutal, and swift responses to any display of public dissent or hint of revolt.
After the palace killings, when no one in the country dared to question the
"official" explanation of the crime, and the free press suddenly
censored itself, one Nepali observer commented, "If that is what 'they'
can do to the royal family, imagine what they will do to us."
Public suspicions of foul play, never publicly voiced by
commentators or government officials, were probably the motive behind days of
street riots following the massacre. Six unarmed street protesters were killed
outright by the police. Yet, no Western reporters, academics, or diplomats who
know the country well have stepped forward to suggest foul play. Instead,
they've essentially joined the apparent cover-up.
One circumspect Nepali commentator, speaking about the
massacre on international radio, did get the message out to those really
listening. "This massacre is a tragedy for our country," he said.
"It is difficult to get all the facts, but there is no reason to believe
in rumors of a conspiracy. The military spokesman himself has given us all the
facts. The military itself have given us the reports." For most outsiders
the message may have been too subtle. But, in effect, he was revealing that the
military is in control of the situation.
Although Nepal currently has a parliament and prime
minister, both have been weakened by corruption and lack of public confidence
resulting from widespread mismanagement, including their handling of the Maoist
movement. Just days before the massacre, there were calls for Prime Minister
Giriji Prasad Koirala to step down. Barely a week before that, the Maoists
called a general strike in Kathmandu. The capital came to a complete stop,
revealing that the Maoists could intimidate the entire population. The strike
also demonstrated that this wasn't simply a rural movement in the hills, but
had penetrated the capital itself. In July, Koirala was finally forced to
resign.
Ravi Adikhari, a Nepali journalist based in New York,
reports that King Birendra, who was killed on June 1, to some extent
sympathized with the Maoists and enjoyed an intimate relationship with its
deputy leader, Balram Battarai. "The king played a subdued role since his
abdication of absolute power, and although he was military commander in chief,
he was unwilling to bring the army against the Maoists." Adikhari and
other daring commentators suggest that the "generals" were doubtless
alarmed by the growing sphere of influence of the rebels, and were anxious to
wipe them out. Their readiness to act was also influenced by the apparent
helplessness of the elected government.
Facing increasing threats from the insurgents and
resistance from King Birendra, they could have decided to take matters into
their own hands. That meant removing whatever obstacles lay in their path.
Li Onesto, a US journalist writing about Nepal in the
Summer 2()01 issue of Z Magazine, named "the growing strength of Nepal's
Maoist insurgency" as the significant context of the royal massacre. She
characterizes the situation as "a crisis within Nepal's ruling class over
how to deal with the insurgency." King Birendra, she notes, "was the
focus of a sharp debate over whether or not to mobilize the army against the
Maoists."
In 1999, Onesto spent several months moving through the
guerrilla zones in Nepal's mountainous regions, a visit arranged by the
Communist (Maoist) Party of Nepal. She is one of the few outsiders who have
witnessed the benefits brought by the Maoist movement, and she heard
testimonials directly from their members. "Peasants talked about
landowners and corrupt officials who steal their small plots of land," she
reports, "and money lenders who charge exorbitant interest"-then take
over the fields of their debtors. She also describes how farmers, who once
couldn't feed themselves, have become self-sustaining after being reorganized
by the Maoist campaigners. Onesto notes that "about a third of the
people's army squads are women, and in the guerrilla zones, just about every
village has a revolutionary women's organization."
From women and men, she gathered testimonials about
widespread rape, torture, and other abuse sustained by peasants at the hands of
landowners, police, and other officials. Peasants were driven "to pick up
arms and fight the government," she writes, because of the injustices they
suffered and the government's failure to curb abuse.
It s hard to believe that the Nepalese army, which enjoys
a reputation as a rather benign force, would be behind the massacre of an
entire family (and probably the servants as well), then frame the crown prince
for the cowardly act. Certainly no Nepalese wants to believe this. But they
know their army leaders better than others, and, unable to speak publicly,
they're simply waiting for the proof of what they widely suspect. Any
alteration in policy toward the rebels, or signs of the army inserting itself
more centrally into national policy, may give them the evidence they need to
confirm their worst fears.
FROM POVERTY TO WAR
For some, signs are emerging that a longdreaded war has
already begun. King Gyanendra lost no time in instituting a public security act
that bans meetings and restricts speech. Before the massacre, the efforts of
the Maoists were given almost no international media attention. Now, the
international press reports that they killed 40 police officers in a July
offensive-more than they managed in any single action over five years.
Furthermore, they have reportedly abducted 71 policemen, holding them as
shields or for ransom.
Meanwhile, the army is reported to have attacked some
Maoist strongholds with helicopter gunships, which sustained some hits in
response. Nonetheless, it claims to have succeeded in killing more than 100
rebels. In addition, several bombs have exploded in the capital, the first time
any such action has been reported. No one was hurt, but the blasts were
attributed to the Maoists.
Even if parliament wanted to restrain the military, the
government is in such disarray and its leadership so weak that it is virtually
immobilized. This puts the king in a stronger position to decide on military
action.
According to reports from Kathmandu, the Maoists have
gone on a verbal offensive against the new king, a tactic they didn't employ
against his deceased predecessor. They also called another one-day strike in
Kathmandu, completely shutting down the city. It s an unmistakable message to
residents and the government that the Maoists control the capital.
Reports about Nepal, both before and following the
massacre, have routinely described it as one of the poorest countries in the
world. During the recent media blitz, that adjective popped up in virtually
every report from Kathmandu. Yet, no investigation has been launched to
discover the roots of the situation. Poverty isn't an inherent characteristic
of third world countries; it results from war, natural catastrophe, misrule, or
mismanagement. Nepal has experienced neither wars nor natural catastrophes.
Since the cause of its continued poverty is pretty self evident, it's only
natural that, in the absence of honest government, alternatives emerge.
Nepalis fought for and won their democracy in a costly 1990
revolution. They secured a multi-party system, an elected government, and a
free press. But the government didn't institute any of the needed judicial and
economic reforms. Moreover, the king's estates remained intact, members of the
royal family were immune from criticism, and the army stayed outside and above
the democracy.
Barbara Nimri Aziz, a regular contributor to TF and a
frequent commentator on Arab issues, was based in Nepal from 1970-88 as an
anthropologist. Her new book, Heir to a Silent Song, Two Rebel Women of Nepal,
is the history of two rural women who campaigned for women's rights and against
corruption in the early part of the 20th century. Published in Nepal, it can be
ordered at barnesandnoble.com or from the author
From http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Asia/Nepals_UntoldStory.html by Barbara Nimri Aziz for Toward Freedom magazine, August / September 2001
Just check out the video from youtube
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