Nepal or Nothing

Our correspondent in Kathmandu writes..

In Nepal the showdown between a fat power-crazed king and a huge pro-democracy movement has shut down the entire country since April 6th. The strike is absolute - no driving vehicles, no work, often no shops at all. Hospitals, commercial airlines and banks are on strike. Food is getting expensive and fuel is scarce, but until the king stands down and returns democracy and human rights to the people, the strike is likely to continue.

The media and the world in general has paid little notice. Nepal is not rich in oil or uranium, and doesn't export much. The only thing at stake here is the freedom and future of its 23 million citizens.
The police and army are loyal to King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev - a man who believes he is an incarnation of Vishnu with a divine right to screw the country. Everybody else thinks he's a fat old nutter who killed off the entire royal family and blamed his son-in-law, who then conveniently died, in order to become king. He decided a year ago to take over complete control as a divine ruler and dump democracy and parliament. Famously he declared that the "days of monarchy being seen but not heard... are over". All human rights have been canceled and thousands have been jailed without trial.

Massive numbers have hit the streets in virtually every town in the country. The andolan (protest) was initially called for April 6th-9th, but in response to police violence it was extended indefinitely. Every part of society has held marches and demos against the king. Lawyers, journalists, doctors, women, old people, families of 'disappeared' people, professors, schoolkids, tourists, government workers, NGO workers, students and families of police have taken part. Police have attacked all of the above, perhaps with the exception of their own families!

Journalists have been battered and imprisoned for 90 days. Throughout the andolan, journalists have been singled out, beaten and arrested. Over 100 are in jail. At the lawyers' demo, police opened fire on the peaceful march, injuring 17. One cop met members of the National Human Rights Commission and shouted, "NHRC is a Maoist organization, it should be scrapped and all the human rights defenders should be searched and shot."

Recently the Home Office, who control the police, had a protest against the government - irony-free cops arrested 25.

Huge street rallies have been held in the capital and in every sizable town. Police and the army have clamped down with curfews, which people deliberately defy to show their contempt for the government and to show who really controls the streets. This has been a main catalyst for violence. The regime had killed 13 demonstrators by April the 20th, a figure which will rapidly go out of date, and injured thousands. Batons, tear gas, rubber and live bullets have all been used indiscriminately. Armed police routinely fire at the faces and heads of demonstrators. Many protesters have been "disappeared" or tortured. Senior police have ordered their underlings to beat protesters so severely that they cannot return to the andolan.

The streetfights have also left many police injured. Nepal is a country littered with stones, which has evened the odds a little - until the police start shooting. Ganesh Bohara, an injured 50-year-old from Sarlahi district, whilst receiving treatment at the Vinayak Hospital for his injuries, said he would "go to pelt stones in the street" after recovering. "I am ready to die for democracy," said Bohara, a street vendor, who was hit on his head with truncheons. "I saw another four persons collapsing as I was rushed to this hospital."
Himalayan Down The Law

The major political parties, who have a history of squabbling, and a proven track record of shabby corruption and incompetence, have united against the king. But although the Seven Party Alliance announces the events and gives the speeches, the andolan has become a genuine popular movement. Newspaper articles complain of the lack of political leadership in the movement. But this might be a good thing. Most politicians in Nepal are so crooked they need help getting their trousers on in the morning. Now they know that they will not be allowed to strike any dodgy bargains with the king. If and when the king holds talks with them, anything less than the full return of democracy, a constitution guaranteeing human rights and the end of the monarchy will likely be rejected by the people.

The clampdown has raised the stakes, and made the andolanis demand a total end to monarchy. 'Information' Minister Shirish Rana defended the security measures: "this movement is infiltrated by the Maoist terrorists...We have refrained from the use of excessive violence and it is only when it has been provoked that the state has responded."

The king's trump card is to call anybody who disagrees with him a Maoist, preferably after killing them to avoid unnecessary arguments. He and his head honcho, Kamal Thapa, the Home Minister, claim the democracy movement is Maoist. This argument has more holes in it than most of the king's enemies.

Nepal's Maoist rebels are cheering from the sidelines, but are not a major part of the democracy movement. For the most part they are holding back and watching to see what happens. Their 10-year-old "People's War" has reached a stalemate and they are now signaling that they want to take part in elections and are committed to democracy and human rights. Which makes them not very Maoist at all, if they are sincere.
Heavy On The Maoist

The Maoist rebellion fed on the rampant injustices in Nepali society and the indifference of the ruling elite to the suffering of the poor. Nepal may have often been depicted as a backwards country - literacy levels are at around 40% and 80% of people depend on farming - but you don't need to go to university to know what injustice looks like. Nepal's ruling elite has a gene pool so small they make Prince Charles look normal. This may or may not be the reason the king looks like an overweight haddock. In the roll call of generals, cops, politicians, and other top league gangsters the same surnames crop up again and again. The caste system further cements injustice into place.

Whole areas of the countryside live in grinding poverty. The government ignored the peasant, lower-caste countryside majority for decades, leaving many without schools, roads, or hospitals within many days walk. They only paid attention when the Maoists armed up and began their People's War.

Today, April 20th, big rallies are taking place in Kathmandu. Crowds are breaking the shoot-on-sight curfew on the ring-road around the capital. Four people have been shot dead and 18 are critically injured in one area. Police have stolen bodies from the hospital at gun-point. At other places there is a 'carnival' atmosphere with dancing and chants of "Gyanendra ...Des Chowk" - meaning "King... Get out of the country."

Many believe the king's days are numbered. In a recent interview, The US ambassador to Nepal said that if the king does not make changes he may soon be leaving in a hurry, hanging off the back of a helicopter.

If the situation is not resolved shortly, food will run out. A Tiananmen Square-type massacre and clampdown cannot be ruled out. The king may declare a state of emergency. A Burma scenario is also possible - a long, slow squeeze, but holding out for years and years. Most people are hoping that the end will come quickly though and the king will find a bungalow in Argentina next to some ageing nazis and let Nepalis start to deal with the country's many problems.

International pressure could help this happen - get to the demo at the Nepalese Embassy, 12:30pm on Tuesday 25th April at 12a Kensington Palace Gardens London, W8 4QU. Nearest tube station is Notting Hill Gate. Please bring as many people as you can, and spread the word!

* Phone, fax or email the Nepalese Embassy and keep up the pressure. Tel: 0207 229 1594, 0207 229 6231, E-Mail: info@nepembassy.org.uk, rnelondon@nepembassy.org.uk

* To stay informed, check out the Kathmandu Post website. The king has tried to shut it down, and some of their journalists have been battered by police. Always a sign you're doing something right - www.kantipuronline.com