(Courtesy: el Zorro)
For decades political entities have vied for power in Nepal but have done little to actually empower the people. Every political revolution has engineered massive dreams but only marginal, substantive change. Ordinary men and women have been martyred repeatedly with only the revitalization of corrupt, nepotistic stalwarts to show for their supreme scarifies.
It is with this unfortunate history of broken dreams and false promises that the Nepali people embark on yet another journey of hope. This time, the promise of “revolutionary” elections to a constituent assembly and massive state restructuring to follow, are the agendas that captivate the Nepali imagination.
Despite a date being (re)set for constituent assembly elections, these elections are anything but certain. A host of challenges exist and in order to contextualize these obstacles, a revisit of selective themes in Nepal’s 12 year civil war (a conflict that gradually eroded the Nepali psyche and brought an entire nation to its knees), is essential.
The Maoists’ rise to Power
The Maoists’ ascendancy was engineered though a protracted campaign that relied heavily on terror-tactics to consolidate political gains. Partly as tactical retribution but more for purposes of strategic continuity, Nepal’s Maoists waged a campaign of gratuitous violence that targeted political opposition, national infrastructure and utilized classic insurgent methods including targeted assassinations and human wave attacks.
The application of violence was a constant theme throughout the Maoist insurgency. Political opponents were systematically cleansed from Nepal’s countryside. Maoist retribution was particularly swift (and calculated) against agents of the Nepali Congress – the party that was responsible for launching notoriously violent operations (Sierra-II Kilo and Romeo) against Maoist activists in Rukkum, Rolpa, Jajarko and Sallyan.
At the culmination of 12 years of violent insurgency, it is indeed disappointing to see a complete shift in focus from the methods that the Maoists used to attain power to a carefully engineered version of the “truth.” Instead of a concerted campaign to elicit an apology from the Maoist leadership (and an admission that violent politics is unacceptable), we find a movement that is misrepresented as peace on the Maoists’ terms.
Maoist Manipulation of the Human Rights Agenda
By forcing state agents to engage in unconventional warfare, the Maoists elicited empathetic reactions from human rights defenders whose mandate focused solely on a single (yet very important) dimension of the conflict – the protection of liberties.
Ironically, the Maoists concentrated on undermining these exact liberties throughout their insurgency. Even while doing so, the Maoists were able to avoid full blown persecution by the human rights community because of the strong populist undertones represented by the Maoists’ 40 point demand. But also (in hindsight), it is increasingly clear that the incentive for human rights defenders to pressurize the Maoists may have been subdued because doing so never produced results.
Actionable reporting is a key factor considered during budgetary processes and neither the interests of financiers nor human rights practitioners were served when rights violations by the Maoists were brought to light. On the other hand, undermining a flimsy democratic government (and even more so a King projected as a tyrant), was relatively easier to do and almost always produced low cost, high impact outcomes.
The idea of holding the state accountable thus trumped what should have been a balanced approach to accountability. An imperfect (yet indicative) proxy for this phenomenon is the disproportionate number of documented human rights violations where state forces are alleged to be the antagonists.
The actual number of alleged state violations starkly contrast the countless instances where innocent villagers were used by Maoists as human shields or when children were employed as forward scouts (informants). Such violations have gone undocumented except in the tormented minds of villagers who lost their loved ones but remained silent for fear of Maoist reprisals.
The Abundance of “Useful Idiots” for Maoist to Employ
Thanks to King Gyanendra’s clueless February-1 masquerade, the Maoists are literally getting away with murder. So motivated, enraged and retribution-driven are Nepal’s media and civil society (by Gyanendra’s limitations on civil liberties) that these people still haven’t had time to recall what life was like before February-1, 2005. Their vengeance-driven agenda is a pitiful reflection of the collective Nepali memory and a demonstration of how easily agendas are manipulated for political benefit in Nepal.
It is shocking that after nearly a year and a half of unrelenting Maoist aggression, no one has stepped forth and burst the bubble that the alleged, unprecedented improvements in Nepal’s human rights situation (after April of 2006), is simply inaccurate. With intentionally hyped perceptions of abysmal affairs to compare against (political personas “fleeing” the country through jungles with wild animals, pseudo-intellectuals having to be “smuggled” out by diplomats), is there any practical reason why February 2007 doesn’t appear like “heaven” when compared with February 2005?
Every major human rights report indicates that the situation in Nepal has improved drastically since the King was forced to step down. The number one factor credited with the drastic improvement in Nepal’s human rights environment is the cessation of armed hostilities. Of course things are bound to look better when armed hostilities cease but wasn’t the cessation of hostilities a direct consequence of the 12 Point Agreement? Wasn’t the 12 Point Agreement a direct consequence of Indian displeasure with Gyanendra? Does anyone recall that before February-1, the Maoists had repeatedly refused to negotiate with anyone but King Gyanendra himself?
If a credible analysis is to be forwarded, the timeframe of reference should be the cumulative period between 1996 and 2007 (not the period of and after, February-1, 2005). Or, if the goal is to eradicate any “inconvenient truth” of the palace being a primary driver of SPA and Maoist unity, one may opt to negate the entire 14 month period when Gyanendra was running Nepal.
But regardless of the view one chooses to adopt, the cessation of armed hostilities is the over-riding factor that accounts for the improvement in Nepal's human rights record. And regardless of whether one likes or dislikes Gyanendra, the February-1 catastrophe was the single event that ended Nepal’s armed conflict.
Maoist Crimes against Nepalis – A perfect example of extended impunity
Gone are the days when Nepali Maoists would overrun state police posts and execute surviving servicemen before leaving the battle scene. Gone also are the days when retreating Maoists would decapitate their fallen comrades to prevent positive identification. The explanation to the Maoist rank and file was that their comrades had been martyred; the explanation to the families of villagers (the Maoists used as human shields) was that their kin had been murdered by the state’s forces.
However, just because the euphoria of the April 2006 movement has temporarily drowned the Maoists’ crimes against Nepalis does not erase the fact that these crimes were committed; just because human rights organizations didn’t know Nepal’s location on planet earth (when the Maoists were busy ravaging Nepal’s countryside) does not expunge the Maoists’ of guilt.
The Maoists specialized in channeling disgruntlement (at the grass roots) and combining this with international sympathy to cement opposition against the state’s counter-insurgency efforts. A significant component of this strategy involved the application of the human rights community to decisively skew international opinion against the Nepali state.
A perfect example of this strategy was the overwhelming international opposition to the concept of village defense committees (proposed during Surya Bahadur Thapa’s prime ministership). It should be noted that the political activation of civilian elements is the only known method of combating insurgents (exactly the method that has been adopted in India over the past 2 years).
However, effective Maoist maneuvering (and the availability of a plethora of “useful (Nepali) idiots”) denied the Nepali state any fair chance of effectively combating the Maoists, on Maoist terms. All the while, the Maoists continued recruiting from the same civilian population doing precisely that which the international human rights community prevented the Nepali state from doing - mobilizing the civilian population.
Conclusion:
Even as the political tide slowly turns, the menace of extremism clouds what should otherwise be a moment of spectacular achievement for the modern Nepali state. Even after joining the democratic mainstream, Nepal’s Maoists continue waging a pseudo-political campaign of murder, intimidation and terror – a trademark crusade where tactical alliances are used and discarded, signed agreements are systematically violated, and the threat of violence is delivered with finesse and deceit.
For as long as a concerted effort is underway to re-write the history of the Maoist insurgency in favorable terms to the Maoists, Nepal will not have constituent assembly elections. Unless the truth that lies just below the surface of hyped public expectations (and populist sloganeering) emerges, the results of any elections can not be free or fair.
It is unfortunate that the Maoists continue to manipulate the political mainstream to their advantage. It is regrettable that the Maoists continue to use the human rights agenda as a tool to undermine the Nepali state. It is a pity that despite the facts being as clear as they are, that not a single Nepali intellectual or media persona has the courage to admit that he/she played a significant role in extending impunity to the Maoists. It is most inopportune that as events come into focus, it was Gyanendra and his haphazard February-1 bungling that created the very impetus for the 7 parties to align, for the Maoists to enter negotiations, and for armed hostilities (the number one cause behind human rights violations) to end.
All these facts are highly inconvenient (and difficult) for the rabid, ideologically indoctrinated to digest. But until these facts are accepted for what they are, sustainable peace in Nepal will remain a far cry.
Related Posts:
The King, the Populists, the Herders and the Sheep
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/02/king-populists-herders-and-sheep.html
The Idiot’s Guide to the Maoist Playbook
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/01/idiots-guide-to-maoist-playbook.html
Surreal Politics - How Nepal’s Intellectual / Political Class, Continue to Look the Other Way…
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/01/surreal-politics-how-nepals.html
Victory for one, Victory for all and a Unanimous KO by Nepal’s Maoists
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2006/11/victory-for-one-victory-for-all-and.html
Paradigm Shift - Where Does Nepal Stand? (Re-run)
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2006/11/paradigm-shift-where-does-nepal-stand.html
Maoists Work to Hold the Strategic Initiative
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2006/09/maoists-work-to-hold-strategic.html
9 comments:
Rightly said. Until "facts are accepted for what they are, sustainable peace in Nepal will remain a far cry."
But the dogs days are already here where facts are nothing but doctored version of Gang of 8- something they do not really believe themselves. It is quite surreal to be living in Nepal when facts are "revisioned" according to party lines or vendetta filled rhetoric that has nor the leg or head but people still eat it busloads.
What about Sundermani and Pandey- mother of civil society leaders expert at hiding the truth. Yes, its a God given talent to these caste of people but damage they do in order to further their vindictive attitude and position should be termed "traitor," I say.
Now the question of propagating the facts is limited only by force not talk. It is sad but I held it to be true.
Looks like Nepal will be a nation forever in turmoil.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
‘WE WANT A FREE COUNTRY, NEITHER NEPAL NOR INDIA’
Jaikrishna Goit, head of the underground Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha (JTMM-G), in conversation with Sankarshan Thakur.
We cross the dusty border into India on a rickshaw at a location we are committed not to disclose. We are then led to a poky hotel, a stone’s throw from no-man’s-land where the leader of the main Madheshi insurgent group is holed up. The JTMM (Goit) strikes every other day somewhere in Madhesh and is high on the security’s hit list. You expect to see a raging warlord. Jaikrishna Goit is a bespectacled sexagenarian who wields history texts more often than he wields guns to justify his armed enterprise to liberate his land. The professorial revolutionary refused to be photographed but spoke at length on why he wants to secede from Nepal.
Excerpts
Tehelka: Most Madheshi groups want autonomy and a stake in how Nepal is run. Why do you want liberation?
Jaikrishna Goit: Because I am another country. The Tarai was annexed by Nepal’s Pahadi rulers and then parts of it were ceded to them by the British through treaties. By the Indo-Nepal agreement of 1950, all earlier treaties stood abrogated. This is not merely in the treaty, but also a part of un documents. The Tarai should have become free then. Am I to blame if my forefathers were not vigilant or smart enough to claim back their land? Even India cannot argue against me. India signed the 1950 treaty with Nepal and it clearly states all previous treaties stand scrapped. It is simple, we are free, we should be free.
You think it’s so simple? Do you think a new country on these borders can become a reality? Will anyone accept that in this changed world?
Many countries are getting liberated, that is the changed world. And I am not seeking anyone’s acceptance, I want my country, whether anybody agrees or not. I know what you are talking about — whether Nepal will be ready, whether India will want it. The fact is I am neither Nepali nor Indian nor of Indian origin. History proves that, I have texts to establish that. I want people in Kathmandu also to make themselves aware of their real past. The people of the Tarai are a separate people, they should have their country. I may not be able to achieve that in my lifetime but that is not the point. The aspiration for liberation is there and the coming generations will get it. I belong to the Tarai, I know the only thing people want is freedom.
But you were long part of Nepali politics, you were first a communist, then you turned a Maoist, why this sudden thrust for liberation?
Because I am the most exploited and colonised person in Nepal, because I have no way of correcting that other than being completely free to determine my circumstances. Those who are negotiating autonomy are collaborators, they will never get that from the Pahadis, they will only get tokenism. That is not what we want.
How do you justify this daily bloodshed?
Even Gandhi said it is better to be violent than to be a coward. The enemies of my country have to be eliminated, there is no other way. Ram fought and killed Ravan. Krishna fought the Kauravas. Nepalis do not treat us as human beings. There is no other way of dealing with them.
Can you fight the Nepali state with arms?
Why not? Most of Nepal’s great struggles have been fought in the Tarai by the people of the Tarai. We know how to fight. The myth of Gorkha bravery is just a myth; whatever they know about battle, we taught them. Read history carefully and you will know. And we are not killing innocents, we target people.
Many of them are Tarai people, many of them are from other Madheshi groups. Some people say your struggle has degenerated into petty crime and reprisal.
The enemies of liberation have to be eliminated, no matter who they are. And those who call us criminals merely want to defame us. Do I look like a criminal to you? Don’t you see I have been pushed into a corner where I have no choice but to pick up the gun? Nobody calls the Maoists and the Young Communist League criminals. They are in government and continue to kill and commit all sorts of other crimes everyday.
Don’t you think the new Constituent Assembly might fulfil the aspirations of the Tarai people?
It will only renew the slavery of my people. Nepal has no right to conduct an election here and talk about a Constituent Assembly. We do not belong to them.
So there is no possibility you will talk?
No, I can. If they create the right atmosphere, I can go and tell them: pass legislation in parliament for an independent Tarai and we will live happily thereafter. That is all I have to say to those in Kathmandu. At the moment, there is no such atmosphere. The State and the Maoists are after us, we are running for our lives most of the time.
Do you have the strength to fight a sustained battle?
I am not saying I will achieve liberation tomorrow. We are in a movement, we are building cadres, opinion is turning towards us. An autonomous Tarai is a halfway house and you will not even get that. The only way is a complete break.
Is India protecting you?
I do not want to make any comment on that. All I can say is I am a freedom fighter and a guerrilla. And, legally speaking, India has to support the case that the Tarai was never a part of Nepal, it had only been annexed or gifted by imperial powers. That injustice has to be undone.
Who is Sankarshan Thakur? Another Indian journalist out to exploit Nepal's woes? Is Goit for real? He should take one of those DNA tests now available which will show exactly where his origins are and who his ancestors are.
Once again, we can thank Bahunist/Maoist Prachande and Baburam for proving that violence works... this is why Goit is doing down this road of terror.
el zorro - thanks for the excellent analysis. the elements you point out are precisely those that the Maoists still use to consolidate power today. it is a complete embarassment that not a single known personality has the guts to come out and paint the picture the way it truly is.
You are right. Elections in this environment with the Maoists' history of violence, is impossible. Nepalis dream of an election is just not going to become rality.
Very convincing and evidence-based piece. As a frontline officer, I can say that this article is 100% truth. These god damn bahunist politicians and Royalist stooges should all be eradicated from nepal. It is because of their politics that my brothers died in battle. We will never forget or forgive this humiliation.
Usual biased piece from El Zorro. Nothing new.
The bottom line is the casualties went and fewer Nepalese are dying because the war ended. You can spin however you want, but the number of abuses have gone down.
An apple is an apple no matter how much you spin it.
Yes, and the usual self-deluded fact-less arguments that have no basis but a false perception by anonymous.
I'm happy to see el Zorro asking all the correct questions. Can anyone challenge what he says based on facts or just based on "halla?"
Bhaire - It is always great to see the hard hitting truth get under the skin of people who cannot face reality. I welcome all sorts of criticism of this peice by el Zorro because it only exposes the degree of self delusion that exists in our society.
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