Terrorism & Global Financial meltdown: twin challenges before SAARC today - President

"We need to re-double our efforts to combat this menace individually and collectively. We cannot shy away from taking firm and forceful action to combat terrorism, including internationally..... The instability caused by [the global financial] crisis can be considered quite similar to the threat caused by terrorism to our societies and to our region. The effects of synchronised slow-down in developed economies, can reach us sooner than later. And, as the crisis deepens in the developed world, it is likely that protectionist sentiments can spread and even take root." said President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the SAARC Foreign Ministers Conference in Colombo today.

President Rajapaksa said: "Our societies bear the brunt of the evil force of terrorism. But, we cannot and should not allow even a single citizen of South Asia to suffer as a result of the brutal violence un-leashed by terrorists. Therefore, we need to re-double our efforts to combat this menace individually and collectively. We cannot shy away from taking firm and forceful action to combat terrorism, including internationally. We, among other measures, should uphold democracy, support each other's democracies and make it a vehicle towards defeating terrorism."

On the global financial melt down, President Rajapaksa said: "The depression in the commodity market is adversely affecting most of us, even negating the gains resulting from the declining oil prices. Trade flows, production lines and the service sector are suffering from the domino effect of this crisis and there are looming liquidity problems.

"Unless definite counter measures are taken, this downward spiral has the potential to adversely affect our economies and impact on the living standards of our people. While we in South Asia can take comfort that economies of our countries are so far functioning well, and financial sectors have been well-regulated and stable, we cannot take for granted that we are fully insulated from the on-going global economic crisis."

Here is the text of the President's Address:

Your Excellencies

Distinguished delegates

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am honoured to have this opportunity to speak at the inauguration of the Thirty First Session of the SAARC Council of Ministers commencing today following the Fifteenth SAARC Summit held in Colombo last year.

The presence of Ministers from all SAARC Member States and the Secretary General of SAARC on this occasion, provides us with an invaluable opportunity to review the implementation of the content of the 15th SAARC Summit Declaration and to discuss modalities for making further progress including on matters of current concern.

Excellencies,

Regional Cooperation in South Asia has matured. Our eight Member States of SAARC, as manifested at the last Summit, are fully committed to work together and are conscious of our potential, but we must stand together. We have agreed that it is time that we broad base the activities of SAARC. Therefore the Colombo Declaration was aptly titled "Partnership for Growth for Our People".

This partnership with our people must continue in such a manner that we reach out to the people in the remotest villages of our countries. There is untapped strength and vigour in the villages that can become a catalytic force for greater regional cooperation. The villages where most of our people live cannot be left behind as they have a lot more to offer to national and regional development.

At the last Summit, we focused, among others, on several key issues of importance for our region such as Energy, Environment, Water Resources, Poverty Reduction, ICT Development, Science and Technology, Tourism, Education, Women and Children, and most importantly, terrorism.

We signed the Charter of the SAARC Development Fund which is a landmark achievement to underpin our efforts towards regional development. We emphasised the importance of SAFTA and trade facilitation, as well as trade in services for greater integration of our economies. We agreed on the imperative to make steady progress on the implementation of the SAARC Social Charter to promote social well-being of our people. In all these efforts, we have highlighted the importance of connectivity at all levels, so that we can work as one SAARC family.

Excellencies,

I thank you for your efforts in implementing the content of the fifteenth Summit Declaration. And, I wish to place on record my appreciation for the special efforts taken by all of you in taking steps to accelerate the implementation of the Colombo Statement on Food Security, including making the SAARC Food Bank a reality.

I am confident that as we meet at this mid-point of Sri Lanka's chairmanship of our regional organisation, you will review and re-evaluate as to how best we could implement our agreed programme of action, in accordance with the ideals and objectives of SAARC. In this regard, let me express my profound appreciation of the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu and Secretary General, Dr. Sheel Kant Sharma for co-ordinating the efforts of all our member States, with a view to promoting greater cohesion and more meaningful regional initiatives.

Excellencies

We, in the region of South Asia, today face several common challenges. Common challenges require collective responses. Terrorism is such a challenge and it requires our immediate and united attention due to the impact it has on all of us, in one way or another.

Our societies bear the brunt of the evil force of terrorism. But, we cannot and should not allow even a single citizen of South Asia to suffer as a result of the brutal violence un-leashed by terrorists. Therefore, we need to re-double our efforts to combat this menace individually and collectively. We cannot shy away from taking firm and forceful action to combat terrorism, including internationally. We, among other measures, should uphold democracy, support each other's democracies and make it a vehicle towards defeating terrorism.

In this regard, I recognise that in the SAARC region, and in multi-lateral fora like the United Nations, we have agreed on a series of measures as to how to combat terrorism in line with accepted universal values and standards. The time has come to re-dedicate ourselves to fully implement such agreed measures. We must not hesitate to go further towards taking innovative action in combating terrorism to make our societies, our cities, and our villages safe for our people to live in. Our rich cultures cannot be allowed to be riddled by the curse of terrorism. I hope this ministerial meeting will be able to give further direction on this important current issue for people in this region.

Excellencies

Let me now address another common challenge to our region and to the world. It has now become clear that the financial melt-down that began in the sub-prime market in the US will have a profound trickle-down effect in our economies as a result of our increasing links with the global financial and economic system. Lack of confidence in the global financial system is affecting financial and non-financial institutions, both directly and indirectly. The depression in the commodity market is adversely affecting most of us, even negating the gains resulting from the declining oil prices. Trade flows, production lines and the service sector are suffering from the domino effect of this crisis and there are looming liquidity problems.

Unless definite counter measures are taken, this downward spiral has the potential to adversely affect our economies and impact on the living standards of our people. While we in South Asia can take comfort that economies of our countries are so far functioning well, and financial sectors have been well-regulated and stable, we cannot take for granted that we are fully insulated from the on-going global economic crisis.

In fact, the instability caused by this crisis can be considered quite similar to the threat caused by terrorism to our societies and to our region. The effects of synchronised slow-down in developed economies, can reach us sooner than later. And, as the crisis deepens in the developed world, it is likely that protectionist sentiments can spread and even take root.

Therefore, it is imperative that we think regionally as to how we could help each other. We need to strengthen the regional economies and consolidate our bilateral trade and our financial systems, so that as a region, we remain strong. Such an approach will not only promote the economic well-being of our people, but will also help us to bring about and sustain peace and stability in the region.

Therefore, at this point in time, we need to explore how we could provide a stable economic environment for our people in the face of this global challenge. For this purpose, I re-emphasise the importance of regional initiatives. And in this regard, I am reminded of the success in our adjacent region, East Asia, which during the East Asian financial crisis, created a network of bilateral swap arrangements and have now created a reserve fund to address liquidity problems in the region.

We should look for global solutions as well. And for this purpose, let our collective voice be heard at international financial fora, seeking positive responses from multi-lateral agencies and international financial institutions to support our efforts through special proactive initiatives, such as stand still arrangements for at least one year. Such arrangements could also be flexible enough so that at the end of one year, these could be reviewed and extended if the global financial crisis would still exist.

Our region, which is home to one fifth of the world population richly deserves such consideration by the international and multi-lateral financial institutions so that developmental initiatives towards reducing poverty and improving quality of life of our people will not have to be abruptly stopped.

Distinguished delegates

I hope you will discuss these two common challenges and concerns during your important meeting and come up with suggestions and ideas that not only we can adopt locally and regionally, but take them forward internationally as well. The outcome of your efforts will add value to your mandated tasks at the inter-sessional meeting of the SAARC Council of Ministers. People in our region expect nothing less and I am sure you will answer their call.

Excellencies,

SAARC is an organization with great potential. We need to use this vehicle to collectively marshal latent forces in the region for our progress which is after all our common goal. As a region that is heir to several great civilizations that had led human social and economic advancement in the past, taking collective action for the greater good of our region is not beyond our reach. But, we have to muster the necessary political will, which I am sure is within our reach.

I wish all of you success in your deliberations and a pleasant stay in Sri Lanka.

May the Noble Triple Gem Bless you all.

Thank you.

Courtesy : www.info.gov.lk

Nepal Going Red Endangers India’s National Security

By Dr. Subhash Kapila

Nepal going “Red” as a result of the Congress Government’s outsourcing its Nepal policy to be determined by its main coalition partner, namely the main Communist Party the CPI(M) has in its wake seriously endangered India’s national security. This dangerous eventuality was continuously being pointed out in this Column more notably in the last one year. In this column of January 12, 2008 the title of the Column highlighted the urgency by its banner-line “India Should Checkmate The Maoists in Nepal”. Regrettably and painfully it needs to be highlighted that the present Government’s foreign policy establishment and its civilian national security advisers seemed to have been totally oblivious to the implications of the loss of a strategic buffer state of Nepal to the Nepalese Maoists whose loyalties lay with China. China’s military weight against India would now rest on the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar borders.

India’s foreign policy on Nepal has been a dismal failure in the last four years. India’s national security interests in Nepal were subordinated to the requirements of meeting the political preferences of the Congress Government’s main coalition partner and the political expediency of their continued support to keep the Congress Government in power.

In any other democracy the Government could have been swept out of power for such a strategic blunder but India’s main Opposition Party other than making pro-forma political noises has not highlighted to the Indian public how a callous approach of the Government has endangered India’s national security.

The Nepalese Maoists have all along been making anti-Indian noises despite the fact that the Maoist Chief and his top lieutenants instead of fighting with the Maoists cadres in Nepal were staying in comfort in India as guests of the Indian Government. After winning the elections in Nepal the first thing that their leader Prachanda has called for is the abrogation of the Indo-Nepal Treaty of 1950.

One thing that needs to be made clear is that Nepalese Maoists may have come into political power through the ballot box but hovering over the elections were the guns and threats of the Nepalese Maoists. Prachanda had made it clear that if the ballot boxes did not proclaim their victory then the Maoists would capture political power in Nepal with use of their guns once again.

India’s national security interests get seriously endangered with the Maoists coming into power in Kathmandu and the major implications can be listed as under:

• India loses a strategic buffer state with China which is ‘India’s Threat Number One’
• China’s military weight in a way would now directly rest on Uttar Pradesh and Bihar which would now emerge as military sensitive border states.
• With Maoist Government in Nepal the borders of these two Indian States would now need to be manned by the Indian Army
• The Maoists are reported somewhere to have asserted that the China-Lhasa railway line should be now extended up to Kathmandu and the next step from the Chinese side would be to extend it up to the Indian border
• Nepal would now emerge as the most enlarged and significant Chinese base for intensified Chinese intelligence activities against India
• The Maoists and Naxalite insurgencies in India’s states contiguous to Nepal and Indian states in close proximity to Nepal would intensify by direct arms supplies by Nepalese Maoist Government.

These are the major adverse national security implications for India and many more can be listed. For the Indian Army one more significant strategic threat has been allowed to emerge by the strategic follies of its own Government and for which enough time was available to checkmate the Maoists threat. Even a late knee-jerk reaction by the Indian Government would have been welcome once the strategic folly was becoming apparent.

It is no use now blaming India’s intelligence agencies or the foreign office because in any case the Nepal policy and especially the crucial decision of facilitating the entry of Nepalese Maoists into Nepal’s ‘political space’ would have been taken at the highest levels of the Indian Government.

In any case it is not the hallmark of Indian bureaucrats to stand up to their political masters even when they can see the dangers to India’s national security. They tend to ‘situate’ their advice to the political preferences of the thinking of their masters.

It is ironic that one Congress Prime Minister gifted Tibet to China and another one has by political default to appease his Communist coalition partners allowed Nepal as, the remaining India’s buffer state with China to slip into the Chinese strategic orbit.

April 27, 2008

China and Maoist Nepal: Challenges for India

Abanti Bhattacharya

“[China] feels that the Himalayas alone in this nuclear age are not enough to guarantee its national security, especially in view of Tibet’s strategic location. [It], therefore, ideally wants a China of small, preferably pro-Chinese, neighbours on the cis-Himalayan region separating the two Asian giants.” - Dawa Norbu Nepal constitutes one of the cis-Himalayan regions, which Dawa Norbu had once described as the “new buffer zone”, after the old buffer (Tibet) came under China’s sovereign control in 1951. Its strategic importance can be fathomed not only from its geo-political location, being sandwiched between the two rising Asian giants but also from its transformation into a new buffer zone between India and China in the 1950s. This buffer has assumed even more importance in the current times with Royal Nepal being transformed into a People’s Nepal in the aftermath of the Maoist victory in the election to the Constituent Assembly (CA) on April 10, 2008. The victory of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) CPN(M) a one- time rebel group, has significant geopolitical repercussions for the region. The growing concern in India is, therefore, whether the Maoist Nepal would come under the Chinese sphere of influence, or is it going to chart a policy of equi-distance between India and China. Certain developments suggest China’s growing influence in Nepal and the latter’s cozying up with the former. To begin with, both Nepal and China are planning for greater economic linkages and there are proposals for connecting the two countries with as many as ten roadways. China has also promised to construct a railway line from Lhasa to Khasa at the Nepal-China border within five years. According to news reports from Nepal, China has agreed to provide assistance worth about Rs 460 million (RMB 50 million) to Nepal for the construction of Syaphrubesi-Rasuwagdhi Road. Apart from road and rail linkages, there has been a sudden proliferation of China Study Centres (CSC) all along the Indo-Nepal border with their number rising from 7 in 2005 to 19 till February 2008. These study centres, which were initially set up in 2000 as civil society groups to promote cultural interaction, have become effective tools for advancing Chinese perspective on key issues concerning Nepal. These centres also disseminate the benign role of China and caution the Nepalis about India’s hegemonic intentions. Diplomatically, from 2006 onwards, there has been a perceptible shift in the Chinese stand towards Nepal. China apparently regarded the Royal take over of Nepal in 2005 as the latter’s internal affair. But after the 2006 People’s Movement, China stated that “key to resolution of crisis in Nepal lies in conciliation among the constitutional forces”… and urged the King to “reach out to the political parties to restore democracy and peace in the country.” Another major indicator of growing Chinese influence on Nepal is the latter’s crackdown on Tibetan protests in April this year at the behest of China. Time magazine reports that Beijing has also deployed security officials inside Nepal, to help detect fleeing Tibetans and keep a lid on unrest. There are even reports of Chinese security agents preventing a reporter and photographer from Agence France-Presse from working inside Nepal. These activities demonstrate Chinese interference in the internal affairs of the country despite their stated policy of non-interference in the domestic affairs of other countries. For China, Nepal is important as it is integral to China’s peripheral diplomacy. China believes that the March 2008 Tibetan unrest is very much the handiwork of international forces operating from Nepal. In order to secure its southern periphery, which it considers most vulnerable, it feels the need to monitor clandestine activities in Nepal. Therefore, China is likely to play a significant role in determining the future shape of Nepalese politics under the Maoists. From this perspective, China’s conception of Nepal as a new buffer acquires significance. Further, Nepal is important for China in order to check the rise of India. In recent years, China is increasingly exploiting anti-Indian feelings prevailing among the Nepalese and the China Study Centres have been employed in a big way to achieve this objective. This strategy is a part of its larger strategy of building friendly relations with India’s immediate neighbours in order to isolate and marginalise India’s influence in the region. Moreover, China’s rapid rise has deemed it necessary to seek more and more resources to fuel its economic growth. Nepal has a huge resource of hydro-electricity and, according to one estimate, it is only second to Brazil with 83,000 megawatts of energy. Ever since the Maoists became the dominant partner in Nepal’s coalition government in the post-Janaandolan period, China started to revisit its Nepal policy. It may be noted that earlier China had branded the Maoists as anti-government forces. With the victory of the Maoists in the election to the CA, the Chinese “have beefed up their interests in Nepal” and the Chinese leadership is cozying up with the Maoists. Just after the elections, it sent its first nine-member official foreign ministry delegation to Nepal headed by Chinese Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ha Yafei. There are also reports of high-level meetings between Nepali and Chinese officials regarding the government formation in Nepal. China is also eyeing to tap the hydro-electricity power and two of its companies are in the fray for winning the bids on hydro-power projects. For Nepal, building close ties with China is important as it could gain enormously from China’s rapid rise and spiraling economic growth. A decade of civil-war has left Nepal’s economy in a dismal state. Its growth rate is a meagre 2%, inflation is around 9%, unemployment rate is 42%, about a third of its population is under the official poverty line, and more than half the population is illiterate. More importantly, China serves as an alternative platform for its political and diplomatic bargaining vis-à-vis India. There is a huge dependence of Nepal on India for economic needs. India is Nepal’s largest trading partner accounting for more than 60% of its trade. About 12 of the 13 trade routes of Nepal are via India. About 50% of Nepal’s remittances come from India. Thus, for strategic and economic reasons, the Maoists feel the urgent need to cultivate deeper ties with China on the one hand, and reduce their dependence on India on the other. This, therefore, also explains why the Maoists are calling for renegotiating the 1950 Indo- Nepal Treaty. In fact, one of the top CPN(M) leaders, Babu Ram Bhattarai told Nepal Telegraph on May 10th that it was only because of the open border that Nepal could not achieve economic prosperity. The Maoists are also insistent on reviewing the Gorkha recruitment by the Indian Army. All this evidently suggests that the Maoists are essentially calling for re-negotiation of the relationship with India. Also, the alleged ideological affinity of the Maoists with the Chinese Communists is seen as an added advantage which China is likely to exploit in future. There is a growing awareness in India about the Maoists developing a close relationship with China, much to the displeasure of India. In fact, there are speculations in some political and intellectual quarters that in the typical style of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Maoists would initially strengthen their position by forging a unified front with other parties and then gradually overshadow them and assume monopolistic hold on Nepal’s democratic space. It would be then very difficult to dislodge the Maoists from power and they would rule Nepal autocratically. Such an autocratic state would naturally find a close ally in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). However, there are also beliefs in certain quarters that there is not much scope for any deepening of China-Nepal relations. Rather, Maoist Nepal would opt for a policy of equi-distance between India and China. Clarifying his stand on equi-distance policy, Maoist chief, Prachanda said in an interview to the CNN-IBN on May 18th, “…we will not side up with one country against the other. We will maintain equidistance in political sense and not in terms of cooperation and other things.” Nepal has deep civilizational and cultural ties with India. Historically, the political forces in Nepal have had deeper political linkages with India than with any other country. In fact, India was instrumental in bringing about the 12-point Agreement between the alliance of seven parties and the Maoists’ party in 2005 in New Delhi. In summation, the Chinese challenge is real. That with the end of 240-year-old monarchy, Nepal’s politics would chart a new path is a reality. Nepal, being a sovereign country would like to deal with India on an equitable basis. Given geographically contiguous, culturally similar and economically closer relationship with India, Nepal perhaps also realizes that it would be quite impractical to ignore its southern giant at the behest of building strategic ties with the northern giant. Also geopolitically, being sandwiched between the two Asian giants, Nepal does benefit from following an equi-distance policy. With globalisation, shifting Asian balance of power, rise of China and emergence of India, Nepal is, thus, likely to opt for a balanced approach with both India and China, which would eventually pave the path for its own economic growth and stability. For India, the challenge is to support Nepal to gain economic and political stability without being domineering and create a win-win situation. In fact, India has to deftly handle its Nepal policy keeping in mind the growing Chinese influence in Nepal. Dr. Abanti Bhattacharya is Associate Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.

China sends jitters to India through Nepal

Political and economic dynamics might have changed beyond recognition in the past half-century, but geographical reality appears to be something even Nepal's nuclear-powered neighbors are unable to gloss over. One remains apprehensive about the possible maneuvers from the other, drawing indications through a small neighbor which happens to share borders with both China and India.

An evolving scenario in this part of Asia reminds analysts of the catchy title of a book an Indian journalist, Girilal Jain, wrote in 1959: India meets China in Nepal. The book was written in an when Nepal did not have even one road link with China's Tibet. The situation has undergone a sea-change over time, with alternative overland routes and air services developing between the two countries.

Visitors do come to Kathmandu from the south as well as from the north. But since regulations pertaining to passports and visas are incredibly simple for Indians, their numbers are bound to be higher than those of the visitors from China, who are required to fulfill numerous formalities.

Besides, those coming from China (including Tibet) are distinct because of their attire and language, and therefore are easily recognizable. In other words, their presence in the capital city and elsewhere in the country becomes conspicuous even if their faces and physical features somewhat resemble those of Nepalis living in the settlements on the foothills of the Himalayan mountains.

Trends are not very different, even when travelers are foreign dignitaries, as witnessed during the visits of the foreign ministers from India and China. Upendra Yadav, Nepal's foreign affairs minister, played host to both Pranab Mukherjee of India as well as China's Yang Jiechi in a span of one week, starting from November 24.

Each one was an official guest of the Nepal government for three days and both met Prime Minister Prachanda, among others, offering to assist Nepal with the ongoing peace process. The underlying message remained identical, although the first one came from Mukherjee: stability in Nepal would address their perpetual security concerns. (Mukherjee returned to Delhi on November 26, the day Mumbai was subjected to terror attacks.)

Yang's visit generated additional public attention, and not without reason. In a speech delivered at an official dinner on the day of his arrival, December 2, Yang offered his country's categorical assurance of help to protect Nepal's sovereignty and independence. This statement almost instantly prompted a former foreign minister of Nepal, Ram Sharan Mahat, to raise questions in the National Assembly, asking the premier to explain if the offer was made in response to any request he placed before the Chinese leaders. He also demanded to know where the threat to sovereignty came from.

Yang's remarks also included mention of a Chinese undertaking to develop China-Nepal relations on the basis of real equality so that it could become a "role model" for bilateral relationships between big and small countries.

"All said and done, the Yang visit looks [to be] a bit more than a routine one," Rajeshwar Acharya, Nepal's former ambassador to China, told Asia Times Online. His view concurred with Foreign Ministry officials who said that the latest Chinese initiative may work to neutralize the meddlesome behavior of the south.

In Acharya's opinion, the Chinese have come to Nepal this time to get reliable assurances that Kathmandu will put an effective check on the "Free Tibet" movement in its territory. They want Nepal's "One-China" policy translated into action.

Indian and pro-Indian newspapers and broadcast outlets have reacted with alarm to China's increased activity in Nepal. This perception in a section of the media is indicative of the jitters that seem to have developed in New Delhi. After all, China's military strength is formidable and the Indians are aware of this reality. And the Chinese too have found it high time to issue a message to this effect.

Two days after Beijing's foreign minister ended his stay in Nepal, China dispatched a military mission to Kathmandu headed by the deputy chief of its army, Lieutenant General Ma Xiotian. At a meeting with Nepal's defense minister on Sunday, the Chinese official pledged to provide the Nepal army with some non-lethal equipment and training facilities. Earlier, the visiting foreign minister had separately agreed to make an aid offer that would involve carrying out developmental activities.

One Indian news agency described these latest developments by saying Beijing “stepped up security maneuvers" in Nepal. Surprisingly, the arrival of a high-level military delegation coincided with the start of a China-India joint military exercise in the Indian state of Karnataka.

This is a clear indication that China places the importance of its relations with India at one level and is simultaneously firm about expressing its security concerns to Nepal. Those concerns were initially conveyed by Major General I Huzeng, the commander responsible for the areas adjoining Nepal, who came to Kathmandu last month.

Chinese security concerns became more pronounced as they began preparing for the Beijing Summer Olympic Games in August. While protests from Tibetans elsewhere in the world over the ceremonial flame remained largely symbolic, the demonstrations held in front of the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu became a daily show for several weeks.

The Chinese ambassador found it necessary to hold a press conference to praise Nepali police and denounce external forces for instigating violent activities against China. The Chinese diplomats said "the Dalai Lama clique" was misusing the porous border between Nepal and India, and sending troublemakers from Dharmashala, the seat of so-called Tibetan government in exile based in India.

Nepali officials became extra careful about Western mountaineers heading to the Himalayas in the pre-Olympic phase to prevent unpleasant activities against the north. One American mountaineer faced instant deportation when police found him in possession of a Tibetan flag he apparently carried with the intention of planting on the top of Everest.

After India, Nepal has the largest concentration of Tibetan refugees, numbering about 20,000. Most of them fled Tibet in 1959 when the Dalai Lama left his homeland. While the local population usually expresses sympathy for these Tibetan exiles, considerable resentment was seen when they conducted Tibetan politics from Nepalese soil, often obstructing road traffic for several hours. Nepalis also did not like the way the protesters were putting its government in an embarrassing situation.

Prachanda, who is also the chairman of the Maoist party, is at the center of attention. He is being constantly subjected to public scrutiny within Nepal, and watched by both of Nepal's immediate neighbors. New Delhi's concerns primarily emanates from the fact that he heads a political party whose source of inspiration is China's Mao Zedong. Secondly, Prachanda chose to defy the unwritten code that a new Nepali prime minister's first visit outside the country has to be to the Indian capital. By embarking on a visit to Beijing to attend the closing ceremonies of the Olympics, Prachanda obtained support from nationalist forces in Nepal for his assertive stand.

The Chinese were equally pleased to welcome the Republic of Nepal's first prime minister to their capital. On the other hand, official India was not pleased by that “break in tradition”, as was evident by the absence of its ambassador in the crowd gathered at the airport to see Prachanda off. In what looked like a balancing act, Prachanda headed to New Delhi immediately afterwards, making pledges and promises he, as the head of an interim coalition government, is incapable of fulfilling. The current popular mandate given for drawing up a constitution for a republic ends in May 2010.

It is the porous, uncontrolled border between Nepal and India where security concerns of both India and China are focused. Beijing wants Nepal to effectively regulate the border so that Tibetan exiles in India cannot easily sneak into Nepal. India too complains that Pakistani agents frequently abuse the Nepal-India border, but surprisingly it opposes the idea of regulating it, saying that an open frontier is a symbol of the close and unique relations that New Delhi and Kathmandu enjoy. This contradictory Indian position has been the stumbling bloc for keeping Nepal's territory safe and secure, as it could help assure both neighbors that Nepali soil would not be allowed for misuse or abuse by any quarter.

Is Beijing comfortable with the fact that Nepal now has a Maoist leader as its prime minister? In normal circumstances it would be. But Nepal's present situation is anything but normal, with coalition members on a collision course. And Beijing is also aware of the method and the route the Maoists employed to enter the India-brokered 12-point agreement which played a pivotal role in ending their decade-long armed insurgency. Prachanda and his comrade-in-arms Baburam Bhattarai spent eight of their 10 years of insurrection in hideouts in India. Had Beijing found Nepal's revolutionary leaders dependable, say some analysts, it would not have sent one high-level visit after another.

Nepal's relations with its immediate neighbors need deft handling. But what exists today in the form of political leadership is an amorphous force. This has lately become a matter of grave public concern - a concern expressed by a respected diplomat, Yadunath Khanal, in 1999, "Nobody, however friendly, can think for us about our relations with India and China and the sensitive balance implied in it. Our relations with India and China, always difficult and taking even a more difficult turn in the nuclear age, have been made more complicated today by politicians of loose thinking and loose tongue." Khanal, who passed away a couple of years ago, had the distinction of being ambassador to India, the US and China - in that order.

Can Prachanda steer the boat into the harbor? This is the stinging question that is now exercising the minds of Nepal's intelligentsia.

Source: atimes.com

Indo Nepal Home Secretary level talks

Saturday, November 01, 2008
The two day Home Secretary level talks between India and Nepal concluded at New Delhi today. The 16-Member Nepalese delegation was led by Dr. Gobinda Prasad Kusum, Secretary, Ministry of Home, Government of Nepal while the Union Home Secretary, Shri Madhukar Gupta led the Indian team. During the meeting, both sides reviewed the implementation of the decisions taken at the previous meeting and held focused discussion of the issues relating to (i) Security (ii) Border Management, and (iii) Training, Provisioning and Capacity Building. The discussions on security related issues centered around effective cooperation in combating terrorist activities including activities of Insurgent Groups, circulation of Fake Currency Notes, and institutionalizing the mechanism for real-time exchange of security related information between the two countries. The Indian side also raised the issue of security of Indian aircrafts. The Nepal side conveyed its solidarity with India in the fight against terrorist/insurgent groups and also placed on record its condemnation of the recent bomb blasts in Assam as also its condolences for those bereaved/affected. With reference to Border Management, discussions in the meeting covered issues relating to review of the Nepalganj-Rupaidiha Pilot Project; effective cooperation for combating trans-border crimes including arms smuggling, trafficking of narcotics & psychotropic substances and human trafficking; institutionalizing the mechanism for regular meetings of the Border District Coordination Committees; and coordination and exchange of ground level/operational information between SSB and its counterpart police and security agencies in Nepal. It was also decided that a meeting of the Joint Working Group on various other Border related issues would be convened in early 2009. India further offered its support and cooperation in matters relating to training and strengthening of Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, other officials, etc., and in the setting up of a Nepal Police Academy. It also emphasized the need to expedite formalization of bi-lateral agreements initiated at official levels. It was recalled that during the first visit of the newly elected Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr. Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ to India in September 2008, it had, inter alia, been specifically highlighted and mandated that mutual cooperation in respect of security and border related issues should be expeditiously and substantively addressed. Coming in this background, the Talks, which were held in a warm and cordial atmosphere, will provide further impetus to the existing mutual cooperation between India and Nepal, both at the Government to Government level, and at the ground/operational levels between the agencies of both countries. Following elections and formation of the new Government in Nepal, this was the first HS level talks, the previous having been held in Kathmandu in September 2007.

Some moments of Dashain 2008

I have randmomly posted a few pictures here. Seen in the pictures are my grand father, uncle, aunts and my brothers and sisters.

Discontinuity of the tradition this!

Maoist leadership often repeats a term: Nirantaratako krambhangata i.e. break of continuity. As a journalist, I find it rare to listern any Maoist leaders, who do not employ the word -- Nirantaratako krambhangata -- in their speeches.

But it seems this is not just limited within the Maoist leadership now. Kantipur Publications [management], where I am working with for the last four years, has followed suit to the idea---not just in words; it is in fact in practice. In its 16-year long history [as far as me and my colleague know], the Publications for the first time threw a modest party today to its staff members to mark Dashain festival. All the staffs working in various departments at the Publications and Kantipur FM were invited for the launcheon organized at the Publication's Press Department at Jadibuti,Koteshwore. There was exchange of Dashain greetings between the staffs and Chairman and Managing Director Kailash Sirohiya and Director Swastika Sirohiya in person. The food items including rice, meat and dessert served there were beyond comment. Anamol Catering handled really very well to all the invitees. This was something great and of course a good start.

Yet, there was one thing lacking [at least to me and my colleague]: announcement from the Management. Many of my colleagues had expected that Managing Director would make important announcement, possibly future plans of the Publications and increment of the allowance. There were none such. "I came here to listen him [MD], keeping all my important works aside," said one of my colleague. "Khanakai lagi bolaye pani nirantaratako krambhanga ta bhayo ni at least!"