Nepal crisis

Interesting that there is so much focus on Lebanon and nothing in the papers/tv about Nepal, even though the crisis there is worsening daily with rumors of skirmishes and attacks on civilian areas by both the royal forces and the Maoists. I had completely forgotten about the Nepal situation, to be honest, until I came across a link to a very interesting Nepal blog. Check out this great photo:

"Kabir Rana of Deshantar Weekly, Gopal Budhathoki of Sanghu weekly and Rajendra Kumar Baidh of Bimarsha weekly display the issues of their newspaper immediately after the Feb 1 Royal Takeover when they published blank opinion pages in protest of media censorship."

Apparently, the editors were summoned to the palace on Feb 23 to "clarify" the blank pages. That would be funny if it weren't so serious. Read the full story here.

Also of interest are daily news updates and this appeal from a Nepali student leader, which condemns both the King and the Maoists:

"We the youth of Nepal have to fight our war on two different fronts at this critical moment of history: Monarch and the Maoists. Monarch on the one hand has shown its ambition of maintaining state power at all cost. Maoists on the other have not shown commitment towards the practice of democracy. Both the Monarch and the Maoists have established themselves as extremists with whom the democratic forces cannot afford to comply with until the Maoists change their stance theoretically as well as practically. We the youth, believe that we have a capacity to eradicate the injustices that have prevailed since its unification and to face those that are yet to arise."

I have been trying to find out exactly what kind of Maoists these are, and this comment provides some clues. My guess is the Maoists must have some support among the population--it's hard for guerilla armies to exist without support--but how much and whether it's divided along ethnic lines, I still don't know.

Here are some links to BBC stories:

• Nepal's former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has been freed more than month after he was sacked by the king and placed under house arrest. (March 11)
  
• Nepal frees political detainees (March 10)
  
• Nepal arrests 200 demonstrators (March 8)
  
• King tightens censorship of Nepalese media (March 2)
  
• One month after seizing power, King shows no sign of relinquishing it (March 1)
  
• King says he is fighting "terrorism" and asks for help (rest of world to King: "Nepal has no oil; go screw yourself")
  

And some more background:

• Q&A: Nepal crisis
  
• Nepalese history chronology
  
• Who are Nepal's Maoist rebels?quick summary -
  
  • main complaints = political squabbling, rural poverty, caste system
    
  • key rebel leaders inspired by Peru's Shining Path
    
  • human rights groups accuse rebels of torture & summary executions
    
  • only consistent demand is abolition of monarchy
    
  • started small in 1996 & were ignored, but today very powerful & well-armed
    

Well, that's enough for now. I'm glad I loooked around; I know more than I did before.