Népal

The Shah dynasty died yesterday. It was 239 years, eight months and three days old in unified Nepal. Many may not believe their eyes that its demise has come — much sooner than they had imagined.

While the Maoists have earned applause around the world for their stunning victory in Nepal’s Constituent Assembly elections, spare a thought for the two defeated establishment parties — the Nepali Congress and the Unified Marxist-Leninists (UML) — whose wisdom, statesmanship and political courage helped a powerful rebel group come down from the mountains and enter power through the ballot box.

C’est un pays dont on n’entend jamais parler sauf quand il y a des escalades sur l’Everest. C’est un pays qui semble avoir été oublié par le temps. C’est un pays qui semble-t-il n’intéresse personne parce qu’il n’y a ni pétrole ni gaz. Pourtant dans ce pays se déroule sous nos yeux un tremblement de terre politique dont les répercussions dépassent de loin ses frontières.

On April 10, 2008, the people of Nepal surprised the world in a number of ways.

The peaceful mass participation in the elections for a Constituent Assembly ("CA") in Nepal on April 10, 2008 was not only an historic achievement of the Nepalese people, but a reminder that the revolutionary process in Nepal deserves the close attention and eager assistance of every sincere Marxist.

Achin Vanaik sets out the complex socio-historical backdrop to the Nepalese Second Democratic Revolution of 2006 that overthrew the monarchy, the ensuing struggle for a new republic, and the tactical challenges facing the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).

As the elections to the constituent assembly draw near, the question in Nepal seems not to be whether there will be a democratic republic, but rather what kind of democratic republic it will be. “Bourgeois democrats” would want to preserve the country’s capitalistic character, while the “revolutionary left” will make every effort to give it a transitional character to bring socialism on to the nation’s agenda. “The reformist left” will vacillate between the two courses but predominantly forge alliances with the “bourgeois democrats”.

The citizens of Nepal go in for Constituent Assembly elections on April 10, to put in place a 601-member House that has the dual responsibility of drafting a new constitution and serving as Parliament during the interim. The Constituent Assembly is a necessary condition for the country to achieve political stability, sustainable peace and a return to pluralism, nine years after the last general elections.

This article traces the genesis and development of the “People’s War” in Nepal, focusing on elements of continuity in the salient features of the strategy of the PW.

The marathon summit meeting between the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) government and the Maoists has finally produced a historic deal paving way for formal entry of the Maoists into the peaceful political mainstream, writes Tapan Kumar Bose from Lalitpur, Nepal.

La feuille de route pour la formation d’un gouvernement intérimaire, avec la participation des maoïstes, est plus ou moins en place. Cependant, de puissantes forces interviennent pour faire dérailler le processus.

The people of Nepal have triumphed. Last night (April 24, 2006) Nepal‚s dictator, King Gyanendra gave in to their demands. Bowing to the pressure of the mass movement the king declared his acceptance of the roadmap to peace drawn up by the Seven Party Alliance and the Maoists. He proclaimed the reinstatement of the parliament which was dissolved on May 22, 2004. He called, upon the Seven Party Alliance to bear the responsibility of taking the nation on the path to national unity and prosperity.

The compromise proposed by King Gyanendra of Nepal on Friday, April 21st evening, which envisages his continuance as a constitutional monarch, is a last-ditch attempt to perpetuate the old order. It will not satisfy the demand for the establishment of a true democracy in the country, for the fulfillment of which the nation has risen in a spontaneous and mass revolt.

I am writing this from Kathmandu. It is about 8.00 a.m. Nepal time. The entire valley was under curfew for 25 hours yesterday, April 20, 2006, the 15th day of the ongoing civic protest against the autoctraric king and his army. The curfew which was first clamped for 18 hours from 2.00 a.m. in tge morining of April 20, till 8.00 p.m. was extended till 3.00 a.m. to April 21. Now the king has announced reimposition of curfew from 9.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. Within another one hour the entire valley will be under curfew again.

Amnistie internationale a révélé ce mardi 26 juillet que des milliers d’enfants au Népal étaient confrontés à des exactions et violences graves dans le conflit en cours au Népal, où rebelles maoïstes et forces de sécurité se livrent à une lutte interne brutale depuis neuf ans.

Le 1er février 2005, le roi Gyanendra du Népal a usurpé tous les pouvoirs exécutifs de l’État en proclamant l’état d’urgence. Il justifie sa proclamation par l’échec des partis politiques à adopter une approche unifiée contre le terrorisme, leur incapacité à tenir des élections à temps et leur trahison des aspirations de justice sociale, politique et économique du peuple.

On 1 February 2005, King Gyanendra of Nepal usurped all executive powers of State through a proclamation of Emergency in the country that has been precipitously descending into bloody chaos since his anointment as the king following the inexplicable massacre of the royal clan on 1 June 2001.

(Kathmandu, March 1, 2005) — The Royal Nepalese Army, which assisted King Gyanendra’s February 1 seizure of power, is responsible for a widespread pattern of enforced disappearances, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Human Rights Watch called on the king and the army to immediately end the practice of “disappearances” and to take concrete steps to hold perpetrators accountable.

Washington, DC, February 8, 2005: Nepal’s human rights community is preparing a major public protest against the imposition of military rule by the King, as reports emerge from Nepal of mass arrests, the suppression of the press, and the apparent torture of students.

À la suite des événements du 11 septembre, les États-Unis ont identifié le Népal comme étant l’un des joueurs de l’échiquier terroriste international. En novembre 2001, le Népal avait officiellement déclaré l’état d’urgence, déployé l’armée royale et qualifié les rebelles maoïstes de terroristes.

The US has put Nepal on the world terrorist map, following the events of September 11. On November 26, Nepal declared a state of emergency, dubbed the Maoist rebels terrorists, and for the first time, deployed the King’s army.