The golden middle - Nepali Times

Editorial
The golden middle

FROM ISSUE #481 (18 DEC 2009 - 24 DEC 2009) | TABLE OF CONTENTS

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For those who are having a tough time deciding which political party is the least of all evils, there is a simple test. Just figure out which one uses violence as a political tool and which one doesn't.

For the Maoists, despite having won an election and entered the political mainstream, the standard operating procedure is still violence, intimidation and terror. In fact, it is their unique selling point.

What we fail to grasp is why governments that would not tolerate the use of violence and terror in their own countries are sympathetic to those who refuse to renounce violence here. The moral double standards are most glaring in the way the national army is being hauled over the coals for atrocities committed during the war while murder and mayhem after the war by the Maoists doesn't elicit commensurate opprobrium.

Journalists have been killed and beaten up, it's open season on citizens, there is an epidemic of extortion and seizure of personal property nationwide, and there have been murders inside camps ostensibly under UNMIN supervision.

The army's culpability in disappearances, summary execution and torture during the war years needs to be addressed in a court of law, just as Maoist atrocities. But the one-sided hounding of the state army is provoking a dangerous rightwing backlash that could push the country back to war.

Only the naive still believe that the land-grabbers across the country this week are poor landless peasants, or that this is any more about the liberation of the downtrodden. The revolution may have been genuinely for the emancipation of the marginalised at one time, but a recent swing through the heartland convinces us it has now largely degenerated into a nationwide crime syndicate.

Land-grabbing, smuggling, trafficking, contraband, extortion, kidnappings, illegal boulder and sand mining, the decimation of community forests, district construction contracts: you name it and the comrades have their paws in the cookie jar. And any district journalist exposing this is immediately threatened.

To be sure, there are criminal mafias also involved, and the NC and UML are no saints, but the Maoists have taken politicisation and crime and the criminalisation of politics to new heights. The party is always right, and the party never has to say sorry in this Orwellian world. And those who call it like it is are conveniently labelled class enemies and status quoists out to protect privileges. Pushpa Kamal Dahal's chilling warning that one million Nepalis may have to "swim in blood" is a sign that the Chairman is trapped by his own populist rhetoric and the promises he made to his cadre which he now can't fulfill.

Nepal's tragedy is that the democratic parties that don't have a violent ideology and which should have been real alternatives to the Maoists are so weak, fractured and feckless. It is the media's job, and the job of Nepal's true friends abroad, to protect the peaceful middle ground of democracy.

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Including the excluded - FROM ISSUE #481 (18 DEC 2009 - 24 DEC 2009)

1. Arthur
Yes, it is must be difficult for Nepal's elite to grasp why conservative foreign governments have so little empathy for Nepal's "National Army" and the political parties that wish to rely on it. Perhaps some insight from a foreigner may help. What you fail to grasp is simply this. We went through the sort of revolution Nepal needs several hundred years ago. That is why we have more developed modern societies. Even the conservatives in the West have no sympathy whatever for the sort of medievalism that the Nepal Army was established to maintain. We call medieval times "The Dark Ages".

Posted on: 18 DEC 2009 | 1:07 PM NST

2. jange
"What we fail to grasp is why governments that would not tolerate the use of violence and terror in their own countries are sympathetic to those who refuse to renounce violence here." Well, let me explain it in simple terms. It is only recently that Nepali Times itself has realised that the Maoists are not a political party but a mafia organisation. It will naturally take a little longer for foreign governments to realise this. And, by the way, exactly which government are these "... that would not tolerate the use of violence and terror in their own countries are sympathetic to those who refuse to renounce violence here." Can't say that I have heard of any government which were sympathetic to Maoist violence. Name names if you can, otherwise hold your peace. This kind of innuendo is unbecoming of good journalism. And Mr. Arthur, thank you so much for your advice- sorry that I failed to grasp the obvious.

Posted on: 18 DEC 2009 | 1:54 PM NST

3. Ashuosh
As a Nepali living in the West for the last decade, I just want to add that the United States and its allies are the biggest bunch of modern people I have seen in the world. A joyfully equal society. Life is a nice ride. Very tranquil. Not a rat race like in Nepal. In fact,they have become so modern that they bomb the hell out of a couple of countries every once in a while. In order that a veritably modern nation can be established as soon as the dust settles.

Posted on: 18 DEC 2009 | 11:55 PM NST

4. Arthur
Ashuosh, the problem puzzling both jange and the author of the article is why the West is not "naturally" backing Nepal's elite and its army as they hope and expect. They would like the West to "bomb the hell" out of the Maoists. But there's no sign of that and it puzzles as well as upsets them. Just because the West is not a "joyfully equal" society does not mean it is anywhere near as absurd as the pre-modern status quo in Nepal or that Westerners who are status quoists at home empathize with Nepal's status quo. Like it or not, the New Nepal will not be a "joyfully equal" society either. But it will be a huge advance on the status quo. Whatever you think of the West, it would be very hard for any right-wing reactionary Westerner of the most extreme sort to empathize with an Army that tries to prevent an officer facing trial when charged with responsibility for torture and murder of a 15 year old girl. Wailings about "violence" and "terror" from Nepal's elite reflect its total lack of grasp of reality.

Posted on: 19 DEC 2009 | 8:43 AM NST

5. pasdl
Can someone please update Senator Leahy of what's actually happening in this country? He seems so out of touch with reality. http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200912/121709d.html

Posted on: 19 DEC 2009 | 9:13 AM NST

6. Ashuosh
Arthur, Point taken. They're being shrill again. I suspect they feel threatened. But who knows, everybody is in it for their own gain. So it goes. That said, I condemn the Nepali Times' reservations about trying Niranjan Basnet. For the first time in the country's history an army man is being tried for human rights violation, they know very well the extent of violations, yet they cry foul. Why aren't the Maoists tried? they cry. Despite all the shrillness about governance, these brothers pretend not to understand the responsibility of the government. Perhaps they read some of these comments. So I'll try to make it clear to them: Nepali army is a state institution. Everything it does is in the name of the state of Nepal. Thus, it is the state of Nepal that killed Maina. Which is more dangerous? An unjust state or an unjust rebel group? Thus, it is the first priority to reform the state, which is supposed to protect all. Then you can go about reforming this or that party. State comes first. Nepali Times, hello? Do you hear? Also, whatever happened to objectivity and integrity? If you want to play politics, go join politics. Why this facade? This politicking behind the journalistic mask?

Posted on: 19 DEC 2009 | 11:05 AM NST

7. siman
I feel sorry for you and your team. A simple example: U know, a korean student shoot and killed more than 30 classmates in Virginia Tech; would it have same responses from the world if it were carried out by a korean army or with direct order from some Korean offficials or ministers??? WHAT A STUPID EDITORIAL! Don't think we nepalese or other countries are too fool as you wish, they might be fool to some extent but not as much as you wish. BECAUSE ,unlike you, they DO NOT have the job to protect the interests Nepalese elites and feudals. DON'T PANIC! (Undeniably, the federal autonomous states that have been declared so far by the Maoists will in all likelihood remain loyal and subservient to the political cause and the very ideologies of the former rebels which are only but natural. Political strength of the Maoists has definitely increased with each State declaration...)

Posted on: 19 DEC 2009 | 4:13 PM NST

8. jange
As a institution of the state the Nepal Army carries out its activities within the framework of laws, rules and regulations. So, if any one from this institution has infringed these rules they must be tried and given the appropriate punishment if found guilty. However, I object to a junior officer being made a scapegoat while the people who made the decisions go scott free. We need to know. Was the Nepal army authourised by the government of the time to kill Maoists? If so, under what conditions? What were the rules of engagement? The Maoists, as per their political belief, murdered, looted and extorted. So far, it looks as if their murder, loot and extortion has been accepted by most of the political parties as an acceptable behaviour to bring about the political changes that have happened so far. If so, the political parties should be honest and say that the Maoists' murder loot and extortion was justified and therefore will not be punished. Or, perhaps, to say that the Maoists' murder loot and extortion is not justified but the government is powerless to bring them to justice. That would be the honest and transparent thing to do. The sort of thing that good governance is all about . The government has every right not to prosecute a criminal offence or even pardon criminals if it wants to do so. However, it is imperative that servants of the state perform their function their duties within the framework of rules. But we do not know what instructions the political masters gave to the army to carry out their tasks. This lack of clarity and honesty is what is causing the confusion.

Posted on: 19 DEC 2009 | 5:31 PM NST

9. jange
"Journalists have been killed and beaten up, it's open season on citizens, there is an epidemic of extortion and seizure of personal property nationwide, and there have been murders inside camps ostensibly under UNMIN supervision." The army's culpability in disappearances, summary execution and torture during the war years needs to be addressed in a court of law, just as Maoist atrocities." Wrong! The army's culpability must be punished as they are servants of the state and wrongdoing and culpability cannot go unpunished. In the case of Maoists this is still unclear. Up to now it is generally accepted by most political parties (and by extension most of the people) and Nepali Times that they are a revolutionary party and have done Nepal and Nepalis a great favour by bringing the political to this stage and that they were not only justified in their violence but ought to be praised for it. It is precisely for this reason that what would normally be criminal activities carried out by Maoists are not punished. It is only when you do not accept that the Maoists were justified in their violence does the question of punishing Maoists' murder, loot and extortion comes up. Make up your mind one way or the other and stop this wishy washy nonsense. And why should murders not take place in camps under UNMIN's supervision. It is not part of their duties to stop murders. An anyway it's not murder if the Maoists do the murdering. Ask any UNMIN functionnary.

Posted on: 19 DEC 2009 | 9:15 PM NST

10. Sargam
With every Tom, Dick and Harry getting on the Armageddon bandwagon deliberately willing to sap the morale of the Nepalese who still are standing upright despite all obstacles with courage and patriotism to thwart the incessant assaults of Maoists and their goons it becomes foolhardy to maintain some toehold in the contrast and patient calculations of positive and tangible yielding in the long run. Is that out of pure spite such arcane and procedural letting loose torrent of abuse in the form of a conversational fodder these miserable old gits are railing against the Army and the few of the elite still not ready to surrender? We are not as yet bound by the Constitution or any other international treaty to respect the democratic procedures. So why those buggers who deliberately encourage the Maoists rule in Nepal must be arrested immediately and if they are aliens must be kicked out of country manu militari. These dorks are always one train behind and what they could not realize in their own country they want it to happen in Nepal so that they could contemplate the disaster caused to the helpless people. No country in the West tolerates such deliberate sabotage of existing understanding treaty by any individual of any sort. Either they work for the interest of some foreign enemy power or they are like those pedophiles who cannot resist to the big ask of their obscure nature. Mostly these miscreants are hidden as NGO staff or some other kinds of benevolent castaways who need to be put under surveillance like the recidivist criminals. We need ombudsmen not the troublemakers who add fuel to the burning fire. We have so far chosen to let go by it with dignity but in no democratic country a subversive can go on sprinkling the venom amongst the populace with such facility. Such scumbags must be debunked and put behind the bar to avert them from cavorting around passing balmy evenings at the expense of Nepal. I have been living in the West for more than a couple of decades and I know each and every move of these anachronistic and social misfits. As Western economy is going down the bottom lines with tits-up they search alternative outlets. Who knows if they are not affiliated with Al-Qa

Posted on: 19 DEC 2009 | 11:50 PM NST

11. Ashuosh
Why is it that Kathmandu establishment pretends to care about people in Rukum only after they're dead? Is it because it fits in conveniently with their political narratives?

Posted on: 19 DEC 2009 | 1:41 AM NST

12. Arthur
jange says: "Up to now it is generally accepted by most political parties (and by extension most of the people) and Nepali Times that they are a revolutionary party and have done Nepal and Nepalis a great favour by bringing the political to this stage and that they were not only justified in their violence but ought to be praised for it." One could add that this majority is growing and there is no doubt the Maoists will win any future elections. Naturally this provokes alarm among those who benefit from the status quo. So naturally they regret more and more their agreement to accept a peaceful transition to a New Nepal since that is what they call "looting" their entitlements to continue keeping the majority down. The clarify and honesty jange demands would require the writers of the editorial, and the "mainstream" parties they both support and despise to say "let's try civil war again". Maybe killing another 10,000 "maoists" would save our entitlements. But the reality is that even killing another 100,000 could not save the old Nepal. So most of the elite will eventually accept that the terms they agreed to for transition are the best they can get, while others, will continue shouting impotently for pretending that they never agreed to transition, never agreed to land reform, never agreed to restructuring the state and never ever understood that they could not win a civil war. But even jange knows it is just a pretence. Nobody believes the Nepal Army could win a civil war. So stop shouting for it and carry out the peace agreement.

Posted on: 19 DEC 2009 | 4:55 AM NST

13. jange
Arthur- "One could add that this majority is growing and there is no doubt the Maoists will win any future elections." Dream on. Even the Maoists know that they got a lot of the seats by intimidation and that it will not be possible to repeat the feat again. The Maoists can't afford to implement the peace agreement. It will finish them off as a "political" party. So they have to continue the chaos to pretend they are a political party. I will repeat the basic truth again. The Maoists are not a political party. They are a mafia organisation.

Posted on: 20 DEC 2009 | 8:36 AM NST

14. Ashuosh
Nepal Army now is the same Nepal Army carried out a coup hand in hand with Gyanendra. Only Katuwal has gone. The rest are still there. The whole gang of worst human rights violators of the world! The whole crew that has been owned the army since Rana regime. Basnets and Ranas and Thapas. Nepalima bau ko birta bhancha. Nepali Army kasko bau ko birta ho? This is the number one question we need to settle in Nepali politics today.

Posted on: 20 DEC 2009 | 12:17 PM NST

15. Arthur
jange, repeating your "basic truth" does not make it true. It is obvious to everyone that the Maoists are not only a political party, and the largest political party, but also an exceptionally well organized and disciplined political party that has been increasing its support and organization in areas where they were weaker such as the Terai and Kathmandu Valley while remaining completely dominant throughout the hills. Meanwhile it is also obvious to everyone that the UML is deeply divided and losing support, Congress has become completely dysfunctional and MJF has split. Two thirds of the current cabinet, including the Prime Minister were not elected and they are widely despised as a corrupt mafia even by people who hate the Maoists (including yourself). That is the hard reality. Therefore you must know that the other parties can only lose even more heavily in any future election and that the Maoists can only grow. That is in fact the reason why you are openly denouncing the peace agreement and dreaming of military rule. What remains puzzling is why you bother with this shrill shouting about violence and intimidation. Do you actually imagine that if you convince all the readers of english language media to agree with you that the maoists are a mafia and elections must be avoided to prevent intimidation that would somehow change reality? Why not get on with life and start planning how to make an honest living in the future Nepal?

Posted on: 20 DEC 2009 | 4:12 PM NST

16. Dev
Arthur, Jange probably has his Green Card and Visa Platinum ready for the day Maoists will legally take over the country through a massive uprising or general elections.

Posted on: 21 DEC 2009 | 11:15 AM NST

17. Arthur
Dev, you may well be right, and for that particular example it may be for the best that he does leave. While there may be many from the old elite who would be completely useless and harmful to the new Nepal, there must also be many whose education and skills would be useful. Its hard for a foreigner to tell from just the tone of articles and comments in english language Nepalese publications, but it gives me the impression there is quite widespread despondency and even panic among people whose skills will be needed. Is that your impression too? If not, please explain the actual situation. If it is the case then I think it is useful to argue politely with people like jange, because even though there is no hope of cheering them up or calming them down, it could influence others. On the other hand simply pointing out what they are, without actually explaining why they are wrong would not help prevent them from influencing other people. Of course that is easier for a foreigner to say than for someone who has actually had to live under the oppression of old Nepal to do! It must be very tempting to simply denounce them and not worry about how many will panic and leave as a result of their influence. If they have no influence and everybody who reads english can see how absurd their arguments are then of course there is no problem. But certainly I think new Nepal will need as many english speaking Nepalese as possible for many reasons. I would be very interested in your response.

Posted on: 21 DEC 2009 | 12:47 PM NST

18. Naresh, Biratnagar
"Do you actually imagine that if you convince all the readers of english language media to agree with you that the maoists are a mafia and elections must be avoided to prevent intimidation that would somehow change reality?" This reality you speak of must exist in the Nepal of a parallel universe because it sure as hell isn't the Nepal I live in. And some people speak of the elections the Maoists won like it actually meant anything. Fair and democratic is hardly what the maoists are about. They are supposedly infallible and therefore make no compromises. A democracy is imperfect but that's the best system we have; the maoists are striving for the unattainable and for them, the end justifies the means. But where's the end? You had your chance and you blew it. Threat kept me away from the ballots last time, and with maoists at the helm, they will make sure things stay this way.

Posted on: 21 DEC 2009 | 1:06 PM NST

19. Dev
Arthur, majority of English speaking middle class is in no mood to live under Maoist rule. That's the reason the Nepalese English press is so virulent against Maoists. It is very very difficult to argue with them because they think they know truth.

Posted on: 21 DEC 2009 | 3:54 PM NST

20. Arthur
Thanks Dev! It is certainly very difficult to argue with them! But I am curious about whether they really think they know the truth. My impression is that the psychology seems to be more complex. The tone seems to be one of "impotent panic" perhaps due to knowing that the Maoists are winning and knowing that they do not want this, but also knowing that there is nothing they can do about it and still feeling the need to express their rage instead of figuring out how to actually cope with the new reality that they did not want. This might explain the surreal, nightmarish tone of both the article and the comments. Is it really possible that either jange or Naresh or Sargam etc actually believe that the majority of Nepalese have a similar view to them about what is happening? Could the English speaking middle class really be that cut off from the rest of society? Or is it that they know that their friends and social circle have similar views and the rest of Nepal simply doesn't count? Or do they actually know that their perspective is a minority one, but have no other way to express their disagreement other than by denial and insistence that Maoist support is produced entirely by "intimidation" (and aliens, perhaps from Al Queda if not from Mars according to Sargam) since they cannot picture themselves as anything other than the mainstream? Perhaps some INGO could find a niche market offering special counseling and therapy to "marginalized" English speaking middle class Nepalis? (Complete with surveys, reports, consultants etc etc).

Posted on: 21 DEC 2009 | 5:38 PM NST

21. Satyajeet Nepali (part 1)
Mr. Dixit's desperate wailing against the Maoists exposes the moral double standards of no one else but that of the "golden middle" itself. What new things are the Maoists doing now that they didn't do prior to the peace agreement of 2006? Nothing. We've seen all this before. Yet, back then, this same behavior induced the "golden middle" to roll out the red carpet to these "criminals" (Dixit's words, not mine) and welcome them to our cities and villages as heroes. The Maoists' violence was excusable, no glorifiable and rewardable, when the privileged seat of government was occupied by a king. Now that the "middle" itself occupies that seat, the same activities have become "opprobrious". Isn't violence, violence no matter who is in government? Especially since Maoist violence was never focused simply at the king or his supporters but has always been directed at the general populace? Or does the locale of the violence make all the difference? Pre-2006, only the rural poor suffered the brunt of Maoist violence. Now Dixit himself can expect to be jerked off his seat and slapped around (if not worse). Is this the true cause of alarm? Look who's talking of double standards! Mr. Dixit, have you never heard of the proverbial people in glass houses? (...to be contd)

Posted on: 21 DEC 2009 | 7:32 PM NST

22. hamumante
dear arm-chair revolutionary arthur, it would behoove you to go talk to the rest of nepal in a language that they understand (read: nepali) instead of bashing a supposed conspiratorial class of elites here. please peddle your failed notions of social engineering elesewhere. you havent been able to stop the right ward tilt of your own society and governments and you come peddleing your utopian dreams at us? enough. go back to where you belong!

Posted on: 21 DEC 2009 | 7:55 PM NST

23. Sargam
@Arthur, As hamumante, I tell you to go back where you belong!?!

Posted on: 21 DEC 2009 | 1:56 AM NST

24. gangalal
This comment has been removed by the moderator.

Posted on: 21 DEC 2009 | 3:29 AM NST

25. Sargam
It is time to settle the hash of @ Arthur, the new Messiah sermonizer who as Mephistopheles feels tied together in the daily grind of matrimony with the Maoists of Nepal. It's time he'd paid the bill. Because he is inexorably working against the vital interests of Nepal.

Posted on: 21 DEC 2009 | 3:37 AM NST

26. Anuj
Well said ARTHUR, you have portryed the real picture of Nepal's political landscape. I am of the same opinion, KTM's elites and their proximities are like "frog in a pond". They think, only their arguement are true and give deaf ear to what other's have to say..This is their problem . They are in continual denial of the change !!

Posted on: 22 DEC 2009 | 7:03 AM NST

27. jange
The powers of deduction of Mr. Dev and Mr. Arthur must certainly be admired. green card?? Visa Platinum?? However did you come to that conclusion. I can see how easily they can be duped by the Maoists. Not surprising since apparently sophisticated people like the Dixits and Dr. CK Lal, who by their own admission have also been duped. And they continue to be duped. You say that the Maoists are a disciplined group? If so, then the loot and extortion (fortunately less murders than before) are continuing with the approval of its leadership. If not, then they can hardly be called disciplined. My experience and discussions with people in rural Nepal indicates that they are now relatively more willingly to openly talk about Maoists' murder loot and extortion, and tell Maoists to their face that they are looters. I have yet to hear anyone openly call a Maoist a murderer but it can't be too far away. And I can also see why and how they got such a large number of seats. In most places they simply prevented other political parties from competing and had the field to themselves. Plus, the attitude of a lot of people seems to have been that if they let the Maoists get into power, hopefully they would leave them alone to get on with their lives. The Dixits, as part of their atonement for being duped by the Maoists, should regularly publish in their papers tales of Maoists' murder , loot and extortion. I listened to a man complain bitterly of being extorted out of Rs. 200 ( negotiated down from Rs.500). The guy had a shop in his village two days walk (for me anyway) from the nearest road. He had collected a few thousand rupees to set up a small shop in his village. Of course, by Maoists' definition he was a capitalist, a class enemy- at least that must have been the excuse. I am also at the receiving end of this "donation" drive for the revolution. So far, I have declined. I don't expect that I will be killed (which is what emboldens me plus the Rs. 200 story). It will hardly be worth their while, but I am certainly expecting broken bones, burned down house/office. Maoists cannot tolerate open defiance/disagreement. But I see no point in living in fear anymore. And let me tell you, it's pure mafia. To be fair, the Maoists I am negotiating with are district level leaders and the higher leadership can easily deny it despite the extortionists being the sons/nephews of prominent Maoist. And I mean right up there next to Mr. P himself. Extorting Rs. 200 and you call it a revolution? It's over. The lower rungs are desperately trying to cash in while it lasts. The big fish have made their pile and the small fry know it will not last much longer and want to make the most of it. It will not be long before the Maoist leadership will need Nepal Army protection to stop their own supporters killing them. Two hundred rupees??? Give me a break.

Posted on: 22 DEC 2009 | 7:03 AM NST

28. Arthur
jange, you live in country where it is worth somebody's time and energy to squabble over Rs 200 (say USD $3, the price of a cup of coffee). That is absurd. It has to change. Nobody sane wants to live in such a cesspit and naturally people will turn to violence if it continues. Changing it requires building roads, schools and so on. The class that now runs Nepal has proved itself completely incapable of doing it but can only live off the foreign aid that was intended for development. You can go on wailing about your Rs 200 or you can take part in building a society where the extortionists have higher aspirations. There will be lots of opportunities for somebody like you to actually produce something, especially since there will be a need for english speakers negotiating Foreign Direct Investment instead of aid etc. The choice is yours. Even if you did have a Green Card and Visa Platinum as suggested it would not enable you to live well in the West for long without actually doing anything useful and your english language skills would be much less valued than they will be in the new Nepal. So you might as well spend more time thinking about how to do something useful in the future new Nepal and less time wailing about the loss of your old Nepal. It will soon be gone, however much you shout about it. (Oh and yes, Sargam and hamamunte, you can look forward to dealing with less "do gooders" and more "investors" only interested in money once the peace agreement is actually carried out. So there will still be foreigners for you to live off when the do gooders have gone, but they will require you to actually work instead of just holding "consultations").

Posted on: 22 DEC 2009 | 9:21 AM NST

29. Sargam
This comment has been removed by the moderator.

Posted on: 22 DEC 2009 | 2:08 PM NST

30. Satyajeet Nepali (part 2)
(Have sent this before, not sure why it's not appearing online...trying once more): (..contd..) Worse, this editorial displays Dixit and his "golden" boys' continuing inability to comprehend the true nature of the Maoists. By reducing their acts to mere criminality, Dixit again displays his utter na

Posted on: 22 DEC 2009 | 9:24 PM NST

31. Satya Nepali (part 3)
(..contd..) Dixit's exaggerated sense of self-importance is finally underscored when he calls on the media to protect Nepal's "middle ground". With all due respect to brave journalists the world over, wasn't it a bit more than the media that won the First and Second World Wars, and many other wars, against totalitarianism for mankind? Nonetheless, in Nepal's case, Dixit is right. It is up to those who created this mess to clean it up. A lesson in *responsibility* is a good starting point if we are ever to build a sturdy middle ground (never mind a "golden" one) upon which to build a truly New Nepal. (concluded)

Posted on: 22 DEC 2009 | 9:26 PM NST

32. nestle
pasdl, what is the "real" reality that Sen. Leahy is not reporting? Has Maj. Basnet been apprehended and brought to justice?

Posted on: 22 DEC 2009 | 12:44 AM NST

33. Satyajeet Nepali (part 2 full)
[Why aren't my full comments (part 2) appearing? Here it is again:] Worse, this editorial displays Dixit's and his "golden" boys' continuing inability to comprehend the true nature of the Maoists. By reducing their acts to mere criminality, Dixit again displays his utter na

Posted on: 23 DEC 2009 | 3:37 PM NST

34. jange
Mr. Satyajeet Nepali, isn't murder, loot and extortion criminal activity?

Posted on: 23 DEC 2009 | 7:14 PM NST

35. Satyajeet Nepali
Jange, my point is that they are even more. Unfortunately, my full comments are not being posted (I presume the moderator has decided not to display them). So all I can say is sorry that I'm unable to clarify myself to you...

Posted on: 23 DEC 2009 | 9:59 PM NST

36. ashu
When millions die of lack of food and medicine, is that murder? When the bureaucrats and feudal politicians use the state to enrich themselves, is that looting? When the state protects the worst human rights abusers of the world in the police and the army, is that criminal? Don't let the apologists of Rana regime, Shah regime and the army regime fool you. Nepal belongs to the poor, landless and the marginalized. Not the feudals. It dones't belong to the Ranas or their purets. Sabailai chetana bhaya.

Posted on: 23 DEC 2009 | 1:30 AM NST

37. Satyajeet Nepali
[Jange, am trying to re-post my comments again. Hopefully this time the full comment will be posted. If it is, I hope it'll clarify the question you're asking of me...] Worse, this editorial displays Dixit's and his "golden" boys' continuing inability to comprehend the true nature of the Maoists. By reducing their acts to mere criminality, Dixit again displays his utter naivete regarding Maoist methods and motivations. Unlike an ordinary criminal, the Maoists' acts are motivated by much more than pure personal or financial gain. They are motivated by deep faith to an ideology the so-called "intellectual class" of Nepal has made little effort to understand. (Or perhaps is incapable of doing so). It is this very *underestimation* of Maoist organization and ideology that led this clueless "middle" to lap up the 12-point and subsequent "peace" agreements without sufficient regard to their consequences. They figured that with the king gone, they would themselves be the natural inheritors of the residual powers and privileges, while the Maoists would presumably just wither away. The sheer opportunism, selfish ambition, thoughtlessness, short-sightedness and greed that lie at the heart of the much-hyped "peaceful solution" are abominable. It is our national tragedy that such light-headed thinkers (who presume themselves "democratic champions" for simply regurgitating clichéd niceties) strut around as the intelligentsia, opinion-makers, and moral standard-bearers of our society!

Posted on: 23 DEC 2009 | 3:01 AM NST

38. Ashuosh
Hey, I got promoted while you people were squabbling over here! Did anyone take notice?And I promise to keep my brahmin friends plenty satisfied with "dakshina". Thanks to Nepali Times for standing up to Military Rights in Nepal. May lord pashupatinath protect us all. Jaya Nepal.

Posted on: 24 DEC 2009 | 10:00 PM NST

39. electricity bill
Prachandra is intelligent. Will he be able to lead me out of the dark middle ages? not with the help of your blabla yeah grow up.

Posted on: 25 DEC 2009 | 9:29 AM NST

40. Sargam
@Ashu, That saying what you mean and meaning what you say are two different things, I presume. In the dreams! If Nepal really belongs to the poor and disheritated you guys all have to line up with your begging bowls before the balustrades of Nepalese temples so that the freshly returned workers from all parts feel like throwing some pieces to you. Nay, we need rich, poor and very rich to begin businesses where your working skills are more appreciated than your tricks to fool the passers by. I don't really know that Nepal shall have her roller coater of fabulous merry making but just by lamenting over the past and cursing the unknown future you remain stand put. That means you simply get rotten like a dead skeleton. So be nice to take your butt elsewhere where there are stirs and merry making.

Posted on: 25 DEC 2009 | 10:14 AM NST

41. Ashuosh
That's Toran Singh Speaking, btw.

Posted on: 25 DEC 2009 | 10:53 AM NST