Peace
and Constitution are in peril <Top>Hari
Prasad Joshi, Dhangadi In a programme organised by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
(FES) Nepal Office on Building Modern State through Constitutional Process in
Dhangadi, constitutional expert and Chariman of the Administrative Court Kashi
Raj Dahal said that peace and constitutional process is in peril primarily due
to the numerical approached adopted by the political parties. Though political
parties talk about agreement but none of the agreements reached so far has been
implemented honestly by the political parties. Political parties have completely
forgotten the spirit of Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPAs) and agreements reached
thereafter and influenced by the power politics to serve the individual interests.
Every effort has to be made to institutionalise achievements of the people’s
movement which will alone provide some sort of solution to the current crisis.
He further underlined the need of working for the nation. Senior Journalist
Yuba Raj Ghimire emphasised on the need of consensus to move peace and constitutional
process towards logical end. State needs t be economically sound and it has take
initiative towards this end said Ghimire. There are major issues yet to be sorted
out and it is the need of the hour to reach consensus on the contentious issues
if we really wanted to complete constitution writing process within the given
time frame. Former lawmaker Sunil Bhandari also said that constitution should
be written on time. Chief District Officer (CDO) Narayan Prasad Bidari ,
District Court judge Narayan Prasad Dhital, representative of INSEC Khadak Raj
Joshi, Dirgha Raj Upadhaya of Nepal Journalist Federation, Aarati Chataut of Nepal
Television and FES Programme Officer Chandra Dev Bhatta, member of political parties
among others spoke in the programme. Source: Nepali Dainik, Rastriya
Sandarva Daily (24 July 2010)
Unity
among political parties is necessary <Top>Mahendranagar
5 Shravan Participants, in a seminar organised by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
(FES), Nepal Office, on Building Modern State through Constitutional Process,
have stressed for the unity among political leaders to move peace-process towards
logical end establish promulgate constitution and establish sustainable peace
thereby. Constitutional expert Kashi Raj Dahal also stressed that unity is also
needed to institutionalise achievements of the people’s movement. He further
said that differences exist among political leaders on 18 different topics which
need to be sorted out for the timely completion of the constitution writing process.
He also underlined the need of changes in the bureaucracy in order to have a strong
functional state. Speaking in the same programme senior journalist Yuba Raj Ghimire
underlined the need of political commitment, honesty, good governance and transparency
for building modern state. Source: Far west Times, Nepali Daily (22
July 2010)
Power Centred
Politics will not help to write constitution <Top>Kantipur
Reporter Constitutional expert Kashi Raj Dahal said that due to the over
engagement of political leaders in power politics, the constitution would not
come in time despite irrespective number of times we extend tenure of CA for this
purpose. He was speaking in a programme organised by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
in Manglung of Tehrathum on “building modern state through constitutional
process’ Dahal further pointed out that the issue of constitution drafting
has been sidelined due to the desire of power. There are so many contentious issues
where agreement is yet to be reached among political parties and if they do not
strike consensus on these contentious issues the process of constitution writing,
which is the main law of the land, will get further sidelined. Analyst Chandra
Dev Bhatta, speaking in the same programme, said that in Nepal politics has only
made political leaders rich but people at large and state have not risen up from
the poverty line. Source: Kantipur daily (07 July 2010)
Request
to Move Along Democratic Line <Top>Nishandaju
Bhattarai Dang July 5 Martyr Memorial Foundation (MMF) in cooperation
with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung organized a two-day seminar in Ghorahi, Dang on
'Nepal's Democratic Choice: Liberal or Social?" The inauguration program
was chaired by the general-secretary of MMF Khila Nath Dahal while the chief guest
of the program was noted socialist thinker Dhundi Raj Shastri. Shastri said, "Political
parties have to move along social democratic line to achieve the goals of peace
and constitution drafting." He also said, "Nepalese martyrs have already
trodden the path for the people and the nation along this path." Speaking
on the occasion Head of Nepal Office of FES outlined several points: First, a
way forward transformation in Nepal requires Nepalese leadership to break from
its cycle of extra-constitutional change in roughly every 10 years of span, leadership
should open their mind to social learning, institutionalize the shift of society
from natural will to rational will, push for systemic measures for constitution-drafting,
reforms and peace process and manage the geopolitical balance of the nation. Many
participants who spoke on the occasion were former president of teachers' union
Kehav Bhattarai, President of Nepali Congress of Dang, Bir Keshari Gautam, Co-Chairman
Bir Prasad Oli, President of NC from Salyan district Dhruba Puri, Nepal Trade
Union Congress President Bam Bahadur DC, Youth leader Sushil Acharya, Chief District
Officer Rishi Ram Dhakal, representative of Unified CPN (Maoist) Tara Adhikari,
Chairman of CPN-UML of Dang Laxman Acharya, Secretary of CPN-ML Netra P. Panday,
etc said that all the stakeholders of society should move along common path to
achieve national goals. Former President of Tribhuvan University Pradip
Sharma, President of Dang Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chandra Raj Pant, Student
leader Sunita Pokhrel, President of Women's organization Sunita Chaudhari, President
of Dalit Organization Ghanashayam Sepaili, Sabitra Rana of Indigenous and Ethnic
group, All Nepal National Student Union (Revolutionary) Pitambar Acharya and other
expressed concern about the lack of institutionalization of democratic process.
Khila Nath Dahal said that only social democracy can become meeting ground of
all political parties. Four paper Presenters highlighted the importance of social
democracy in Nepal's context for durable peace and stability-Dev Raj Dahal, Lawyer
Ek Raj Pokhrel, Keshav Bhattarai. The papers were followed by intensive discussion.
Source: Goraksha National Daily (6 July 2010)
New
deal should forge 'win-win' for all: Sushil <Top>
Lalitpur, June 19 - Nepali Congress (NC) acting president Sushil Koirala
Saturday said that his party wanted to forge a consensus that would be a win-win
situation for both the ruling coalition and the opposition Maoists. "As
a coalition partner, we guarantee the resignation of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar
Nepal but the Maoists must implement the three-point agreement struck among the
major parties to extend the Constituent Assembly's tenure on May 28," Koirala
said while addressing a seminar 'Social Movement and Inclusive Democracy' jointly
organised by Centre for Consolidation of Democracy (CCD) and Friedrich-Ebert-
Stiftung (FES) here. "In the last 4 years, we made several agreements
with the Maoists but they never implemented them. We are not making any demand
from them but just the implementation of the past agreements by them," he
added. Koirala said that some time ago European Union's envoys advised the
NC, in its capacity of the largest democratic party, should shoulder the responsibility
for finding consensus. "But I told them that his party has nothing to give
to the Maoists. I asked them 'Do you want to give democracy in a silver package
to the Maoist?" He said that his party was not a hurdle to the peace
and statute writing process. He accused the Maoists of retaining militia so as
to capture the next elections. Koirala, who is founding chairman of CCD
and currently its patron, said that the extremist forces rose as ideology weakened.
He said that his party should follow the path of social democracy. The NC's
guiding principle democratic socialism since its Birgunj convention in 2012 BS
but the party followed neo-liberal agenda after it reached power following the
democratic change in 2046 BS. National Planning Commission (NPC) vice-chairman
and CCD chairman Dr Jagadish Chandra Pokharel said that the need of the hour was
to expand the boundary to tie up the social movement, inclusion and citizenship.
"We should do so without disturbing the basic value system of the society." He
noted that Nepal's commitment to international conventions and laws impelled it
adopt social democracy. Dev Raj Dahal, FES head of Nepal office said that
genuine social movements fostered the concept of inclusive citizenship educating
them about rights and responsibilities and mobilisng them for the attainment of
collective interests. "Citizenship is the product of modernity and
tries to liberate the citizens from pre-political (biological orientation), non-political
(bureaucratization) and anti-political identities (commoditization) and franchises
them to understand about the rules of their life in common and encourages their
voluntary participation in the public sphere." CCD vice-chairman Dr.
Yagya Prasad Adhikari, general secretary Laxmi Rai, executive direction Sumit
Sharma Sameer and lawmaker Shovakar Parajuli also expressed their views. In
the one-day seminar, three working papers - 'Understanding the Social Moveemnt
in Nepal - A General Perspective' by Mohan Das Manandhar' Social Movement and
Identity Politics in Nepal' by Mrigendra Bahadur Karki and 'Democracy and Citizenship
Building in
Nepal' by Yubraj Ghimire were presented. Meanwhile, acting
president Koirala blamed the Maoists for the present unstable political situation
in the nation. "Anarchist activities being carried out by the Maoists are
the reasons behind the current state of lawlessness." Talking to media
persons at Alka Hospital in Jawalakhel where he went to see an injured NC party
worker, Prabin Shyangtang, who was reportedly attacked by YCL cadres on Friday
in Lalitpur, he said that the Maoists had tried to establish their dictatorship
in the nation. He said, "If the Maoists do not change their behaviours,
they will face the fate of monarchy, the panchayat and Rana rulers."
Koirala
said that there was vast gap between the Maoist words and action, which put their
credibility at stake.
"The NC is not ready to compromise on the issues
of democracy and freedom," he added. Source: The
Rising Nepal (20 June 2010)
Constitution
should be drafted as per the popular will <Top>Arjundhara,
Bhadrapur, Ashar 3 Constitutional stability can only be achieved when constitution
is written as per the people’s will said speakers in a programme organised
in Bhadrapur, Jhapa by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung on Statebuilding and Constitutional
Dynamics in Nepal. Constitutional expert Kashi Raj Dahal said that the upcoming
constitution should address the issues of the people living in the rural areas
and emphasis should be given on education, science and technology, economic development
so that people at large feel ownership towards constitution. Chief District
Officer (CDO) of Jhapa, Yadav Prasad Koirala said that the upcoming constitution
should address problems (feelings) of civil servant as well as common people.
Senior Journalist Yubaraj Ghimire presented a paper on state building challenges
and challenges related with federalism. Chief District Judge of Jhapa Gyanendra
Bahadur Karki chaired the programme and people from different walks of life such
as lawyers, teachers, lecturers, politicians, civil servants, civil society members,
journalists and others actively participated in the programme. Constitutional
expert Kashi Raj Dahal presented explained about the different models of constitution
and emphasised that we need to develop the model that serves our interest most.
Chandra Dev Bhatta from Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung led the programme. Source:
Arjundhara National Daily (18 June 2010)
Elite
Sway in Nepalese Press <Top>-
By C. D. Bhatta Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung - the German political foundation
recently organised trainings for the journalists in different parts of the country
(Baitadi, Chitwan, Hetauda and Kathmandu). The focus of the training was on civic
education, to persuade journalists to include citizens’ dimension into the
news/reporting in order to enhance their contribution in citizenship building.
In fact, every incident/event has its own unique connection with society which
needs to be looked into carefully through conflict sensitive manner. In a democracy
“citizens” need to be placed in the centre of political discourse and
all the activities should be citizen centric. When media defend citizens’
interests (rather than just becoming eventorial) it can reinvigorate legitimacy,
which stems from the sovereign citizen, thereby contributing in changing the society
through rational communication and public culture. Civic education brings state
closer to society and society into the state which ultimately consolidates people’s
ownership towards the state and system. And media could become major actors in
this process primarily because modern society is media mediated society and more
and more people tend to communicate/listen/believe media than any other source
of information. In a country like Nepal where the benefits of democracy
are monopolised by few influential elites, the need of civic education is essential
to initiate de-monopolisation process so that people at large can become part
of the system. Having said this, media can become part and parcel of this whole
process. However, it is also important to ascertain where do media stand and how
they are composed of? Whether journalists are co-opted by the corporate interests,
political power or are free in reporting. These are some of the important issues
that need to be answered before we delve into any concrete conclusion on their
roles in democracy promotion. Based on the discussions, interviews, observations
carried out with the working journalists in different parts of the country, including
Kathmandu, this article tries to present empirical evidences on the nature of
media in Nepal. That said, this will elucidate as who controls public sphere of
which media is the important component. When we talk about the current
state of media, no doubt, one can conclude that Nepal has vibrant media. But what
does that “vibrancy” means – well, there are more than 50,000 people
directly or indirectly working in this sector. There are dozens of daily newspapers,
more than a dozen TV channels; hundreds of weeklies, quarterly and monthly newspaper/magazines
available in the market. However, all is not well with this vibrancy. The commonly
held view that we have collected from the journalists working in the periphery
is that 80 percent media space is given to the political leaders/parties, advertisements,
entertainment, business community whereas only 20 percent space is provided for
the genuine issues/concerns of the citizens. In the same vein, 80 percent space
is reserved for urban centres whereas its only 20 percent that is reserved for
the rural areas. The fact is that only 20 percent people live in the urban centres
and rest in the rural areas. To our dismay, they are of the view, that media has
always defended the interests of those who are in the power or close to the power
centres and live in the urban areas. In addition to this, there is a great
deal of tendency to give space repeatedly in media to handful of self-declared
intellectuals in a syndicated manner not confirming the life-world. This undermines
role of the “others” in society and generates questions as who really
are true stake-holders of this state – only the urban elites or those who
live in the rural areas as well. Why we are merely treating people as “consumer”
but not as citizen and develop liberal political culture of media. What is certain
is that space for both independent media is getting squeezed as well as the voice
of voiceless is not getting space in the urban centred media. This fact reveals
that public sphere has not become sufficiently public to increase people’s
right to information primarily because there is neither sense of “public
media” nor public “responsiveness”. This leads us to argue that
who really controls “media”, who sets the agendas and for what purposes. The
space that produces critical opinions and will formation required for the change
is vibrant public sphere where access is decided by citizens not by educated classes
and geographical proximity per se. But the very sphere is controlled by elites
and urban intellectuals who mobilises media/opinions in their favour. Elites can
manufacture consent and promote their own cultural hegemony by depriving the rural
voice (through suppression, compression and thought controlling). During the training
session, majority journalists have argued that illiberal media in Nepal has become
an instrument of exploitation and subjugation of the common people and block the
change. By contrast, they are found to have been generating false consciousness/reports
merely to protect the regime of their interest. Citizens at large and rural journalists
have become victims of this trend in the past. This could be the reason, among
others, why people have not felt positive change despite intermittent regime changes
over the years. These all are happening because urban media has completely
lost social dimensions while reporting or conducting opinion polls/survey. Moreover,
media in the centre are tied by advertisements, donors agendas as they have multiple
stake-holding and often use media to sale their own products. They commodify and
projectise news to fulfill their own agendas and promote globally mobile elites(GMEs)
who doesn’t have inbound stake, argued majority of the participants. Some
of the influential media houses are found to have been taking financial aid from
the donors thereby disabling them to float opinions that could, otherwise, have
provided alternatives to address societal problems. It has become compulsive hearing,
reading and listening – some sort of burden on the part of the attentive
people of the periphery. Likewise, the tendency of the centre to treat peripheral
media as “local” is the product of feudalistic mindset while the news
they produce has national importance with global reach. When asked to the participants
as who controls media, the obvious answer, that we received was that most of the
private media houses across the country are influenced, if not controlled, by
the corporate interests. Today more and more people are opening media houses primarily
due to some prerogatives available to it. But these prerogatives have been misused.
The biggest misnomer, with regard to prerogatives, stems from the liberal media
theory which calls it “fourth estate” and media personnel are taking
undue advantage of this notion. By being the part of the state, they think that
they could enjoy certain immunities whereas the only immunity available, theoretically,
is immunity in collecting information for the benefit of society. Moreover, Nepali
media personnel are engaged more in political “activism” and less in
real journalism. Most of the time, journalists are raising their own issues related
to freedom and professional development thereby completely undermining freedom
for the citizens. Due to this practice, journalism in Nepal has not become “citizen’s
journalism”. Finally, if democracy is all about empowerment of the
poor then media could be main agent of change. But the challenge is how we persuade
media to listen to the voice of downtrodden and poor people whilst they have established
multiple links both with capitalism and political power. This is where the role
of “civic education” becomes important which enables people to think
about society. The role of media is not only to communicate but translate that
communication into action what Habermas calls connection of system with life-world
and moralisation of both. Only then rights can be balanced with duties. In the
context of Nepal, what is needed is democratisation of media elites who only respond
hierarchy of the power which is central component in socialisation of people into
citizen. This will help to build people’s confidence in “media”.
We also have to provide enough resources to the journalists working in the periphery.
We have to bear in mind that media is not only for the “intellectuals”,
it is “public” property not the “private”. If we treat media
as “private sphere” people will lose confidence on it. Source:
The Rising Nepal, Friday Supplement (11 June 2010)
People
will lose confidence if the Constitution could not be promulgated in the extended
time <Top>Hotline
Reporter Constitutional expert Kashi Raj Dahal said that although the extension
of Assembly is not constitutional, however, extension has been done merely to
end the people dead-lock and everybody should understand the situation. Speaking
in a programme organised by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Nepal Office, Dahal further
said that even if the political parties failed to draft the constitution in the
extended time frame people will lose faith on them. State that fails to maintain
governance will virtually become a failed state. He further said that there is
a great deal of dilemma wherein “people have to obey the laws made by others
whereas those who make the laws don’t obey themselves”. Political
analysts Dev Raj Dahal and Chandra Dev Bhatta presented papers on state and governance
and civil society and its role in state-building in Nepal respectively. Leaders
of the political parties, intellectuals, professors, members of civil society,
journalists and other stake-holders of the society commented on the papers presented. Source:
Pokhara Hotline National Daily (6 June 2010)
No
one should stay above the constitution <Top>Pokhara Speaking
in the programme organised by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Nepal Office, In Pokhara
on Constitutional State and Governance, many intellectuals, leaders of political
parties, journalists and member s of civil society have emphasised that no one
should stay above the constitution. They further said that the need of the
hour is to write a constitution in time and maintain peace and no one should deviate
from this, especially political parties. Political parties should rise above the
partisan interests to maintain rule of law in the country, pointed out the participants. Speaking
in the programme constitutional expert Kashi Raj Dahal has said that people will
lose fail on political parties if they failed to draft the constitution even the
extended time-frame. Due to lack of farsightedness, honesty and efficiency political
parties could not draft the constitution in time, said Dahal. In a programme
organised by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Nepal Office, in Pokhara, constitutional
expert Dahal has blamed that constitution could be written during two years time
primarily because political parties were not being responsible towards state and
people. Therefore compromise and consensus among political parties is necessary
if they really want to draft the new constitution in time and for that people
also have to do the work of watch-dog. In a programme organised by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung,
Nepal Office, in Pokhara, constitutional expert Dahal has blamed that constitution
could be written during two years time primarily because political parties were
not being responsible towards state and people. Therefore compromise and consensus
among political parties is necessary if they really want to draft the new constitution
in time and for that people also have to do the work of watch-dog. Speaking
in the programme Professor and Head of FES Nepal Dev Raj Dahal said that governance
could not be maintained if the state fails to address the issues related to national
security, rule of law, people’s participation, service delivery and alike.
Prof. Dahal further said that political parties, who are the main agent of change,
should work together for the benefit of state and society. Failing to do so will
give space to other non-state entities. Western Region’s Regional Administrator
Arjun Bahadur Bhandari chaired the session and many speakers including Soviet
Bahadur Adhikari of Nepali Congress, Punya Poudyal of UML, Chandra Dev Bhatta
of FES, Senior Journalist Madhav Sharma, Dev Raj Chalise, Girdhari Dahal, Gehendrashwor
Koirala, Padma Sharan Regmi, Bishwa Kalyan Parajuli, Yadav Gaudel, Lekhnath Bhattarai,
Prem Sharma, among others, spoke in the programme. In the programme Constitutional
Expert Kashi Raj Dahal presented a paper on State, Constittuion and political
parties, Dev Raj Dahal presented a paper on Nepali State and Challenges of Governance,
and Chandra Dev Bhatta presented a paper on the role of civil society in State-building
in Nepal. Source: Adarsha Samaj National Daily (6 June 2010)
Constitution
could not be drafted due to the difference among political parties <Top>Pokhara
Constitutional expert Kashi Raj Dahal has said that if the political parties fail
to promulgate new constitution in the extended time, people will completely loose
their faith on political parties. Due to lack of farsightedness, honesty and efficiency
political parties could not draft the constitution in time, said Dahal. In
a programme organised by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Nepal Office, in Pokhara, constitutional
expert Dahal has blamed that constitution could be written during two years time
primarily because political parties were not being responsible towards state and
people. Therefore compromise and consensus among political parties is necessary
if they really want to draft the new constitution in time and for that people
also have to do the work of watch-dog. Speaking in the programme Professor
and Head of FES Nepal Dev Raj Dahal said that governance could not be maintained
if the state fails to address the issues related to national security, rule of
law, people’s participation, service delivery and alike. Prof. Dahal further
said that political parties, who are the main agent of change, should work together
for the benefit of state and society. Failing to do so will give space to other
non-state entities. Western Region’s Regional Administrator Arjun Bahadur
Bhandari chaired the session and many speakers including Chandra Dev Bhatta of
FES Nepal, Girdhari Dahal of Prithivi Naryan Campus spoke in the programme on
the need of rule of law in the country. Source: Samadhan National
Daily (6 June 2010)
New approach
to governance <Top>A
treatise on how the idea of governance has changed in the modern world CD
Bhatta MAY 21 -
There has been a plethora of writing on “governance”
over the years. Hailed as the main mantra to speed up development, strengthen
democracy and empower people, at some point, it appeared that the concept itself
was simply rediscovered by donors whose major clients were countries of the South.
The discussion on governance stole more limelight when majority of the newly-democratised
states suffered the brunt of “intra-state conflicts” that ultimately
led to the erosion of the traditional power of the state as polices adopted in
the name of governance often failed to produce an accountable public authority.
It failed to bring polity nearer to the people and as a result, majority
of the states fell apart, owing, apparently, to bad governance. But to our dismay,
scholars and policymakers failed to identify what exactly is good or bad governance.
In contrast, they provided ritualistic theoretical advice. They tried to replicate
the same set of policies for all states. They thought what was good for the West
would be good for the rest and what was good in theory would be good in practice
as well. This generates some fundamental questions about governance. The
concept of governance itself is not new. In fact, it is as old as human civilisation.
In fact we can find discussion about “governance”, in one form or the
other, in all major religious literature. For example, it has been discussed broadly
in Bhagavad Geeta; the Islamic Sharia provides comprehensive governance rules;
and Christianity gives prime importance to the teachings of Christ’s management
style. Governance has also been broadly discussed in Kautilaya’s Arthasashtra
and cited by Plato. Likewise, Adam Smith argues that political state had to build
institutions that can ensure justice, security and political and civic culture
that value ethical standards. By and large, the idea of governance is to create
democratic and just society based on the interest and priorities of the people.
Mick Moore, Professor of Governance at IDS, Sussex, defines governance process
through which states acquire and uses its power. For him, better governance comes
from strengthening the responsiveness of states to the needs of their citizens,
their accountability to citizens through rules-based mechanism, and through which
they can be rewarded or sanctioned; and state capability — both political
capability to determine needs and manage competing interests, and bureaucratic
capability to design and implement policy, and enforce authority. If governance,
theoretically, is all about empowerment of people through responsive states why
has it failed to deliver in the global South? Perhaps the time has come to reflect
on where and how we failed. IDS tries to provide some answers through its recent
publication An Upside Down View of Governance. The book is the product of five-year
long research carried out by the Centre for the Future State at the different
parts of the world (from Sao Paulo to New Delhi). The book asks policymakers
to think out of the box, discard their mental models of development, and look
at what is actually happening in societies. It also suggests that the time has
come for the donors to change. They should stop recycling policies and people
as it does not bring change in society. The book offers new ‘drawing skills’
and explores how elements of public authority are being created through complex
processes of bargaining between state and societal actors, and the interaction
of formal and informal institutions. The central argument of the book is
that instead of prioritising reform of formal institutions, one should look at
the structures, relationships, interests and incentives that underpin them. It
suggests that informal and traditional institutions and personalised relationships
not be seen as governance problem but as a part of solution. It argues that traditional
Weberian ideas of the state capacity look out of date. Having said this, the process
of state-building alone is not enough to address our problem brought about by
the post-state challenges. The authors argue that instead of ‘state building’
and ‘state capacity’ we ought to be thinking about ‘public authority’.
For them, ‘state building’ tends to evoke the historical experience
of Western countries, notably France and Germany, in the 18th and 19th centuries
and thus may not be suitable in other contexts. The authors recommend a shift
in focus on creating ‘public authority’ — formal and informal institutions
— that can undertake core governance functions. It goes on to argue that
states are not the only sources of public authority. Governments today have to
negotiate with a much greater diversity of actors, including an expanded private
sector with transitional links. Also, in most poor countries the boundaries between
‘state’ and ‘society’ is unclear and the task of organising
collective action to create public goods may be shared between state and non-state
actors. Taken together, it underlines the need to create accountable and transparent
public authority by taking all actors into the manifold. The book further
argues that merely strengthening civil society, as done in the past, will not
benefit poor people primarily because civil societies are found to have been strengthened
merely to serve the interests of certain networks of actors and power centres.
And in many cases elites and, to some extent, donors are also promoting their
own civil society merely to siphon off funds. What would be more important, against
this backdrop, is to strike a balance between formal and informal institutions
for the purpose of collective action. Its not only weak institutions and
high level of corruption, the book points out, that leads to creation of fragile
states. Equally responsible are lack of elite incentives to create effective public
authority and to accept change. The book argues that weak governance and ongoing
conflict has provided more opportunities and benefits to the elites. Perhaps,
this could be the reason, among others, why elites do not push for the timely
resolution of the conflict in Nepal as well. The book certainly could be
a handy tool for both policymakers and scholars with its many new perspectives
on governance. However, some of its arguments are problematic. For example, it
does not prioritise the agenda of state building, instead devoting most of its
focus on creating public authority. But the fact is that in a fragile state like
Nepal public authority cannot be created in the absence of a functional state.
Neither can public authority can be drawn through private sector nor through informal
approaches. This will only generate broader security deficit for the citizens,
albeit elites can protect themselves by hiring private security forces who will
not feel the need to organise for the cause of security of citizenry at large.
This certainly is the reason why Nepali citizens have failed to realise the change
in real sense of term despite a number of successful regime changes over the years. The
author is affiliated with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Source: The Kathmandu
Post (22 May 2010)
Defending and Explaining
Freedom of Expression: A Comparison of Norway and Nepal <Top>Tone
Bleie, Director Centre for Peace Studies, University of Tromsø, Norway
Dev
Raj Dahal, Head, FES Nepa
Introduction
Democracy and freedom
of expression are considered inseparable. There is no democracy where the freedom
of expression is not guaranteed. In an established democracy like Norway the enshrinement
of this freedom is unquestioned, yet there are debates on how to ground the justification
for the freedom of expression and what the ultimate limits are. An increasingly
multicultural Norway harbours religious minorities, some of which uphold cultural
rights for getting respect for religious sentiments and therefore setting new
limits to press freedom - unleashing unusually engaged debates about how to fight
for the freedom of expression. Through the escalation of ethnic politics in Nepal,
new fault lines between group rights and individual human rights have developed.
A weakened role of the Norwegian parliament and a weakly functioning Constituent
Assembly (CA) in Nepal represent a second reason why experience sharing between
Norwegians and Nepalese is interesting. In a democratising country such
as Nepal this freedom was enshrined since the 1990-constitution, but there is
yet no consensus among the political parties on what freedom of expression really
means in principle and in practice. And what may be even more important, political
expressions in Nepal exhibit very contradictory ideas of the relationships between
"what one says and does," which show a shared theatrical political culture
steeped in authoritarian values, whose roots and resilience today needs to be
self- critically debated. This shared culture, as we will show, risks violating
universal principles of the freedom of expression, and compels us to ask the question
if Nepal's traditional political culture is derailing the country's quest for
freedom, justice and peace. If answer to this question is yes; how to transform
this culture in order to nurture an alternative culture, beneficial to intra and
inter-party consensus building, which is also a prerequisite for completing the
constitutional process and strengthening the ailing CA? Brief highlights
of debates in Norway
The three universal pillars of the freedom of expression
(that originated in the West but is no longer so); the principle of truth seeking,
the autonomy principle or each person's freedom of opinion and finally the principle
of democracy are the basis for the new paragraph 100 of the Norwegian Constitution.
This new paragraph is formulated in a way that ensures freedom of expression as
a negative freedom and juridical right. The need for a thorough debate and constitutional
revisions is, as noted, related to emergence of a more multicultural society,
not the least as it comes to religious and ethic minorities. This was the background
for the establishment in the late 1990s of a Commission on the Freedom of Expression,
whose report to the parliament was the basis for the revision of paragraph 100
a few years later. Recent debates on freedom of expression were triggered
by the violent mass condemnations in distant Muslim countries in the wake of the
so-called Mohammed caricatures published firstly in a Danish newspaper. Very recently
a major Norwegian daily newspaper published an article with a drawing of a pig
with the name Muhammad written over. This drawing, meant to illustrate the article's
content, is triggering different views in the Norwegian public. Interestingly,
the divide is not only between a Muslim minority and a secular majority, but also
between different Muslim organizations and milieus, some upholding that publishing
the drawing was wrong and grossly insulting while others are strongly supportive
of the freedom of expression. So far the meetings and demonstrations have been
thankfully non-violent. The increasingly use of dialogues (at the expense of street
politics - which has a tendency to trigger group-instincts leading to violence)
has lead to reduced antagonism and to a new recognition of common interests around
individual rights, at the expense of an exclusive focus on ethnic and religious
group rights. In Norway, there is also a more general debate on how to
define the individual who has this inalienable right. Even in the Norwegian society
there are individuals whose ability to act as moral agents in the public sphere
might be seriously circumscribed due to sickness, disability, age, or oppression.
Another matter of concern is the inabilities of future generations, our unborn
grandchildren - to partake in current days' decisions that will have a very significant
bearing on them. So is the distinction between the so called discursive freedom
(for example in academic institutions) and the freedom of expression. Is this
distinction a clear-cut one between reasoned arguments and acting on it deliberately
or in affect? Or is there a more graded fluid transition between discourse and
action? This is also illustrated by the last week's controversy, sparked by the
already mentioned illustration of the Prophet Muhammad. In another recent controversial
case a sacked professor from University of Oslo lost his court case against his
earlier employer. The conflict stemmed from this professor's harsh oral and written
critique of his superiors' in the media and in some internal emails. The court
has put much emphasis on the term duty of loyalty. But is a university professor
to be loyal to his employers or towards his discipline and academic quest? Quite
many like to see that this case is taken before the High Court, since it touches
very fundamentally on the freedom of expression in the universities. Another
recent debate in Norway is about certain recent worrisome tendencies in public
opinion making. Before the main synergic action for a free and informed public
opinion have been the movements of labour, political parties and civil society
organizations. Now a new actor is intervening, the so called think tanks. Funded
both by the private sector and by the labour movement, these think tanks have
emerged in recent years. They are highly visible and well resourced. They publish
books and arrange seminars and courses in posh hotels. Political analysis and
politicians are asking, if not the Norwegian parliament, that the political parties'
roles as the main ideological centres for free and informed debate are eroding.
Such think tanks are a legacy from the U.S., dating back to the establishment
of the Heritage Foundation in the early 1970s. The influence of neo-liberal institutions
like the Heritage Foundation and the UK-based Adam Smith Institute has been and
still is enormous. Privatisation and New Public Management are i byists and other
opinion makers. The Congress Representatives have to take positions on many kinds
of issues, not sorting under the committees they are in. In Norway, the political
parties have their own schools and other capacity building resources. So the influences
of think tanks are definitely much less, in Norway than in the US - but that does
not mean they are un-influential in today's Norway. Brief Highlights
of Debates in Nepal
Unlike in Norway, any firm relationship between the
parliament, labour unions and the rest of the civil society and the political
parties - has yet to be meticulously built up in Nepal. A number of domestic,
geopolitical and international conditions intervene into the process of building
the very foundations for freedom of expression. It is not ideologically-based
domestic think tanks that hamper the efforts of making this axis the very centre
for informed debates, based on the freedom of expression. It is the unduly heavy
presence of international aid agencies, with "an army" of well-paid
expertise, based on own staff, consultants and "inorganic intellectuals"
to quote the Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci. While the think tanks in the
US and Norway are organs for converting money power (in the US mainly from private
sector) into ideological power, the aid agencies are converting money power from
development assistance and loans into public policies, programmes and reports
that to varying degrees have ideological strings attached. Parliamentarians, party
cadres and the aid-dependent sectors of civil society are busy reading these agencies
books and reports, and attending their seminars and trainings both in Nepal and
elsewhere and brining concepts invented to resolve the problems of entirely different
context. As the current Constituent Assembly (CA) is historic in terms
of first-time elected politicians one should expect that their parties responded
rapidly by building their own capacity and that the parliamentary committees and
other organs had resources to seek highly qualified and independent advice and
allow meanings and values of modern constitutionalism suitable to rationalize
the public and private life of Nepalese. Representation of voices of social diversity
in the constitutional debate is a must for being able to cope with the difficult
and massive societal problems of Nepal. It is entirely wrong to silence the voices
of ordinary people through the use of internal and external experts, who are historically
and socially alien to the genuine experiences people have learned by their own
often bitter realizations. The very dependency on financial assistance through
international aid and loans also wing-breaks the CA's ability to have free and
informed debates where informed choices are made between alternative priorities,
based on the parliamentarians' satisfactory knowledge of the outcomes for different
groups of citizens and for the country as a whole. In addition, geopolitics distorts
open informed deliberations through both heavy handed and soft-power front and
back-stage diplomacy. Nepalese traditionalist political culture has unsurprisingly
survived the transition from authoritarian to democratic government, since many
of the current top politicians were groomed in the geriatric, authoritarian high-caste,
masculine political cultures, where the distinction between what you say and what
you actually think and act upon is fuzzy. Ordinary citizens are to some degree
well aware of this culture of theatrical deception and posturing, and will not
easily be convinced about front-stage promise and declarations. But this culture
is nevertheless crippling both public debates and decision making, and there is
no genuine inter-party discussion and deliberations in the parliament that lead
to committing decisions that are implemented. In the recent public row between
the Maoist stalwarts, people instantly got suspicious and asked if this is a "manufactured
dissent." This disengagement is crippling, as quite some of the ideological
debates in the Maoist leadership as well as in other parliamentary parties are
important not only to notice, but also to engage with - in a critical and informed
way. Instead of open, informed debates, that can be observed and understood
by Nepal's very young and partly inexperienced citizens, most important deliberations
are either behind closed-doors and personalized or poured in street politics in
the forms of demonstrations and general strikes. While the first are conducted
in a manner uncomfortably alike the politics of the autocratic era, the second
is a radical departure, since public dissent was not allowed in Nepal before the
Jana Andolon of 1990 except a decade-long of hiatus in the 1950s. Therefore, the
massive influx of social movements and political movements of conscious citizens
into the public mpacting both Nepal and Norway. The American political system
has many access points for experts, lob domain is a positive marker of a
new aspiring era. It is positive as it is democratizing the political parties,
public institutions and even the state. But the use of street politics in Nepal
has reached excessive proportions and has unfortunately become an impediment to
establish well-functioning corporate channels for negotiations with the political
system. Nepal's political system must open new constitutional and institutional
channels of political participation of the diverse public, so that those deprived
do not make "streets their main arena for legislation and action." Conclusion
What can be learned from these experiences? The freedom of expression
is essential for the people of Norway and Nepal in their similar quest to establish
themselves as autonomous civic persons, capable of judgement and decisions about
their life and liberty. In Norway there is a concern about the weakened axis between
the parliament, the political parties and the labour movement, while in Nepal
this axis needs to be firmly established. In both countries the superiority of
experts are eroding the democratic axis, in Norway the think tanks are one such
new brand of experts, in Nepal there is an army of development and conflict experts.
In Nepal, theatrical politicians deafen and discourage the voices of citizens
and hinder proper collective reflections of citizens' experiences, and of independent
will-formation. This making of a joint collective will is necessary, if we want
to tackle the difficult societal problems in Nepal, while making relevant use
in the Nepalese context of universal social movements, so that social relations
between the generations, the genders, between castes and ethnic groups become
equitable. The CA in Nepal has provided a historical opportunity for the Nepalese
to start mastering the modern freedom of expression and reform their traditional
politics and culture. So far this opportunity has regrettably not been seized.
One needs to become familiar and comfortable with making use of cosmopolitan laws
and getting rid of parochial high-caste and a political culture dominated mostly
by old men. While a new constitution is not a panacea, it can be a model
for the society that can be implemented, granted the political culture is also
sought challenged from below. Unlike Norway, where geopolitical interests are
less important in politics, Nepal's choice has, however, been seriously hampered
by its dependency of development experts and military and civilian elites. The
incapacity of political leaders to define a constitutional vision based on the
aspirations of ordinary citizens and to start the social transformation, so its
early liberating effects can be felt - is causing grave dangers. In this context,
inter-party consensus, genuine self-criticism and debate among leaders are necessary
elements. This debate will open up a new honesty and realism in national life,
address the problems of an increasingly fractured social order and settle the
constitutional debate in a way that ensures a coherent set of ideas behind the
constitution. Source: Newsfront (22-28 February 2010)
National
consensus prerequisite to my resignation, says PM <Top>Kathmandu,
May 19 - Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Wednesday said that he was ready to
step down if there was national consensus to conclude the peace and statue writing
processes. "The government wants to solve the present deadlock on the
basis of consensus, co-work and unity among the parties," Premier Nepal told
a function organized by Press Chautari Nepal (PCN) in Kathmandu. PCN conducted
the award distribution ceremony and an interaction on the role of media in the
establishment of peace in coordination with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. PM
Nepal said that until the Maoists turned into a civilian party, gave up their
strategy of capturing the state and vacated the cantonments, national consensus
was far from realization. ‘To strike consensus, they should also use
the language of consensus and co-work," PM said in an apparent reference
to the Maoists. He said that the Maoists were circulating the rumors that
the government wanted to dissolve the Constituent Assembly (CA) but now their
claim had been debunked after the coalition registered a Bill at the parliament
to extend the CA tenure. "So, I urge all not to be swayed by misleading
propaganda spread by the Maoists," he added. He said that it was not
time to engage in the blame game but to work for creating conducive atmosphere
to build confidence and consensus among the parties. Stating that there
could not be consensus to fulfill the ego of particular leader, PM Nepal said
that they could not move ahead by undermining the democratic norms and rule of
law that they established through hard work and sacrifice. He said that
the role of the journalists had further increased in institutionalizing lokatantra
in the transition period. The media have been victim of non-state actors,
he said and added that the government was committed to protecting professional
rights and freedom of the journalists. Minister for Information and Communications
Shankar Pokharel said that some elements were trying to depict a dreadful scenario
after May 28. Minister Pokharel urged the media to play a constructive
role to reduce such fear. "The state will not remain in void no matter
how much crisis is there," Pokharel said. He said that the institutions
of President, the government and the parliament would continue to function even
after May 28, the deadline of the constitution writing.
The Nepalese
political parties will finally find the way out of crisis within the framework
of interim constitution and loktantrik values as happened in the past, he said.
Nepali
Congress spokesman Arjun Narsingh KC asked journalists to impartially judge as
to who were responsible to stall the peace and constitution writing process. KC
accused the main opposition Maoists of not implementing the past agreements signed
between the seven-party alliance and the Maoists. "It will be quite
an injustice to put all the parties in the same basket for the current deadlock,"
he said. CPN-UML publicity department head Pradeep Gyawali said that the
Maoists were trying to barter the chair of PM with the extension of the CA. Gyawali
said that the Maoist-led government did nothing to conclude the peace process
in line with the interim constitution. "We are not ready to derail
the peace process to satisfy the ego of a leader," he said referring to the
Maoist demand of the formation of the government under their leadership. If
there is a guarantee to peace and statute writing, PM Nepal will tender his resignation
within minutes, he said. Dev Raj Dahal, head of the German political foundation
Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, said democracy offered the media to mediate contending
perspectives through dialogue, non-violent communications and collective action. He
said that journalists needed to inform the public for the democratization of the
society so as to democratize the politicians; to bring forth the diversity of
the society to bolster its legitimacy; bridge knowledge gap between those who
know more and those who know less; and spread civic education for building the
culture of peace. "Pro-active engagement of Nepalese media has been
useful to remove the irrationalities of society and policy attention of stakeholders
of society to mitigate conflict-producing root and proxy causes and struggle for
peaceful and just future society," he added. Federation of Nepalese
Journalists Dharmendra Jha, PCN president Gagan Bista, former FNJ president Binshnu
Nisthuri and SAFMA Nepal head Shiva Gaule also spoke at the function. Meanwhile,
PM Nepal presented Hridaya Chadra Singh Smriti Patrakarita Puraskar to senior
journalist Chandra Bhandari (Jhapa), Agnisikha Smriti Patrakarita Puraskar to
columnist Shyamal and Birendra Kumar Shah Kriyashil Yuva Patrakarita Puraskar
to Myagdi-based journalist Amrit Baskune. The awards, established by PCN,
respectively carry Rs. 11,111, Rs. 11,111 and Rs. 5,151 along with appreciation
letters. In another function in Lalitpur, Prime Minister and Chancellor
Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) Madhav Kumar Nepal said that the
government was ready to mobilize maximum available resources for the development
of the academy. "Science and technology can usher in economic prosperity,"
he said. He was inaugurating a newly constructed lab of NAST. "Collaboration
with private institutions and national and international organizations was necessary
as the government alone could not provide all assistance to the academy." Responding
to journalists, he said that the government would not hesitate to take a stern
action against the guilty in connection with revenue leakage and other irregularities
in the Unity Life International, a networking business. Source: The
Rising Nepal (20 May 2010)
Media
Should Provide Alternatives <Top>
Constitutional Expert Kashi Raj Dahal has said that media should provided
alternatives and ways for compromise while reporting the news. He further said
that media should strike a balance among political parties to come to the common
platform so that constitutional process could take right direction. Media should
also inform people as what exactly is happening in the political spectrum without
any prior bias as such. He further said that there is no alternative to “compromise”
and we should work to achieve this. Political parties should stick to the commitments
they have made before the people said Dahal in a two days Civic Education Training
programme for journalists, organised by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in cooperation
with National Media Development Centre, in Hetauda. Speaking in the programme
Dev Raj Dahal, Head o FES Nepal, said that we need democracy more than constitution
primarily because without democratic culture there is no way that we can have
constitutional stability or political stability for that matter in the country.
Regional Administrator Rudra Kumar Shrestha said that media should work independently.
The programme was chaired by Ram Mani Dahal, President of Federation of Nepalese
Journalist – Makwanpur Branch and participated by the working journalist
from Narayani Zone, Nawalparasi and Rauthat. Source: Hetauda Sandaesh
- National Daily (16 May 2010)
Strong
bureaucracy to negate effects of instable politics <Top>KATHMANDU,
May 15 -- Different high level officials and intellectuals of the country laid
stress on political stability, national security, apt mechanism for punishment
and effective administrative performance in order to maintain good governance
The terms governance and good governance are increasingly being used in development
literature. Governance describes the process of decision-making and the process
by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented). and administrative justice
in the country. "Due to unstable government, state bodies are facing
hindrance in maintaining justice," said Kashi Raj Dahal, chairman at administrative
court. "This has decreased peoples trust over governmental organisations."
Dahal said that political intervention in bureaucracy and lack of demarcation
line regarding the rights of bureaucracy and political bodies (ministers) also
has created barrier in maintaining good governance. "Many decisions that
are to be made by bureaucracy are done through political level," said Dahal.
Intellectuals observed vague laws, lack of timely modification in laws
according to according to
prep.
1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority
of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3.
international practice and procedural shortcomings for prevailing impunity. "The
power gap, development gap and legitimacy gap between juridical Pertaining to
the administration of justice or to the office of a judge. A juridical act
is one that conforms to the laws and the rules of court. A juridical day is one
on which the courts are in session JURIDICAL. status and ability of leaders
to govern has made situation worse," said Dev Raj Dahal the country head
at Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES). Pointing towards the lack of 'administrative
action' over governmental employee breaching law, Secretary at ministry of General
Administration Bala Nanda Poudel said that due to procedural mistake by administrative
heads in punishment court often dismisses the case. "Such mistakes are often
repeated I ask all the administrative heads to mind procedural criteria before
referring for punishment," said Poudel. Published
by HT Syndication with permission from EKantipur.com. For more information on
news feed please contact Sarabjit Jagirdar at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com
No Constitution Without Vision:
Dahal <Top> Constitutional analyst Kashi
Raj Dahal said that new constitution cannot be formed without clear vision. Speaking
in a two days training programme for mid-career journalists, organised by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
in cooperation with Nepal Media Development Centre, in Hetauda constitutional
analyst Dahal said that due to lack of commitment and honest at the highest level
of political leadership, constitution will be promulgated on 28th of May, 2010.
This has happened primarily because political leaders have failed to come out
with clear framework on different issues, lamented Dahal. Rather than adopting
consensual process, political leaders adopted numerical process to draft the constitution
said Dahal. He further said that state can declarte emergency merely to extend
the tenure of CA which goes against the spirit of fundamental rights of the citizens. Speaking
in the same programme Dev Raj Dahal, Head of FES Nepal, highlighted the role of
civic education in state-building in Nepal. Chief guest of the programme and regional
administrator Mr Rudrakumar Shrestha has said that consensus and compromise among
political leaders can break the current deadlock and open the avenues to write
constitution. Another guest Rudra Prasad Paudel, Chief District Officer of Makwanpur,
said that developmental works in the country has come to a standstill as the state
is in transition. The journalists, who participated in the programme, have discussed
about the current state of political affairs in the country as well as submitted
solutions to come out of the political deadlock. In the programme there more than
two dozen journalists from Nawalparasi, Sarlahi, and Narayani Zone. Ram
Mani Dahal, President of Makwanpur Branch of, Nepaese Federation of Journalists,
presided the programme. Information officer of Hetaudua Municiplaity B K Maharjan,
representative of Chamber of Commerce and NGO Federation of Nepal , among others,
participated in the programme. Source: Hetauda Today National Daily
(15 May 2010)
Social
Protection and its challenges in Nepali Context <Top>
By Chandra D. Bhatta Social protection is the broader concept which
includes number of areas where intervention of the state is required to protect
its citizens. In the context of Nepal social protection is required in the areas
like health, education, housing, food, water, energy, sanitation, old age benefits,
service delivery, unemployment benefits, maternity benefits, poverty alleviation
and many more. Interestingly, all these issues have taken a centre stage in recent
years. The Interim Constitution emphasises on social protection and makes provision
for new rights—right to work, education, health, food, social security, social
justice, etc. However the major bone of contention is whether Nepali state will
be able to fulfil them or not. Equally important is who are we going to protect,
that is, are we going to protect those who live inside the ring-road of Kathmandu
or those who live outside of it as well, are we going to protect those who have
both jobs and houses or those who do not have anything at all. These are some
of the important issues to be addressed primarily because there is a great deal
of lapses in policy formulation which are directly related with the material and
institutional framework of the state which is too weak to implement these rights.
For example, the total contribution of tax to national GDP is only 12 percent
which is not sufficient to maintain even the administration of the state let alone
catering demands generated by different societal forces. Another important question
is whether we want social protection or social security as both are two different
terminologies and have different meanings as well as approaches. In the context
of Nepal, where large numbers of people are working in the informal sector, social
protection becomes most important. The biggest dilemma stems from the fact
that Nepalese political leaders and interest groups are busy in incorporating
rights into the constitution but not developing mechanism to ensure these rights.
The ambitious agenda of welfare state floated by political parties cannot be accomplished
unless country’s tax base is expanded. The tax base can only be expanded
when we move towards industrialisation, modernisation of agriculture and other
productive sectors of economy where the country has both competitive and comparative
advantage. But this has not been the case, we are simply promoting financial capitalism
which does not produce anything but consumes everything. Those who work in the
financial market and who operate it make hefty amounts of money but the lack of
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) culture in this sector has meagrely contributed
towards the welfare of the broader citizenry. It contributes four to five percent
to national GDP. The current process of capital formation has made us a consumer
state. By and large, it looks that political leaders are caught up by what noted
political scientist Dev Raj Dahal calls the “populist” trap as political
leaders are promising everything available under the sun without realising the
fact that political rights can only be fulfilled through economic and social prosperity.
In terms of basic facilities like health and education, we have taken the
reverse gear. This is so because we are operating media, schools and hospitals
in the economic model of competition and this has created huge gap between private
and public and haves and have nots. The classic example to this end is, we are
systematically dismantling public institutions (like public hospitals, public
schools, public enterprises etc) but promoting private ones. Again, the reality
is that majority of Nepalese live in the rural areas who cannot afford to go either
to private schools or to the private hospitals - who offer facilities of the five
star hotels. These private organisations are creating hegemonic ideology to weaken
freedom and dignity of workers thereby undermining their contribution in society.
In the context of Nepal the important indicator of state inefficiency is the presence
and extent of political patronage in administration. The phenomenon of patronage
politics has resulted in the numerical expansion of employment in bureaucracy
(administration) but this bureaucracy (including police administration) has paid
little role in social protection let alone state-building owing to their party
bias. By contrast, to our dismay, this process has created new classes in society
as the gap between poor and rich continue to galore which, in turn, will directly
hit into the heart of democracy. The government data tells that poverty
has declined from 42 percent to 25 percent. Is it really so? If the poverty has
really declined how come we are hearing in TV/Radio and reading in the newspapers
about people dying of hunger. This generates some fundamental questions how do
we measure poverty and who do we include. Is it also Kathmandu centric like politics,
power and opportunities? The government does have some social protection
programs - including civil service pension system, cash transfers to senior citizens
and widows, food-for-work, micro-credit, micro-insurance, etc., however, overall
reach of the programs, as measured by the number of beneficiaries and budget is
small. The key social protection issues are primarily that government expenditures
on social protection is low as it thought investment in the social sector is unproductive.
Whatever the package of social safety net we have got, it covers only those who
work in the formal sector which is only 10 percent and there is very little (except
some cash transfer programs) for those who are in the informal sector or who don’t
work at all. The Ministry of Finance (MOF) in collaboration with Trade Unions
and Chamber of Commerce is developing new social security scheme that would cover
2 million people. The facilities will be funded by a separate Social Security
Fund (SSF). The government had made a start on social security by imposing one
pert tax up to the first slab of taxable income. This would be the good start
if it is really implemented. But this will alone not address the problem. We have
to create jobs, open-up small scale industries and enterprises and make them accountable
to the state and citizens. Develop some sort of economic nationalism among business
community which is completely lacking in Nepal. Rather than giving priority to
“aid” that merely serves the interests of Kathmandu’s political
elites, we have to give priority to “development” that can alone contribute
significantly to this end. Source: New Spotlight (30 April 2010)
Cordial ties between
industry owners, workers stressed <Top>
By A Staff Reporter Kathmandu, April 28: Trade union representatives
Wednesday sought their role in the state building with a call to incorporate their
agenda in the new statute. Government officials, experts
and workers were unanimous that cordial relations among the government, employers
and workers were needed for smooth functioning of the industry and promoting social
security of the workers. They shared their views at a national
seminar ‘Role of Trade Union in State Building in Nepal’ jointly organized
by Centre for Labour and Social Studies (CLASS) and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung,
a German political foundation, in the capital. The participants
expressed their concern over the plight of 90 per cent labour force active in
the informal sector. They were for effective role of trade unions to ensure the
rights of remaining ten per cent work force engaged in the formal sector.
“Employers need to be flexible to implement the labour law and workers
should contribute for the smooth functioning of the industries,” they said.
Many of the participants were wary of increasing militancy trade
union campaign, which they said, had discredited the entire trade union movement
of the country. National Planning Commission vice-chairman Dr.
Jagadish Chandra Pokharel stressed on the peaceful co-existence of state mechanism,
business community and trade unions for peace, stability and economic growth.
“Since Nepal possesses the features of both feudal and capitalistic
economic system, a single economic formula is not workable here,” said Dr.
Pokharel. He called for identifying the real stakeholders
and formulating the laws accordingly. Dev Raj Dahal, head of FES,
Nepal said that the state should be strong enough to protect the rights of weak
and marginalized section of the society. “The state must wield
the rights to punish the violators of laws. There can’t be rule of law where
the state is weak,” he said and added that the concerned stakeholders must
have a say in the formulation of laws, which are related to them. “Strengthening
the unions’ position in organizing and collective bargaining in the workplace
and holding a political position on decision making regarding the shaping pf state
through democratic social contract, workable constitution is necessary to exert
control on capital, maintain ‘relative autonomy’ over the dominant political
and business interest,” he said. CLASS-Nepal president Shankar
Lamichhane said labour movement was a movement of creativity and should be utilsed
for the economic development of the country. Nepal Labour
Academy chairman Khilanath Dahal said that the workers should not be merely recognized
as a community that only demands from the state and does not contribute to the
society. GEFONT vice-chairperson Bina Shrestha said workers had
played an important role in the popular movement in 2006 and their rights must
be enshrined in the new statute. A host of speakers including Erik
Neilsen, LO-FTF, Council International Consultant, South Asia Sub region Office,
Roman Awick, a consultant at the FNCCI, Rajendra Kumar Acharya, UNI Regional Programme
Coordinator, Saran KC, Regional Coordinator trade Union Solidarity Centre of Finland
and representatives from various organizations shed light on the various aspects
of labour movements in Nepal and stressed on the appropriate policies to address
the workers conditions. FES Programme officer Chandra Dev Bhatta
and political scientist Deepak Gajurel presented their working papers at the two-day
seminar. Bhatta’s paper dwelt on the capital formation
in Nepal and highlighted the relations between labour and capital. He
argued that in Nepal capital was formed in a wrong way and failed to reflect the
aspirations of the poor. Source: The Rising Nepal (29 April 2010)
Nidhi presses for women
rights <Top>
Rastriya Samachar Samiti KATHMANDU: General Secretary of
the Nepali Congress Bimalendra Nidhi today said that a full-fledged democracy
would be established in the country only after the state restructuring model and
governance system are decided and women’s rights are ensured in the constitution. Speaking
at a programme organised by Modern Kanya Multiple College here, Nidhi said the
women should be active themselves for ensuring their representation in all state
bodies. CA member Sapana Pradhan Malla said women face discrimination in
society due to lack of education and self-reliance. Leader of the Unified
CPN (Maoist) Shanta Shrestha stressed on proportional representation of women
in all sectors of Nation. Professor Sushma Acharya said the women should
launch a struggle if necessary to have their rights guaranteed in the constitution. Chairman
of the College Ram Prasad Dahal called on the government to bring a programme
for providing Masters level education to at least 25 women in each VDC. Source:
The Himalayan Times (4 April 2010)
Modern
Kanya Campus Organises National Seminar on Civic Education <Top>
Modern Kanya (Girls) Multiple College, Bhimsengola , Kathmandu organised one
day seminar on civic education for graduate girl students, women teachers and
other stakeholders of society. About four hundred women participated in the seminar.
The seminar also discussed about the inclusive democracy and women’s rights.
Those who spoke in the seminar were Bimalendra Nidhi - General Secretary of Nepali
Congress, Sapana Malla, Constitutional lawyer and Constituent Assembly member
from Communist Party of Nepal – Marxist-Leninist (UML), Vice Presidential
Candidate from Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) - Shanta Shrestha, Prof. Dr.
Shushma Acharya, Prof. Dr. Ganesh Man Gurung. They talked about the issues of
women’s rights in Nepal in the changing context and expressed need to bridge
the gap through civic education. Dev Raj Dahal and Chandra Dev Bhatta from
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Aarati Chatuat – Media Personnel, Abha Mishra -
Principal of Kist College, Sonica Tamang - Student, Kamal Prasad Gyawali of Kist
Bank spoke in the programme while Kashi Raj Dahal – Constitutional Expert
and Prof. Dr. Harinder Thapaliya from Padma Kanya Campus, Kathmandu presented
papers. In the seminar, the issues were raised on the empowerment of women through
awareness building, by providing reservation, through gender equality and overall
more emphasis was given on education rather than “rights” of various
sorts such as property and citizenship rights on the basis of “Bansaz” Manju
Dahal, Parvati Karki, Yadav Bhattarai, Sidhartha Lama, Rewati Pokhrel commented
on the papers. The programme was moderated by Anita Bindu, news anchor of Nepal
Television while Prof. Dr. Ganesh Gurung, Chairman of the State Restructuring
Committee chaired the working sessions. Source: Sourya National
Weekly (4 April 2010)
Civic
Education for Journalist <Top> Api
Reporter Gadi Gauda/Baitadi, March 18, Thursday, 2010
Two day's Zonal
level training on civic education for journalist has begun in Baitadi from Wednesday.
Active working journalist from all four districts of Mahakali Zone has participated
in the programme organised by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Nepal Office in cooperation
with National Media Development Centre (NMDC). The training programme was
jointly led by Dev Raj Dahal, Head - FES Nepal Office, Kashi Raj Dahal, Constitutional
Expert, Chandra Dev Bhatta, Shree Ram Khanal and Bishnu Sharma, Chairman of NMDC. Narendra
Bhatta, acting president of Nepalese Federation of Journalist (NFJ) Baitadi branch
has said that this type of programme is completely new and has been organised
for the first time in Baitadi. On Wednesday's training programme constitutional
expert Kashi Raj Dahal said that constitution can only be promulgated on 14th
of Jestha 2067 if there is some sort of miracle, otherwise it is unlikely to be
promulgated. He further said that under these circumstances journalist should
play active role to end the culture of impunity in the country. He further emphasised
that political parties show commitment only for the votes but once they are elevated
to the power, they completely ignore issues of the people. Therefore journalist
should highlight the issue of citizen and bring them into fore. Everybody is looking
for rights and now the time has come for the journalists to play more proactive
role in constructing society based on duty as well. Likewise, Dev Raj Dahal,
political analyst, said that "words" media personnel use reflects the
culture of society, that is, we see the world through words. Therefore media personnel,
which help us to see the world, need to have "awareness" about civic
education. He further stated that journalists should bear in mind that we can
resolve our conflicts of every sort and develop our society by using our indigenous
knowledge. If we employ the knowledge that comes from outside world will completely
be out of context for us and will only invite further conflict in society. Dahal,
well-known in his areas of expertise, said that if we write our constitution by
exclusively using knowledge that is exported from outside by the foreign experts
will not provide constitutional sustainability. He upheld the importance of local
experience and indigenous knowledge by giving an example of Kodari highway that
was surveyed and constructed by using the experience of local Nepal Army Constable
while the Chinese Engineers were having hard time to prepare survey map for the
construction of the highway due to lack of topographical knowledge of the region.
He further said that technology based on local experience can contribute towards
development. During the training session journalists from the region have
discussed about the problems being faced by the journalist at the local level.
Harish Bhatta, one of the participating journalist from the training session said
that programme of this kind will make journalism as a profession more responsible
towards state and society. Ani Ram Labad has said that this type of programme
should be organised in Darchula District as well. Trainees have said that despite
the complexities/difficulties (such as geographical inaccessibility, economic
backwardness, lack of resources) being faced by the journalist of this region
there are youths who are attracted towards this profession which is a matter of
happiness. Source: Api Post half weekly (18 March 2010)
Modernising The Parties <Top>
Ritu Raj Subedi Nepalese political parties have played a pivotal role
in ushering the country into an era of freedom and democracy. Their contribution
to the major political changes is beyond doubt. Still the political parties tend
to be highly unpopular institutions in Nepal. During the democratic movements,
the parties are popular, but their public rating plunges as their priority shifts
from realising the common goals of the political changes to grabbing power at
any cost. This puts their moral authority into question. The people's disillusionment
only grows as successive governments tumble one after another as they seek to
fulfill partisan interests. Rootless politicians
One of the major
reasons behind the public's growing mistrust of the parties is the lack of ethical
conduct and internal democracy. The parties that fought for democracy often fail
to reflect a democratic culture and norms in their practices and behaviour. There
is a gap between their rhetoric and actions. Their efforts are not for becoming
statesman but cunning politicians. Political scientist Dev Raj Dahal, Head
of FES, has noted that their preoccupation with power has made them rootless politicians.
"The interest of the leaders in the executive power than in the legislative
functions has produced many rootless politicians and constrained the process of
transforming transactional, traditional and charismatic leaders into transformational
ones based on electoral legitimacy." It is puzzling that the leaders
who have endured so many blows of autocratic rules often fall from grace within
a few years of their stay in power. Why can't they transform themselves into competent,
popular leaders capable of leading the nation towards stability, peace and prosperity?
It is perhaps the lack of democratisation in the leaders, in the parties and in
the society as a whole that is holding back the pace of social, political and
economic changes promised during the revolutions. In our context, the gaps
between the ideological platforms and policy content, and incoherence between
the spirit of the constitution and ideological leanings act as a stumbling block
in modernising and democratising the parties. There is a vast gap between commitment
and action. Their behaviours are not guided by their philosophical underpinning. As
Dahal observes, the rise of a new elite from the semi-feudalistic mode of production
has created an obstacle in democratising the parties. The weak enforcement of
party laws, high participation of citizens and low institutionalisation of the
political parties, exclusionary political culture, lack of balance between individuals,
groups and human rights, absence of a multi-track mechanism of inter and intra-party
conflict resolution, and the tradition of a centralised leadership are some of
the inherent problems of the Nepalese political parties. The political parties
need to develop a shared vision of nation-building and work together in that direction.
They should formulate pragmatic programmes and policies based on broad-based consultation
rather than rhetorical and ideological ones to achieve the goal of constitution
writing, state-building, durable peace and structural reforms. Formulation of
implementable programmes enhances the ability of the parties to deliver services. One
important thing is that the parties should develop a culture of listening to the
legitimate grievances of their cadres and ordinary citizens. This will bridge
the gap between the leaders and cadres, and instil confidence and faith in the
party workers, which will help to mutually solve the cadre-leader conflicts. The
parties should promote diversity and inclusiveness in the committees from top
to bottom. The inclusion of regional, class, ethnic, caste and gender identities
of the nation discourages alienation, factionalism and split. This is necessary
to boost social and system integration and widen the constituencies of the political
parties. The slogan of inclusiveness has in recent times gained greater currency,
putting pressure on the mainstream parties to include representatives of women,
dalits, Madhesis and other disadvantaged communities in the party committees.
The theory of inclusiveness will also check the decline in the party membership. Another
important thing is that the parties should focus on civic education for the young
party workers. Civic education is the key to preventing cadres from joining militant
politics. In recent times, the tendency of forming militant organisations is rising
in the Terai and eastern hilly districts. There are more than 100 armed groups,
most of them are engaged in disruptive politics through armed and criminal activities.
The youth and unemployed are falling prey to their radical and fanatic ideology.
These underground armed groups have emerged as illegal offshoots of the
Maoist insurgency that glorified violence for political change. Voice is getting
louder even in the oldest democratic party, the Nepali Congress, to constitute
militant groups to counter the Maoist-affiliated Young Communist League and the
UML-affiliated Youth Force. The clashes between the youth organisations of the
parties weaken inter-party relationship, thereby promoting the politics of violence
and vendetta. Civic education can be an antidote to the violence-inspired
politics. It will engage them in policy debates, policymaking, mobilisation of
various campaigns, membership in mass organisations, participation in study circles,
development initiatives and voting in elections. Predictable behaviours
The parties must abide by their promises made during the popular movements, in
the party's policy and election manifestoes. Leadership transfer, intra-party
democracy, consistency in approach and predictable behaviours are important for
the democratisation of the parties. These will also enable them to institutionalise
the achievements of bigger changes and live up to the public expectations Source:
The Rising Nepal (28 February 2010)
Deuba's
stance <Top> LALITPUR (RSS): Senior
Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba on Friday said the integration and management
of the Maoist combatants should be completed at the earliest possible. Addressing
a two-day workshop organised by Martyrs' Memorial Foundation, Deuba also said
the paramilitary structure of the Young Communist League, the youth wing of the
Maoists, should also be dissolved. The former prime minister also called the Maoists
to return the properties seized by the Maoists during the conflict. At the program,
secretary of the CPN-UML Bishnu Poudel said doubts have risen over timely drafting
of the constitution because of the Maoist activities against the peace agreement. Source:
Republica (27 February 2010)
Take
Maoists along: Deuba <Top>
KATHMANDU, FEB 26 -
Senior Nepali Congress (NC) leader Sher Bahadur
Deuba said on Friday that statute drafting and peace process cannot be completed
by keeping the UCPN (Maoist) in isolation. The former prime minister had
some advice for the Maoists also. Speaking at an interaction titled 'Democratic
Choice for Nepal: Social or Liberal' in the Capital, he called on the ex-rebels
to act responsibly as they have "a key role in the peace process." Deuba
went on to ask the Maoists to take initiatives for arms management, dissolution
of the Young Communist League (YCL)'s paramilitary structure, return of seized
properties to rightful owners and adherence to past pacts. He also found time
to speak on the history of Nepal's struggle for democracy. "The country
embarked on the process of strengthening democracy in 1951, but King Mahendra's
intervention hijacked the process in 1961. Later, the Maoists stood against democratic
norms and values the country had adopted through People's Movement in 1991,"
added Deuba. He said the constitution should be drafted to safeguard people's
fundamental rights. CPN-UML secretary Bishnu Paudel said the ultra-leftist
ideology surfacing in Nepali politics is hampering the statute-drafting process.
"The constitution should embrace socialism with democratic values." Source:
The Kathmandu Post (27 February 2010)
No
Constitution without peace <Top>
Gorkhapatra Samachardata Senior leader of Nepali congress and
former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur has said that constitution can be promulgated
in time if the United Communist Party, (Maoist ( UCPN-Maoist) extend necessary
support to move the peace-process to its logical conclusion. Deuba said
that without peace, constitution cannot be written in time, there is an urgent
need to dissolve Young Communist League (YCL), integration of combatants and return
of the captured property. He further lamented that UNCPN (Maoist) is still does
not want to listen freedom and liberty let alone practising it in the real sense
of the term. Deuba was of the view that development of water resources will contribute
towards overall development of the nation. He was a speaking in an inaugural programme
on Democratic Choice for Nepal: Liberal or Social organised by Martyrs Memorial
Foundation. Secretary of the United Communist Party of Nepal (UML) and
Deputy Leader of the Party has said that constitution cannot be promulgated unless
peace-process is moves towards logical-end and ultra leftist ideology stand as
the major obstruction. Dhundi Raj Shastri, the president of the foundation, presided
the programme. In the programme CA member Dina Upadhyay, Khilanath Dahal of the
foundation, and Dr. Dev Raj Dahal of Friderich-Ebert-Stifgtung expressed their
views Source: Gorkhapatra Nepali Daily (27 February 2010)
Congress for Strong Trade Union
Movement <Top> Journalist and Trade
Unionist have said that trade union movement in the media sector has become weak
primarily because no proper study has been done both on the nature of the investment
as well as workers involved in this sector. Speaking in the programme organised
by Nepal Press Union in cooperation with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, a German Political
Foundation, on Tuesday, they argued that politicisation and profit driven motives
have victimised both journalists and workers in different ways. The speakers
blamed that dangerous trend of giving importance to capital by ignoring labour
is prevailing strongly which have resulted in the capital formation process in
favour of capitalist classes not in favour of poor and working classes. And unless
and until we do not change this trend and strike a balance between capital and
labor it is unlikely that democracy, state and citizens for that matter, will
not prosper. Speakers further said that journalists who have played a crucial
role for the establishment of democracy are now being victimised by the media
houses and owners. Media should write for the welfare of workers and boost up
trade union movement. Highlighting the role of the press for the cause
of democratic movement in the country, Arjun Narsingh KC , spokesperson of Nepali
Congress party has said that time has come to make trade union movement, that
started from Biratnagar Jute Mills, more powerful and Nepali congress party is
committed for this cause. KC further said that Congress will never compromise
on norms and values of democracy and appealed that media should always work as
a watchdog to protect democracy, for social justice and labour rights The
General Secretary of Nepal Trade Union Congress and Constituent Assembly Member,
Achyut Raj Pandey said that trade union movement is also divided due to political
differences and blamed that unions working in the media sector have also failed
to genuinely raise the issues of workers and trade unions in the country. Dev
Raj Dahal, Head of FES Nepal, said that though the intellectual classes of the
country have studied about the economy but they have failed to understand the
importance of labour correctly. Social justice and democratic socialism can only
be established when media raises issues of labour and lobby for their empowerment,
argued Dahal. Tara Nath Dahal, former president of Nepalese Journalist
Federation, pointed out that media houses in the country have become highly commercial
and there is no sense of social accountability, against this background there
is an urgent need that Press Union should play a crucial role in establishing
trade union rights in the media houses. Samir Jung Shah, President of Nepal
Press Union, informed that due to weakness on the part of the state, journalists
are even suffering in democracy and therefore Nepal Press Union, which is established
under trade union act, is going to be transformed into federation to look into
the issues more seriously. Chandra Dev Bhatta from FES presented a paper
on the role of media in highlighting issues of workers while Babita Basnet of
Sancharika Samuha and Bishwakanta Ghimire - General Secretary of Press Union have
expressed opinions on labours, trade union and the media. Source:
Gorkhapatra Daily (24 February 2010) | 
