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FES
Nepal in the Press - 2006 |
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Post Conflict
Role of Media discussed <Top>
By a Staff Reporter
KATHMANDU: Dec 16: Diplomats and experts
Saturday highlighted the role of media and youths in the
post-conflict era stating that both have a tremendous
role in reshaping the nation's vision and mitigation generational
conflict through peaceful means.
They also asserted that media has been
obsessed with political reporting filled with the cacophonous
speeches of political leaders, thereby neglecting the
genuine issues and legitimate rights of youths.
They were speaking at a seminar 'the
Role of Youth and Media in Development: A New Perspective'
jointly organized by The Telegraph Weekly and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
(FES), Nepal here.
Ambassador of the Republic of Korea
to Nepal Nam Sang-Jung said that media could pay the role
of educating young better than the governments in developing
countries, thus contributing to economic growth and poverty
reduction.
Dev Raj Dahal, head of FES office, Nepal
said that Nepal's main paradox rested between the rightful
aspiration of youth and skewed opportunities of the state,
the market and civil society officer for their creative
participation.
"In a post-conflict society like
Nepal media programmes need to cultivate youth about the
habits of critical media analysis requiring them to question
the contents of the message and defending the constituency
of peace."
Norbert Meyer, counselor at the embassy
of Federal Republic of Germany said that youths and the
media should work for check and balance in the society.
Chief editor of The Telegraph N. P.
Upadhyaya said that media could speed up the process of
development if it worked without any political biases.
Economist Dr. Hari Bansa Jha, former
president of Federation of Nepalese Journalists and Suresh
Acharya also spoke about the contribution of media and
youth in the peaceful democratic movement last April.
Dr. Gopal Pokharel and Dr. K. B. Bhattachan,
presented their working papers on the given topics in
two separate sessions chaired by Professor Ananda Shrestha
and Dr. Dilli Ram Dahal respectively.
Source: The Rising Nepal (17
December 2006)
Experts
for effective role of media <Top>
By A Staff Reporter
KATHMANDU, Sept. 21: Unbridled
proliferation of media houses and lack of stringent policy
to regulate media has created confusion among the Nepalese
people. Though the media have played a vital role to make
the People's Movement II a success, their biased attitude
has always tampered the democratic exercises, said intellectuals
and media analysts at a programme here in the capital
today.
Dwelling upon the issues relating to
'the impact of Conflict on Media Policy in Nepal', they
also remarked that lack of professionalism and political
biasness has always been a problem of press freedom.
Speaking at a two-day seminar on "Impact
of Conflict on Public Policy in Nepal"organised by
the Nepal Foundation for Advanced Studies(NEFAS) in cooperation
with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung(FES)they stressed the need
for 'responsible role' of media.
Speaking at the programme, Dev Raj Dahal,
chief of the FES,said the failure of politics in setting
separation, decentralization and checks and balances of
power among various groups and institutions of the society
had weakened the confidence of the state.
Nepal's continuous development failure
is attributed to the fact that institutional memory did
not have any place in the disposition of governance and
social feedbacks of policies were not incorporated in
improving its institutional capacity, said Dahal.
He further said that Nepalese are confronting
with the crisis of the political system. The crisis springs
from two sources ? extra-systemic crisis especially due
to the anarchic nature of international system and intra-systemic
crisis related to ideology, vision, political leadership
and institutional culture of the nation.
Over dependence on single approach becomes
a part of the problem than solution. This is happening
in Nepal as technical policy making has often masked the
ideology and interest of certain groups in methodology,
he added.
Executive director of the NEFAS Ananda
P Shrestha while addressing the programme said the most
visible impact of the conflict was on governance.
While the conflict was raging and taking
a heavy toll, democratic infrastructures were badly affected
and intra and inter party feuding too was on the rise.
On the dispensation of justice front, things were no better,
he said.
Source: The Rising Nepal (22
September 2006)
Conflict
Transformation <Top>
With the objective of creating awareness
about the role and function of the state, political parties
and civil society, the Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung (FES)
organized a training-cum-workshop titled "Systematic
Conflict Transformation for Peace Communications"
last week. The program aimed at imparting training on
systematic conflict transformation to journalists and
other public opinion leaders such as union officials and
university teachers.
FES, which is involved in imparting
political information and knowledge in an impartial manner,
stimulate communication between different political and
social spheres, motivate public to discuss complex social,
political and economic matters emerging from the pressures
of daily decisions, organized the workshop as crisis prevention
and peace building have become one of the priority areas
of its development cooperation.
The systemic conflict during transformation
takes a completely new approach to conflicts, in general,
and provides a deeper understanding of hidden conflict
structures and their solutions, it integrates established
models of communication and conflict mediation, it allows
every participant to get a clear image of his/ her own
possibilities for influencing a conflict and where his/
her limits are, it empowers the participants to use their
individual strengths and resources for transforming conflict
in their environment, and it enables the participants
to respect their limits as well, it supports the efficiency
of the recently founded non- governmental organization,
"Nepal Peace Communication" by clarifying relationship
and task structures within the team, by revealing centers
of conflict and by showing viable solution paths.
Jorgen Erik Klussmann, journalist, systemic
and communication consultant and Marco de Carvalha, Surgeon,
systematic consultant were the two trainers who trained
the 25 participants on new method of constellations -
which means that a detail of the relationship system which
is supposed to be relevant for the conflict is placed
in a given space or room according to an inner picture
or image.
When asked about the contribution of
constellation of solution of conflict management trainer
Jorgen Erik Klussmann said," Systematic approach
is a new dimension, it tries to involve all different
aspects and ideology. It gives us certain perspective
and it's a relationship system." Added, Marco de
Carvalho," Systemic approach is a tool like a car
which keeps mutual relationship between observer and analyzer.
Through constellation social problem to political problem
can be solved easily if taken seriously."
As Dev Raj Dahal, FES Foundation country director, says,
"Conflict starts when a man goes beyond ambition
and interest. Constellation is a symbol of conflict resolution.
It focuses on hidden dynamic and thoughts of people. And
it helps to eradicate different levels of conflict too."
The FES has introduced the concept of
National Network of Peace Communicators (NNPC) with twin
goals of enhancing and promoting regular sharing among
peace communicators, and providing space of learning,
sharing and networking for peace communicators.
Source: Spotlight (08 September
2006)
The Politics
Of State Restructuring <Top>
By C. D. Bhatta
The issue of state restructuring
has dominated the Nepali political discourse since the
last couple of months. Nevertheless it has not been defined
scientifically to set some parameters. This has left ample
space for maneuvering the issue by the political parties
and their leaders. When I asked a well-known political
scientist at Fredrich Ebert Stiftung, Dev Raj Dahal, he
said this is moving towards 'substantive democracy'.
Territorial restructuring
Literature rather stresses that one
cannot change fundamental features of the state vis-?-vis
the concrete territory; independent foreign and economic
policy; existing distribution (location) of population
and its organic identity merely to balance the imbalances.
It generates some fundamental questions though as what
'state restructuring' is all about and how it can be done
so that state does not falter away in the future. That
for a layman is perplexing enough, as one may welter whether
it is linked with territorial restructuring of the state
or internal democratisation of the state machinery.
Clearly, state restructuring is something
that is directly associated with political re-imagination
of the state as per the spirit of the time and is a continuous
process in democracy. It primarily hinges on three organs
of the state - the judiciary, legislature and the executive
body. It deals with how best all the three organs of the
state can be made more representative and pro-public so
that more and more citizens are collectively taken into
the institutional life of the state and no group/caste/ethnicity/religion
is left behind. Rather some sort of ownership of the state
is regenerated.
It is true that the corollary of state
restructuring is far sighted and demands rigorous discussions
on issues which have metaphorically impinged heavily on
making the state more participatory, representative and
pro-public before jumping into any conclusion. The state
can be restructured in many ways - it can be transformed
from a capitalist to a welfare one; from unitary to federalism;
and from single party to multiparty democracy. There can
be internal readjustments of the electoral constituencies,
devolution of power to the local government(s), the state
can be more democratised (inclusive democracy) and it
can develop special arrangements for those who are historically
left behind in the development paradigm. But the state
cannot be restructured principally on the basis of fault
lines (such as ethnicity, religion, population and even
geography to some extent) which pose substantial threat
to national unity in the event of mismanagement. These
are some but key elements that need to be taken into account
while restructuring the existing nature of the state.
Restructuring of the state is a continuous
process in a democracy as the internal shape of the state
need to be attuned to the spirit of the time and popular
wish engendered both by the internal forces (movements
per se) and external forces (globalisation per se). What
has to be borne in mind basically is that the Westminster
political edict of 'winner takes all (majoritarian politics)'
should cease to exist, at least in countries like Nepal,
in an endeavour to bring all the societal forces into
the institutional life of the state. However, for this
to happen, not only is internal political restructuring
of the state necessary, but an inclusive political culture
must also be instilled in the ruling classes. This will
help to reconstruct a 'commonwealth' of the people (the
mythical Ram Rajya) as against the Hobbesian state.
Paradoxically, the way the debate on
state restructuring is taking place in Nepal is somewhat
worrying as it posits more questions and challenges than
it answers. Issues beyond the capacity of any state, let
alone Nepal, are surfacing and their semanticity is attached
less with the democratisation process and more with identity
politics. The simultaneous emergence of 'nationalities'
and vague political agenda of state restructuring have
become major tactics to sustain the conflict rather than
accommodating all the societal forces. In one way or the
other, the country is moving towards communal politics.
The restructuring agendas have more
ethnic flavour and less democratic values. This bias in
understanding is further augmented by demands generated
by the janjaties, ethnicities, dalits, nationalities;
linguisticity, religiosity that have emerged at the transitional
threshold; and haphazard proposition of geographical division
of the state by the professional political elite (parties).
It has been taken for granted that 'federalism' is the
panacea for all problems as against the unitary state
of the yesteryear which failed to establish a connection
between the Kathmandu city state and the peripheral sub-states.
But is it really so that federalism
deciphers all problems? What happens if the federal states
are taken as private enterprises by the political elite?
This is likely to happen unless there is a substantial
change in the behaviour of politicians. Does the debate
on state restructuring really hold water to keep the Nepali
state moving ahead without any further cycles of violence?
These are some but pertinent questions that remain unanswered.
In fact, the state restructuring agenda should include
sustainable and cohesive intermingling of the people of
different regions, religions, castes and ethnicities.
That said we just cannot restructure the state for a particular
class, ethnic group, religion, region or language, which
will prove suicidal in the long run.
Perception change
A scientific mechanism should be developed
so as to represent those who are not well represented,
particularly the janjatis, dalits and madhesi community
in politics, bureaucracy and alike. Moreover, the people's
perception must change that things are wrong just because
of a particular class, caste or religion (e.g. Brahmins,
Chhetris and Hinduism). One must analyse his/her own weaknesses.
The 'nationalities' including the donors accuse the Nepali
bureaucracy of being usurped by Brahmins and Chhetris,
but mind you, Gurungs, Rais, Magars and others are little
interested in taking up government jobs.
In conclusion, every society has its
own weaknesses, but they have to be rectified collectively
with due sincerity by respecting each other. What we need
at the end of the day is: a cohesive, tolerant and harmonious
state and society. Overall, conflicts are resolved for
perpetual peace (Kantian peace) not for perpetual war.
Source: The Rising Nepal (01
September 2006)
Perspectives
of conflict resolution discussed <Top>
By Our Correspondent
LALITPUR, Aug. 27: A week-long
training on 'Systemic Conflict Transformation'' organised
by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), Nepal concluded Friday.
Two experts Jorgen Erik Klussmann and
Marco de Carvalho provided insights on the topic with
different practices to peace communicators at Godavari
village resort.
Participants discussed on various theoretical
perspectives of conflict resolution and its causes like
systemic approach, disorders and conflicts in the system,
role of conscience, history of conflict models and peace
models, current conflict transformation approaches, escalation
and de-escalation, de-escalation with non-violent communication
and current conflict sources in Nepal.
Speaking at the inaugural session head
of FES Nepal Office Dev Raj Dahal said that non-violent
communication could help formation of a rational consensus
on conflict that is essential for conflict moderation
and ultimately transformation.
"Media can pull together the connectors
of society so as to link different groups in the bonding.
Peace building largely rests on sustained peace education
to journalists and peace communicators who can simplify
arcane language of experts, researchers, and academics
to make message and information clear, precise, and understandable
to the ordinary public and create multiple constituencies
of positive peace,"Dahal added.
A total of 30 persons including journalists
participated in the programme.
Source: The Rising Nepal (28
August 2006)
Costs Of Conflict
<Top>
By: PROFESSOR HARI BANSH JHA
Conflict occurs mostly in poor countries.
It has a tendency to perpetuate once it erupts as pervasive
poverty makes societies more vulnerable to conflict; while
conflict creates more space for poverty. The violent conflict
is the prediction of future large scale violence. Even
in the post conflict situations, there are chances of
the war resumption. In the international arena, war resumes
within five years in 44 per cent of all post conflict
situations.
Nepal at the present time is also passing
through post conflict phase in which open warfare has
ceased to exist. However, the internal situation of the
country during this period is tense with major chances
of large scale violence to erupt again. This time is very
crucial. Experience of many other countries shows lapse
in ceasing the opportunity during this phase might cause
violence again. But careful handling of the situation
could help restore peace for which it is most essential
to launch economic development activities vigorously.
In light of the prevailing situation,
it was appropriate for the Centre for Economic and Technical
Studies (CETS) to organize two-day seminar on " R
ole of Civil Society in Conflict Mediation and Peace Building
in Nepal" on July 15 and 16, 2006 at Nepal Administrative
Staff College, Jawalakhel in cooperation with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
(FES), a research wing of Social Democratic Party of Germany.
During the seminar, experts on the subject of conflict
and peace discussed wide range of subjects related to
the role of civil society in conflict mediation and peace
building. Apart from the issue like UN's role in arms
management, the participants also discussed such aspects
as economic costs of conflict and media's role in peace
building.
It was found that ever since the eruption
of conflict in Nepal in 1996 as many as15,000 people have
been killed. Nearly 270,000 people are believed to have
been displaced and 1.5 million youth have been forced
to migrate to various countries for security, safety and
livelihood. Besides, 1,500 VDC buildings have been partially
or completely destroyed. Several rural bridges, schools,
communication installations, district level government
offices, police posts and private properties have been
damaged.
During the period 1990-2000, the GDP
growth rate in Nepal was 4.8 per cent, which declined
perceptibly to 2.6 per cent when the conflict escalated
between 2001 and 2005. This resulted into annual economic
loss of GDP by 2.2 per cent. In monetary terms, R s. 92.5
billion is estimated to have been lost between 1991 and
2005.
Furthermore, the development expenditure
recorded annual growth rate of 0.7 per cent between 1990
and 2000 at 1994-95 price. But it declined by 4.6 per
cent between 2001 and 2005. R eversely, the actual defense
expenditure which recorded 4.8 per cent between 1990 and
2000 at 1994-95 price grew spectacularly by nearly 12
per cent over the period 2001-2005.
The GDP growth rate in the current fiscal
year 2005-06 declined to as low as 1.9 per cent from 2.7
per cent last year, which is largely due to the cumulative
effective of conflict. There has also been human and capital
flight from the conflict affected regions. Nearly 20 per
cent of the male working age population had to leave certain
affected districts. The conflict also dampened private
sector investment and confidence owing to insecurity and
at the same time lowered public investment caused by the
curtailment of development spending. Sales of the private
sector reduced by 20 to 25 per cent in the rural market.
Hence, to ensure that violent conflict
does not erupt in Nepal again it is essential that the
vicious circle of conflict and poverty is broken through
economic development. Development activities not only
provide an opportunity to different groups to work together
but it also makes them forward looking rather than looking
at the past. Any job providing alternative to fighting
not only provides a new identity but it also has a tendency
to forget the feeling of revenge of the past. It is the
degree of economic development that can determine the
possibility of occurrence of shooting and looting. Generation
of massive employment opportunities through developmental
activities and distribution of its fruits among different
groups can largely break the chances of renewing conflict.
The rebel groups need to trade war and
weapons for work and employment. These people should learn
to make best use of new skills to reintegrate and contribute
to peacetime workforce. Besides, seed money also needs
to be given the women, young and disabled for starting
business, small enterprises, learning trades and finding
new jobs for which vocational training should be provided
by the government institutions, NGOs, and religious groups.
Micro and small enterprises should be developed and employment
intensive work program be initiated.
In Mozambique , over 9,000 ex-combatants
were provided skills-training courses and they were also
given essential toolkits to start their own businesses.
Over 70 per cent of these trained persons were employed
and 600 micro-enterprises were created. However, some
of these activities are so expensive that the resource-constrained
country like Nepal cannot afford to make all needed investment.
Hence, apart from the government, the donors, private
sector and the civil society should join hands together
to mitigate the problem.
The civil society could also help create
Multi-donor Development Fund to support development activities.
Besides, they could lobby and advocate at the national
and international levels for debt write off of Nepal as
this country is heavily indebted and its per capita income
is too low (US $ 160 in 2004 as per World Development
R eport 2006). The per capita debt in this country is
N R s. 13,000, which needs to be waived in the post-conflict
situation so that the expected resources are diverted
to the development activities.
Nepal 's model of development during
the post-conflict situation should also be based on the
development of power. If this country has to be developed,
massive power generation through hydro-power projects
is unavoidable as there is immense scope of its development
at micro, small, medium and mega levels. Nepal, if at
all it follows this model, it can not only provide livelihood
support to the population affected by the conflict but
could also get rid of the insurgency related problem for
ever once the poverty is rooted out from the country through
the development of power.
Consolidation of peace should go simultaneously
with activities related to reconstruction and development.
It will not be wise enough to wait for the reconstruction
and development plans to take its course till the political
processes are over. If the state is not able to provide
the general people means to improve their livelihood through
reconstruction and development, the high pitch of April
revolution is likely to wear off and the people will be
disenchanted and disillusioned with this system as well
in not too distant future.
(Professor Jha is Economist and Executive
Director of Centre for Economic and Technical Studies,
CETS)
Source: Spotlight (04-10 August
2006)
State Position
on CA, Minister Thakur Tells Govt <Top>
Lalitpur, July 16
Minister for
Agriculture and Cooperatives Mahantha Thakur said the
responsibility to clear confusions regarding constituent
assembly (CA) lies with the government.
“We all
are talking about the constituent assembly but nobody,
including the government, is clear about the process and
other details of it, though we believe that it is the
only solution of the present crisis,” he said.
He was addressing
a two-day seminar on Role of Civil Society in Conflict
Mediation and Peace Building in Nepal, organised by the
Centre for Economic and Technical Studies (CETS)
in cooperation with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES)on Saturday.
He further appreciated the role of civil
society members and urged them to keep up the same vigil
on political changes which, he said, are “easy to
bring about”. What is difficult, he said, is to bring
about changes regarding social, ethic, lingual and regional
issues; so one has to keep fighting for equal representation
in the government. He said an interim government has become
essential for a political solution.
Civil society movement leader Dr Sundar
Mani Dixit claimed that the government is interested neither
in making the talks a success nor in holding election
to a constituent assembly.
“The government is now in the hands
of such people who never want any solution. They want
to play games in the fluid political situation and keep
things on the boil forever,” he said.
He also warned that the government is
trying to “chase the Maoist talks team away”
and “rule infinitely” on the basis of an “illegitimate”
parliament.
Presenting a paper, Dr. Bishnu Raj Upreti,
a conflict expert, said success or failure of the UN (in
arms management) entirely depends upon the commitment,
willingness and cooperation of the government and Maoists.
Prof. Hari Bansh Jha, the executive
director of CETS, said the process of consolidation of
peace should proceed simultaneously with actvities related
to reconstruction and development.
Source: The Himalayan Times (16
July 2006)
Revitalising
SAARC <Top>
DEPUTY Prime Minister and Minister
for Foreign Affairs, speaking at the inaugural session
of a two-day seminar on "Expansion of SAARC: Challenges
and Opportunities", organised by the Institute of
Foreign Affairs and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, the other
day, said that the regional body's expansion will give
wider shape to the association and greatly contribute
in realising the region's socio-economic development.
The good intention with which SAARC was established to
foster and increase economic cooperation in the region
has yet to be realised.
Time and again, summits have been postponed,
and the speed with which cooperation should have been
undertaken has been painfully slow. DPM Oli also mentioned
that the achievements of the SAARC did not match the aspirations
of the people of the region. This is rather unfortunate
as much hope is pinned on this regional organisation for
the upliftment of the socio-economic status of the people
living in the region. Despite the slow pace, the association
has been able to notch a few commendable achievements
with the development of an institutional and legal framework
as well as initiatives for cooperation in certain areas.
Moreover, agreement on the South Asian Free Trade Area
(SAFTA) has been a significant achievement for liberalising
trade, services and investment and mutually reinforcing
the drive for poverty alleviation and economic development.
On the occasion, international relations experts, strategists
and policy makers discussed the various permutations and
combinations in expanding SAARC. Herein, it would be worthwhile
noting that Afghanistan is to formally join the association
at its fourteenth summit. This means that SAARC has gained
recognition internationally.
The SAARC initiative in South Asia was
hailed when it was established. People had expected it
to be a dynamic body that would build cooperation among
the member countries to tackle the common problems of
poverty and economic disparity. Home to over one-fifth
of humanity, South Asia is still struggling to meet the
basic needs of its people. Due to one reason or another,
the association has not been able to meet the expectations.
However, it is evident that there is consensus among the
member nations to make SAARC more active. This commitment
may reflect soon with SAARC gearing for socio-economic
development through greater cooperation among the member
states. Only when that state is reached, the existence
of SAARC can be rightly justified.
Source: The Rising Nepal (1 July
2006)
USA and Korea
keen to get observer status in SAARC: DPM Oli <Top>
A senior Nepali official has said
that the USA and Republic of Korea have expressed interest
to join the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) as observers.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony of
the two day regional seminar on “The expansion of
SAARC: Challenges and Opportunities,” organized in
Lalitpur on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign
Minister K. P. Sharma Oli said with the granting of observer
status to China and Japan by the 13th summit, SAARC has
attracted the attention of the rest of the world. He said
the USA and the Republic of Korea have also expressed
desire for observer state status with SAARC, which is
yet another manifestation of the SAARC potentials. He
said the collaboration and cooperation to SAARC from the
big economies of Japan and China could be instrumental
in energizing and electrifying the process of economic
development in the region.
Deputy Prime Minister Oli further said
the agreement on the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA)
that came into force since 1st January 2006 can be considered
as a major milestone in the economic journey of SAARC.
He said the vision of regional economic integration is
expected to take concrete shape after the creation of
the South Asian Economic Union (SAEU) by 2020. Emphasis
on poverty alleviation is on focus with the adoption of
the SAARC Development Goals and the SAARC Plan of Action
on Poverty Alleviation. People of South Asia feel much
closer today than ever before because of the exchange
of visits and interactions among themselves, said Oli.
Addressing the function, deputy Speaker
of the House of Representatives Mrs. Chitra Lekha Yadav
said with two decades into existence, SAARC had become
fully mature and it was time to evaluate what it has achieved
so far and where it failed miserably. She said future
development will be right-based, demand-driven and highly
politicized. She said only an inclusive cooperation could
build SAARC's bright future. Mrs. Yadav said SAARC should
strengthen partnership culture at various levels in defining
its vision. She added that political space within SAARC
needed to be expanded in order to promote cooperation
in the areas of socio-economic development.
Head of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung
(FES) in Nepal, Dev Raj Dahal, said Afghanistan's entry
into SAARC had ensured the integrity of South Asian strategic
geography and set a connection with the Middle East and
Central Asia. He said SAARC needs to make major investment
in human resource development and formulate a regional
strategy to train skilled workforce to match with knowledge-based
economy. The current economic dynamism of Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC), due to capital and natural resource surplus
and expanding labor market opportunities, provides the
South Asian governments an incentive to widen the base
of remittance economy, trade, foreign direct investment
and market opportunities, he added.
Mr. Dahal further said expansion of
regional cooperation has disadvantages if internal coherence,
effectiveness and symmetry of information are not properly
attuned, opportunities for mutual interests remain vaguely
defined and policy coordination suffers due to structural
and institutional barriers. Successful progress in the
region is vitally linked to the resiliency of the member
states, markets and civil society groups, all acting in
a common spirit to optimize the prospect for shared effort
towards security, peace, progress and identity of South
Asia.
The two-day seminar, being organized
by the Institute of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with
FES, has brought together scholars from Nepal, India,
Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, among others.
Source: www.nepalnews.com
(29 June 2006)
Seven Months
in Nepal – a small experience report <Top>
Sylvia Ehrhardt, Berlin, Germany
At the beginning of November 2005 I
had the chance of taking part in an internship by the
German organization called Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in
Nepal. I have got to know the only Hindu realm with the
highest mountain of the world during my several trekking
tours some years before. Every time I have enjoyed my
staying in Nepal. But now I have the chance to know the
daily life of the Nepali citizenship far away from the
tourist area. Therefore I was flying in the plane with
a big anticipation and I was very excited what will happen
in the next seven months (after finishing my internship
I was able to stay a little bit longer in Nepal to go
on trekking tour, visit friends and so on. So I was totally
seven months here.)
The first impression from the Nepali
mentality I have got at the airport in Kathmandu: after
landing about 120 passengers had looked for their packages.
Nobody knew why but our aircraft was loaded in Doha only
with about one third of the luggage. The rest stayed in
Doha, the capital of Qatar. Also two hours delayed we
landed in Kathmandu. After security checking we were waiting
for our packages. But the conveyor belt stopped after
10 minutes. Further 15 minutes were passed away and nothing
had happened. Now the first passengers became restless
and asked the airport personal. But they did not have
any answer or idea respectively.
After the next 20 minutes everybody
was sure that no package would come today.
Now everybody went to the lost and found
office. One man was sitting there – masses came to
him – and everybody had the same wish. But he kept
cool and asked every single passenger for their luggage:
the size, color etc. Communication problems did also their
own. But suddenly I had to laugh only: in Germany such
a big time expense will be unconceivable. But so different
to Nepal: here they take time for every single guest ;-)
Three hours later I left the airport
with my lost and found form. And I had the hope to get
my luggage on the next day. And really, 24 hours later
I have got it.
After this short adventure now back
to the internship by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES)
in Nepal. Dav Raj Dahal, the Head of the office, welcomed
me with the words: "our office is also your office."
A really good feeling. Nav Raj Dahal, the Administrative
Manager, offered me typical Nepali Bonbon - Hajmola Candy.
I expected sweet taste but it was spicy and so delicious.
They become my favorite sweets besides to Pusta Kari.
My main field of research works was
Gender issues. The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Nepal work
together with many different women organizations representing
different interests of women. Therefore I have got a unique
summary and insight into the social and political situation
of the women in Nepal. Besides I took part in various
seminars and workshops supporting by the FES.
From the political view I was traveling
to Nepal when the Maoist has announced a one-sided ceasefire.
It was broken up on 2 nd January 2006. A municipal poll
had taken place in Kathmandu on 8 th February. Two and
one week before there were many demonstrations organizing
by the Seven-Parties-Alliance. After finishing the ceasefire
the Maoist had also announced a lot of activities. That
means there were many bomb attacks outside and even inside
the Kathmandu-Valley on the 14 th January 2006. Therefore
the government intensified the military- and policepersons;
they had intended overnight curfews and on one day even
a whole-day-curfew. Five days before the elections the
Maoist have announced a new Bandha and only few cars,
buses or taxis you were able to see in the streets. But
in the evening after the poll they had broken up the bandha.
In these weeks of uncertainty the daily
life of most of the Nepali people was going on.
Every Nepal-Traveller knows surely the
hospitality. During a picnic trip with more than 200 Nepali
we were invited we could also got know their singing condition.
In the bus, during our stay in Pharping and after driving
back home the Nepali people were singing and dancing the
whole time. They are never got tired. After coming back
on the Ring road surrounding Kathmandu we had to wait
more than one hour in the street because of a blockade
for the Crown Prince Paras. All the Nepali people have
also danced and sung in the bus without thinking of a
break. And everything was doing without alcohol.
The warmth of Nepali people – like
during the picnic, weddings, and birthday parties, naming
or even in the streets – their sensitivity among
them and their spirituality made a deep impression on
me. I will take a lot of these to Germany with me. For
all I say dherai danyabad (Nepali language for thank you
very much) to the people in Nepal.
I want to say also thank you to Mr.
Ram Thapa, Honorary Consul in Germany as well as Dev Raj
Dahal and all FES staffs for their very good pieces of
advice and their helpfulness. I say dherai danyabad to
the Nepali people who gave me the chance to look into
their daily way of living and their thinking. So I have
learned a lot from them. I am looking forward to seeing
Nepal soon.
Source: The
Telegraph Weekly (5 April 2006)
Civic Education
for Youth highlighted <Top>
By A Staff Reporter
BANEPA, Kavre, April 2: Teachers of
schools, colleges and students of Kathmandu University
in this town on Saturday converged to discuss the importance
of civic education for youth in making them contribute
positively to the society and the nation.
Many of the participants at this seminar,
organized by Nepal Foundation for Advanced Studies in
cooperation with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, stressed the
need for improving the curriculum to transform the people
into conscious citizens.
Chandra Dev Bhatta, a Ph. D. student at the London School
of Economics presenting a paper on how civil society can
contribute to civic education said that Nepal needs a
politically secular civil society in urban areas and charity-oriented
civil society in rural areas. The rural civil society
groups which are involved in productive business and providing
service to the needy people are asking what is going on
with civil society in Kathmandu. The urban-based civil
society groups have grounded their one leg in politics
and another leg in civil society. Such groups cannot make
youth responsive to social needs and contribute to peace
building.
Shiv Raj Dahal had kicked off the discussion
with his presentation in which he blamed the political
leaders of ignoring the need of the society to turn "people
into citizens", so that they can responsibly contribute
positively to the society. It is this ignorance, he said,
was giving politics a bad name, a sector that came last
in the priority list of students pursuing higher education.
The consensus among participants was that political awareness
in students is not the problem, but making the schools
a ground for playing partisan politics is.
Earlier, the seminar began with NEFAS
Executive Director Ananda Srestha asking the participants
to unearth the problems in the civic education curriculum
they were teaching and ways to deal with them. The suggestions,
he said, would be included in a book being compiled for
the new civic education curriculum in schools.
FES representative in Nepal, Dev Raj
Dahal, highlighted the theme of the discussion saying
that students badly needed to know the roles that different
social actors play for them to find a suitable place in
society. Mere saying that people are sovereign is not
enough, he said and added that the Constitution must be
understood by students to be able to act in that manner,
Dahal added.
Participants lamented over the general
tendency in schools and colleges to emphasize rote learning
over practical knowledge and theoretical brainstorming
over vocational skills. The society, participants said,
was in a mess because youth lacking in the urge to do
something for the society were leaving the country in
hordes and leaving the rural areas a lack of change agents.
Their lack of disciplined approach in everything they
do, the school teachers said, meant that the void in civic
education was stark.
Other participants had grosser problems
at hand to deal with, for example their inability to run
their classes smoothly because of the general security
situation in the country. Still some others saw gross
interference by the political sector in the periodic modification
of the school curriculum to suit their partisan interests.
Professor of political science, Ram
Kumar Dahal of Tribhuvan University had chaired the discussions.
Source: The
Telegraph Weekly (5 April 2006)
Civic education
for youth discussed <Top>
By A Staff Reporter
BANEPA, Kavre, April 2: Teachers of schools in this town
and its surroundings gathered on Saturday to discuss the
importance of civic education for youth in making them
contribute positively to the society.
Many of the participants at this seminar,
organized by Nepal Foundation for Advanced Studies in
cooperation with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, stressed the
need for improving the school curriculum to turn the tide
in the society's favour.
They lamented over the general tendency
in schools to emphasize rote learning over practical knowledge
and theoretical brainstorming over vocational skills.
The society, participants said, was in a mess because
youth lacking in the urge to do something for the society
were leaving the country in hordes. Their lack of disciplined
approach in everything they do, the school teachers said,
meant that the void in civic education was stark.
Other participants had grosser problems
at hand to deal with, for example their inability to run
their classes smoothly because of the general security
situation in the country. Still some others saw gross
interference by the political sector in the periodic modification
of the school curriculum to suit their partisan interests.
Shiv Raj Dahal had kicked off the discussion
with his presentation in which he blamed the political
leaders of ignoring the need of the society to turn "people
into citizens", so that they can responsibly contribute
positively to the society. It is this ignorance, he said,
was giving politics a bad name, a sector that came last
in the priority list of students pursuing higher education.
The consensus among participants was that political awareness
in students is not the problem, but making the schools
a ground for playing partisan politics is.
Earlier, the seminar began with NEFAS
Executive Director Ananda Srestha asking the participants
to unearth the problems in the civic education curriculum
they were teaching and ways to deal with them. The suggestions,
he said, would be included in a book being compiled for
the new civic education curriculum in schools.
FES representative in Nepal, Dev Raj
Dahal, highlighted the theme of the discussion saying
that students badly needed to know the roles that different
social actors play for them to find a suitable place in
society. Mere saying that people are sovereign is not
enough, he said and added that the Constitution must be
understood by students to be able to act in that manner.
Professor Ram Kumar Dahal of Tribhuvan University had
chaired the discussions
Source: The Rising Nepal (3 April
2006)
Ongoing
Conflict & State's Delivery System <Top>
By Prof. Ananda
P. Srestha
Due to Nepal's rugged topography, delivery
of goods and services to remote parts of the kingdom even
during normal times has always been a major problem and
an issue that has generated much discussion. In today's
conflict situation, the public distribution system has
not only raised additional concern but has further fueled
the debate regarding its efficiency and functioning. Therefore,
it is but natural in the present near civil-war situation
for questions to consistently crop up regarding the effective
supply of essential goods and services to the needy living
in the country's not so easily accessible Himalayan and
mountain districts.
It was with this issue in mind that
some time ago, Nepal Foundation for Advanced Studies (NEFAS)
with the cooperation of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES)
held a two-day national seminar on "Delivery of Goods
and Services to the Needy in a Conflict Situation in Nepal"
to look into and deliberate on the issue.
The matter acquires prominence in that
effective delivery of goods and services to the remote
parts of the country is not only a major component of
an economic system but also that it is a viable indicator
in testing the state's capability, degree of responsiveness
and accountability to the people at large especially,
the vulnerable, disadvantaged and marginalized groups.
This becomes even more so in today's democratic context
as the protection and promotion of human rights of such
groups, their right to life and the right to basic needs
becomes particularly important.
Effective delivery of basic necessities
and services therefore, and that too in a mountainous
and severely landlocked country like Nepal, needs to bear
more responsibilities in serving the interests of the
people in the changed national, regional and international
context. Though the democratically elected governments
after 1990 encouraged the process of supplying goods and
services to the remote parts of the country, the situation
after 1996 following the Maoists People's War against
the state changed dramatically, thus posing serious challenges
to the country's already weak and inept distribution system.
From the discussions that ensued, it
became abundantly clear that in today's conflict ridden
situation, the goods and services delivered are in general
irregular, sub-standard and in most cases irresponsible
and inadequate as against the people's needs and expectations.
Moreover, the political and administrative corruption,
frequent Nepal bandhs, Valley bandhs and the country's
main highways being closed by the Maoists for long periods
have gravely affected the distribution system.
The targeted groups for whom the goods
are intended therefore, have suffered much. If during
the 1990 to 1995 period the needy groups faced hardships
due to the crisis of governance that brought about political
instability in the country, the post 1996 period to date,
following the Maoist insurgency has rendered the situation
worse. As a welfare state, Nepal must effectively supply
the basic commodities particularly to the rural poor in
remote areas but the fluid political situation in the
country has made the task tremendously difficult.
Due to poor governance, democracy therefore,
has little to offer to these needy people except that
the tedious parroting of poverty reduction/alleviation
remains more pronounced within the democratic framework.
If on the one hand, due to the growing population there
is a short supply of food, the inefficient and ineffective
distribution system has rendered the situation worse,
particularly in remote and conflict prone areas. This
is seen especially in the supply of goods including food
from surplus areas to deficit ones.
The capacity of Nepal Oil Corporation,
National Trading Limited and Nepal Food Corporation and
even Salt Trading Corporation in the course of discussions,
was pointed out to be pathetically limited. The need for
drastic changes in their institutional set up to be in
tune with modern times especially, in relation to the
public supply system was highlighted so as to bring about
an effective distribution chain linking the remote areas.
That even now, the distribution network covers only remote
District Headquarters, and that rural areas remain untouched
by the service, makes it amply clear that the country's
distribution network is still "ancient" and
has stubbornly remained unchanged over the years.
Another major shortcoming that came
up in the course of the discussions is that the services
do not assure quality, that there is no cost reduction
scheme and that there are several barriers in the transport
of commodities. The severe shortage of good godowns in
remote areas, which severely effects cost and quality
of distribution and the lack of transport subsidy provided
to all the necessary items consumed in remote areas, also
came up as additional cases in point.
That distributed items in remote districts
are diverted to government employees and powerful better
off people at the cost of the poor and needy who cannot
even afford to pay for such subsidized goods is said to
have further complicated matters. Besides, the hindrance
to free movement of goods including food within the country
and barriers to such transport, including local charges
levied by different districts en route was seen as an
additional problem that needed to be discouraged by the
government.
It was also categorically pointed out
that Nepal's essential commodities supply arrangement
differs with that of other countries in that the Public
Distribution System in Nepal does not provide any price
subsidy as in other countries. That Nepal is even withdrawing
transport subsidy on food items where there is road access
came in for a lot of criticism. Obstacles that have stubbornly
subsisted from the start and not looked into by the state
such as problems in institutional network, connectivity
with the market, legal problems etc. also came up as points
for policy recommendations in the future.
Under the present circumstances, it
is imperative that the government formulate policies and
strategies to facilitate the distribution system network,
negotiate with donor agencies for additional funds if
necessary and give priority in connecting all the district
headquarters at the earliest. But before this becomes
a reality, a conducive atmosphere for implementation of
the same needs to be created. Therefore, it is vital that
the warring factions see sense even at this late hour,
come to a basic understanding of sorts, sit at the negotiating
table and set the peace ball rolling. Until this happens,
things will not look up. The poor and the needy will continue
to be trapped between the ongoing conflict, on the one
hand and by an inept public distribution
system on the other.
Source:
The Rising Nepal (19 March 2006)
Building
Peace Getting Stakeholders Involved <Top>
Somnath Lamichhane
Party-sponsored upheavals are marring
the aspirations of general people. The political leaders,
while in power, were unable to handle the politico-social
situation and address the problems related to caste and
ethnic discrimination, gender inequality, geographical
disparity and the like. Structural violence triggered
by the Maoists and the political instability created by
both the Maoists and seven agitating political parties
have paralysed the democratic process of the country.
Losses
The cost of this ongoing violence is
indeed hard to quantify, such has been the irresistible
losses in these last ten years. The insurgency was defective
right from the beginning, as it had pursued a failed and
bankrupt ideology. In addition, it has only brought misery
and human sufferings. During these ten years, thousands
have been killed, tortured and maimed, while many more
have been forced to leave their birth places, hundreds
of thousands live in constant fear of persecution at the
hands of Maoist. Are these so called revolutions meaningful
to the 21st century people? Yet these warlords (Maoists)
are not willing to disarm, come to the negotiation table,
or follow a peaceful path in the near future.
Their intentions are hazy, ambiguous
and deep. In these ten years that they have tried to a
one-party communist state and worked hard to show the
world that such a state is possible in the 21st century.
But abetting the Maoists in this endeavour have been the
political parties who have of late become nothing more
than the playing cards of the Maoists.
If we see the history, Maoists are throwing
different cards to beguile the entire community that believe
in democracy, human rights and rule of law. In fact, parties
have joined hands with Maoists to safeguard their tainted
and corrupt images, which they committed in the past.
The faulty roles played by both the parties and the Maoists
have damaged the nerve system of Nepal's polity, economy
and society by generating distrust and division among
the people.The Maoists are making a mockery of everyone
by acting as an ultra liberal and a protector of human
rights.
Changing position
Now, the time has come to address this
grave situation faced by the fellow citizens with utmost
sincerity. Though it is very difficult, all the concerned
forces should understand the reality of the country. In
this context, the parties in the conflict should change
their positions and try to understand the grievances of
the people. People-centered politics and the sight of
the tragedy befalling the common man should make everyone
ponder over the issue at hand. In this context, we must
assess the society in minute detail and seek a mechanism
for social change.
Since Nepal is very fragile due to its
socio-political condition, there must be internal understanding
among the forces involved in the conflict. For this, people
must stand in the foremost because they are the most tortured
and victimized in these ten years. Joergen Klussmann,
a German instructor for peace, says that unless the conflicting
parties do not change their position, they will hardly
understand problems faced by the family, society and the
nation. Here, only concerted efforts will enable one to
connect with a bigger picture and achieve practical solutions
to the most complex of issues. Addressing issues through
a constellation or joint efforts can lead to resolutions
that move people and their situations forward with renewed
energy.
Peace communicators
Bert Hellinger, a German family systems
therapist and philosopher, has come up with the idea that
systemic constellation and joint efforts can help to understand
the family, society and the nation and recommends reducing
problems through them. In addition, peace communicators,
with the help of a systemic transformation process, can
contribute greately to addressing the anguish of the general
people and reducing the existing violence and conflict.
Dedicated, politically unbiased and
people-friendly peace communicators can win the hearts
of feeble, war-torn and deserted families. We know that
the most of the political leaders and urban-centered people
are concerned only about their selfish interests. Peace
is the foremost necessity of the general people residing
in the villages. Peace communicators can definitely raise
the voice of these sufferers with utmost transparency,
ventilate the reality to the decision-makers and promote
peace among the families.
During these years, media people and
some humanitarian agencies have tried to de-escalate the
conflict and bring about a cease-fire. Efforts have been
made at peace education and peace-building. The protracted
conflict with its multi-polar and multi-layered nature
has increased the tremendous responsibilities of all the
stakeholders in the society. The ability to understand
the root causes of the conflict from different standpoints
and presenting them in an independent and professional
manner to an attentive public can play a vital role in
increasing the possibility of restoring normalcy and peace.
Peace communicators can play the role of a watchdog by
taking a critical look at the conflicting sides while
analyzing the causes and consequences of a conflict and
generating public opinion and peace action for conflict
transformation.
Mr. Lamichhane is associated with RSS.
Source: The Rising Nepal (18
March 2006)
Is SOCIALISM
dead? <Top>
BY RITU RAJ SUBEDI
Democracy: An Introduction
of Democratic Practice;
By Professor Dr Thomas Meyer, University of Dortmund
Academy for Political Education of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
(FES), Germany;
Published by FES, Indonesia Office; Price not mentioned;
Page 57
In this twenty-first century, ‘democracy’
has become a cherished word for both its foes and friends.
With the end of Second World War and Cold War, democracy
emerged victorious and unrivalled beating communism, fascism
and Nazism. Thus, democracy that recognizes periodic elections,
rule of law, human rights, free media and freedom to expressions
and associations, has already proved itself a better political
system.
Dr Meyer first tries to prove the supremacy
of democracy. He argues that democracy is not a personal
property of the rich and the elites but a system better
ensures a just distribution of wealth than any other political
system.
"Democracy is not a luxury to be
indulged in by rich countries citizens but an indispensable
instrument of control for ensuring a development that
satisfied the basic needs in every country," he writes.
He strongly opposes the idea that democracy
is a by-product of the western civilization and a ‘dubious
legacy of colonial rule.’ This line of argumentation
was used as an objection to democracy in the debates of
the 80’s and 90’s of last century.
He says that ancient people in Africa
practiced it for conflict resolution while it existed
in the form of local self-governance in the South and
South East Asia long before it was developed by the West.
He further states that in the long history of the West
from the spread of Christianity (since the 4th century)
to the bourgeois revolutions of the 18th century, democracy
had virtually no role to play. "Democracy is founded
on a sober, realistic conception of man that is not dependent
on any particular cultural, ideological and religious
base."
His presentation of four theories and
two model of democracy are noteworthy. According to him,
currently there are four theories of democracy -- economy
theory, radical grassroots theory, populist media and
participative party. The models are – presidential
or parliamentary democracy and representative or direct
democracy.
In economic theory, political elites
offer alternative solutions to the political problems
and people choose between them while the radical grass
root democracy calls for the direct self-government of
the governed to satisfy the full claim of democracy. In
the populist media democracy, the mass media, particularly
television, greatly influences the public opinion and
the actions of politicians and political institutions.
But author defends participative party democracy, in which
political parties can effectively coordinate all political
levels through uniform actions, thereby giving a goal-oriented
shape to entire polity.
Likewise, his distinction between Left
and Right parties, and liberal and social democracy is
crucial to understand the current politics in sophisticated
democracies of West and the US. Parties that stand for
a free market economy, the exercise of authority, the
acceptance of inequality and rigorous law and order policy
are considered to belong the Right. Parties that, on the
other hand, support a more liberal law and order policy
besides backing the welfare state, political intervention
in the economy and greater equality are considered to
be part of the Left, he writes.
The author points out religious-political
fundamentalism as a temptation for weak democracies with
corrupt political elites. His description of ‘defective’
democracy is tantamount to our democracy that undergoes
through various jerks and jolts in its transitional phase.
He writes: "Defective democracies are characterized
by the fact that although they have created an important
basis for democracy by introducing the universal and equal
right to vote, they either do not or only very inadequately
fulfill democratic norms in other important respects."
Dr Meyer finally points out that democracy
is both robust and vulnerable: "It is robust because
it can withstand and process conflicts of interests and
values that could break dictatorships. It is vulnerable
because it sis not sustainable without people reposing
confidence in it and without a practical implementation
which is in consonance with its spirit."
The book is extremely useful to know
the basics of democracy. But it would have been more reading
worthy if he had presented the particular examples in
describing his theories and models. He has not also touched
on one of the most perplexing questions: Why did democracy
fail to save mankind from the horrific wars? If the democratic
system is unrivalled and the best, why does it frequently
fail to prevent its practitioners from engaging into wars?
The First and Second World Wars took place when the Europeans
were practicing liberal and social democracy. The problem
of wars remained a tough philosophical discourse in every
century. Is that democracy allows ‘the deadliest
and harshest’ means to gain its cherished goals?
If not so, how did George Bush, president of the US that
champion democracy in our time, went to war against Iraq?
Is it vulnerability of democracy when the elected presidents
and the prime ministers succumb to power as their military
and economic power reach at critical level? The modern
theories of democracy must give satisfying answers to
these questions. Likewise, Dr Meyer does not bother to
talk about the fate of socialism in the 21st century.
If the classical communism is dead, has socialism also
lost its individual identity and found place in the wider
framework of democracy?
Source: People's
Review (16-22 March 2006)
Strengthening
supply lines during conflict <Top>
BY OUR CORRESPONDENT
Academicians and policymakers gathered
in Lalitpur on Friday to discuss ways to improve the supply
system, particularly in remote areas at a time of conflict.
Although the academic discussion organized
by Nepal Foundation for Advanced with Friedrich Ebert
Stiftung assistance centered chiefly around the different
paradigms and ideologies that guide the system, there
was no dearth of voices unearthing the hard reality in
today’s arrangements for supplying the basic needs
to the people.
Prof. Guna Nidhi Sharma tried to wean
the discussions away from the ideological left-right divide
and put it squarely on the pragmatic problem of how to
reach the needy. Participants did agree that the need
to reach every nook and corner was the most basic question
rather than allegiance to the kind of vehicle to do so.
If the market is better at it, let it carry out the job,
and if it does not want to do so, let the state or the
civil society take care of it was the consensus that came
out of the brainstorming.
Veteran retired civil servant Vidya
Nath Nepal described the existing state of the supply
lines in the public distribution system. He had a hard
time fielding off queries as participants dealt with him
as if he was there to defend the government’s supply
system.
Participants would not let go of the
fact that corruption and curtailing went on in the subsidy
regime and the need to address them. The passion subsided
a bit when the presenter said that the subsidy in foodstuff
was too small to warrant much discussion and that too
applied only for the transportation of the 50,000 odd
quintals of rice. Perhaps the most passionate of all discussions
took place during Vidya Bir Singh Kansakar’s presentation
as he had provided the geo-political angle to the supply
system in the country saying that the remote areas portrayed
as the most resource starved are in fact loaded with riches
waiting to be exploited. He also proposed that the new
supply routes in the remote mountainous areas be charted
through Tibet of China rather than using the costly airlifts
being used today.
The second day’s discussion began
with Jagannath Ojha’s portrayal of the existing institutional
and system arrangements responsible for governance and
the weaknesses hampering public service delivery. His
warning was that since in some parts of the country the
government’s delivery system was being challenged
by the Maoists as their sphere of governance, the government
had a much more important task ahead than just supplying
the necessity- that of proving its legitimacy.
His suggestion that civil society be
used as a vehicle particularly drew flak from some of
the commentators who accused the donors of fuelling the
conflict rather than trying to solve it.
Prof. Ram Kumar Dahal talked about the
linkage between development work and the supply of basic
needs in the form of wage goods to the people of the remote
mountainous districts.
Earlier, NEFAS Executive Director Ananda
P Srestha introduced the theme of the seminar calling
on the participants to provide some useful academic input
for policymakers to work in conflict areas. Dev Raj Dahal,
head of FES in Nepal, had followed saying that it was
the inability of the policymaker to deal with policy challenges
arising from the need to manage the varied interests of
the state, market and civil society that produced the
conflict in the first place.
Source: People's
Review (16-22 March 2006)
Donors creating
disparity: Experts <Top>
By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Mar11: The international donors have played
a key role in intensifying the conflict in the society
by lopsided distribution of resources according to the
researchers, development experts and representative from
civil societies. The role being played by the donors in
creating disparity should be brought into spotlight, they
said at an interaction programme here organized by the
Nepal Foundation for Advanced Studies (NEFAS) today.
Prof. Rabindra Khanal said while interacting
with the other researchers added that the donor's money
visibly triggered disparity in the society which has culminated
into conflict. Social scientist and strategist Dev Raj
Dahal said that governance arrangements were crucial to
enable diverse people with various preferences, resources
and stakes into the outcome of contractual arrangements
and reduce the transactional costs.
All the actors of governance - the state,
the market and the civil society have their own mechanism
of supply delivery and achieve synergy from their compatible
strategies, he said. A polycentric arrangement of service
delivery requires sound coordination, communication and
collective action among the actors, he added.
Speaking at the concluding session of
the two day seminar on "Delivery of Goods and Services
to the Needy in a Conflict Situation in Nepal", Dahal
also added that donors had contributed to spark disparity
in the society to a large extent.
Prof. Gunanidhi Sharma while speaking
about the effective delivery system described the role
of the state and the private sector.
Jagannath Ojha, a researcher from the
Ministry of Local Development while presenting a working
paper on 'Institutional Arrangements for Distribution
of Basic Goods and Services in Conflict Area of Nepal'
spoke about the general trend of distribution system in
the country. Ram Kumar Dahal said that the distribution
mechanism had been deeply marred by corruption.
He also described how corruption has
weakened the distribution of essential goods to rural
and needy areas.
Source: The Rising Nepal (12
March 2006)
Poverty,
malnutrition raising rural mortality <Top>
By a staff reporter
KATHMANDU, Mar 10: Poverty, malnutrition and unhygienic
living conditions in the remote areas are the major factors
contributing to high incidence of morbidity and mortality
in the remote areas. Moreover the on going insurgency
has heavily affected the supply system in those areas
since past couple of years, said economists and development
experts.
Speaking at a seminar on "Delivery
of Goods and Services to the Needy in a Conflict Situation
to Nepal" organized by the Nepal Foundation for Advanced
Studies (NEFAS) they spoke about the role of the state
in delivering goods and services in the remote and conflict
hit areas.
The effective delivery of goods and
services to the country's remotest parts is also an indicator
to gauge the state's capability, degree of responsiveness
and accountability to the common people, they noted. They
also blamed the government for turning a deaf ear to the
needs of people living in the remote areas in the country.
'The supply system has worsened since last one year',
they said.
Prof. Gunanidhi Sharma while presenting
a paper on "State Vs Market in Social Supply Nets"
observed that Nepal society is getting continuously transformed
into a modern consumer society changing behaviour of the
system of consumption with effect on total supply comprising
domestic production plus imports.
Prof. Sharma further said that the public
actions in the social supply nets in Nepal cover the government
strategies enhancing domestic production found in policies,
programmes and planning relating to all the activities
in primary, secondary and tertiary sectors.
On top of that, according to Sharma
the direct delivery programmes including the public distribution
system (PDS) engaged in the supply of selective essential
goods and services at official process at both the accessible
and remote areas.
Sharma mentioned that the direct government
action to provide needy the relief or economic security
through public distribution system and market streamlining
too seems totally mishandled by the worst governance which
instead of becoming publicly responsible is loyal to central
authority.
Development expert Dr. Vidya Bir Singh
Kansakar while speaking about the "Remote Areas of
Nepal: Reality, Potentiality and Prospects of Development
and Delivery of Basic Services and Infrastructures"
said that proportion of malnourishment among the children
below five years of age in most of the districts is higher
than average for the country due to the shortage of cereal
calorie per day in most of the districts expect Manang,
Mustang, Rukum and Rasuwa.
He also claimed that the ongoing insurgency
had further aggravated the situation in the remote areas.
Vidya Nath Nepal, former secretary and
economist said that the distribution of goods including
food items and services in the country has confronted
a number of challenges over the years.
There is a limitation in the supply
of agricultural land for production of food crops. The
productivity of per hector land is also not increasing
significantly. Nepal has been facing food deficit problem
that has been solved by imports, he said.
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