In case you don't "get it" - a Politician has landed in a village to share the New Constitution. The villagers are more interested in the helicopter.
Recap?
For those who walked into this drama late but want a recap, here's a news guy explaining it on video. Yes, it's in English.
The Kathmandu Post. Sept 29th. In Kathmandu. throughout the country last year, the police were fining bus drivers who allowed this, in an effort to improve bus safety.
The supply of petrol, LP and jet fuel continues to be interrupted. Yesterday, one guy criticized me for calling it a "blockade" at one point, and another guy criticized me for not calling a blockade. My view? the supply will be disrupted as long as the Nepalis of the Terai do not accept the constitution written by the Nepalis of the hill-country - Kathmandu. A lot of anti-India sentiment is being whooped up in Kathmandu, but when the people of Kathmandu get over their denial and look at the issues, this same resentment can easily turn against those in power who published this failed document.
Orange is the color of Hinduism - that's why it's in the Indian flag. Step over some orange thread and let's see the news about petrol in Nepal.
the broad boulevard in front in Singha Durbar where the government bureaucracy does its job. the queues are longer today. They've got enough gas for a week. A friend told on FB that he got out of town on public bus to Dang in western Nepal; just before Dasain. It was uneventful except for the need to change buses once. In-country traffic is not halted, just - nobody-in-nobody-out.
The Siege continues and Kathmandu faces a petrol crisis this week
Anup Kaphle, a journalist who is "Deputy Foreign Editor, BuzzFeed, London", posted an update on FaceBook about activities at the border:
WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE NEPAL-INDIA BORDER?
For the past few days, trucks carrying everyday supplies have not entered Nepal from major checkpoints at the Indian border. Many Nepalis, including government officials have called this an "unofficial economic blockade" imposed by India.
Here is what I was able to find out based on a couple of calls this afternoon.
Mitra Lal Regmi, head of customs for Nepal government at the Birgunj-Raxaul border — it accounts for more than half of the trade between Nepal and India — says he last spoke to his Indian counterparts on Thursday, after which not a single truck has been allowed to pass through into India. Indian officials, according to him, say customs agents on Indian side have not been coming to work since they do not feel safe because of the ongoing protests. So, there is no one to clear those trucks and allow them to enter Nepal.
About those protests on the border that Indians say are causing disruption: Just hours after India released a second statement on Nepal's constitution on Wednesday — India for the first time hinted at difficulties at the border, even though protests were ongoing for past couple of months — Indian customs officials stopped doing their paperwork at the border, according to Bhusan Yadav, reporter for The Kathmandu Post in Birgunj, who lives about 4 kilometers away from the border. However, by that evening, they allowed trucks coming from Nepali side to enter India, Yadav told me.
Then on Thursday, a few hundred Madhesis who had been protesting against the constitution showed up at the border and staged a sit-in near a bridge, which falls under "no man's land" between India and Nepal. Nepali police used microphone to ask agitating parties to clear the bridge, saying they were obstructing incoming trucks, which was creating problems at the customs. At this point, according to Kathmandu Post's Yadav, protesters told Nepal police that they had no jurisdiction on "no man's land" and should go away. When Nepal police fired tear gas, the crowd dispersed, and then the group of 400-500 people fled across to the Indian side of the border.
Since then, these protesters, including Madhesi leaders like Rajendra Mahato, have been sitting on the Indian side and blocking the passage of trucks that need to enter Nepal. When I asked Indian embassy spokesperson Abhaya Kumar why India wasn't clearing protesters on its side of the border, he said the embassy is not aware of any such sit-ins on the Indian side of the border and that it is actually the truckers who have complained and expressed reluctance on entering Nepal fearing their safety.
"There is no official or unofficial blockade by India, the blockade is being caused by protesting Madhesis," Kumar said. "For the first couple of days, we even asked the truckers to cross the border but as protests intensified, we have stopped forcing the truckers to drive into Nepal."
Nepali petroleum tankers have been allowed to fill up at a handful of Indian oil depots but when they arrive at the Indian border, Indian customs officials have repeatedly cited security risks and stopped them from passing through. Abhaya Kumar at the Indian embassy also said that Indian television station that have sought to report on the protests in Madhesh and the border areas have been denied entry by Nepali police at the border.
Indian customs officials echo Indian embassy's statements. Kamlesh Kumar, the head of customs on the Indian side told Kathmandu Post's Yadav that they are unable to send trucks into Nepal because of the protesters.
However, according Ram Sharan Mahat, Nepal's finance minister, the Nepali government has guaranteed full security of trucks and tankers entering Nepal.
"We haven't had any reports of a single supply vehicle entering Nepal that was damaged or has been under threat from protesters," Mahat said.
The Kathmandu Post has reported that empty Nepali tankers that have crossed into the Indian side to refuel without any problems have been denied refueling.
A handful of trucks have been allowed to enter Nepal, but thousands of trucks and tankers simply haven't been allowed to pass. Nearly 900 trucks come into Nepal everyday through India at the Birgunj-Raxaul border — they carry diesel, petrol, raw materials, food, vegetables, fish, fruits which go as far as Kathmandu and Pokhara. On Sunday, 2 trucks carrying potatoes, 1 truck carrying tomatoes and 3 tankers with diesel fuel entered Nepal at the Nepalgunj border.
*Update: This post has been updated with further comments from Nepali government official.*
Bhairawaha solution - MOB versus MOB
In Bhairawaha yesterday, a large crowd of counter-demonstrators showed up at the protest there, and confronted the protesters that were blocking entry of trucks.
Alert: Rupandehi/Sep 29, Sthaaniya ko pratikar pachhi dharnakari le Belahiya naka chhade, hijo bata naka khulyo.
The obstructions at the customs points at the Nepal-India border at Bhairahawa have been removed on Monday afternoon after locals retaliated against the blockade imposed since the past four days.
The cadres of the agitating United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) had been blocking the entry of trucks and carriers transporting fuel and other supplies from India to Nepal by staging sit-in at the No Man's land along the border.
Hundreds of locals of Belhiya, the town bordering with India, took to the streets in retaliation against the protesters blocking the road leading into Nepal. The agitating cadres finally caved in and dispersed.
According to Lavanya Dhakal of Bhairahawa Customs Office, hundreds of freight carriers and trucks carrying supplies to Nepal have begun moving into Nepal after the blockade was removed.
(In other words, both sides are now getting mobilized. Instead of a riot between protesters and police, there will be riots between groups of protesters.
Not an improvement. )
Business Taking a hit
From Republica: http://myrepublica.com/...
KATHMANDU, Sept 28: Businesspeople and industrialists have said country's economy has been severely affected by the protest of Madhesi parties and the 'undeclared' trade blockade by India.Speaking at an interaction organized by Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI) in the capital on Monday, they warned that the current situation will have a long-term impact in country's economy. The industrialists and businessmen also called for resolving the current crisis at the earliest to save the economy from falling off a cliff.
....."Country's economy is passing through the worst time I have ever felt. Our industries have been closed for more than a week. There is no raw materials, no cash to pay the workers, and no petroleum products," Hari Bhakta Sharma, executive director of Deurali Janta Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd (DJPL) -- a leading pharmaceutical company of Nepal, said. "The protest and blockade is taking a toll on national economy. As this is a political problem, it should be resolved at the political level," Sharma, who is also the senior vice president Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), said.
Similarly, Shekhar Golchha, executive director of HH (Bajaj), also lamented lack of seriousness among political parties for resolving the current problem through talks. "We have met all the stakeholders. But we did not find any seriousness among both parties to resolve the current problem," Golchha, who is also the vice president of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), said. "If this problem is not resolved immediately, the damage on our business and the overall economy will be irreparable. This will hit the economy seriously in a way that we will not be able to stand back."
Also speaking at the interaction program, Biratnagar-based businessman Shyam Paudel said local businesspeople were on the verge of coming to the 'footpath'. "Because of the strike running since one and half months, we are not in a position to pay wages, minimum electricity charges and interest on bank loans. The government should come to our rescue," he added. - See more at: http://myrepublica.com/...
Loose Ends to tie up
The Prime Minister of Nepal visited Tikapur, the scene of a deadly attack August 25th in which nine police were murdered in cold blood during a "peaceful" protest. The killers are in custody and a report has been released, stating that each was paid 500 rupees and a dinner in their honor was held that evening. 500 rupees is five US Dollars. Note that in my blogs I called it "murder" from the beginning. It still is. The government had no choice but to send in the Army, which then over-reacted.
Dr Govinda KC, who has been on a hunger strike to protest corruption in the medical sector, has called it off. His issue is important but eclipsed by the petrol shortage.
The border agents are allowing truck that carry perishable vegetables (tomatoes, potatoes) to cross into Nepal, but not petrol except in small numbers.
Cable TV in Nepal has banned Bollywood MTV and Hindi Channels.
from BRB's twitter feed. @brb_laaldhwoj Baburam Bhatterai addressed the crowd in Janakpur but was cut short after twelve minutes. Since the earthquake, the politicians are making fewer unscripted public appearances.
Baburam Bhatterai, former Prime Minister who recently resigned from the ruling clique in solidarity with the Terai nepalis, visited Janakpur, to deliver a public speech.
JANAKPUR, Sept 29: Demonstrators have forced former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, who arrived here to announce his support to Madhesh protest, to cut short his visit on Tuesday. Bhattarai participated in a brief interaction with UCPN (Maoist) leaders Ram Kumar Sharma, Ram Chandra Jha, Ram Rijhan Yadav, Coordinator of Tarai Madhes National Campaign JP Gupta and some local leaders soon after his arrival by air. He then left for airport after addressing a program at Gopal Dharmashala for 12 minutes.Earlier today, the agitating Madheshi Front decided to allow Bhattarai to enter Janakpur on condition of setting the copies of the new constitution on fire. Despite the decision, he was greeted with black flags on his way to Janakpur from airport.He left for airport cutting short his speech after audiences urged him to burn copies of the constitution. Protesters later trashed leaders Jha, Yadav and Sharma for failing to keep up their words. Police rescued the leaders and kept them under its custody. - See more at: http://myrepublica.com/...
Hosts of the former PM were attacked after he was whisked away, the police intervened to protect them, and reportedly the crowd burned the stage from which he spoke.
FaceBook, Twitter and YouTube are serving as a proxy site for competing narratives from the nationalist anti-India side. Nobodyu is pro-India, but the main point of the other side is to address the grievances of the Nepalis in Terai.
Factoid: I learned that until twenty years ago, a person from the Terai needed a special in-country permit to visit Kathmandu.
Ganesh is "The Remover of Obstacles" - in Hindu puja the devotee often starts with supplications for his intercession on behalf of the person making the prayer. Nepal needs a Remover of Obstacles right about now. PS he does not run on petrol.
Analysis by Prashant Jha @Preshantktm
Mr. Jha is a Nepali journalist based in Delhi who has covered this extensively. At times he has been the focus of intense criticism from one side or the other - a flame war on Twitter. South Asian journalism is not for the meek. At this point his predictions for the reception granted the New Constitution were spot-on. He gave a newspaper interview yesterday, discussing the next steps. Here are some excerpts, but - please read the whole thing.
http://thediplomat.com/...
The Diplomat: Is Nepal’s new constitution a step forward or backward?
Jha: Nepal has had six constitutions so far and the problem in Nepal has not been writing the constitution but the ownership of constitutions. All the previous constitutions have not been owned by all sections of the society and all political forces. These constitutions have not been sustainable. Of course, there is a qualitative difference between the old ones and the new one. Previous constitutions were written by monarchs, but this has been written by elected people in the constituent assembly (CA). That is a positive difference.
The idea was that the CA would be a platform where people from the diverse social groups of Nepal would sit together and collectively participate in drafting a document and would have the same common rules for all. The idea was that the CA would bridge and overcome the social and ethnic divisions existing in Nepal. The idea was that the CA would create a political structure where different ethnic groups and social groups, particularly excluded ones, would get to exercise power and be a part of more inclusive order. Based on these principles, the CA has failed. It is a setback because the constitution is not owned by a substantial section of the country.
The Terai region in southern Nepal has been on strike for the last 40 days. The socially marginalized groups, like the Madhesis, who live mostly in the Terai area, Janajatis (indigenous people), and women have strong objection to the provisions of the constitution. They feel left out. So the constitution is not collectively owned by a large section of the citizenry. It represents a setback. It is not only the ownership, but also the process through which the constitution has been adopted that is questionable. The entire process has been hijacked by a few leaders, all belonging to the upper caste communities.
........
The last question is:
So this constitution won’t be sustainable?
This constitution, in the current form, is not going to sustain for long. This document has to go through substantial review to hold for long.
Outright Rumor: On FaceBook, a Nepali friend gave a list of amendments to the new constitution that will be considered within two weeks. I will not re-post until I have more solid info. He said "amendments after only twelve days is some kind of record."
8:53 AM PT: UPDATE: an excellent video from today's BBC NEWS.u want to pass through that crowd?
decide for yourself if you were a driver - would yo
http://www.bbc.com/...