कुलचन्द्र गौतम, सुबोधराज प्याकुरेल, कनकमणि दीक्षित

फ रक-फरक पृष्ठभूमि र पेसागत इतिहास भएका र स्वतन्त्र रूपले विभिन्न विषयमा आफ्ना अलग-अलग विचार र विश्लेषण प्रस्तुत गर्ने हामी तीन नागरिकलाई माओवादीका अध्यक्ष निकट पत्रिका ‘लालरक्षक’ले ‘यी हुन्, जनदुश्मन’ आवरण शीर्षक र तस्वीरसहित लाञ्छना लगायो । औपचारिक रूपमा हिंसा त्यागेको घोषणा आजसम्मै नगरेको, मुलुकभर बलमिच्याइँ र ‘भौतिक कारबाही’को आडमा आम नागरिकलाई दबाउन कसरत गरिरहेको र सरकारमा छँदै विद्रोहको डाँको छोड्ने माओवादीको शीर्षस्थको मुखपत्रबाट यस्तो अभिव्यक्ति किन आयो, हामीले बुझ्न कोसिस गरिरहेका छौं ।

पञ्चायतकालमा ‘सबै पञ्च नेपाली, सबै नेपाली पञ्च’ भन्ने दुराग्रह गरेजस्तै माओवादीले सबै जनता माओवादी र माओवादीका विचार र मान्यतामात्र जनवादी र अग्रगामी भन्ने सरासर ढाँट कुरालाई बलजफ्ती लागू गर्न आफ्नो हिंसात्मक सशस्त्र युद्धलाई ‘जनयुद्ध’, पार्टीको संरचनालाई ‘जनसत्ता’ र आफ्नो ‘कङ्गारू कोर्ट’लाई ‘जनअदालत’ भन्यो । यस्तै जस-जसले आफ्नो दलको कुरालाई वैचारिक खण्डन गर्न खोज्छ, ती-ती व्यक्तिलाई सामन्ती र प्रतिगामीको बिल्ला भिराइदिने र आफ्नो ज्यादतीको विरोधमा उत्रने जोकोहीलाई ‘जनदुश्मन’ घोषणा गर्ने माओवादी नीति भएको सर्वविदितै छ ।

माओवादीद्वारा आफ्नो ‘सफाया’को नीति आजैसम्म विधिवत् निलम्बन भएको हामीले सुनेका छैनौं । आफूले भौतिक कारबाही अथवा ‘सफाया’ गर्न चाहने व्यक्तिलाई पहिला आफ्नो क्याडरमाझ घृणाको पात्र बनाउनु माओवादीको भूमिगत छँदादेखिकै तरिका हो । त्यसैले ‘विद्रोह’द्वारा ‘जनसंविधान’ ल्याइछाड्ने घोषणा गर्ने माओवादीले हामी तीन नागरिकलाई जनदुश्मनको संज्ञा दिएर अरू स्वतन्त्र नागरिकलाई समेत तर्साउन आफ्ना कार्यकर्तालाई उत्तेजित पार्न र उक्साहट गर्न खोजेको देखिन्छ ।

माओवादी अध्यक्ष लगायतका केही उच्च नेताको पूर्वस्वीकृति बिना ‘जनदुश्मन’जस्तो गम्भीर आरोप हामीमाथि लगाउने दुस्स्ााहस उक्त पत्रिकाले गर्‍यो होला भन्ने हामीलाई लाग्दैन । तर उक्त बिल्लाको त्रासले हामी तीन नागरिक डगमगाउने वा आ-आफ्नो क्षेत्रमा आफ्ना स्वतन्त्र विचार अगाडि राख्न कदापि पछाडि हट्ने छैनौं । कायरले मात्र वैचारिक मन्थन गर्नुको साटो बन्दुक, तरवार, धम्की, डर र त्रासको प्रयोग गर्छ । बिना कुनै आधार, परिस्थितिजन्य प्रमाण र बिना सोधपुछ ‘जनदुश्मन’जस्तो गैरजिम्मेवार र उत्तेजक आरोपको आड लिनुपर्ने बाध्यता त्यही कायरताको उपज हो ।

किन दुश्मनी !

आफूभने दर्जनौं अङ्गरक्षक र राज्यले दिएको सुरक्षा घेराभित्र बस्ने अनि निहत्था नागरिकमाथि जाइलाग्ने ‘फतवा’ जारी गर्न किन माओवादी नेतृत्व यसरी ओइरिएको भन्नेमा अलि खोतल्नु जरुरी देखिन्छ । हामी तीनले बेलाबखत स्वतन्त्र विचार र विश्लेषणद्वारा शान्ति प्रक्रिया, मानवअधिकार, संविधान लेखन लगायतका विभिन्न समयमा लिएको अडानले माओवादी स्वयम्लाई पनि राम्रो गर्नुपर्ने

हो । शान्ति प्रक्रिया, अनमिनको आगमन, संविधानसभा चुनावदेखि दोरम्बा हत्याकाण्डको अनुसन्धान, अन्तरिम सरकारको गठन र अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय जगतमा नेपाली ढाँचाको शान्ति प्रक्रियाको वकालत

गरेकै हौं ।

तर माओवादीको ‘जनयुद्ध’ थालनीको औचित्य, उसकै हिंस्रक राजनीति तथा लोकतान्त्रिक पद्धति विरुद्धको एजेन्डाको बारेमा भने हामी आ-आफ्नै किसिमले आलोचक भएको कुरा पनि सर्वविदितै

छ । माओवादीका लागि हाम्रा यी अडान त्यतिबेला अपि्रय लाग्न थालेजस्तो छ, जब ऊ १२ बुँदे सहमति तथा बृहत् शान्ति सम्झौतामा झेली गर्न थाल्यो ।

हुन त हाम्रा कतिपय अडान माओवादीलाई अपाच्य लागेको हुनसक्छ, तर ‘जनदुश्मनी’को कारण हालसालैका केही अभिव्यक्तिसँग सम्बन्धित हुनुपर्छ । हाम्रो अड्कलमा कुलचन्द्र गौतममाथि लुम्बिनी विकासमा माओवादी अध्यक्षको संलग्नता पारदर्शी हुनुपर्छ, हिंसाको राजनीति त्याग्नैपर्छ र शान्ति प्रक्रियामा माओवादीले गरेका कबुल उसले इमानदारीसाथ पालना गर्नुपर्छ भन्ने अनवरत अडान लिएकोले प्रहार गरिएको हुनसक्छ । कसैले त भन्छन्, अरू कतिपय ‘नागरिक अगुवा’जस्तो गौतमलाई ‘उपयोगी’ बनाउन असहज भएकोले पनि माओवादी रूष्ट भएको हुनसक्छ । सुबोधराज प्याकुरेल मानवअधिकारकर्मीको हिसाबले निःसङ्कोच देशव्यापी माओवादी ज्यादती विरुद्ध बोलेको र आममाफी एजेन्डाको सशक्त प्रतिवाद गरेकोले माओवादीको तारो बन्न पुगे । पछिल्लो समयमा पत्रकार कनकमणि दीक्षितले पुष्पकमल दाहालको ‘प्रत्यक्ष राष्ट्रपति’ अथवा ‘प्रत्यक्ष प्रधानमन्त्री’ बन्ने महत्वाकाङ्क्षाको खिलाफमा लेखेकाले उनलाई पनि जनदुश्मन घोषणा गर्नुपरेको पार्टीले ठानेको हुनसक्छ ।

‘लालरक्षक’ पत्रिकाका शीर्षस्थ हाकिमहरूले एउटै ‘जनदुश्मन’ प्रहारबाट बृहत् नागरिक समाजलाई पनि त्रसित गर्न र मुलुकभरिका पत्रकार, अधिकारकर्मी, बुद्धिजीवी, स्थानीय अगुवा लगायतका स्वतन्त्र नागरिकहरूलाई त्रसित बनाउँदै आफ्नो काबुमा राख्न खोजेको पनि अनुमान गर्न सकिन्छ । तर माओवादी नेतृत्वले यो कुरा बिर्सनु हुँदैन कि ०४६ यता नागरिकले स्वतन्त्रताको अक्सिजन चाखिसकेका छन् । माओवादीले आफ्नो पङ्क्तिभित्र स्वच्छ हावा बहन नदिएको होला, तर बाहिर विचार स्वतन्त्र छन् । मुलुकभर खुला समाज छाइसकेको छ र भूमण्डलीकरणको प्रभावले अबको नेपाललाई उत्तरकोरिया वा भूतपूर्व अल्बानियाजस्ता ‘जनगणतान्त्रिक भूस्वर्ग’मा परिणत गर्न असम्भव छ ।

उग्रवाम-दक्षिणपन्थी हिमचिम

कुनै पनि तरिकाले त्रसित बनाउन खोज्दा जिल्ला जिल्ला, गाउँ-गाउँमा अब ‘जनदुश्मन’को आरोपले नागरिक दब्ने अवस्था

छैन । हो, यदाकदा उकुसमुकुसबीच केही क्षण नागरिकले मौनधारण गर्लान्, तर यसलाई माओवादीले आफ्नो विचार तथा क्रियाकलापप्रति जबर्जस्ती सहमति जुटाएको ठान्नु गल्ती हुनेछ । माओवादीका खाओवादी क्रियाकलापले जनतामाझ एउटा भूमिगत ज्वालामुखी उम्लिएर विस्फोट हुने स्थितिमा देश पुग्ने ठूलो डर छ, जसले उसलाई पनि फाइदा हुने छैन । अर्को खतरा यस दिशामा छ कि माओवादीको वाम अतिवादले मध्यमार्गी लोकतन्त्रवादीको ठाउँलाई साँघुरो बनाइदिँदैछ र अर्काे माओवादीले ‘राष्ट्रवादी’ भनी हिमचिम गर्ने ध्रुवको दक्षिणपन्थीलाई बल पुर्‍याउँदैछ । अब सच्चा प्रगतिशील नेपालीले गम्भीर चिन्ता गर्नुपर्ने विषय त यो छ कि माओवादीका आजका क्रियाकलापले उसको आफ्नो एजेन्डा त सफल हुँदैन -र हुनुहुँदैन), तर दक्षिणपन्थीले समाजमा जरो गाडेर पुरातन युगतर्फ मुलुक धकेल्नबाट देशलाई कसरी बचाउने ।

सामरिक हिसाबले आफ्नो सङ्गठन निर्माण गरेको माओवादीले आफूलाई लोकतान्त्रिक बनाउन नसकेको अथवा नचाहेको हुनाले उसलाई आजैसम्म पनि ‘जनयुद्ध’को बेलाजस्तै काल्पनिक शत्रु घोषित गरेर कार्यकर्ता एकत्रित गर्नुपर्ने अवस्था भएको देखिन्छ । तसर्थ कहिले अमेरिका, कहिले भारत, कहिले नेपाली काङ्ग्रेसलाई उसले विधिवत् दुश्मनको संज्ञा दिएको छ । आफ्नै नेता रातारात नवधनाढ्य र विलासी भएको, ठूलठूला धनी-व्यापारीलाई संरक्षण दिएर ‘चन्दा’ असुलीबाट आफ्ना होलटाइमर पालेको कुरालाई ढाकछोप गर्दै, आफ्नो विचारसँग असहमति राख्ने जोकुनैलाई ‘कुलिन’, ‘सम्भ्रान्त’ ‘सुकिला-मुकिला’को पगरी गुँथाइदिएर अर्काथरी कृत्रिम शत्रु खडा गर्दैछ । यसरी शत्रुको आरोपमा परिएला कि भन्ने डरले

कतिपय नागरिक अगुवा र बौद्धिकहरूले जानी-जानी माओवादीको ज्यादतीबारे नबोलेको वा लटरपटर कुरा गर्नेछन् भन्ने ठहर माओवादीले गरेको देखिन्छ ।

ँजनशत्रु” को अडान

हामी तीन नागरिकले डा. बाबुराम भट्टराईलाई आफ्नो पार्टीको नभई समग्र जनताको प्रधानमन्त्री भएको नाताले २२ माघ २०६८ मा पत्र लेखेका थियौं । उक्त पत्रमा हामीले आफ्नो सुरक्षा माग गरेका थिएनौं, नागरिकको सुरक्षाको जिम्मेवारी पाएको शीर्षस्थ पदाधिकारीसँग हत्याको उक्साहट गर्ने र त्रास फैलाउन लागिपरेको पत्रिकाको उक्त आवरण र लेखबारे सरकार प्रमुखको सार्वजनिक प्रतिक्रिया मागेका थियौं । यस्तै प्रेस स्वतन्त्रताको आवरणमा ‘सफाया’ गर्ने प्रवृत्तिको उक्साहट गर्ने आफ्नो दलसम्बद्ध पत्रिका तथा सम्पादक विरुद्ध उपयुक्त कारबाहीको माग गरेका थियौं ।

प्रधानमन्त्री भट्टराईले हाम्रो मागको बेवास्ता गरेकोबाट उहाँको मानवीयता तथा स्वतन्त्र समाजबारे संवेदनशीलतामा कमी भएको झल्कन्छ । प्रधानमन्त्रीको कार्यालयबाट ‘सुरक्षा चाहिए दिन तयार’ भन्ने फोन खबर त आयो, जुन कुरा न हाम्रो पत्रमा उल्लिखित थियो न हाम्रो माग थियो ।

हामीलाई ‘जनशत्रु’ भन्ने दललाई हामी यसो भन्छौं ः बन्दुकको घेरामा बसेर अरूलाई तर्साउने जमाना सिद्धिइसक्यो । दुई-दुईवटा जनआन्दोलनले आर्जेको नेपालको खुला समाजमा अब ‘पुलिस स्टेट’को कल्पना पनि हामी गर्न सक्दैनौं । स्वतन्त्र नेपाली नागरिक हुनुको ऊर्जा नै यो एक्काइसौं शताब्दीको हाम्रो माटोको सौगात हो ।

कसैले भन्लान्, माओवादीभित्र ठूला चिरा छन् र हामीमाथि खनिने कुनै एउटा खेमामात्र हो । त्यसोभए खै त अरू खेमा बोलेको ? बाटा र रणनीति यदाकदा फरक देखिए पनि गन्तव्य एउटै हुनाले सबै माओवादी नेताको खोलमुनिको हिंसाप्रतिको लगाव उत्तिकै बलियो देखिन्छ । कसैले प्रस्ट भन्छ, कसैले मनमा राख्छ, तर भन्दैन । सायद ‘लालरक्षक’ले सबैको मनको कुरा बोलिदिएको हो, आम नागरिकलाई तर्साउँदा दल अगाडि बढ्छ कि भन्दै । तर यस्तो लगावले न माओवादी दलको भलो हुन्छ, न देशको ।

संविधान लेखनको यस अन्तिम घडीमा पनि शान्ति प्रक्रिया अझै टुङ्गएिको छैन । सदनको सबैभन्दा ठूलो दलले आफ्नो हिंसाको नीति त्यागेको प्रमाण कतै भेटिएको छैन । एक्काइसौं शताब्दीमा विश्व समुदायले आदर गर्ने र नेपाली जनताले गौरव गर्ने खालको अग्रगामी परिवर्तन चाहने माओवादी पार्टीको मनसुवा हो भने हामी विनम्र अनुरोध गर्छौं, माओवादीले जनतासामु छातीमा हात र प्रकृतिलाई साक्षी राख्दै राजनीतिमा हिंसा त्यागेको सार्वजनिक घोषणा गरोस् ! हिंस्रक राजनीति मच्चाएकोमा क्षमा मागोस्, जनतासँग । र त्यति गरेपछि उसलाई एक शान्तिपूर्ण, लोकतान्त्रिक, प्रगतिशील दलको रूपमा आफ्नो र यो देशकै रूपान्तरण गर्नमा सफलता मिलोस् !

प्रकाशित मिति: २०६८ फाल्गुन ८ ०९:३५

Link: http://www.ekantipur.com/kantipur/news/news-detail.php?news_id=264334

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 15, 2012 (IPS) – Facing implicit death threats from Nepal’s ruling Maoist political party, two former U.N. officials based in Kathmandu have appealed to the United Nations for help and protection.

Kul Chandra Gautam, a former U.N. assistant secretary-general and a longstanding deputy executive director of the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF, and Kanak Mani Dixit, a former press officer at the U.N.’s Department of Public Information (DPI) in New York and currently a senior Nepali journalist, have been declared “people’s enemies”.

A third individual under threat is Subodh Raj Pyakurel, executive director of Informal Services Sector (INSEC), the largest non- governmental human rights organisation in Nepal.

All three have been blacklisted in a cover story in the monthly magazine Lalrakshak published by the ruling Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-Maoist).

“We take this fatwa not just as targeting three specific individuals, but as a more emblematic case intended to frighten, intimidate and silence other dissenting critical voices that might challenge specific policies or practices of the Maoists,” Gautam told IPS.

A letter to Nepali Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, signed by all three individuals, says the cover story is “an incitement to violence, and part of an all-out attack that is underway against a broad range of civil society actors from the districts in the capital, including journalists, lawyers and rights activists.”

Bhattarai has remained head of the coalition government since August last year.

The goal is across-the-board intimidation, reflecting the despotic perspective: “Those who are not with us are against us, and our enemies are the enemies of the people,” the letter reads.

The three under threat have also written to all heads of diplomatic missions in Kathmandu and U.N. agencies, including the U.N. Resident Coordinator and the representative of the U.N. high commissioner for human rights.

Gautam told IPS the main opposition parties have raised the matter in Parliament and also referred to it in a joint statement they presented to the Maoist party last week.

“At a time when Nepal’s peace process is still incomplete and the much delayed drafting of the new constitution is in limbo, these and other provocative statements and actions by the ruling party has created an atmosphere of intimidation and panic throughout the country,” it said.

One source told IPS that the chairman of the UCPN-Maoist, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, known as “Prachanda”, currently the most powerful political personality in the country, has been particularly offended by the repeated calls by Gautam, Dixit and Pyakurel urging him and his party to renounce the use of violence in politics.

More recently, Dahal also seems deeply offended by their critical questioning of his eagerness to lead an effort for the development of Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Gautam Buddha, in what they say is a highly non-transparent and unorthodox manner.

In this context, Gautam said, serious questions have been raised about the appropriateness of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s reported plans to visit Nepal in March to co-chair, with Dahal, an international meeting for the development of Lumbini.

The people of Nepal and Buddhists all over the world are happy to know that the secretary-general has taken a special interest in the development of Lumbini, declared a World Heritage site by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), he said.

The main rationale for U.N.’s involvement in Lumbini is to spread the culture of peace, not to condone the glorification of violence, said Gautam.

“If Ban Ki-moon were to consider co-chairing a meeting with Dahal, he must insist on the latter and his party to first officially renounce the use of violence as a method of political change in the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations,” he added.

For the secretary-general of the UN to co-chair an international meeting with a political leader who has refused to renounce violence would be contrary to the spirit of the U.N. Charter, and to do so at a holy religious site would be a sacrilege insulting not just peace- loving Nepalis but followers of Buddhism around the world, he said.

On Wednesday, a spokesman for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva told IPS, “We are concerned about the branding of these human rights defenders as ‘the people’s enemies’ by a magazine affiliated with the ruling political party in Nepal.

“The government of Nepal has a duty to protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all its citizens, particularly those of human rights defenders, who are frequently at greater personal risk because of their efforts to support human rights. At this critical stage of the peace process in Nepal, it is very important that the space for human rights defenders is not narrowed or threatened.”

Article appeared in: www.ipsnews.net

Circumstantial evidence, including blatantly false public accusations by Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ against the present writer just prior to the publication of the provocative story in Lalrakshak, known as a pro-Prachanda magazine, indicates that this is part of an orchestrated effort to intimidate and silence a broad range of civil society actors, including journalists, lawyers and rights activists across the country. The general message conveyed reflects the well-known despotic perspective: “Those who are not with us are against us, and our enemies are the enemies of the people”.

The media and intellectuals of Nepal have been so desensitized by the frequent provocative, duplicitous and contradictory statements by the UCPN-Maoists that such statements are not always taken seriously, and many people are actually afraid to speak up. The media, for example, has not made a serious attempt to critically analyze the grave charges labeled against the three ‘People’s Enemies’.

The silence of Nepal’s intellectuals reminds one of a famous statement attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen target groups:

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.

While there has been a studied silence among most Nepali civil society leaders, intellectuals and journalists on the Lalrakshak story, a number of Maoist or pro-Maoist journalists have vigorously defended its accusations as factual, and pro-Maoist blogs including www.lalrakshak.com are full of hateful and virulent diatribes denouncing the “people’s enemies” with all kinds of imaginary charges and calling for lynching them.

In the absence of stories countering these allegations with factual information, there is a risk that some people, especially ordinary Maoist cadres, might actually believe Lalrakshak’s imaginary tales as true. While I would not wish to confer undue respectability by responding point by point to a magazine whose violent values are portrayed by the gun and grenades featured in its masthead, for the record, I flatly reject all allegations labeled against me by Lalrakshak in its cover story entitled: “These are People’s Enemies”.

No evidence whatsoever has been produced to back up any of the allegations by Lalrakshak in an article supposedly written after “investigation” by its Research Bureau (Khoj Bureau). On the contrary, most allegations are imaginary and fabricated pack of lies, simply intended to be sensational, and amounting to dangerous character assassination.

Here is a factual rebuttal of the allegations made against me, and the truth about them, which illustrates the fictitious and distorted nature of Lalrakshak’s reporting:

1.That Kul Chandra Gautam was known for hooligan attitude (mandaley prabritti) of Nepal Students’ Union during his student days: Gautam was never a member of NSU or any other student union in Nepal during his student days.

2.That Gautam was a lackey of America and was close to the CIA: As an international civil servant Gautam has had an impeccable reputation of being a scrupulously impartial and competent professional, which was the basis for his success in his UN career. In his student days in USA, Gautam was actually known for outspoken criticism of American policy in the Vietnam War and CIA’s efforts to topple the democratically-elected Marxist President Salvador Allende of Chile.

3.That Gautam aspired to become the head of UNMIN: The UN regulations normally do not allow the national of the same country to serve as head of mission as an international staff member in his/her home country. So it was out of question for Gautam to even contemplate this.

4.That Gautam sought to expel UNMIN from Nepal and foment a civil war: Gautam actually advocated for the establishment of UNMIN. His public speech to the World Affairs Council at the Himalaya Hotel in Kathmandu on 24 August 2004 “On the Possible Role of the United Nations in the Peace Process in Nepal” was one of the earliest statements articulating the rationale for UN’s support for peace in Nepal at a time when the royal regime and both of Nepal’s neighbours were opposed to any UN involvement. Gautam offered informal advice to UNMIN and even to the UN Secretary-General to make its role more effective, and was openly critical of UNMIN when some of its reports and actions seemed unbalanced and ill-informed. It would simply be counter-intuitive to imagine Gautam seeking to push the country towards civil war and military rule and the Maoists back to the jungle, by expelling UNMIN from Nepal, as alleged by Lalrakshak.

5.That Gautam was lobbying to become Ambassador to USA where he could also serve the CIA: Gautam never expressed any wish, nor ever lobbied with anyone for any such appointment. In fact, Gautam has consistently declined to serve in any full-time, official, paid government job even when he was approached by various political leaders. Wishing to serve the CIA is a cheap and calculated slander.

6.That Gautam tried to form an anti-Maoist alliance involving the diplomatic community: Members of the diplomatic community make their own judgments based on their assessment of the host country’s situation; what they believe to be in their own national interest and the values they subscribe to; and their wish to promote good relationship with Nepal. They do not operate in a conspiratorial manner as the Maoists and some other Nepalis imagine. It would be foolish for Gautam or any intelligent person to imagine or attempt to manipulate the diplomatic community into any parochial alliances.

7.That Gautam influenced the Supreme Court verdict on non-extension of the CA beyond May 2012: Gautam had no contacts or dealings with any justices of the Supreme Court, or with anyone else who deals with such matters, nor has he made any statements on this subject.

8.That NC leaders intend to install Gautam as Chair of a Constitution Drafting Committee: The speculation by Lalrakshak that Nepali Congress Party leaders Ram Chandra Poudel and Sushil Koirala secretly propose to make Gautam Chair of a new Committee to draft the Constitution, after the expiry of the term of the current CA, is a plain, fictitious story. It has never been discussed by anyone with Gautam, and he has no interest, nor expertise in such task.

9.That “Gautam and the Gang” conspired with some Nepal Army Generals; and tried to create misunderstanding between the NA and Maoist PLA: Gautam never met with any group of Generals, including those who were not promoted during Prachanda’s Government as charged by Lalrakshak. Nor did he seek to provoke or create misunderstanding between the Nepal Army and the Maoists by exaggerating the dangers of integration of Maoist combatants into NA as alleged. Gautam’s views on the subject of “integration and rehabilitation” of ex-Maoist combatants is a matter of public record and published articles. Far from misleading and creating misunderstanding, he came up with many constructive proposals which were initially acknowledged, even by the Maoists, as containing “win-win” propositions in the best interest of Nepal.

10.That Gautam was part of a “conspiratorial” meeting to “split and destroy” the Maoists: Gautam debunked this false allegation that he was part of a “conspiratorial” meeting against the Maoists at Maitighar/Babarmahal Revisited in his op-eds in the Nagarik and Republica dailies on 1 February 2012. He found it shocking and unethical that UCPN-Chairman Prachanda repeated this allegation even after learning first-hand from leaders who apparently were there that Gautam did not attend any such meeting.

11.That Gautam has been advocating against Presidential system of government: An article in the same issue of Lalrakshak by a pro-Maoist journalist Shubhashanker Kandel claims that a former UN official (UN-ka purba talukdar) stood up against the Presidential system of government, citing not his but the views of others, and thus implying “guilt by association”. Nowhere in Gautam’s extensive written or verbal communication is there any evidence of him taking any such position, as he clarified in his op-ed pieces. But taking such position, or in favour of any other democratic alternatives, is a perfectly honourable and democratic right of all citizens.

12.That Gautam was part of the core group of “elite aristocrats” who masterminded the May 2010 civic rally against the Maoist-organized “indefinite strike”: Like tens of thousands of other citizens, Gautam did participate in that huge civic rally, but he was not its architect or designer. Unlike the Maoist portrayal of that rally as a dark episode led by the sukila-mukila privileged elites, it will go down in the history of Nepal as a major turning point of true “people power” that saved Nepal from a dangerous descent towards authoritarianism. It should be recalled that the “indefinite strike” for which the Maoists bussed in tens of thousands of supporters from the countryside and brought Kathmandu to a standstill for 6 days, was meant to be the urban insurrection that would lead to their ‘state capture’. Instead, it became a spectacular failure because of widespread public resentment and the spontaneous civic rally in which some 100,000-plus people from different walks of life turned up in Basantpur Square which showed that not only did the people of Kathmandu resist the attempted insurrection passively, but were prepared to dare the Maoists actively – but peacefully. Joining in that genuinely popular and patriotic civic rally was one of the proudest moments of my life.

सायद संसारभर असफल र बदनाम भइसककाले एक्काइसौँ शताब्दीमा धेरैलाई प्रेरणादायी नहुने सिद्धान्त बोकेको भएर हो कि माओवादीलाई आफ्ना कार्यकर्ता र समर्थकहरूलाई उत्प्रेरित गर्न वास्तविक वा काल्पनिक जस्तो भए पनि शत्रुको खाँचो पर्नेगरेको देखिएको छ। त्यसैले उनीहरु सधैँ आफ्ना क्रान्तिकारी एजेन्डाविरुद्ध गोप्य षड्यन्त्र गर्नेहरु भन्दै ‘सामन्ती, पुँजीवादी, राजतन्त्रवादी, साम्राज्यवादी, विस्तारवादी वा तिनका दलाल’को लामो सूची बनाउने गर्छन्।
खरिपाटी वा पालुङटारजस्ता प्रत्येक विवादग्रस्त पार्टी सम्मेलनहरूपछि माओवादीले पार्टीमा एकता कायम गर्न कुनै न कुनै शत्रु वा षड्यन्त्रकारीको आधिकारिकरुपमै खोजी गर्ने गरेको पाइन्छ। त्यही क्रममा एकताका उनीहरुले भारत आफ्नो प्रमुख बाहिरी शत्रु र नेपाली कांग्रेस राष्ट्रिय शत्रु भनेर घोषणा गरेका थिए। यसबाहेक, आफ्ना विफलता ढाकछोप गर्न वा वास्तविक समस्याबाट ध्यान अन्यत्र लैजान वा पहिलेका प्रतिबद्धता उल्लंघन गर्ने बहाना बनाउनका लागि उनीहरुले जताततै थुप्रै सानाठुला शत्रुहरु खोज्ने र भेट्टाउने गरेको देखिन्छ।
माओवादी केन्द्रीय समितिको हालै पुस-माघ, २०६८मा भएको विवादग्रस्त र अन्तर्विरोधपूर्ण बैठकपछि एनेकपा (माओवादी) र विशेषगरी यसका अध्यक्ष पुष्पकमल दाहाल …प्रचण्ड’ले विगत केही महिनामा शान्ति प्रक्रिया र संविधान लेखनमा अरु राजनीतिक दलहरुसँग भएका सहमतिबाट विमुख हुने बहाना बनाउन कस्ता शत्रुको आविष्कार गर्लान् भन्ने धेरैले अडकल गरेका थिए। त्यसैले दाहालले चेतावनीको स्वरमा विपक्षी कांग्रेस र नेकपा (एमाले)ले माओवादी पार्टी फुटाउन साना पार्टीहरुसँग मोर्चाबन्दी गरेर माओवादीलाई घेर्न खोजेको आरोप लगाउनु खासै आश्चर्यजनक थिएन।
खन्ना गार्मेन्टमा यही माघ ४ र ५ गते भएको माओवादी कार्यकर्ता प्रशिक्षण कार्यक्रममा दाहालले काठमाडौंको बबरमहल रिभिजिटेडको एउटा रेस्टुराँमा ‘माओवादीलाई फुटाएर सखाप पार्न’ षड्यन्त्र गरिएको भनेर दिएको उदाहरण भने मलाई निकै रोचक लाग्यो। दाहालले कांग्रेस संसदीय दलका नेता रामचन्द्र पौडेल, संवैधानिक समितिका अध्यक्ष नीलाम्बर आचार्य, पत्रकार कनकमणि दीक्षित र म कुलचन्द्र गौतम त्यस ‘गोप्य बैठक’मा उपस्थित षड्यन्त्रकारीहरु मध्येमा थियौँ भन्ने बताएको सुन्दा म झन् आश्चर्यचकित भएँ।
मलाई आश्चर्य लाग्नुको कारण के थियो भने दाहालले भनेजस्तो बैठकका बारेमा न त मैले कहिल्यै सुनेको थिएँ न कहिल्यै उपस्थितै भएको थिएँ। त्यसैले मलाई दाहाललाई कसैले गलत सूचना दिएछ वा दाहालको सूचनाको स्रोत नै अक्षम र अविश्वसनीय रहेछ भन्ने लागेको थियो।
केही नेपाली सञ्चार माध्यममा आएअनुसार खन्ना गार्मेन्टमा त्यसो भनेको भोलिपल्टै दाहाललाई कांग्रेस नेता पौडेलले अरु नेताहरुकै सामु त्यस्तो हुँदै नभएको षड्यन्त्रको काल्पनिक आरोप लगाएको भनेर हप्काए रे। बबरमहल रिभिजिटेडमा केही मित्रहरुको अनौपचारिक भेला भएको तर कुलचन्द्र गौतम त्यहाँ नभएको पनि पौडेलले भनेछन्। पौडेलले दाहाललाई गौतमसँग आफ्नो भेट नभएकै झन्डै छ महिना भइसकेको पनि बताएछन्।
केही सञ्चार माध्यमले दिएका समाचारअनुसार दाहालले एमाले नेता माधवकुमार नेपालसँग पनि माथि चर्चा गरिएको कथित ‘बबरमहल षड्यन्त्र’ को प्रसंग उठाएर ‘माओवादीलाई घेराबन्दी गरेर सखाप पार्न’ खोजिएको गुनासो गरेका रहेछन्। नेपालले आफू पनि त्यस अनौपचारिक चियापानमा सहभागी भएको तर त्यहाँ दाहालले कल्पनागरेजस्तो कुनै ‘षड्यन्त्रकारी’ नियत नभएको भनेपछि दाहाल अलि आश्चर्यचकित भएर झस्किएका थिए रे। नेपालले पनि कुलचन्द्र गौतम त्यहाँ सहभागी नभएको दाहाललाई भनेछन्।
यी सबै घटनाक्रम सुनेपछि मलाई पक्कै पनि माओवादीको कुनै शुभेच्छुक सुराकीले गलत सूचना दिएको हुनुपर्छ र दाहालले कार्यकर्तालाई आफूले ‘शान्ति र संविधान’ तथा ‘जनविद्रोहबाट सत्ता कब्जा’ जस्ता अन्तर्विरोधपूर्ण नीति एकैसाथ अपनाउने क्रममा आफ्ना कार्यकर्तालाई अलमल्याउन त्यस्तो अतिरञ्जित ‘षड्यन्त्रको सिद्धान्त’को रहस्योद्घाटन गरेको हुनुपर्छ भन्ने लाग्यो।
सञ्चारमाध्यममा म त्यो कथित ‘षड्यन्त्रात्मक’ बैठकमा उपस्थित नभएको जानकारी पौडेल र नेपालले दिइसकेको सार्वजनिक भइसकेका सन्दर्भमा मैले यो घटिया राजनीतिक नाटकलाई बेवस्ता गर्नु नै ठिक हो भन्ने ठाने। त्यस खबरको असत्यता पुष्टि भइसकेपछि दाहाल स्वयंले उत्तेजकरुपमा रहस्योद्घाटन गरेर पछि लाजमर्दो भएको यस प्रकरणलाई अब अगाडि बढाउँदैनन् होला भन्ने मैले अनुमान गरेको थिएँ।
किन्तु, त्यस खबरको असत्यताबारे प्रत्यक्ष जानकारी पाइसकेपछि पनि दाहालले पश्चिम नेपालको चिसापानीमा गत माघ १३ गते भएको माओवादी कार्यकर्ताको वृहत् प्रशिक्षण भेलामा कथित ‘बबरमहल षड्यन्त्र’ प्रकरणमा सहभागी भनेर मेरो नाम लिएको थाहा पाउँदा म झन् बढी चकित भएँ।
दाहालको हैसियतको उच्च जिम्मेवार नेताले जानीजानी झुटो कुरा किन दोहोर्‍याएका होलान्? बनको बाघले खाओस् नखाओस् मनको बाघले खान्छ भन्ने नेपाली उखानमा जस्तै दाहाल पनि कुनै कारणवश मनको बाघसँग तर्सेकाले यसो भएको हो कि? नेपाली समाजमा आफूलाई अत्यन्तै असुरक्षित महसुस गर्दा वा कुनै अप्रिय सत्य लुकाउनु पर्दा यस्तो मनको बाघलाई देखाउने चलन भएको सर्वविदितै छ।
खबरमा आएअनुसार उक्त बबरमहल बैठकमा माओवादीले चाहेजस्तो राष्ट्रपतीय शैलीको शासन व्यवस्था आउन नदिने र संसदीय व्यवस्थामै सहमति जुटाउने भन्ने विषयमा चर्चा भएको थियो रे। सम्भवतः त्यसैले अध्यक्ष दाहाललाई क्षुब्ध बनाएको हुनसक्छ। म आफु यी दुवै प्रणालीप्रति खुला र तटस्था भावना राख्छु। बरु, पर्याप्त नियन्त्रण र सन्तुलनको व्यवस्था भएमा राष्ट्रपतीय पद्धति नै बढी उपयुक्त हुन्छ भन्ने पक्षमा छु। अतः मेरो सोचाइ राजनीतिक नेता रामचन्द्र पौडेल र टिप्पणीकार कनकमणि दीक्षितले आआफ्नैरूपमा लिएको सार्वजनिक अडानभन्दा फरक छ। तर, म उनीहरूको दृष्टिकोणको सम्मान गर्छु र लोकतान्त्रिक सिद्धान्तअनुरूप भएमा अरू प्रस्तावित विकल्पहरूको पनि सम्मान गर्छु।
कुनै राजनीतिक दल विशेषमा आफु सम्बद्ध नभएको र दलगत स्वार्थमा नलागेको व्यक्तिका रूपमा म कुनै षड्यन्त्रमा सहभागी हुने कारण पनि छैन। लोकतान्त्रिक सिद्धान्त र अहिंसात्मक राजनीतिमा विश्वास गर्ने व्यक्तिका रुपमा मैले सधैँ नै खुला र स्पष्टसँग माओवादीले राजनीतिक परिवर्तनका लागि अब हिंसाको माध्यम सधैँका लागि त्याग गर्नुपर्छ र विश्वव्यापी रूपमा मान्य लोकतन्त्र, बहुलवाद र मानव अधिकारका मूल्यमान्यतालाई आत्मसात् गर्नुपर्छ भन्दै आएको छु। यी मूल्यमान्यता अन्तर्गत रहेरै हामीले सामाजिक न्याय सुनिश्चित गर्न सकारात्मक विभेदका उपायसमेत अपनाउन सक्छौँ भन्ने मेरो धारणा छ।
माओवादीले यी मूलभूत विषयहरुमा द्वैध चरित्र देखाएको वा शान्ति प्रक्रियामा भएका सहमतिलाई एकतर्फीरूपमा बदल्न खोजेका अवस्थामा मैले उनीहरूको सार्वजनिकरूपमै आलोचना गरेको छु। यसरी नै मैले अरु राजनीतिक दलहरु वा राजा ज्ञानेन्द्रको शासनको पनि आलोचना गरेको थिएँ र अब पनि आवश्यकताअनुसार गरिरहने छु।
अहिंसात्मक लोकतन्त्रवादीका रूपमा म अलोकतान्त्रिक धारणा भएका व्यक्ति वा दललाई शान्तिपूर्ण रूपले ‘रूपान्तरण’ गर्नमा सहयोग पुर्‍याउनुपर्छ भन्नेमा विश्वास राख्छु। आफ्नोभन्दा फरक दृष्टिकोण राखेकै भरमा कुनै व्यक्ति वा दललाई निर्मूल पार्ने वा सफाया गर्ने’ जस्ता अमानवीय व्यवहार गर्ने प्रवृत्ति त अधिनायकवादीहरूको चारित्रिक विशेषता हो।
एडोल्फ हिटलरका प्रचारमन्त्री जोसेफ गेबल्स भन्ने गर्थे – ‘कुनै झुटलाई धेरै पटक दोहोर्‍याइरहने हो भने मानिसहरुले त्यसलाई पत्याउन थाल्छन्।’ मलाई ‘बबरमहल षड्यन्त्र’मा संलग्न भन्ने झुट दोहोर्‍याइरहिएको सुन्दा कतै जनसाधारण र सिधासाधा माओवादी कार्यकर्तामा साँच्चै पो हो कि भन्ने भ्रम नपरोस् भनेर मैले यो स्पष्टीकरण सार्वजनिक गर्ने निधो गरेको हुँ।
किन्तु, यस्ता दुष्प्रचारले स्वतन्त्र नेपाली नागरिकका हैसियतले सबैका लागि समता र सामाजिक न्यायपूर्ण समाजको निर्माणमा सहयोग पुर्‍याउन, हिंसा र आतंकको राजनीतिविरुद्ध स्पष्ट र दह्रोसँग बोल्न तथा लोकतन्त्र र मानव अधिकारका विश्वव्यापी मान्यतालाई बिनासर्त स्वीकार गर्नुपर्छ भन्ने पैरवी गर्न मलाई पटक्कै निरुत्साहित गर्ने छैनन्।
म माओवादी नेताहरुलाई शान्ति प्रक्रिया र संविधान निर्माणलाई गति दिनमा केन्द्रित हुन विनम्र आह्वान गर्छु। काल्पनिक शत्रु र षड्यन्त्रविरुद्धको संघर्षका नाममा समय खेर फाल्नुको साटो हामी सबै राष्ट्रिय पुनःनिर्माण र विकासको कार्यमा संलग्न हुनुमै यो देश र सबै दलको चिरकालीन कल्याण हुनेछ।

Published in Nagarik 31-Jan-2012

Perhaps because their outdated and universally discredited ideology is not persuasive enough in the 21st century, the Maoists seem to need to invoke real or imaginary enemies to motivate their cadres and supporters. Hence they always cite a long list of ‘feudals’, ‘capitalists’, ‘royalists’, ‘imperialists’, ‘expansionists’, or their ‘agents’, who they claim are secretly conspiring against their revolutionary agenda.

To unite their party after every major contentious conference, such as at Kharipati and Palungtar, the Maoists seem to find it necessary to designate some official enemy and conspirator. Thus India was once listed as their major external enemy and Nepali Congress as their national enemy. In addition, they seem to look for and find plenty of minor enemies in every nook and corner when they need someone to blame for their failures, or to divert attention from real issues to minor distractions, or to backtrack from their previously agreed commitments.

Following their highly contentious Central Committee meeting in December 2011-January 2012, many wondered what kind of enemies and conspirators the UCPN-Maoist and especially Chairman Prachanda might invoke to justify their extreme backtracking from many agreements they had reached with other political parties on the peace process and drafting of the constitution in the past few months. So it was not entirely surprising that Pushpa Kamal Dahal (‘Prachanda’) spoke in alarming terms about how the opposition NC and UML parties were trying to split the UCPN-Maoist and had formed an alliance with other smaller parties to ‘encircle and entrap’ his party.

I found it rather intriguing though that at the training programme for Maoist cadres at Khanna Garment factory on 18 January 2012, Prachanda apparently cited a specific example of a “secret meeting” held to hatch a conspiracy “to split and destroy the Maoists” at a restaurant at the Babarmahal Revisited complex in Kathmandu. I was surprised to hear that Prachanda went on to list NC parliamentary leader Ram Chandra Poudel, Chairman of the Constitutional Committee Nilamber Acharya, journalist Kanakmani Dixit and I, Kul Chandra Gautam, were among the co-conspirators who had attended that secret meeting.

I was surprised because I had never heard of, nor attended, any such meeting cited by Prachanda. So I assumed that Prachanda must have been misinformed by his informers or that his informers must be very incompetent and unreliable.

The day after Prachanda’s Khanna Garment speech, some Nepali media reported that NC leader Poudel had chided Prachanda in the presence of several other leaders that he was imagining a conspiracy when there was none, and that while there had apparently been an informal gathering of a few friends at Babarmahal Revisited, Kul Chandra Gautam was not there. Poudel went on to say that it had been nearly six months since he had last met Gautam.

Some Nepali media also reported that Prachanda had raised the issue of the “Babarmahal Conspiracy” by the above-mentioned people to “encircle and destroy the Maoists” with UML leader MK Nepal. Prachanda was apparently surprised when Nepal told him that he, MK Nepal too was at that informal gathering over tea, which had no “conspiratorial” intentions as Prachanda imagined. Mr. Nepal also reportedly told Prachanda that, in any case, Kul Chandra Gautam was not there.

Hearing these exchanges, I thought that there must have been a case of misreporting by some Maoist crony spook, and Prachanda must have found it a very convenient scoop to “reveal” to his party cadres to bolster his conspiracy theory to justify the ingenious compromise he had struck embracing both “peace and constitution” and “state capture through revolt” at the same time.

I thought that it was best for me just to ignore this little political drama, given the clarification reported in the media about my non-participation in any such supposedly “conspiratorial” meeting, as confirmed by Messrs Poudel and Nepal. I assumed that Prachanda himself would not pursue it any further given that the falsehood of the information he had “revealed” in a rather provocative manner had been embarrassing to him.

But I was astounded to hear that even after learning first-hand about its inaccuracy, Prachanda chose to cite my name and the “Babarmahal Conspiracy” case, when addressing a large gathering of UCPN-Maoist cadres at Chisapani, in Western Nepal on 27 January 2012.

Why would a responsible leader of Prachanda’s stature repeat a falsehood knowingly? Could it be, as the Nepali saying goes, that Prachanda is haunted by some frightening manko baagh (an imaginary tiger) imagining it as banko baagh (a real tiger in the forest)? In Nepal, an attack by an imaginary tiger is often concocted when someone is extremely insecure or to divert attention and hide an unpleasant truth.

On one specific issue that was reported to have been discussed at the Babarmahal meeting which irked Chairman Prachanda, namely, on the presidential versus parliamentary system of government, I am open to both, with a slight preference for a presidential system with adequate checks and balances. This is in contrast to the strong position that the politician Ramchandra Poudel and commentator Kanak Mani Dixit have taken separately in public. But I respect their views, just as I respect the views of others proposing other alternatives, so long as basic democratic principles are upheld.

As someone not affiliated with any political party or wedded to any partisan interests, I have no reason to be part of any conspiracy. As someone who believes in democratic principles and politics of non-violence, I have always spoken forthrightly on the need for the Maoists to renounce violence as a method of political change, and to embrace universally accepted norms of democracy, pluralism and human rights which, by the way, do allow and even require us to take affirmative action to ensure social justice.

Whenever, the Maoists have taken a duplicitous stance on these core issues, or sought to unilaterally change agreed goal posts on the peace process, I have publicly criticized them, as I also criticized King Gyanendra’s regime, and other political parties, and will continue to do so, as and when warranted.

As all non-violent democrats, I believe in helping “transform” people and parties who hold undemocratic views. Conspiring to “eliminate” a party or an individual simply because they hold different views is the trade-mark of self-righteous authoritarians.

Adolf Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, used to say that “If you tell a lie and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it”. Noting a similar trend, I felt the need to alert the Maoist cadres, the vast majority of whom seek prosperity with social justice in a democratic Nepal, just as I and most other Nepalis do, not to be misled by some of their leaders’ repeated assertions that I might be involved in some conspiracy to destroy the Maoists.

But as a proud, independent citizen of Nepal, I will continue to speak out openly and strongly against politics of violence and intimidation, and advocate for the universally accepted norms of democracy and human rights, without any ifs and buts, to help build a prosperous society with equity and social justice for all.

I would urge the Maoist leaders to concentrate on expediting the completion of the peace process and the new constitution so that we can all get on with the task of national reconstruction and development instead of wasting everyone’s time battling with imaginary enemies and conspiracies.
—————–

Published in The Republica daily, Kathmandu, 1 February 2012:

I consider it a real privilege to join you all at the beginning of what I hope will be remembered as a momentous consultative meeting for the founding of a great institution of public health in Nepal.

We know there are already two other schools of public health in Nepal. And I believe we now have over two dozen medical schools in this country.

Quantitatively, the expansion of schools and colleges in Nepal, both in the public and private sectors, has been phenomenal. But all too often, the quality of education leaves much to be desired.

I am optimistic – indeed excited – that the proposed school of public health here at the Patan Academy of Health Sciences will set a high standard of quality education that is responsive to Nepal’s public health challenges.

I am optimistic because I have seen your draft planning document and noted how thoroughly and meticulously you have done your advanced preparatory work.

In preparation for your school of public health, you have gotten the support of WHO-SEARO and visited nearly a dozen outstanding schools of public health in countries spanning from Australia, Bangladesh, Thailand, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland to USA.

You have assembled a high caliber international advisory team of outstanding academicians and practitioners, some of whom are here with us today.

You seem to have worked energetically to define the goals, curriculum, and the research and service agenda for the SPH with great care and attention.

Your planning document draws on accreditation criteria and guidelines of schools of public health as recommended by WHO, and accreditation bodies of various countries, and many known best practices around the world.
Besides benefitting from such international experience exchange, I am aware that the Community Medicine Department of the Patan Academy’s own Medical School is already doing some great work that provides valuable experience for the SPH to emulate and improve upon.

With such preparation, and the week-long consultation you are beginning today, I am confident that you will be able to develop a school of public health that we can all be very proud of.

Nepal has made considerable progress, and it is one of the few least developed countries in the world that is on track to achieve – and even exceed – quite a few of the Millennium Development Goals – such as reduction of child mortality, maternal mortality, fertility, access to drinking water supply, and basic education.

With the proliferation of many public as well as private hospitals and clinics, curative services are becoming widely available, though they are still not readily accessible or affordable for low income population groups.

Indeed lack of equitable access to health care services, and inadequate attention to preventive care, and empowerment of people to protect their own health, are currently our biggest challenges.

It is precisely for these reasons that we are in need of greater attention to public health in Nepal.

Public health, as we know it, is “the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations and individuals.”

There are 2 distinct characteristics of public health:

1. It deals with population-level, rather than individual-level health issues, and

2. It emphasizes preventive rather than curative aspects of health
Mass vaccination is the most well-known and effective of all preventive public health measures.

But many non-medical methods, involving healthy life-styles and behaviour change are central to improving public health.

Breast-feeding, hand washing, physical exercise, use of latrines, collection and disposal of garbage, use of condoms or mosquito nets, are among the most effective public health measures.

To promote such measures, we need a new breed of public health professionals. This is what we hope the proposed school of public health at the Patan Academy of Health Sciences will produce.

Some of you will recall that when we launched Nepal’s first Public Health Foundation in June 2010, I was asked to deliver an inaugural key note address.

In my speech entitled “A 10+2 Agenda for Public Health in Nepal”, I outlined 12 key elements of public health in this country.

These comprised: scaling-up essential health care; focusing on equity; tackling malnutrition; prioritizing non-communicable diseases; preventing accidents, injuries and disabilities; promoting environmental health; harnessing the power of education and communication for behaviour change; strengthening our health systems; fostering public-private partnership; and capitalizing on the growing international health partnership.

Besides these health related interventions, I mentioned that in the current historical juncture of Nepal, we needed to add two vital elements outside the health sector, namely: institutionalizing a culture of non-violence, and consolidation of genuine democracy.

Most of these interventions are, obviously, non-medical, requiring changes in people’s life-styles and behaviour patterns.

These are the kinds of aptitudes and skills that are not taught in most medical schools.

And these are precisely the kind of issues which I hope the proposed new school of public health here at PAHS will emphasize.

It is now widely acknowledged that the greatest gains in public health in the 21st century are likely to be derived not from medical breakthroughs, but from people’s behaviour change.

I often recall a memorable remark in the 1980s by a great champion of public health and former Director of the US Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Bill Foege, who said that, at that time, it would have cost more than $10 billion annually to add a single year to the life expectancy of an average American – through medical interventions.

But he said, we could add 11 years to their life expectancy through 4 virtually cost-free actions: a) stop smoking, b) moderate alcohol consumption, c) change certain dietary habits, and d) do moderate amount of exercise regularly.

To these, one could add a few more behavioural changes, especially relevant in developing countries like Nepal, such as: practice prolonged exclusive breastfeeding, hand-washing, safe sex, and following basic traffic rules.

None of these require sophisticated medical technology, highly trained manpower or huge investments.

What they require is attitudinal and behaviour change which can be fostered through today’s amazing information and communication technologies, now penetrating even the poor, remote communities of Nepal.

I hope that the students of the proposed school of public health will be trained to harness such simple but powerful technologies; empower community level health workers such as our amazing 50, 000 female community health volunteers, auxiliary nurses and mid-wives to disseminate effective public health messages.

Let us recall that the greatest and most effective health care provider in the world is not the doctor nor a nurse, but the mother.

The more we can do to empower her – the mother – with basic knowledge and skills in good nutrition; care and stimulation of the young child; hygiene, sanitation, and better birth spacing, the better the health outcomes for the child, and the family.

School teachers are another group of potential health workers that we tend to under-estimate.

Most children spend many years every day as captive audience of their teachers. A strong school-based health education programme could, therefore, do wonders to promote public health.

We must also harness the enormous power and outreach of radio, TV, newspapers, mobile phones and SMS technology, and the voices of our artists, singers, comedians, sports personalities and other celebrities to disseminate public health messages.

Helping to provide “Health for All” is the job of Ministries of Health and medical professionals.

Empowering people to protect their own health and transforming “All for Health” is the job of all of us, as public health activists and leaders.

I hope that graduates of our new school of public health here at PAHS, will be such transformative leaders.

That is certainly a tall order for a new institution being established in a resource poor developing country like Nepal.

But I am confident that with the dynamic and dedicated leadership of the Patan Academy of Health Sciences, and with all of our support, this is a goal within our grasp.

I wish you all a most productive consultation in pursuit of this noble goal.

Thank you.

Let me add my words of welcome to our esteemed Executive Director, Tony Lake.

Tony, your maiden visit to Nepal comes at a propitious moment. Nepal is right now in the midst of drafting a new Constitution. We are engaged in heated debates like at the great American Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787.

We are now at a stage that the Philadelphia Convention was when two competing visions for the future of the US Government were being debated – the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan, which were eventually merged into the Connecticut Compromise.

But unlike in the US, where representatives of all participating states shared a common vision of democracy, republicanism, and federalism, even as they held differing views on the best modalities to attain their goals, unfortunately in Nepal our political parties have more fundamental ideological differences in their basic values and vision for the country.
But you will be pleased to know that the one ideal they all share is the need for greater EQUITY – which you have very wisely prescribed as the central agenda for UNICEF globally.

Indeed, the central agenda – the make or break issue – underlying our great Constitutional debate today is how best to ensure greater equity, social justice, inclusion and empowerment of the historically marginalized and deprived communities.

What kind of democracy and economic system will best deliver such results for our future generations is what we are grappling with in Nepal today.
Interestingly, UNICEF’s greatest contribution to Nepal’s development over the past four decades has actually been to promote an equity-based agenda, not necessarily conceptualized as such in theory, but as implemented in practice.

You will have noted in the exhibits of the historical tour of UNICEF in Nepal, how in the selection of its interventions and beneficiary target groups, over the decades, UNICEF supported programmes that deliberately reached the most deprived communities.

Perhaps an early programme with the greatest visual impact that UNICEF supported was control of iodine deficiency disorders.

Four decades ago, if you walked around in any crowded market place or gathering of people during festivals, you were bound to see many people with huge goiter glands in their necks.

This led to brain-damage, reduced learning and earning capacity and even cretinism, as goiter hit hardest the poorest people in remote rural areas, particularly in the hills and mountains of Nepal.

Today, you don’t see any cases of goiter – a true triumph of a programme that reached virtually everybody, including those in the bottom quintile.
When UNICEF opened its country office in Kathmandu 43 years ago, the situation of Nepal’s children was among the worst in the world.

Four decades ago, Nepal had the 12th highest child mortality rate in the world. By last year, we had moved ahead of 50 other countries, reducing U5MR down by 80% from 250 to 50 deaths per thousand live births.
This was possible because UNICEF focused on problems that were the biggest killers of the poorest children – like diarrhea, pneumonia, measles and malnutrition.

UNICEF’s help in training and equipping of auxiliary nurses and midwives, female community health volunteers, support for mass vaccination programmes, vitamin A distribution and de-worming, etc. were both universal and equity-focused, targeting the most deprived communities.

As a result, Nepal is one of the few least developed countries in the world that is on track to reach MDGs 4 and 5, well ahead of the 2015 deadline.

In the 1980s, UNICEF helped a small farmers’ development programme and production credit for rural women – a precursor of today’s more famous micro-credit schemes.

These programmes did much to empower poor rural women to improve their lives and those of their children.

The greatest beneficiaries of UNICEF-supported water supply and sanitation schemes were the poorest women who were spared the daily drudgery of having to walk for hours just to fetch a jar of water and to relieve themselves with dignity.

This helped improve the health and hygiene of their children and enhanced the status of women.

Forty years ago, barely a quarter of school-age children went to primary schools. Girls going to school were a rare sight. Today over 90 percent of children enroll in primary schools, a majority of them – girls.

To motivate parents to send their daughters to school, UNICEF specifically designed a programme in the 1970s and 80s to increase the number of female teachers.

In an early example of affirmative action with focus on equity, UNICEF helped build teacher training institutes and dormitories specifically for women.

This led to dramatic increase in enrolment of girls in schools, helping to narrow one of the greatest gaps in gender equality in Nepal.

These are just a few examples of how UNICEF has effectively pursued an equity agenda in Nepal, without calling it as such.

However, despite all the efforts and achievements of the past, many challenges remain to further sharpen and deepen the equity agenda.
For example, while 90 % of children go to primary school today, the 10 percent who do not, are primarily from the historically, geographically, economically and socially deprived and marginalized communities.

Only 38 % of children from the indigenous communities, 18 % of Dalits and a mere 1% of disabled children are enrolled in primary schools.

This is totally unacceptable in today’s Nepal that aspires to be an inclusive democracy.

Persistence of disparity, inequality and exclusion are therefore still real, and need to be addressed with utmost seriousness.

However, in the highly polarized politics of today’s Nepal, we need to guard against a tendency to make sweeping remarks about inequality by broad ethnic, caste and geographic groupings to suit the agenda of political activists, rather than to really uplift the poorest and the most deprived.

If we look deeper, and examine the disaggregated data, we will find that there are privileged elites among all groups, including those classified as marginalized, who seek to acquire power and perks in the name of the poor and the down-trodden.

We notice this in the disproportionate emphasis given to quotas and reservations for high level positions, such as in the cabinet, parliament, the Supreme Court, and senior ranks in the army and police force.

But curiously, there is much less emphasis on greater equity at the level of school teachers, health workers, pre-school monitors, etc who really touch the daily lives of ordinary people, at the bottom quintile.

UNICEF, the broader UN system and other friends of Nepal need to be careful not to fall into the trap of sweeping generalizations about inequities by broad ethnic, caste and geographic groups, but look deeper at which specific sub-groups are most deprived, and merit special attention.

For example, we know that contrary to popular perception, the disparities in terms of U5MR are far more pronounced between urban vs. rural areas, than between the hills vs. Terai.

We know that not all Janjatis are worse off than Bahun-Chhetris – with Newars being often at the top of the totem pole in terms of various human development indicators.

We know that in terms of health services and water supply, the Terai is much better off than the hills and the mountains, whereas it is worse off in sanitation and nutrition.

We know that the size of the family is often a more significant determinant than geographic location and ethnic grouping.

We know that neither Terai nor the hills are monolithic regions in terms of social indicators – with Central Terai being far worse off in terms of basic education than Western Terai; and the Far-Western hills being far worse off than Central hills in terms of nutrition.

While Dalits and Muslims tend to be worse off across the board, the level of mother’s education is a far more important factor than caste or ethnicity in terms of most social indicators.

The worst exploiters of poor Madheshis are rich Madheshis, not Pahadis. Elite Bahun-Chhetris exploit less well-off members of their own kin, as they do other marginalized groups.

And as in most other societies, class interests are often stronger than caste interests when it comes to people’s economic behaviour.

So, to implement the equity agenda effectively, we need even more disaggregated data on levels of poverty by quintile or decile, so that our progammes are truly responsive to the genuinely poor and deprived groups regardless of caste, ethnicity and geographic classification.

As programming based on caste, ethnicity and geography is likely to be highly divisive and controversial, and does not neatly correlate with levels of poverty and deprivation, prioritizing the bottom quintile in terms of poverty and other social indicators would be a more sensible and less controversial approach for organizations like UNICEF, and the broader UN system.

Looking ahead, the biggest risks as well as the greatest opportunities for building a bright future for Nepal’s children can both be summarized in one word – equity.

But a superficial pursuit of the equity agenda poses the biggest risk of injecting divisiveness, and potential “elite capture” of the state, bypassing the truly deprived sub-groups and individuals.

While a thoughtful, genuinely calibrated pursuit of the equity agenda is likely to be the saving grace, and the most promising way to build a bright future for the children of Nepal.

I would therefore urge the Executive Director, the Regional Director, the Resident Coordinator and the UNICEF Nepal team to pursue the equity agenda in a carefully calibrated manner to reach not just broadly defined historically marginalized groups but currently deprived specific target groups below the poverty line or the HDI thresholds.

The focus of such an equity agenda must not be just righting the wrongs of the past, but a forward-looking vision of building a bright future for all children of Nepal, and thus liberating this country from the darkness of inequity to the brightness of prosperity for all.

Thank you.

Thank you for the opportunity to share some views and suggestions on how we as Rotarians can promote peace and development in Nepal, in our region of South Asia, and in the world.

I am a relatively new Rotarian, less than three years as a full-fledged member. But I believe I have a fairly objective perspective on Rotary’s contribution to peace and development, as I have worked in close partnership with Rotary International for over 3 decades in my earlier incarnation as a UN and, in particular, UNICEF official.

At the United Nations, we always considered Rotary as a valuable partner. Long before the UN or even the League of Nations existed, Rotary was established in 1905 with the objectives of fostering the advancement of international understanding, goodwill and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.

Rotary’s visionary founder, Paul Harris, and other leaders had a vision which was similar to that of the founders of the UN half a century later. Promotion of peace and development are two concepts that best summarize the shared ideals of these two international organizations.

There are many ways to build peace and promote development. Today I want to talk about the unique way that Rotary International has pioneered the art of working together, serving humanity, and thereby helping to promote peace and development.

As someone who has devoted his entire professional career in the service of humanity through the United Nations, I can testify, based on first-hand experience of working closely with Rotary International in many countries, in many projects, that among non-governmental service organizations in the world, Rotary International truly exemplifies the humanitarian spirit of “service above self”.

It is sometimes said that “Rotary is a rich man’s club”. But the activities and achievements of Rotary in Nepal and around the world clearly indicate that Rotary is actually a club of highly motivated and successful people in different walks of life who are not just talkers, but doers dedicated to many worthy causes.

To its great credit, with its 1.2 million members, in 34,000 clubs, in 200 countries, Rotary International does a commendable job in bringing together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, promote development, and help build peace in the world.

Like the Red Cross, UNICEF, and other organizations, Rotary took part in providing emergency relief to the victims of conflict during and after World War II. It did so with great courage.

The Nazis in Germany suppressed Rotary clubs and persecuted many Rotarians forcing many clubs to disband or to go underground. Other authoritarian regimes have also tried to suppress Rotary. Under Communist regimes, Rotary Clubs were disbanded from Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War period.

Notwithstanding such difficulties, Rotary persisted to be guided by its noble founding principles.

Many Rotarians were involved in the founding of the United Nations, and many leaders of the UN have been Rotarians. Rotary International is accredited to the UN Economic and Social Council and is considered a very special partner in the UN’s work for peace and development.

Like the United Nations, but without its big bureaucracy and diplomatic formalities, Rotary is committed to building peace and international understanding through its network of 34,000 Rotary clubs in 200 countries – all involved in various humanitarian projects to address the underlying causes of conflict, including illiteracy, disease, hunger, poverty, lack of clean water, and environmental concerns.

That is why the UN and many governments consider Rotary as a valued partner in their pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals.

Specifically, on peace-building, Rotary partners with eight leading universities around the world which have set up Rotary Centers for International Studies in peace and conflict resolution.

Each year, Rotary awards up to 60 fellowships for a master’s degree and up to 50 fellowships for a professional development certificate through a program aimed at equipping the next generation of global and community leaders with skills needed to reduce the threat of war and violence in the world.

Rotary also sponsors the world’s largest privately-funded international scholarship programme, investing some $26 million for 1200 scholarships every year. Indeed, cumulatively, nearly 40,000 men and women from 100-plus nations have already studied abroad under Rotary’s Ambassadorial Scholarships.

Rotary’s contribution to peace and development through such international, as well as local community-based efforts, have been widely recognized, praised and honoured in the world.

The most well-known and successful of Rotary’s partnership with the UN is undoubtedly the global campaign to eradicate polio in which I was directly involved when I was a senior official at UNICEF.

When Rotary International launched PolioPlus in 1985, it was the most ambitious project undertaken by any non-governmental service organization in human history.

The original goal of PolioPlus was to immunize all the world’s children against this dreaded disease and to eradicate it from the face of the earth as part of Rotary’s centennial celebrations in 2005.

Rotary’s commitment inspired the World Health Organization to officially declare polio eradication as a global goal. It also led to the establishment of a strong global polio eradication partnership with Rotary International, WHO, UNICEF, and the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) as the key partners, supported by many others.

Although the complete eradication of polio has not been achieved yet, the success so far is impressive.

As we heard at the most informative “End Polio Now” briefing on the eve of this conference on Wednesday, Rotary Clubs around the world have raised nearly $1 billion US dollars, mobilized thousands of Rotarians, and helped immunize over 2 billion children.

Five million children who would have been crippled, and thousands who would have died because of polio, are walking, playing and enjoying a better life today because of the global immunization programme.

When this campaign started in the late 1980s, nearly 1000 children were infected with polio everyday; there were over 350,000 cases of polio in 125 countries.

Today polio cases have been reduced by 99.9 percent. Last year we had less than a 1000 cases in the whole world, confined to only 4 endemic countries.

Inspired by Rotary’s contribution, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation made a very generous award of $350 million, and now Rotary has embarked on a matching fund-raising drive to raise another $200 million by the middle of 2012.

You might ask what does this disease eradication campaign have to do with peace and development? Well, I would say, plenty.

For example, with support of influential Rotarians, UNICEF, WHO and the UN Secretary-General have negotiated cease-fires in many countries at war to allow children to be immunized.

We declared “days of tranquility” and “corridors of peace” as confidence building measures to allow nationwide vaccination in countries in conflict such as Afghanistan, Angola, El Salvador, Sudan, and elsewhere, with considerable success.

We are hopeful that polio will be eradicated from the face of the earth in the next 2 to 3 years. And when that happens, it will be a great triumph for humanity, just as when we eradicated smallpox which used to kill 5 million people every year.

It is not just the polio endemic countries and communities that will benefit from the eradication of this disease, but the whole world will benefit.

At present, although they have no cases of polio, industrialized countries spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year to vaccinate their children, because until polio is eradicated everywhere, children are not safe anywhere.

But when polio is eradicated from the world, the United States alone will save $300 million a year; Europe and other industrialized countries will save $500 million; and the rest of the world will save $700 million a year.

This saving of $1.5 billion every year will keep accruing for many years to come. And the funds thus saved can be used for other urgent health and development purposes.

Remember, in this rapidly globalizing world, diseases, environmental degradation, and poverty do not need any passport or visa to travel. If we do not tackle them in the poorest countries, no rich country is safe.

On the other hand, investment in programmes like polio eradication, and other health, education and environmental measures can liberate and generate more resources for development.

As such investments are truly beneficial to all of humanity, these are considered global public goods. And we are all thankful to Rotary International for its wise and far-sighted investment in such global public goods to foster peace and development.

Dear friends,

Inspired by this example of Rotary’s ability to mobilize such extraordinary action at the global level in the context of polio eradication, I have often wondered if we could do something similar here in Nepal at the national level – or perhaps even at the regional level in South Asia.

I know, currently we are preparing a Strategic Plan for our Rotary District 3292 for the next 5 years. From the early draft of the Strategic Plan I have seen, we will be outlining in it our vision and mission and some strategic objectives and priorities.

Following the general guidance of Rotary International, our district too will obviously undertake activities in the broad areas of RI’s global priorities. In the draft Strategic Plan, I have noted that we want to give some focus to the Next Generation, with which I fully concur.

Already Rotary is involved in some programmes for the younger generation through our Interact and Rotaract clubs, and the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) initiatives. Building on such initiatives, I would like to suggest that we add to our strategic objectives at least one specific action or intervention that will distinguish our district 3292 from all other districts and help enhance the public image and awareness of Rotary throughout Nepal and beyond.

Now, what can we do that will have nation-wide impact? Given our limited size and resources, obviously, we cannot aspire to reach every district or village of Nepal with any single activity that our 80 clubs support at present.

But I would like us to dream – let us dream about some low-cost, easily replicable, popular action in which we can partner with some existing institutions that already reach every community – for example, schools.

How about supporting a school-based, after-school activity for all children that they will enjoy, and that will help in their physical and mental development, such as sports?

Could we imagine each of our 80 Rotary clubs helping 5 to 10 schools each year to develop a strong sports programme that is suitable for their area?

If we did that, we would reach 400 to 800 schools each year, and 4000 to 8000 schools all over the country in 10 years time.

And how about imagining a regional Rotary Cup games being organized each year involving teams from all participating schools, and the winners of the regional games participating in a high profile National Rotary Cup games?

Thus, with some modest support from Rotary for training and equipment, hopefully matched by a few other partners, in a few years time, we could have several thousand schools providing organized sports training and necessary equipment, and their most talented students participating in local, regional and national competitions.

In just a few years time, this could lead to every school child having an opportunity to learn and participate in sports competition, and the whole country turning into a nation of sports enthusiasts.

Details of this scheme would have to be worked out, of course. But this could be one activity in which Rotary could claim to do something on a nation-wide basis – not just in a few isolated communities.

Part of our excellent on-going Rotaract and Interact activities could be dedicated to offering such constructive options for our children and youth.

Indeed, we could greatly increase the number of Interact and Rotaract clubs if we offered them a school-based, fun-filled, after-school activity such as training to play some sports, and competing in inter-scholastic games that are identified as a Rotary Cup competition.

Now, sports has the unique advantage of helping youngsters develop physically and mentally; learn about healthy competition; learn to accept defeat with grace and victory with humility; and learn to respect your competitors rather than despise them.

Sports would, therefore, be a wonderful way to redirect the energy of our children and youth from other negative and destructive temptations to healthy personality building.

I know, many of you are probably thinking right now that in Nepal’s current situation, Rotary cannot possibly mobilize the kind of campaign I am speaking about to popularize sports in every school, in every community, and turn Nepal into a nation of sports enthusiasts that could shine in the South Asia region, if not in the world.

But I would invite us all to think again, more positively and creatively, and let us plan something truly ambitious and glorious that our district 3292 can do, let us say, over the next 10 years.

I mention sports because I think it has a unique capacity to mobilize, energize and unite a nation like we have seen in countries like Brazil, Spain, many countries of Central America and the Caribbean.

But if not sports, let us think of something else that can be done on a massive scale, even with our limited resources, that will reach virtually every village, and make Rotary a truly respected household name in Nepal – which frankly, it is not today.

Let me suggest that between now and our next district conference next year, we come up with a detailed plan of action to make such a dream a reality. This could be an important part of developing our long-term strategic plan.

And if we can do something ambitious like this in Nepal, we could blaze the trail for our neighbouring countries, so that one day South Asia can aspire to be a global powerhouse for sports and development, and peace through sports, thanks to the bold and innovative initiative and leadership of our Rotary district 3292 in Nepal.

Our Governor will remember that at the South Asia Regional Rotary conference on Peace and Development in Colombo, Sri Lanka in September 2011, I floated an idea of this nature as a South Asia-wide regional project.

I said then that it was a pity that, with the exception of cricket and field hockey, countries of South Asia perform worse than many small states and banana republics in international sports competition.

Not a single country of South Asia – a region of 1.6 billion people – has ever made it to the football World Cup.

In 100 years of its participation in the Olympic Games, India has won only 9 gold medals, and it ranks as the country in the world with the lowest number of total Olympic medals per capita.

Pakistan has won only 3 gold medals in 60 years of its participation in the Olympics. Sri Lanka has won 2 silver medals, and Afghanistan 1 bronze.

Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal have not won a single medal in the Olympics.

So far, our governments are not giving much priority to sports, but I would like to suggest that we Rotarians take the lead to popularize sports, and encourage South Asian youngsters to become world-class sports persons.

Many of our youth are unemployed, and are attracted to drugs and unhealthy life-styles, and lured by criminal gangs. It saddens me deeply that so many of our youth readily join sister organizations of political parties, and militant youth groups, partly because they have nothing else to aspire to.

If opportunities to participate in sports, music and arts were available, and excelling in them were valued by our society, many youth would choose these to divert their bodies and minds in positive and creative direction.

Would not it be marvelous if we could transform our YCL, Youth Force, Tarun Dal and other militant youth groups from their often violent vandalism into peaceful competition in the fields of sports and nation-building?

And would not it be even better, if our children and youth were weaned away from premature and partisan political activism to constructive competition in sports and social service that helps their physical and mental development, and in building of their character and personality, as is the case in more developed and less hyper-politicized societies?

As we know, politics tend to divide us, and premature political activism tends to poison our youngsters’ minds. Most of our political parties specialize in indoctrinating our youth into unhealthy partisanship from an early age, rather than enlightening them to be creative and constructive citizens.

Pursuit of healthy, non-partisan but competitive sports can actually unite us and inspire our youth, locally, nationally and regionally.

I would, therefore, urge all fellow Rotarians and our Rotary clubs and district leadership to consider this proposal seriously.

Currently, our Rotary clubs are already doing many good things which have a good impact in our society. We must continue them. But let us remember these activities, while very worthwhile, cover only a handful of schools, health centers and communities.

Except for polio eradication, there is no activity that Rotary helps in Nepal at present which reaches all children in all communities in the country.

Now, normally it is not Rotary’s job to reach every community. Providing basic services to all communities is the job of the government, with some support from the private sector and NGOs.

But once in a while, an important service organization like Rotary can be ambitious, as we did in the global Polio Plus programme. In that programme, we aimed to help reach all – not millions, but billions of- children of the world to eradicate a terrible disease from the face of the earth; and we are now on the cusp of a great global victory.

We could have easily said then that immunizing all children of the world or eradicating a disease is not Rotary’s job. The governments should do it, and we will help only in a few countries or few communities.

But thank God, we did not say that. And we surprised the world, and ourselves, with extra-ordinary results.

Not even the most ambitious Rotarian, I bet not even Paul Harris, would have imagined in his wildest dreams, that Rotary would be able to mobilize $1 billion dollars, and tens of thousands of Rotarians, to eradicate polio. But we did it.

And I really feel that we can do something similar in Nepal – with at least one activity that reaches virtually all communities of this country.

Dear friends,

An organization like Rotary can certainly play a useful role in promoting peace and development in many small and big ways. And I just cited some examples, and proposed one ambitious proposal for our consideration.

How well can Rotary really further impact on the peace and development agenda of Nepal, depends, of course, on the overall political and economic situation of the country.

The people of Nepal are now busy drafting a new national Constitution through our popularly elected Constituent Assembly.

We are all hopeful that after decades of violence and suffering, peace, political stability, genuine democracy and economic prosperity with social justice will begin to dawn in Nepal soon.

But as enlightened citizens, we must continue to be vigilant. Let us all – as citizens and voters – ask our leaders exactly the kind of questions that Rotarians are supposed to ask.

* Are they really telling us the truth?

* Are their proposals fair to all concerned?

* Will their recommended actions build goodwill and harmony in the country?

* And, will these actions be really beneficial to all concerned?

Let us not accept superficial answers and ideological clichés to these profound questions. Let us not be satisfied with empty slogans and grandiose promises.

Let us demand that our political parties and candidates outline for us the specifics of their plans and programmes, especially on matters of national reconstruction and development. And let us offer them our constructive advice.

Let this be the occasion when in this land of Lord Buddha, Nepalis repudiate forever the culture of violence and intolerance that our “revolutionary” demagogues and ideologues have introduced into Nepal’s body politic in recent years.

That would be very reassuring to all of us Rotarians who are entrepreneurs and professionals, and who can contribute much for the development of this country, if there were peace and an atmosphere of non-violence.

Let us remember that two wrongs do not make a right. As we end one form of authoritarianism, let us guard against some other brand of authoritarianism creeping in.

Let this also be the occasion when we embark on a peaceful and democratic path to ending centuries of injustice and inequality, so that these evils are not invoked again to justify violence and undermine democracy and universally agreed human rights.

I believe I can speak for all of us in saying that Rotary International as an organization, and all of us as individual Rotarians can be strong partners, as Nepal enters an era of peace and development – with justice and equity – that our people so desperately need and richly deserve.

Thank you.

Here is a tale of two deaths, funerals and Nepal’s reaction.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il died on Saturday December 17, 2011, but the citizens of the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” were given a cue to grieve uncontrollably only two days later on Monday December 19 by the country’s officially tearful TV news announcer who could barely pronounce the news of the “Dear Leader” passing away as she acted so shocked and awed that such an unimaginable event could ever occur in her homeland.

Meanwhile on December 18 the news spread instantaneously across the world of the death of Vaclav Havel, former President of Czechoslovakia, playwright and dissident leader of the Velvet Revolution that overthrew a DPRK-style socialist paradise. Millions of Czechs and citizens of the world mourned spontaneously the passing away of this inspiring icon of freedom and truth.

Here in Nepal, our Deputy Prime Minister officially conveyed the “heart-felt condolences of the Government and people of Nepal to the grief-stricken people of DPRK on the irreparable loss of their leader and Nepal’s ‘great friend’ Comrade Kim Jong-Il. Apparently the Nepali Government was shocked and saddened to learn about the sudden demise of the General Secretary of the Workers´ Party of Korea, Chairman of the National Defence Commission of DPRK and the Supreme Commander of the Korean People´s Army.

But Nepal expressed full of confidence that the Korean people would be able to overcome this shock with their usual resilience to transform grief into strength. Quite a few of Nepal’s Communist leaders of various denominations trooped to the embassy of DPRK to pay their tribute.

But to the best of my knowledge, there was no official statement from the government expressing any sentiments or even acknowledging the passing away of Vaclav Havel. The reluctance of Nepal’s Communist leaders to express any grief at the death of an anti-Communist icon is somewhat understandable, but even the Nepali Congress that prides itself as champion of democracy and human rights found it unnecessary to express any condolence.

I am sure an internationalist leader like BP Koirala would certainly have issued a statement eulogizing Havel. But on the day of Havel’s death, the current crop of pathetic NC leaders were too busy preparing for a nation-wide “peaceful” strike inconvenienced millions of innocent citizens from exercising their right to peaceful livelihood.

What were some of the great achievements of Kim Jong-Il that made him such a “great friend” of Nepal? Many books have been written about Kim Jong-il’s heroic accomplishments, including by his Nepali admirers like Comrade Narayanman Bijukchhe “Rohit”. I have had the opportunity to visit North Korea many times, in connection with the massive humanitarian assistance the UN had to mount there since Kim Jong-il became its paramount leader in mid-1990s. What I witnessed there was in stark contrast to what visitors like Comrade Rohit were shown during their official guided tours.
Apparently the government was saddened to learn about the death of Kim Jong-il but there was no official statement expressing any sentiments or even acknowledging the passing away of Vaclav Havel.
Perhaps the greatest achievement of Kim Jong-il was to realize his father Kim Il-sung’s dream of turning his starving, isolated country into a nuclear power. It is capable of feeding and equipping its million-person army—the sixth largest in the world—even as its economy collapsed, child immunization and malnutrition rates plummeted to levels worse than those of Nepal or sub-Saharan Africa, and the country was hermetically sealed so its people would not be able to see any other model of development that might pollute their minds into questioning the heaven-on-earth model. In my travels to over 100 countries, North Korea was the only one where I could not receive any short-wave radio broadcasts or TV and telephone signals from outside the country when I went on field trips.

In Nepal we rightly complain about the inconvenience of prolonged load-shedding. But imagine living in the upper floors of a 30-story apartment as many do in Pyongyang–and having long black-outs and no functioning elevators, or having to live half a year in sub-zero temperature without any house-hold heating. That was the reality of Pyongyang I saw, excluding a few government offices, hotels for foreigners, and residences of a handful of the privileged nomenklatura close to the Dear Leader.

Following Kim Jong-il’s death, predictably, the whole of North Korea has plunged into an outpouring of grief, with everybody in tears, wailing uncontrollably, thumping their chests, and beating their fists against the pavements on a massive scale. “How could he leave us?” apparently people are asking—incredulous that such a fate could befall a super-human being.

Apparently, the Dear Leader’s death was such a cataclysmic event that DPRK’s official news agency announced that a fierce snowstorm paused and the sky began glowing red above sacred Mount Paektu just minutes before his death, and the ice on volcanic Lake Chon at the mountain in the far north cracked with a roar. And in the city of Hamhung, a Manchurian crane circled a statue of Kim´s father, the “eternal” President Kim Il-sung, its head drooping, before it took off towards Pyongyang. Presumably there is some Marxist-Leninist-Maoist “scientific” explanation for such super-natural and divine occurrence, as such events have also happened before, for example, during the mourning period following the death of Kim Il-sung in 1994.

Contrary to its official name, North Korea is neither democratic, nor people’s, nor a republic. It has established a hereditary Communist monarchy, in which one Kim succeeds another Kim. So predictably, immediately following Kim Jong-il’s death, the Workers Party declared his third son, Kim Jong-un, as “the great successor to the revolution” and “the eminent leader of the military and the people”. Please note the carefully chosen order here: military first, and people second.

Kim Jong-un has been hailed by the state media as “Supreme Commander” of the country´s powerful armed forces. And the ruling party newspaper Rodong Shinmun called on him to lead North Korea to “eternal victory”. To ensure this message remains unforgettable, an editorial in the Workers Party newspaper reaffirmed:”We declare from our hearts that we will complete the task of songun [military-first] revolution under Comrade Kim Jong-un”.

A grand funeral service will be held for Kim Jong-il on December 28 in Pyongyang, followed by a separate “national meeting of mourning” the next day at which all North Koreans have been instructed to pay a three-minute silent tribute. We can predict that it will be a funeral of massive scale with the whole North Korean nation coming to a stand-still in grief of unprecedented proportion, because in North Korea everything that is not forbidden, is essentially compulsory.

Interestingly, foreign guests have not been invited to attend, presumably because the regime knows, no world leader of any stature is likely to attend, and it would not wish to be embarrassed by just a tiny sprinkling of second-rate leaders gracing such grand occasion.

In contrast to the funeral in Pyongyang, the one in Prague on December 23 will have been a modest and subdued affair. But it was a voluntary, spontaneous and truly heart-felt event without anybody having been instructed or expected to weep and wail. Havel’s funeral was attended by world leaders, Presidents, Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers and dignitaries of important countries, former Nobel Prize winners and free thinkers.

The tributes paid to Havel were truly moving and meant sincerely. US President Obama said Havel had “helped to unleash tides of history that led to a democratic Europe”. German Chancellor Angela Merkel described Havel as a “great European whose fight for freedom and democracy was as unforgettable as his great humanity”. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said, “France has lost a friend, and Europe has lost one of its wisest men.” British Prime Minister David Cameron said, “Europe owes Vaclav Havel a profound debt. Havel led the Czech people out of tyranny and helped bring freedom and democracy to our entire continent.”

Many Nobel Prize winners from Lech Walesa to Aung San Suu Kyi, Dalai Lama to Desmond Tutu, were effusive with admiration for Havel, as were ordinary citizens of many countries. By contrast, except for pro-forma platitudes or accolades by Kim Jong-il’s ideological soul-mates like some Nepali leaders, commentaries by most other world leaders were full of caution, anxiety, and hope that nothing rash and dangerous would happen. Many of DPRK’s neighbours put their militaries on high alert to avoid any untoward incidents. Many world leaders expressed the hope that the people of North Korea would get a leadership that is more humane and less mercurial.

With the new baby Supreme Commander Kim Jong-un, we can only pray that the celestial powers will bless the people of DPRK and deliver to them the spirit of Vaclav Havel. And here in Nepal, as we complete our peace process and a new Constitution, let us hope and pray that we are spared an Orwellian multi-party people’s federal democratic republic, with guarantees of the kind of human rights as enshrined in articles 66 and 67 of the Constitution of DPRK.

Published by Republica 2011-12-28
Link: http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=40088

The occasion was 30 September 1990 at the United Nations in New York where the largest gathering of world leaders in history until that time was assembled at the historic World Summit for Children. As the designated senior UNICEF official in charge of drafting the Declaration and Plan of Action of the Summit, I had the opportunity to accompany, brief and witness the signing of the newly adopted UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by several world leaders, including President Vaclav Havel of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic. He was visibly emotional as he signed the child rights Convention, and as he later delivered a short but the most touching and powerful speech in front of 70 other Heads of State and Government and scores of ministers and senior UN leaders.

Havel spoke about how dictators and dictatorial regimes exploit parents’ concern for the wellbeing of their children to extract subservience to an unjust and inhumane system in the name of children. Here are some memorable passages from that speech:

“A thousand times over the last decades I have seen in my country many bent backs, bent allegedly in the interest of children. A thousand times I have heard people defend their servitude to a hated regime by the argument that they were doing it only for their children – to be able to feed them, to make it possible for them to study, to be able to afford vacations at the seaside. A thousand times various acquaintances as well as strangers confided to me that they were in their mind and soul totally on our side – that is, on the side of so-called dissidents – and that they signed various petition campaigns aimed against us and organized by the totalitarian Government for the sole reason that they had children and thus could not afford the luxury of resistance. Immorality was thus committed in the name of children, and evil was served for their alleged good.

How much evil has already been committed in the name of children!”

Then, after praising profusely the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which he had just signed, Vaclav Havel went on to say: “However, if it were possible, I would add another paragraph to the agreement I signed this morning. That paragraph would say that it is forbidden for parents and adults in general to lie, serve dictatorships, inform on others, bend one’s back, be scared of dictators, and betray one’s friends and ideals in the name and for the alleged interest of children, and that it is forbidden for all murderers and dictators to pat children on the head”.

Havel then went on to speak eloquently about how the children of the Velvet Revolution persuaded their parents to revolt and prevail against totalitarianism, and on the side of the truth. Havel’s Velvet Revolution was a delayed triumph of the Prague Spring unleashed by his predecessor Alexander Dubcek who said memorably: “They may crush the flowers, but they can’t stop the Spring”.

The last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, acknowledged that his liberalizing policies of glasnost and perestroika owed a great deal to Dubček’s “socialism with a human face”. But like the Prague Spring, glasnost and perestroika failed to prevent the collapse of the once mighty Soviet empire as the very premise of “scientific socialism” of the Marxist-Leninist, (and today we might add Maoist variety), proved simply incapable of transforming itself to a genuinely pluralistic democracy, because of its pseudo-scientific dogmatism.

We Nepali people would do well to be wary of promises of heaven on earth being doled out by ideologues of various stripes – especially those who are very artful in invoking “scientific” arguments in support of their utopian vision which can mislead our gullible young citizens. Let us reclaim the spirit of Nepal’s own 2006 Rhododendron revolution, as Vaclav Havel’s Velvet revolution did, in the genuine interest of our children.

Published by Nepali Times 2011-12-20
Link: http://www.nepalitimes.com/issue/2011/12/20/Comment/18831