While everyone in the UK is focusing on tomorrow’s election, I thought I might allow you a perhaps much appreciated break from the Brown/Cameron/Clegg view of politics … Here in Nepal we are now coming to the end of the fourth day of “indefinite” Maoist strikes which have brought the entire country to a standstill.
To give you a better understanding of what is going on, I’ll give you a very brief overview of the political situation in Nepal. In November 2006, the civil war that killed 14 000 Nepalis (fought mainly by the Maoists calling for an end to an increasingly autocratic monarchy) finally ended. Nepal was no longer officially a “kingdom” and an interim government was formed which included the Maoists. In April 2008, Constituent Assembly elections were held and the Maoists, promising development, peace and prosperity, won an astounding victory of 220 seats (over a third of the total and double those won by any other party.) All sounds very promising I hear you say. Yes, and so it seemed.
I’m not sure of the exact technicalities but the government that followed the elections was made up of 25 parties who were to write the final Constitution. However, very little progress was made and in 2009 the Maoists were evicted from government although are still officially part of the parliament. Don’t ask me why exactly they were removed but Krishna hinted that it had something to do with pressure from India, who is itself facing Maoist insurgencies in parts of the country. (Don’t quote me on this!) Anyway, the Maoists were obviously unhappy by this, especially because a large majority of the people had voted for them.
Since their eviction, the Maoists have been holding regular but seemingly random strikes. They are now calling for the resignation of the Prime Minister and the start of a new parliament under their leadership. They believe that the PM and his cabinet are in power illegally as they were not those for whom the population voted. The lack of progress in writing a Constitution for which the original deadline is sometime later this month, is also key to their grievances. The Maoists held a massive rally in Kathmandu to mark International Labour Day, saying that if the PM didn’t stand down by the end of the day (Saturday), they would start an indefinite strike.
These strikes aren’t like those we know in the UK, where a single sector is affected and replacement workers are often organised, thus causing minimal disruption. People here, although they don’t say as much, and are in fact for the most part seemingly undisturbed by the strikes, obviously take the restrictions imposed by the Maoists very seriously. No vehicles are allowed on the roads except ambulances, water and milk vehicles, press vehicles and those driving for diplomatic purposes. All shops are officially closed although in small villages like Thaiba, many remain open. Kathmandu however is like a ghost town, the protestors being the only people on the streets. (Very glad I don’t live in Kathmandu.)
On first hearing these realities, you might not truly appreciate the implications of such restrictions. Think about it for a minute. No transport. Although there are government buses to take tourists to the airport from central Kathmandu, Nepalis aren’t allowed to use them. The newspaper yesterday showed images of Nepalis walking from the airport with all their luggage. Can you imagine walking to central Edinburgh from the airport with your luggage?!
Krishna’s wife, Bina, has been ill and before the strikes they had had some tests done and had been given a small supply of medicine. The medicine has run out, she is still ill, but the doctor isn’t in his surgery because he can’t get there and even if he was there, Krishna can’t travel to Patan to see him. No test results and no more medicine until the strike is over. If she gets seriously ill, they can pay extortionate fees for an ambulance to come but there are probably very few ambulances in the valley and only emergencies will be taken. It’s a serious problem. The Maoists don’t take a lack of strike observation lightly. Yesterday, they apparently torched a motorbike and injured its driver who had been driving round the streets of Kathmandu. Shops which opened in Kathmandu on Monday, were yesterday torched and looted. Not fun and games.
Staying on the theme of transport, the Maoist supporters who were bused into the capital for the International Labour Day protests and the ensuing strike, are now wanting to go home. The majority of them are peasants and with the onset of the monsoon (its now raining heavily for a period most days) they are eager to get home because the monsoon is a very important time for planting rice and harvesting other produce. The Maoists apparently gave instructions in many rural areas that at least one member of each household was to attend the strikes – I’m not sure how this was enforced and whether these people were wanting to attend anyway. However, the Party is now offering no way for these peasants to go home, instead leaving them to walk distances which must reach100s of kilometres! Even I can’t really conceive the reality of it.
With no transport on the roads, food can’t be transported and the newspapers (www.myrepublica.com) tell me that food prices are absolutely soaring in Kathmandu as supplies become increasingly scarce. In Thaiba we are fine because we are surrounded by fields and the family have their own fields of vegetables. Don’t worry, they’re not going to stop feeding me the massive amounts I’m becoming accustomed to! Fruit however is no longer available – gutted I didn’t stock pile some while I could! I also read reports that farmers in the Chitwan area are becoming very angry and are holding protests against the strikes by throwing their rotting produce onto the silent highway. They can’t take it to market to sell, even though people will be becoming hungry in the cities. I read a rather harrowing story by a Kathmandu taxi driver who says that the combination of increasing food prices and his inability to work during the strike, he has run out of money. He said it would be ok if he were required to go without food for a few days but he can’t explain the reality to his three young children. I imagine this is increasingly the case for many families because no one is allowed to work. In such a subsistence economy, 4 days (likely to be a lot longer) without wages is devastating.
I’m not really sure what the opinions of these people are regarding who is to blame. From my reading, I don’t think they blame the Maoists, instead blaming the government for the failure of satisfactory negotiations. At the end of today, there still seems to be little sign of reconciliation between the Maoists and the government. They have been holding “high level meetings” for the last few days but to no avail. The protestors are becoming increasingly violent and impatient. Today the Prime Minister held meetings with the foreign ambassadors in Kathmandu but I think with the intention of detailing the situation as it concerns foreign nationals in Nepal rather than in hope of political advice.
So, here I am, sitting on my balcony in Thaiba, where without the lack of fruit, and quietness of the town, (and the online newspapers and my discussions with Krishna), I would have little idea of the gravity of the situation in Kathmandu. I really hope it is all resolved sometime soon as I would love to sit in a relaxed Kathmandu café on Saturday with a good cappuccino and my current book – just started MansfieldPark. (My third Jane Austen – Sarah and I somehow managed to co-ordinate our variety of reading material very badly!) Also, Alan and Jo (friends from home) are meant to be visiting on Tuesday after finishing their trek to Everest Base Camp. They are probably blissfully unaware of the situation but they won’t be able to get here if the strikes continues. These are obviously very superficial personal reasons for a desire for the end of strikes … Of course, I want them to end also for the good of Nepal and the necessity of stopping their crippling effect on the economy and everyone’s lives.
I’ll keep you all updated with any progress but as I mentioned earlier, look at www.myrepublica.com if you want to find out more for yourself.
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