SAJAforum: NEPAL: Time-Asia on 'the battle for Nepal'

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NEPAL: Time-Asia on 'the battle for Nepal'

Nepali news does not make cover stories or headlines in magazines like Time too often. But Nepali politics has regained its international attention after the Maoists joined the interim government and most importantly, after increasing rumors that Maoist leader Prachanda is making a run to become the first president of the Republic of Nepal.

In a recent cover story (click the photo to enlarge) in Time's Asian edition, Ishaan Tharoor, a reporter based in Time's Hong Kong bureau [and son of author and former U.N. official Shashi Tharoor], asks if these rebels can help rebuild Nepal.

From Time-Asia:
"As the politicians fiddle in Kathmandu, a hundred mutinies burn around the country: vigilante gangs run rampant in the countryside, while ethnic groups long marginalized under the monarchy have taken to armed uprising, especially in the southern lowlands of the Tarai where over 40% of Nepal's population lives. A cocktail of anarchist elements, militant factions and a growing separatist movement hold sway there and prove a daunting challenge with elections coming in little more than two months. "What happened in Kenya could happen here," says Jayaraj Acharya, a former Nepalese ambassador to the U.N., speaking of the ongoing ethnic conflict in the African nation triggered by disputed elections, which has claimed hundreds of lives. "Only here," Acharya adds, "it will be worse." <snip>

"Beyond the turmoil and political intrigue looms the very real chance that Nepal might join the region's sorry list of failing states — populated already by Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Besides forging alliances and staging elections, the country and its politicians need to steel themselves for the thorny task of drafting a constitution that reconciles its feuding factions and enfranchises all its kaleidoscope of ethnic groups."

This is by far one of the best post-Comprehensive Peace Accords stories I have read on Nepali politics. You can listen to the podcast [click on the sidebar link on the story page].