Written by Dr. Brian Cobb
Source:
http://www.blog.com.np/united-we-blog/2006/04/23/general-strike-day-xviii/#more-562 Savagery on the Roof of the World
Brian Cobb, M.D.
The carnage being inflicted by Nepal’s armed police on unarmed protestors, which I have witnessed firsthand, to enforce a curfew imposed only to silence the people’s voice by a lawless and unconstitutional government horrifies the civilized world. Ministerial allegations of Maoist infiltration are not credible, since no police have been shot or bombed. However, state agents provocatuers have been found in the crowds by the UN Human Rights team.
At this point the only acceptable solution is the dissolution of the government and trial of all of those responsible, from constable to monarch, for murder, attempted murder, torture, aggravated battery and other felonies. No proposal conniving at such atrocities, such as the king’s belated offer to create an all-party government, is acceptable. The demands of hundreds of thousands of Nepalese citizens of all walks of life, demonstrated by their defiance of curfews and brutality, must be acknowledged. They loathe and fear their cruel, arrogant and extravagant monarch and want him gone; they want a constituent assembly, a new and truly democratic constitution, and an end to tyranny, treachery, trauma and trickery.
With each leap deeper into the moral abyss this regime proves its critics right, its supporters wrong, and itself abhorrent. Its obstruction of peace negotiations and military excesses were bad enough, but it has now passed the point of no return. I share with my friends in Nepal both their anguish and their hope that peace, justice and democracy will prevail.
I formerly taught medicine in Nepal and was there earlier this month, caring for injured protestors and police and attempting to calm both sides. I and my team were beaten by the very police we had treated kindly and abducted at gunpoint, denied consular or legal assistance, and freed only because of the fortuitous appearance of a courageous UN Human Rights team. We saw horrifying police brutality: unarmed people shot in the back at point blank range with live ammunition, children shot, women defenestrated, eyes gouged out, thousands of people savagely beaten with bamboo canes–mostly on the head and back–and indiscriminate use of tear gas. In the past two weeks, at least 15 people have been murdered in cold blood and hundreds shot. Because many bodies have been carted away by the police, the total is unknown but surely higher.
The regime has restricted the activities of the media, ambulance squads, medical personnel and human rights staffers. It leads the world in disappearances, summary executions, torture and other horrific acts committed with complete impunity. The Maoist rebels, guilty of war crimes themselves, are suing for peace and have agreed to multiparty democracy and free market economics. The parties have a loose accord with the rebels which calls on them to abandon violence. Without royal intransigence, the decade long , militarily unwinnable conflict could be resolved through negotiation.
The US’s pro-royalist stance is perhaps slowly changing, but it must realize that the king’s excesses fuel the Maoist movement, making backing him counterproductive. We are squandering our political capital and credibility trying to prop up a regime no one wants, just as we did in Iran in 1979. Better to go with the elected government which enjoys broader public support. Calls for reconciliation of “democratic†or “constitutional†forces are fatuous; the bloody royal puppet show is neither, and everyone in Nepal knows it. The western nations’ ringing endorsement of the royal trojan horse, a twist on Richard II, reveals that their real aim is to appear democratic while supporting autocracy. It looks like the Nepali people will have to go this one on their own.
The legitimate, elected parliament must be reinstated, in exile if necessary, and arrangements made to replace vicious, corrupt police and army commanders with UN or retired British Gurkha officers to prevent anarchy and a Maoist or army coup d’etat when the regime falls. Foreign aid and arms, even if detoured through Pakistan, must be denied this odious regime; continued support makes accomplices of donor nations. This move would complement the tax strike recently declared by many professional societies. The UN Security Council should consider sanctions and the US should cease blocking resolutions condemning abuses.
The extremely poor, gentle, warm and charming people of Nepal deserve life, liberty and pursuit of happiness no less than we do. We Americans must honor, by deed rather than by word alone, our committment to democracy and human rights.
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