Review of World Politics
By Shashi P.B.B. Malla
All of Nepal’s politicians were no match for the wily fox, K.P. Sharma Oli. He verily out-foxed all of them in Nepal’s own version of the Game of Thrones. This means that Oli will remain an unchallenged ruler of the Himalayan Federal Democratic Republic [HFDR/but of little substance]. This also means that there is little possibility that the Kathmandu Quagmire will be cleaned up any time soon.
The State of the Nation is as follows:
Oli reigns supreme. He even dictates to the Head of State what parts to leave out in the oath of office! There is little hope that he will prioritize combating the dreaded Covid-19 pandemic over his continued efforts to consolidate personal power. After all, the leopard cannot change its spots.
The opposition parties have been dismal failure. After all, they have failed miserably to hold the government to account.
Right from the start, the Nepali Congress leader, Shri Sher Bahadur Deuba has been dilly-dallying and has been unwilling to challenge Oli.
The leader of the Maoists, Comrade Prachande for his own sweet reasons postponed, again and again, his party’s decision to withdraw support from the government. This made it easy for Oli to spin his web of deceit.
The Makune/Jhallu Bhai faction of the ruling Unified Marxists-Leninists (UML) was procrastination personified. If Makune had acted in a decisive manner at a crucial moment of the political drama, Oli would today be in the political wilderness. Makune has amply demonstrated that he is unfit for political office.
The Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) is a hydra-headed monster. It remains two political parties masquerading as one. The Mahantha Thakur/Rajendra Mahato faction during the whole episode as Oli was jockeying for power, placed personal, party and communal interests above those of the nation as a whole. Thus, Thakur and Mahato can be branded as communal leaders. Their anti-national stance made it easy for Oli to plan his evil moves.
Nepal’s Diplomacy in the Doldrums
There is little doubt that not only on the home front but also in external affairs, the Oli government has failed terribly to mobilize resources to combat the dreaded Covid-19 pandemic. Our very important embassies in Washington, London, New Delhi and Beijing were non-functional at the height of the pandemic.
Now against all prevailing laws and norms and for no rhyme nor reason, the government is intending to appoint 11 ambassadors, most of whom are not qualified and do not have the necessary experience. The prevailing 50-50 rule is that when appointments are made, half should come from the foreign service, i.e. the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and the other half comprising political appointments. In the latter case, there should be a very high bar, i.e. the persons nominated should be highly qualified and be versed in international relations. Unfortunately, this time around, this is not at all the case.
Instead of meritocracy, downright favouritism and nepotism seem to be the guiding principles. The practice of awarding ministerial posts, as well as lucrative appointments in the government and administration, to close relatives, friends and supporters have been the usual practice; this has now been extended to the highly significant diplomatic field. Our role in international affairs will not only shrink and diminish, but it will also have a greatly negative impact on international cooperation, including external aid.
With distinguished ambassadors like Rishikesh Shaha (United Nations), Sardar Bhim Bahadur Pande (West Germany), Dr. Bekh Bahadur Thapa (India), Nepal had a defining role. This has diminished considerably.
Oli and his cohorts lack vision. For instance, the government could have appointed an experienced retired army general to the Myanmar post. The feedback would have been immense and of considerable import in the current tense situation of that country.
Dr. Madan Kumar Bhattarai, distinguished academic [International Relations/Jadavpur University] and the former foreign secretary said a new ambassador should have the full trust of the country, the people and the Nepali diaspora. His expert opinion: “We need efficient and proactive ambassadors. But the government is picking people who are not cut out for the job” (The Kathmandu Post, May 16).
America’s Role in the Israel-Palestine Conflict
U.S. President Joe Biden has finally succumbed to domestic and international pressure and agreed to take a more proactive role in the Israel-Palestine conflict roiling the Middle East region and beyond.
President Biden made phone calls to both Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Saturday amid increasingly violent attacks that have leftover 139 people dead in the Gaza Strip last week (Newsweek, May 16).
Biden “reaffirmed his strong support for Israel’s right to defend itself” in his high-level call with Netanyahu. But the U.S. President also demanded the “safety and security of journalists” in the wake of an Israeli targeted airstrike on the Jalaa building in Gaza City that housed the media outlets The Associated Press and Al Jazeera. Israel insists that the building was one of the HQ of the militant Palestinian group Hamas.
In a separate conversation with Abbas, Biden reiterated his “strong commitment” to negotiating a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Biden stressed to Abbas “The need for Hamas to cease firing rockets” and urged Netanyahu to “ensure the protection” of Palestinian civilians.
There are ground realities that complicate a peaceful resolution of the immediate flare-up, let alone a long-term peace plan. The fact is that Abbas has absolutely no power over Hamas. The indiscriminate bilateral bombardment by Hamas and Israel is bound to cause much civilian collateral damage and are crimes against humanity/war crimes. The U.S. has designated Hamas as a ‘terrorist organization’ and has, therefore, no direct communication with it.
The Biden’s administration’s stance has been to call for a cessation of hostilities, but not to take an active role. U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken thus called the foreign ministers of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt on Saturday to encourage a stop to the violence.
However, Biden’s own party is now forcing his hand. As many as 28 Democratic Senators, led by Georgia’s Jon Ossoff, have issued a joint statement calling for an immediate ceasefire to the bilateral Israel-Hamas hostilities: “To prevent any further loss of civilian life and to prevent further escalation of conflict in Israel and the Palestinian territories, we urge an immediate ceasefire” (Newsweek, May 17).
The progressive wing of the Democratic Party both in the House and the Senate have condemned Israel’s actions toward the Palestinians amid the region’s escalating violent conflict. At the least, this will start unravelling Trump’s misguided Middle East policies. The so-called ‘Abraham Accords’ will soon cease to have any meaning. Domestic politics in Israel are also headed for a sea change, especially since Benjamin Netanyahu remains adamant. Last Saturday, he indicated that the bombardment of Gaza will continue for “as long as necessary.”
Armed Resistance Grows Against Myanmar’s Military Dictators
Over the weekend, Myanmar’s detested army battled local militia fighters in the northwestern hill-town of Mindat, just over 100 kilometers from the border with India. There are around 40,000 people trapped in the town, most of them children and old people. The junta imposed martial law on Thursday and then stepped up attacks on what it called “armed terrorists” (CNN/Reuters, May 16).
The fighting is some of the heaviest since the February 1 putsch and underlines the growing mayhem as the junta struggles to impose order in the face of daily protests, strikes and sabotage attacks after it overthrew the legitimate government of elected leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
It can be stated unequivocally that the resistance/revolution in Myanmar has been left to its own devices. It has been ignored/abandoned by its neighbours – India, China and ASEAN, as well as the international community, the U.S., the UK [the former colonial power, and the United Nations.
In the meantime, Mindat in Chin state [a majority Christian state in the predominantly Buddhist country] was now largely occupied by the army and all the men and boys had fled. The fighting here marks the emergence of the ‘Chinland Defence Force’, one of several new groups to spring up in opposition to the junta in a country that already had about two dozen ethnic armed groups (Reuters, May 16).
The fighters are also part of the People’s Defence Forces (PDF) of the shadow unity government, whose urgent calls for help has been ignored by the international community. The shadow prime minister, Mahn Win Khaing has hailed the fighters of Mindat as “heroes” and stressed that the PDF is in the process of being trained and equipped. A multi-ethnic, multi-religious society was now in the process of being forged.
In the face of more than 800 civilian deaths overall, the U.S. exhortations on the Tatmadaw [the dreaded and detested military] to cease violence against civilians – including arbitrary arrests, torture, retaliation against militant’ families — have fallen on deaf ears. Britain’s assurance that perpetrators of such violence will be held to account later isn’t much succor either. The least that Western Powers can now do to help the Burmese resistance/revolution is to arm the PDF with lethal weapons.
The writer can be reached at: shashipbmalla@hotmail.com
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