Nepal Opposition's Low Value of Human Life

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organised by one group of people or the other is a common sight in the streets

of Kathmandu and in the districts of Nepal. Political parties, student wings

affiliated to the different political parties, and the so-called intellectuals

and members of the civil society organise these�rallies

and�� demonstrations to voice their concern over

�democracy�. This has been going on for the last three years and,

only God knows, for another how many more years this will

continue.�People have even started, jokingly and mockingly, likening

these demonstrations to the Indian TV serials which seem to have no beginning

and no end. Show But there is no denying the fact that the common people of

Nepal have little interest in these rallies and marches, unless forced to

attend them. They consider these marches as mere �gimmicks� to

attract dollars (in the case of intellectuals and civil societies), to advance

their causes

and to sustain their images (in the case of the political parties) and for media

publicity (in the case of students). Tired and sick of these demonstrations, the

people instead blame and curse the leaders for ruining the country, and

disrupting their daily lives and business activities. It is not that the above

organisers of these demonstrations aren�t aware how the common man on

the street feels about them, but they think that their �show�

must go on for the reasons cited above.� The question is, why is it that

the Nepalese people are so apathetic towards this �democracy�, or,

why are they silent when, allegedly, �democracy� is being robbed

of them in broad daylight? If one honestly looks for the right answer, one does

not have to go very far. The people are asking just one question to all the

political leaders, writers, intellectuals and members of the civil society who

organise these rallies:

�How many rallies and demonstrations did you organise when hundreds and

hundreds of our innocent brothers and sisters, in the remote districts, were

either killed or maimed in cold blood?� They ask: �How many

protest marches did you hold in the streets of Katmandu when hundreds of

students were abducted, teachers lynched and when the educational institutions

were burnt to ashes?�� The common people want to know how many

effigies of the perpetrators of terrorism were torched at Ratna Park or

elsewhere when school buses and ambulances were bombed and many innocent people

were killed by those wicked people? And they are asking, �Please tell us

what has made you the apostle of peace and justice today when you were so

insensitive towards the citizen�s�plight yesterday?� Is it

not a matter of shame for the nation that not a single protest was organised by

any of the parties or organisations during the

last eleven years when the country was literally bleeding?� In fact, the

leaders of most of the organisations were so apathetic and insensitive towards

the plight of the victims of the insurgency or terrorism that they either did

not utter a single word against the barbarism or even if they spoke or wrote

something - when circumstances compelled them to do so - they spoke and

wrote�ambiguously, feebly and meekly. In another word, they acted in a

very cowardly manner. The common people have not forgotten the days when in the

daily newspapers, there used to be gruesome reports about the massacres

committed by the Maoists on one side, and on the other, news about the

political parities squabbling for power or about one political party blaming

the leader of another party for his scams. They are always there to organise a

nation-wide strike when the price of sugar goes up by a rupee or two, but no

one comes out against the atrocities committed against the common

people. The so-called�intellectuals often tell the common man about

western-style democracy and the right to expression.�But the

intellectuals would do well to also talk about the sacrifices their leaders

have made so that their people could live in peace. You have not been able to

burn a single effigy of those murderers because you feared for your life. US

Ambassador Moriarty was right when he said that one of the fundamentals of

democracy is �courage.� Is there such a word as �moral

courage� in your dictionary?�� Aspiring leaders tend to

shout at the top of their voices at Ratna Park because they know very well that

by doing so they will be turned into an overnight hero by the media. And with it

comes opportunities for exposure in the international arena, through invitation

for talks in the western capitals on topics ranging from democracy, autocracy

to terrorism. The public does not blame

the organisers for the rallies because they are exercising their democratic

right. But the thing is, if one had only spoken and stood boldly against the

perpetrators of death yesterday, there would have been no need to look for

democracy today. If they had only shown moral courage to condemn the

perpetrators of the violence, Nepal would not have come to this pass.�

The public would have readily come out of their doors in their support, and the

murderers would have been morally vanquished and so many lives would have been

saved. The nation would have gone for normal election, and the nation would

have taken its peaceful course.� Courage Oh you leaders and

intellectuals, please think what kind of democracy you are looking for in the

heap of all this pain, tears, explosions, smoke, anarchy, chaos and

carnage,�and, above all, in this stinking heap of� your cowardice

and selfishness. And it is our ardent request to all

well wishers of Nepal to do something to instill and inculcate some amount of

courage in the hearts of our leaders and intellectuals�to morally

challenge the terrorists rather�than trying to impose their style

of� democracy on

us.http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/pageloader.php?file=2006/04/21/editorial/editorial1

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