Dr Durga Pokhrel talks about the current state of Nepal pointing at the frustration of choices where none of the conflicting parties represents a large section of the country’s population.

In the 1970’s and 1980’s, Dr. Durga Pokhrel was part of the underground democratic movement that led to a tenuous democracy in Nepal in the
1990’s. During 1970’s and 1980’s she was a journalist and a university lecturer until she was arrested and detained in medieval-like prisons.
Beaten and tortured like many of the other women prisoners, she came to the attention of Amnesty International, which adopted her as a prisoner of conscience.

Freed from prison, death threats followed her, and she eventually fled to the United States, where she earned an advanced degree at Kennedy School of Government. She married Andrew Willett and had three sons. After 16 years in the United States, Dr. Pokhrel and her family returned to Nepal, where she became the Director of Nepal’s newly-formed Commission on Women. Since then she has worked bravely, tirelessly, and passionately for peace and women’s rights in Nepal.

Recently, she spoke about at an informal gathering in St. Paul, MN about the state of Nepal from the perspective of someone who was an activist in the democratic movement and now as the Director of Commission on Women.

To a mostly disbelieving audience she explained that the Constitution formed in democratic Nepal – by a constituent assembly of 5 Nepali Brahmin men – of the 90s was even more oppressive for most of the population than the monarchic Constitution before that.

In fact, as per this constitution, almost all women who form 51% of the population were officially second class citizens with no access to land rights or inheritance. They were on par with animals. In addition, 30% of the population comprising of excluded castes and dalits also had no citizenship rights. Thus, this was truly the democracy of about 10% of the country’s population.

Unfortunately, in the process for resolution of this conflict, the voices of these sections were still not included. Neither the king, nor the political parties demanding ‘democracy’ as existed before, not the Maoists were representing this large population.

While she did not condone the Maoists, she argued that the Maoist groups were the outcome of severe socio-economic and political oppression as opposed to some concerted effort at an ideological revolution. For most part, they include landless peasants and bonded labor that have been severely marginalized for over a century. Only recently, former minority leader in the US Senate, Tom Daschle has argued that the situation in Nepal is truly a political struggle of an oppressed community.

It is the Maoists now who have been more gender conscious, with women being paid the same wages as men and women being in significant position of leadership in the movement. They have also begun to include other excluded communities in their movement too. Dr. Pokhrel claims that about 80% of the countryside is under the control of Maoist groups. While some areas are under control because the local people proactively support the Maoists, in other areas, the local residents have no choice.

Meanwhile, the American government has continued to fund the Nepali government and directly supply them with arms. However, often Maoist groups have attacked warehouses of arms and looted them. Thus, the Maoists are armed with American weapons.

The political parties, meanwhile, having been thrown out by the king, continue to protest in Kathmandu. Having lost their support in the countryside – from where they were once elected, they have no other choice.

Under these conditions, the country is in a terrible state of violence. The Maoists have killed over 12000 people. The number of people tortured has not been counted. The government has killed more and tortured even more. There is a state of fear in Kathmandu and in the countryside.

Dr. Pokhrel argues that it is unlikely that the Maoists can provide sustainable peace in the country. A political process is necessary and this process must include the three main groups but also the interests of the wide set of people whose interests are today hardly represented.

With this in mind, a group of organizations and individuals – including Dr. Pokhrel – have organized dialogue between the three entities. They are also planning another meeting in the near future where they also hope to include people’s representatives from the 78 districts. Calling this process Imagine Nepal, Dr. Pokhrel says that the people of Nepal must attempt to imagine a peaceful Nepal, envision its potentials, adding quickly that it must be peace based on justice. She stresses that such a process must begin with a change in ‘our own mindsets about us and our fellow country people’.

But all of this requires that the west stop sending more arms to Nepal. How can an inclusive democracy like the USA, support such an oppressive government as in Nepal, asks Dr. Pokhrel, pleading with her audience to write to their senators asking them to end arms supply to Nepal.
- Sanat Mohanty

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