"बन्दको बिरुद्ध नेपाली अभियान" NO BANDH!

How to stop the bandhs?

KATHMANDU, JAN 10, 2010 – Newa Swayatta Rajya Manka Sangharsha Samiti, a conglomerate of various Newar ethnic associations, has taken out a motorcycle rally from Basantapur, Kathmandu Sunday morning to counter the Valley bandh called by Rastriya Jana Morcha (RJM) against federalism.

The rally that began about 10 am, Sunday is rallying through various parts of Kathmandu and requesting shopkeepers on the way to open their shops. The rally will come back to Basantapur and convert into a corner meet, the organisers informed.

So the answer is to get a group of people larger than the group enforcing the bandh and go and enjoy the open roads. Easy, no?

http://www.dcnepal.net/news.php?nid=12264

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=13863

It’s anti-India nonsense, but its still bandh. All you need is a small group and a flag or two and you can close anything it seems.

The Maoists stopped work at the 600 MW Upper Marshyangdi-II, saying the project was against the welfare of the locals, from Tuesday by planting their flag at the construction site.

How about trying to close the budget deficit instead? Let’s hope this political theatre passes soon and in a few years a little more of Nepal’s darkness will see light.

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/business-a-economy/4217-maoists-obstruct-construction-of-one-more-hydro-project.html

It would be hard to make stuff like this up. So now political parties (well, one of them) can control the content of TV channels on a whim? Not a bandh on movement but a partial one on the airwaves. What next?

The electronic media, film halls and cable operators had stopped transmission of Hindi materials from last Saturday on request of the Maoists who have been on an anti-Indian campaign as part of their fourth phase of protests. The Maoists had asked the FM stations and film halls to transmit only Nepali materials till January 24. Cable operators, media houses and film halls said they obeyed Maoist directive so as to avoid problems in the future.

http://myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=14379

Illicit activities

And it is not only the airwaves. The self-appointed moral guardians of the state are bashing down the door first and asking questions later:

Cadres of Maoist aligned Young Communist League (YCL) raided various local  hotels in Narayangdh, Chitwan on Friday and held 13 couples who they accused were found involved in “illicit” activities there, Kantipur Daily  reported.

While this is not bandh, it goes to show how the culture of “we know what’s right for you and we’ll make sure you suffer until agree with us” is spreading.

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/2-political/3691-ycl-cadres-raid-hotels-in-narayangadh.html