Sajha Post Report
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North Korea today expressed solidarity with the king of Gyanendra, providing a much needed boost to the alienated king of the Himalayan kingdom, our Sajha Post correspondent reports from Pyongyang. With this new supporter, Gyanendra now has three powerful international allies. The other two are general Musharraf of Pakistan and Hu Jintao of China.

Our correspondent in Pyongyang reports that the mood in the hermit kingdom is jubilant. "Think about this, " a senior officer said, "here is another country that has gone farther than us: we at least allow telephone and even internet to a few selected people. Now, we are not the only pariah nation in the world."

Plan is afoot to welcome Gyanendra in the hermit kingdom. A giant phallic shaped statue of Kim Il Sung is being repolished outside the Pyongyang Airport, which will see the first head of state in many years paying homage to it. North Korea's own version of Madame Tausad's meuseum has decided to pay its respect to the world's newest brutal dictator by simultaneously inaugurating three new wax statues: of Mahendra and of Gyanendra and of Paras, in the theme of "confederacy of dunces".

Our reporter in Narayanhiti palace, however, plays down the comments that all Nepal got were those three allies. "Felicitations are coming, .." the press secretary said on condition of anonymity, "Sudanese president is sending us his warm regard, so is Kirgyzistan's president. We got plenty of supporters."

Asked which country the king will first visit as the "all powerful " head of state, the palace official said, "He may go to Darfur region, to show the solidarity with the Sudanese government. They have been very supportive of us. North Korea is only second in the list."

Kathmandu Feb 8 further reports of support to the Kings move from the Nepalese residing all around the Globe have been coming in. Our Washington correspondent says that a group of people from the royal Nepalese embassy has organised a reception at the Hilton in which some migrated family members of the ministers of the ex panchayat era expressed big hopes of their revival of fortunes in the new situation. 'The Kings bold move will wipe out any chances of poor Kamaiyas to protest against their landlords ' said the ambassador. The military attache said , the army's main job was to round up the active members of all the political parties excluding the RPP. The phone lines will not be connected unless Maoists lay their arms and surrrender,he said. A special banquette was organized later at it's home in which he warned the low level staffs of the embassy that there job would be stripped off if anybody raised concerns or disagreement on the King's decree. A big goat was airlifted from Kathmandu to Washington via Frankfort to celebrate the occasion. Our correspondent heard one of the attache's two wives saying- she would order another goat if some of the the prodemocratic leaders were murdered. The audience clapped their hands in an unanimous support to her remark.

In London, our correspondent was invited to a talk programme organised by the ambassador Mr. Rana. At the function attended by twelve of his guests, the amabassador revealed that the UK would support the King's move if Nepal ordered the Gurkha soldiers to withdraw their campaign for equal rights to their British counterparts within two months. The ambassador said he had given his words to the ministers of Foreign Office but , UK 's pressure would not matter anything if America continued it's support to King Gyanendra, he insisted. I dont give a damn to what the british ministers say, because I will be heading to washington very soon, the ambassador said.


Our Delhi correspondent reports that a group of Mob burnt the effigy of Girija Prasad Koirala and madhav Nepal near rastrapati bhawan. Earlier a daurasurwal julush was organised near jantarMantar where the picture of Gyanedra was offered with Garlands and bouquette. The chief guest, the ambassador addressed the gathering. He said, 'India's opposition to the King's move is only vocal because we have assured that India can construct five more dams in Nepal's territory in the next three years. The displaced people will be offered to stay in the Jhupad patti areas of Delhi as part of a goodwill gesture from Indai, said General Mehta, one of the advisors on Nepal in the South Block.

In Beijing , Students studying MBBS in Chinese universities staged a mass gatering in Tiannmen square demanding the execution of democratic and student leaders held in detention for the last three days. A contingent of Chinese red army was deployed their to provide security to the students People's daily reports that the ambassador has assured the students that at least a dozen of the leaders will be executed and hundreds of them prosecuted in the next 6 months. But no one can say, how many will end up in jail, he emphasized.

Meanwhile two human rights activists from Amnesty International were denied entry to Nepal saturday. They were told to go back to their country because Nepal no longer needed Human rights activists as the army would root out human rights abuser from the country within 6 months. Two CNN and a BBC journalist were also sent back from TIA on friday.

This just came in from Kathmandu.

The government of Nepal banned the public display of the following items in any libraries, newspapers and books. The list:

1. The pictures of execution of Afghan president Najibullah and his brother (also called Butcher of Kabul). The pictures are given below so that Sajha readers won't commit any crime in Nepal by inadvertently carrying it with them.

The government said it was a necessary measure, "those heinous crimes were done by world's most hated terrorists, the Talibans." the spokesman for Nepal government said.
"We want to show to the world that we are against the terrorists."

Asked if it has anything to do with the fact that brother of Najibullah, also nicknamed "butcher of Kabul", shared a part of his nickname with the crown prince, also nicknamed, "butcher of Kathmandu", the government spokesperson laughed it off.

When asked whether the fight of RNA against the Maoists will be considered more or less same as the fight of Najibullah against the Taliban, the government spokesperson said nothing in reply, but later asked this newspaper reporter to be cooperative and not to ask any such ludicrous questions. "Remember, " He said, " Until yesterday, you journalists asked the question, we replied. From now on, we dictate something, and you write it in your paper".

Our chief correspondent Gyanendra took the interview of the chief of the Royal nepalese army Pyarjung Thapa. Excerpts:

Gyanendra: Oi pyare kati janalai thunis aile samma?
Pyarjung: Pandhra saya bhayo sarkar. Pokhara ma ta barrack ma na ataeera ghar bhada ma leko chha sarkar.

Q:Oi pyare tyo Ganantantra ko nara lagaune lai aankha ma patti badhera goli thokde.
A: Huncha sarkar.

Q. An Ani Girija madhav Nepal lai ghar ma basna nade aba. Bhaddra gol ma chalan gar chado.
A: Tara sarkar, Bhdragol ma pani thau nai chaina?

Q: Tyo Charles Sobhraj, Robinsan ra Bikash Gurung lai chhadide ani girija baje, makune ra rohit lai tei lagera kochde. bujhis.
A: Has sarkar. Marji hos sarekar

Q: Ani sunta bholi tyo patan museum ma raid hannu. Ani teha ko tyo sab bhanda thulo budhhako murti lagera airport puryaunu. Deepak Gurung lai press conference garna lagaera museum ma maobadi ko explosive bhetiyo bhanna lagaunu.
A: Has Maharaj sarkar.

Q: La bhayo ta jaa. Tyo daan bahadur lai maile bolaibakseko chha bhandinu
A: Has sarkar

Ha ha ... you guys are funny! :)

Return of the old 'The Sinking Nepal' days of Sajha ?

Publishing houses in Nepal are laying off their staffs in large numbers, there is not much they can write and the rest the army is helping them for free.

So the unemployed journalists are volenteering here ?

Yes, may be one unemployed, laid off guy lazing away.. what difference does it make though, right, Nepe?
---

Our reporter predicts the following to happen in the near future:

1. Mandale haru jooga(worm) jasto saksakai saksakai anti-corruption ko slogan dinechhan.
2. Sharad Chandra Shah will be made head of 'lagu aushadhi tathaa smuggling niyantran kendra of Nepal Police'.
3. Expect mandales to ratchet up their anti-Indian slogans, and 'nationalist' propoganda.
4. Some 'alert, and educated' Harvard-Columbia-Berkeley-MIT-Stanford educated would find a new way to support the king and join the mainstream. Eventually, they will formulate something to justify this move of the king.

Democracy is needed for sojha sajha people. The educated and well connected people are always well off anyway. What difference does it make to them whether there is autocracy or democracy, right? Think about Dr Upendra Devkota, Dipak Gyawali or others: they are always well off, well connected, and resourceful. Common people are the one who have to fight for their right, and leaving this job to Kathmandu's elite is fraught with uncertainty and potential disappointment.

KankaiRiver ji,

At the time like this when the footsteps of Third Reich in Nepal is clearly seen, what you have brought here is equivalent to Roberto Benigni's La Vita E Bella. Please keep coming.

'The Sinking Nepal' I was referring to was our similar tool in Sajha two years ago when the tyrant laid the founding stone in October 2002. Here is one of the multiple links referring that.

Paramendra Bhagat Appointed as the Interim Prime Minister
- http://www.sajha.com/archives/openthread.cfm?threadid=7401&dsn=sajhaarchive

KR,

With so many current-news references and no references at all to a certain school of economics and political science, your identity may be slipping.

It's interesting that you broght forth the name of Dr. Upendra Devkota, who was born and bred in a village in Gorkha and NOT in Gyaneswor.

In many ways, while most old-line 'raithanay" of Kathmandu have moved out of the country or now have extensive links abroad (US, UK and Australia . . . where most of their children hold PR cards and come home to Nepal for only ansha-banda), it's people like Dr. Devkota who now make up that ever-shifting/ever-changing category known as "Kathmandu's elites".

Not that there is anything wrong with it!

Other than that, enjoy this non-joke about North Korea:

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17721

oohi
ashu
***********

North Korea is the most secretive country in the world today, with its main railway lined with walls so high that its foreign passengers can't see the countryside. It is also, as Brad-ley Martin's book makes clear, the most repressive and brutal country in the world, with entire families sometimes executed if one member gets drunk and slights the Dear Leader. It is at the same time by far the most totalitarian, with nearly every home equipped with a speaker that issues propaganda from morning to night. It is the country most defiant of the West, whose leaders not only counterfeit US $100 bills but also are building nuclear warheads.

Finally, North Korea is perhaps the least understood place on earth. There is no firm agreement on such basic facts as whether Kim Jong Il is a playboy or a savvy leader who constantly monitors the Internet and CNN.

Kankairiver, If you are implying that I am an unemployed journalist, you are absolutely wrong. You don't need to be a journalist to write in the style of a journalist. But who cares if someone speculates about other's profession.
I found your posting a humorous one and tried to write something similar and sarcastic. Anyway, King Gyanendra's barbaric ban on freedom of speech and information is deplorable. Let's condemn it in as many ways as we can. That's it.

newuser,

No, I didn't pointing at you. I was referring to myself. I , in deed, appreciate your addition to my original posting.

Nepe and Ashu,

Let's not speculate on the web identity of a fellow poster. If someone is writing incognito and is not attacking any other sajhaite, he has a right to remain anonymous.

Having said that, I want to emphasize that Nepal has become some sort of North Korea in this last week, whether that analogy sounds a bit hyperbole or not.

It is almost a week now, press is as muzzled as in North Korea, telephone is more restricted than in North Korea.Just like Kim Jong Il, we don't really know Gyanendra is a foolhardy or a smart businessman. We know his son is a womanizer, and incapable to think. We know a council of ministers that includes Radha Krishna Mainali and likes have no credibility to fight against corruption. The mere fact that these ministers are not even making public their personal properties is not a good sign anyway.

Philosopher Abraham Mislow(sp?) once said if the sole weapon a brute has is a hammer, then he sees nails everywhere. Power is the only weapon Gyanendra has, not the ability to talk and pursuade people. He sees everywhere the problems that can be nailed only with a hammer of military coup/military forces. He sees nails in political parties, their armless and defenseless leaders who could be rounded up in a night, in Nepali press, in human right groups, may be in universities, and among professors.

Ashu Ji,

What is your official stand on the current situation in Nepal (sorry couldn?t find your thoughts anywhere)? Or you are again sticking with your "I opposed it before I supported it" philosophy.

By the way how Dhaka is treating you?

Thanks in advance.

(Ashu Ji, I have posted the same question to you elsewhere also. (Just in case!))

Myanmar too congratulates Nepal king and express solidarity.

By Sajha Post Reporter at Yangon
--------------------------------------------

Top members of Myanmar junta have expressed their support to the new king of Nepal, our peripatetic reporter learned as soon as he left Pyongyang for Yangon to understand the view of this important country atop Indian ocean.

Myanmar has an uncanny role in Nepal's history: Myanmar's rulers had provided the first cargo of arms for Nepali Congress in its anti-Rana armed struggle. On the other hand, the dissident leader of Myanmar, Ang San Su Kyi, had spent a part of her childhood in Nepal where her father was an ambassador.

"Nepal's conformation of our system is very crucial gain for us, " Nom Win, a son-in-law of late leader Ne Win and one of junta leaders told this reporter. "It is time that we establish that democracy doesn't work , at least in this part of the world, and the only way to uplift the nation is by employing the noble mean of autocracy."

Asked when Ang San Su Kyi would be free, Win looked at this reporter with slight raze, and replied tersely, " You kidding with me?"

Bond-007 wrote:

"Or you are again sticking with your "I opposed it before I supported it" philosophy?"


Bond-ji, I appreciate cleverness when I see it.

And I must say that that's a very clever way to throw slimeballs at others.
I especially love the word "again".

You obviously have a great sense of humor, not to mention an IQ exceeding 180;
but sorry, your trick -- that is, the great art of asking conclusion-drenched query in
the guise of an open-ended question -- won't work with or for me.

Sorry.

That said, I do appreciate your injecting some laughter, even if iwas at my expense,
into this "one-style-joke, repeat n times with different country-names and bore the hell out of your readers" thread.

Jokes, as Lenny Bruce once told me in my dreams (and that's a joke, BTW), are built
on surprises; and surprises, once given away, never quite work the same way with
the SAME audience.

*****

Bond-007 wrote:

"How is Dhaka is treating you?"


Glad that you asked this non sequitur.

It's treating me well, but I enjoy leaving it to snuggle with Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai
Colombo, Karachi and many other hip and not-so-hip parts of South Asia where
the entrepreneurial/activist/literary and artistic energy of many young 20- to 30-something South Asians [Translation: really smart and committed people] is
something I am in awe of and hope that some of their brilliance will rub off on me.

Other than that, it's fun to throw oneself fully to the personal and professional tasks
of building strong alliances with like-minded people of various backgrounds in these
regions of 1.5 billion people.

As the title of one of my favorite Bond movie goes, "You only live twice!".

oohi
ashu

" one-style-joke, repeat n times with different country-names and bore the hell out of your readers "...

point well taken and guilty as charged.

However, I did that on purpose, honey!

Ashu Ji!

I am spellbound with your literary ability. (Tapain ko sahityik lekhan ko tarif hazar tauko bhayeko naagraj le ta garna sakdaina bhane ma ta jabo Bond).

May be your answer (to my question) is hidden somewhere in your response, so I will send it to the Scotland Yard to figure out (I bet they will have hell of a time since last Bin Laden statement) .

However, I kind of sensed, with an IQ exceeding 180, that you are liking Dhaka. Please say hi to Begum Khalida from my end.

Thanks!