Provocative speeches and sporadic violence by different political sections of Nepal added to the tension at Birganj on the India-Nepal border, which has been under indefinite curfew since Monday’s crackdown by the Nepali Police.
The Government of Nepal was rattled on Monday when, in a sensational press conference at Biratnagar, Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s junior colleague Satya Narayan Mandal demanded that the Indian Army enter Nepal to ensure the rights and security of the people of the Madhes region.
The comments from Mr. Mandal, a Madhesi leader, was the first from any Nepali politician asking for India to intervene militarily in Nepal.
His comments drew a sharp condemnatory statement from the Indian Embassy which urged “all responsible persons to refrain from doing or saying anything that may negatively impact on the age-old ties between India and Nepal.”
Façade of consensus However, Mr. Mandal’s comments showed that the police action in Birganj has broken the façade of consensus which allowed Prime Minister Oli to draw last moment support from several Madhesi parties during the October 11 prime ministerial election that pitted him against Sushil Koirala of the Nepali Congress.
Cautioning against reckless emotionalism, Rubina Mahato, columnist and prominent young Madhesi voice, told The Hindu both the Madhesis — the people from the 800-km-long foothill region of Nepal — and the leadership of the Kathmandu Valley should take steps to reduce tension as the blockade had lasted beyond a reasonable limit.
“Madhesis have also intimidated fellow Madhesis. Not all shades of opinions are allowed to come out in the Madhesi region. The extremist elements on both sides have taken over the civil society promoting inter-ethnic hatred within Nepal,” Ms. Mahato said as Nepal struggled with the crippling blockade.
During the police action of November 2, authorities had managed to allow 200 trucks into Nepal but since then the indefinite curfew and protesting local mobs have reinforced the blockade.
Speaking over telephone from Kathmandu, Lal Babu Raut of the Sanghiya Samajwadi Forum (Nepal) reiterated that the police action had eliminated trust between the government and the Madhesis. “Under present circumstances we will not speak to the government out of respect for the public emotion.”
Supplies from China
Nepali sources said that under the current circumstances, the main lifeline of the Kathmandu Valley which runs through Birganj remains blocked though trickling supplies have begun from the Tatopani crossing in the north from China. The severe nature of the blockade at Birganj has crushed the spirit of Diwali and Chhat puja in the Kathmandu Valley where tense atmosphere prevailed as talks have been cancelled by the United Madhesi Democratic Front which said that its activists were attacked in Birganj within six hours of a successful meeting with the government on November 1.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal, Kamal Thapa, has reached Geneva where his participation in the review meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council is being awaited.
