Kathmandu: Live from the coup, it's already Valentine's Day!
Hello and Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you were thoroughly stuffed with the little conversation hearts. Speaking of, I think those are my absolutely favorite holiday candy of any season. If anyone finds some in the “post Valentine’s Day bargain bin” and feels the urge to send some along, you will hear the joy even this far around the world!There has been a heck of a lot of excitement here in Nepal since my last note. To those who saw the news and sent me notes, thanks for checking up on me! To those who missed it...Nepal had a coup. At 10 am on February 1, the King took over the country, fired the Prime Minister and shut down all of the communications systems including the telephones, cell phones, internet, TV and radio. In a televised announcement, he blamed the politicians for causing the chaos that has become Nepal’s day-to-day existence. He declared a state of emergency and suspended all civil rights. The whole country was stunned, and no one really knew how people would react. Soldiers were deployed all over the city. This action is the equivalent of the President waking up one day and announcing that Congress is fired and under arrest.
The embassy, in fear of a repeat of the riots in August, quickly went into drawdown mode, sending all non-essential staff home. I was deemed "essential", so I hung out at my office compound and tried to figure out how to get people home, which people in my office were essential, and how to prepare for the immediate uncertain future. The next few hours were a bit nerve-wracking. By the end of the day, nothing major had broken out, so we were allowed to leave the office and head home. Later we found out that the King put all first line political leaders under house arrest and had jailed another (approx) 43 second line leaders to minimize their ability to organize. Looking back on it, I am strangely impressed at the effectiveness of the planning of this coup. If only Nepal demonstrated this kind of organization more often in pursuit of a goal.
Over the next few days, things were unnaturally quiet, both in Kathmandu and at the embassy. The domestic landlines were occasionally and without warning brought back up, allowing people to call within Nepal, but the international lines remained blocked. I can’t begin to describe what it is like for a country to suddenly and completely lose the ability to communicate. As the days dragged on without telephones, business people started to get restless. Imagine the impact on business to have NO COMMUNICATIONS. The King began to appoint his new ministers. The political party leaders remained under house arrest. People started to talk about what had happened, but only with people they were close to, both physically and emotionally.
Under the King’s “state of emergency” rules is that the media is not allowed to cover anything with a “political” perspective for the next 6 months. This has led to some really interesting editorials about the weather and Ballantine’s Day (an intentional misspelling that refers to whiskey drinking in small groups). You see, another of the King’s new rules is that people cannot gather in groups larger than 5 without getting advance approval. The editors are finding amusing ways to pick at the King without outright attacks. Many of them are scared of being arrested. Many student political leaders have also been arrested for past activities.
So, what do Nepalis think? The following observations are from conversations I have had with a variety of Nepalis, all of them living in the Kathmandu valley. Surprisingly to many westerners, many Nepalis are applauding the King’s actions. Their explanation is that under the previous government they did not have real civil rights and they were scared for their lives every time they went out into the street on a strike day. Now, they may not have civil rights, but at least they don’t fear for their lives. They also have faith that the king will work for the good of Nepal in the long-term, and believe that the politicians were all corrupt and only out to fill their own pocketbooks at the expense of Nepal. Several commented that when they visited government offices, they were treated much more politely than they had been in the past. The topic of eliminating government corruption has become a big one since the coup. However, as this “state of emergency” continues, more people are feeling uncomfortable, but still willing to give the King a chance to prove he is moving in the right direction. There are many rumors flying around, and without the media no one knows what is and is not truth, both inside the valley and outside in the rest of the country.
But day-to-day life continues. The weather has warmed to spring. The telephones and internet are now back on 24 hours per day. Things seem to be getting back to normal, and yet, it all still seems odd.
So, that is the story. What has the embassy learned so far? We learned how to use our handheld radios, thanks to necessity of using them and the quick training lesson given by the IM group. We learned which parts of our emergency plan were weak or nonexistent. And most importantly, we learned that when the King announces he is going to make an “important televised announcement to the whole nation” we really should be ready for almost anything.
Sorry this e-mail is not the same kind of photo-intense, happy news missive of the past. But, I hope you enjoyed learning something about the quickly shifting sands of Nepali politics and appreciate how lucky we are in our political system. Finally, I am safe. There is no need to worry about me. On a very happy note, I depart here on Thursday for a long weekend of yoga on an island (Koh Samui) in Thailand. Meditation and beach time are just the prescription for relaxing after all this excitement.
posted by MinnesotaMel @ 1:40 AM
0 comments
