Press Release: Only A Political Outlet To The Madhesi Movement
Paramendra Kumar Bhagat
We are saddened by the sad turn of events in the Terai of Nepal this
past 12 days. We appeal to all protestors to only use nonviolent
methods of protests. And we condemn in strong words the brutal police
crackdown by the state that has lead to eight deaths and counting and
hundreds injured in all the major Terai towns. The state repression was
not this violent and brutal even during the April Revolution. That is a
shame. That state terror has to come to a halt immediately. This is a
political movement that only has a political solution. This is not a
law and order problem with a police/military solution.
We urge that the eight party coalition meet the basic demands of the
Madhesi Movement. The Home Minister needs to resign immediately. And
the Prime Minister has to go on TV and address the nation saying the
eight parties have agreed to draw the 205 constituencies based on equal
population, and that all eight parties commit to federalism, and that
all Madhesis will be granted citizenship papers before the constituent
assembly elections are held. It has been wrong to cap that number at 33
lakh when a Congress government put that number at 42 lakh 10 years
ago.
This is not an ethnic tussle between the Pahadi and Madhesi. Rather
this is a struggle of the Madhesi community with the state for total
equality. This has to be seen as the second chapter of the April
Revolution itself. This is a social justice revolution that the Madhesi
have launched. We urge the Madhesi leadership to reach out to the other
marginalized groups, namely the Dalit, Janajati and Mahila, and we urge
those marginalized groups to reach out to the Madhesi to forge a
stronger coalition of social justice. The DaMaJaMa coalition is not a
coalition against the Bahun and Chhetri men. Rather it is a coalition
for equality for all. Progressive Bahun and Chhetri men should feel
very comfortable being part of that coalition which should be
issue-based. <!--
D(["mb","<br>\n<br>\nHalf a century ago the blacks in the US also waged a struggle for\nequality. The success of that struggle did not diminish the whites.\nRather all became better off. The Madhesi attaining equality will not\ndiminish the Pahadi. The DaMaJaMa attaining equality will not diminish\nthe Bahun Chhetri men. <br>\n<br>\nWe urge all parties to agree to a framework of free, fair and\nrepresentative elections to the constituent assembly where all issues\nwill be settled through dialogue and debate and voting. For the\nelections to be representative and fair, all 205 constituencies have to\nbe of equal population, and there have to be reserved constituencies\nfor the DaMaJaMa. The reservation also has to apply to the non-elected\nseats. <br><br>\nLet us use peaceful, political processes to solve even the knottiest of\nour issues and problems. Let us secure a just democracy so we can all\nfocus on rapid economic growth for the country. <br>\n<br>\nParamendra Bhagat<br>\nPresident, Hamro Nepal, world's first digital democracy organization<br>\nConvenor, Coordination Committee, Nepali Organizations In New York City<br>\n<br>\nTek Gurung<br>\nPresident, United Nepalese Democratic Forum <br>\n<br><br><div style\u003d\"font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif;font-size:12pt\">----- Original Message ----<br>From: chitiz tamu <<a href\u003d\"mailto:chit...@yahoo.com\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\">chit...@yahoo.com</a>><br>To: <a href\u003d\"mailto:DFN-Blo...@googlegroups.com\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\">\nDFN-Bl...@googlegroups.com</a><br>Sent: Monday, January 29, 2007 8:14:52 PM<br>Subject: Re: [<a href\u003d\"http://Madhesi.net\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\">Madhesi.net</a>] डटे रहो<br><br><div style\u003d\"font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif;font-size:12pt\">\n<div style\u003d\"font-size:12pt;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif\">Parmendra ji,</div>\n<div style\u003d\"font-size:12pt;font-family:times new roman,new york,times,serif\">",1]
);
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Half a century ago the blacks in the US also waged a struggle for
equality. The success of that struggle did not diminish the whites.
Rather all became better off. The Madhesi attaining equality will not
diminish the Pahadi. The DaMaJaMa attaining equality will not diminish
the Bahun Chhetri men.
We urge all parties to agree to a framework of free, fair and
representative elections to the constituent assembly where all issues
will be settled through dialogue and debate and voting. For the
elections to be representative and fair, all 205 constituencies have to
be of equal population, and there have to be reserved constituencies
for the DaMaJaMa. The reservation also has to apply to the non-elected
seats.
Let us use peaceful, political processes to solve even the knottiest of
our issues and problems. Let us secure a just democracy so we can all
focus on rapid economic growth for the country.
Paramendra Bhagat
President, Hamro Nepal, world's first digital democracy organization
Convenor, Coordination Committee, Nepali Organizations In New York City
Tek Gurung
President, United Nepalese Democratic Forum
New York City