The Increasing Political Tourism in Nepal

Sujan Neupane Sydney, Australia'NEPALI TIMES' AUSTRALIA, March 2009

There was a confusion in Nepali people, that after monarchy is abolished in Nepal and Maoist are come to the power, Nepal will not get any foreign aids and it will not be able to balance and betterment the friendship between Nepal and its friends all over world, which was made by other political parties as their election strategy. But Nepali people were aware of such statements and confusions made by such parties because they had tested those political parties and their rule so many times. Nepal wanted to see a new power to establish permanent peace and new type of government system without monarchy. As a result the great Nepali people gave their support to the former rebels and took them to the power with the win of a total of 217 seats in the new 601-member constituent assembly election that was double the number of seats of their nearest rivals and favourites. It was a fantastic result of 2006 historic peace deal the Maoists signed with mainstream parties that ended their decade-long insurgency that left around 13,000 Nepali people dead. Also their election strategy and people’s keen to see the Maoist in power and see the change as Maoist had made their slogan of the change in election. That result slapped the traditionally the dominant parties in the Himalayan nation and made them remind their contribution and works they did when they were in the power and now they knew that Nepali people are no longer foolish to listen to their every words and follow them and let them play with the motherland.After Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal landed peace and harmony in Nepal stopping the decade long Maoist insurgency and former Maoist rebel led new government, there is no boundary in tourism industry of Nepal. Now Nepal is not only the eco-tourism destination, it is not only world’s most adventurous tourist destination. It is not only the place to step the birth place of Lord Buddha, climb Mt. Everest and other world’s top 8 highest peaks in the world and visit only the natures beauty or world famous cultural heritage sites. Now we are experiencing Nepal as political destination or we can say Nepal has developed a very different type infrastructure for a new industry, the political industry, which is very famous for national and international political tourists. Nepal’s political tourism is drawing the attention of the world mainly physically and economically powerful nations and all countries that have its diplomatic relation with. Many other world famous organizations and volunteer missions for peace keeping and development purpose are also keen to visit Nepal in this situation.In recent times Nepal welcomed very important and sensible visits to Nepal by high-level Ministers of the world’s power nations such as USA, China, India and UK, highest representative from UN, ministers and delegation from donor nations, highest level army official, top level officers from World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Such visits are really helpful for our peacekeeping process and successful drafting of new constitution. They bring lots of donations, technology and establish better friendship with all friends of Nepal and make new agreements for future developments. This kind of visits are made for different reasons whatever they say outside, there must be their internal strategy to gain lots of profit from present situation of Nepal. They can bring more opportunities now and in the future on the one hand and on the other hand they can ruin the diplomatic relation between Nepal and its neighbours and other friends if Nepal could not present its clear foreign policy and balance its diplomatic relations. As far as the High-Profile visits are concerned, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Nepal on October 31st last year to see one of the world’s biggest political change and most praised peace keeping progress as well as to encourage the integration of Maoist Combatants who are still in process of integration and in the cantonment. Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director of the World Bank Group, went Nepal for a three-day official visit to see the progress of Current support of the bank in implementation of 17 development projects across Nepal with investments of 843 million dollars on 1st Feb 2009. Kunio Senga, Director General, ADB South Asia Department, made his four day visit to Nepal on May last year.Former Indian President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam visited Nepal in mid November to address the 14th convocation ceremony of Kathmandu University in Dhulikhel, Kavre. These visits do not look political but there should be some political impact inside as there is a new system, new government and the brand new power in government and most of all Nepal has opened many doors of different opportunities.America, (who welcomed the new Nepali Prime Minister Prachanda, who is also the supremo of Maoist, despite the former rebel Maoists remaining on the US list of terrorist organizations) is also showing its eagerness in Nepali politics where India continuously and China, traditionally less but now more, are giving their strategic focus more than ever in Nepal. US former president Jimmy Carter has visited Nepal three times for the CA elections representing Carter center, (election observation mission to Nepal) and earlier he had visited in June and November 2006.Richard Boucher, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia visited Nepal on the 11th Feb 2009 after visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, 2nd Dec, a week Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee left Kathmandu after a three-day tour. Danish Foreign Minister Dr. Per Stig Møller was in Nepal for a two-day visit on November 28th, 2008. India's foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon, who landed in capital Kathmandu on February 17th, 2009 to attempt his second visit to Nepal in three months. This shows how interested they are in Nepali politics. Deputy Minister for International Development Håkon A. Gulbrandsen went Nepal on 5th may last year for a three day visit and that was to follow up the visits of the Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg in February 2008 and the Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim in March 2007. There have been lots of the exchanges of the High-Profile military officer visits in recent times as part of diplomatic visit. The very high-rank army chiefs of the world’s power nations have visited Nepal after the political reform or we can say after CPN Maoist led the Federal Democratic Republican Nepal’s government. As we saw Chief of Staff of the of the Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force General Ryoichi Oriki visited Nepal from Feb 10, ‘09- on a 3-day visit to inspect the activities of Japanese arms monitors working under the United Nations Missions in Nepal (UNMIN). Following UK Army Chief General Sir Richard Dannatt who was in Nepali Capital for a four-day visit on November 28, 2009 to see the process of British Gurkha’s recruitment initiated in Nepal following a visit by a delegation of China's People's Liberation Army led by its deputy chief by Major-General I. Huzeng on 19th of November last year, soon after India sent its three-member Army Delegation to Nepal led by the deputy of the Indian Army Lieutenant General APS Dhillon. These kinds of visit are openly showing their presence in Nepali Army affair where there is a conflict-like situation between Nepal Army and the Government, where neither the Army is listening to any of the government’s orders nor government is showing its ability to make the Army to obey its order and suspend any of senior army officials.So far most of the visits have more positive impacts than negative. They are helping Nepal economically, technologically and politically. They have made unforgettable agreements for development of Nepal and betterment the friendship of Nepal with its friend nations and organizations. They are showing the positive symptoms to reach the assumed foreign add assistant presented by Nepali finance minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai in his ambitious new Federal Budget speech last year. such type of visits again and again are making us think either they are more interested in Nepal affair, want to really help Nepal to cross it’s transitional period to successfully and draft Nepal’s new constitution or they have their own strategically profits. We can also guess that they could have proudness of their growing power. Whatever they have in their policy that is out of our approach. From domestic side it is highly considered that Nepal must balance a triangular relationship mainly between US, the worlds power nation, China and India, two very big neighbours who are the emerging power nations in new world physically and economically and Nepal has very close relation to them traditionally by political, geographic, economic and cultural exchange with them. We can get lots of profit from them if we could make a clear policy to maintain the traditional relationship from their economic progress in current world. Nepal must take extreme care of relation with those nations and all of its diplomatic friends as they play very important role in its development programmes and decision making now, then and more in future. Not only the Maoist but all the political parties also should put the responsibility on their shoulder to cross this transitional period successfully and establish the peace in Nepal permanently and make our want of seeing our country as a well developed come true sooner.