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On Feb. 1, King Gyanendra of Nepal dissolved the government, declared a state of emergency, and claimed absolute power. Political opponents were arrested, including Prime Minister Deuba who was placed under house arrest. Army troops are patrolling the st reets and have occupied the parliament building, radio stations and newspaper offices. Freedom of the press and other forms of free speech, such as the right of assembly and the right to criticize the government, no longer exist according to announcements from the palace.  

What does this mean for people in the U.S. who may not be planning on climbing Mount Everest, located in Nepal? Does it really matter to the average American? It should matter to all who care about justice. 

Unfortunately our governmen t has been supporting the Nepalese government and army with millions of dollars in aid and weapons ever since the president declared war on “terrorism.” Over 12,000 have died in this war in Nepal.  

In the last month, Bush has stated that he wants to spre ad democracy and freedom throughout the world. He now has the chance to let his actions speak as loud as his words by cutting off military aid to Nepal. But do not hold your breath while waiting for this to happen. Nepal has been caught up in the war of t error. In the war of terror we have supported many other non-democratic governments such as Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, just to mention a few. Will Nepal be an exception? 

Military aid has been flowing to Nepal since then Secretary of State Colin Po well visited the country in January 2002, the first visit of a secretary of state to that country in over 30 years. Powell held a series of meetings with the king, the now arrested prime minister, and Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) leaders before pledging significant military aid to combat Maoist rebels fighting a civil war against the government. After Powell’s visit, the prime minister met with Bush in the White House. The U.S. also put the Maoist rebels on its official terrorist list. 

Since then the U. S. has supplied money, weapons, and military advisors to the government of Nepal. In addition, Britain, India, Russia and China, have also supplied military aid. But this international aid has not led to success for the government of Nepal. By many accounts, the Maoist rebels control a majority of the countryside. Last year the rebels called for a blockade of Kathmandu, the capital, and without firing a shot brought traffic to a standstill.  

Meanwhile, while the army had not beaten the rebels, it has raised its human rights abuses to new levels. Massacres, torture, rape, imprisonment, and over 2000 extra-judicial executions and disappearances, have all been charges made against the army by human rights groups. Nepal’s National Human Rights Commission has documented many of these atrocities, as have groups such as Amnesty International. The record of abuse has been so bad that late last year Congress passed a bill linking military aid to Nepal to improvements in human rights. But aid continues to flow. 

But despite the record of abuse, then-U.S. Ambassador to Nepal Michael Malinowski spoke to the BBC last year and defended U.S. support for Nepal. He stated, “It’s a long way from the United States, but were concerned that areas in Nepal don’t get out of contr ol, don’t become a vacuum where terrorists groups can move into and use Nepal for whatever.” He conceded, “The RNA has a lot more to do, a long way to go, especially on human rights. But progress is being made and I don’t think we should apologize for tha t. I think we should be proud of it.” 

But I am not proud. If the U.S. is really concerned about human rights, freedom, democracy and all the other code words used by the Bush administration to justify intervention around the world, now is the time to put up or shut up. There can be no justification for supporting a feudal monarch who has just taken dictatorial powers into his hands. All aid, particularly military assistance, to Nepal must cease immediately. 

Kenneth J. Theisen writes on many issues of government waste and abuse.  

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