Sunday, May 17, 2009

Political turmoil

Nepal's Maoist Prime Minister Prachanda resigned on Monday after a crisis sparked by his sacking of the country's army chief, plunging the Himalayan republic into political turmoil.

Here are some scenarios of what could happen next in the young Himalayan republic and their economic impact.

NEW COALITION IS FORMED

The main opposition Nepali Congress party and the moderate Communist UML party could try and form a government with the help of smaller groups. This coalition may or may not include the Maoists. This is the most likely scenario, analysts say, and one that would have the least economic impact.

FRESH ELECTION

This is the most unlikely scenario. No party is even near-ready to go to the polls. It is not even necessary as last year's election was part of a process to write a new constitution that will spell out how a permanent parliament is to be set up. The constitution has to be written by May 2010.

STREET PROTESTS

Maoist supporters have already hit the streets. These protests are expected to intensify and the Maoists are expected to resort to other forms of civil disobedience to make it difficult for any new coalition to govern.

DAMAGE TO THE PEACE DEAL

Political uncertainty may delay drafting a new constitution, a key part of a 2006 peace deal. But the former rebels, whose fighters are in U.N.-monitored camps under the deal, are unlikely to return to the jungles and resume fighting. If that's the case, then the economic fallout could be contained.

MAOISTS' FUTURE

By quitting the government, the Maoists are seen as claiming the moral high ground which is likely to help them win the sympathy of the people. The ball is now in the opposition's court to move the political process forward.

ECONOMIC WOES

Nepal's government has so far failed to fully implement its economic agenda in one of the world's poorest countries. Nepalis have been hit by high inflation, sluggish industrial output and power shortages, all of which could remain or worsen now.

Nepal's tourist industry, one of its biggest foreign exchange earners, could also take a hit just as it was tentatively recovering from the 10-year-old civil war.

(Reporting by Gopal Sharma and Krittivas Mukherjee; Editing by Sugita Katyal)

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Into Our Arms Forever!

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welcome home ava! from melanie Strobel on Vimeo.

Meeting Ava during our first trip to Ethiopia

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Meeting Ava Ethiopia Trip July 2010 from melanie Strobel on Vimeo.

Korah- Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

During our recent visit to Ethiopia I felt very called to the village of Korah in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. There have been numerous rumblings lately about the tremendous need to help the children of Korah who are growing up in and around the local trash dump. The village was established 75 years ago as a place to send people with leprosy who were said to be cursed. Now there is a 3rd generation of people living in Korah with nearly 100,000 suffering from such things as leprosy, HIV, misc disease and of course malnutrition. There are many children of Korah who have been forced to live and work at the trash dump in hopes of finding food and possible items to sell in Korah's center of town. With the start of the Great Hope Church in Korah and the building of a shelter, along with the ministry of local Sammy Liben and Sumer Yates, there is now a feeding program and a sponsorship program in place to rescue the forgotten children of Korah and send them to boarding school where they can escape the horror of the conditions of living and working in a large trash dump. For more information please visit: www.help4korah.blogspot.com or www.p61.org where you can learn more about how you or your organization can help the people and the children of Korah. Please send me a message or email Erin Allen at erin@p61.org to request sponsorship information. I will soon be posting the photos of my day recently spent in Korah. I must tell you it was life changing and beyond anything I have ever done to stretch, change and rearrange myself. God helped me to help the people who I met. Much of what I could offer was nothing more than the snap of my camera or a warm touch or an inviting smile. The needs in Korah are beyond our wildest imagination yet God is over Korah and there is already amazing work being done. I invite you to view the following videos to learn more about the beauty and the needs of Korah's people.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW TO SPONSOR A CHILD

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Hannah's Hope Orphanage- Ethiopia

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