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Government
Report Fails to Faze Nepal's Conspiracy Theorists
By Mike McPhate, June 28, 2001, Pacific News Service
By all accounts, the massacre of Nepal's royal family had
a traumatic effect on the people of the country, and that has
manifested itself in part in a blizzard of conspiracy theories.
Even a careful government investigation establishing responsibility
for the slaughter has been discounted -- for reasons that are
not too difficult to understand. PNS Contributor Mike McPhate
is a part-time reporter and copy editor for the Kathmandu Post,
Nepal's leading English daily. He is currently affiliated with
a study abroad program in Nepal through the University of Wisconsin,
Madison.
KATHMANDU, NEPAL -- Whispers of conspiracy continue here, despite publication of a high-level investigation, which included the unambiguous testimony of several eyewitnesses.
As the Hindu Kingdom sets about moving past the ugly massacre that took the lives of the entire royal family, tales of intrigue continue to test the country's stability. Above all, the general public refuses to accept the official version of the royal massacre, which blames the late Prince Dipendra for the slaughter.
In these last weeks rumors have spread like a plague. There was one about poison in the water supply, the heart attack of a former Prime Minister, the murder of one of the royal family's surgeons.
A new rumor alleges that the real murderer fooled his victims by disguising himself as Dipendra. Nearly every theory ultimately lays blame on two sources -- foreign meddling and the evil hand of Nepal's least popular person, Prince Paras, who was present at the fateful supper but escaped unscathed.
The probe report, meant to cure all doubts, placed the guilt squarely on Dipendra.
Major media outlets, generally satisfied with the official investigation, pleaded with the public. "It's time to swallow the bitter truth," the largest English daily, The Kathmandu Post, admonished.
Although it was not at all politically correct, the reputable weekly, Nepali Times, chose the provocative headline, "It Was Dipendra."
But to little avail.
"How can I believe it?" asks computer science student Suresh Shrestha, who then launches into a description of the late Dipendra's gentle qualities.
Some left parties have helped stir suspicion. The Nepal Communist Party (Masal) said it would be "childish" to believe that Dipendra did it. The United People's Front called the report "meaningless." And the Maoist rebels blamed a "serious political conspiracy."
The conspiracy theories, though, were originally prompted by a hyper-secretive government that kept the public waiting 15 hours before letting them in on the fact that their royal family was dead -- long after New Yorkers watching CNN knew.
The legacy of information control from Nepal's authoritarian past resurfaced at the vulnerable moment. In the information vacuum, the rumor mill kicked into full speed.
The government made its regard for the public's right to information clear by arresting three staff members of the country's largest daily, Kantipur, in the week after the massacre.
The newspaper had published a letter from the leader of Nepal's growing Maoist insurgency blaming the government for the massacre.
This isn't the first time rumor has shattered the country's peace. Last December, rioters trampled through the streets of this city spurred by rumors that Indian film star Hrithik Roshan had said he hated Nepalis.
At least 40 organizations issued press statements condemning Roshan. Nepal's Minister of Communication and Information banned his movies. At least four were killed when police opened fire on a mob.
It was soon revealed Roshan had said no such thing.
Suspicion is ingrained into the Nepali consciousness. All know the story of the Kot Massacre in 1846, when 40 nobles of the royal court were killed in a successful bid for power by Jung Bahadur Rana. Commentators and conspiracy theorists have repeatedly implied that the current situation might be karmic replay.
Nepal's identity was attacked by the royal massacre. This, followed by misinformation, led the public to imagine a conspiracy. What is most palpable, though, is not gullibility, but the bitter frustration of a grieving nation.
"Don't blame the people," says director of the Nepal Foundation for
Advanced Studies. Ananda Shrestha, "Naturally they don't believe it."
As one of Nepal's top journalists, Kunda Dixit, wrote, "We will not let the truth get in the way of a juicy conspiracy theory."
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