<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cda079c7e80680e092ed5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="480"/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s civil rights activists, writers, lawyers, professors and diplomats have called on their government to take a stand against the ongoing killings of pro-democracy protesters by the military junta in Burma.In a statement on Sunday, they appealed to the Nepal government as well as the international community to voice their criticism of the Burmese military.‘We are proud of the Myanmar people’s valorous stand for democracy, appalled by the murderous suppression by the Tatmadaw military, and distressed by the lack of adequate response from the governments of South Asia and globally,’ the statement reads.The press release ‘urgently calls upon the Government of Nepal to stand up for democratic values and on the side of the people of Myanmar who are engaged in an uprising’.Kathmandu has seen phases of demonstrations in support of the people of Burma, latest on 28 March, calling for an end to violence.‘We stand in solidarity with the people of Myanmar,’ tweeted writer Narayan Wagle, as he stood with a group of protesters outside the Burmese embassy in Kathmandu on Sunday.Over the past two months, Burma has seen a spate of violence, leading to the killing of more than 300 people. On 27 March, itself, 91 pro-democracy activists were killed as the junta celebrated Myanmar Armed Forces Day amidst a show of strength as the military made the rounds of the Yangon city centre.‘We are shocked that the diplomats of several countries attended the Armed Forces Day ceremony even as the military has gone berserk massacring peaceful protestors’ the statement by the civil society further reads.On 27 March, Burmese state-run television ran a government announcement that people could be ‘shot in the head or on the back’ for demonstrating.  Images and footage in the media show the army pulling down barricades to go into residential areas to make arrests, and shooting and injuring peaceful protestors. The videos have sparked outrage on social media inside Burma and across the world.While the state media has muted news about arrests, it has emerged from various sources that extensive arrests have been made, nabbing activists, politicians, any intellectual who appear to threaten the existence of the Tatmadaw or the military junta.The National League for Democracy party leader Aung San Suu-Kyi has been under arrest now for two month, and there are reports of brutal treatment of detainees in jail.‘The government must help organise a deliberate and integrated international response to force the junta that is led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, to immediately reverse its takeover and abide by the results of the November 2020 elections,’ the statement issued by Nepali civil society members says.In the backdrop of the violence in Burma, the international response has been mostly absent. In 2018, Amnesty International had revoked <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/kathmandu-remembers-aung-san-suu-kyi/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/kathmandu-remembers-aung-san-suu-kyi/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1617086462281000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEIECmbwOlqzcD6cTTaT-BDJ_HQTA">Suu Kyi</a>’s Nobel Peace Prize over Burma’s treatment of the Rohingya refugees.‘The appalling treatment of the Rohingya community and the spectre of massive statelessness is the result, we believe, of the stifling of the democratic urge of the government led by State Counselor Aung San Suu-Kyi against the backdrop of military power,’ the statement from Nepal on Sunday further says, putting in spotlight the complex ethnic politics of Myanmar.While the military shot at the citizens at random in cities like Yangon last week, the Rohingya refugees who have been in Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh since they were evicted in 2017, was engulfed by a massive inferno that destroyed their temporary homes, with no real count of the number of death of losses from the disaster emerging.A coordinated international campaign to restore peace and constitutional order in Burma has appeared imperative in the face of the ongoing crisis. Unlike in the past, the current crisis has seen extensive response from the youth, especially women, who have taken to the streets or have banged their utensils from their homes every evening to protest the military rule.UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Thursday issued a statement demanding the security forces in Myanmar to halt ‘their vicious crackdown on peaceful protestors’.‘Myanmar’s military must stop murdering and jailing protestors,’ Bachelet said. ‘It is utterly abhorrent that security forces are firing live ammunition against peaceful protesters across the country. I am also appalled at the documented attacks against emergency medical staff and ambulances attempting to provide care to those who have been injured.’Burma was under the British until 1948, and under military rule from 1962 to 2011, following which an elected government was installed. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/asias-new-cold-war/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/asias-new-cold-war/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1617086462281000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH_7PjKQk8rySBuewHWm_0bjdgkvw">Southeast Asian</a> country is rich in natural resources, from its rivers to lumber to gems, as well as natural gas, which has always had its fate at crossroads with different powers trying to exploit those resources at the expense of the innocent civillians.Burma had begun to see peace and an improved economic situation after 2011, as a quasi-democracy introduced socio-political changes. But in February 2021, a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/post-coup-myanmar-aung-san-suu-kyi-and-the-way-forward/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/post-coup-myanmar-aung-san-suu-kyi-and-the-way-forward/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1617086462281000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH3FLjMWVFSSqsXB-bhuwfJZ89ABA">military coup</a> pushed back the people’s achievement brought about by the people’s uprisings of 1988, 1996 and 2007.A nation with diverse ethnicity, Burma has continued to struggle with developing a national identity, beginning right from the name it is known by. ‘Burma’ was given by the British rulers after the majority Burmese people, which is often rejected by other <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/after-60-years-nepalis-still-miss-burma/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/after-60-years-nepalis-still-miss-burma/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1617086462281000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEFGccw5PQQkikkRcBVXwci35nwkw">ethnic minorities</a>, who also do not prefer ‘Myanmar’ which is a formalised version of ‘Burma’, introduced by the military.‘The divides that remain between the various ethnic groups of Myanmar can only be resolved under the aegis of a pluralistic, accountable state and a supportive international environment,’ reads the statement issued by the Nepali civil society. ‘We urge the world community to play its role in helping remove all authority given to the Tatmadaw by the Constitution of 2008 in the hope of peace and gradual transition, which it has misused continuously against the interests of the people of Myanmar.’

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Nepalis show solidarity with Burma protesters

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd7b89c7e80680e092dfbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="480"/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>The recent coup in Burma is a stark reminder that the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-death-of-democracy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">future of democracy</a> in South East and South Asia faces a treacherous path ahead. Although some observers disagree, the world has entered what we might term, the ‘New Cold War’.In this new world order, reminiscent of the Cold War from the 1950s to 1980s, many Asian countries will face the heat of an intense rivalry between two camps. The first one is led by the US and the EU and the other is led by China, often followed by Russia. This rivalry will not only challenge our understanding of, but erode and undermine democracy.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/post-coup-myanmar-aung-san-suu-kyi-and-the-way-forward/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">1 February 2021 coup by Burma’s military junta</a> was condemned by people in different parts of the world, while we also saw civil society representatives in Kathmandu demonstrate against it. More than 50 people have died at the hands of the military during a month of strife and many have been jailed or disappeared.In response to the coup and the spate of violence unleashed by the state, the world witnessed a polarised tussle of opinion. The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on 3 February, during which, the two camps failed to condemn the coup.Thus far, the members have not been able to collectively denounce the coup except calling for the release of Burma’s democratic leader, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/kathmandu-remembers-aung-san-suu-kyi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Aung Sang Su Kyi</a>. The world should not feel surprised if similar disagreements and tussles increase in this new world order, undermining democracy in the region.The implications of such differences could run deeper than they appear, for those of us who live in South East and South Asia. The power dynamics that the rivalries unleash unintentionally will reinforce ‘illiberal’ democracies and authoritarian regimes.Under such political circumstances, some countries might enjoy economic prosperity, but their citizens will live under a continuously controlled and coerced society (e.g., in Brunei, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Vietnam). Countries that have turbulent, violent histories and unstable governments, such as Sri Lanka, Burma, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-in-political-and-geopolitical-jam/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal</a>, Maldives and Afghanistan, are likely to further plunge into instability and infighting.These states lack strong institutions, suffer from infighting amongst political rivalries, experience high level of corruption, rely heavily on foreign direct investment and foreign aid. This, in turn, poses challenges for them to build stable, inclusive, self-determined governments, despite both camps’ outward claims of supporting all of these objectives.Almost all of the South and South East Asian people once lived under colonial rule. Even countries like <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/yam-between-3-boulders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal</a> and Thailand, that did not directly experience colonial rule, remained under its influence.After independence, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia saw violent partisan struggles. In the case of Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan, there were also armed insurrections.Most of the violent events— many of them still ongoing— are rooted in ethnicity, religion and regionalism. The first Cold War made building inclusive stable societies in these post-colonial states more complicated, fanning the flames of insurgency and division.In the post-colonial era, many leaders anchored themselves around strong nationalist personas, aiming to rewrite their countries’ history. Such efforts, while noble in some regard, often undermined democratic principles by forcefully assimilating ethnic and religious minorities under a ‘collective nationalism’.Unsurprisingly, this fueled divisions, mistrust, acrimonies and inequalities, leading to violent uprisings. The ‘democracies’ they created primarily served the elite, and in some cases, certain ethnic groups. The new Cold War rivalries, unfortunately, will reinforce similar types of democracies throughout Asia.Vietnam evidences this. A communist country that once fought a bloody war, Vietnam has become an important economic partner and regional ally for the US as it seeks to deter Chinese influence in the region.In Cambodia, despite the UN and many western donor agencies spending billions of dollars to build liberal democracy in the country, authoritarianism has prevailed. But China enjoys ‘deep’ economic ties with the government and continues to invest billions of dollars.In Burma, during the nearly six decades-long junta rule, China remained one of its most trusted allies. Apparently, it made the Generals so anxious it led them to initiate democratic reform in 2011.The recent coup will undoubtedly bring them back closer as the West will inevitably impose sanctions against the junta while China chooses its ‘non-interference’ diplomacy securing a ‘deep’ tie with the Generals.In Sri Lanka, while the West was criticising the Mahindra Rajapaksa government for human rights violence as it crushed the Tamil rebels, the Chinese made a deal with it to build one of the biggest seaports in the region.The new Cold War rivalries fueled by another power nation, India, will continue to shape the future of democracy and stability in the region. It has unleashed fresh risk for politically unstable and violent societies in the region, as well as countries that have histories of military rule. Political leaders in Nepal and elsewhere are likely to blame external influences of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/em-powering-south-asia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the US</a>, China and India instead of recognising and questioning their own competence.As the new Cold War rivalries accelerate – whether intentional or not – their positioning is likely to make way for more illiberal democracies and authoritarian regimes to emerge. Those in leadership will find little or no incentive to address the issues of the poor and marginalised, thus pushing them further into the abyss.If countries, like Nepal, want to preserve their commitment to democratic principles, it is time for the state and its people to start acting like we mean it.Dhirendra Nalbo, Ph.D. is a lecturer and the co-founder of the Open Institute for Social Science. He writes on issues related to the environment, geopolitics, conflict, and peace. <img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111148/636cd7bb9c7e80680e092dfcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="116" height="175">

Asia’s new Cold War

Fenerbahçe Beko won the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague finals in Abu Dhabi, held 23-25 May, defeating Monaco 81-70 in the final. Olympiacos, who defeated Panathinaikos 97-93, finished the series in third place. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final match, Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahçe Beko, received a prize of 1,000,000 Miles&amp;Smiles from Turkish Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmuştur. The carrier has been the title sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, a top tier tournament, since 2010.

Turkish Basketball

In the black and white photograph, General Wangdu smiles broadly in front of the dusty cactus garden in Kathmandu’s Annapurna Hotel. With an ill-fitting jacket and shaggy hair he looks benign enough, but this was the last leader of the Tibetan freedom fighters who led the resistance against the Chinese from their remote mountain hideouts in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/comings-and-goings-in-mustang">Mustang</a>. Five months later, Wangdu was dead. Snapped in March 1974, I had only recently arrived in Nepal. How did I meet this legendary fighter? Possibly with his devoted camp follower, Lynne Klapecki, and probably in the Om Restaurant near Freak Street which was the preferred <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hippie-trail-nostalgia-in-kathmandu">hippie hang-out</a>. Om Lobsang and his brother Yeshe were <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/earthquake-brings-back-memories-of-camps-for-tibetan-refugees">refugees from East Tibet </a>whose cafe offered a friendly welcome and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/momo-loco"> the best momos</a> - they became my in-laws after I married their eldest brother Tenzin, but that was a decade later.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1583" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Photo: LISA CHOEGYAL</figcaption> </figure>  Wangdu’s English was enthusiastically rudimentary, but even riding around town with him on the back of an aging <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-new-motorbike-museum">motorbike</a>, he was a commanding presence. Always flanked by armed outriders, impressive scars marked his forearms and a pistol hung from the cord around his neck. A charismatic guerrilla leader, Wangdu was celebrated by his followers for his tough commitment and respected for his measured pragmatism. He seemed so young to have shouldered such a responsibility of command, leading hundreds of hardened <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/50-years-after-the%20raid-into-Tibet,1012#google_vignette">Khampa combatants </a>through what had been a particularly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/heavy-snowfall-over-nepal-himalaya">brutal winter in Mustang</a>, the last bastion to hold out against the Chinese invasion of their Tibetan homeland.&nbsp; The freedom fighters of Tibet, known as the Chushi-Gangdruk, had emerged to resist the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/territorialism">Chinese takeover</a> of Tibet during the 1950s. Estimated to be 80,000-strong at the time of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-or-who-after-the-dalai-lama">the Dalai Lama</a>’s final escape to India in 1959, the sheer number of Chinese deployed into Tibet eventually forced the Chushi-Gangdruk to retreat to Mustang, From this high Himalayan stronghold, they continued cross-border raids on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) throughout the 1960s.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="676" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Guerrillas known as the Chushi-Gangdruk emerged to resist the Chinese annexation of Tibet during the 1950s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>  Their Kathmandu base was a small discreet lodge in a back lane near Rani Pokhari. Sipping sweet tea from a blue mug with a chipped lid, I sat bemused in a corner of the Mustang Hotel room whilst Wangdu and his cohorts received a battered brown suitcase from their CIA connection, a tousle-haired American in a leather jacket. Heaved onto the dingy bedspread that covered the thin mattress, it was clicked open to reveal piles of neatly stacked dollar bills.&nbsp; I cannot think why Wangdu allowed me to witness this handover but I was clearly no threat, a newly arrived world traveller with no understanding of the stakes nor any Nepali or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/tibetan-music-in-nepals-sacred-valley">Tibetan language</a>. Despite armed guards in the corridor,Wangdu radiated confidence and bravado, and there was a practiced familiarity to the tense transaction. This deadly dance for many years had been funded by the Americans, tolerated by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-kingdom-within-a-republic">Mustang’s residents</a>, and permitted by King Mahendra and the Nepali authorities who it suited to turn a blind eye.&nbsp; But Mahendra died in 1972, and times were changing. Richard Nixon’s ping-pong diplomacy thawed the cold war and signalled a fresh entente with China. Nepal’s yet-to-be-crowned <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">King Birendra </a>was under pressure to curb the irritating incursions against the PLA launched from the Nepali territory of Mustang. Keen to appease his northern neighbour, on several occasions the King summoned Wangdu for peace talks but, despite increasingly overwhelming odds, Wangdu refused to surrender.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1055" height="885" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>General Wangdu flanked by two Tibetan resistance fighters in Mustang in the 1970s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31" data-rendition-name="original" width="1044" height="792" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>King Birendra with General Wangdu (right in dark glasses) taken in 1974 possibly in Mustang after one of their few attempts at negotiation. Photo courtesy: RAJRNDRA KUNWAR</figcaption> </figure>  While I naively rode pillion around Kathmandu in the spring sunshine, Wangdu was in the midst of what turned out to be his final round of negotiations with the Nepal government. Refusing to cease hostilities with the Chinese, Wangdu must have suspected the cost of his decision, making his cheerful smile in the photograph all the more poignant and brave. It was only much later that I appreciated the significance of the moment. Wangdu had been sent to replace the first resistance leader in Mustang, Baba Gen Yeshe, a much derided corrupt character who stole money meant for his troops and exploited fleeing refugees by seizing their treasures. Baba Gen Yeshe never forgave Wangdu,and sought revenge in May 1974 by betraying him and his commanders to the Nepal authorities. Renewed Chinese incursions from the north, active PLA collusion with the Nepali forces under the new King, and treachery from within the Chushi-Gangdrukranks combined to seal their fate.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>British television journalists George Patterson and Adrian Cowell embedded themselves with Khampa guerrillas and accompanied them from Tsum Valley on a cross border raid on a Chinese Army convoy in 1964. Photo: ESSAYS ON NEPAL / SAM COWAN</figcaption> </figure>  Mikel Dunham, renowned author of Buddha’s Warriors, writes: ‘It is possible that Wangdu was waiting for some cue from the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. It is equally possible – during that last, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-human-cost-of-nepal-s-yarsa-gold-rush?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR31-Cqw8oyIwMPzf_35e4Skr0ululJvLf3_vDkzHn-AYG2h8uPw2rqqErg_aem_tGVn5coY1-jA7fze_xqhew">desolate winter </a>– that he made the decision to go out in glory rather than admit defeat. Over the last fifteen years, Wangdu had experienced Tibet’s organized resistance being squeezed and shoved around by every conceivable outside force.&nbsp; First they had been pushed out of their own country by the PLA; then they had been refused sanction while on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds?fbclid=IwAR0PpJ5zUEbwdug3g_U3ar6FUugngRY0S8Tl2v_7wqzrsHmXWcXsKjvL4t4">Indian soil</a>; then they were abandoned by the Americans because, apparently, Nixon wanted to make friends with Wangdu’s mortal enemies, the communists; then they had been betrayed by the vampiric Baba Gen Yeshe – a Tibetan and, even worse, a fellow Khampa; and now, finally Wangdu’s army was being evicted by the Nepalis. One thing was certain: Wangdu was a warrior. To imagine Wangdu simply giving up and settling down in the pacific squalor of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp">refugee camp </a>was unthinkable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="746" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>The much derided Baba Gen Yeshe, the first Tibetan resistance leader in Mustang, who betrayed Wangdu for personal gain. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="656" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Aditya SJB Rana of the Royal Nepal Army whose team ambushed Wangdu and his cohorts at the top of Tinker Pass in Darchula, West Nepal. Photo courtesy: GAUTAM SJB RANA</figcaption> </figure>  By August 1974 the game was up. Wangdu and six of his exhausted party were killed on their horses by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7270">the Royal Nepal Army</a> on the brink of escape. The officer in charge, Aditya SJB Rana, cleverly predicted their route into India after they failed to silence a police radio in Yari. A carefully laid ambush trapped them near the summit of the Tinker Pass in Darchula,at 5,000 meters the highest military operation of its time. Wangdu’s body was helicoptered to Kathmandu, and a big show made of the royal Nepal victory.&nbsp; The Tibetan armed insurgency against China had reached its end.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_23" data-image-id="20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> </figure>

The Last Days of the Khampa

Starting 17 September Turkish Airlines will fly daily to Seville, one of Spain’s major tourist draws. This is Turkish’s sixth destination in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Bilbao. Seville is in the Andalusia region on Spain’s south coast with a rich Moor history. There are approximately 30,000 Nepalis living in Spain.&nbsp;

Turkish to Seville

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum

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