Not surprisingly they are brewing something in the backyard. Not meant to upset the ?Girija Jee? supporters! Below is the email discussion amongst our "elite" members: Friends: Separation of power, guarantee of liberty, and participatory and competitive electoral process are the essence of a liberal democracy, and all three have been grossly violated by the latest takeover. Let this be a lesson to all those who believe in democracy that the future constitutional arrangements shall not leave any such loopholes. I speak of future amidst such chaos, because I believe in it. Alok Bohara Friends, Today 8 PM (MST) Indian Zee TV briefly showed Nepal with street demonstrations and effigy burnings. The commentator said, India, UN ( Kofi Anan), Britain and the USA are critical of the royal take over. It also said, China stated it was Nepal's internal affairs (whatever you want to make of it) I have recaptured your expressed sentiments. We must strike when the iron is hot!!! There needs to be one Petition right away and next one a few weeks later with abit more thoughts and analysis! Right now -short, not-sweet and HOT!! WE NEED TO WORK ON FIRST ONE RIGHT AWAY! Arun Dear friends: I am sure everybody is just stunned to learn the new development in Nepal and may still be trying to get settled with the news. King Gyanendra had always acted suspicious from the very onset. And now he has made it very clear to the rest of the world. This is no doubt an outright blow to the democracy, whatever the pretext he has given. Several other alternatives could have been tried before he jumped right in, in the manner he did. There could be no excuse whatsoever to grab power this way. It's almost certain that he is in a mission to wipe out democracy from Nepal. While we expect to hear some more condemnation from the international community, what about we diaspora ? What is our position on this ? We must act fast and and get our view point across. Now that the media and communication in Nepal is cut off, can we make a written statement (or condemnation) and give to the Nepalese Embassy here in DC with a copy to State Department and possibly to as many senators as we possibly can reach. Yours, Shambhu Lama Dear all: The news from Nepal this morning has shocked all of us who were hoping for a peaceful resolution of crisis in Nepal. The situation today just like in 1960, is extraordinary. Now there is only one central actor in Nepal, the King. The political parties are completely sidelined, and are, in fact, helpless. We do not know how the Maoists will react, but it may be a battle of two guns, or a negotiation with two forces. The Nepali Diaspora has to rise to this occasion just the way we rose in 1990. Fortunately, the situation then was different; there was a world wide wave of democracy. Now, the King has spelled out "terrorism" and failure of the successive governments to bring peace and hold elections as his major justifications to assume total control of the country. The use of "terrorism" as a shield to his action - the new cancer in the world - might appease some powers. Although the King's proclamation talks about his commitment to multiparty democracy, today's act is not in that spirit. I am sure we will hear similar voices from India and do other powers interested in Nepal. I personally think Nepal is being pushed back where we were 45 years ago. I believe, we should have a multipronged strategy to send our Serious concerns to this event in Nepal, as best as we could do From outside. It may be a combination of appeals to the King, protests in Washington DC and New York and appeals to the US President and Congress and also the Canadian Government and Indian Prime Minister. The first thing we can do is to revise the letter proposed by Girija jee in the DC meeting and send it to the King to show how concerned we are about the events in Nepal. We should forcefully articulate our unflinching support for multiparty democracy and peace and no less. In a couple of days, we need to rally several urgent actions to help the Nepali situation. I know this is another sad day for Nepal, but we keep our faith alive and do what we can do to promote democracy, peace and development in Nepal. As the first order of business, some of us will expeditiously revise the proposed appeal to the King and circulate it seeking wider input, and then for extensive endorsement by the North American Diaspora and Nepali organizations. We will continue to devise other phases of our involvement to help Nepal. Jai Nepal. Ambika P. Adhikari "Nepal is under house arrest" is the right expression. The first order of business to file a petition to the King via the Nepali Embassay. It needs to be strongly worded. I hope I/we do not have to sell this idea. Arun Friends, Let's keep each other updated especially under circumstances that Nepal is under house arrest. Mallika All: I am sure many of you heard the news this morning that King Gyanendra has sacked the Deuba government, closed down airports and all other means of communication in and out of Nepal. All political leaders seems to be in house arrest and the streets of Kathmandu are highly guarded by armed forces. Although elaborate news is not out yet, the petition Girija ji presented and we discussed in Washington DC this past weekend is much more relevant and needs to be expedited. In light of this the content of course needs to be changed/modified. I recommend that the committee we formed to go over this document do a quick electronic conference to review its contents. I am sure here will be many reactions to this development both from here nd from Nepal. Jeet Dear All, We have been discussing different forms of democracy? Is the present democracy that king will be ushering in Nepali will be a liberal democracy or inclusive democracy or guided democracy? I think we don't need to define democracy. It is always liberal because it honors the feelings and thoughts of all sectors of the societies, is inclusive because it gives an avenue either already present or to form for the all the sectors of the societies to define their own future. At this juncture, what is the role of expatriate Nepali's role after the royal take over? Looking forward to hearing from all intellectual and concerned Nepali expatriates. Pramod