Nepal's Parliament debates US aid grant amid fierce protests

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal’s government presented a contentious half-billion dollar aid grant from the United States for approval in Parliament on Sunday, triggering a fresh round of violent clashes between protesters and police outside the legislature.

Hundreds of protesters tried to push through barbed wire barricades and pelted riot police with stones. Police beat them with bamboo batons, fired tear gar and water canons, leaving injured on both sides.

Opposition to the aid grant comes mainly from two of the Communist parties that are part of the coalition government. They claim the conditions in the grant agreement will prevail over Nepal’s laws and threaten the country’s sovereignty. They say it’s part of Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy, which has military components that could bring American soldiers to Nepal.

U.S. officials have spoken to Nepalese leaders recently to assure that the grant concerns only Nepal’s development. The money is meant to be used for the construction of power transmission lines and improvement of roads in the Himalayan nation.



Nepalese protesters opposing a proposed U.S. half billion dollars grant for Nepal clash with police outside as the parliament debates the contentious aid in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022. Opposition to the grant comes mainly from two Communist parties that are part of the coalition government who claim the conditions in the grant agreement will prevail over Nepal's laws and threaten the country's sovereignty. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shreshta)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-united-states-legislature-nepal-595299bf5ac4bad15fa6044ceec084e5

[jimfields33]

1. Holy cow. If the United States offering to give a half billion dollars,

Causes this type of violence, Then perhaps we should keep it here and either not use it or spend it on homelessness in Washington and Oregon states which is desperately needed.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

2. Like all American aid, after the money flows, in come the American military.

Apparently 200 military bases around he world not enough for the $trillion a year Pentagon to justify the enormous waste??

No wonder Chinese aid is gratefully scccepted by the developing world, American colonialism is taught in foreign lands though in America the racist history is being wiped out.

History is dangerous, history is power, history is immutable, knowing history means never being afraid of the present…so history must be suppressed by colonialist, racist nations.