The US International Republican Institute (IRI), which was deeply involved in the clandestine funding and fomenting Bangladesh’s youth-led movement that toppled Sheikh Hasina’s regime in August 2024, also had a hand in financing and instigating young men in Nepal’s recent agitation, documents accessed by Northeast News show.
As a grantee of money disbursed under the US’ National Endowment for Democracy programme, which was activated in Bangladesh’s case too, the IRI gave away $350,000 to fund a Youth Leadership: Transparent Policy programme for the period July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022.
While programme staff at IRI’s Washington DC office received $51,671.68, with an additional fringe benefit amounting to $24,197.85, an amount of $7,214.01 was shown as expenditure for “space and utilities” and “supplies and equipment” heads. International and domestic travel of IRI staff took $37,235 and other miscellaneous expenses amounted to $440.
A larger chunk of money, as much as $ 41,455.44, was spent on “contractual services” such as salaries for “field office staff” (in Nepal). Legal contracts, audit and accounting services, global security team and youth-focused research saw an expenditure of $77,305.44 while “consultants and trainers” accounted for $67,600, “sub-awards (small grants projects) took $18,000 and “indirect costs” were shown to $18,000. “Other direct costs (field office administrative costs)” involved $888.86.
The IRI as well as the National Democratic Institute (NDI) were both deeply involved in financing and training Bangladeshi university and college students over a long period of time – it continued even after the so-called January 7 national election – even as detailed accounts have been published in the media of the involvement of the two organisations in funding and instigating the agitation that toppled Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League regime.
In Nepal, IRI organised “workshops for youth activists from the provinces and local levels, both politically affiliated and unaffiliated, to strengthen their capacity to make positive change in the society, raise voices effectively for good governance and develop their leadership qualities,” documents reveal.
In Nepal’s case, IRI appeared to have taken the lead role in preparing the ground for the violent agitation that hit the K P Oli-led government before it collapsed earlier this month. Another document, which is an NED Semi-Annual Narrative Report on the Yuna Netritwa: Paradarshi Niti (Youth Leadership: Transparent Policy), for the October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 period, reveals that the objective was to “strengthen youth political and civic participation as champions for democratic change”.
The IRI was to provide “emerging leaders with increased opportunities to build momentum for youth activism and put pressure on Nepali political decision-makers to become more transparent, accountable, and citizen-centered in their decisions”. This was sought to be achieved “through developing networks of youth activists and providing them with skills, resources, and platforms to build connections and advocate concerns to political party leaders”.
The IRI’s understanding of the political problem is also analysed in this document. It says, “Political institutions in Nepal, including political parties, are highly centralized, with top-down governing structures that provide little accountability or space for citizen input. Politicians have little incentives to adhere to electoral promises or develop governance agendas based on citizens’ interests, and instead pursue backdoor agreements and deals to gain or consolidate power. These structures have led to the formation of governments that are unable to respond to citizen concerns and pursue political strategies to consolidate their own positions of power rather than improve governance conditions.”
In a more significant observation, the NED report says that “Centralized, unaccountable political structures also lead to increased opportunities for corruption and manipulation and interference by foreign powers. Such interference is of particular concern in a country like Nepal, which is sandwiched between two larger powers – India and China – that frequently manipulate its internal politics for their own strategic aims. This has deepened citizen dissatisfaction and disenchantment, thus weakening the democratic process.”
While noting that “despite the current state of Nepal’s politics, there are points of democratic resilience”, the report reveals the IRI’s objectives in which “young people in Nepal will need more platforms to develop sustainable networks to advocate for common concerns and be successful champions for democratic change”. The IRI would “provide the next generation of Nepal’s civic and political leaders with opportunities and platforms to develop cohesive and sustainable advocacy networks”.
The NED felt that “this, in turn, will better position them to raise awareness of democratic values and pressure Nepali political institutions to become more accountable, transparent and citizen-centered”.
IRI hired the services of Solutions Consultant, a Kathmandu-based research firm, to “conduct a nationwide barrier analysis to identify and evaluate the barriers Nepali youth face while engaging in the political process”. The plan was to focus the “barrier analysis” on a “combination of youth focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) held with civil society representatives, elected representatives and other key stakeholders and subject matter experts”.
A copy of the agreement signed between IRI and Solutions Consultant on February 17, 2022, is in the possession of Northeast News. While Matthew Carter, IRI’s Asia Division Associate Director, signed on behalf of the US organisation, Solutions Consultant Managing Director Suraj Pradhan signed on behalf of the “contractor”.
On its part, IRI “held a series of virtual and in-person consultations with civil society organizations, and potential partners including ‘We for Change’, Center for Social Change and Dalit Youth Alliance to determine the selection criteria for ELA participants”.
IRI’s thrust was on analysis and use of social media, where the success of some of the programme methods and scope would be analysed. “Following the ELA workshops, participants develop a network of youth activists as evidenced by the number of digital engagements among participants following the workshop series. IRI will monitor the instances of digital engagements by tracking the number of posts, likes, and shares within the ELA Facebook page”.
Towards this end, IRI sought to “track instances of online and cellular communication (WhatsApp, SMS text, and call) through quarterly follow-up interviews with participants”.
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Before elections were announced to be held in May this year, the IRI made swift changes to its methods of analysis when the election code of conduct became an impediment to its operation. The IRI had earlier targeted “politically active youth and first- or second-time voters” for its operations.
(To be continued)
