Ajit NS Thapa

It has been just over three months since the King dismissed the coalition government led by S.B. Deuba for failing to hold elections and took the reins of authority upon himself. The King promised he would effectively control corruption, provide good governance, resolve Maoist insurgency, restore peace, hold elections for the House of Representatives (HoR) and hand over power to the people’s representatives within three years. He imposed a state of emergency, thus effectively curtailing press freedom, basic civil liberties and also imprisoned political workers and put most party leaders under house arrest. Now the party leaders have been freed and the state of emergency lifted on paper, but detentions and curbs on civil liberties and press freedom still continue.

Most political parties and the international community are opposed to the King’s move and feel that he has further derailed the democratic process by his direct rule. Countries such as the USA, Britain and India, which have been providing military assistance to Nepal to fight the Maoist rebels, have suspended their military aid. Other donors have said that they would continue to provide humanitarian aid but have put on hold further development assistance till press freedom and civil liberties are restored and political prisoners are released.

Political parties are now gearing up to work unitedly for the restoration of ‘full’ democracy. Although this has not been precisely defined, for the present, it could amount to the restoration of the dissolved House of Representatives. It is unfortunate that they have not yet evolved a consensus on tackling the Maoist insurgency. It was the internal bickering within the Nepali Congress over the issue of extension of the emergency that led to the dissolution of the HoR. Revival of the House may be an option of putting the constitution back on track, but it may not be the best option given the track record of the House members, who seem more concerned about jockeying for power than national priorities. The functioning of the present government also leaves much to be desired. The Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC) has made a weak start. It is currently engaged in investigating the “immense graft” associated with the doling out of small monies to political workers displaced by Maoist atrocities from the PM’s discretionary fund. One would have hoped that the RCCC would focus on substantive cases of omissions such as Lauda Air. The RCCC also turned its ire on Deuba in a manner reminiscent of the Middle Ages by sending in security personnel in the middle of the night to virtually drag him out of his house in utter violation of basic human rights. Deuba had not heeded to the summons of the RCCC to appear before it for questioning into the alleged irregularities committed in the award of the access road contract for Melamchi drinking water project.

The nation today is passing through the most harrowing times since King Prithvi Narayan Shah united it. The Maoists in the name of the people’s war have unleashed a regime of terror, intimidation, death and destruction in the countryside resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians, security personnel and insurgents. In the process, billions of rupees of infrastructure and public buildings have been destroyed and lakhs of village people are displaced and are forced to live as refuges in urban areas or migrate to India. The nation yearns for peace and security and it really does not matter who takes credit for it. If the political parties were to succeed in launching strong protest campaigns for the restoration of ‘full’ democracy, it might divert the attention of the security forces from its current engagement with the Maoists, thus benefiting the latter. Thus it is important that the nation is not engulfed in a 3-way power tussle between the King, the political parties and the Maoists.

Given the political ideology of the Maoists and their dictatorial ways, the political parties need to work with the King. The alignment of these two forces need not necessarily isolate the Maoists who also profess to be fighting for the cause of the weak and deprived sections of society. The King and political parties should jointly seek the accommodation of the Maoists with a view to bring them back to the main political stream. It is hoped that the Maoists would also recognise that they will not be able to come to power through a military victory. It is also important to grasp the gravity of the situation and to explore all possible avenues (including the use of the UN or bilateral agencies to mediate) to resolve the on-going conflict. In the light of the above, it is evident that the first option for political parties would be to hold a dialogue with the King and evolve a common strategy on tackling the Maoist insurgency. The King should also create a suitable environment for such a dialogue by restoring press freedom, civil liberties and the unconditional freeing of all political detainees.

Thapa is Mahashamati member, NC-D