The 12-point understanding reached between the seven-party alliance and the Maoists has received wide attention from the people inside the country as well as outside. The understanding is under scrutiny of the diplomatic circles as well. This is so because the development cannot be viewed in isolation, rather it has to be looked at with the experience of the events of the decade-old armed resistance.

So many Nepalis have been killed or maimed in the war so far; and most of them have been those who had not taken part in the uprising. Hundreds of innocent children have been killed in crossfire and in accidents caused by the land mines and abandoned grenades.

The Maoists have repeatedly admitted some of the mistakes and have been giving assurances time and again to halt such activities, yet recurrences of such mistakes have not abated. So when the people look at the 12-point agreement, the first question that arises in their mind is whether the agreement would be implemented in its true spirit or not.

The Nepali people have been the victims of the lack of good governance in the past, and they are the victims of the present bad governance. And so, for them any possibility of a new phase of good governance is attractive.

However, they are not yet ready to believe in the promises of either the Maoists or the seven-party alliance. The poor performance of the government has also been disappointing and that adds to the people’s scepticism. While all the three political forces — the Maoists, the alliance and the government — believe they have popular support behind them, the reality is that the people have been passive and sceptical until now.

However, the understanding reached between the Maoists and the alliance has attracted the people solely because it might create some formidable force for the restoration of peace that they so desperately desire. The seven-party alliance has declared its faith in the strength of peaceful agitations against the government and the Maoists have agreed not to create any sort of disturbance during the peaceful agitation. Thus a new dimension in Nepali politics has been introduced in this way. On this depends the future of democratisation and peace processes.

The government’s position seems to be immature and unrealistic. The threat issued by Home Minister Kamal Thapa to the parties, branding them as conspirators and allies of the terrorists, is the proof of immaturity and panic. The government’s assessment is not based upon the will to negotiate with the parties and support them in their effort to bring the Maoists to the path of peace. It seems that the people in the government believe that any negotiation or understanding with the parties would cause their downfall, and so, instead of initiating a dialogue with the parties, it would be in the interest of the government to maintain a distance from them.

The Maoists-alliance understanding creates an opportunity for national reconciliation on the basis of an agreement between the three political forces. Such a process could enhance mutual trust and pave the way for peaceful transformation of Nepali politics. That would be in the long-term interest of the nation, but it would definitely not further the interest of the people in the government.

The declaration of an active non-violent movement against the government from April 6 by the alliance has been finalised. This movement is believed to bring support and participation of the civil society, professionals, ethnic groups, Dalits and women’s organisations. Thus, this agitation is bound to reach a new height. It would be in the interest of the nation if the palace could take the initiative to express willingness to discuss all aspects of the present political, economic and social problems of the country and find a resolution of these issues. But as long as the people in the government, for their narrow self-interest, try to foil the movement by issuing threats, arrests and violence, the movement may not achieve its objective fully, but it will definitely create such a dent in the people’s faith in the sacred institution of monarchy that it would be impossible to repair it.

Those running the government are still victims of the past and they think that people have lost confidence in the political parties and are now behind the government. In the last one year, people’s disillusionment with the government has grown fast and this has brought the institution of monarchy into controversy. To remove the disillusionment of the people and restore confidence in the monarchy, it is necessary to immediately form a national government of parties with a view to convening a widely participated political conference to draw a future road map for Nepal. The initiative has to be taken by the King. There is a new opportunity and that too a glorious one for the nation and thus the role of the King is pivotal.

Upadhyay is a former foreign minister