The government’s nomination of fourteen ambassadors has sparked off an immediate Maoist backlash. The Maoists, who have also objected to the appointments to the top posts of the National Human Rights Commission, organised a valley-wide bandh yesterday, demanding the withdrawal of the ambassadorial nominations on the grounds that they had simply been ignored in the process. They see a Congress-UML conspiracy. The nominees are reported to include five supported by the Congress, five by the CPN-UML, one by the NC-D, and three from the civil service. The other constituents of the SPA alliance have also drawn a blank, and deputy prime minister Amik Sherchan’s reservations about the nominations, which led him to walk out of the Cabinet meeting, seem to stress this point.

It is not understandable why a government which kept the posts vacant for more than six months, even when Nepal was making a bid for a non-permanent UNSC seat, has hastened the process at a time when the interim constitution is ready and the Maoists’ entry into the interim government is near at hand. This decision is unlikely to strengthen the peace process and to deepen the mutual trust between the CPN-Maoist on the one hand and the Congress and the CPN-UML on the other. It also seems less than fair that the smaller SPA constituents, apparently, should have little say in government appointments. And it may be unrealistic and unfair to think that the Maoists, who have proved to be among the most powerful political forces in the country, will be content to participate in the interim government just to get a couple of ministries.

Even more important is the fact that this decision runs counter to coalition culture and the spirit and purpose of the kind of interim government that is being formed. It will hardly be conducive to the building of national reconciliation — a process that has already been taken a long way forward with the conclusion of several understandings and agreements over the past year. This last-minute rush provides room for doubt about intent, and accusations of an attempt to create a fait accompli might well surface. There are some who appear to be seeking to justify the decision by arguments such as, Maoists as ambassadors will not be acceptable to other countries, or that delay in appointment will have an adverse impact on Nepali diplomacy, as witnessed in Nepal’s recent debacle at the UN. The first argument is hypothetical and beside the point. The crux of the matter is that consensus has not been sought. The belated concern over delay appears tantamount to bolting the stable door after the horse has been stolen. The biggest SPA constituents owe it to the people as well as to their partners in Jana Andolan II that they adopt a consensual approach and that their nominees meet the professional requirements of the job and also the test that they were not against the anti-regression movement. The government may not find it easy to defend some of the nominees on the second count, either.