The government has set itself the task of restoring peace in the country. But this has also meant the imposition of emergency, suspension of democratic freedoms, detention of political leaders and others, and restrictions on the activities of the political parties. The government has made a commitment to constitutional monarchy and multiparty democracy a number of times since February 1 and it has pledged to hold the general elections once peace is established. It has called upon the political parties and the international community to support its agenda. But neither the major political parties nor major donor countries seem to share the government’s view. The positions taken by the world’s major democracies have been rather unexpected. They have been adopting a “wait and watch” approach to the developments in the country, threatening further suspension of aid. The major political parties, though in a weakened state, show no signs of going along with the government’s plan.

And there are the Maoists who continue their policy of seeking their political goals through the barrel of the gun. They have rejected the idea of talking to the government on its terms. The government, too, has ruled out talks with them. First, it wants to weaken the rebels militarily enough to compel them to come to negotiate on its terms. But the challenges before it are daunting. At present, it is having to fight the political parties politically and the donors diplomatically, apart from fighting the rebels militarily. To make this political and diplomatic cooperation possible, certain visible steps appear necessary. Attempts to sideline the parties have put a question mark over continued military and economic support of friendly countries—India, the US, the UK and the European Union—which do not support the Maoists’ violent methods and their aims.

A question, therefore, arises as to how this state of affairs may contribute to the government’s stated goals. Before October 4, 2002, the palace and the political parties had been united. And the above-mentioned countries are making a point of bringing these two forces together again. As things stand, unfortunately this is unlikely to happen. There is much international pressure on the government on human rights and other fronts. Efforts are underway at the Geneva session of the UN Commission on Human Rights to pass a resolution for a “strong” international presence in Nepal to monitor its human rights. Besides, these countries are coordinating their policies and strategies concerning Nepal. It would be the government’s major diplomatic challenge to win back the support of its important friends, who seem serious about their concerns. Much would depend on it.