The government must consider temporarily suspending the existing constitution and issuing an interim governance directive
The main administrative centre of the country were turned to ashes within a few hours on September 9. The shocking picture of the devastation was depicted by young boys waving Nepal's flag on the top of the iconic Singha Durbar gate. In the background, the federal administrative centre of the country was blazing, and the crowd under was cheering their triumph. On social media, the visual clip of that moment was, ironically, glorified by a patriotic song. The image's core message is troubling, as it clearly reveals how a large segment of our youth is being groomed.
The boys over the Singha Durbar gate and the crowd cheering them are definitely not genuine representatives of the Gen-Z but are the invaders of the peaceful protest against persistent state-sponsored corruption, nepotism, and oligarchy. The barbaric massacre of 19 protesting youngsters by the state security forces on the first day of the protest set the perfect stage for those external intruders to cast their wicked spell of destruction.
The current cohort of political leaders are solely to be blamed for whatever happened over those few days. Despite operating under a democratic system, the leaders of the major political parties have governed the country as though it were their personal estate. The political leaders, their kins, and followers sucked on the state treasury to the bottom. This is substantiated by the piles of charred bundles of Nepali and foreign currency bills inside the burnt houses of prominent leaders.
Despite being alarmed consistently by the independent intellectual community and well-wishers regarding the upcoming threats, the power-arrogant political leaders continued their illicit activities. The main reason behind this arrogance was their confidence in the state security forces. This is why the Nepal Police had gone on a firing spree. Recent incidents – such as the unnecessary killing of innocent, unarmed demonstrators during the Bal Kumari scuffle and the use of unnecessary force during the protests by the monarchy supporters – highlight this trend. With political backing, the Nepal Police and its leadership repeatedly escaped accountability for their actions. This impunity emboldened them further, leading to violent crackdowns from the very first day of the peaceful Gen-Z movement.
The video footages of the protest show that the genuine protesters were peaceful and sober at the outset. However, the external intrudes seems to have instigated the Gen-Z protesters to march towards the federal parliament building. The police had not properly barricaded the area and, hence, the protesters stormed into the parliament premises. This is where and when the security forces broke free and fired randomly at the protesters, killing 19 young protesters on the spot and leaving scores injured.
The state's negligence reached its peak when, amid all these events, the home minister was attending a regular parliamentary committee meeting. There was no coordination between the home ministry, police headquarters, district administration offices, and the security force on the ground. Moreover, the inefficiency of our intelligence agencies on speculating the magnitude of the Gen-Z movement added to the blunder.
Although the home minister resigned after the first day's aftermath, the prime minister stayed stubborn. His statement arrogantly defended the security forces' heinous action. That was one of the catalysts that agitated the protesters who went berserk on the second day. However, the unverified speculations and the visual clips of the protest clearly reveal a coordinated infiltration of agitators who burned the main administrative centres, private and public property, and select business establishments.
The Gen-Z movement enthroned former Chief Justice Sushila Karki as the first lady administrative head of the country. The brief, yet brutal spell of destruction has settled down by now, and the people are celebrating a great victory. However, the cost that the country has paid for this outcome is unprecedented. The superficial victory does yet deserve a celebration as this has been a pyrrhic triumph for Gen-Z supporters. There are definitely a lot of unseen factors behind these developments.
After a historic turn of the events over the two days, the government has been toppled, but with the humongous scale of devastation, it should have been a regime change. Karki's appointment as the prime minister under article 61 of the constitution conveys that this government is a plain successor of KP Sharma Oli's coalition government. With this, the spirit of the constitution appears to have been restored. Yet, paradoxically, the government now seems to be formed on blatantly unconstitutional grounds. Article 61 does not grant the president the authority to appoint the prime minister. Therefore, Karki's appointment can immediately be challenged in the court. Since it is the judiciary's duty to deliver free and fair justice regardless of the case's background, Karki's appointment could potentially be overturned at the very first hearing.
Forming an electoral government was never an agenda of the Gen-Z movement. Its primary goal was to investigate state-sponsored corruption and the atrocities committed by the political parties and their leaders. All such demands cannot be addressed under the provisions of the existing constitution. Hence, it is high time that the government considered temporarily suspending the existing constitution and issuing an interim governance directive. This will facilitate the government to fast-track the implementation of the demands of the Gen-Z movement. Otherwise, constitutional constraints will hinder the government's actions, and the country will regress to the pre–Gen-Z epoch.
Dr Joshi is a senior scientist and independent opinion maker based in Germany
pushpa.joshi@gmail.com
