All signs suggest that the country is getting even deeper into the crisis. The Maoists show no sign of relenting in their attempt to violently force the state, at least, to agree to their demand for constituent assembly. That is why they have announced their fresh programme of action, which includes an indefinite political strike from April 3, preceded by a week of general strike and blockade in areas neighbouring the capital. Important foreign countries do not seem to have done enough for conflict resolution as they seem to be more interested in their own agenda. The prescriptions afloat are therefore far from promising as none of the parties to the dispute is happy with them.

The King’s Democracy Day message — though it has called on “interested parties to come forward in the wider interests of the country to fully activate the disrupted democratic process” — does not depart significantly from his road map, as reiterated in his recent address to the nation . At the same time, he has called on ‘those misguided’ (meaning the Maoists) to abandon violence and take the road of ‘peace and multiparty democracy’. The King extolled the recently held civil poll — despite the widely considered farce that it was — as a ‘triumph of democracy’. Though the King has spoken of ‘a solidarity of those who believe in multiparty demcoracy’, the major political parties are unlikely to be impressed by the message as they continue to consider the palace to be the main stumbling block to peace and demoracy; so do the rebels.

Significantly, the message takes no note of the recent Supreme Court verdict which held that the people are the repository of sovereignty and all state powers and that Article 127 has its clear limits, thus calling in question the very basis on which the present regime stands. While the establishment has not been able to prove its bona fides, the Maoists’ strikes and bandhs continue to make life increasingly difficult for the general people. The recent death in Maoist custody of Prem Prasad Sapkota, a government official and a sick person needing regular doses of medicine, can only be deplored for rebel insensitivity. On the other hand, there are reports of the possibility of EU countries imposing sanctions on Nepal and that the upcoming UN conference on human rights in Geneva might take up the issue of the participation of the Royal Nepalese Army in UN peacekeeping missions. However, before pushing for such decisions, all concerned should weigh the merit of the case. But the emerging scenario of the conflict leaves no room for consolation.