Durga Pokhrel

I am in an appreciative mood. Maybe that is why I see a ceasefire on the near horizon. I believe in the cosmic theory of inevitability: Whatever happens happens for the better. Perhaps it has all been necessary to send a shock into our status quo feudal society. I question myself: “What worse than this is left to happen?” Remember — most countries around the world have gone through a major civil war at some point. We should remember, the youth dominate our current Nepali population. If not guided properly, their future is bound to be dim. To avoid the everlasting negative impact of a long-standing conflict, its cause has to be resolved. The first step and precondition for managing an armed conflict is a ceasefire, and in my political analysis I see it coming again soon.

Mohan (Pokhrel) Vaidhya, or Kiran, has been arrested along with another comrade in Siliguri. Will they be handed over to Nepal? Definitely not Kiran. He’s too high level. In history, even during the last stages of the autocratic Rana rule, our politicians’ ideology was formed in India under the British. Even though Jung Bahadur had good relations with the British, they could not send the politicians back to Nepal. Traditionally, Nepal-India relations have been beyond politics. During the Muslim invasion, many Hindu sages and learned Indians escaped to Nepal with holy texts. Time and again, both countries have sheltered their respective escapees.

Between 1968 and 1976, the Nepali Congress exiled in India engaged in armed conflict with the then King’s partyless Panchayat system. During that period, several significant armed attacks were attempted. Bombs were thrown at both our late kings, Mahendra and Birenda; an attempt was made to capture Okhaldhunga, a plane loaded with cash was hijacked, and several cross-border attacks were performed. India did imprison some of our Congressites. But did India hand any over? Or did it arrest B P? Instead, B P even received Indian travel documents to go overseas. About Kiran, the Indian embassy issued a statement on April 5 stating that he was not found guilty of involvement in anti-Indian activities. In the early 1970s, Karpuri Thakur took political asylum in Nepal, escaping Mrs Gandhi’s emergency. Nepal did not hand him over to the Indian government. By now, Nepalis and Indians have realised we cannot behave at cross-purposes due to our geopolitical position and cultural affinity.

Since the last six-and-a-half months of ceasefire of January to August 2003, people certainly appreciated the return of almost-normality, after a conflict which had claimed over six thousand lives. Since the failure of the second peace dialogue due to the August 2003 Dorambha incident, up to the April 4, an additional three thousand lives have been lost. In addition, an unaccountable number of people is reported missing, and three thousand people are escaping per day from the Mid-west and Far-west regions. The question is how long can this national disintegration continue before someone somewhere calls a halt to it?

Remember how the Nepali Congress in 1976 proposed national reconciliation to the king ending its armed struggle for ever. Surely, that was a ceasefire too. With that declaration, B P Koirala led the Nepali Congress leaders and cadres back to Nepal from exile. G P Koirala was the last individual to be granted amnesty by the King. Why can’t we replicate this success story again now? This is why I see the ceasefire on the near horizon.

If there is a ceasefire, what will be the role of the other parties in the process? Definitely they must change their patriarchal feudal warlord strategy of sadak andolan to a reconciliatory dialogue for peace and reconstruction. The dialogue must bring together representation of women, Dalits, janajatis, and other minority social, linguistic, and professional stakeholders on a regional and proportional basis, whether through existing parties or outside them. And this time, the dialogue must be managed and mediated properly. If we want to stop the destruction and escalating cycle of violence, we must recognise that deep-level healing is necessary. As the adage goes, we can’t solve the problem with the same set of institutions, attitudes, and behaviours that created it. We have to transform ourselves. The transformation too has to be deep-level. Kathmandu is full of feudal and neo-feudal, and elite and semi-elite people who spend their time “regretting” the national situation in the star hotels but do nothing constructive to help, let alone change themselves.

Look now at the emotional way all the village people in the districts are receiving and showing their attachment to the King, as if he might be their saviour. So, we have the King, the Maoists, the political parties and the rest of us. Who is in the most credible position to orchestrate the dialogue among us? Are the villagers in the districts the best judges of character? Certainly, we need someone of statesman rank, who can rise above the self-centred warlord activities of our ordinary so-called leaders, break loose from the feudal deadlock paralysing transformation of our country, and attract the right kind of outside help. Only this kind of dialogue will have a chance of turning this ceasefire opportunity into a lasting peace and national reconstruction based on equity and social justice.

Dr Pokhrel is fromer chairman, National Women’s Commission