Shailendra Kumar Upadhyay

For the last several days “road map” has become very familiar with the people. Aditya Man Shrestha along with Dwarikanath Dhungel and Prayag Dutt Tiwari produced a road map to peace in the country. They studied the statements and proposals made by different political forces of Nepal and tried to find common ground which could bring a national consensus on several national issues. They gave equal importance to all three political forces — the monarch, political parties (parliamentary) and the Maoists. They prescribed that all the forces had to evolve a common solution to the vexing problem and work together for peace and prosperity of the nation. This is a commendable exercise by representatives of the civil society who had no bias against any force and recognised the need for national unity.

Similarly, the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) has also produced a road map. The CPN-UML has set aside narrow party interests and has taken a realistic approach which is welcome. The UML has asked for the convening of a round table conference, the formation of an interim government and rewriting of the Constitution. The priority has been laid on the political conference which can provide a venue to address the national problems.

Both road maps have shown the necessity to bring the Maoists into the mainstream. The government claims the security situation has improved in the past four months. However, the experience of the common folk is different. Perpetual threat to life and liberty has been taking its toll on society. So, sole reliance on security forces to stop the Maoist violence is quite unrealistic. Unless the breeding ground of violence is not addressed, violence

will remain in one form or the other. In order to

uproot the causes of violence, the root of mass

unrest has to be discovered. This is a political matter and has to be solved politically. The only way to politically address the causes of violence is through dialogue. A political conference can provide a venue to discuss all issues with a view to develop a national consensus.

The Prime Minister’s road map is holding of a general election. He has been repeatedly proposing that the only way to let the constitutional process become active is to hold the general election. No doubt this is a universal truth that elections are the essence of democracy. In fact, holding of the elections would be the best solution to get rid of the present political malady. However, a pertinent question arises: how can the government assure that the election would be peaceful, free and fair? Moreover, the need of the day is to develop national unity through national consensus which cannot be achieved by holding elections.

On the contrary, it would lead to further polarisation among the political parties because the political parties, in order to maximise the number of votes, have to have a distinct platform to show a different stand on different issues. Only in normal circumstance can elections help the democratic process. Besides the consideration of fair and free election, the participation of Maoists remains an important issue. To ignore them will harden their attitude and violence may escalate. So dialogue with them is essential.

The representatives of the civil society who have been seriously involved in drawing a road map to peace have been involved in the process for quite some time and the CPN (UML) which has taken initiative to create an atmosphere of dialogue is a major political party. They have made it clear that the Maoists could not be ignored or bypassed. The Maoists can be brought into the mainstream politics only through negotiation and the round table conference would be the fittest forum to bring them to the negotiating table.

The demand for restoration of the dissolved House of Representatives is also a matter of serious consideration. However, this is an issue to be decided by the judiciary. The justices of the Supreme Court had shown interest in reviewing the matter which had raised great interest in the public. The decision remains unpredictable. Maoist support to the restoration of the dissolved House is not forthcoming. The decision by the Supreme Court is a constitutional matter and Maoist support is a political matter. The restoration of the House cannot be rejected but its vulnerability cannot be overlooked. Under such circumstances, the only predictable thing is the possibility of holding a round table conference.

At the present juncture the government is claiming success in the operation against the Maoists and the Maoists are claiming that it was a change of tactics. However, the general public is under the permanent shadow of threat from both the Maoists and the security forces. The human rights activists, including the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), have been blaming both sides for human rights violations. This situation should not be allowed to linger. Therefore, finding a peaceful solution has become imperative.

Ceasefire has to be announced and taking lessons from past mistakes the formation of a monitoring team to watch the observance of the code of conduct simultaneously, is a must. The Human Rights Accord, as proposed by the NHRC, must be signed by the government and the Maoists. These acts can be followed by a round table conference without much fanfare for serious negotiations.

The conference itself should decide the agenda and there should be willingness on all parties to discuss each item frankly. The government has to take a realistic approach and a round table conference must be made a common agenda by all political forces. All the three political forces must recognise each other’s quality, importance and strength and respect each other’s position in the national political setup. Negotiation can lead to a common goal; therefore there is no alternative to it.

Upadhyay is a former foreign minister