Another Roadblock?
By throwing a surprising demand for House dissolution, MJF seems to be carefully calibrating its political muscle and demanding share in power
By SANJAYA DHAKAL
Having spearheaded the Madhes movement in January/February this year, the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) – a hitherto club of assorted Madhesi leaders representing different parties – suddenly transformed into a political party with mass organization and cadres.
As it was able to compel the state into amending the constitution to meet demands of Madhesi people, the MJF suddenly realized its increasing political capital and quickly registered itself as a political party at the Election Commission (EC).
And now, the MJF appears to be exploring further avenues to consolidate its presence as a big regional political party.
On Saturday (July 28), the MJF gave another indication of its increasing political assertiveness. On that day, the third round of talks between the government and the MJF ended in a limbo after the latter sprung up a surprise demand of the dissolution of interim parliament.
On the face of it, the MJF leaders have said that they merely want to ensure that the election for the Constituent Assembly in November will be held in free and fair manner by dissolving the parliament since the MPs belonging to particular parties won't be able to exploit state resources at their command. "We think that it is wrong for parties to pocket salaries and benefits and exploit state resources and then take part in election. We think this interim parliament should be dissolved once the Election Programs are released. Their (legislative) authority can be given to the government," said Upendra Yadav, chief of MJF.
However, deeper analysis could lead one to conclude that the MJF leaders, in fact, are employing another smart move to enter into the power club. "They probably have decided that they, too, want fair share in current power set up. They might be asking for seats in the parliament, and even in the cabinet as they claim to be the representative of Madhesi people," said a political observer.
Apart from this surprise demand, the MJF has been demanding constitutional guarantee of federal governing system with local autonomy along with right to self determination, and fully proportional electoral system for constituent assembly elections during its talks with the government. The government, on the other hand, does not seem willing to entertain those demands.
Government talks team coordinator and Peace and Reconstruction Minister Ram Chandra Poudel has already stated publicly that fully proportional representation based election system is not appropriate. However, the government is in a tight spot as it needs to quickly settle its negotiation with the MJF to ensure smooth elections in Terai.
Till now, the government has already held three rounds of talks with the MJF – one June 1 in Janakpur, on July 25 in Dhulikhel and July 28 in Godavari.
UN SG CAUTIONS AGAINST FAILURE
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has warned that failure to ensure a credible election within a realistic and well-planned period could have a much more serious impact on the unity of the eight parties and their ability to act and function in unison within the existing coalition.
In his report presented to the Security Council at UN headquarters on Tuesday (July 24), Moon said the overall human rights situation continues to be worrying, with the main concerns linked to inadequate public security and law enforcement and to unresolved issues of discrimination with regard to representation and inclusion in the political process.
"The enforcement of repeated bandhs, especially in the Terai, by a range of groups seriously affected freedom of movement, as some protests turned violent. Police responses ranged from passivity to excessive use of force," the report said. Moon said that the ongoing peace process in Nepal appears on track to deliver peace and stability, but the national political scene has become more complex and challenging in recent months. "Renewed and expanded efforts will have to be made to sustain the successful trajectory of the peace process," Moon adds.
He expressed hope that peace process in Nepal will achieve its goal and give the people of Nepal a well-deserved future of peace, stability and prosperity. The report further states, "The significance of the far-reaching process of democratization that Nepal is going through cannot be overstated. The successful holding of the Constituent Assembly election in a manner that meets the aspirations of the majority of the Nepali people is the central element of this process."
