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Kathmandu Monday October 23, 2000 Kartik 07, 2057.
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Talk to Maoists
After the mobilisation of the army, moves have been afoot
during the last fortnight or so, to initiate talks with the Maoist insurgents. Sher
Bahadur Deuba, the erstwhile chief of the now defunct consensus seeking committee to
resolve the problem of insurgency, claimed he had met a Maoist leader. According to him,
the Maoists had become less rigid about preconditions for holding talks. This was further
confirmed by a number of statements from the General Secretary of the Communist Party of
Nepal, Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Apart from this, leftist leader Padma Ratna Tuladhar—whose
help Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel sought in connection with the problem--has
also contacted Maoist leaders. These developments notwithstanding, the government has not
responded.
There is indeed much substance in the criticism that the
ongoing power struggle in the Nepali Congress party is at the root. If a
political/peaceful resolution is so evasive, it is because Prime Minister Girija Prasad
Koirala’s faction does not want Deuba to succeed. So, instead of responding and
trying to create an environment conducive for talks to place, the government opted for
creating a special force to deal with the insurgents. Thus, the situation
was allowed to deteriorate. The government was not interested in a political solution and
the attack on Dunai just before Dashain made it clear that the police had failed to keep
law and order and provide security to the people. In this situation, the government had no
option but to mobilise the army, and for this purpose, Finance Minister Mahesh Acharya was
given the Defence portfolio. Acharya certainly did not lose any time in mobilising the
army, but this move on the part of the government was met with opposition from all
quarters.
In what appears to be yet another development, leader of
the Opposition, Madhav Kumar Nepal has claimed that meetings have taken place between UML
and Maoist leaders and that the Maoists are not averse to the idea of seeking to forge a
united communist alternative to the Nepali Congress government. If this can bring the
Maoists to the mainstream of Nepali politics, it might be well. However, the Maoists need
to talk to the government first for a permanent solution to the problem. What is wrong
with Madhav Kumar’s approach is that instead of taking the initiative to effect
compromise, it tries to use the problem as a means to attain political aggrandisement for
the UML. As a responsible leader, he ought to recognise that rhetoric such as - "UML,
the nine Left parties and Maoists are, in their capacity fighting the same reactionary
government," does not go down well. For one, such statements smack of hypocrisy,
especially because the UML is itself a part of the multiparty democratic system. Besides,
as the main opposition party, the UML is supposed to be helping the government, not
teaming up with the Maoists and trying to work out its own separate deal with them.
The government must talk to the Maoists. The signs are
good. The recent release of 13 people who had been taken captive by the Maoists is no
doubt a good signal and the government must respond appropriately to create the necessary
environment for talks. If the Prime Minister fails to take this opportunity, it will be a
big setback for all efforts made so far to approach the Maoists for talks.
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