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Kathmandu Saturday June 09, 2001 Jestha 27, 2058.
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After
the tragedy
Life must go on. Nursing deep scars of the
horrendous Royal shootings in which our beloved King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev and
Queen Aishwarya met untimely death, the Nepalese people will try to pick up the threads of
daily life next week. Offices will reopen after a week of mourning, so will schools and
other organisations. Traffic will roll back to normal. Once the hubbub of daily humdrum
returns, it will help breathe life back into a country, numbed with shock and horror.
Normalcy is being restored. But this fragile normalcy should not be taken for granted.
National unity and rationality, more than anything else, are key to steering the country
and its fledgling democracy in the right direction. Burning issues and grievances, and the
people’s wrath that burst onto the streets and shook the shaky Koirala regime, will
not go away.
Confronted with a string of pending issues,
it will not be plain sailing for Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala who is tenaciously
clinging on to power, amidst a growing chorus of disgruntled voices. It is to be hoped
that the Lauda Air inquiry by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority will
move ahead with the same tone and rhythm as earlier. The Royal tragedy should not by any
means give corrupt and tainted ministers and officials - be they involved in examination
racket, timber smuggling or the mobile
nexus - leeway for manoeuvrability. The public has not forgotten Former Civil Aviation
Minister Tarini Datta Chataut’s Valley-arrest, and his vanishing act. Those who are
harbouring far-fetched dreams of corruption cases against them becoming buried and lost
will soon find those coming back with vengeance. Similar is the case
with the chaos-ridden academic institutions. The All Nepal National Free Students’
Union (ANNFSU-Revolutionary) might again heighten its campaign to reform the
country’s defective education system. This naturally means, to go by the past record
of violence and vandalism, more school shutdowns and disruption of the academic calendar.
A committee, formed to review the ANNFSU’s 15-point demand, faces the challenge of
submitting a convincing and comprehensive report within the stipulated time.
On the law and order front, the challenge is of
greater magnitude. First and foremost, the law enforcing agencies have to be strengthened
to infuse a sense of security across the country, and to contain the Maoist insurgency.
With this comes the duty to revive the crumbling morale of security personnel. The debate
and skepticism over mobilisation of the army to tackle insurgency has to be settled and in
the best interest of the country. Security measures have to be bolstered so that there
will not be a repeat of the bloodbaths of Dunai and Rukumkot. Emboldened by the royal
tragedy, ensuing uncertainty, and the inefficiency of the government, the Maoists and
reactionary forces might unleash more trouble. Things are likely to get equally bad on the
economic front. Reports have it that the Nepal-India border has been sealed, and this is
in no way good news for our struggling economy. Chances of astounding price hikes in the
aftermath of panic buying cannot be ruled out. The effect may not be visible immediately,
as old stock will help cushion the demand. It is high time the Finance Ministry acted to
avert the possible damage to the economy. It also has a bigger responsibility of preparing
the budget, due to be unveiled in the forthcoming parliamentary session. Given the
volatile political scenario and national crisis, it is to be hoped legislators of all
political hues work together and deliver on the parliament floor. Another parliamentary
fiasco is something the people cannot tolerate. Getting back to business after the
gruesome Royal shootings is not easy. A lot of crooked things have to be straightened out
at home to smoothen the functioning of the state. Let this testing time call up reserves
of strength and courage to preserve and enhance multi-party democracy, the legacy of King
Birendra and the People’s Movement.
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