 |
Kathmandu Saturday June 16, 2001 Ashadh 02, 2058.
|
Commendable job
The report of the high level committee probing
the tragic happenings of June 1, 2001 at the royal palace is finally out. The two man
committee headed by the Chief Justice, Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya, has by and large done a
commendable job. Working on a war footing, the committee hastily put together a team of
some 80 persons and kept well within the terms of reference given it by the new king.
Although the report has not itself taken an explicit stand as to who was responsible for
the shootings, it has laid out the facts as it found them and let the facts speak for
themselves. Some loose ends still remain to be tied up and if a need for that is felt the
committee report has certainly laid the groundwork. One happy result is that conspiracy
theories as to what really happened that tragic evening have been more or less laid to
rest. The country collectively can breathe a little easier.
Not so upbeat however is the image of the then
crown prince that emerges from the committee’s findings. The image is one of a dual
persona, one cultivated by the palace for public consumption and another that was less
savoury. Had the public known more all along about this duality there would
have been less astonishment and incredulity over what happened in the end. It is now
incumbent upon the palace to make the public privy to the shadier side of things so that
it all adds up. Greater transparency is the word even when it comes to the palace. And
still on palace premises, there is an urgent need to keep lethal weapons out of the hands
of anyone but those who have a legitimate need for carrying them. Hunting guns might be
made an exception but even these should not be allowed in the presence of the core royal
family. If this means frisking everyone including royalty who seek access to the monarch
or his spouse, so be it.
That the Upadhyaya- Ranabhat committee has done
a commendable job is also borne out by the public reaction to its report. There has not
been any violent protest or ugly scene as was feared by many. Rumours of another curfew
have died down. The people seem to have adopted a more sober attitude. And there is no
need for that situation to change if politics is kept out of this whole sorry episode in
our national life. Politics should in particular be kept out of the way the committee
report is received by the political leadership across the spectrum. At a time when the
country is passing through a historic crisis with an unpopular prime minister in charge
and a new king whose legitimacy, however constitutionally sound, is yet to be fully
accepted at the emotional level, any angling for political advantage should be firmly
ruled out. Let the country heal and make the transition back to normal.
Other Stories
|
