No ifs and buts for the army

By NAGENDRA CHHETRI

Nepal is suffering from violent insurgency groups which choose to be called Maoists. Examining their six year old activities in various remote parts of Nepal, these can never be compared to the ones the Maoists carried out in China during their revolutionary career. Each insurgency is unique although there could be some similarity amongst them. Past experiences show that insurgencies are most likely to occur in those countries where there is inherent social division based on economic, racial, cultural, religious or ideological differences, leading to a lack of national cohesion. Insurgencies thrive in countries that are economically weak and lack efficient, effective, stable or popular governments. In Nepal rampant corruption in higher circles, ill governance at all levels, political instability and economic mismanagement have created bigger and wider cracks which gave birth to the Maoist insurgents. Out of the seven kinds of disgruntled like anarchists, egalitarians, traditionalists, pluralists, separatists, reformists and preservationists, the Maoists in Nepal are the most extreme. The Nepalese Maoists started fitting into the anarchist group in the latter half of the forth year and now after the imposition of emergency and army mobilisation, as their chain of command broke down, communications got disrupted and control systems dismantled, they went one step further and started behaving like criminals. It is quite possible that the leadership lost control over the cadres who started taking personal revenge as well as independent action without considering the future impact and consequences. An anarchist group is potentially the most dangerous form of insurrection which sets out to eliminate all existing political and institutional structures and the social fabric associated with them.

The government declared the emergency and mobilised the army according to the provisions of the constitution. After two months of emergency, three hundred and fifty terrorists killed, and many weapons and ammunition recovered; the terrorists are still not defeated. But many people have started raising their voice against the emergency and the security forces operations. The Maoists are lobbying for withdrawal of emergency and a halt to security forces operations. But large numbers of Nepalese would like to see the terrorists, killers and looters hunted down to the absolute end. They must not be given any respite and must be brought out from their caves and hideouts. Why? Because they are the parasites of this nation. Within three months the war would be far from over. Combat should and will continue till the terrorists are finished. But what our leadership should understand is that the only way to draw the swamps that breed terrorism is to give indications of good governance to begin with. People at least must feel the difference between the emergency and the normal administration. Every individual throughout the country must see that the public functionaries are punctual, efficient and effective in shouldering their respective responsibilities, and are also accountable.

Right now the functionaries are not taking responsibility, it seems, and neither are they accountable. For example, there are complaints from security personnel these days over the shifting of all kinds of responsibilities to them from many quarters. When representatives from NGOs, INGOs and political parties approach offices concerned either to visit the operational areas or release terrorist suspects, they are asked to go to the army and do the needful. But here what must be understood is, there is no marshal law in force in this country. All security forces including the army are operating under the constitutional orders of the elected civilian government. This country is very much run by and is functioning under a democratic government. Therefore every operational responsibility lies with the democratic government. Since the emergency was declared by an elected civilian government as per the provisions of the constitution, the security forces will remain under the strict control of the elected government.

Another hitch that has surfaced in the course of the emergency and military operations is the total lack of understanding of each other’s problems, operational limitations, working system, military and civil administration, the extent of authority that each can exercise, the rules of engagement with which the security forces can operate and the overlapping in-betweens. This is because there is a lack of understanding of the civil-military relationship. The army is a highly professional, disciplined and regimented instrument of state authority. There is no "ifs and buts" for the army. There is only "do or die". Gathering of intelligence, secrecy of planning, and accomplishing a mission within the given time framework are the highest priority for the security forces. A military commander can hardly compromise on these issues. If this urgency is not understood, it will not only hamper the operational aspect of the security forces, it will also create confusion and chaos at the policy formulation level. One hears that the National Security Council Secretariat is being activated to coordinate intelligence, consult experts on major national issues and bring together divergent views in order to provide options to the executive so that there is a continuity in the policy planning and its implementation. One of the first tasks for this secretariat could be to identify that no-man’s land between civil-military action and draw the lines on civil-military relationship for the smooth functioning of all government agencies in the operational areas.

As it is plainly understood, security forces are not the end of the terrorist problem. It is only a means or an instrument of the government for creating conducive conditions for the democratic government to negotiate from a position of strength and influence. Although a marching army is not the end to the problem, the Maoists must surrender to the security forces with all the looted arms, ammunition and public property (i.e money from banks) so that the government would be ultimately and morally forced to recommend a general amnesty by the King. For the King, any one who dies in this insurgency is a Nepalese citizen. Nothing else would be more painful to him than someone losing his or her life. Therefore he would certainly grant an amnesty to end violence and bring peace to his nation.

Many are complaining that the army is not conducting sharp, punitive, offensive action against the Maoists. According to the top army brass, they are seriously concerned about fundamental rights and international conventions. If they go on the offensive there are bound to be unwanted incidents of innocents being killed and back lashes which no one wants. Also it would be against the interests of a democratic set up. Those who are crying foul should be able to sacrifice their material ease and comfort in the fool proof security of air conditioned rooms in the capital and visit the remote jungles and hills of Rukum and Rolpa, and stay their at least for a few weeks to help security forces with information to separate the sheep from the goats. Thus instead of criticising anybody, be at the actual spot and try and bolster the morale of the troops as well as re-enforce the unflinching faith of the disillusioned people in the democratic institutions of the country.

The security forces must not be deterred from separating innocent people from terrorists which is most difficult and dangerous under the prevailing circumstances. It must be a very difficult decision to make when one sees one’s buddy bleeding to death to stop using even his lethal weapons for revenge. But the leadership must not forget that the use of minimum force for maximum gain is the governing principle of such uneasy operations. Although the Maoist leadership is out of the country, far away in a safe area, they must understand the gravity of the situation and surrender without any pre-condition and accept the monarchical democratic system of government for the sake of a larger national interest. They must now lend their hand for economic reform and political stability. Leadership from all walks of life must understand that insurgencies easily arise when state authorities are unable or unwilling to redress the legitimate demands of significant social groups. No society or nation can tolerate anarchists which are out to destroy and eliminate all political structures and the social fabric associated with them.

The silent bride

By SMRITI D GYAWALI

Adorned in a glittering red sari, which she hardly knows how to handle, the layers of make-up and drowning jewellery she sits quietly as people look at the new bride. What exactly are the feelings of a Nepali bride who sits on the mandap that changes her life and gives her a new identity?

Her emotions at the auspicious moment are haze, more like a dilute mixture of anguish in not knowing what is in store for her, yet there is the intoxicating mixture of newfound love that is expected to blossom with time.

Underneath the thin red veil, she is told time and again to look below and keep quiet amidst the noise and confusion. Her only blunt happiness at that time is the surreptitious glances her groom throws at her. This helps her gain confidence, no matter what lies ahead, she is not alone.

It is the time every bride embarks upon the platform of nostalgia of the good old days where she was once the queen of her heart and mind that governed her life.

Time ticks away like frightened birds rushing towards a new destination, until she bids adieu with a tearful eye and a heavy heart to her unmarried life, her friends and family, when the groom takes away the daddy’s little girl to a new home.

As she steps inside her new home, dotted with five diyas on the threshold, she is now the married bride. The next several days are unforgettable for every bride: early mornings and late nights, not to mention the marathon relays of rushing to relatives for dhog bhet (introduction). A bunch of new responsibilities is thrust upon her. Families of Nepali brides vary. Some families have learned to move with the changing times, and follow modern thinking and values while keeping their traditions and culture intact. And then there are others who are conservative. In such families, her joys and hopes depend on how she manages to take up the challenge.

Silence is the language she has to learn. Every newly wed bride goes through a series of stages: acceptance, adjustment, adaptation and so on. This tale is shared by almost all Nepali brides.

On NGOs : Calling for debates

By PRATOUSH ONTA

Since the season seems to be on for discussions regarding NGOs in Nepal, this essay will be dedicated to that theme. It is common knowledge that the number of NGOs has grown tremendously in the last decade. However, not much is known about this phenomenon. I have often pointed out that there is not much good writing on the varieties of objectives, functions, organizational structures, institutional capacities, work locations and financial set-ups of entities known as non-governmental organizations in Nepal. Nevertheless, the government and most commentators in popular media seem to have already reached the conclusion that the proliferation of such entities is something that needs to be "controlled" and the organizations and their proponents must be tamed.

This kind of call is being made from several locations. The loudest of them comes from bureaucrats that house a governmental mindset that reeks in the culture promoted by the Panchayat-era Social Services National Coordination Council. As is well known, that Council sought to control people’s initiatives (in the name of "coordination") to service what was, through and through, an anti-democratic ethos. One of its primary jobs was to tame dissent and colonize the entire terrain of civil society activities in the name of "social service". Another loud criticism against NGOs has come from several factions of the Nepali left who see NGOs as "imperialist tools". Given their romance with the state and their penchant for control over civil society initiatives, it is almost tragic that their position coincides with Panchayati views on the matter despite some rhetorical differences. Finally relatively less loud criticisms come from uninformed sectors of the Nepali media and academia, both not known for their strength in analytical rigour and methodology. Here it is simply enough to note that our media has commented aplenty about NGOs without doing any significant investigation to date.

Here I wish to primarily address the governmental "control NGOs" mindset. For that the draft of the "Policy Paper on Civil Society Partnership" circulated for discussion during the Pre-Consultation Meeting of the Nepal Development Forum - 2002 by HMG Nepal comes of use. First on the question of NGO numbers. By the end of 2001, the government maintains that only about 13,050 NGOs had affiliated themselves with the Social Welfare Council (SWC) but the number of NGOs who had legally registered only with District Administration Offices (DAOs) without seeking SWC affiliation was unknown. HMG has estimated this number to be upwards of 15,000 while describing the growth of such organizations as "overwhelming."

If you ask me, there is nothing overwhelming about the growth in the number of NGOs. The proliferation of NGOs in post-1990 Nepal must be seen as the manifestation of Nepali citizens exercising their fundamental rights to form associations, a right guaranteed by the 1990 Constitution of Nepal. Viewed as such, this growth is a positive aspect of our democracy, however sick it might look at the moment. If groups of Nepalis get together and register organisations to further their collective interests - whatever that might be - then this should not give the government or anyone else many headaches. The current practice of NGO registration in DAOs must continue because it provides a decentralized and easy option. If this regime is to be replaced, it must be done so to provide an even easier method of decentralized registration to the concerned people and one that does not first and foremost serve the state’s will to know. In other words, to see that our constitutional right is honoured, it is more important to have an easy option of registration than for the government to know just how many registered NGOs exist in the country.

Under "Key Issues and Challenges", the above-mentioned policy paper lists, among other themes, transparency, dependency, and code of conduct. These, I grant, are substantive issues that need to be discussed by the NGO community, as has been happening intermittently over the years. On the question of transparency, it must first be noted that NGOs are not the only entities of which transparency must be demanded. This is as important for the private sector (especially commercial media institutions that lecture all others on issues related to transparency and accountability), the political parties, the state and its security apparatus. If a new Act is to be passed encompassing NGO transparency before our parliamentarians get to vote on the proposed bill regarding the institutionalising of party funds and administration, it would be a travesty. NGOs might as well adopt a mechanism to make public all information regarding their activities and sources of funding in a continuous basis to counter governmental charges regarding the lack of transparency.

On the question of dependency it is often said that our NGOs are overwhelmingly dependent on foreign funding. Since nobody has to date come up with an analysis which shows what percentage of our NGOs actually access foreign funding, there is plenty of room to suggest that this dependency concern is greatly exaggerated when one is talking about the entire universe of Nepali NGOs. Most organizations do not have the social capital (read connections) to obtain such funding. While it is good to be worried about "domestic capacity and sustainability without outside help" it is equally important to understand this theme in two perspectives. One, since the Nepali state is itself substantially dependent on outside funding (an overwhelming percentage of our development budget is supported by foreign aid including loans), this is a concern for the entire society and not just for Nepali NGOs. Second, international financial help to native NGOs is part of the current global portfolio of resources. It must be accessed but used judiciously.

Under "code of conduct" the policy paper states that NGOs must "remain politically free and secular in terms of religion." A Hindu Kingdom demanding that its NGOs be secular is quite noteworthy but while worthwhile, this must be the subject of intense debate in our civil society. Similarly calls for "uniformity in operational and working modality" as well as "levelling of salary scale/allowances" must first come to terms with the diversity of our NGOs in terms of work nature, personnel skills, and related features of our NGOs as institutions. These governmental wishes call for widespread debates at a time when some of our hard won democratic rights are already in danger due to the excesses of the Maoists and the state.