Talks,Finally

LAST Monday’s invitation by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to the Maoist side to the talks on August 30 (today) was a culmination of the preparations that the government had been undertaking over the past weeks in the run-up to the expected talks. With the confirmation on Tuesday by Maoists of their participation in the first round of talks in Kathmandu today, the talks, a priority of Prime Minister Deuba since he donned the premiership recently, are finally happening. For the first time, representatives from the government and the Maoist sides will be holding talks, not guns. Ever since the Maoist problem surfaced on the Nepalese landscape, there have been strong voices in favour of talks, especially over the past couple of years. As the Nepalese hills turned red with blood, the voices got louder and louder. However, for a variety of reasons, somehow the common people’s yearning for a halt to this bloodbath and negotiated settlement of the problem remained a mere wishful thinking. In the meantime, more and more Nepalese perished in this madness.

When Prime Minister Deuba, soon after he assumed premiership, halted all governmental action against the Maoists with a simultaneous call for talks, and the Maoists promptly responded to the offer, the Nepalese heaved a big sigh of collective relief. The guns, after inflicting so much anguish and pain, fell silent. Hopes for peace seemed realistic. In a genuine effort to get the backing of all political parties and civil society organisations in its bid for talks with the Maoists, the government got immediately into action by consulting regularly and intensively with different sections of society. Its efforts were rewarded with everybody backing the initiative to have talks with the Maoists. The series of pro-poor, pro-society measures that the Deuba government has taken in recent times have also helped to create the right atmosphere for talks. When the government goes to the talks today, it has the comfort in the knowledge that its peace overture is widely supported and a conducive atmosphere prevails. Such a backing and a positive air are good signs for the start of the talks, as some observers have predicted that the negotiations are not going to be easy. For the talks to succeed, a spirit of flexibility is a must. Maoists must realise that these talks should not just be for the sake of talks. The negotiations, finally beginning today after close to 2000 dead bodies, must succeed. Every round of talks should progress towards the permanent solution of the Maoists problem.

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