Government-Maoists’ Talks
A Good Beginning

By Prem N. Kakkar

THE government-Maoist talks is receiving the focus that is due to it. The whole reason around which it revolves is understandable. The return to normalcy is the demand of the day. Without peace returning to the districts, the development process may suffer. And any disturbance now will have long-term impacts. This is borne by the fact since the Maoists had submitted their set of demands some five and a half years ago during the tenure of the then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba much water has passed under the bridge. All these years the sailing for the country mainly its economy has not been smooth.

Besides the Maoist movement, the country is under immense pressure to revive its economy including the tourism sector which has probably suffered the most. Now that the government and the Maoists have sat down for talks, the outcome will be good. The fact that the talks will be successful or not is besides the point. The whole thing is that the two parties have at least agreed to sit down at the table. This is a good thing.

For any difference to be settled, the first and foremost thing is that the parties concerned at least agree on point: to sit down for negotiations. So the process starts with an agreement to discuss their differences. When talks take place it is not that the answer always has to be either ‘YES’ or ‘NO’. There are always other options that is to say that compromises can be reached. But if the demands are rigid and not flexible then there is no possibility of the two sides sitting face to face at the negotiating table.

Herein, optimism prevails in the sense that the Maoists and the government have agreed to discuss the demands put forth by the former. Of course, the venue and the agreement to talk have come after lot of deliberations though not in the open. This signals that the way the developments are taking place merits attention. It also is a way to alleviate the fears of the people in general that the future is gloomy. The bright rays come in the form of the talks. Even Prachanda, the seniormost Maoist leader, has proposed two other dates and venues for later talks. This indicates that Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists) is also serious and not taking the talks lightly.

In this context, it is not exactly clear what the Maoists will be expressing. But it is clear that the government is not going to compromise on the Maoists’ demand for a republic or anything out of the purview of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal-1990. This is the basis how the talks will move forward unless some other contingency arises.

Another event that has pulled the attention is the all party meet that was held two days back. Of course, consensus has been a word that has often been misused. The rhetoric for consensus has been in the air for many years but action in those lines has not taken place. But, now the political parties have realised that the problems and challenges of the nation are their problem. The outcome of this particular all party meet was encouraging in the sense that all who attended the meet endorsed the government to sit for dialogue with the Maoist representatives.

This is new phase in the ruling party’s relations with the opposition parties. A continuity must be given to this type of exercise. After all, every political party and their leaders have to bear the burden of giving outlet to problems faced by the country. Fighting it out for trivial issues does good to no one. In this regard, the cooperation extended by the opposition is very meaningful. Moreover, this comes at a time when the House proceedings have been stalled for the seventh day with Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP) MPs leading the show. Whatever their demand may be, they should realise that the country is now standing at a crucial phase when the talks with the Maoists are going on.

The first direct talks with the Maoists will have bearing on further such exercises in the future. Though no preconditions were specified for the first ever meet between the government and Maoist representatives, but it will pave the path for fixing the agenda for such meets.

There may be some demands wherein deadlocks may emerge but that does not mean that no further parleys are possible. Whatever the outcome be from the first meet, it is essential that the government do its homework in the right perspective. An opportunity has come when an outlet to a major problem could be arrived at. Though there is no need to be very optimistic at the moment but hopes rest that something fruitful will emerge in the days to come.

There is appreciation by the other political parties for the government’s bold initiative to go ahead with the talks with the Maoists. Overnight solutions to a problem that has been simmering for almost six years are not possible. But at least efforts can be directed to come to an amicable solution. The government on its part has taken the necessary decisions in this regard to create a congenial environment for the talks to take place like the security personnel stopping all action, release of the Maoists in custody and also the announcement of the revolutionary land reform package. All these should mean that the results of the government-Maoist talks will be conclusive even if it takes time.

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