Earnest Appeal
THE Nepali Congress government headed by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba
went an extra mile to strike a negotiation with the Maoists by opening the doors for
peaceful dialogue. The party, which is widely credited for spearheading the democratic
movement, explored all possibilities to end the six year long Maoist insurgency. Prime
Minister Deuba left no stone unturned to end the bloodbath and restore normalcy. All
efforts of the government had been geared towards finding an amicable solution to the
Maoist problem through the holding of peaceful dialogue. The government showed a high
degree of leniency accepting the demands of the Maoists with the hope that it would end
violence. Contrary to the peoples’ aspiration for peace, the Maoists repeatedly
violated the cease-fire and shunned the possibility of holding the fourth round of peace
talks. The unilateral decision of the Maoist leadership to withdraw from dialogue was
followed by a string of attacks in different parts of the country. It was only then that
the government was left without options other than to declare a state of emergency to
restore law and order. Governments from around the world supported the move, as the
Maoists proved that they were in no way willing to restore peace and extend support to
consolidate the hard earned democracy. Even after the announcement of emergency across the
country the Maoists have still been sticking to their guns and resorting to violence.
Despite the adamancy shown by the Maoist leadership, Prime Minister Deuba said recently
during an interaction with the press that the government had not ruled out the possibility
of dialogue with the Maoists for the peaceful resolution of the conflict. He said that the
Maoists must disarm themselves, must return all the weapons, cash and goods if talks are
to be resumed once again. As the Maoists have been unfaithful the precondition set by the
Prime Minister is indeed a prudent decision. It must be noted that the Prime
Minister’s remark amply substantiates the fact that the government as always is in
support of peace provided that the Maoists surrender their arms. He also took the
opportunity to clarify that the government was committed to uphold the letter and spirit
of the democratic Constitution. The Prime Minister flatly rejected the demand of the
Maoists to from a Constituent Assembly. This demand of the Maoist is irrational since the
country has a government elected by the people under the provisions of the present
Constitution. The Maoists instead of sticking to a demand, which cannot be justified must
lay down their arms and resume the peace talks. The fact that the Prime Minister has given
the Maoists one more chance to end violence must be acknowledged with due seriousness.
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