Unfortunate Turnaround
MAOIST leader Prachanda’s shocker of a
statement Wednesday that implied that there was no point in continuing the ceasefire and
that his party did not believe that a political solution could be achieved through the
talks, cannot but be interpreted as disingenuous. Though it has not yet scuttled the peace
process, because he did not close the doors to talks completely, the common Nepalese, who
have pinned a lot of hopes for peace on the ongoing talks, would be disappointed at this
unfortunate turn of events. In a press statement issued late Wednesday, the chairman of
the underground CPN-Maoist further said his party would continue to struggle for a
republic. This bolt from the blue is especially surprising as it comes days after the
third round of talks had taken place where the Maoists had announced the withdrawal of
their key demand for a republican state. That round had ended with an agreement that the
fourth round would take place as soon as possible. The coming round of talks was expected
to focus on their demand for a constituent assembly, which in the mean time both the
ruling party and opposition parties have termed as unnecessary and irrelevant. Be that as
it may, the issue was up for talks between the two sides during the coming round.
As expected, top party leaders have reacted
strongly to this latest turnaround. General Secretary of Nepali Congress Sushil Koirala
warned that this could backfire on the Maoists, as the government had shown a lot of
widely-praised flexibility during these past months in trying to create a congenial
atmosphere for talks. It stopped its actions against Maoists, released dozens of Maoist
cadres, including several of its top leaders, and recently withdrew the public security
regulations as demanded by the Maoists. On the other hand, despite the announced
ceasefire, Maoist leaders were not able to rein in their cadres from continuing their
actions like intimidation and forceful collection of donations. Spokesman of the main
Opposition party CPN-UML Pradeep Nepal too swiftly responded Wednesday by saying that the
press statement was confusing and misleading and that the Maoists had to make their
motives clear. When most Nepalese have been clamouring for peace and hoping for a peaceful
resolution of the Maoist problem, it is the top Maoist leadership’s duty not to turn
away from the on-going talks and explore every possible avenue for peace. Prachanda’s
statement does not close the doors to talks completely, though. One of the facilitators
Padma Ratna Tuladhar also did not believe the talks could be termed as having fallen apart
yet and he hoped the next round of talks would take place. People in general certainly
hope that the talks will continue and, sooner rather than later, lead the country to a
lasting peace.
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