FEATURES NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

By Ajay P. Nath

ALTHOUGH the Nepalese people in particular and the international community in general have heaved a sigh of great relief after the long awaited declaration of the cease-fire by HMG and the Maoists there are serious apprehensions in many political, business, diplomatic and media circles because of the bitter past experiences.

Pressure

The Maoists were under extreme pressure from the international community, donor agencies and even from the neighbouring countries. The United States of America had even threatened to declare them as international terrorists. Kofi Annan recently had announced his intention to brief the Security Council on the forced recruitment of childs soldiers by the Maoists, against international rules and norms. The beefed up security system with the latest battle tested weapons of modern versions were giving them a hard time without any respite. The recruitment was dwindling and they were forced to apply the tactics and technique of mass kidnapping of school children, innocent civilians and political cadres to strengthen the militias. Their command, control and communication system intelligence network and surveillance system as well as training centres, hideouts and logistic networks, were either destroyed or damaged. The ammunitions that they had looted were being depleted and the weapons were becoming unserviceable. Their financial condition was precarious and the public support was fast running out. The open international border, a lifeline for them, was fast being sealed off for them. They were being squeezed and cornered from all sides.

The Maoist leadership was looking for a way out of these pressures. They were asking for the removal of the price tag on their heads, withdrawal of the red-corner notice and also removal of the terrorist tag. By being able to extract these conditions they now feel free to exercise this freedom in furthering their cause in the open environment during the cease-fire. Now it is prudent to brain-storm as to why Maoists chose this moment to accept the government's offer and declare cease-fire? Is it again a strategy to use this period of dialogue as a camouflage to rebuild, re-motivate, restore and consolidate for even fearsome, harsher, punching and decisive battle against the government forces? Is it a ploy to withdraw international support to the government and its security system and to be seen standing on higher moral ground in the eyes of the international communities and exercise greater freedom in the neighbouring countries? Is it not a deception to mingle freely with the pubic to garner their support, extract donations and rebuild their command, control, communication and computer system including their intelligence network? Or is it a genuine concern over the death, damage and destructions caused by their activities on the national infrastructure and the basic public essential needs as well as the terror created by their untold atrocities over the years? Are they really worried about the plight and pity of the Nepalese people and the image and independence of united Nepal? If they are really interested to protect and preserve the sovereign national independence of Nepal and willing to sacrifice some of their personal petty interest for the larger interest of the country and march ahead with the Constitutional Monarchy and multiparty democratic political system, this must be most welcomed. Nepal can then present a united front to consolidate its strengths, rebuild its economy and raise the living standard of the people.

Whatever it is, there is a golden opportunity as well as a daunting challenge for the government and the political institutions today. Opportunities must be seized because this is an expectation of all the Nepalese as well as the well wishers of Nepal who are honestly striving for genuine peace for the last many years. Challenges, because there are many hurdles ahead to bring the Maoists into the national political mainstream and integrate them in the constitutional process. Maoist leadership has been saying time and again that the dialogue with the existing establishment is one of the phases of strategy of the communist system. This is a breathing space according to their manifesto to be used for wearing out the establishment in the jungle as well as on the table. Some of the party cadres are already claiming it as a victory and a clean chit from the state. If the government and political parties have learnt any lessons it would be foolish to lower their guards and remain naive. It should not be forgotten that the neighbouring countries do pull influencing strings to put pressures on the Maoists.
Today Nepal is at the crossroads and it is up to the Nepalese political leadership to correctly chart a road-map for the future generation. In this the vital national interest comes first and foremost. The first factor of vital national interest is the sovereignty, independence and integrity of Nepal. To protect and preserve these, all political parties, Maoists, media, bureaucracy and people across the board need to understand how important it is to stand above their personal, political or party interest for the greater good of Nepal and make good use of this opportunity to usher in peace and maintain it. If this fails, none would succeed. Therefore, no political party or their leaders or anyone else including the Maoists should try to play dirty politics and drive wedges in any pretext to break it. The nation and future generations will not tolerate and have mercy on anyone whoever spoils it. If everybody stands for Constitutional Monarchy, democratic parliamentary political system and fundamental freedom based on competitive equality, peace can be reestablished and restored.

Considering the present global trend, Nepal's geo-political constraints and compulsions and the mandatory duties and responsibilities of the state, there are few fundamental factors on which no government or democratic institution can compromise. The first is the people's inherent right to choose their own government to conduct day to day business of the state i.e. democratic political system. The other is Constitutional Monarchy. In a small strip of land mass there is so much of diversity in Nepal and to maintain and consolidate the diverse communal, religious, linguistic, geographical as well as ethnic groups there is a need of a common unifying factor in a modern social structure. In the case of Nepal, Monarchy is the only institution which can integrate and influence everybody and take the burden of leading them into the twenty-first century firmly standing on the bedrock of democratic institutions. The third one is the mandate of the state, which compels it to restore and maintain public law and order throughout the country. No one, as patriotic Nepalese, should ever try to compromise or accept to relegate these fundamental pillars of national integrity and state mandates. Anything else could be discussed in the process of negotiation remaining within the governing principles of give and take keeping national interest and integrity above everything else.
It is vitally important that the Maoist leadership should fully understand the impact and explain the intention of the round table conference, the agendas for the interim government and envisage the consequences of the constituent assembly. In the political scheme of things in Nepal, who is influencing and pulling the strings and calling the traditional shots and how the political game is being played at any stage of history? In understanding this, the Maoist leadership must also study the events and incidents in the neighbourhood as to how things have happened and changed the geographical set up. Therefore, before demanding constitutional assembly everybody should consider the possible consequences which could undermine Nepalese status quo in the regional context.
As to the declared cease-fire, its mandatory dos and donts, both the government and Maoists should display their magnanimity and wisdom dealing piece by piece all issues and being flexible enough to solve complex issues stage by stage. As to the long awaited dialogue and ultimate negotiation for peace, the nation demands maturity, patience, understanding of each other's constraints and accommodating everybody's views and create conditions for confidence building measures.

Prospects

The political parties, Maoists, government authorities, constitutional experts, media, INGOs, NGOs, security forces, diplomatic and business communities, human rights activists and donor agencies should generously use their expertise, experiences and authorities to make dialogue and negotiation a success story. None is going to lose, everybody will win. A peaceful, stable and prosperous Nepal is in the interest of not only Nepal but also of the neighbours and international community.

Other Stories