Peace Talks
Negotiation Not 'Instant Coffee'

By Ajay P. Nath

THE nation and its people had been suffocating and bleeding for the last seven years as a result of thirteen years of political instability, financial mismanagement, economic deterioration, cultural disintegration and above all else myopic political vision and lack of national will and national strategy. The failures of political leadership to understand the psyche of the people and their false promises also disappointed the people.

Directives

After the Oct 4 Royal declaration, the present government was tasked to implement five principal directives. The most important amongst them all was to restore law and order throughout the country and establish lasting peace as soon as possible. To put this directive in practice the present government has taken the risk and initiative to withdraw some of the serious charges on the Maoists in order to bring them to the negotiating table.

The Maoists have also declared a cease-fire and are preparing for political negotiation for permanent peace. In the process they are running from house to house and from door to door to present their case and lobby for support. In this way they have staunchly and strongly mobilised all techniques and tactics including media, political and military wing, propaganda and psychological wing i.e. all resources at their disposal.

Understanding, probably, the national, regional and international situation, the Maoists were left with no viable alternative except to come to political negotiation. Although, under compulsion, many think, the Maoist found an opportune moment for a safe landing. Many still feel that the authority must be able to judge correctly their move not to be again deceived and therefore should not lower the guard and lose all the bargaining chips.

Why did the Maoist accept to sit down for dialogues at this moment? Is it a change of heart? Is it a change of ideology? Is it a change of tactics? Or is it under compulsion? A correct analysis and deduction has to be made. This does not at all mean that the authority should not prepare and sit for dialogue. The government must seize this opportunity without ignoring or forgetting the multiple challenges ahead.

First, are the Maoist leadership genuinely ready to accept the multiparty parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy and come to the political national mainstream? Who will be responsible and accountable for the many deaths of innocent people and destruction of national infrastructures? When and how will they return the arms, weapons and ammunitions as well as the public property and money from the banks? These are complex issues. If the first two criteria i.e. democratic set up with constitutional monarchy is unconditionally accepted the rest of the issues could be settled down during negotiations with the governing principle of give and take.

In the present national scenario what should be the role of major parliamentary parties? What are they up to? What are they doing and what are they aiming at? Their principal role today should have been first forming a domestic political consensus on major national issues like the Maoist one. Make one single approach. It does not matter who occupies the prime minister's chair. What really matters is putting all heads together, exploring multiple possibilities, opening multi-tracked avenues of approaches for dialogue/negotiations and final conflict-resolution in order to establish permanent peace in the country. First is to make, finalise and accept the code of conduct during cease-fire. Instead the political parties are jockeying for power, bargaining with the government and trying to present a united front against the established authority. Some reports hint that they are even lobbying and pressing the Maoists leadership not to conduct peace negotiation with the present government. Are these political parties not interested in the resolution of this internal conflict? How serious are they for a negotiated settlement of this conflict which is tearing and eating up the national strength and wearing out the natural cohesive nature of our social, cultural, geographical, communal and religious structures?

The Prime Minister called for an all-party meeting, perhaps, to converge all divergent political views and make one single national approach to solve this seemingly intractable and embarrassing problem of this country. How are the Nepalese community as well as international community watching and analysing their move to boycott the all-party meeting? What is the real intention? How wise is it to play a dirty political game when the nation is bleeding so much? They are bargaining even when efforts are being made to restore, establish and maintain law and order. How can people trust and tolerate such behaviour?

The Maoist leadership and government authority should be fully aware of international as well as external elements who are not interested in restoring and establishing law and order and maintaining peace and prosperity in Nepal. They are rather seeking and will always seek all possible means to foil and continue to de-stabilise Nepal by dividing Nepalese political leadership and disintegrating the age-old social infrastructures. The direct and indirect invasion in cultural centres and religious centres, telecommunications net-work, security set up and particularly in the political institutions are most dangerous and even devastating than in anything else. It needs a total national strength, will and strategy to fight against this menace. In this, Monarchy is the only central principal pillar that can bring everybody together to meet those national challenges. Can this country/nation survive as an integral independent entity without Constitutional Monarchy?

When even the Maoist ideologues have stormed their brain finally realising the indispensability of Constitutional monarchy, why are the two major political parties not whole heartedly in support of the peace process? Are they again being played? None should forget the bitter past and reality in this country, when political strings are pulled by external elements right from the days of Sugauli-Treaty to divide and rule. This grand design to subdue and subjugate has never totally materialised, simply because of the cohesively rooted and perpetual strength of the forward looking and staunchly nationalist Monarchy.

The question of interim government, round table conference and constituent assembly have occupied lot of space of the journalists and National newspapers in the recent past. Interim government and round-table conference should not be much of a difficult problem as long as they are taken in the right perspective by all parties and groups. But talking about constituent assembly and constituencies, there is a big 'But.' On what basis constituencies are laid down and defined? What are the basic criteria? What are the factors to determine the number of constituencies? Today Radio Nepal broadcasts news in twenty languages in twenty four hours. There are ninety-three recognised odd languages and dialects in Nepal. There are dozens of religious beliefs in practice today. Is it population, is it ethnic and communal groups, is it languages and geographical region, is it NGO/INGO or social and cultural structures, what should be the basic elements to determine the constituencies?

It is complex and compounded more by these various diverse conditions and cultures that almost makes the process of determining constituencies in this country impossible. There more than twenty thousand NGOs/INGOs in Nepal operating today. Finally what is the purpose and aim of constituent assembly? If it is just to amend and correct the existing provisions in the present constitution without undermining the democratic political system and Constitutional Monarchy, the two principal pillars for modern Nepal, we can easily and comfortably do business without getting embroiled into Constituent Assembly.

Now everyone, the authority in the government, the political parties as well as Maoists must understand very clearly right in the beginning that the government and the Maoists declaring and holding cease-fire and conducting negotiation for peaceful settlement means a legimate state government talking with a rebel group to listen to their grievances. It is not two sovereign state nor even separatist groups holding dialogue to sort out each other's demands. The state has mandatory duties and responsibilities to restore and maintain law and order without any restrictions. No independent sovereign state can ever allow and tolerate a rebel group to claim a state within a state. No particular areas could be identified for the rebels without the government's security and surveillance. Nothing that violates the rule of law can be tolerated in any situation or in any area. Also there is no military solutions to any insurgency problem anywhere. Insurgents can be defeated by the security forces but not insurgency. Insurgency demands political, economic and social solutions. Going down deep into the root causes, everybody across the board sitting down together with patience and tolerance; detail, comprehensive planning and preparation, will surely bring a permanent peace in the country.

National Interest

Everybody should stand for the larger national interest. Remember, in any negotiation there is no 'quick fix' or negotiation is not an 'Instant Coffee.'

Avert Common Threats: Annan

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has said that the current focus on Iraq should not distract us from effectively confronting the myriad of political, economic, social, environmental and other challenges in every region. Whether it is the concern about North Korea's decision to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or the crisis of governance now engulfing Latin America, it is clear that the world needs urgent and concerted action to address common threats through multilateral action.

Critical

In a message send to the 13th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) held in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur Secretary General Annan said that this Summit is taking place at a critical juncture, with the prospect of war in Iraq looming before us.

"However, I believe that war, even now, is not inevitable. Inspections, resumed just a few months ago, are beginning to yield results and should be allowed to continue until all weapons of mass destruction are destroyed or accounted for. As the international community considers the next steps in this process, I believe it is essential that we focus on what unites us, and not on what divides us. On the critical objectives, the Security Council has spoken with one voice. Iraq must disarm. It must cooperate fully and proactively with the inspectors. This makes clear that what is required at this stage is cooperation, persistence and constant pressure," said Annan.

He has also appealed to the international community to make every effort to encourage Iraq to comply fully with Security Council resolution 1441 and to cooperate pro-actively with the inspectors so this objective is achieved peacefully.

"It is imperative that the Iraqi leadership understands the gravity and the urgency of the situation. Three months ago, in Resolution 1441, the Security Council gave Iraq "a final opportunity" to comply with its disarmament obligations, and recalled, in that context, that it had repeatedly warned Iraq that it would face serious consequences as a result of its continued violations of its obligations. For the sake of its own people, and for the sake of world security and world order - I urge the Iraqi leadership to choose full transparency and cooperation with the inspectors to help avoid conflict."

The Secretary-General expressed his conviction that if the Security Council manages this crisis effectively and successfully, its credibility and influence will be considerably enhanced. " If, on the other hand, the international community fails to agree on a common position, and action is taken without the authority of the Security Council, the legitimacy of, and support for, any action will be seriously impaired. States and peoples around the world attach fundamental importance to such legitimacy, and to the international rule of law." He iterated.

Annan said, "The support and active participation of the Non-Aligned Movement in our collective effort to find a peaceful solution to the current crisis regarding Iraq is certainly much appreciated by all. What happens in Iraq will have serious implications for other issues for many years to come - including international terrorism and the situations in the occupied Palestinian territory, Afghanistan and elsewhere."

The UN chief also warned that this is a crisis with potentially very serious humanitarian implications. " Already, the humanitarian situation in Iraq is of great concern. The population is highly vulnerable, with one million children under five chronically malnourished, and five million Iraqis lacking access to safe water and sanitation. As you are aware, United Nations agencies are taking prudent steps to prepare for the humanitarian consequences of any future conflict by prepositioning materials and deploying emergency field personnel."

" I remain, as I know you are, deeply concerned by the volatile situation in the Middle East. Violence between Israelis and Palestinians has continued unabated, resulting in further loss of life, injury and destruction. Moreover, the humanitarian crisis in the occupied Palestinian territory is worsening. Without the prospect of some forward movement on the political front, it is difficult to imagine how the current cycle of violence and counter-violence can be stopped."

" Ultimately the political stalemate must be broken. The best path towards ensuring the security of Israelis and Palestinians, and a comprehensive regional peace, remains moving forward with the Quartet's Road Map. Through this process, the parties could realize the vision of two states-Israel and an independent, viable sovereign and democratic Palestine-living side-by-side in peace and security."

Target

"At the Millennium Summit in 2000, world leaders adopted the Millennium Declaration which summed up their aspirations for the creation of an equitable, fair, just, more peaceful and stable world in the twenty-first century. The Declaration not only set out clear targets for sustainable development, poverty eradication, protecting our common environment, fighting terrorism, HIV/AIDS, providing education for children, help for refugees and displaced persons, it also called for upholding human rights, promoting democracy, the rule of law and good governance. As we all strive to make this a safer and more just world, let us be guided by these noble aims." Said Secretary General Annan.
(UNIC)

The Heritage Assessment

By Bhimsen Thapaliya

A HIGH level UNESCO monitor team, here to take stock of conservation steps of Kathmandu's World Heritage sites, have shared its mixed feelings with the press. While the team members were happy with the progress made in the preservation of the cultural monuments, they also warned that the government must take some immediate "corrective measures" to keep the trust of the world heritage body.

The monitors suggested that a few measures need to be initiated without delay to save the Kathmandu Valley's World Heritage Sites, most notable among them being the activation of legal tools to halt the rampant encroachments posing threats to the famed religious and historical landmarks.

The high level UNESCO inspectors spoke satisfactorily about the government's commitment and performance in protecting the listed heritage sites, at the same time candidly pointing out that important measures still remain to be taken. "The government has made a huge progress," said one of the monitors.

The three-member monitor team that met with the journalists after inspecting five of the sites, said that while some of the sites were in pretty admirable shape other presented more sorry pictures to them. Special concern was shown towards the condition of Patan Durbar Square. "This roadside monument appeared to be most problematic," said Dr. Tamas Fejerdy, chief of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee who headed the monitoring panel.

However, some exemplary works were being done inside this palace complex in Lalitpur that gave high impression to one of the team members. "The Patan Museum offered an instance of good management," said Francesco Bandarin, director of the World Heritage Centre.

Just weeks before the UNESCO team paid visit, the government seriously responded to the illegal constructions taking place in one the World Heritage Sites, Swayambhu. Following a hue and cry from an agency concerned with environment and heritage, one of the ministers made an inspection visit to the oldest Buddhist stupa of the country. The media brought to light a bitter fact that the officials of the Archaeology Department, a body care-taking and regulating heritage places, were threatened by those who encroached. After hectic meetings and consultations, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation issued strict orders to dismantle the offending structures. When the UN inspectors toured this site, one of the encroaching structures was under demolition.
Putting check on heritage encroachment is not a one-day business. It calls for constant vigil and uncompromised enforcement of regulations. In this context, the head of inspecting mission was right when he recommended for continuous monitoring of the law enforcement agencies functioning under a system of long-term sustainability of heritage sites. The slackness in law enforcement witnessed in the last twelve years in the country is also evident in our cultural monuments in the form of encroachment. Overlooking one bad example gives birth to innumerable bad practices, ultimately making it challenging to put the mess back to order. Unheeded loopholes help to spread the tentacles of corrupt practices.

Acknowledging that finance was an important aspect of maintaining heritage sites, one of the inspectors cautioned against depending too much on UNESCO fund. "We are not a bank. We cannot solve all the local problems," he said. We have some resources which we have provided. But constant flow of fund that heritage conservation requires, is largely a local responsibility. While recognising the importance of collecting local fees from visitors, he warned however, that high fees may also prove counterproductive.

In the 70's and 80's, there were plenty of donor support for heritage conservation. But 90's saw few donors helping this sector. "As the government has tight conservation budget, bigger responsibility has come on the locals," says Archaeology Department chief Shova Shrestha.