FEATURES NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

By Shirish B. Pradhan

NEPALESE people have felt a sigh of relief as the country witnessed the cease-fire announced by the Maoists and the government with a view to ending the seven-year-old insurgency. However, to attain lasting and durable peace successful conclusion of the on-going peace process is a must. Thus, the present political situation is very much fluid and everybody should make sincere efforts towards resolving the present crisis for greater national interest.

Conduct

Both the government and the Maoists have exchanged their codes of conduct and the document will be given a final touch in a few days to pave ways for formally moving ahead the peace process. Both the sides have agreed to sit down together and sortout the differences through holding dialogue in a peaceful manner. It seems the Maoists have realised the futility of escalating violence and terror as the means to achieve their goals. All the sections of the country including the political parties and the civic society have in one voice pointed out that the talks should be constructive, fruitful and positive and it should find a way out from the present political crisis facing the country.

There cannot be any problem between two Nepalese, that cannot be resolved by sitting together at a table through peaceful negotiations on the basis of mutual understanding, and good will. Our actions should be guided by broader national interest and welfare of all the Nepalese while dealing with such vital issues. No one should make the peace process hostage to his or her prestige and vested interest. In such negotiations all will gain and no one will lose. We want peace, stability and development and if the talks lead to the desired objectives then why should we worry about other small things? War, and terror have never solved any problem, be it political, economic, social or other.
The Maoists have also accepted that Monarchy and democracy are the present day realities, which cannot be ignored during the peace negotiations. They seem to have abandoned daydreaming about declaring Nepal a Communist republic through dialogue, which is practically impossible. They have time and again reiterated their commitment towards the achievements of the 1990 democratic movement, which is a positive symptom. They have accepted the pluralistic society and they seem to be ready to adopt multi-party democracy at the moment. In this context there seems to be little differences between the Maoists and the pro-democracy parties, which are committed to the present Constitution based on the twin principles of multiparty democracy and constitutional monarchy.
The theories propounded by Karl Marx and Mao-Tsetung in the 19th and 20th century cannot be exactly put into practice in today's era of globalisation and liberalisation. Of the two pillars of Communism, Soviet Union has already collapsed and China is also turning into a capitalist country adopting liberalisation and democratisation. Thus, we must learn lessons from the history and change ourselves according to the need of the hour. The Maoists should not be rigid about their demands. They should understand that ballot is more powerful than bullet in the present democratic world. The Maoists seem to have realised this fact as their top leader has in a recent statement said that talks and negotiations can also be part of their struggle. If they realise the fact, then the time is not far away when they will join the mainstream politics and take part in the task of nation building.
Human Rights, sovereign source of power vested in the people, rule of law, constitutional monarchy and multiparty democracy are the fundamental principles, which cannot be ignored while finding political solution to the problem related to the insurgency. Both the Maoists and the government must not ignore these realities while engaging themselves in peace negotiations. People's rights, freedom and their well being are the basic things, which no political organisation should ignore. In fact, democracy is not doing whatever one likes to do, it is but to respect others' views and protect others rights. In democracy, all the forces including the political parties and the Maoists can co-exist and operate without any difficulty.

Political parties should also cooperate with the government to initiate the peace process. All the parties have welcomed the move to restore law and order and maintain peace in the country with open heart. Thus, it is their duty to extend all the necessary cooperation to the government in resolving the crisis.

Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand has time and again sought active cooperation from the political parties in the ongoing peace process. He has also stressed on the need to involving all the parties in the peace talks. In fact, every conscious Nepali must take part in the peace process directly or indirectly. A national debate should be initiated regarding the peace process so that a strong public opinion is created in favour of peace and democracy, the pillars on which the development of modern Nepal will rest. Intellectuals, politicians, professors, lawyers, journalists all should participate in the debate over the peace negotiations to make it democratic, transparent, fruitful and result oriented.

During the peace process the issues related with victims of the Maoist insurgency should also be given due attention by the concerned parties. The Maoist victims' demand for justice cannot be ignored and the government needs to work out schemes to disarm and accommodate the militants as well as rehabilitate the victims of the insurgency and their families.

Careful

By concluding the peace process successfully we must prove that Nepalese people themselves are capable of handling such types of conflicts. The recent cease-fire was also the product of our sincere efforts and goodwill and understanding reached between the two conflicting parties. We do not need any third country involvement in our peace process. However, international community is keenly watching the peace process. Therefore, we must be careful enough to move ahead the peace process smoothly and attain success.

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