NATIONAL 1 (Spotlight Weekly)]

Taking Law Into Hands

The main opposition's street protest program is likely to cross all barriers

By A CORRESPONDENT

Some two dozen UML activists entered into four different government offices in Janakpur last Friday and started rampage. They pulled punches at chief of District Customs Office, Dhruva Raj Pandey. His mistake? "They alleged that I pay donations to the ruling Nepali Congress party, but not to the main opposition party," Pandey told Kantipur daily. The same group broke tables, chairs, windowpanes and even cut off telephone cables in different offices.

A day earlier, some UML activists entered the office of Agriculture Development Bank in Syangja district and tore papers related to recruitment of social mobilizers under the program "Bisweswor with the Poor." In the capital, a group of UML workers led by Kathmandu district development committee vice president, Rameswor Phuyal, entered the offices of Department of Transport Management at Gaushala last week. They abused the chief of the office, Abdul Raees Khan and even tried to manhandle him. Police had to intervene later to avoid a clash.

All these are but a few glimpses of fourth phase of nationwide protest program launched by the main opposition, Unified Marxist-Leninist party, early this month. The party is launching its `crusade' against corruption, rising prices, and irregularities in the government offices. "All type of corrupt and immoral people have now opened front against our party as soon as we started our campaign against corruption," said UML spokesman Pradip Nepal. "But we are committed to make sure that this movement doesn't die down."

The party kicked off its protest by announcing names of corrupt people amidst a mass meeting at the Open Theater in the capital a few weeks back. Some leaders of ruling Nepali Congress, splinter Marxist-Leninist, some bureaucrats and businessmen were singled out as corrupt in the mass meeting. While the ruling party tried to ignore the issue considering it as a 'political gimmick,' ML leaders came down heavily upon their former Comrades. "I can expose everybody at the UML leadership. They should not claim themselves as `Mr. Clean,' thundered ML leader and mayor of Kathmandu metropolis, Keshav Sthapit. ML general secretary, Bamdev Gautam, has already filed a libel suit at the Supreme Court against four senior UML leaders including general secretary Madhav Nepal.

Ministry of Finance published a press statement last week saying that allegations by the UML against joint secretary at the Ministry, Yubaraj Bhusal, were baseless and ill intended. "To blame Bhusal as being a party in the smuggling of gold by a foreign diplomat is outright wrong as he had not joined this Ministry's structure when the incident took place," said the Ministry spokesman. " I am considering going to the court if the party doesn't correct its mistake," said Bhusal, who heads all-important Budget division at the Ministry. "How can honest civil servants work in such an environment?" he asked.

Growing interference by the main opposition in the spheres of government are seen by many as its lust for power. Others see it as a move to get its activists engaged. Whatever may be its purpose, "by acting both as a prosecutor and judge, UML is not leaving good precedence," says Govinda Adhikary, a journalist.

The UML leaders say that their movement is geared to make people aware about the irregularities in the country. But their workers seem centered around the towns and city areas only to exhibit their protests. Instead of working as watch-dog and forcing the government to rule according to law, the UML is encouraging its workers to take law into their own hands. The party doesn't look bothered toward its possible consequences. "Acts like declaring names of alleged corrupt persons through mass meetings can invite anarchy in the society," said Dr. Niranjan Adhikary, a political analyst. "The party should pressurize the government to crack down against corruption by employing legal methods."

UML workers, however, listen only to their leaders.