The sudden postponement of peace talks by the Maoists has
given rise to various speculations. The reasons the Maoists have forwarded for the
postponement are not at all convincing. This unexpected turn of events has, once again,
made all of us apprehensive whether the Maoists are in a position to take any concrete
decision and whether they are still chafing under the iron grip of some invisible forces.
Even though we are not in a mind to accept any insinuation that the change in the peace
coordinator on the government side might be in some way responsible to this sudden change
in the peace process, it cannot be dismissed outright as totally baseless. The leader of
the official team, the Deputy Prime minister Badri Prasad Mandal has become a center of
political controversy for some time past. Consequently, it is being rumored that a certain
influential section in Nepalese politics is hell bent to embarrass him. We do not think
Mandal's selection as the leader of the Nepalese team should in no way make any difference
to the Maoist leaders, as they must not be that naive not to understand where does the
real power lie and who is running the show. If they are fishing for more concessions
before the peace talks start in earnest, they must not fail to realize that the
concessions they have eked out of the government so far would not have been possible under
a very strong government. They must not try to play their hand in a way that their
bargaining superiority may land them in trouble. Granted that negotiations are always
carried out from the position of strength. But there is a limit even to the bargaining
capacity. It would be sheer foolishness to lose what one has already gained in the hope of
unrealistic advantage. At this critical stage, the greater onus for the success of the
talks definitely lies on the shoulder of the Maoist leadership. Their over ambitious
stance could not only prove unproductive but out and out dangerous to the ongoing peace
process. Moreover, we still believe the Maoist leadership are well adept in reading the
writings on the wall. Their unrelenting posture, which may ultimately break the
understanding reached after such a long and drawn out struggle, would surely boomerang
against them. We are still fully convinced that the Maoist leaders even though misguided
are, unlike the corrupt and discredited political leaders, still very patriotic and
working for the benefit of the country and the poor people. They must not do anything that
might not only soil their image but equate them with the pseudo politicians. As such,
there is absolutely no option for them but to sit at the negotiating table with a clear
and sincere mind, irrespective of the fact who is the leader of the official negotiating
team and what is its composition. |
