The positive response from the Maoists for
talks with the Thapa government has, for the time being, set to rest the serious
apprehensions of recurrence of violent struggles in the country. The concessions the Thapa
government has yielded to the Maoists to lure them to the dialogues would be totally
misplaced in the event of failure of the talks. The domineering posture of the Maoists and
the submissiveness of the government has generated a peculiar situation putting the
intelligentsia in a quandary as to who calls the shots here. Anyway, it is very gratifying
for us to find the Maoists keen on talks. As a matter of fact, the Maoists have no
alternative if they are sincerely concerned about any foreign interference in our internal
affairs. They must not fail to realize that any reliance on foreign support for the
attainment of political goals always boomerangs as has been proved by our own history of
the last five decades. Consequently, we must ourselves find all the solutions to our
problems. Only then we can preserve our identity and strengthen our solidarity. And no
external power would dare interfere in our internal affairs.
In the present context when the
constitutional exercises have been badly affected on account of the anti-national
self-oriented and extremely corrupt behavior of the major political parties, the prime
duty of the law abiding patriotic Nepali is to make all out efforts to restore the
functioning of the constitution. And this is not possible without a representative and
accountable government enjoying the mandate and confidence of the people. As such, the
country must go to the polls as early as possible. And this necessitates cessation of
hostilities and a peaceful atmosphere for holding the general elections. Since King
Gyanendra has, time and again, pledged to stay a constitutional monarch, the top priority
for the Maoists is to generate a situation wherein the King will be able to appoint a
non-partisan and apolitical government so that it may conduct the elections in a most free
and fair manner at the earliest. The main thrust of the corrupt politicians at the moment,
is to get into the government by hook or by crook so that they may resort to their
nefarious behavior of rigging the elections without which, they know, they will be
overwhelmingly discarded by the electorates. It is these political parties who are mainly
responsible for landing the country in such a catastrophic situation. As such, the Maoists
should not even think of associating with these corrupt and discredited political parties
whose leaders must be publicly tried and punished for their unpardonable crimes against
the nation but to refurbish their own image. Any kind of association with these parties is
sure to further soil their already fearsome reputation. That the Nepalese people have been
totally disillusioned with these political parties has been irrefutably demonstrated by
the absolute disinterestedness the people have shown towards their recent agitations. The
Maoists must not be carried away by the vociferous outbursts of the five political parties
that they are the parliamentary representatives. How can this be possible when the House
has been dissolved and a dissolved House cannot give any mandate to any politician. In
this situation anybody who wants to pass for a parliamentarian has to be elected in the
coming elections. As such the only course open for all the Nepalis now including the King
is to generate a conducive atmosphere for early elections. King Gyanendra must be fully
aware of the real intentions of the corrupt politicians and must not give in to their
pressures to form an all party government or to restore the House as their real motive
behind these moves has become evident. On the contrary, he must enact appropriate laws
that will forbid them even to contest the elections. Since the Palace is not only the
defender of the constitution but also the last refuge to safeguard the sovereignty of the
nation, it must resist all unreasonable pressures from whatever quarter it might come lest
its image be adversely affected and the poor people start loosing their faith in its
uprightness. Despite the fact that the people do not want them to see back at the seat of
authority, if these discarded politicians are again brought back to power to rule the
country, it could be nothing but betrayal of the people of Nepal. If the King really wants
to cleanse the corrupt politics of our country, these unscrupulous and anti-national
politicians must be sidelined from Nepalese politics for all time to come. With the
discredition of the older political parties, the country is facing a political vacuum
which the Maoists can easily fill if they relinquish their cult of violence and start
generating respect and regard in the hearts of the Nepalese people. They must know
violence always begets only contempt misery and terror. As such, if the Maoists, the
people and the King come together, at the present juncture, they can usher in lasting
peace in the country and the hard won democracy can come back to track without much ado.
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