National 3 (Spotlight Weekly)

Red Grouse

Old wounds are relapsing ahead of crucial party deliberations

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

If everything in Nepal's largest mainstream communist party - the Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) - had been alright, the seventh general convention slated for February 1-5, 2003 in Janakpur would have been an event for celebration. After the bitter split the UML suffered in the sixth convention five years ago, the party was overcoming the pain. It had even reunited with its splinter Marxist-Leninist party exactly a year ago.

But that was not to be. The party still functions in a closed manner, though it wishes to play politics in an open and pluralistic society. Unlike other parties such as the Nepali Congress and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, internal wranglings in the UML are often kept out of public view. The intense maneuvering among comrades does not appear on the surface and are hence denied the natural way out.

As a result, a number of fissures have appeared as the party is approaching the seventh general convention. The approval of the political and organizational report of general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, which ought to have been a simple formality, became such a touch-and-go affair. It was after intense rows among top comrades that the UML central committee finally gave approval to the 75-page political and organizational report of the general secretary - and not before a few amendments were made.

The current row flared up after general secretary Nepal was challenged by stalwarts like Khadga Prasad Oli and Bamdev Gautam. The comrade duo seemed gunning from the same side after both demanded that the general convention elect the general secretary and the chairman. The post of chairman had been left vacant following the death of Manmohan Adhikary four years ago. Clearly, Nepal felt the proposal was aimed at pruning his power and opposed it vehemently. Oli, for his part, went on record saying it was high time Nepal stepped down, as he had already led the party for two terms. "He has done what he could do best, now he should step aside," Oli was quoted as saying recently.

However, the meeting of the standing committee of the UML, where Nepal enjoys majority support, decided to scrap the post of chairman. It said the seventh convention would elect the central committee, which in turn, would elect the general secretary. Out of 14 members of the committee, only three - Oli, Gautam and Modnath Prashrit - supported the retention of the chairman's post.

The meeting also decided to change the party flag, because it was similar to that of the Maoists. The new UML flag will have its election symbol, the sun, in addition to the existing hammer and sickle in the red background.

Both Oli and Gautam had forwarded their own reports dissenting with the general secretary on a number of critical issues like the party's position vis-a-vis the monarchy, other political parties and Maoists. Oli's paper specially mentioned the leadership's failure in controlling corruption within the party.

Gautam, on the other hand, still seems to be nursing his old Mahakali wounds. His dissenting paper asked the UML to concede its mistake in having helped ratify the Mahakali treaty in 1996, which he terms as anti-national. This, despite his pledge last year, when the ML he led decided to reunite with UML, to keep the Mahakali issue on the sidelines.

"We continue to harbor a different opinion on the Mahakali Treaty, which we still call a mistake. But we do not want to pose this issue as an obstacle to party reunion, Gautam had said on the eve of the reunion.

Five years ago, the same difference over the treaty had forced the then-belligerent Gautam to break away from the UML. During the party's sixth convention, Gautam had raised his "different opinion" and walked away from UML with almost half of its parliamentarians and central members to form the ML party.

The upcoming UML convention is certain to be crucial as it comes at a time when the country is in unprecedented crisis. "The convention is taking place at a time when the King has taken unconstitutional decisions and democracy seems to be in dire threat. On the other hand, the ultra-leftists Maoists have held the country hostage by their blatant violence. These are no ordinary times, and, therefore, this is no ordinary convention," said a senior party leader.