National 1 (Spotlight Weekly)

ALL-PARTY MEETING
Ominous Obstinacy

The refusal of the bigger parties to take part in the all-party conference convened by the prime minister does not augur well for the peace process

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

Despite the cease-fire and a palpably peaceful environment, the politics of the country is churning violently, as different actors are pursuing different lines. The bigger political parties once again abstained from a crucial all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand on March 10.

The premier had convened the conference to discuss the code of conduct for the government and the Maoists during the cease-fire. According to government officials, the draft code of conduct submitted by the government to the Maoists has already been returned with few changes.

The tough stance demonstrated by the bigger political parties could throw cold water over the peace process, fear analysts. "This is not the time to be guided by petty partisan interests. If the bigger parties are patriotic, they should rise up to the occasion and act in the interest of the nation and people," said a political analyst. "At a time when even the international community is pressing for a unified stance and a negotiated settlement of the Maoist problem, their behavior seems highly immature."

The government is in an expectant mood. "It is unfortunate that big political parties did not participate in the meeting. But the government expects their cooperation in the peace process in the coming days," said Ramesh Nath Pandey, Minister for Information and Communication and spokesperson of the government.

The Nepali Congress, Unified Marxist-Leninist, Nepali Congress (Democratic) and other leftist parties stayed away from the meeting, reiterating their familiar stance. "We do not consider this government legitimate so there is no question of participating in the meeting," said a central leader of UML.

Meanwhile, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP) - whose leaders serve as premier and deputy premier respectively - participated in the meeting. The RPP, which had not taken part in the previous meeting, had a reason for its U-turn. "Whether one likes it or not, the present government is the reality," said a senior RPP leader. "This government has been able to initiate peace process with the Maoists. Had the bigger political parties been able to achieve this much, they would not have been languishing like this."

Many see the stance of the bigger parties as untimely. At a time when the Maoists have come for dialogue and there needs to be national debate on ways to bring them into political mainstream, the obduracy shown by responsible political parties, whose participation is vital to any durable settlement, has frustrated the people longing for peace. These same parties, on the other hand, continue to complain of having been sidelined in the search for peace.

Besides, there is no convergence of opinion among the two major parties. During separate audiences granted by King Gyanendra on March 10, Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala and UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal continued to demand the reinstatement of the House of Representatives and formation of all party government respectively.

"At this juncture, their demand should have been guided by the urge to bring democracy on track by holding new elections," said the analyst. "Their demands just do not address the concerns of people at large. When the King has repeatedly stated that he is committed to multiparty democracy, their anxiety about regression seems misplaced. In fact, by not engaging with the current establishment, they are themselves working against democracy."

A month has passed since the announcement of the cease-fire. But there has been little progress on the political front. As the participation of the mainstream political parties is vital to the success of the impending peace process, the people fervently hope the current impasse will be resolved without delay.