National 4 (Spotlight Weekly)

“Preservation Of Constitutional Monarchy And Multi-Party Democracy Is The Key To Defeating The Maoist Challenge”

— Donald Camp

DONALD CAMP, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Bureau of South Asian Affairs, came to Nepal last week to participate in the Nepal Development Forum (NDF) meet. Deputy Assistant secretary Camp talked with Nepalese journalists before returning. Excerpts of his statement and his interaction with the journalists:

On His Assessment of Political Situation

The United States of America congratulates His Majesty's Government of Nepal in establishing its development priorities to address poverty reduction, and applauds its progress towards achieving these priorities despite the complex obstacles facing this Himalayan kingdom today.

While donor support is crucial to assure the continuance of Nepal's long-term progress, development goals will only be attained if the government first commits itself to achieving peace, good governance and human rights. Without those, it is impossible to implement policies that attract investment and foster job creation - and provide the necessary political, social, and physical infrastructure to improve people's lives. The ongoing Maoist insurgency is the biggest threat to peace in Nepal. Increasingly, the conflict is devastating the lives of ordinary people. Fear pervades the countryside. The conflict has disrupted the fragile national economy and threatens to erode development gains of past decades, including democratic governance, improved agricultural production, increased literacy and child survival, and decreased fertility.

Development cannot thrive in the absence of peace. Preservation of Nepal's system of constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy is the key to defeating the Maoist challenge. We applaud government's many efforts in the areas of anti-corruption, fiscal transparency and budget reforms, which will help achieve democratic governance, yet remain deeply concerned that His Majesty's Government is still functioning without elected officials at any level, or a Parliament. Thus, we would like to take this opportunity to encourage the King and political party leaders to restore Nepal's democratic institutions and develop a unified strategy for resolving the political crisis and the insurgency. Without progress towards the restoration of democracy, the continued fragmentation of the nation's political leadership will only exacerbate the conflict.

On US Advice

It is the same suggestion we have insistently made to the government as well parties, which is that both sides need to find a way to narrow their differences and work together so that the country and the people can confront the Maoists and ultimately get to the stage of negotiations. But till the moment the political side remains divided there will be little hope for progress.

I had an audience with the King along with our Charge d’Affaires. He briefed us on what he was trying to do and how he was trying to find an accommodation with the parties. He expressed disappointment that had not achieved that but hoped he would. He stressed throughout our conversation the importance of adhering to the constitution. Our conversations mostly revolved around the thing we have been saying to the government. As outsiders, our hope is that there can be an accommodation between the monarch and the political parties.

Our view is that it is up to the people of Nepal to resolve the crisis. As I said we are just outsiders. We can advise, we can suggest but we cannot resolve the problems. It is for Nepalese themselves to resolve their problems. It is quite simple. There is a need to find out compromise and ultimately restore multi-party democracy and move as quickly as possible towards the elections and the restoration of the parliament. That will be our advice and hope.

On Human Rights

In addition to good governance, there must be progress on human rights. Both the Maoists and the Security Forces abuse human rights. The Maoists terrorize the countryside through brutal killings of government officials and civilians, recruitment of child soldiers and torture. In their efforts to combat terrorism, some members of the security forces have also committed serious abuses, including unlawful arrests, killing of innocents, rape and torture. Nepalese government has begun to respond to concerns about human rights abuses by establishing human rights cells within the Royal Nepal Army, the civil police, and the Armed Police Force; and is prosecuting some cases. The government must focus efforts on ending such human rights violations. We thus welcome the Government's statement on March 26 reaffirming its commitment to human rights and its decision to accept technical and external assistance on human rights monitoring.

On Development Assistance

We have been a steady and reliable development partner to Nepal for over 50 years. Our development assistance programs have taken years, and in some cases, decades, to develop, implement and achieve results. We are deeply concerned about the impact of this conflict on long-term development activities. Consequently, this year, the U.S. is providing over 40 million dollars in economic assistance to Nepal. This assistance will include quick impact programs that provide strategically targeted economic, governance and humanitarian assistance in areas suffering from the conflict. It will also feature long-term development programs that address the broader conditions of poverty and lack of opportunity that have fed instability. These programs are focused on health and family planning, hydropower development, strengthening democratic processes and civil society and combating the trafficking of women and children.

Therefore, we will support projects that fit the strategic priorities of the 10th Plan Strategy of the Government of Nepal. We also seek greater harmonization among the donors to Nepal, especially at the program level. At this forum, there has been considerable interest in donors providing budget support to the Government of Nepal. Since the United States rarely uses this form of assistance, we do not foresee its use in Nepal at this time. However, we will monitor the results of donor programs that channel
funds through HMG along with progress of initiatives such as the Poverty Alleviation Fund. We will consider channeling the funds through mechanisms such as Poverty Alleviation Fund should they prove effective. We look forward to a continued productive relationship with Nepal and with development partners. We stand with Nepal in its continuing struggle against the brutal Maoist insurgency. We pledge our support to strengthen democracy in this Himalayan kingdom and help the people of Nepal to achieve their aspirations of peace and prosperity.

On Hindrances to Development

There are practical problems today in Nepal for delivering development assistance. We, and all the nations, friends of Nepal, wish to help Nepal develop. It is very hard to program money in an area that are now controlled or influenced by the Maoists. One of the issues that came up at the NDF was that we needed peace and security not only for the people of Nepal but also for donors. For instance, there is this Vitamin A distribution program to help all children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years, funded by the UNICEF and USAID. It saves between 12,000-15,000 lives a year. Without this program, more lives would be lost in a single year than have been lost as a result of the eight-year Maoist insurgency. In addition to these immediate effects, if we were forced by the conflict to end or severely curtail development programs, it would take years to restart them and reap the rewards.

On Meeting With the Parties

We met the representatives of the political parties on Tuesday afternoon (May 4) and they made their points. They explained why they did not want to participate in the NDF. As far as we are concerned, we deal with the government of the day. This is our standard practice throughout the world. We also believe that the elections as soon as possible are something that is important. It certainly gives everyone a sense that the political process is back in track. In absence of opinion polls, as a visitor to Kathmandu, I cannot say what are the priorities of the people. I hope that the political parties represent the interest of the people that is why the political parties are important. They are the representatives of the voice of the people. There are two issues right now. First, how to resolve the political problems between the King and the parties and second, how will it ultimately go for negotiations with the Maoists.

On Maoist’s Outside Links

I hear reports, stories and theories about the Maoists’ contacts with other extremists in India and other parts of the world. I do not have any evidence about the direct links and supports from outside to the Maoists of Nepal. I guess I would say that they share the websites. I am not sure what they share beyond that. They have differences. I am not a great believer in a South Asian theory of Maoist groups coming together. Inclusion of the Maoists in the annual report does not mean that Nepal is a front line state on war against terror. Al Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan is really a global threat. The situation in Nepal is very much domestic.

On the Support of Communist Party of America to the Maoists

I don’t have any information about it. My knowledge is that the Communist Party of the United States is non-existent force, and, therefore, the relationship is unlikely. The Maoists do not fulfill the provisions of our visa requirements. I am quite confident that they are not eligible for seeking political asylum in the United States. Political asylum are reserved for those who are unfairly prosecuted in their own country.

On Freezing Maoists’ Accounts

Freezing the account is primarily a symbolic act in the sense that we have not identified any Maoist asset in the United States. If we do identify such asset, they are liable to seizure. That is the point of that designation. It is very also important as it is a symbol to make it clear how we view the Maoists.

On the Return of Malinowski

Michael Malinowski is a good friend of mine. He has finished his tenure and the president has appointed a new ambassador to Nepal. It is a part of our normal rotation. Malinowski is going to be appointed in another job as a senior advisor to the Army War College. That is an important job. We needed him and he is starting there. I hope the people do not draw wrong conclusions. Malinowski was a very professional implementer of the American foreign policy towards Nepal. I am sure his successor will be the same. The new ambassador designate comes out of the National Security Council and he has been working on same issues of Nepal policy that we all have been working for the last couple of years. He will be a continuity between the two. I would say the new designate ambassador has expertise in this region as he has also served in Pakistan. He has been working on all of South Asia.