National 7 (Spotlight Weekly)

Is Constitution the Culprit?

Internal as well as external factors are equally responsible for acute political instability and short-lived constitutions in the country

By Bhagirath Yogi

A study conducted by a non-governmental organisation last month claimed that the present constitution in the country was a main obstacle towards resolving the conflict between the government and Maoist rebels.

The study conducted by Sravan Sharma and Sanjeev Pokhrel for the National Peace Campaign even blamed the framers of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1990, of failing to visualize a situation in what the country is today.

Most of the speakers at the two-day people's conference, that concluded in the capital, stressed on the need to frame a new constitution with popular participation. 'Such a constitution could help move the country in forward direction," those in favour of yet another constitution argued.

Does this mean that the 14-year-old constitution - that was drafted as a culmination of 'jana andolan' (people's movement)-is no more relevant in the country? The debate continues as the only democratic basic law of the country finds itself under all out assault from extreme left forces as well as those in the extreme right.

The nine-year-old Maoist insurgency-that wants to replace the constitutional monarchy with a people's republic-has already claimed over ten thousand Nepalis' lives. The rebels have said elections to the constituent assembly (to draft a new constitution) is their major demand and that they are not ready to discuss anything less than that.

As the violent conflict continued, the situation got further complicated with the royal move of October 4, 2002. On that very day, King Gyanendra dismissed popularly elected Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and assumed executive powers himself-alleging the premier of failing to hold parliamentary elections as -per the schedule.

Since then, three royal appointed governments have occupied the seat of power at Singha Durbar (the last one being led by Deuba himself) but have failed either to work out a negotiated settlement with the Maoist rebels or hand over power to an elected government. Of late, premier Deuba has been saying that he would go for elections even if the Maoists do not come over to the table of negotiations.

But, there are few takers to his grandiose statement so far. "There is no conducive environment to organize free and fair polls in the country," declared opposition Nepali Congress President and Deuba's one-time guru, Girija Prasad Koirala, addressing a gathering of Nepalis in China Sunday. A planned assault is being launched against the fundamentals of the constitution, he warned.

While people in general have expressed disenchantment and dissatisfaction towards acute hunger for power and growing corruption during the 12 years of elected governments, overwhelming majority of them is still firmly in favour of democracy in the country, opinion polls show.

A recent nationwide public opinion poll, conducted among over 3,200 respondents spread over 39 parliamentary constituencies of the country, showed that 81 percent of the respondents were in favour of democracy in the country. And, 86 percent of the respondents felt that the situation in the country had deteriorated after the royal move two years ago.

Of course, the royal move has given enough ammunition to those who see the monarchy as a bulwark of the country's feudal system."At a time when the King himself has said he wants to be a `constructive monarch,' those pleading for constitutional monarchy are cheating us," said Krishna Pahadi, a human rights activist.

Prof. Krishna Khanal, a political scientist, argues that democracy can't fail and hasn't failed in Nepal. "But in the context of Nepal, democracy and monarchy haven't been able to co-exist right from the political changes of 1950. The latest dissolution of the parliament in early 2002 was only the climax of that struggle," he said.

So, can there be a meeting point between the monarch who is said to be looking for a greater role in the country's polity and the rebels who want to abolish the monarchy altogether? More importantly, can the present constitution accommodate and mainstream these forces together for the greater good of the country and people?

Difficult questions, indeed. One of the framers of the present constitution and chairman of the Constitution Recommendation Commission, Bishwo Nath Upadhyay, says that two extremist forces-the feudal force represented by the palace and the Maoists-were unhappy with the constitution right from the beginning.

"Both the forces are complementing with each other (to weaken this constitution)," Upadhyay told Kantipur daily, in an exclusive interview Monday. "If there was only one force acting against the constitution, people would have been able to take back their sovereign powers. But people can't fight at two fronts simultaneously," he added.

Those watching Nepal's constitutional and political exercise right from 1950 argue that internal as well as external factors are equally responsible for acute political instability in the country manifested by short-lived constitutions and frequent changes in the governments. Not a single Prime Minister -whether popularly elected or appointed by the King-has been able to complete his full term over the last five decades. And, not only the democratic constitution, even the sovereignty and independence of the country is under an unprecedented threat-thanks mainly to the violent insurgency.

Analysts like eminent constitutional lawyer, Ganesh Raj Sharma, however, argue that Nepal could easily resolve its problems provided there was no foreign interference. In his theme paper presented at a seminar organised by Nepal Law Society Sunday, Sharma said the constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 2015 B. S. - under which the country's first parliamentary elections were held-was scrapped dramatically by then King Mahendra mainly due to decisive geo-political changes in the region, more than the domestic factors. "Unfortunately, even now, Nepal is not free of the foreign interference," he added.

Whatever be the reason, acute political crisis and lack of political representation from the grassroots to the parliament have created a void that is being filled in by the gun-toting Maoist rebels in large parts of the country. And, majority of people have been left to fend for themselves in the middle of growing hostilities between the warring sides.

When two of its neighbours, India and China, are marching ahead to become major global powers in the first half of the 21st century-the strategically located Nepal, unfortunately, is mired in an internal battle that is bleeding the country badly.

While the source of instability and acute political crisis may be elsewhere-in the geopolitics of the region-- as argued by senior advocate Sharma, we Nepalis seem to be enjoying treating the country's democratic constitution as a 'whipping boy'-at our own peril.

(Courtesy: Nepalnews.com)