Act fast!

The caretaker government led by Nepal's renowned "non-performer", Lokendra Bahadur Chand, is apparently all set to take up a bold decision. The said decision if comes into effect or brought into action might work for the better of not only the nation but would in all probability send a positive signal to the outside world. In effect the day the visionless government led by now doomed Sher Bahadur Deuba declared the Maoists insurgency as terrorists and aired that any person who brought the heads of some top-hats of the Maoists insurgency would enjoy hefty amounts from the state exchequer, responsible citizenry then had already concluded that the formers' declaration would ultimately boomerang and it did boomerang. It had to boomerang because the said decision taken by the Deuba regime apparently went against the very spirit of a "democratic" system. If we are correct then possibly no democratic order in the world so declares the price for heads of a phenomenon that is yet to be decided as to whether it were a political phenomenon or just the otherwise? Democracy perhaps believes in toleration and refrains from arriving at quick decisions that impede the process of arriving at amicable solutions to the issues of the sort of the Maoists insurgency. Such decisions at times caps the possibilities of talks even with the other rebellion camp much to the discomfiture of the lay men who unquestionably demand for the restoration of peace. In essence, the majority of the population in Nepal were and are still for the prevalence of peace and believe that it is and should be dialogue and dialogue only that could bring the two warring rivals together who later would chart a mechanism that restored peace.

Whether the Maoists insurgency is a terrorist one or is entirely a political phenomenon is still being debated among the informed citizenry. Intellectuals remain divided over the Maoists phenomenon. Interested parties on both the sides wish to push their own theories which on the one hand takes the insurgency as completely a political move, then others dub it summarily as a terrorist outfit.

Even if the establishment declared them as terrorists, it becomes the bounden duty of the nation-state as a guardian to bring them to the table and arrive at a compromise that satisfied the stand-points of both the negotiating parties. Consider the case of the LTTE in Sri Lanka. Possibly, the political flexibility that was best exhibited by the Colombo regime in the recent months have facilitated the talks between the regime and the LTTE men which reports say was progressing well and already is in a positive direction. The State must always act like a guardian and should remain ever alert in addressing the long standing concerns of the group(s) who feel marginalised some way or the other. This does not mean that we are taking the sides of the insurgency. However, what is for sure is that as a responsible newspaper we wish that the government in power must not waste even a single minute in managing the talks with the Maoists. We are guided by the theory that holding of talks have in the past yielded miraculous results. Ours case is entirely different with those of the LTTE. The LTTE demanded a separate state. Nepali Maoists have not demanded a separate state. The difference lies here.

Undoubtedly, time is passing out. The Maoists have of late increased their violence and that too on the eve of the Constitution Day. Whether they did it to hint the population that they reject this constitution or had some thing other than this in their minds is yet uncertain. But yet the sudden spurt of violence and terror that they created or managed to create does hint that there could be some connection in their fresh violent activities and the 1990 constitution. We might be wrong in our analyses but then it is a fact that the insurgents began creating terror all over the Kingdom on that very special day.

Be that as it may, given the lackluster style of the functioning of the Chand government and given the increased violent activities of late and the devastation of the national property due to the violence, a select group of intellectuals humbly suggest the Constitutional monarch to take up the lead in bringing the insurgents for the talks. Certainly, the constitutional monarch as the guardian of the nation too should exhibit his desire for the restoration of peace in the country. It is time that His Majesty also acts in the larger interest of the nation and the people. How He should act and which channels He should use for holding talks with the Maoists should better be left to the perusal of the King himself. It is getting late indeed. An early settlement of this overly stretched imbroglio will benefit all the sections of the Nepali society. The Maoists too understand the gravity of the Nepali situation which is moving from bad to worse by each and every passing seconds

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