Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Political parties used the Maoists issue as a ladder to step up in government

-Dr. Surendra K.C (History Department, TU)

The sudden announcement of the three-month long unilateral ceasefire by the Maoists on September 3 has not only invited reactions from the domestic but as well as from the international sector.

This ceasefire announcement made by the Maoists have been welcomed from various quarters, however, the Government establishment did not appear in a mood to welcome this decision.

In whatever form it might be, but the essence is that His Majesty's government has rejected this ceasefire announcement made by the rebels. Not only this, Dan Bahadur Shahi, the home minister, by branding the Maoists as dacoits has apparently broken all the previous records of the past governments taken vis-à-vis the rebels.

To recall, the Chand-UML government for the first time had dubbed the Maoists as terrorists and later all the successive government in some way or the other toed the same line.

The fact is that, as experience would reveal. Most of the political parties used the Maoists issue as a ladder to step up in government.

The Palace in the meanwhile preferred to escalate the Maoists issue to the extent that could not be handled by the political paraphernalia and in that pretext it wanted to gain power. Apparently, the steps of October 4 2002 and that of February 1, 2005 were initiated. Or else, my presumption is that the Maoists were open for an end to the conflict through negotiations.

Maoists top hat, Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai went to the extent to reveal that his party had come closer for talks with late King Birendra through the kind courtesy of late Prince Dhirendra.

After February 1, atmosphere for talks became feeble. The Maoists were in effect were considered to be a terrorist outfit in strict sense of the term. Though efforts were made by the establishment not to encourage the Maoists activities, nonetheless, their activities grew instead of going down scale. The nation witnessed growth in terror and violence and killings.

Though the King wished to know from the political parties as to how the parties viewed the Maoists, the political paraphernalia instead of convincing the King of their intents began ventilating that they would have talks and joint actions with them. This is becoming more and more visible of late.

The fact is that the parties had been insisting the rebels that they be allowed to enter into their constituencies; should bring to an end to the killings and abductions and extortions. This was their conditions for the Maoists set prior to such any talks and joint action with the rebels.

Some even presume that the present ceasefire announcement is the result of the political parties' appeal to the Maoists. Equally interesting is the theory advanced by yet another set of analysts who claim that the Maoists could have made this sudden announcement in order to block the NewYork trip of the King who was all set to attend the UNGA wherein the monarch was supposed to justify his taking of the power and projecting the Maoists as terrorists. To preempt this possibility, this set of intellectuals believe that the Maoists could have thrown the card of ceasefire.

Whatever could have been the reason, the fact is that with this ceasefire announcement, the Maoists have put the government on the dock. While on the one hand through this announcement the Maoists have indicated that they were for an end to the conflict and favored peace, on the other, the non-reciprocity shown by the establishment presumably does hint that the government was not in a mood to broker peace at the moment.

Now that the Maoists wish the installment of a minimum capitalist republicanism for the time being, it is not yet clear what the parliamentary parties and the powers-that-be want? The fact is that what benefits the country would bag if the King and the Singh Durbar establishment exploited this opportunity? It appears that neither the parliamentary parties nor the establishment were in favor of a permanent solution to this imbroglio.

Analyzing all these, what becomes clear is that there were feeble chances that the establishment would exhibit its flexibility for the present ceasefire announcement of the rebels.

The Maoists have instead already won a diplomatic battle.