To address the political crisis for a win-win situation, we can only hope that exemplary statesmanship and leadership will be exhibited by political actors to save our country from death and destruction

By Sudarshan Shrestha

The consequential move

Certainty to address the political fragmentation in Nepalese politics and the fragile democracy resulting from the Maoist insurgency and rampant corruption appeared to have been the conjecture of the King. The 1 February 05 political reposition appeared to have been consequential and was deemed appropriate and important both by the head of state and a large section of the Nepalese populous. With the exception of the political top brass and those who were attuned to political power play and kick back maneuvers, there was a degree of optimism and euphoria amongst the people including opposition political party activists that the nation would see positive and concrete change.

At first sight, the political stance taken by the monarch did not appear to be long-term, there appeared to be a promising future (even if it was temporary) in the hope that political parties who had failed the Nepalese would be brought into confidence by the Council of Ministers chosen by the monarch. The choice of framing the cabinet will always be debatable in the text books of Nepalese history because its selection has been contentious, both because of the choice of individuals in the cabinet as well as the group’s failure to deliver and perform according to the royal proclamation. Irrespective of the many ways in which the government may argue its rationale that the country is heading in the right direction towards the process of re-establishing peace and democracy, it clearly appears today that this is nothing more than wishful thinking. Addressing the conflict and setting a clear path for political stability is but impossible without the involvement of all the political actors. And the government’s failure in this reference was underscored by the currently influential Home Minister when he admitted on national television that the government had failed to take into confidence the political parties over the past 14 months; resulting in the opposition piggy backing on the Maoists.

Our Parties

The government has failed in the political front to support the monarch’s road map for meaningful democracy which could be attributed to incorrect or incomplete assumptions. Painful but meaningful decisions have to be made under the present conditions of substantial
uncertainty, particularly when the situation is volatile.
The political parties for their part have been less than responsible towards the Nepalese people by disrespecting the sentiments of the people by refusing to have any agenda for dialogue and reconciliation with the government. The 12 point agreement and its renewal appear to be nothing more than altercations for power in the guise of fighting for people’s sovereign rights, democracy and an effort to establish peace. How are these noble ideas achievable when they refuse to engage in any dialogue with the state? What the Nepalese people fail to comprehend is the rationale of the opposition’s political commitment in willingness to enter into agreement with the CPN (Maoist), hold secret talks but repudiate any face to face meetings with the state in the glare of the Nepalese people.

Allegations by the state and against it by the parties and the people are numerous, the agenda of political roadmaps are varied, and visions for resilient peace, the perceived process of achieving meaningful democracy
accountable to the sovereign people of this nation state are diverse. Hence, the question is, how can our leaders and those who perceive themselves to be the rightful ones to lead us deliver on us our dreams for peace and stability when there is a lack of sincerity for true dialogue, when those who purportedly want to represent us refuse to see eye to eye.

The Peace Slogan and victims

The maxim of peace has been negatively utilized in this country; it’s a catch word to muster public opinion. “Our violence is aimed at achieving peace” this is what the Spokesperson of the CPN (Maoists) told the world and the Nepalese people in particular in a BBC interview on 10 April as the capital suffered from the wounds of the double- edged knife of the government’s curfew and indefinite strike by the opposition. Ironical? Yes, this is the plight the innocent people of this nation are having to endure under the leadership of our formal and informal selected few.

The streets of this nation burn with the smell of tyres, tear gas fumes burn the nation’s eyes, innocent but frustrated and agitated people confront the men in dress. Emotions run high on both sides of the fence, rubber bullets pierce their way into delicate and seasoned skin while the men in dress have their clothes stained in their own blood. It is we who are the aggrieved sufferers, not our respected leaders who are confined to the walls of their homes or in the safe havens of detention centers of the state. Sacrifices, loss of blood and lives are argued to be necessary for change. But is change not possible through dialogue and meaningful and peaceful engagements on the table?

The accused

The army was involved in the conflict not because of its own making, but because of the intransigence of the political leadership to suppress their opposing political ideologies. For the records, it was the democratically elected government of Sher Bahadur Deuba which pulled the army out of their barracks in the hope of quelling the insurgency. It was given a mandate, a mandate to support the nation’s fight against terrorism, not to support any political power or party. Since then, many things have gone astray; its rights record has been wronged, people’s faith in its ability to eliminate terrorism are being seen with skepticism and it has unwarrantedly received the royal seal for being “Royal Loyal”.

The army may have failed on many fronts, but it is us who have made them fail and we can only imagine what would be the state of the state if they did not engage the Maoists to contain their firepower. How much can we expect from them when supplies of resources are scarce as double standards are overpoweringly exhibited in the global war against terrorism by the Americans and the Indians. The army is fighting against all odds and has been caught in the gambit of political power play. As with all national institutions that have their own identity and self respect in being accountable to the people, the leadership appears to have accepted Sun Tzu’s theory of the Art of War that there is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. Although the army will always be duty bound until death to protect the interest of the state it would also be in its interest to consider Sun Tzu’s theory of war that “The skillful soldier does not raise a second levy, neither are his supply-wagons loaded more than twice.”

The army is alleged to be the central power structure in the political crisis. The claim is open for debate, but irrespective of the honest realities, one could argue that it has a constructive responsibility to broker the national impasse. There could be no greater opportunity for the institution to raise its profile and credibility in support for people’s desire for peace and sovereignty.

Moving ahead in the new dawn

Time is a frame of reference and the skeptical euphoria in optimistic terms when the people gave the benefit of doubt to what appeared to be the King’s realistic vision of taking the country towards political stability has changed. Political parties have advocated political confrontation as opposed to reconciliatory politics; the government appears more threatening and arrogant than appearing to be willing to build national consensus through confidence building measures. Much dirty water has passed below the bridge, it is with a matter of urgency that the leaderships of this country act with a sense of urgency, and focus on immediate things that are of value and meaning to the Nepalese people, their state of mind and their right to live a decent life.

Note well that our egoism is the journey to the funeral pyre. The possibilities are that when our strength and stir is exhausted, there will be a many to spring up to take advantage of our limitations and weakness as a nation state. In the absence of a crisis, Nepal has been inclined to procrastinate social and political issues and overlooked opportunities to address them. But the time has come for us to act in defiance of the politics of violence and confrontation and from being used as mob pawns for agitations which have failed to provide constructive results.

In the contextual change, the government has failed in the political front to support the monarch’s road map for meaningful democracy which could be attributed to incorrect or incomplete assumptions. Painful but meaningful decisions have to be made under the present conditions of substantial uncertainty, particularly when the situation is volatile. Sense making takes time, but have we not come of age to make sense that things are not working for the country?

Let the dawn of the New Year see the exchange of olive branches so that we could witness work on the commonalities of various roadmaps to get talking face to face to address differences. There are common grounds for our leaders to shake hands if they are genuine and sincere towards us. Analyzing the core issues of the King’s seven point agenda on January 6, 2004 and the opposition’s six point political roadmap of May 8, 2005, we could see following similarities to get started on consensus building and reconciliation.

The formation of an all party interim government (King’s agenda). Revival of the dissolved parliament or formation of an all party government (Agenda of the opposition) * The key would be to have a coalition of flexibility.

· The government thus formed will announce parliamentary elections and hold free and fair polls. (Agenda of both the sides)

· National consensus (King’s agenda). Talking to the Maoists after reaching consensus between political parties (Opposition’s agenda).

To address the political crisis for a win-win situation for all the political players in the eyes of the people, we can only hope that exemplary statesmanship and leadership will be exhibited by political actors to save our country from death and destruction. It’s not about losing face and defeat; it’s about saving the nation as we move into the New Year.

Happy Near Year 2063 B. S.!

(Shrestha is an independent media and communication consultant who has been associated with both the government and private media over the past decade. Please send your comments to [email protected] or [email protected])

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