King should meet the Maoist leaders, say peace-talk facilitators

July 9, 2003
5 MIN READ
A
A+
A-

Kathmandu: The Maoists desperation for talks is obvious.

The insurgency wishes the talks to resume at the earliest. However, the rebels also visibly appear to be utterly displeased with the Royal Nepali Army for it thinks that the RNA under the instigation of Washington-Delhi nexus is trying to damage the prospects of the talks with the government. More so, the insurgency also remains disheartened on account of the RNA’s alleged attack on its men out in the remote districts and villages.

In sum, the Maoists believe that the delay in the talks is being dictated by the terms of the extraneous forces and is being deliberately done so. In the process, the insurgency maintains that the government under Thapa by delaying the talks is concentrating its efforts in equipping itself with the latest arms and the weapons to face the possible Maoist wrath in case the talks failed.

The government denies this allegation and maintains that it is as sincere as anything for talks.

However, the fact is that talks are not taking place. The tentative dates have even not been announced.

Intriguing is the fact that Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai is missing from the country’s political scene and reports say that he will appear only when the government finalizes the dates for the talks.

The appointed “facilitators” talk with the media men in a subdued voice hinting that the delay in the resumption of the talks will ultimately damage the prospects of peace restoration in the Kingdom.

“Some petty nitty-gritty’s need to be cleared prior to the convening of the next round of talks”, said one facilitator to this scribe on July 4, last week.

According to the same source, the King’s intervention in some form or the other was needed to boost the peace-process.

However, why he needed the King’s intervention in this process, he did not revealed. But then yet intelligent analysts wish to link the facilitators fresh demand with that of the Maoists leaders’ requisition which also hints that they too would wish to have an interaction with the King itself.

The fact is that the facilitators demand for an intervention of the King has come instantly after Ram Bahadur Thapa alias Badal only last week hinted that his insurgency would wish to have a tete-e-tete with the King. This means that either the Maoists insurgency understands that in the absence of political parties participation in the peace-process it is the King’s mediation that could facilitate the peace process to a positive landing or they consider that in the given scheme of politics in the country with the monarch’s role being at the top and crucial, their talks with the representatives of the King’s regime will have no meaning at all.

However, our own analysts have different opinions in this regard.

According to these analysts, the insurgency wishes to talk straight to the King simply because they would like the King to instruct Thapa government to honor the commitments already agreed in between the two sides more so on matters related to the army remaining well within a five kilometer territory. To recall, the government is willing to change this agreement. The RNA has also hinted that it would not limit itself to the agreed five kilometer periphery. In addition to all these, the political parties now in agitation too have objected to the idea of limiting the RNA movement to a five kilometer periphery.

The Maoists think that the strategic gains they have already bagged should in no way be compromised.

Similarly, the Maoists wish to see the King in the Palace could also be that they wish to convince the monarch to explore an conducive environment that assimilates their “people’s army” in to the mainstream army.

However, how the King reacts to these Maoists overtures if he obliges the Maoists and invites them to his Palace will have to be watched.

It is not surprising therefore, Padma Ratna Tuladhar, one of the facilitator at the talks too opined Tuesday that what is the harm if the King met the Maoists leaders at the Palace.

“After all the Maoists too already have become a force to be reckoned with”, says Tuladhar.

All put together, what comes to the fore is: the Maoists are in favor of talks and are ready to become more flexible if need be as Comrade Kiran has hinted in Janadesh weekly printed Tuesday; that the hitch lies now in the RNA being limited to 5 kilometer territory; the facilitators wish the King to intervene in the peace process hinting that a new hitch has cropped up in the mean time which is delaying the resumption of the third round of talks; that the insurgents would wish to talk with the monarch straight so that he could unknot the knots impeding the peace process; that they wish to see the King gets reflected in the remarks made by the facilitators.

To conclude: the King’s role is becoming important in absence of the non-participation of the agitating parties in the peace process.