Nepal is in danger of collapse: US envoy Moriarty

February 27, 2006
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The US envoy in Kathmandu, James F Moriarty, has renewed his warning that Nepal is in danger of collapse if the palace and the political parties do not cooperate.

 

James F. Moriarty, the US Ambassador to Nepal
(File photo)
In an interview with the private-sector Kantipur Television on Sunday, the US envoy said he could not state it more clearly than that if the palace and parties don’t cooperate, if the King doesn’t reach out and if he doesn’t begin to plan a way back to democracy, the current state of affairs will not last all that long.

“I think the most likely result if the collapse of the state and an opportunity for the Maoists to make a huge advances,” he added. Moriarty further said he did not have a precise time frame but he thought that that was going to happen pretty quickly.

Talking to Bijay Kumar for the `Frontline’ programme—a TV talk show, the US ambassador said, “Until and unless you have a coherently forward movement on part of the legitimate constitutional forces– the palace and the parties– there would be no need for the Maoists to make serious compromises.”

Moriarty explained that the reconciliation would have to have two goals, one would be how the King and the parties map a path back to a real functioning democracy, the other would be on how the country effectively addresses the Maoist insurgency. These are the two very clear goals for reconciliation, he said.

The American career diplomat—who is constantly in the news over the last fortnight for raising serious questions about the 12-point pact between the seven party opposition alliance and the CPN (Maoist), said, “First of all, the biggest concern is how the Maoists have acted since the 12-point understanding…and one point of particular concern I have when reading the 12-point understanding is in the very first clause which says something that both sides agree to attack the autocratic monarchy from their own positions.”

He also repeatedly referred to the Maoist leadership’s reference towards “bourgeoisie parliamentary democracy. “The Maoists can’t be called a legitimate political force because they are using violence to overthrow the state and (that) they took up arms against a functioning parliamentary system.” Since the end of the ceasefire (in January this year), their words and act show that they are not feeling any pressure, he said.

Replying to a query on whether the King’s position had become stronger after his Feb 15 remarks in Kathmandu, Moriarty said, “I don’t think so. I think that the King understands that he has no international support, I think he understands that the country is in serious straits and I think he understands, if anything more clearly, that the working arrangement between the parties and the Maoists is dangerous for him as well, as I believe dangerous for the country.”

The US envoy said not just since Feb 1 last year but indeed in the past years, America has never stopped pointing out to the King that his actions since February 1st, 2005 are not leading towards the outcome and that he needs to reverse the course since there has to be agreement between the palace and the parties.

If the parties’ intention is to bring the Maoists into the mainstream, that is laudable and good, if that works, said Moriarty. He, however, expressed concerns that this agreement seemed to have left open the option for violence on the part of Maoists and the Maoists have undeniably engaged in violence.

The US envoy said America was concerned that instability in Nepal would make things much more difficult for China and India. Moriarty brushed aside comments that the US needed Nepal to keep watch on two Asian giants. “That’s ridiculous,” he said.

When asked to define the US strategic interest in Nepal, Moriarty said, “We do worry specifically that the Maoists takeover would lead to incredible instability in a region that doesn’t need it, so we do have a strategic interest here. Yes, we have a strategic interest here, and the strategic interest is to get this place back to a functioning democracy that will effectively address the Maoist insurgency,” he added.

Moriarty said he wanted people to read closely what the Maoists were saying and if they were committed to democracy and human rights as mentioned in the 12-point pact.

The US envoy’s recent remarks have prompted the Maoist leader, Dr Baburam Bhattarai, to write an article in The Kathmandu Post daily refuting his allegations. Similarly, senior leaders of the seven party alliance have said they are in favour of the pact with the rebels as “it would not be possible to restore peace and democracy in the country without bringing them on board.”