Kathmandu: Things are moving in the positive direction, at least for the time being.
The expected suspension of what the government calls “military actions” by the Maoists for nine days, that covers the Dasain festival, does hint that the leaders of the insurgency were not apathetic towards the people’s longing for a permanent peace. The Maoists have said that they have honored the people’s voices and thus have suspended their activities for the time being.
However, interpretations vary on how to interpret the suspension of violent activities of the Maoists for a nine day during the peak festival days.
Two theories are prevalent in the political circuit. The first takes Maoists suspension of the violent activities as a sort of ceasefire. The other opines that all that the Maoists have said is not a ceasefire in its truest sense of the definition of the term they have used in the statement instead it were merely the suspension of all the violent and terrorizing activities for a total of nine days.
The majority of the population has, nevertheless, taken Maoists nine-days arms-down as a brief respite. However, they expected the respite to have covered the entire festivals including that of the Chath, a festival mainly observed in Terai. Not that bad indeed.
On the other, the government led by Deuba concludes that the suspension of the military actions by the Maoists is not enough and that they should have come forth with clear announcement of a ceasefire which would have assured the laymen that peace was round the corner.
Some government ministers and the talkative leaders of the country nevertheless have taken the Maoists stance in a positive manner which is what it is in effect.
A section of the political analysts maintain that the nine days respite provided by the Maoists could have been extended for some more time had there been no Deuba government in existence. This section underscores that the Maoists reluctance in talking to this government could have been guided by the assumption that if they exhibited their hatred towards this government, the servants of the King as they have declared, the King would be pressed hard to replace Deuba with the one that they apparently prefer and consider more “representative” of the people with whom they can resume talks.
Interpretations vary indeed.
However, who could be that political personality with whom the Maoists would feel more comfortable to talks will have to be watched.
In the meanwhile, a noted HR activist, Malla K. Sundar talking to a vernacular weekly last week has said that it is the King only who could assure the Maoists if he says that he was ready to make his institution more flexible and abundantly democratic.
How the King will react to HR activists’ suggestion is uncertain.