By Subindra Bogati

The truce declared by Maoists unilaterally first week of this month has instilled a ray of hope among the peace-hungry Nepali people. However, disappointment swiftly followed when the government, instead of reciprocating, said in a statement that the cease-fire never sustained in the past and it could not fully trust the Maoists.

Fine, ceasefire for Maoists could be time for a pause, perhaps calculated on what is needed before a new offensive. Or they could use it to reduce the pain, have a chance of recuperation, even getting an opportunity for buying new weapons.

To prove these allegations, what government has to do is: seize this ceasefire as an opportunity and make rebel groups unpopular and alienated by showing the seriousness for negotiated settlement of the dispute.

Just by issuing press statements, people won’t believe the government. That is too at a time when almost all Nepalis want to get rid of this cycle of violence, when the donors, who Nepal is heavily dependent on, are pressurizing to hold talks with Maoists.

It is the responsibility of the government to make aspirations of population the driving force for its policy. Anything else will be public relations nightmare. People in government seem to have no knowledge of the fact that propaganda if used carefully can do wonders where guns have failed.

And to move beyond this conflict, the missed opportunities of the past must be learned from. New opportunities must be sought out. We can benefit from systematic observation of the past periods of escalation to determine what the causes were and how they can be avoided in the future.

It is easier to blame other for the failure of the process and / or the escalation of the conflict. At present, in a way or other both Maoists and the Government are doing the things that facilitate the creation of the escalating self fulfilling prophecies due to the fact that parties will interpret the actions of the other in the worst light possible and behave accordingly, which in turn escalates the conflict.

The constant reinforcement of these attitudes and perceptions creates the image of diabolical enemy, a way of dehumanizing the other that ultimately leads to the justification of kidnappings, massacres, torture, and cold-blooded assassination.

More recently, rebels around the world seem more willing to work out negotiated settlements, some of which seem to work in countries like El Salvador, South Africa and Nicaragua. And of course, negotiated settlements by definition involve compromises; both sides have to abandon some of their goals to reach the agreement.

If we look at nearly 50 civil wars going around the world, we can easily say that civil wars go on for a long time because at least some people and institutions find it useful that the wars do so. Let’s not forget, for some, the idea of the war is economics by other means. The wider the availability of the means of war, the easier and cheaper it is to undertake. It is unfortunate that in some parts of the West Africa an AK – 47 can be exchanged for the price of a chicken. If we fail to seize the opportunity to solve the mess we are in, we may have the same fate in future.

We know more about how wars begin than about how they end. Military victories seem harder to come by these days. Nepal is loosing a generation and its future leaders. The loss begins with the children and ends with the potential of a country.

It is high time that we lift our heads from the morass of our own conflict, start respecting and celebrating the diverse political ideology we have. Or do the people in power still think that we will be fighting till the physical and political elimination of the opponent?