Thapa demonstrating his indispensability

April 14, 2004
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Kathmandu: Despite efforts to give the agitation popularity, the five major parties involved are frustrated by the lack of public support. In effect, the agitation against the alleged “regression” remains restricted to cadre. Its publicization in the media is exposed as partisan and the numbers now verify the extent of partisanization of government offices, professional organizations and supposed independent organs of civil society.

As much as this was known to the lay public, perhaps the agitation, its participation and the publicity provided, it has educated the foreign “friends” of Nepal better. The highly political Kathmandu population remains adamantly defiant. This effects the agitation more.

One element of confusion that prescribes Nepal’s conspiratorial alignments is the role of the government and its interests in the agitation. What is clear is that government reach in the media has been thoroughly exposed. The lack of political response and the mere use of administrative tools clearly reflect the limitations of the Thapa ministry. The immobilization of the defiant public makes obvious its limited political reach.

This renders suspect the Thapa strategy itself. The fact is that the five-party agitation was allowed public demonstrations against the King in Kathmandu city centers. Having exhausted its numbers game, the government ruse of the Maoists threat has allowed the failing numbers to agitate and demonstrate its presence scattered in the street corners. This has facilitated the agitation’s continuity.

In essence, thus Prime Minister Thapa is demonstrating his indispensability at this crucial juncture. He has successfully used a government responsible to the King to entrench himself in a position to claim the prerogative of conducting the elections while at the same time allowing the opposition to threaten the King directly.

One outstanding feature that renders the agitation limited to political workers of the five parties is the general awareness that the agitation is not for democracy but for the stakes in leading a government that must go to the polls.

As casual as the public is taking the disturbed switch manipulations for government from both the Thapa cabinet and the agitating parties have failed to attract even the monarchy it seems. The King’s return to Kathmandu pointedly as scheduled from Pokhara as if paying no heed to the suggestions that a burning Kathmandu had forced him to cut short his visit.

This would suggest that any change forthcoming would not reflect the provocation suggested but will conform to the routine constitutionalism that the King has insisted upon as is suggested in his New Year message.