Western democracies provides face saving formula

September 3, 2003
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Kathmandu: Prime Minister Thaps’s conspiratorial politics or modesty, give any name to it, forced the agitating five parties to effect certain changes in their already scheduled program of creating havoc in Kathmandu that is to begin from tomorrow.

It’s now a win-win situation for both the government and the political parties. It is a win for the government in the sense that had the political parties not effected certain reforms in their plans and diverted the mass to districts other than Kathmandu would have meant a challenging task for the state in containing the threat of the possible penetration of the rebels in the demonstrations sponsored by the political parties. This means that the procession that is to commence Thursday against the government will have less impact on the overall situation in the valley and that the security personnel could to a greater extent now could handle the situation comfortably.

Similarly, it is also a half way victory for the political parties for the fresh issuance of the governments’ prohibitory orders could have disastrous effect on their demonstration with chances of massive arrests of the men involved in the said demonstrations. Had the political parties not heeded to the establishment’s request for a calm-down approach, chances were bright that the rebels could have penetrated into the mass and created violence and the total responsibility of the emerging chaotic situation would have to be shouldered by the political parties sponsoring the agitation. The parties in effect concluded that they preferred not to be blamed by the lay men that they were the real culprits of restoration of peace in the country. The other thing could be that the big-5 also wished their demonstrations to remain in their own control.

Analysts say that the political parties could have sought for the support of the Maoists for their demonstrations had the talks been continuing with the Maoists. The abrupt failure of the talks and the manner the rebels began hitting at the security men and the civilians alike forced them to change their decisions.

In so many ways than one, the failure of the talks had its profound impact on the government’s strategy and the political parties’ desire to seek other modest methods to press the government.

Should this mean that the failure of the talks forced the State to impose prohibitory orders and thus made easier the task of the government to contain the would be threats of the five party agitation?

Nevertheless, the failure of the talks must have come as a blow to the government and its political acumen tested by all and sundry. Add to this, close on the heels of the talk’s failure the government had to prepare itself for yet another confrontation with the parliamentary parties. However, the imposition of prohibitory orders in the valley and in so many districts apparently has helped the government to keep things under control.

Nevertheless, though the parties have said that they would not make Kathmandu a hot-bed for the moment, but they have concurrently advised their student cadres to go on in for a sort of dis-obedience for the government’s prohibitory orders.

Appears a face saving formula indeed.

It is a face saving formula in the sense that the political parties are against the State but their moves now declared were all modest ones. After all, the political parties too have to respond to their cadres.

However, what should also be clear to all is that the face saving formula appears to have been provided by the Kathmandu based powerful democracies of the West.

The United States, the United Kingdom and others in effect pressed the political parties to understand the gravity of the prevailing situation given the failure of the talks with the Maoists and the spurt of violence that was on in the country after the failure of the talks. The Ambassadors of the UK and the US approached the leaders of the agitating five and warned them all that should the security situation worsened in the country due to their demonstrations would mean that they were opposed to the peace process and that they will be dubbed as enemies of peace.

This worked to a greater extent and hence the changes in the plans of the agitation that is to begin from Thursday.

The big-5 got the point and preferred to gulp the bitter pill at least for the time being.

The pressure thus put by the western democracies on the big-5 which apparently hinted that they should refrain from any activities that vitiate the already tensed situation in the country also meant that the developed west in one way or the other considered the big-5 to have neglected the entire peace process with their non-participation at the talks despite the attending parties’ appeal for their active participation.

Now that the big-5 have changed their stance, what could be fairly concluded is that the parties would wait for the King’s return so that some sort of “reconciliatory” approach is initiated in order to bridge the gap in between them and the King.

Indications to this effect gets reflected from the fresh utterances of Madhav Nepal who has begun hinting that he and his colleagues were all too ready for a tete-a-tete with the monarch upon his return.

If this is so then things appear to be heading in the right direction. The King also must not miss this opportunity. It’s time that the political parties and the King mend their differences in the larger interest of the country.