Go, get better

Yesterday, on Baisakh 11, the country celebrated its first Loktantra Diwas (Democracy Day) in remembrance of the restoration of democracy after nearly four years of its usurpation by the King. It was the day the King who was not ready to concede an inch was forced to give a mile by the sheer force of people power — the constituent assembly (CA) polls as the ultimate settler of all major disputes regarding the system of governance and the use of state sovereignty. It was also the catalyst for a peaceful settlement of the 10-year-old Maoist insurgency. Underlying all this was an understanding on restructuring the state to usher in a new, peaceful and prosperous Nepal based on multiparty democracy. The 19-day movement, which saw about an equal number of martyrs, along with many more maimed or injured, was securely based on the 12-point agreement between the SPA and the CPN-Maoist that provided the first broad road map for the country’s future.

This is the occasion to take stock of the efforts at making permanent the gains of Jana Andolan II. The restored Parliament made a historic declaration aimed at strengthening the hand of the people’s representatives, pledging to hold the CA polls, ending all forms of discrimination, adopting an inclusive approach to governance, and, no less important, clipping the monarchy’s wings. The Interim Constitution was adopted, followed by the formation of an interim legislature and an Interim Government. But the culmination of all this — the CA elections — could not be held by June, as promised, belatedly citing the time constraint. The blame game has started, but the uncertainty reigns about whether the polls will be held anytime soon.

This day should also inspire the ruling parties to self-introspection as to whether they have veered away from the spirit of Jana Andolan II, correcting the deviations starting right now. Some also blame the “tight” timetable for various events in the run-up to the postponed CA polls from the signing of the eight-point agreement to the formation of the interim government. Probably not, as the delays lay in the pace of the political parties, particularly the coalition government, and in their vacillation as well as in their vulnerability to all sorts of extraneous influence. They should make a self-evaluation whether even the declarations and decisions they made have all been fully implemented, including those relating to the monarchy and the royal palace. Prime Minister Koirala, in his address on the occasion, said that nobody would be able to usurp the gains of Jana Andolan II. But he and other leaders had also made the same assurance after the 1990 people’s movement, and the rest is history. That is why the Nepalis have had to launch many big and small movements for democracy and to observe more than one Democracy Day. This means the gain and loss of democracy has been an on-again, off-again affair in Nepal. This must end, so must the 57-year-old debate, once and for all, over constitution-making through the constituent assembly. Now is the time to deliver.

Source: The Himalayan Times, April 25, 2007