Public Security

When seven parties in government and the Maoists from outside government seek to dictate terms on a nation on the strength of the ‘people’s movement’ and with the national media taking this as the lone will of the people of Nepal there is bound to be something amiss. The movement last year restored parliament with the promise of elections to a constituent assembly that was to form a new constitution for the country with mass participation in elections. Since then the choices offered to the people in the forthcoming elections have altered radically with even the restored parliament replaced on the strength of an altered constitution imposed at will by eight political parties which have aroused the expectations of the people in order to woo participatory mass support. Wanton use of political violence and the fielding of cadre of which SPAM is certainly not short of appear to have seriously undermined the state’s civil machinery for law and order to the extent of damaging its security capabilities.

The very parties in government would when convenient use the Maoist machine to spearhead demonstrations to remind the people of their presence and reaction has been underplayed in a media far from professional in their support of the current goings on. Lest there be a total breakdown of the state machinery, the media, instead should be educating the body politic of the real ongoing consequences of such highly partisan use of state. The Rautahat incident must be thoroughly analyzed for one both as to the cause and the consequences. Is it that the local administration could deny neither parties involved the same spot for their mass demonstrations simply out of its inability to assert its presence? Why did the Maoists seek and were allowed the same forum that the terai agitation had sought much earlier? Why did administration not chose to separate the two or even anticipate the violence? These and much more questions are provoked from the incident which, if viewed in proper perspective, would seem to signal the possibility of more such breakdowns engineered simply with partisan interests. Spontaneous reaction on part of the people need not necessarily conform to government or Maoist interests. Nor need such necessarily encourage national interests for law and order. There is reason for reason at a time when we seem to have lost it. All one can call for is the need for law and order and public security. As it is, the partisan media can no longer cover us the public sense of insecurity.