High Time To Sort Out Differences

Prem N. Kakkar

THE country is going through a transition phase, which is considered difficult times by any standard. There are records of other countries having immense hardships on the way to lasting peace and political stability. Yet, the case of Nepal is totally different from other such countries where third party mediation was necessary. It goes to the credit of the Nepalese people that they themselves chose to solve their own problems. If that had not been the case the story would have been different.

Return of democracy

The success of the April uprising proves that the people cannot take brutal rule for long. The bubble has to burst, and it did a little over a year back. It was a time to rejoice at the achievement, the return of democracy and reinstatement of the House of Representatives. Of course, things are different now with various contentious issues coming up in recent times. The eight parties that were instrumental in bringing the country to the present state are once again at the centre stage. The interim government was formed, and the legislature parliament is there. But the past agreements between the Seven Party Alliance and the Maoists have not been adhered to fully. This is quite unfortunate. In fact, the hurried pace at doing many things can be cited as the root cause for many of the problems that we see today.

It has been a long time since the leaders of the eight parties have sat down to sort out thorny issues. In the meanwhile, the legislature-parliament proceeding have been disrupted due to disgruntled lawmakers. The Speaker of the parliament tried his best to get the House proceedings to move smoothly by holding consultation with the leaders of the various parties, including Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, but to no avail. Wednesday's proceeding was adjourned even before it could begin. The next meeting is scheduled for May 24 by when the Speaker hopes matters would be resolved.The other day, too, Prime Minister Koirala had a meeting with the lawmakers from the Terai who have put up many demands. It is reported that the prime minister was positive to the concerns of the Terai MPs. It was just an attempt to break the deadlock. The stalemate in the legislature parliament is costing the country dearly because several bills need urgent clearance, including some concerning the constituent assembly elections. But as the proceeding have not taken place, the delay has only lengthened. The same leaders who want greater speed have actually slowed the process down.

The eight-party meeting has not taken place since the Election Commission (EC) said that the CA polls cannot be held by mid-June. Despite Premier Koirala's meeting with several of the eight-party leaders, nothing concrete has developed so far. It seems that the Maoists are distancing themselves as they want a republic to be declared by the parliament itself, which is not backed by the Nepali Congress. This seems to have created a sense of mistrust, which must be removed at all cost.The unity of the eight parties is very crucial in giving a safe passage to the country. This has been stressed time and again. It is consensus that has made the country rebound in the past several months and that is what is needed at present. Not seeing eye to eye cannot be beneficial to any party, let alone the people. An important thing is that the management of the Maoist cantonments must be undertaken as soon as possible. The living conditions of the Maoist combatants deserves attention if the second phase of the verification process is to continue.

Unity

There are many tasks ahead that need to be addressed so that the eight-party unity can continue. The unity is needed because without it there are dangers that the regressive elements, according to many political leaders, will topple the achievements made so far. The leaders know well that the genuine problems of the various agitating groups have to be resolved so that the political situation is conducive to holding the CA polls. When they all realise this, they should come forward to sit together and discuss the issues and possible solutions. That is the only way out through a consensus. But for this to happen, flexibility is the key requirement as their moves are not for themselves alone but for the Nepali people in general.

Source: The Rising Nepal, May 18, 2007