Worries About Water Politics

John Child

A Maoist minister's move to block a much-needed drinking water project for Nepal's capital is more about politics as usual than power to the people. As Kathmandu residents queue under the tropical sun for water of dubious purity pumped from battered tank trucks, a much-delayed project to bring water to the city from the Melamchi River to the east appears about to collapse. Maoist Minister of Water Resources Hisila Yami has blocked a critical contract at the last minute, citing concerns about the foreign company which has been hired to manage distribution of the water.

Not even Minister Yami disputes the necessity of the project: Kathmandu is chronically short of water. In the 1980s it became clear that action was needed, and surveys selected Melamchi as the best source close to the city. In 1998 the Asian Development Bank threw its weight behind the project, and serious planning began. In 2001 the Nepal government announced that funding commitments from the finance ministry and international donors had been reached, and it initiated the massive project.

The plan calls for a 26-kilometer (16-mile) tunnel to deliver the water, with associated access roads, power lines and water treatment facilities. Importantly, the plan also requires a private agency to manage the water supply in the Kathmandu Valley in place of the inefficient and corruption-ridden Nepal Water Supply Corporation.

The plan called for completion of the Melamchi project in 2007. So far only part of the access road has been built. Delays caused by political bickering and frequent changes of government are partly to blame. The Maoist insurrection caused long work stoppages, and disputes with contractors led to several false starts. In the face of this, some donors withdrew and other money had to be found.

With contract and funding commitments due to expire early in 2007, the Nepal government last year created an independent water supply board, Kathmandu Valley Drinking Water Limited (KUKL), to hire a private water management company. KUKL received only one bid on its contract, from Severn Trent, one of the ten privatized English water suppliers, and it accepted Severn Trent's $8.5 million, six-year proposal. The company's fee is to be paid directly by the Asian Development Bank. With the original deadline already passed and an emergency extension of the ADB contract set to expire next month, Yami's refusal to approve the Severn Trent contract and the bank's threat to pull all its funding if the deal isn't completed immediately may kill the project.

Minister Yami points to Severn Trent's spotty record in England, where it has been convicted of overcharging customers and misleading regulators and where the government's serious fraud office is investigating the company. She also is reluctant to have a foreign company given the lucrative contract, and says she is confident that Nepali bidders would come forward if the contract were re-opened. Yami has also played up Severn Trent's announced plans to immediately double the effective water tariff for most Kathmandu Valley households.
No doubt those concerns are sincere. But the risk of having the long-planned and vitally important project collapse is so serious that she must have other motives too, ones that are vitally important to her. Cynics suggest that the prospect of renegotiating the contract and perhaps even the whole project, with attending lucrative commissions and kickbacks, is motive enough. Perhaps. But ordinary politics can explain Yami's action.

Consider the situation from the perspective of the long-time member of the Maoist politburo. The Maoist struggle continues in, as Prachanda said last week, "street, parliament, and government." There are big issues on the table: Maoist return of seized land, ethnic tensions in the south, reigning-in the Young Communist League, scheduling a date for elections, and a Maoist-led teacher's strike. Yami saw the Melamchi project as a big chip, and she has laid it down.
Whatever her other motivations, Minister Yami is playing power politics at the highest level with the Melamchi project. The move may already be bearing fruit: Shortly after she said that "other options" would become available even if the ADB and Severn Trent pulled out, Koirala approved funds to build 1,000 barracks-style buildings to replace tents in the Maoist cantonments. Revolutionary or not, Minister Yami clearly knows how to play the old game.

Source: News Blaze, May 25, 2007

Nepal's Terai MPs not happy with new commission

Though Nepal's coalition government announced the formation of a probe panel to investigate the violence in the Terai plains this year, MPs from the area said they were still not satisfied.The dissenting MPs have paralysed the parliament for over a month over the issue.At a cabinet meeting held Friday to discuss the various crises gripping the country, the council of ministers announced a five-member commission to probe the mounting violence in the Terai plains in which nearly 80 people have died.Headed by Supreme Court judge Khilraj Regmi, the commission also includes a lower court judge Janardan Bahadur Khadka, a senior police officer, deputy inspector general of Nepal Police Rabindra Pratap Shah, an official of the state intelligence department, Sukha Chandra Jha of the National Investigation Centre, and joint attorney general Raj Narayan Pathak.

The commission has been asked to submit its report within a month.Despite the formation of a commission, Terai MPs Saturday said they were not satisfied with the gesture and would decide if they should allow the house to proceed.The stalled house was scheduled to convene Saturday afternoon.Bijay Gachchedar, a powerful MP from the plains and former minister from deposed prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's Nepali Congress (Democratic) party, said the plains legislators would hold an emergency meeting to decide on their next move.'The formation of the commission doesn't address all our demands,' Gachchedar told IANS. 'Though meant to probe violence targeting the Madhesi community (people mostly of Indian origin living in the southern plains), it doesn't include a single Madhesi.'

Different Terai groups had been demanding the setting up of the commission for a long time. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's government was finally forced to announce the commission as MPs from the southern plains, cutting across party lines, have obstructed parliament proceeding since last month, vowing they would not allow it to function till their demands were met.With the house remaining paralysed for over five weeks, the international community began pressuring the eight-party alliance to resolve the impasse. This week, ambassadors from the European Union countries based in Nepal, one of the kingdom's biggest donors, met both Koirala and Maoist chief Prachanda to express their growing concern at the 'deteriorating internal political situation'.Besides the commission, the dissenting MPs are demanding that the government scrap an earlier commission formed to delineate fresh election constituencies, especially in the Terai belt.'We want a fresh census in Terai,' Gachchedar said. 'New constituencies should be formed only after that.'

Thousands of Terai residents have been living without citizenship for decades, owing to neglect of the belt by a succession of governments. As a result, they can't vote or hold government jobs.Though the Maoist guerrillas signed a peace pact last year, signifying an end to their decade-old armed uprising demanding a republic, a fresh movement began in the Terai plains with the Diaspora demanding higher representation in the government and greater rights.Although the new government began issuing fresh citizenship certificates, Terai residents say thousands still lack them.After weeks of stalling, Koirala has finally called a meeting of top leaders of the eight parties Saturday. Leaders of the alliance are expected to come up with a fresh date for the much-awaited election.They have to also decide how to end a strike that has closed down Nepal's schools for nine days now. Another task at hand is to find fresh donors to continue with an ambitious drinking water supply project that runs the risk of being grounded once the Asian Development Bank's financial commitment ends June 30.Last but not the least, they also have to find a way of combating an imminent fuel crisis as supplies from India dry out because the main fuel transit point at Birgunj-Raxaul will close down due to elections in Bihar.

Source: Malaysia Sun, May 29, 2007

Maoists bar Indian vehicles in Nepal

KATHMANDU: Nepal Maoists forced Indian vehicles to return to India, accusing its neighbour of encroaching upon Nepalese territory, a news report has said. Accusing India of encroaching upon Nepalese territory and alleging that Indian vehicles were plying in the Himalayan state illegally without paying any tax, Young Communist League (YCL), the Maoist youth wing, turned back at least 50 vehicles to India at the Pashupati Nagar customs point while taking out a rally on Sunday. Security has been beefed up at the Pashupati Nagar customs point along the Nepal-India border after Indian vehicles were forced to return to India. The situation was tense after around 100 YCL cadres shouted slogans such as "stop border encroachment," "down with expansionism" at the border point. Following the YCL activities, top Indian border security officials, expressing serious concern over the incident, have stepped up ‘inspections" of the bordering areas.

Source: The Times of India, May 29, 2007

People’s War in Nepal: Genesis and Development

ANAND SWAROOP VERMA, GAUTAM NAVLAKHA

In Maoist understanding, People’s War (PW) is 80 per cent politics and 20 per cent warfare. The decisive factor in a war o f this genre is not guns but the mobilisation of people for seizing power through protracted war. This is not to underplaythe significance of armed struggle in Maoist politics or to delink one from the other, but to stress that the mark of Maoist success lies in their emergence as the dominant political and ideological force in Nepal. The remarkable political consistency and dexterity displayed by them in sticking to their strategic goals and making their agenda (a democratic republic through an elected constituent assembly, interim government, under an interim constitution, etc) the basis, if not the rallying point, for ending the civil war, and attempting to win the mandate to constitutionally transform the state, are its articulation. In this paper we confine ourselves to the period 1990 onwards, leading up to PW – the period from February 1996 to the “12-point agreement” of November 2005. We highlight the elements of continuity in the salient features of the strategy of PW implemented by the Maoists.

Degenerate Parliamentary Politics

It is worth recalling that the armed struggle of the Nepalese people against feudal monarchy is as old as the kingdom itself. Thus struggle persisted even after the 1950 overthrow of Rana autocracy, which had wielded state power until then. The 1950 Indian intervention, which restored the king’s power, was soon followed by several anti-feudal struggles in 1952-53, primarily in western Nepal. In these struggles, government officials were removed, feudal landlords were eliminated and foodgrains looted and redistributed. Failing to subdue this rebellion, the king sought the help of Indian troops. In 1959 when the Nepali Congress, then led by B P Koirala, signed Gandak agreement with India it triggered off violent protests against it. The Nepali Congress which was thrown out by the king on December 16, 1960, then initiated in 1962 and again in 1971 an armed uprising. In 1972-73, inspired by Naxalbari, an armed struggle broke out in Jhapa. The introduction of the multiparty system in 1991, as a sequel to the protracted struggle against partyless Panchayat regime, spurred the people’s aspirations at various levels. In these 30 years, 1960-1990, the democratic forces went through lot of trials and tribulations. Since the Nepali Congress had at one time held the reins of power and had developed cordial foreignrelations, particularly with the ruling classes of India, it did not bear the bruntof repression. Despite the fact that it took to arms in 1962 and 1971, its movement against the monarchical system remained qualitatively different from that launched by the left forces. Many communist formations were active during this time, the most powerful among them being the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) (CPN(ML)). The party, inspired by the Naxalbari movement in India, had carried out a peasant led anti-feudal movement in

Jhapa in easternNepal

Without going into the strategy and tactics adopted by the Jhapa peasant movement, Economic and Political Weekly May 19, 2007 1840 it can certainly be said that the movement laid the traditions of communist struggle and sacrifice. Several activists of the CPN(ML) were killed, many more were put behind the bars, while the land and the properties of many others were attached by the state. In spite of repression, many young people left their home and hearth and dedicated their lives to the establishment of a genuinely democratic order. The CPN(ML), in its First National Convention (held between December 26, 1978 and January 1, 1979) had resolved that “(t)he party…shall unite and lead through a protracted peoples’ struggle all such progressive forces who are committed towards the victory of the ‘New Democratic Revolution’ in Nepal as a prerequisite for the eventual establishment of a socialist and communist society.”1 The resolution identified the agrarian revolution as the kernel of the new democratic revolution and committed itself to uproot “the power of big landlords through armed struggle”.2 After the declaration of a multiparty system, the CPN(ML) which had so far been functioning underground started working as an open political party. They tried to unite other left formations and were successful to a considerable extent. The party in association with Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist), led by Manmohan Adhikari, formed the Unified Marxist-Leninist Party,which was christened CPN(UML). The CPN(UML) participated in the first democratic elections held on May 12, 1991 after the establishment of the multiparty system. Although the party was a newcomer in the electoral arena, it scored major victories in various places as compared to the Nepali Congress, well steeped in the rituals of parliamentary democracy. In this election, the Nepali Congress won 110 seats, whereas CPN(UML) captured 69 seats. Undoubtedly, against all odds, it was a great achievement for the CPN(UML).In subsequent elections, the party forged ahead of the Nepali Congress and, for the first time in south Asia, a communistgovernment took over the reins of power at the national level. Yet, once the party entered the realm of parliamentary politics, it jettisoned its historical legacy to bring about social transformation, beginning withradical land reforms. Instead, in order to remain in power it took recourse to the same means adopted by the Nepali Congress. Thus if the Nepali Congress took the support of the pro-monarchy Rashtriya Prajatantrik Party (RPP), then the same means were adopted by the CPN(UML).

The RPP was then led by Lokendra Bahadur Chand and Surya Bahadur Thapa who had earlier been prime ministers in the panchayat system. In fact, Lokendra Bahadur Chand was the prime minister at a time when a massive and unprecedented protest movement was taking place outside the Royal Palace in 1990. In September 1995, the Nepali Congress government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba had secured the support of RPP. In March 1997, CPN(UML) helped install RPP’s Lokendra Bahadur Chand as the PM in spite of the fact that the CPN(UML) had 90 members of Parliament (MPs), whereas RPP could boast of only 10. This was done to prevent Nepali Congress from forming the government. Again in October 1997, the Nepali Congress helped in installing the RPP’s Surya Bahadur Thapa as PM. At that time, the RPP had only 17 MPs, whereas Nepali Congress could boast of a strength of 85 MPs. The Nepali Congress resorted to this ploy to prevent the communists from forming the government. In March 1998, there was a split in the CPN (UML) and 40 MPs walked out of the party to form CPN(ML).The same story was repeated when the new party also indulged in playing the same power brokering games as its predecessor. In August 1998, the new party, in collaboration with the Nepali Congress formed the government. In this descent towards degeneration, CPN(UML) could not be expected to be an exception. In December 1998, the coalition government of the Nepali Congress and the splinter group CPN(ML) collapsed. Immediately afterwards, as on cue, the CPN(UML) formed the government in alliance with the Nepali Congress.

Locating People’s War

It would not be far-fetched to say that to remain in power at any cost, the political parties betrayed the trust of the people. It is against this background and resultant disenchantment of people with parliamentary brokering, in particular with the tacticsof the parliamentary communist parties, that one can locate PW. First the 1990 transfer of power from the palace to the political parties gave wind to people’s expectations. Whereas in the Terai region, the people’s expectations were for endingfeudal landlordism which was rampant, in the far-flung areas in the east as well as west, the popular demand was to end the neglect of these regions. On both counts, the political parties failed. Moreover, the shenanigans of the communists hastened the process of disenchantment. Also, while the international situation was unfavourable for the launch of social transformatory projects, conditions nationally were just the opposite. Nepal’s economy was in a crisis by 1994-95. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stipulates that any country whose foreign debt is 200-250 per cent of the value of exports and debtservicing ratio is 20 per cent of the same is in a “critical stage”. Nepal’s foreign debt jumped to 600 per cent of the total export trade and debt servicing to exports reached 35 per cent. Profligacy and scarcity, typical of a nascent capitalist country with strong feudal roots, not only contributed to low capital formation but also made it dependent on foreign donors for up to 70 per cent of its revenue needs. The migration of people in search of jobs had pickedup in the 1970s and began to surge towards the end of the 1980s. The economic embargo imposed by India in 1989 brought home rather painfully the dependent nature of the relationship with India. In initiating the PW, the Maoists werenot simply engaging in combat; the very act of fighting was political. Acquisition of weapons by looting the armouries toarm themselves was as much a mark of their independence as of their awareness that any challenge to undermine the statusquo would invite military suppression. It was increasingly realised that radical land reform, women’s liberation, the right ofself-determination of nationalities and social justice could not be brought about through parliament under the 1990 constitution.

Even the actual conduct of the Maoists was pregnant with revolutionarytactic s. Their secret parleys with Birendra (king of Nepal from 1972 until 2001), playing on his patriotism and Sihanouk like role, achieved its aim, even as they were able to maintain a line of communication with the political parties. Thereby the Maoists delayed the deployment of the army against them until they were prepared. They won this time by exploiting the contradictions between the palace and the political parties on the one hand, especially over the control exercised by the king over the army, and between thevarious political parties on the other. When the PW began on February 13, 1996, it was dismissed as being of no major consequence.And, as in the past, a “police action” was felt to be capable of quelling this problem.4 However, by 2000 India and the US began pressurising the Nepal government to bring in the army. It was Economic and Political Weekly May 19, 2007 1841the attack on Dunai which was the headquarters of Dolpa district, on September 24, 2000, which brought home what it meant to keep the army out of the fighting. The army unit, based in the district headquarter watched while the Maoists destroyed the police station; it did not intervene. It was after this incident that the tussle between the king and the political parties for control and deployment of the army began in earnest. Although king Birendra gave into international and national pressure by the end of April 2001 and agreed to anIntegrated Security and Development Programme which was meant to bring in the army to the frontline in the fight against the Maoists. Nevertheless, following the assassination of king Birendra and his family on June 1, 2001, the situation changed dramatically.

Advantage of Hindsight

With the advantage of hind sight, it is worth a pause to consider how the Maoists expanded and consolidated their positionduring the PW. The People’s War did not emerge in a vacuum or out of simply exploiting opportunities that came the way of the Maoists. It emerged after long years of political work amongst the people, debating the failings of earlier struggles, including Jhapa. There was intense debate and differences over tactics and strategy amongst their top leadership as well as the rank and file, and above all, about creating the opportunities. The most endearing quality of the Maoists has been their willingness to learn from every crisis, of which they were witness to several. A crisis was turned into an opportunity. It is this which enabled them to overcome the near split in the party in 2004-05 and bounce back strongly so as to be able to reach an agreement with the seven political parties by November 2005. In the process the question of “democracy” withinthe party got a boost.

But, in 1995-96, the world was different. On December 13, 1995 in an interview given to The Independent, Baburam Bhattarai, a senior leader of the CPN(M) said that “every revolution appears as a dream before it is made…(and) appears like a nightmare for the reactionary classes before and after it is made”. And certainly, two months before the PW actually commenced this did appear to be a foolhardy enterprise. But commitment, perseverance and critical reflection pay. The Maoists leaders and leading cadres had been working underground long before the PW began. Some such as Kiran and Gaurav, from the 1960s, although most of the others began their journey from 1970s onwards. Prachanda and most of his other comrades began their political life in 1970s. When the first elections took place after the jan andolan of 1990 on May 12, 1991,the Samyukta Jan Morcha (United Peoples Front), headed by Baburam Bhattarai, won nine seats. The UPF was the open front of the communist group called Ekta Kendra (Unity Centre), which believed in armed struggle and was working underground. Though their seats were fewer than the seats won by the Nepali Congress or CPN(UML), the UPF secured the third position. Even as the UPF was taking part in the elections, the leaders of Ekta Kendra publicly campaigned that the Nepali people will not benefit from this parliament.

Meanwhile in December 1991, the Communist Party of Nepal (Ekta Kendra) which was reconstituted in 1986, changed its name to Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and after long deliberations and discussions, and some parting of ways, evolved the present line. Within this ideological context, the party came to the conclusion that PW is the only path for the successful completion of the New Democratic Revolution which would entail the encirclement of the cities from it villages, and, in this process, guerrilla warfare would play a strategic role. Following this the party carried out a large-scale survey in 1992 covering 18 districts. The objective of the survey was to identify the ways and means for initiating and carrying out PW. Several districts such as Rolpa, Rukum, Gorkha, Sindhuli, Dhanusha and Kavrepalanchowk were chosen for carrying out the preparatory work. In January 1994, when the CPN(UML) was in power, the Maoists had submitted a 38-point charter of demands concerning “nationalism, people’s democracy and people’s livelihood”. Thus between 1990 and 1994, through public meetings, posters and pamphlets, the UPF leaders had been emphasising that the parliamentary system serves those who have been exploiting and tyrannising the common people. In 1994, mid-term elections took place in Nepal and the UPFboycotted it. The boycott of elections by them and the movement launched by Maoists against the local landlords andmoneylenders was seen by the government as discarding parliamentary politics. As a result, large-scale repression was unleashed on the supporters of UPF and the Front had no other option but to go underground.On February 4, 1996 the CPN(Maoist) submitted, through UPF a 40-point charter of demands to the then government headed by Sher Bahadur Deuba, giving that government a two-week ultimatum. But, a few days before the ultimatum was to expire, on February 13, they declared protracted People’s War against the state. The charter of demands were no different than what UPF had been demanding since April 1992, related to nationalism, democracy and livelihood issues. Thus, the first demand under “Concerning Nationality” was for abrogating “(a)ll discriminatory treaties, including the 1950 Nepal-India Treaty”. Under “Concerning People’s Democracy” the first demand was for drafting a new “constitution… by representatives elected for the establishment of a people’s democracy”. And finally, the first item under “Concerning Livelihood” demanded that “(l)and should belong to ‘tenants’. Land under the control of the feudal system should be confiscated and distributed to the landless and the homeless.” Besides, the 40-point demand focused on women and dalits as the two most discriminated groups, even amongst the exploited classes/ strata. And, they did so by mobilising them in the first instance. In other words, the 40-point demands were not a mere rhetorical device but were meant to be takenseriously, since these demands encapsulated their politics. That the charter of demands was dismissed in the first instance by the political parties had much to do with their bloated self-image, borne of being “mainstream” parties, either in power or as contenders for acquiring power.

In an atmosphere of repression and resistance, the Central Committee of the Party held its Fourth Extended Meeting in mid-1998. A “New Plan for New Stage” was chalked out in the meeting. Based on the experience of the past two and a halfyears, the party drew some important conclusions regarding this particular issue. At the ideological level, the party made an attempt to develop a clear perspective regarding the distinction between a guerrilla zone and a base area. Accordingto the party, in a protracted PW, without a base area, there cannot be any surroundingof the cities by the countryside. Thus,whereas PW had established itself as a parallel power centre via-a-vis the state, the party’s assessment was that it was quite weak in terms of military strength. Therefore, augmentation of people’s military might was identified as the main task.Based on its own experience, the Party Economic and Political Weekly May 19, 2007 1842underscored the point that if people do notpossess military strength then it would not be possible to protect and uphold their achievements. Besides, due to lack of military might, people tend to lose their initiative. Thus the speedy formation of the new state necessitated the augmentation of military strength.5

Development of People’s War

In order to augment their military capabilities, many qualitative changes were carried out in the third year of PW. Andbigger armed actions had been initiated by the party. But the interesting thing to note is that simultaneously while the war was being waged between 1998 and 2003, the ongoing process of formation of the new state was sought to be based on democratic principles. And the party was engaged in discussing the strategic importance of democracy for the new Nepal in the making, as well as the question of dissent, discipline and centralisation during the war within the party. People’s rule was organised at the village, region and base area levels; the principle of democratic centralism was followed. In areas where people’s local governments were in operation, the entire population were broughtunder the fold of various organisations and the right to recall their elected representatives encouraged. Above all, the new political setup was expected to harness human resources for economic resuscitation while fulfilling essential economic, social and cultural needs of the people. In 10 years what the Maoists achieved appears modest, but looked at from wherethey began, it is a novel people-oriented development, a story yet to be written. Within three months of king Birendra’sassassinat ion, negotiations took place in August 2001 between the government and the Maoists. Arguably, both sides needed a breathing space and used the period to consolidate themselves. However, the difference lay in their stated position at the negotiations.

The Maoists stuck to their stance in terms of their demand for a round-table conference, an interim government andformation of an elected constituent assembly (CA), whereas the government appeared to have no clear idea other than wanting the Maoists to capitulate. And, once the September 11, 2001 attack took place in the US and the “war on terror” began, the prospects of talks dimmed perceptibly. When the talks broke down in November 2001, a few days later, theMaoists overran a big army garrison in western Nepal. The message sent out was clear while they favoured a democratic closure of the civil war, they were prepared to engage in war. By 2002, the tussle between king Gyanendra and the politicalparties had reached a new crisis point with the king declaring a state of emergency, dissolving local government bodies anddismissing the Deuba government because it had failed to hold general elections. The demand for an elected CA, however, was gaining supporters, with elements within the political parties discovering that the CA was a means to undercut the monarchy.Thus the PW entered a new phase, in which debate over an elected CA was gaining adherents. This was carried on until January 29, 2003 when a ceasefire was reached once again, and negotiations were attempted for the second time. However, while the government of Lokendra Bahadur Chand appeared keen, it failed to live up to ist commitments in releasing imprisoned Maoist leaders and non-implementation of the agreement to limit the army to within a five kilometre radius of the barracks. The last straw was the deliberate massacre of 19 unarmed Maoist cadres in Doramba by the RNA in August 2003. This compelled the Maoists to withdraw from the talks. While the talks derailed, by early 2005 it had become clear the king’s army couldnot deal a fatal blow to PW. This brought about a “tectonic shift”; by November 2005 the Indian authorities saw an advantage in encouraging the seven political parties to reach an understanding with the Maoists.

The remarkable thing, despite all the ups and downs, is that the two rounds of negotiations show the continuity in the Maoists’ position. In 2001 they had publicly proposed that if an elected CA was accepted by the government, then they were prepared to be part of the interim government and therefore favoured a roundtable conference. This remained their position as well in 2003. Indeed by 2005 and 2006 those very same demands became the common rallying point for the democratic movement in its entirety. Graduating from being a rag-tag band ofrevolutionaries to becoming the centre of people’s struggle was no mean achievement. This was the result of their creating as well as seizing opportunities. When they claim that they combine strategic firmness with tactical flexibility their politics testifies to that. It is this that catapulted them to become the leading political force in Nepal.Their success lies not only in gaining legitimacy for their transformatory project within Nepal, but also in their boldness to address failures of other socialist experiments in order to learn from the mistakes committed. In concrete terms, the Nepali Maoists have put the question of democracy within the party as well as in the new state in the making at the centre stage.

In an interview to The Worker (No10, May 2006) Prachanda had said that “(w)e know…that in today’s world the usefulness of the tactics to use parliament has come to an end. But continuous boycotting of a system without considering the situation of a country and its people is not Marxism”. Instead his party “believes that within the anti-feudal and anti-imperialist constitutional framework, only through multiparty competition…can counterrevolution be prevented”. Multiparty competition can also help realise people’s control, monitoring and intervention in governance. In another interview given in July 2006 Prachanda pointed out that if one looks at the “essence of that which we are calling democratic republic then… within that we’ve raised the class question, nationality question, gender question andthe regional question. If all these four issues are solved then it amounts to having a new democratic republic…but since weare also talking about peaceful competition with the bourgeoisie, its form looks like bourgeois democracy, whereas it isnew democratic in essence”.6 Whether they will succeed, how exactly this democracy would function and what contradictions will this generate remain to be seen. But this cannot detract from acknowledging their advancement of revolutionary politics. No sooner Maoists joined the interim government, they declared that they wanted Nepal, even in the interim period, to become a democratic federal republic. This is not a sign of their impetuosity or irresponsibility.

In fact therein lies their relentless pursuit of their objective through mass struggle. If Nepal becomes a democratic federal republic, then each and every party, currently espousing the republican agenda, will have to spell out its vision of what in essence this means to them. This would provide a distinct advantage to the Maoists since they have a radical programme, some experience of running their own government, and suffer least from a popular trust deficit, which afflicts the seven political parties. For instance, since they had already begun introducing major reforms in their base areas, including land re-distribution, they are disinclined to roll them back. Apart from the immediate gain for them, this will restore democracy and boost the struggle for real democracy, which is right at the centre of the revolutionary project. The Maoists are seeking to gain legitimacy for their project by winning the mandate of the people through elections to restructure the state in such a way that real inequalities do not negate formal equality under law. This struggle for “real democracy” inspires hope ecause theyhave brought more than 20 million crore people in Nepal a historic opportunity to take a big leap forward in their fight for justice. It is this journey, or “transitional democracy” as Maoists characterise it, which rekindles hope that the revolutionary left in south Asia in general, and the Maoists in Nepal in particular, are capable of fusing armed and mass struggles as well as conceptualising a democratic egalitarian state and society. What remains to be seen is whether they realise what had appearedto them to be a “dream” in 1995.

Email: gautamnavlakha@ hotmail.com

Notes

1 Political resolution of CPN(ML), party’s underground publication, 1979, p 20.2 Ibid, p 27.3 The sixth Congress of the Communist Party ofNepal (UML) was held in January 1998 andit is apparent, if we look into the statements of party general secretary Madhav Nepal, politburo member C P Mainali and others on the eve of the Congress, that CPN(UML) was grappling with regression within the party. General secretary Madhav Nepal had said in an interview, “Bourgeois deviations are growing within the party. Corruption, misuse of office and charm for a luxurious lifestyle is on the rise. Petty bourgeois individualism and lust for power are acquiring deeper roots and a very large number of opportunists and self-seekers have become active in the party…anarchism, indiscipline and lumpenism are ever on the rise. There is no importance of party decisions and discipline. If a decision is favourable or to one’s liking, it is implemented, and if it is not, then there is an increasing tendency to defy it – either collectively or in a group mentality” (Interview of Madhav Nepal Mansir 2054, Mulyankan (Kathmandu), pp 5-7). A senior leader and ideologue of the party, C P Manali, was also of a similar view, that various deviations regarding the character of the party, its functional style and disciplinary matters have surfaced. He attributed it largely to the compulsions to contest elections. He said “the party has been, at many places, reduced to a front of the communists and communist sympathisers, giving rise to the dangers of the weakening of the party character” (op cit, pp 8-9).4 Until 1999-2000, India’s ministry of home affairs (MHA) and the ministry of defence (MoD) in their annual reports, did not once refer to the presence of Maoists in Nepal. Their main concern then was Pakistan’s support for “anti- India activities from Nepal” and “growth of religious fundamentalist organisations” along the Indo-Nepal border. It was in 2000-01 that the reports begin to refer to Maoists. MoD annual report of 2000-01 spoke of a “development of concern… increasing intensity and spread of Maoist violence within Nepal”.After that there was no turning back. When MHA wrote in its annual report of 2001-02 of “the decision of the MCC [Maoist Communist Centre] and the CPIML-PW [Communist Party of India (Marxists Leninist) (People’s War)] to tie up with the CPN(M) to carve out a ‘CompactRevolutionar y Zone’.” The MoD annual report of the same year claimed that “India has also offered such assistance as is desired by Nepal” to address Maoist extremism.5 Report of the general secretary, CPN(Maoist), The Worker, No 4, 1998. Also see‘ThirdTurbulant Year of People’s War: A General Review’, article by CPN (Maoist) general secretary Prachanda, February 1999. Also see,‘Experiences of the People’s War and SomeImportant Questions’, Document of the Fourth Extended Meeting, August, 1998.6 Interview of Prachanda by A S Verma, July 29,2006. at www.insn.org

Source: Economic and Political Weekly (EPW), May 19, 2007

Coming Closer

The eight-party leaders came together Saturday to discuss the impending issues afflicting the country. The meeting has been able to end the deadlock that weakened the process of communication and dialogue among the political actors in the country. For the last one plus months, a purposeful communication and dialogue have not been able to take place among the political actors in the country. There are several important subjects that lend impetus to the peace-building process. Major decisions have to be taken to clear the confusion and end the uncertainties to consolidate peace and harmony in the country. Several low intensity conflicts and tensions have erupted in different parts of the country. These have given rise to a number of confrontations tending to vitiate the current political situation in the country.

The Madhesi issue and similar demands and subjects raised by the Janajatis have to be addressed to bring about normalisation and peace in the country. The Madhesis have expressed their disenchantment and disappointment over the current framework of state structuring and power sharing arrangements. The agitation looming over Madhesh and voices of discontent coming from that part should be tackled through dialogue. In the same vein, the Janajatis have demanded that the state should take their voices into account and redress their grievances with a sense of justice. It is in the interest of peace and democracy that the government is seeking to establish a channel of communication and interaction with the Madhesis and Janajatis. The panel headed by senior minister in the coalition government Ram Chandra Poudel has been working to overcome the problems and address the issues through mutual appreciation of national interests.

Moreover, the date for the polls to the constituent assembly has to be decided and announced soon. As the eight-party leaders have agreed to further the process of dialogue and negotiation, it is expected that the impending subjects, including fixing the date for the polls to the constituent assembly, would be decided through mutual concurrence and understanding. A positive sense of mutual dialogue and negotiation would alone contribute to institutionalising peace and democracy. For this, the political actors need to join their hands in a constructive spirit.

Source: The Rising Nepal, May 28, 2007

Bhutan : Situation Of Ethnic Nepalis

Kazi Gautam

A New-York based human rights organisation - Human Rights Watch (HRW) - made public its report in Kathmandu on May 17. In the report, the HRW has presented a report on the situation of ethnic Nepalis in Bhutan, the condition of the refugees in the camps and three options available to the refugees. The study has highlighted that ethnic Nepalis residing in Bhutan have been facing constant prejudice and ongoing threats to their citizenship status, and implies there could be more ethnic cleansing in the days ahead. Problems of ethnic Nepalis According to an official census conducted in 2005, 13 per cent of Bhutan's current permanent residents are "non-nationals". Following the census, new ID cards are being distributed to all recognised Bhutanese citizens. But those eligible for receiving the ID cards are F1 (genuine Bhutanese citizens) and F4 (non-national women married to Bhutanese men, and their children). A lack of 'No Objection Certificates' (NOC) barred others from getting the ID.

The NOCs were introduced by the government following political instability in the south in the early 1990s when the Lhotsampas (Nepali speaking people) revolted against the Druk regime. NOCs are issued by the Royal Bhutan Police (RBP) only if they receive confirmation from the Dzongdag (district administrator) that a person in question is not in any way involved in "anti-national activity". NOCs are required for enrollment in higher education, employment in the civil service, obtaining business and trading licenses, travel documents and the like. During the last census, the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGB) did not allow a large portion of Lhotsampas to enlist their names in the voting list. They were asked to produce NOCs before their names could be included in the voting list. But the RBP did not provide them the NOC, alleging them that they had constant touch with the refugees living in Nepal. Some 70,000 Lhotsampas were not included in the mock election that Bhutan conducted last month. The lack of NOCs does not allow the Bhutanese to get involved in any sort of political or governmental activities. On the other hand, ethnic Nepalis are always in fear that their NOC and citizenship might be snatched away if they keep relations with the refugees. Some refugees who sometimes visit the camps refuse to talk about their present condition in Bhutan. They fear that the source of information might be revealed to the Bhutanese authorities and that might eventually become a reason to get evicted from the country.

The practice of forced labour still exists in southern Bhutan. Ethnic Nepalis must provide free labour. They have to assist the Drukpas to get resettled on the land that was once owned by the refugees. There is no instruction in the Nepali language, even in schools in the southern districts - only Dzongkha and English are taught. Ethnic Nepalis are still expected to wear gho (for men) and kira (for women), the traditional Drukpa clothes, in schools and other public places, as stipulated by the king's 1989 decree of Driglam Namza. A draft constitution released in March 2005 incorporates the discriminatory provisions of the 1985 Citizenship Act, and provides that Dzongkha is the national language of Bhutan, and that Buddhism is the "spiritual heritage of Bhutan".During the 14th SAARC summit, Nepalese Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and Foreign Minister Sahana Pradhan pressured their Bhutanese and Indian counterparts to accept all the Bhutanese refugees unconditionally. It was the first time that India and Bhutan had appeared positive. Bhutan had agreed to accept at least some refugees. However, instead of repatriating the refugees, it plans to evict more southerners from the country.

The people in Bhutan have often been tortured and harassed for no good reason. Due to lack of agencies to address their sufferings, they cannot be publicised. Moreover, the ill practices of Bhutan rarely reach the concerned authorities due to lack of an independent media to impart factual news. The Kuensel, a mouthpiece of the Druk regime, supports only the king's activities. The two private publications that have recently started, The Bhutan Observer and The Bhutan Times, are also under the clutch of the king. So they have failed to relay uncensored news. Also, there are no human rights agencies to look after and safeguard the rights of the people. The long endeavours of the Nepalese government to repatriate the refugees have not been able to bear any fruit. The steps taken so far to solve the impasse, including the bilateral talks, have turned out ineffective. Hence, the US has proposed third country resettlement. But Bhutan has considered this scheme to be in its favour, and decided to evict more Lhotsampas so that they could also be handled by the western countries.

Conscious people By this time, all the people residing in Bhutan - be they Sarchhops or even Drukpas, or Lhotsampas - have become highly conscious about their rights. They have eventually realised that the people in the refugee camps have been struggling to safeguard their rights as well. It should also be remembered that the Bhutanese - both inside and outside Bhutan - are committed to overthrowing the Wangchhuk dynasty. The united revolt of the people can put an end to any sort of government. The Great Revolt of 1857 in India against the British regime and the popular revolt of the Nepalese in 2006 to restore the rights seized by Gyanendra are common examples.When the Bhutanese political movement started in the early 1990s, only some people participated. The movement also lacked able leaders, and, thus, the movement turned out to a failure, forcing the people to become refugees. There were no inspection teams from human rights activists and other similar agencies. The movement also could not get wide media coverage as the international media did not get the information. The condition has, however, changed now. Slowly, the violation of human rights and other atrocities of the tin pot dictator are being slowly revealed to the outside world. Hence, other members of SAARC and the international community must take immediate action to safeguard the rights of some 100,000 Lhotsampas residing in Bhutan before they are made refugees.

Source: The Rising Nepal, May 29, 2007

Positive Deal

THE private schools that were shut down for almost two weeks have been reopened. The accord reached between the government and the teachers' forum has marked a fresh beginning to tackle impending issues in the education sector. The government has pledged to look into demands raised by the teachers and it is committed to take initiatives to resolve them within a month. As taken up by the striking teachers, private schools have several problems embedded within them. Though the education act embodies provisions governing operation of private schools, the education institutions have not fully complied with them. Several provisions in the education act are prescribed for running the private schools. . Conditions and criterion have been laid down to define the basis with which private schools could be established and operated.

The schools should have adequate physical facilities and children friendly environment. A set of qualified human resource should be employed in such schools. They should be remunerated according to law. However, these provisions have not been followed in letter and spirit. In the majority of cases, underqualified teachers have been employed in private schools and they are grossly underpaid. Moreover, teachers are not given written undertaking of their employment and the security of their job has not been guaranteed. It should be pointed out that the poor condition of the private schools is not because of the absence of the provisions in the relevant law but because of the lacklustre implementation. The district education office is responsible to oversee implementation of the legal provisions and ensure that violations of legal norms was fully checked.As the office has the wider regulatory power to monitor performance of the schools, any pitfall in the observance of law should be attributed to the weak monitoring and supervisory system in the line agency concerned. Since weak performance of the government office can be strengthened and improved through necessary inputs, teachers should not resort to any threatening tactics to pile pressure upon the government. Dialogues and collective bargaining should be adopted as the means to tackle problems as strikes not only disturbs academic cycle but also brings ruin to the future of the children.

Source: The Rising Nepal, May 29, 2007

Private Sector And Anti-Corruption Drive

Dhana Bahadur Mijar

Most of the people in general regard giving and/or accepting a bribe as corruption. In fact, it only is not true. Corruption is very comprehensive in term itself that covers many malpractices like fraud, embezzlement of public funds, misuse of public power for private gains, illegal political party funding, extortion, delaying work with expectation of bribe by the public servant etc. DefinitionIn terms of giving definitions, various organizations and prominent personalities have defined corruption like: World Bank has said "The abuse of public office for private gain." Similarly, as quoted by UNDP in Fighting against Corruption to Improve Governance, 1999, "Corruption is the misuse of public power or authority for private benefits-through bribery, extortion, influence peddling, nepotism, speed money or embezzlement."

Likewise, Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General has mentioned in the issues of corruption as definition like this:-"Corruption is an insidious plague that has a wide range of coercive effects on societies. It undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to violation of human rights, distorts markets, erodes the quality of life and allows organized crime, terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish." If we consider the above mentioned definition everybody can conclude that corruption erodes the value system and inflicts damage on all the sectors like social, political, financial etc. It also violates human rights. It is also worth mentioning here that a meeting of the world's nine economists including 4 Nobel laureates held in Copenhagen listed corruption as one of the 10 major problems of the world. According to them the first problem facing mankind was malnutrition and hunger, the second was contagious diseases with corruption being ranked third. They also warned that if anti-corruption movement is not launched seriously, the lives of people in most of nations would be uncontrollably ruined. Corruption and Ethics are closely related. A country where the majority of the people are indifferent to unethical and unpatriotic practices cannot be expected to have a harmonious development.

The United Nations has clearly visualized this fact. Hence, on December 9, 2003, to initiate the anti-corruption movement effectively, it made a declaration of Convention on Anti-Corruption. All member nations were called to sign the Declaration. Till date, more than 40 nations have done so. Nepal is also the signatory to the Declaration, but has yet to be pass the relevant law, rules and regulations.The number of agencies both in the government sector and private sector are active in the Anti-Corruption Movement in Nepal. Some of the prominent among them are the CIAA, National Vigilance Centre, Centre for Revenue Investigation, Office of the Auditor General etc. from the government side and likewise Transparency Interna-tional, Civil Society, Consumer's Forum, Press Media, Pro Public, ReMAC, SWATI and a number of NGO and INGOs are involved in anti-corruption camp-aign. They basically direct their effort towards dissemination of information and creating awareness as regards the anti-corruption movement. They have been functioning as strong pressure groups.Regarding all of these activities, FNCCI as an umbrella organization of 90 per cent of the private sector of Nepal has established Corporate Ethics Forum / Anti-Corruption Project to help for fighting against corruption. Basically, it has focused its activities on the private sector which is being often blamed as the bulk source for bribes. It operates on the belief that initiation on anti-corruption activities begins with a sense of social responsibility and that could be expected to minimize corruption in country.

The main goals of all the partners in the anti-corruption movement are to work for good governance, strive for a corruption free society and promote a clean and healthy business environment. FNCCI as an apex body of the industrial and business organization in the country has taken upon itself the responsibility to do away with corruption and unethical business behavior from within its ranks. Towards this end, a series of activities with far reaching consequences have been undertaken as well. AchievementHaving commenced since January 1, 2004 it phased out on March 31, 2006. Within the 27 month duration of its project, it has basically drafted 18 point business code of conduct (BCC) and passed by the 38th Annual General Meeting of FNCCI. Then Complaint Hearing Unit (CHU) has been established and its regulation "Complaint Hearing Unit Regulation-2062" has been enforced. This project had launched nearly 60 awareness programmes like Code of Conduct Orientation, CHU orientation and other anti-corruption awareness creating programmes. It may be a brick for supporting the business community to be clean of the blame of bulk source of bribe.

Source: The Rising Nepal, May 29, 2007

Peace & Democracy : Sustainability Measures

Yuba Nath Lamsal

Both peace and democracy are fragile in Nepal at present. Both are nascent, which need better nurturing and careful handling. If our political actors make a slight mistake, peace and democracy may be at risk.

A Fact

Democracy cannot flourish and function at the absence of peace. Our recent past is a witness to this fact. At the same time, sustainable peace is not possible without democracy and open society.Nepal used to be described as a peaceful country and a Himalayan Shangri-la until the Maoist insurgency began. But it was a coercive peace but not the spontaneous and sustainable peace. Coercive peace is the state of situation when political activities and dissenting voices are summarily suppressed. The dictators dub this situation as the state of peace. Whenever people get an opportunity, they revolt against the authoritarian regime and the coercive peace is automatically broken.

Before the Maoist insurgency began, there was no physical war or any armed conflict. But there were conflicts beneath the surface. There was ethnic grumbling against the discriminatory policy. Women were unhappy with the existing system as they were not treated equally and not given equal rights and opportunities. Dalits were suppressed and exploited but they were not allowed to speak against the exploitative and discriminatory system. Politically, a centralized system was in place with both political and military power in the hands of the so-called upper caste elites. Parties had been banned and political activities prohibited. Only those who supported the king's autocratic regime were allowed to function and carry out political activities. So there was a simmering disgruntlement among the general people who were out of the mainstream.

There was definitely no physical or military war but the mental and psychological conflict and war was always deep rooted in the society that came to the fore after the political change in 1990 and intensified after the Maoist armed insurgency started. The Maoist raised the issues that were never raised prominently before. The Maoist agenda were elimination of feudalism, introduction of proportional representation system in election, empowerment of women and other backward communities and their due representation in the political and decision making level. These issues and agenda of the Maoists attracted the hitherto oppressed and alienated people towards their political organization. As a result, the CPN-Maoist rose to such a powerful political organization around which the entire politics of Nepal has been revolving. But the state failed to assess the this disgruntlement against the system. The political parties, instead of addressing the problem politically, described the Maoist insurgency as a mere tempest in the teapot and tried to quell it by use of force, which miserably failed.

The conflict was there at every level even before the Maoist insurgency began. But it was the failure on the part of the state not to visualize the situation and take initiative to address the problem in time. They realized only when the situation had already got complicated. The political parties had to pay a heavy price for their inability to assess the situation in time and take effective measures to address it. The king, taking advantage from the situation of conflict and insurgency, took over power and tried to rule with an iron fist but finally failed. Had the political parties been united and worked sincerely and seriously for the larger good of the nation and the people, the situation would not have arisen. The political parties were involved more on grabbing power and retaining it by hook or by crook. The national issues and agenda of the people remained in the backburner. The political parties not only lost power but credibility as well.

They had to labour hard to regain this lost credibility. When political parties launched their protest against the king's takeover demanding the restoration of democratic process, the people, in the beginning, were reluctant to join hands with them. The programmes of the civil society and the professional groups were more effective than those of the political parties in the beginning. The people went to street at the call of political parties in a massive way only after the party leaders publicly apologized for their mistakes of the past and promised not to repeat such mistakes in future. This was a great lesson for the political parties.

People thought that parties and leaders learnt lessons and would not commit the same old mistakes again and over again. Given the behavior, attitude and activities of the political parties and leaders, they have not changed at all even after the success of the Jana Andolan II. They are committing the same old mistakes, which have only frustrated the people and considered a breach of their promises. The nation and people are above individual and partisan interest. But our political parties and leaders have still not been able to rise above the partisan interest. This is the reason why Nepal's democratic movement was weakened and suffered setbacks at different times. When in opposition, Nepali political parties feel the need of unity and united approach.

Once they are in power, they forget the past and start biter fight for power?no mater whether it is moral or not. What we have achieved from the success of the Jana Andolan II is due to the joint struggle of all political forces. But some political parties and leaders have shown a tendency of minimizing the role of other partners. All the political forces that played positive role in the Jana Andolan II must have equal say in the decision making process for creating a new Nepal. Parties must develop a coalition culture so that decisions are taken through consensus for the greater interest of the nation and the people.

The partisan interest of the political parties has once again hindered the peace and political process in Nepal. The priority of the parties and the government at present is the election to a constituent assembly. If the constitutional provision and public commitment of the parties are any basis, constituent assembly election would have to be conducted by mid June this year. This was not done, which has been attributed to the lack of adequate time for preparation. It was breach of promise of the political parties and violation of the interim constitution. Even now the date for the election is still uncertain. It is all because of the inaction of the political parties.Peace and democracy are interdependent. Sustainable peace is not possible at the absence of democracy, open and free society. The peace and political process must go hand in hand at present.

But the delay in political decisions, this process has been delayed, although not derailed. CompletionConstituent assembly election is the only way to complete the peace and political process. Thus, political parties need to shun partisan interest and work together in the spirit of coalition culture to hold the constituent assembly election that would complete the political and peace process. It is the only process to institutionalize democracy and establish durable peace in the country.

Source: The Rising Nepal, May 29, 2007

Political stalemate: Cool-headedness is need of the hour

BP Mishra

The meeting between Prime Minister G P Koirala and Maoist superemo Prachanda on May 22 was expected to end the prevailing political impasse. Prior to that on May 21, the cabinet could sit only for ten minutes to clear the budget for the maintenance and management of PLA cantonments. Significantly, on May 25, the cabinet, after a long silence, formed a judicial commission to investigate the Tarai unrest and the March 21 Gaur massacre. The meet between the PM and the Maoist supremo reportedly lasted for about two hours in which the Maoist leader requested for early release of the budget agreed upon and passed by the cabinet earlier, according to which each PLA fighter living in the cantonments would get Rs 3,000 per month.

The move is believed to have facilitated the process of second phase of verification of the PLA by the UNMIN. The PM is understood to have expressed his grave concern about YCL activities, its failure to execute earlier agreements, and especially the issue of return of seized properties. Again, as reported, Prachanda has advised YCL cadres to behave in a proper manner. It is high time to mull over the deadlock over the peace process. Be it the signing of the 12-point agreement or the Comprehensive Peace Accord, passing of the Interim Constitution, or formation of the interim government, the peace process has made a slow progress. Meanwhile, the core issue of holding CA elections in fearless and fair manner does not seem to engage the attention of the government and the eight-party alliance. Analysts have viewed this situation from different angles. First, although a CA election was accepted as a meeting point by both sides, each used the pretext ultimately to suit their own interest. It helped the Maoists land safely into the realm of competitive politics and the seven-party alliance to come to power.

Strangely, they are treating the CA election as a parliamentary election as they hope to continue in power only through it. To them, the primary function of the elected CA will be to provide governance first and only then to draft a new constitution. For this simple reason, the legislature-parliament has passed a lengthy Interim Constitution (IC) and the First-Past-the-Post system has been accepted as a component of the mixed electoral system for CA polls.

Secondly, it seems that both the sides accepted the peace process as a means to achieve their political goals: both appear to be concerned more about political gains than maintaining peace. Thirdly, the political parties are competing among themselves to widen their sphere of influence, thereby ignoring the demands of the Madhesis, indigenous nationalities, Dalits and women. Fourthly, there is a huge confidence deficit among the constituents of the eight-party alliance as one party is always apprehensive about the political mileage the other may gain. Finally, the slow yet steady peace process appears natural as it is difficult to mend the ways of a militia that was trained to fight but now has been forced to live in cantonments and undo their own actions in the course of insurgency. The continued stalemate in the legislature-parliament has not been taken seriously by the eight-party government. The Maoists have called off their agitation inside the House as they have already been successful in registering amendments in the Constitution for establishment of a republic and now their demand for maintenance and management of the PLA cantonments has also been met. But since the demands of the Madhesi MPs are yet to be addressed, the stalemate might well continue. The demand of the Madhesi MPs and the Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum (MJF) to constitute a judicial commission to probe the killings in Madhes has now been addressed. But the delay can continue for three reasons. First, the government did not attach any importance to the killings of Madhesis and treated it as a trivial matter. Secondly, the government was under the pressure of the Maoists to ignore the demands as the latter are not ready to accept the political importance of the MJF leaders as they were once Maoist cadres themselves. The Maoists reason that it will be detrimental to their interest to allow the MJF to develop their own constituencies in Tarai as it was under their sphere of influence during the insurgency. Thirdly, the government devoted considerable time in trying to suppress the sentiments of the Madhesis with an iron fist. The security forces were deployed in great numbers in that region, ignoring the fact that the Madhesi uprising was not the result of the actions of the MJF leaders, but a spontaneous outburst of the resentments of common Madhesis. Hence the issue needs to be considered with a cool and contemplative head. Armed suppression may be effective only temporarily. A well-reasoned solution is the need of the hour in order to bring about lasting peace and credible CA polls.

Source: The Himalayan Times, May 29, 2007