Chinese Co-operation

MINISTER for Information and Communications Krishna Bahadur Mahara, inaugurating the Chinese Book Fair in co-operation with the General Administration of Press and Publications of the People's Republic of China on Wednesday highlighted the role such fairs had in informing the people wanting to learn more about China. Minister Mahara was also optimistic that such activities would continue and that the Government of Nepal would always encourage them. As the people have now become powerful following the emergence of loktantra, there has been accelerated development of the social sector, and it is hoped that China would expand its co-operation to raise the living standards of the Nepalese people. Nepal has always looked upon China as a true friend and the support and cooperation that this country has received in various sectors have been immense. Since diplomatic ties between the two countries were established, the scope of co-operation has increased. However, Nepal, because of the lackluster performance of the previous regimes, could not utilise the assistance received from China to build a prosperous country. Now that the supremacy of the people has been established, it is expected that developments will take a positive turn in every sector. In this respect, To expect further meaningful co-operation and support from the northern neighbour is obvious.

Speaking on the occasion, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Zheng Xianling said that China and Nepal enjoy a long history of bilateral co-operation and goodwill and expressed the hope that the fair would serve as an information centre for people wanting more information on China. The books on display include those in the English, Chinese and Tibetan languages. Such informative fairs ought to be organised regularly so that the people of both the countries can learn more about each other. This will be the basis of strengthened people-to-people ties. China has always been accommodative of Nepal's aspirations, and expanded economic co-operation can be expected in the days to come with China's economy growing at a phenomenal rate. What is needed is for Nepal to learn from the progress made by China so that the country can achieve faster economic growth in the coming years.

Source: The Rising Nepal, June 8, 2007

Civil Society For Polls

MEMBERS of the civil society and professional groups have been constantly demanding that the date for the constituent assembly be announced, as it was one of the main mandates of Jana Andolan II. In this connection, civil society members staged a sit-in to exert pressure on the government to announce the date for the election. Constant pressure and vigil from the people and civil society are necessary so that the government is reminded of its promises and people's mandate. Such vigil and pressure from the people are necessary to maintain checks and balances in a democracy. Now the sole priority of the nation is the election to a constituent assembly, which will write a new constitution. This is a historic process through which the people's elected representatives write the constitution and determine their destiny. The eight political parties and the government are also determined to hold the election to a constituent assembly in November this year. For this, necessary preparation has already been initiated. The interim constitution has to be amended as it was earlier written in the interim constitution that the constituent assembly election would be held by mid-June 2007. As this election cannot be held by mid-June 2007, the constitutional provision has to be amended. The government has, thus, registered a proposal for the amendment of the constitution. Secondly, necessary laws for the constituent assembly election are being prepared.

These laws are under discussion in the interim parliament. Once the constitution is amended and laws are formulated, the government would formally announce the dates for the election to a constituent assembly in due consultation with the Election Commission. These developments have shown that the government is serious about holding the constituent assembly election about which Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has time and again expressed a clear commitment. But there are several things that have to be done to ensure free and fair elections. Laws and announcement of election dates alone will not ensure free and fair election. The first and foremost requirement for a free, fair and fearless election is law and order. But the law and order situation does not appear perfect as some groups and elements are openly flouting laws and trying to create chaos in the country. Unless such offensive activities are totally checked, people cannot vote without fear. Thus, the government must ensure strict law and order, and those who try to take the law in their hand must be punished. This would alone create a conducive atmosphere for a free, fair and fearless election. The political parties and civil society should also co-operate in maintaining security along with the pressure for announcing the dates for the elections.

Source: The Rising Nepal, June 8, 2007

Honey in the horn

A Bill to amend the Interim Constitution (IC) was tabled in Parliament yesterday. The amendment, second in four months, would incorporate a new timeframe for the elections to the Constituent Assembly (CA) within this Mangsir (by Dec. 15) after the existing date, June 20, could not be kept. Other features include disqualification from contesting the polls of those people who are thought to have had a hand in trying to suppress Jana Andolan II or those who are black-listed as bank defaulters; providing for official status of opposition in the legislature; the provision to abolish the institution of monarchy and to remove the Prime Minister — both by a two-thirds parliamentary majority. The requirement of a two-thirds majority to decide the monarchy’s future is necessary, as it relates to an institution that has existed for 238 years.

But the requirement of the same proportion of votes to remove the Prime Minister too conflicts with the practice of democratic parliaments. It can even lead to a constitutional crisis and a deadlock in governance. If Girija Prasad Koirala ceased to be the Prime Minister for any reason, Parliament would have to choose a successor. But, then, there is every possibility that the political parties would be divided. It is likely that no prime ministerial candidate would get the required number of votes. For practical purposes, simple majority is the norm in both appointment and dismissal of the head of government. Why cannot the MPs choose the Prime Minister from among them through a simple majority? A two-thirds rule would complicate matters, and may even encourage a tendency to develop in any Prime Minister to act in an authoritarian manner.

The system of the opposition benches — with the resultant salaries and perks — in a Parliament created by Jana Andolan II — is a contradiction in terms. In fact, there was no need for an artificially created parliament in the first place — after the 1990 Jana Andolan, the then interim government had wielded legislative powers, too. The eight parties’ consensus is all-important to decide every nationally important matter because it is they, not the individual members of the Parliament, who have received the people’s mandate to steer the country through transition and hold the CA polls. As for the tiny parties outside the alliance that are represented in the legislature, they are there just because of the alliance’s large-heartedness, not because of their significant role in fighting regression. In all probability, the proposed amendment will be passed unanimously or with a resounding majority. But the setting of Mangsir as the month for the polls also has some risks — the government may fail to keep the new date yet again. As the eight parties are still divided over the crucial issue of the monarchy, Maoist chairman Prachanda says the CA polls cannot take place until they reach a consensus on the monarchy — either to retain it or to abolish it. Other political leaders have given other reasons why the CA polls may be delayed further. So, what if this happened again?

Source: The Himalayan Times, June 8, 2007

On The Move For CA Polls

Prem N. Kakkar

THE country is going through one of its crucial phases. The unity of the eight parties and the constituent assembly elections are as important as ever. Herein, it may be remembered that the date of the CA polls slated for mid-June could not happen because the Election Commission (EC) had made it plain that it could not prepare at such short notice. Moreover, the electoral laws that were necessary could not be discussed and approved by the legislature parliament because the proceedings could not take place for almost a month and a half.

Cabinet meetings

Even the council of ministers could not meet, but more recently things have gotten better with the cabinet making some very important decisions. This is necessary as keeping the whole democratic process in a limbo becomes more harmful than good. That seriousness has dawned among the eight parties is evident now that some important amendments to be made in the interim constitution have been registered at the legislature parliament. It can be hoped that the amendments will be effected after discussion in the parliament.The war of words and the blame game, however, continue. This is rather sad for the parties' unity that had played a vital role in bringing the country to the present state. The optimism that that been generated with the eight-party agreement still reverberates today. So blaming one or the other leader will not prove fruitful. The first person to be condemned was no other than the prime minister himself. In fact, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala had been doing everything possible to keep the eight-party unity intact together with doing the needful for holding the CA polls as agreed upon earlier. But the stalling of the House proceedings was unprecedented. That created all the delay, and then there was the need to defer the polls to a later date.

Prime Minister Koirala has all along expressed his commitment to hold the CA polls, but events have gone in such a way that the date had to be postponed. Some said that the postponement of the polls to a later date was a blow to eight-party unity. So, what has emerged is the need for a new basis of unity. That is also slowly emerging. That the polls will be held in November has been agreed upon by the eight parties. Now the need is for the registered amendments to the interim statute to go through the rounds at the legislature parliament.Herein, it is worth noting that the amendments proposed include the provision for abolishing the monarchy. It is still not understandable why the focus is on the monarchy when it has already been agreed upon that the constituent assembly will take the decision on it at its first meeting. The focus, in fact, should all along have been on eight-party unity and holding the CA polls on a date agreed upon by them. It is high time that the eight-party leaders sat down together regularly and sorted out the issues instead of making comments and remarks that indicate that the concerned leaders do not see eye to eye. What goes on behind the scenes is hard for the people to understand. The leaders instead of making contradictory remarks ought to be united on holding the CA polls within the period agreed upon.Meanwhile, the necessary electoral laws, too, should be discussed and approved by the parliament so that the preparatory works of the Election Commission could be facilitated.Among the issues that the amendment seeks is the review of the report of the Electoral Constituencies Delineation Commission but only on technical matters. This has fulfilled a demand of the Madhesi legislators.

Law and order

Talks with the other agitating groups, too, are continuing. It can be hoped that the situation will now become more conducive for the polls to be held in a free, fair and impartial manner. It is also necessary that the law and order situation improve. Anarchy and chaos will be harmful. This is necessary as there are elements that want to disrupt the whole peace process. The eight parties must show greater vigilance and responsibility, and they must respect and fulfil the aspirations of the people expressed through the April uprising.

Source: The Rising Nepal, June 8, 2007

Foreign Policy Challenges

C. D. Bhatta

Kautilya in his famous Arthashastra says that "the welfare of a state depends on an active foreign policy". By 'welfare of the state', Kautilya meant both security of the state and welfare of the people living in that particular state. This leads us to conclude, at the outset, that the overarching aim of any foreign policy is to protect national interest and the interest of the citizens living within the nation.

Welfare state

Kautilya provides various methods in conducting statecraft, inter-state relations, which may prove useful even today. But for a small state like Nepal, the 'welfare' notion is the best option that we can chose from his recipe. And nation-states can only attain the Kautilyian welfare notion of state and citizenry when their foreign policy, economic policy and domestic policy intersect each other for broader public welfare. What can be said here is that the important pillar on which a nation-state rests is domestic policy, economic policy and foreign policy and efficient handling of these policies to safeguard national sovereignty and integrity, and protect national interest which ultimately reinvigorates confidence building measures between the state and society. Thus, the foreign policy of a country is not only the natural extension of its domestic policy, as normally interpreted, but the sum total of domestic and economic policy.

What is true, however, is that unless we have stable domestic politics, it is impossible to have a stable foreign policy. This is particularly applicable in a state like Nepal where everything, including foreign policy, runs on whims and fancies. The non-settlement of political issues is forcing Nepali citizens to bear the brunt on the foreign and economic policy front. The vacant ambassadorial positions for more than a year and the near collapse of the Melamchi and West Seti episodes, apart from the Bhutanese refugee problem, could be classic examples in this context. One can argue that our economic policy is in a mess, where everything has been diluted under the pressure of reaction. One of the major mandates of the 2006 political achievement was the 'people first approach' in every aspect of governance, including foreign policy. But one year down the road, it appears that the people first approach was merely floated to obfuscate the citizens. The open-ended political environment in the country has generated many new issues and challenges in the foreign policy front. Against this backdrop, Nepal's foreign policy requires a new direction. We simply cannot conduct our foreign policy on the basis of the old modus operandi and doctrines. The whole world is watching how the Nepali state will accommodate the far leftists in mainstream politics, how we deal with our immediate and distant neighbours and the international community as a whole; and overall how we craft our economic polices. All these facts need to be incorporated, revisited, resolved and explored in tune with the changed political scenario.

In the past, foreign policy was conducted merely to fulfill the vested interests of the political parties and their henchmen. The mismatch in the conduct of foreign policy by the post 1990s governments has resulted in the biggest foreign policy fissures with many issues remaining either unsettled or unattended at all. There never was any consensus on key foreign policy issues among the then political parties. Nepal's external relations came into limelight 'if and only if' they could be used to balance domestic political gains. This has repeatedly created public frustration against the successive ruling regimes. Even today we have the same faces in the government who might have the same interests, and this stands as a major challenge in operating the country's foreign policy. Perhaps, this can be avoided by having a common consensus on issues of national interest (nation first approach) such as geography, economy, political traditions, military, external situations and historical imperatives.The main thrust of statecraft should be Kautilya's 'welfare of the state', whatever the domestic disparities. This Kautilyian notion can only be achieved when we have a vibrant economic diplomacy in place (to get more investment) to salvage the nation from the ruins of war and give a boost to our economy. Nepal's foreign policy under the changed political context should, therefore, run under a new economic dimension to keep abreast with the changing global political economy. Nepal's economic diplomacy should take a full swing, and diplomatic missions abroad should be directed to market Nepal abroad, in addition to providing services to the Nepalis, in a way that we can take full advantage from tourism, investments and others alike that we lost to other regions of the world due to the heightened political tensions in the country.

Country's image

In addition to addressing unresolved foreign policy issues and uplifting the country's economy, we also need to adopt sound public diplomacy to clean up the country's image at the international level. The Nepali state should be able to take the international community into confidence that Nepal's political forces genuinely want sustainable peace and speedy economic recovery. We cannot allow peace overtures to go astray. Make full use of it to bring the Maoists completely into the institutional life of the state. For this, we need to be internally democratised (particularly our parties) and accommodative. This will lead us to achieve Kantian perpetual peace and Kautilyian welfare of the state.

Source: The Rising Nepal, June 8, 2007