Creation Of Election Atmosphere

Narayan Prasad Wagle

The constituent assembly (CA) election is a mere three months away, but the major political parties are still reluctant to interact with the people in their villages and towns. It is time the leaders of the political parties were at the doorsteps of the people, often dubbed the source of sovereign power. While the security problems in the Terai remain more or less the same, it looks as if the major parties themselves may cause trouble in holding the election within the stipulated timeframe. The eight-party alliance that was mandated by the people to institutionalise peace, prosperity and parity in the country seems to be embroiled in the same old problems in new ways. The petty political interests have emerged dominant upon the burning national issues.

Monarchy

Following the expanded meeting (plenum) of the Maoists, the monarchy, the most debated topic ever in the history of Nepali politics, has taken centre stage. The Maoists have made it clear that they want a republican order in the country before the CA polls. Similarly, their demand for a fully proportional representation system of election has ignited fury among the parties as it was a settled issue in the eight-party alliance. If the demands are meant to satisfy the disgruntled cadres and use the hot slogans for election purposes, there is nothing wrong. But if they are meant for evading the polls for fear that they would be defeated, it will be disastrous for the country. Although the demands they are making hold some water, it is too late to take a stand on them as a precondition for the constituent assembly election. So it is better for them to learn lessons from what has already taken place in order to master the tactics of peaceful politics.

The reluctance on the part of the Nepali Congress and Nepali Congress-D can be logically attributed to their split. The sooner their unification takes place, the faster they will become ready to face the election. Apart from the apparent issue of unification, taking a clear stand on the issue of monarchy has been equally challenging for them. The difficulty in deciding the fate of the monarchy is that a good portion of the leaders see no wrong in a democracy with the ceremonial state of monarchy, for which international support can also be easily garnered and which may help them to pursue the middle path, with the royalists and the Maoists balancing each other. Another major party in the alliance, the CPN (UML), is also not going to the people with fervour and enthusiasm. On the surface, it does not seem to have outstanding problems in the party nor has it set any preconditions for the CA election. One reason may be that this party has rarely taken a leadership role at historic moments or a firm decision. So it may be hesitating to take a lead in this regard also. Also, its unwillingness to form an alliance with the Maoists on the one hand and its fear that its voters will be divided between them on the other have made it less optimistic about the result of the polls. As we know that the constituent assembly election is different from the general elections that were held for the parliament in the past, the creation of an election atmosphere is vital. Issues of a new constitution and restructuring of the state are hard to understand even for educated persons. It is, therefore, qualitatively difficult for the illiterate people to grasp even bits out of the heap. But because it is difficult to make people understand constitutional issues and issues of state restructuring, the political parties should not be stealing uninformed consent of the people for their own sake. That will just be a mockery of the people's consent and the democratic process at large.

The political parties should have brought out their election manifestos earlier than they used to do so in the past general election so that people have a perception of the state of things. But their reluctance has indicated that they are not interested in giving the right message to the people who fought for loktantra - a system they believe will bring peace, prosperity and parity in the country and end feudalism and injustice forever. As the report of the UN Secretary-General rightly observes, "The stakes are too high; complacency or differences over secondary issues cannot be allowed to threaten to deny the people of Nepal the realisation of their ardent desire for sustainable peace."

Security

The major parties irrespective of short-term political gains must pass the test of time of holding CA election on time. Instead of haggling with the other parties over important posts or privileges, they need to focus on key issues like security, including the model of security sector reform, redressing the grievances of the marginalised people, management of cantonments and the formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In order to avert the unprecedented disintegration of the Nepali society, the parties must go to the people without creating one pretext or the other and render the CA election a success.

Source: The Rising Nepal, August 14, 2007

Prachanda's Pronouncement

Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has made an assessment of the current political situation with reference to the evolving political trends in the country. Speaking to the press to share the outcome of the fifth plenum of the CPN (Maoist) organised last week, Chairman Prachanda spoke on a large number of issues ranging from republicanism, people's revolt to election to the constituent assembly. Chairman Prachanda rightly reiterated the commitment of the Maoists to participate in the constituent assembly polls and ensure that the democratic process is allowed to garner a thumping success. However, he floated some caveats with regard to the constituent assembly and mentioned that reactionary elements may hatch a conspiracy against the successful holding of the polls to the constituent assembly. Moreover, he expressed his doubts over the democratic outcome of the constituent assembly polls as the King cannot be expected to renounce the throne even if the assembly decided in favour of a republic.

Regardless of the doubts and caveats, the outcome of the fifth plenum shared by Prachanda affirms that the CPN (Maoist) is determined to participate in the constituent assembly polls, and commitments expressed by its top boss is indicative of the fact that the party would like to establish a broader political front in favour of abolishing the monarchy and creating a basis for a republic and democratic Nepal. The disclosure that the party is going to form a panel headed by one of its senior leaders with the other political groups to hold dialogue with a view to establishing this broader alliance could be in place to fight for a republican Nepal in the elections to the constituent assembly. This sets at rest the unnecessary and motivated speculations that the Maoists are abandoning the path of peaceful democratic competition. Some forces have even attempted to cast aspersions on the well-intentioned moves of the Maoists and spread negative and prejudiced views on the decisions adopted in the plenum. As there is no substitution to a peaceful political process, the CPN (Maoist) should remain committed to the peaceful and democratic means of political transformation as has been upheld and maintained by its leader Prachanda time and again. A peaceful and fair polls to the constituent assembly will lead the country through a maze of confusions and uncertainties, for which all democratic and progressive forces should remain firm and united.

Source: The Rising Nepal, August 14, 2007

Nepal’s Violent History Brushed Under the Carpet

Arati Singh

By setting up a High Level Investigation Commission last year, the government in Nepal tried to uncover the crimes of the state during people’s movement of April 2006. Since its inception those who had played momentous roles during the King Gyanendra’s direct rule had been questioned for investigation including the King himself. It is, however pessimistically queer to find our confinement of the spectrum to see only that as a period of atrocities.

A brief analysis on the history of crime by the State or political parties in Nepal reveals how unfair it is to limit ourselves to post 2004 age, when the King took over the political power in Nepal. Certainly the oppressors of the human rights must be punished. But by limiting utterly to a particular period Nepal is obscuring the history of crimes committed by the Maoists and the State.

Political leaders and intellectuals argue that what was done in the past must be forgotten with a commitment not to commit same kind of mistakes again. Moreover they opine that during this transitional phase it is not in the benefits of the peace to bring up the matters related to past atrocities of the Maoists and the State.

By forgetting the past Nepal cannot clean its thirteen year old violent history bloodless. Estimated 300,000 internally displaced people, 17,000 disappeared people by both the State and the Maoist, 1,480 deaths of police personals, a total death of 11,790 of Maoist cadres, civilians and army personals, losses of national property and economy at 1.5 billion USD and unreported but presumably numerous cases of killings, abductions, torture, extortion, and use of children for military purposes by the Maoists, these data design truth of Nepal. How can Nepal afford to bury these facts as if they had never happened? Millions of people still survive by the wounds of the violent past. Many have fled the country, many more have lost their beloved, many are rendered homeless, and tens of thousands of children have lost their educational age. How can the leaders prepare to be oblivion to these facts that has structured Nepal’s modern history?

On 8th November 2006, when Maoist and Seven political parties reached the historic agreement of consensus many leaders including Prime Minsiter Grija Prasad Koirala marked the day as a vantage time for the beginning of a new democratic Nepali era. However I think Nepal’s new era must start by going back to the history not eluding it. The leaders must remember the history and should begin from there. They should begin by being apologetic to the Nepali people for their grave abuses of human rights, torture, national destruction and trauma given. All the parties must start with a political practice of self criticism.

Once I had heard a political intellectual saying that only when political elites are willing to accept negative feedback from people who do not have their power and start structured self criticism, can a government reasonably claim to be “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” We have seen successive governments in Germany being symbolically self critical for its barbarism against Jews and, US governments to the “black” in many ways.

In an interview with BBC Radio on 7 October 2006, Prachanda, Supreme of CPN Maoist said that the lives lost and economic losses during the 13 years long political revolution must be considered as a part of Nepal’s movement towards enlightenment. This clearly shows he and his party are not critical of their past violent actions. And no wonder Young Communist League, a youth wing of Maoist today freely practice atrocities, torture and crimes. The other involved political parties too have so far maintained a kind of carefree attitude towards their past mistakes that had resulted in rampant atrocities and violation of human rights.

The leaders’ political growth directs country towards its development. Therefore the political parties instead of portraying their past actions perfect to the situation, must create their own space for growth by adopting a tradition of self criticism. Unless the leaders take responsibility of their past actions and be apologetic they can never win the trust of people. Attempts to justify the past violence simply give them mileage to continue more violence

The crisis of human rights violation in Nepal and rampantly growing sense of insecurity among civilians have steamed up because people have little or no faith on the leaders. The political leaders have failed to assure people that they have indeed given up violence and the violent history will not be repeated again. How those political parties, that are perceived as a threat and violent by the people can democratize and develop a country? The leaders must politically grow, followed by the country and its people.

Source: The American Chronicle, August 13, 2007

Nepal's Ex-Rebels Threaten to Quit Govt

BINAJ GURUBACHARYA

KATMANDU, Nepal -- Nepal's former rebels threatened Sunday to quit an interim coalition government unless their demands were met, which include the creation of a republic and protection against attacks from rival groups.
Communist rebel leader Prachanda told reporters his faction would leave the coalition government, formed as part of a peace deal, and launch protests unless other members of the administration meet the demands.
"We will decide within a week or 10 days," said Prachanda, who goes by one name.
The communists gave up a decade-old armed revolt last year to join the peace process and became part of the Parliament and government this year.
The former rebels have threatened to walk out of the government several times in recent months, but Sunday's warning was likely to be taken more seriously as it came after a weeklong meeting in the capital, Katmandu, between local and national-level leaders of the communist movement.
Former communist activists have been attacked by rival groups in recent months. At least 28 communist supporters were killed during one attack by an ethnic minority group on a communist rally in March in southern Nepal.
The former rebels also want other members of the coalition government to reveal the location of hundreds of their militants missing during years of fighting.
The other coalition partners in Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's government did not comment on Prachanda's threat.
The government is to hold elections for a special assembly in November that would decide on a political system for Nepal, currently a constitutional monarchy, and rewrite the constitution.

Source: The Washington Post, August 13, 2007

Poor side of you

After a lull of a few days, the Maoist-aligned Communication, Printing and Publications Workers' Union (CPPWU) has done it again — disrupt the distribution of The Himalayan Times and Annapurna Post. Last time, the disruption went on for a week, and the publishers lost millions of rupees. This time, they have also obstructed the printing (Sunday's edition). All this ostensibly because the two newspapers carried Patan Appellate Court's summons to three union leaders asking them why the court should not issue a stay order against such disruptions. On Saturday night, union workers gheraoed the printing press and threatened staffers there. On Saturday morning, they seized all copies of both papers on the grounds that the editions carried news against them . On Friday evening, they had threatened editorial staffers at Annapurna Post with obstructing the distribution if the paper carried the news.The union workers have crossed reasonable limits. Now that the question of the news is over, how can they defend the continued disruption of printing or publication? Present union action at these newspapers has been over the demands of the cycle boys who deliver these papers and who are also allied with CPPWU. However, the boys are related to these newspapers only indirectly, as they are, for all legal and practical purposes, the employees of the nine distributors of these newspapers. This legal fact has made the workers' action all the more galling. They are supposed to put their demands or grievances before their management — the distributors concerned. In this, therefore, the International Media Network Nepal (Pvt) Ltd., the publisher of THT, and the News Media (Pvt) Ltd., the publisher of Annapurna Post, are not involved in any way. The union's illegal action has endangered the livelihood of 350 families directly dependent on these organisations.

CPPWU members have started a go-slow at the Kantipur Publications too, threatening stronger action. Some time ago, they had done it at Kamana Prakashan. Recently, their action led to the suspension of services of HBC FM. However, it may not mean that all of their grievances are necessarily unreasonable. This is something to be tested at the negotiating table if the disputants come with a flexible approach. What has been stressed here is the wrongness of their method. Obstruction of the publication or distribution of newspapers amounts to an assault on the independent functioning of the news media and this does not in any way promote democracy. Above all, the unionists have trampled upon the citizen's right to know. It is a universal marketing practice and also perfectly legal in Nepal to have newspapers reached to the ultimate consumers through a network of independent distributors. It becomes the duty of the government to protect the publishers faced with such illegal obstructions and threats. On their part, the Maoist leadership must become sensitive to the agreements they have signed in which they have expressed their commitment to free press, competitive politics and democracy.

Source: The Himalayan Times, August 13, 2007