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| Sunday, 24 July 2005 |
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New alignments in Nepal? The possibility of an alliance between Nepal's political parties and the Maoists brings fresh hope of an end to the illegal and unconstitutional rule of King Gyanendra. The seven-party coalition against the King has only cautiously welcomed an overture for talks from the Maoist leader, Prachanda, but it is clear the gap between the two sides is narrowing. Leaders of the two main parties, the Nepal Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist), have described it as a "positive" development. The political parties have so far been wary of linking up with the Maoists for two principal reasons. First, they do not subscribe to the violent methods employed by the Maoist insurgency, especially as this violence targets them as much as it does forces directly associated with the monarchy. Secondly, their goal is to restore a multi-party democracy with a constitutional monarchy, not abolish the monarchy as the Maoists want. However, an apology from the Maoist leadership for a bus bomb that claimed several innocent lives in May, followed by a public resolve not to harm civilians again, appears to have gone some way in assuaging the fears of the alliance about aligning with the insurgents in the struggle against the King, even though the Maoists' refusal to disarm remains a problem for the political parties. As for the abolition of the monarchy, the ease with which King Gyanendra brushed aside the 1990 Constitution and usurped executive powers from the Government seems to have spurred a rethink among some politicians about the wisdom of retaining monarchy in any form. Hinting at this, the coalition recently put forth a demand for "total democracy." It has often been said of Nepal's political situation that if two of the three actors - the King, the political parties, and the Maoists - join hands they can trump the third. Several times in the past, each of the actors has gone by this dictum to outdo the other two. But there can be no confusion now about who has to be trumped. Six months have passed since King Gyanendra seized power and there are no signs yet that he plans to restore multi-party democracy, although he pays lip service to the idea from time to time. To the contrary, he shows all signs of staying on, the recent Cabinet expansion being a good indication of his intent. The Royal Commission for Corruption Control, which the King appointed after assuming power, is determined to show up elected politicians as a corrupt lot who cannot be trusted with the governance of the country. The RCCC found no evidence to convict former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in one of the cases against him but he remains under arrest while it investigates a second charge. Even though an Emergency is no longer in force, many restrictions on ordinary freedoms continue. Despite their fundamental differences, the seven-party alliance and the Maoists have a common primary objective - a total reversal of the King's reactionary coup. They must seriously pursue the option of joining forces to achieve this. (Courtesy: The Hindu) |
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