E-Kantipur

The Times of India in its Tuesday edition wrote that India had “fended off suggestions from other countries to help negotiate an end with Maoist supreme Prachanda”.

The story went on to report that India had taken a “hands-off attitude” to the ongoing indefinite strike called by the Maoists, and that it had “officially expressed support to the Madhav Kumar Nepal government, but have refused to do much else.”

The newspaper argued that the “Maoists played their ultimate card of a general strike” and if the other parties hold firm, they (the Maoists) would have to “seriously consider negotiations”. It wrote: “After this, the Maoists can only go back to the gun, but all indications so far are that they would like to avoid that. The strike lost a sizable number of protesters, as many went back to their fields after recent rains.”

The Economist on Thursday wrote that the peace deal “is now on the verge of collapse,” and that agreement “seems remote”. The report said that the claims of Maoist opponents that the latter have not foregone their violent ways are only partially true, as the YCL “looks scary”, but “killings by the Maoists have become rare even though half a dozen of their own members have been murdered” this year. Further, the ruling parties do not have “strong democratic credentials themselves”, as “the prime minister and one of his deputies lost elections in their constituencies and got into parliament only because there are special seats which the parties fill through nomination.”

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in its Monday edition said the major “point of divergence” between the Maoists and the other parties remains the integration of former Maoist combatants. On Friday, WSJ said that “it’s quickly becoming clear that the Maoists are less than eager to work within the democratic system Nepal is trying to build.” It argued that the Maoists still “cling to their hope of forming a one-party state under their control”, and it is for this that “Prachanda’s supporters are taking to the streets to try to intimidate the other parties in the assembly.”

The Guardian said on Monday  that “communist activists” have intensified their pressure “on the prime minister to resign”, and that “shops remained closed and buses were not operating amid fears that Nepal would descend again into civil strife.” It quoted the International Crisis Group, who warned, “Only concerted efforts to re-establish a minimal working consensus and a national unity government including the Maoists can avert the likelihood of a more dangerous erosion of trust,” and therefore, “strong international backing, with India eschewing short-term interference in favour of longer-term guardianship of the process it itself initiated, will be essential.” It also had a grim warning: “Unless the Maoists get serious about participating in Nepal’s budding representative government instead of undermining it, expect more unrest.”

The BBC’s Joanna Jolly reported that the indefinite strike has ground the country to a standstill, and quoted journalist Prashant Jha as saying this strike was unusual in its “strict enforcement and longevity.” BBC also quoted Chandra Lama, a YCL member, as saying the number of supporters remains high and that “they have enough food and water to stay on the streets for weeks.” The report went on to say locals are losing patience with the crisis, and quoted a shopkeeper, Subarna Bajracharya, as saying, “If it is too much, the local people will react.”

The Voice of America’s headline was bleak, saying ‘Nepal political talks fail to end crisis—again’. The report said that there is “no movement” towards formulating the new constitution or the integration of the ex-combatants “because of the political standoff.” It also reported that though the Army “remains out of sight”, they “are making their presence known” subtly, saying that “soldiers marched to the tune of bagpipers inside their walled camp” in Singhadurbar.

Manjushree Thapa in an opinion piece in The New York Times on Thursday said that “tempers are flaring”, and that “it would not take much for people’s discontent with the strike to tip into civil unrest.” She goes on to write that “instead of waiting for something as constructive and exalted as a constitution, the Nepalese are waiting for more mundane things like for the strike to end, for electricity and water to return.”

The Washington Post reprinted an AP story on Friday that said “residents opposed to the strike began lashing out on Thursday, assaulting strike supporters and setting a car on fire in scattered clashes in the capital and other towns.”

Post Your Comment

Please note that all the fields marked * are mandatory.
* Full Name
* Address
* Email Address
* Comment
* Captcha	Get another CAPTCHA code
Note:	Comments containing abusive words or slander shall not be published.