Editorial»
Uphill tasks ahead
NOV 27 - Days of the Surya Bahadur Thapa government are numbered with his own party giving him an ultimatum to step down for his inability to form an “all-party government” and resolve Maoist problem. Instead of giving in to the party demand, Thapa threw a salvo against his protégé - RPP chairman Pashupati Shumsher JB Rana - and left the capital on Sunday for a 10-day visit to South Asian nations as the outgoing SAARC Chairman. But political pundits say King Gyanendra will relieve him once he returns home from the routine visit.
Thapa was handpicked as the Prime Minister to form an all-party government that would ultimately hold local and general elections bringing the Maoists to mainstream politics through peace talks. He failed miserably in this mission. Let alone engaging the Maoists in peace talks, Thapa-government even provoked them to pull out of the talks.
Several factors, including the infamous Doramba incident in which 19 unarmed Maoist cadres were killed on August 17 when the government and Maoist negotiators were holding the third round of talks, were cited as the main reason behind the Maoists breaking down the seven-month-long ceasefire.
But a question is that why the RPP central committee suddenly demanded his resignation by appointing nine members in the apex body? There is no smoke without fire. Ever since Thapa was appointed the Prime Minister six months ago, RPP boss Rana felt no urgency to call a central committee meeting. Rana is trying to strike the iron when it is hot. Padma Sundar Lawoti, a RPP leader loyal to Rana, let the cat out of the bag. “We are royalists. So, we demanded his resignation after receiving a green signal from ‘above’,” he told reporters.
For the past couple of months, the relation between the Royal Palace and Singha Durbar had been sour over constitutional appointments and other untold issues. PM Thapa publicly admitted that he was too busy to recommend the king names for constitutional appointments. It’s ridiculous to say so. A Prime Minister who receives weekly audience of the king (PM can meet the King whenever he feels it necessary) says he had no time to recommend the names for such appointments. It is a clear indication that the PM has no good rapport with the King. So, he has to go for good.
Future of the Thapa-led government is shaky, not because his own party demanded his resignation, but because of international pressure over dismal human rights records and absence of elected representation at the centre and local level. European Commission and the United Kingdom have publicly said financial assistance to Nepal depends on improvement of human rights situation and elected bodies in place. Even the US government, which had preferred a military solution to peace talks regarding the Maoists rebellion, has turned volte-face on its previous stance and called upon the parties in conflict for a negotiated settlement.
Besides, Nepal’s development partners and international human rights organizations have also called for the involvement of United Nations Human Rights Commission to monitor human rights situation in Nepal. The international pressure is mounting on the King, not on the government handpicked by the king himself. So, the king has only one option left: Sack the Thapa government and pave the way for political reconciliation with the agitating political parties and hold another round of peace talks with the Maoists. There is still room for the king to polish his image as a constitutional monarch if he honestly chooses to correct the constitutional errors committed on October 4 last year.
A better alternative to the Thapa government may be an all-party government that would ultimately hold peace talks with the Maoists for lasting peace. Improvement on worsening human rights situation and elections of Parliament and local bodies seem to be a distant possibility unless the Maoists are brought back to the democratic process. Bringing them back to mainstream politics is an uphill task - even if an all-party government is formed - given their resolute stance on the election of constituent assembly.
During the Lucknow parleys with UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal this week, Maoist leaders flatly rejected Nepal’s feeler of a referendum on whether to make amendments in the Constitution or hold an election for constituent assembly to draft a new constitution. The Maoist leadership is well aware of the fact that a referendum would be a suicidal move for them. Let alone the Maoists, even the five agitating parties are not unanimous on the UML’s concept. Nor do the five agitating parties, who can be invited to form an all-party government in the event of Thapa’s resignation, have developed common views on the issues raised by the Maoists who shook the entire democratic system.Posted on: 2003-11-26 07:03
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