Editorial»
The end seems near
DEC 24 - The government’s decision to try the three student leaders on the charge of sedition is drawing wrath from all quarters. The one who had suggested pursuing this “suicidal path” should also have the privilege of co-authoring the script of “Thapa’s Dark Days.” Some thinkers have already described the upsurge in agitation, following the arrest of the students’ leaders, as the beginning of the decisive phase in undoing the transgressions of constitutional contours after the October 4th move.
”If political parties fail to direct the students wrath for re-railing democracy in Nepal, a third force will come up to fill the vacuum and achieve the long over due cause,” Nilambar Acharya, a veteran politician told a private TV channel.
Thapa clique contends that it is in no mood to tolerate any invectives and would take stern action against any individual bad mouthing against the monarchy. Accepted that the monarchy, as an institution and as a matter of not just constitutional but traditional protocol, must be kept far from controversies. But then, when it comes to taking politically active and unpopular steps by an otherwise supposedly ceremonial head, and long petition for its redress repeatedly falling on deaf ears, the resultant wrath coupled with frustration is likely to come out in popular forms. Besides, why try only three? There were thousands of protestors expressing their wrath against the monarch. Why not try them all?
This government seems to have run out of its senses in the face of impending danger to its longevity. It is desperately trying to befriend the palace and in reciprocity morbidly assuming its own longevity. But how long will it be in the good graces of the palace? Will the palace be happy over the present episode given the fact that parties are threatening to escalate the “small talks’ about a republican set-up into a full-fledged demand?
If a pro-palace democrat is to be trusted, the answer is “no”. Rajeshwor Devkota hinted at the palace’s disagreement over the issue. He went on to predict the detention of students as Thapa’s ultimate Achilles’ heel during an interaction programme in the capital recently. Devkota, who was making these remarks after his self-revealed audience with the King, seemed disgusted at the growing high-handedness of the government.
The Thapa government must have taken such a decision on the basis of two (mis)calculated assumptions. The first was to shift the focus from deteriorating security situation to the courtroom of the valley.The second was, maybe, to demoralize the agitators by sending out a “strong message through a tough action.” Everything has, (un)fortunately backfired and provided the much needed impetus to the anti-regression movement that was gradually fading away. The Thapa government has also invited the wrath of the students by going against their own earlier commitment to make educational institutions a “zone of peace.”
This administration could have consulted history books, if Thapa himself wasn’t in a position to walk down the memory lanes, before taking such a bold step. The Prime Minister seems to have forgotten what triggered the demand for referendum of 2036 BS. A foreign issue brought together students, ultimately leading to the referendum. The protest, primarily aimed at the Embassy of Pakistan to condemn the execution of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto by General Zia-Ul Haq’s regime, escalated and took the Panchayat regime by its neck. Will history repeat itself? Does a similar fate await the Thapa government? Yes, say many thinkers.Posted on: 2003-12-24 02:48
Headlines
Advertisements
