Democracy For Nepal

Monday, October 16, 2006

Summit Talks And Obstinate Congressias

Monarchy

The monarchy in Nepal is going to end in a proper, civilized, non-violent, democratic way. That is a foregone conclusion. The monarch will get to keep much of the property he owned before he became king. That however will not apply to land holdings. The land reform ceilings will also apply to him. This is a man who was not scheduled to be king, and he has been king only a few years. He is more used to not being king than being king. The transition back to not being king should not be hard for him. It is not the political paties that should be thankful the king has not pulled another coup yet. It is the king who should be thankful the monarchy in Nepal did not have a bloody end, and will not have a bloody end.

Now do some headcount. The UML is for a republic. The Maoists wrote the book on republic. The Jana Morcha is for a republic. The Majdoor Kisan Party is for a republic. The Left Front is for a republic. The Sadbhavana is for a republic. The Deuba Congress is for a republic. Even Girija Koirala has said he only wants to keep the ceremonial monarchy upto the constituent assembly elections. His party divorced itself from the monarchy completely during its last convention. Even the RPP is for a republic. There is not a single major political party in Nepal that has said it will campaign for a monarchy in any shape or form.

So why is anyone maintaining the fiction that a referendum is necessary? Why the talk to keep the monarchy until the constituent assembly elections? There is a slam dunk for a republic. You hold a referendum when the divide is near 50-50. You take the issue to constituent assembly if there is a need for a major debate on the issue. How can you debate an issue on which virtually all political parties have a clear agreement? Beats me.

If the seven parties were really enemies with the Maoists, they would have declared the country a republic through this House. That would have been a way to steal the Maoist thunder, a way to eat the Maoists' lunch.

Republic Now

What is wrong with the idea? Especially when republic now means we can move towards a total, comprehensive arms management?

In 2007 B.S. a naive BP Koirala took the army from the Rana prime minister and handed it over to the king. We paid for that mistake with half a century in the wilderness. The monarchy is not to be trusted.

Retaining the monarchy any longer gives the monarch and the monarchists room to play. If the monarch could invest a few crores to ensure a continued salary of tens of crores, do you think he will be tempted to do it? Do you think there are politicians and parties up for grabs? Do you think such might emerge later? Do you think there might be attempts at horse trading on the issue after the constituent assembly elections? Pumping money into the election process will not be hard to do. He could always maintain a few degrees of separation.

If we do not declare the country a republic now, we deprive the people of meaningful debate on other burning issues like federalism. The debate on monarchy will suck the oxygen from other issues.

Federalism Asks For Maps

The seven parties in power have refused to critique the Maoist map, and they have refused to come up with their own. That makes the Maoists suspicious. That tells them maybe you are not for federalism.

What is the UML map for federalism? What is the Congress map for federalism? If these parties were to start producing rough drafts, that would help the peace process.

Drunk On Power

There has been a tendency towards a relapse. A seven party alliance that has come to power by disagreeing with the king that there is a military solution to the Maoist insurgency has not been eager to do the hard work for a political solution. There is talk in some Congress circles that perhaps the constituent assembly can be skipped altogether, there is talk that perhaps such an assembly is not a good idea.

There is a clear tendency towards continued Bahunbaad in the vast majority of the appointments made by the Koirala cabinet. That makes the Maoists suspicious. That makes the DaMaJaMa masses suspicious.

There is this fear the Congress wants to take the country back to the failed 1990s. There is this feeling that delayed peace talks mean the current batch of MPs get to stay in power longer for no extra work. Because as soon as you move towards an interim government, the current group of people in the cabinet might not be there. That can be a disincentive.

There is also no talk in the Congress on internal democracy, on transparency.

Clarity Of Thought

The phrase "arms management" is getting tired of overuse. What exactly do you mean? It can not mean surrender. It should not mean the Maoists get to retain the cloud of fear over the population. And there has to be more than one way. What options are you exploring? How much leeway are you giving?

Opaque Process

Even the MPs had to pass a resolution saying they want to know what is going on in the peace talks. This is obscene. The peace talks should be made as transparent as possible. Let the people know. Let the people participate.

Army

How big should it be? Should there even be an army ultimately? There is an unwillingness to face this question.

Monarchy, Army, Federalism

Truth And Reconciliation Commission

The biggest mistake this government has made so far is to not have set up such a commission.

Land Reform, Truth And Reconciliation

The Obstinate Monarchists

Summit Talks And Maoist Nonsense
Summit Talks: Four Heads Talking
Televise The Summit Talks
The Summit Talks Will Succeed

Girija, Resign
Congress Unification: Not Possible, Unnecessary
Why It Is Important To Me The Congress Takes Up A Federal Republic
Girija Koirala: Not In Tune With The April Revolution
कांग्रेसले रोज्नुपर्ने बाटो

Koirala's Request To The Regime To Postpone Elections
Phone Talk With Girija Koirala: Meeting History Itself
Madhav Nepal, Commander Of The Movement
This Inadequate, Improper, Insufficient 1990 Constitution
Koirala Disappoints: He Is The Same Worn Out Record
Time For The Nepali Congress To Take A Stand On The Constituent Assembly Question

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16 October