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Nepal : Koirala resigns |
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Faced by a Maoist insurgency, a bribery scandal and recriminations over the royal family massacre, Nepal’s Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has resigned after he lost support from within the ruling coalition. “I have decided to resign as the Prime Minister, giving priority to solving the many challenges being faced by the nation,” Mr. Koirala said over the state-run radio and television. Mr. Koirala, whose most recent term had lasted 15 months, has been Prime Minister for more than 10 years since Nepal has had a democratic government.
The Prime Minister had been under intense pressure from both Parliament and Moist insurgents, since King Birendra and nine other members of the royal family were gunned down on June 1. Mr. Koirala held talks earlier this month with the Opposition over his resignation, and summoned loyal officials last week to drum up support. He had asked members of the Nepali Congress to back him until the army, under the control of King Gyanendra, completes its deployment against Maoist insurgents, which began last week. The Maoists have stepped up attacks since the royal massacre and have said they would hold peace talks with the government only if Koirala quits first. Opposition politicians have also blasted Koirala for failing to protect the royal family and for not being more forthcoming on the reasons for the palace massacre. In recent weeks, Koirala had been hit by a boycott of Parliament by the Opposition which stalled the bulk of legislation.
Opposition lawmakers had refused to allow Parliament proceedings last week, accusing Mr. Koirala of foisting his own agenda on the nation, lying to Parliament, being involved in a corrupt airliner lease deal, failing to solve the country’s problems and betraying the nation. Speaker Taranath Ranabhat had postponed the meeting of the House of Representatives until July 20 following the disruption, which the Opposition had vowed to continue till Mr. Koirala stepped down. A meeting of the National Assembly, the Upper House of Parliament, too was postponed as all Opposition lawmakers chose to boycott it. Mr. Koirala was also facing a challenge to his leadership within the ruling Nepali Congress. Dissident members had launched a fresh bid to either replace him as leader of the Parliamentary Party or bring a no-confidence motion against his Government by joining hands with the Opposition. The dissident faction within the Nepali Congress is led by former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who had time and again challenged Mr. Koirala’s leadership saying he was too old to continue in office and should pass on his ‘burden’ to younger leaders.
Maoist pressure
Faced by a new threat to his survival following the Government’s failure to rescue 71 police personnel held captive by Maoist insurgents since July 12, the Nepalese Government which had long been accused of being indecisive and directionless on several issues vital to the country’s interest, finally agreed to use the army to have the captured policemen released. The operation is the Royal Army Nepal’s first against Moist rebels since they began their insurrection five years ago. Nepal had been using the police against the rebels until the Government and the Monarchy recently approved the use of Army as well. Previously many people had opposed such a move, saying the Army should not get involved in internal affairs or attack fellow Nepalis. More than 1600 rebels, security personnel and civilians have been killed in the insurgency since it began in 1996. According to latest reports, the Maoist rebels holding the 71 policemen hostage in a village Nuwa, in Central Nepal have escaped with their captives despite army had the area under siege since last week. The rebels are reported to have moved to nearby Gauri village enroute to a safe areas.
A team of mediators led by left wing human rights activist Padmartna Taludhar, has been deployed to persuade the Maoist rebels to release the hostages. The Maoist rebel leader, Parchand, has said he is ready to hold talks to end the five year bloody revolt if Mr. Koirala resigns. He accused him of stalling past initiatives for dialogue and refused a meeting with the Government headed Mr. Koirala, a staunch anti-Communist. In an article Mr. Parchand said, “we don’t see any possibility of talks while Koirala remains in power”. Mr. Parchand did not say what comprised the “minimum atmosphere of confidence”. But in the past the group had demanded the government provide information about the rebel leaders who it says have “disappeared” during the conflict and begin releasing its jailed comrades. In October last year, then Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel met rebel leader Rabindra Shrestha informally but formal talks were aborted because of controversy over the release of two jailed members of the Maoist group. Poudel quit last week from the Government over differences with the 78-year old Koirala on how to tackle the Maoist violence that has now spread to most areas of impoverished Nepal.
Political instability is the root cause. No government - as many as seven in less than a decade - has tried to tackle this insurgency head on. G.P. Koirala was against introducing an anti-terrorist act, preferring to counter insurgency by strengthening the district administration. His thinking was correct to some extent since to enforce stringent laws an adequate police force is required, which the country does not have. Born of economic deprivation, Nepal’s Maoists are a different lot. Unlike their counterparts in India, they are willing to talk. The high-power committee appointed by the KP Bhattarai government to ascertain the views of different political parties to prepare a common strategy, reportedly “violated” the terms by trying to negotiate directly with the insurgents, much to Koirala’s disapproval.
Mr. Koirala was hamstrung by sharp advising in political and other establishments over the consequences of army operations against the Maoists. The ruling Nepali Congress was known to have been divided on the issue while the Opposition Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) exploited it primarily to embarrass the government. The new King, Gyanendra, is known to advocate a tougher line and must have put his weight behind the government’s decision. After the royal massacres, Nepal cannot afford to have the Maoist shadow further darken its horizon.
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