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Nepal PM buckles under Maoist demands |
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Harjit Singh
The Nepali Congress and other six partners in the Seven-party alliance (SPA) last week clearly caved in to the threats and blackmail by Maoist chief Prachanda who had been demanding Nepal to be declared a Republic before Constituent Assembly elections and the poll to be held on the basis of proportional representation. So far, while the Girija Prasad Koirala Government was amenable to accepting 20 of the 22 demands made by the Maoist chieftain, it was wary of accepting these two demands saying this was against the spirit of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of November 2006 signed by the Maoists with the SPA under which it was agreed to let an elected Constituent Assembly decide on the issue of monarchy or republic at its first meeting. The Maoists also reversed their earlier decision to opt for the elections on the basis of a mixed system of direct and proportional voting. Twice in the past they refused to allow the CA elections to be held, first in June and then in November, threatening to disrupt them if these were held without their demand being met first.
Now, a tripartite meeting between the Nepali Congress, the Communist Party of Nepal [UML] and the Maoist leadership in Kathmandu last week and another one held on Dec. 15 saw the Government caving in to the Maoist demands. As a result of the understanding, Nepal would be declared a Republic in the interim Constitution. The decision will be implemented only after the Constituent Assembly elected in mid-April, votes for it by a simple majority. On the other crucial demand of the Maoists, the proportional representation, a mid-way was found and it was agreed that that 335 of the 601 seats would be filled up in a fully proportional system.
Till now, Prime Minister Koirala had been refusing to abolish the monarchy by using a constitutional provision that allows Parliament to proclaim Nepal a Republic if two-thirds of the 327 MPs agree. He also refused to jettison the mixed election system which helps his Nepali Congress Party, for a proportional system. Though Koirala was forced to call a special session of Parliament and ask for a vote due to Maoist pressure, the rebel demand was bound to fail if the Nepali Congress had rejected the proposal.
The Maoists had earlier upped the ante with Prachanda warning that if the crucial special session of Parliament failed to accept their demand, his party would consider its agreement with the ruling alliance- that resulted in a ceasefire last year – to be over. To further precipitate the crisis, the Communist Party of Nepal [Maoist] pulled out of the Government earlier this year and made its four Ministers, who had joined the SPA Government in April as a sequel to the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement, to resign. Koirala made the right decision by not accepting their resignations so as to leave the door open for an agreement.
When the Maoists signed the peace agreement, they accepted that the future of the monarchy would be decided by the Constituent Assembly. And since then, all the seven ruling parties have pledged themselves to abolish the monarchy and making Nepal a republic. Given this background, it is hard to see what compulsions prevailed on the Maoists to press for the declaration of a Republic before the elections. Why they should insist now on the abolition of the monarchy to be delinked from the elections and instead get the interim Parliament to declare a republican State through a simple majority. Their complaint that the “regressive forces” led by the monarchy will not allow smooth, free and fair elections, was nothing but to ensure that their republican agenda is not thwarted. The role of these forces in fuelling the Terai region violence and instigating the recent blasts in Kathmandu and were cited by the Maoists to justify their fears. In their assessment, the present King and his coterie, though politically redundant, have enough resources to create mischief. These fears were, however, misplaced. The King has been stripped of all his powers. Funds for the Palace have been pruned. All his palaces and private properties have been taken over. His palace staff has been halved. Even his visits to temples is frowned upon. King Gyanendra is virtually a prisoner in his palace. He is a helpless and powerless commoner. How such a person could challenge the might of the powerful Moists who continue to call the shots across the country?
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