Nepal - What Next?
King Should Sincerely Take A Conciliatory Approach
By Mitra Bandhu Poudel
Nepal again hits the headlines about the announcement of the parliamentary election and the controversial New Ordinance
that is aimed at curbing the press. It has brought many contradictions in constitutional provisions related to media.
Perhaps the King thought that it was the right decision for the country and its people. One thing is to be noted that ‘a
right decision at the wrong time becomes a wrong decision’ (shiva Khera: You Can Win: pp5).The question is: Is it a
proper time to announce the date of Parliamentary election? Definitely not. It is not only irrelevant exercise but also
an attempt to sideline the existence of major political parties. King’s enthusiasm of ruling the country with absolute
power only put democracy in jeopardy.
In the meantime, King promulgated ordinance deploring the restriction on democratic press and freedom of expression .The
intension is very clear to muzzle the press freedom in Nepal. What is exactly in the new ordinance? Prominent Journalist
Mr. Yubaraj Ghimire writes in the Indian Express, “The fine for publishing ‘banned’ items has been increased ten fold to
Rs 1 lakh(about US $ 1500) and that for publishing, translating and importing items aiding ‘terrorists’ has now been
made Rs 5 lakh from the earlier Rs 50,000. The ordinance also puts curbs on the publishing of news items that bring the
king or his kin hatred or disrespect. The check earlier had dealt only with news against the king.” He further adds that
it has provision to band FM station from broadcasting news and also has restricted person from owning two media outlets.
The motive is so vivid to look black at media houses and journalists as these are not manipulated by his puppet
administrators. Hundreds of journalists are going to face redundancy due to this new ordinance. So, government’s claim
to help professional journalism through this is- meaningless .No wonder journalists have condemned this black ordinance
and they may go for a desperate struggle against it.
Interestingly, India also has criticized the newly introduced press ordinance. According to New Kerala.com, external
affairs ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said “Curbs on the freedom of expression and media which is a fundamental pillar
of democracy will inevitably be counter-productive."
Similarly, British ambassador to Nepal, Keith G. Bloomfield said, “the new media ordinance introduced by the Nepali
government was a threat to democracy”
What will happen then? Will the king hit the Jackpot? Considering the present circumstances, chances are very little.
It is the matter of surprising that why the king does not understand precisely the displeasure of various organizations
–national and international on his latest move- obloquy has come promptly from every corners of the world.
As far as the Parliamentary election’s date is concerned, we can have a glance after 2002 to have general information.
One more thing is to be noted that in the October 2002, the then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba asked King to put off
elections by a year due to Maoist violence. King dismissed Deuba terming him “incompetent” and put off elections set for
November. And, Lokendra Bahadur Chand was appointed as new Premier.Mr.Chand resigned on May 2003 and Surya Bahadur Thapa
was appointed as new prime minister on June. Due to the in tensed street protests by opposition groups, Thapa resigned.
In June 2004, sacked Nepali premier Mr.Deuba reinstated.
It is 2005, and still the gravity of the problem is not being addressed. As far as Maoist problem is concerned, if the
prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba addressed Maoist 40 points in 1995, he could easily nip in the bud. But it was in vain
and eventually it’s the most difficult problem to tackle until now.
It is apparent that Palace has not sincerely done an assessment regarding this matter. King wants to re-gain credibility
especially from international community showing them how desperate he is to handle the power over to the elected
government. King should stop looking through colored spectacles because the reality is entirely different than what he
sees. If the election happens forcibly, you will see the bloodbaths. The country can not deserve it any more. It’s the
shame on Royal government that it could not welcome Maoist 3 month’s ceasefire as well. People are thinking to
differentiate between anarchist and vindictive-it is quite simple that the former is the one who destroys law and order
and the latter takes revengeful action. And, that’s what we found in Nepali Politics. The serious question is: Who does
actually want to make Nepal a belligerent nation? If opportunity won’t be taken by the palace to utilize for restoring
peace, monarch will definitely miss the bus.
Many political intellectuals are saying that election is impossible with out resolving the present political dispute.
Former chief justice of the Supreme Court, Bishwa Nath Upadhyay, said “Chairman of the council of ministers is not a
legitimate authority to declare polls or conducting elections if we are to follow the word and spirit of the
constitution.”
Although the issue of national reconciliation has been raised through many forums but ultimately it’s been trapped by
the palace because King has been bearing down all political parties since he took the absolute power.
Last but not the least, who is going to cut the Gordian knot? King, political parties and the Maoist have to cut the
knot. The ongoing talks between the Maoist and the Political parties will definitely influence the upcoming political
scenario of Nepal. Government should not play unhealthy tricks on this by misusing media outlets. How can we overcome
with the crisis? Firstly, King should sincerely take a conciliatory approach for solving all the current problems with
the assistance of seven agitating political parties. Secondly, political parties should come up with the reconciliation
with Palace and its rights and duties with in a democracy. Thirdly, political parties should not strict on their word on
restoration of dissolved House of Representatives. It is rather irrelevant in present situation.Nepali Congress
President GP Koirala’s voice is nothing more than crying over spilt milk in this issue. Fourthly, king should stop
converting state runed media outlets in to sycophants’ .As a matter of fact it is suffering a series of set back.
Fifthly, royal government should stop blowing its own trumpet for conflict resolution and finally, three parties (King,
Political parties and Maoist) should apologize in front of Nepali people for their previous defects.Apparantly; these
three factors are too stubborn to admit that they were wrong.
ENDS