Maoists Warn Status-Quoists

The Nepali Congress (NC) Supremo and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has instructed his senior party leaders not to yield to the demand for proportional representation, party sources said on Saturday. Amidst frequent consultations with the US and Indian ambassadors to Nepal, the Nepal government headed by the Nepali Congress seems to be vacillating as far as independent and sovereign decision-making is concerned. Through their diplomatic channels, the White House and New Delhi have advised the Nepali Congress not to yield to Maoist demands. But the Maoist insurgents stress that the demands they have raised belong to the majority of people and not confined to their party calculations. On Friday, the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN-Maoist) Chairman Prachanda in Kathmandu warned the Nepali Congress about the possibility of the formation of a new interim government if the present government does not implement the House-approved resolutions for the declaration of republic and the proportional representation election system. Prachanda was presenting his party-supported concept paper on the current political scenario of Nepal. He hinted at the possibility of an alternative to the current decaying government from which his party CPN-Maoist has already withdrawn.

Maoist insurgents, now in peace process, think the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction headed by the NC is the chief barrier to the smooth peace process and the timely integration of the Maoist-led People’s Liberation Army (PLA) into the Nepal Army (NA), previously commanded by the king. Senior Maoist leader Dr. Baburam Bhattarai spoke for a better option of the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction. He said ministry could be replaced by a high level peace commission composed of various representatives from different backgrounds. Dr. Bhattarai pointed out that the peace process will never succeed without the proper and timely integration of the People’s Liberation

Dr. Bhattarai said his party was for an early integration of the PLA into the NA. Many agree on his point because the peace process cannot go ahead logically without consideration of the two opposing parallel armies. Most of the intellectuals in Kathmandu have pointed out to the fact that the Constituent Assembly elections for restructuring Nepal as per the mandate of the April uprising cannot be held with thousands of troops still forced to become loyal to monarchy. Almost all political quarters of Nepal, except the Nepali Congress and other obvious monarchist parties, agree that feudal monarchy and full-fledged democratic process cannot go together.

During an unprecedented historical uprising in April 2006, the majority of grassroot Nepalis have already de-established monarchy from their minds. Only some pro-monarchy parties and individuals with feudal background, previously several years in power led by monarchy, have attempted to linger the transformation process of the Nepali society.

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