Country heading towards terrible confrontation: Ms Acharya
Senior Nepali Congress leader and former deputy prime minister, Ms. Shailaja Acharya, has warned that the country was heading towards terrible confrontation if the King, mainstream parties and the Maoists did not agree to reconcile their positions.
Addressing the ‘Face to Face’ programme organized by Reporters’ Club of Nepal on the occasion of the ‘National Reconciliation Day’ on Saturday, Ms. Acharya said if the Maoists did not extend their unilateral ceasefire, which she said was least likely, the country would plunge into fresh violence.
“It is most unfortunate that the King has neither opened dialogue with the opposition parties nor has taken any move to restart the constitutional process,” said Acharya.
Ms. Acharya—who had returned to Nepal along with veteran Nepali Congress leader late BP Koirala three decades ago calling for “national unity and reconciliation”—said the policy of national reconciliation was still relevant. The policy calls for unity between the monarch and democratic forces in the country. She quoted late Koirala as saying that such a reconciliation could not take place with the King as an individual and that democracy was a must for reconciliation to take place.
Ms. Acharya warned that the country could move towards a republican set-up, by design or by default, if the King “fails to grasp the gravity of the situation, continues to sideline the mainstream parties and pursues his own ‘roadmap.’” She also alleged the King of following in the footsteps of his father, late King Mahendra, who dismissed the first popularly elected parliament in 1960, banned political parties and introduced direct rule of the monarchy, which lasted for three decades.
Acharya expressed worries saying that sharp polarisation was taking place in the country between those who were in support of active monarchy and those who wanted abolition of monarchy altogether. “The threat is that parties like Nepali Congress—that have always treaded on the middle ground—could be turned irrelevant,” she added. She also alleged that efforts were going on to capture the entire structure of Nepali Congress by those who declared themselves close to party president GP Koirala.
Drawing upon her nearly 45-year-long career in Nepali politics, Ms. Acharya said the conflict in the country was no more a domestic one. “Nepal’s issue has already been interantionalised and there are a number of players here,” she said. “As an immediate neighbour, India may have the decisive role in Nepal, but the US and China also have interests in our affairs,” she added.
The NC leader warned foreign intervention was imminent if the internal conflict in the country escalated. She further said Nepal as an independent nation was facing crisis right from the royal palace massacre of June 1, 2001. She said her party could still play a role if an ‘unanticipated development took place’ in the country. She did not elaborate.
Responding to a query, Ms Acharya said the operators of the constitution of the kingdom of Nepal, 1990, were to be blamed, not the constitution itself. She said there was ample room to address issues related to dalit, women and ethnic communities by amending the present constitution. She warned that the country could witness more bloodshed if elections to the constituent assembly were held.
Ms Acharya supported the boycott of the municipal polls announced by the opposition parties. She, however, said opposition parties, too, should not take extreme positions. She said the ball was now in the King’s court. “Either the King should reinstate the dissolved parliament or invite the opposition parties for dialogue. Nepal’s future now depends very much on the future royal move,” she concluded. nepalnews.com by Dec 31 05
