March 2006
Political

After the dismal turnout of the voters in the recently concluded municipal elections and the verdict of the Supreme Court against the Royal Commission for Corruption Control, many had expected that the King would start speedily returning powers to the people's representatives. But the royal message to the nation on National Democracy Day on February 19, though more reconciliatory than the previous royal messages/proclamations fell short of expectations. However, the effect of these developments has been that all the ministers of the government and those close to the palace have now started calling the parties to come forward to hold talks with the King.

Meanwhile, there was a media blitzkrieg by the Maoist leadership with the rebel supremo Prachanda granting an interview to a number of national and foreign media trying to impress that the rebel outfit is a political organization and not a terrorist group.

In an obvious reaction to the rebel's vituperative remarks about the US while being soft on India, the US Ambassador to Nepal James Moriarty called upon the seven political parties to join hands with the King by breaking the 12-point understanding the parties had reached recently with the Maoists. If they didn't do so, Moriarty warned, the rebels with their guns would prevail over the unarmed political parties.

Though Moriarty was equally harsh on the way the King is moving ahead with his roadmap, the political parties are not happy. They immediately made statements to the effect that Moriarty was not able to appreciate the ground realities of Nepali politics.

However, the Maoists have failed in their promise to stop attacking unarmed people and to let the political party workers carry out their political activities in the villages. But reports from various parts of the country say that this promise is unfulfilled by the rebels. As a result, the 12-point understanding now seems to be on the verge of collapse, though the parties also swear by this understanding.

Such a possibility was heightened after former Prime Minister and leader of Nepali Congress (Democratic), soon after being released from detention following the Supreme Court Verdict scrapping the Royal Commission on Corruption Control, declared that he was not satisfied with certain points of the understanding. Known for his US leanings, Deuba's remarks were considered crucial for the future of the understanding. However, after a few days of voicing his reservation on the understanding, Deuba disclosed that his demand with the Maoists is that the rebels should scrap their so-called People's Courts that has been punishing people after summary trials. But reports also say that the central committee of Deuba's party is divided on this issue.

Meanwhile, there are reports that Deuba's party may unify with the Nepali Congress from which it was spun off after Deuba dissolved the parliament in 2002 plunging the country into a political crisis which it faces today. However, the process will surely take a long time given the complicacies involved in unifying each and every unit of the two parties from the national to the local levels. Also the question of sharing the decisive positions in the unified party will be very difficult to resolve.

Late February, the King started consultation with royalist political parties. Interestingly, these consultations are being held in Pokhara, where the King is camping since the eve of the National Democracy Day to visit various parts of the Western Development Region. Though the King was in Kathmandu for two days for the Mahashivaratri festival, he immediately left for Pokhara and called the party leaders there for consultations. This left people guessing as to why the King choose not to lengthen his stay in Kathmandu by one more day and complete the consultations in the capital itself.

The latest news is that some leaders of the seven-party alliance are now in New Delhi for further negotiation with the Maoists while US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Donald Camp is in Nepal for a two-day official visit. And Deuba too is planning to visit USA soon.