February 2007
Political

Crisis Cries

February 2007 so far has been a month of cries of crisis from various quarters, including the King and the Maoists. Everyone seems to be desperately trying to secure maximum space in the new Nepal.

The conflagration that erupted in the Terai from mid-January calmed down after Prime Minister GP Koirala addressed the nation on February 7 for the second time within a week. But the King’s address to the people for Democracy Day on February 19 has created yet another problem of perhaps more serious repercussions. The King had tried to justify his move of February 1, 2005 when he took all powers in his hands by sacking the Prime Minister. There were immediate sharp reactions to this message from all the political parties and on February 21 the interim parliament adopted a resolution asking the government to take actions against the King and inform the Parliament though lawyers say it would not be possible to take any legal action against the king.

There were other serious events as well prior to the King’s address. The Acting Chief of Nepal Army’s Western Divisional Headquarters had made a public speech sharply criticising the political parties and asking the troops to be ready to be mobilised to quell the Terai unrest. Meanwhile, Kamal Thapa, the former Home Minister in the King’s government, arrested on the suspicion of fuelling violence in the Terai unrest, was released on an order from the Supreme Court. The Cabinet asked the Commission for Investigation on Abuse of Authority (CIAA) to initiate anti-corruption actions against some people named in the Rayamajhi Commission report. Critics were unhappy that the report was not made public and they alleged it was meant to protect the King who is believed to be among those named in the report.

On February 13, the Maoists held a mass meeting at the open air theatre in Kathmandu to celebrate the anniversary of their People’s War. Addressing the gathering, Maoist leader Prachanda threatened to declare a Republic unilaterally in April-May if it becomes certain by then that the election to the CA will not be held before mid-June. After this meet, Janashakti Party President Surya Bahadur Thapa held a press conference and protested against the Maoists for intimidating his party cadres in the villages. Earlier, reports had come in from various parts of the country that the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) cadres were beaten up and chased away by Maoists after the RPP tried to hold mass meetings. The latest news is that Maoist troops have left some cantonments complaining that the money provided by the government was insufficient. The Finance Minister strongly reacted to this and said that the Maoist demands are exaggerated and they have not presented any details on how the money provided to them so far has been spent. Ian Martin, the head of the UN Mission overseeing the peace process in Nepal termed the Maoist step to go out of the cantonments as a violation of the peace agreement.