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VOL. 03, NO. 10, Oct. 16 2009 (Ashwin 30 2066)
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Zero-sum Game
As three major political parties stick to their guns, political stalemate continues
By Saroj Dahal
While leaving for China on a week-long trip along with his senior comrades and son on October 11, Chairman of Unified CPN (Maoist) and former premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal said he was optimistic of a breakthrough soon.
“Talks are going on at different levels and I am hopeful the current deadlock will end upon my return from China,” he told reporters.
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| Political Leaders: No way to compromise |
Interestingly, another senior leader of the Maoist—who was not included in the delegation, Dr Baburam Bhattarai has been warning that there is no possibility of consensus with the ruling parties on the issue of ‘civilian supremacy.’
“Be prepared to launch a massive, nationwide protests as soon as the Tihar festival is over,” he told his party cadres in his home district Gorkha on Monday.
Leaders of the three major parties, Unified CPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) met even during the Dashain holidays to find a way out to address Maoist demands. The Maoists have been boycotting the proceedings of the legislature-parliament and have launched nationwide protests demanding that ‘civilian supremacy’ be restored in the country.
The impasse started after President Dr Ram Baran Yadav overruled the Maoist-led government’s move to sack the then chief of the Army Staff General Rookmangad Katawal in May this year. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ then resigned from his post citing ‘unconstitutional interference’ from the office of the president.
His party started a nation-wide protests as soon as a new coalition led by Madhav Kumar Nepal took office in late May.
As the stalemate continues, uncertainty has arisen regarding the prospect of the finance bill that is pending in the legislature-parliament. If Maoists continue to boycott the legislature, the House will not be able to pass the bill and the government will not be able to incur any expenditure giving rise to an unprecedented crisis.
“Maoists will be responsible for any untoward incident if such a situation arises,” warned Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal. He, however, did not elaborate what options he had in such an eventuality.
A senior leader of the CPN (UML) Pradip Gyawali, who is involved in the talks between major parties, said consensus was not impossible, but that political leaders were not sincere to find one. “It is because they still distrust each other,” he said.
Sources say intra-party dissension within the major parties, especially the Maoists, hasn’t helped the matter. Maoist supremo Prachanda called on President Yadav recently and had one-to-one chat. It was seen as an attempt to improve relation with the office of the president. But within his own party he was not able to garner much support towards such reconciliatory move.
“We have been flexible as much as possible to find a consensus. But the consensus will be meaningless if we don’t address the issue of ‘civilian supremacy,’ “ said Dev Gurung, a former minister and senior Maoist leader. “An imaginary consensus doesn’t help anybody. How to deal with the president’s move must be worked out,” he added.
The party leading the government, CPN (UML) too is not an exception. While party chairman, Jhal Nath Khanal, is seen as close to the Maoists, another powerful leader K P Sharma Oli is known for his strong opposition towards the former rebels. Prime Minister Nepal is said to be trying to maintain balance between the two rival factions.
“UML wants a government of national consensus which will be able to draft a new constitution on time,” said Khanal. It is seen as an indication of his preference to include Maoists in the new government as and when it is formed.
Nepali Congress leaders say they are ready to discuss the issue of civilian supremacy but they have made it clear that they are not ready to discuss the president’s move.
In such a situation, nobody knows how and if a solution will be found. Analysts say role of external actors, especially that of India, will be crucial to resolve the ongoing political deadlock.
