Home >> South Asia >> Nepal & Bhutan

     Email   Print 

The Maoist Program and Nepal's Challenge

Bhuwan Thapaliya - 5/25/2006

The government led by the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) and the Maoist rebels is trying to bridge the troubled waters of Nepalese politics after the overthrow of the constitutional monarchy resulting from their joint struggle. This is indeed a step towards peace and lasting stability, as the rights of ordinary Nepalese can no longer be held hostage to the monarchy's quest for power.

Despite recent developments, analysts are concerned about the challenges that lie ahead for Nepal, asking, "How do you make sure that peace trickles down to the people on the ground?"

What is very clear, as far as the people are concerned, is that there will be no peace and reconciliation in Nepal without justice. The Nepalese people and the SPA seem content to play according to the Maoists' script.

If you have lost family members, however, or if you have seen your house destroyed or banks looted, your friends shot dead, your sisters raped, if you had your cattle slaughtered and your land taken away, it is not enough just to be told, "Fine, you're safe now, go back."

Are the displaced Nepalese really safe in returning to their homes and starting their village lives all over again after this latest political extravaganza? To some extent they are, but not completely. For the latter to happen, Nepal needs a lasting political settlement and a legal framework for reparations to help people get back something of what they have lost.

But what did I see in Nepal - everywhere I went and from everyone I spoke with there was a lack of trust in the Maoists. "How can the Maoists restore trust when it was never there in the first place?" most observers are saying.

The truth, however, is that the Maoists will never be able to create trust as long as their armed militias are allowed to march through the villages. They will never be able to win people's hearts as long as their cadres are allowed to commit extortion.

They will never be able to take their place in the democracy as long as they resist the democratic orders of the state. They would need to disarm and send the message that they are serious about tackling past abuses, but so far this has not seemed to be the case.

The new government and the Maoists must henceforth begin to address peace and human rights issues in ways that can be implemented and measured. If we look at torture and other humanitarian crimes committed by the security forces and the Maoists in the past, we know what is and what is not part of the peace process.

How to measure the right to exist peacefully and actually hold them accountable? A lot of work remains to be done. Meanwhile, the paradox that recent events suggest, however, is that permanent peace in Nepal will be possible only through the political nexus between the SPA and the Maoists.

This will require the Maoists to rein in their undemocratic tendencies and actively prevent reprisals against their opponents and the government to develop a reform package that will offer Maoists real rights and effective power sharing.

In the meantime, international actors of all sorts must start making the paradigm shift necessary for a stable peace in Nepal, despite the unpromising context; the merits of coming to terms with the Maoists are being cautiously debated.

Should the Maoist movement be kept out of power at all costs, or, given a chance to promote their cause, by non-violent means? Or should the West react with horror to Maoists gaining a foothold or applaud the historic compromise that has been achieved by a resilient democracy?

The situation is far too serious for simplistic explanations arising from current frustrations to be satisfactory. Most observers still find it hard to imagine a way out unless the regime allows genuine _expression for Maoist opinion.

Yet, the skeptics argue that, given the chance, Maoists will use democratic ladders to acquire power, and then kick them away, a possibility that should not be ignored. But the evidence suggests that the alternative - bottling up Maoist dissent - simply won't work, at least in contemporary Nepal.