Nepal Maoist's Hasty Retreat

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Nepal blockade

Maoists make a retreat

By Arabinda Ghose

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THE somewhat abrupt withdrawal of the "economic blockade" imposed on

the Kathmandu Valley by the Maoists of Nepal by the evening of August

24 was an otherwise silver lining in the dismal state of affairs in

this kingdom prevailing for nearly ten years of insurgency and

administrative failure on the part of the powers that be.

 

There will be claims and counter claims by both the Maoists and the

authorities about the success of the blockade or its total failure.

What was the reality?

 

We in India, exposed to the newspapers and the electronic medium

carrying reports filed by Indian correspondents, had believed that the

blockade had pushed to the brink of collapse both the administration

and the entire political system of Nepal. We were also led to believe

that King Gyanendra would accept the demand of the Maoists for holding

elections for a Constituent Assembly with the objective of framing a

new, ´republican' Constitution for Nepal. There were also reports that

India, deeply concerned with this state of affairs, had offered

assistance to Nepal for breaking the blockade. Nepal had promptly

denied such reports.

 

However, All India Radio on August 24 gave an entirely new dimension

to the entire situation which reported that the blockade did not

disrupt life in Kathmandu, all essential items were available in the

Valley and that tourist arrival in the country had actually gone up

this year by 50 per cent over that during the previous year. One may

recall also that during the ´blockade', a demonstration by determined

citizens had taken place in Kathmandu protesting against disruption of

life in this manner every now and then.

 

Should we then start writing an epitaph for Maoists of Nepal? That

would be a very hasty decision for anyone, given the actual situation

on the ground. The Maoists are led by very determined people with

excellent strategy to benumb the administration in the countryside at

will and their adherents are actually increasing in number, extending

even to the Terai areas adjacent to the Indian borders. In other

words, the Maoists' organisation has now cadres also from among the

´Madhesis', the largely Hindi-speaking people living along the

southern fringes of this mountainous country.

 

However, one cannot but compare the Nepali Maoists with the ´Shining

Path' terrorists of Peru, the South American country with the Pacific

at its western border. The Shining Path organisation was led by

Abimael Guzman, called ´Professor' by his followers, who regarded him

as the greatest living exponent of Marxist-Leninism in the world. This

organisation too had adopted the path of terror for achieving their

objective of establishing a Marxist-Leninist ´paradise' in the country.

 

But they had not contended with President Alberto Fujimorei, a

Peruvian of Japanese descent. He employed his crack police team to

trace Guzman, who was underground, and after meticulous operation, was

able to arrest Guzman in the capital city, Lima. Unlike the

terrorists, the government forces did not shoot Guzman to death. They

gave him an opportunity to defend himself in a court of law and he was

sentenced to long imprisonment. The Shining Path organisation has more

or less collapsed since.

 

Fujimori had also brought about a brilliant rescue operation to free

hostages held by the Shining Path activists within the Japanese

Embassy in Lima, making short shrift of the eleven rebels. It was

unfortuante that Fujimori later had disgraced himself and has now

taken political asylum in Japan.

 

In the case with Nepal, one can easily point out the factors

responsible for the growth of Maoism in this country where certain

momentous political developments had taken place since 1950 which at

least should have made Nepal another Switzerland, a peaceful

Switzerland with one of the highest per capita incomes in the world.

Two ´revolutions', one in 1950-51 and the other in February-April

1990, had resulted in the establishment of parliamentary systems in

the country. The Nepali Congress, the country's oldest and the largest

politcial party, had spearheaded both these ´revolutions'.

 

Came the third general elections in 1999 and the Nepali Congress won

handsomely once again. But very senior leader, Kishunji (Krishna

Prasad Bhattarai) became the Prime Minister. He soon gave way to

Koirala as the Prime Minister. It was during this rule that the royal

massacre of June 1, 2001 took place and the slain King Birendra's

brother Gyanendra became the ruler. Koirala's exit thereafter saw

Deuba as Prime Minister again. The House was dissolved and Deuba was

charged with the duty of holding elections. It was not possible

because of the Maoist problem and on October 4, 2002, Deuba was sacked

by King Gyanendra for being ´incompetent' in holding the polls. Soon,

the six-month mandatory period for holding polls elapsed, which, to

this correspondent's mind, was the actual demise of the Constitution.

However, King Gyanendra assumed all powers under Article 127 of the

Constitution which empowered him to take action in order to ´remove

obstacles' in the path of implementing the constitutional provisions.

 

It is highly debateable if Article 127 gives the King the powers he is

exercising now, but no one has challenged this Article in the Supreme

Court. The Maoist grip tightened, the Nepali Congress split and the

UML too became ´democratised' and behaved like the Nepali Congress.

The majority faction of the Nepali Congress led by Koirala wants

restoration of the Pratinidhi Sabha although this appeal has once been

rejected by the Supreme Court. The King recently appointed Deuba the

Prime Minister once again and the UML too joined the government.

 

Can this combine manage to hold elections in Nepal? Highly unlikely.

The Maoists control the hilly and largely difficult-to-access areas of

the country. The Army is not being fully utilised yet to curb the

influence of the Maoists, probably because no one wants young Nepali

youths being killed indiscriminately. These young men and women can

become an asset to Nepal if they come overground and join mainstream

politics.

 

One would thus find that the failure of the political parties to

provide the country with a stable, development-oriented government is

largely responsible for the present state of affairs in Nepal. The rot

had set in soon after the 1991 elections in which the party headed by

the deputy leader of the Maoists-Dr Baburam Bhattarai-had fared

extremely badly.

 

Yet when Baburam Bhattarai went ´underground' in the Lalitpur area of

the capital Kathmandu and carried on his activities, including

organising a virtual army of young men and women, the Administration

was unable to nab him, during the mid-1990s. Political and

administrative failures on the part of democratic parties have made

Nepal being described by certain foreign countries as a ´failed

State', a matter of shame for the proud Nepali people who had never

been under a foreign yoke. In any case, this slur-if it really

is-should make everyone in Nepal sit up, mend fences and work towards

restoration and sustainability of the democratic system.