Opposition Presses on for Removal of
Nepal’s Premier
KATHMANDU -- The streets in capital Kathmandu looked like a battleground on April 16. Hundreds of opposition activists, led by the leader of the main opposition and general secretary of the Unified Marxist-Leninist party, Madhav Kumar Nepal, jammed the streets of the capital shortly after sunrise. Their mission: Stop Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala from entering his office at Singha Durbar.
The police swung into action and took into custody more than 100 opposition leaders and workers. As Koirala managed to enter his office amid tight security, the opposition activists had a field day in the streets of the capital. Besides clashing with police, they burnt tires, uprooted railings erected along the pavement and threw concrete slabs on the major thoroughfares. “We will continue our protest programs until Koirala resigns from his post,” declared J. N. Khanal, a senior leader of the UML. “We want to stop him from engaging in corruption any further.”
Five opposition parties led by the UML boycotted the entire 19th session of the parliament for nearly two months (February-March this year) demanding resignation of Prime Minister Koirala. They have alleged Koirala of indulging in corruption while leasing a wide-body passenger aircraft for the state-run Royal Nepal Airlines. Koirala denied allegations and said he would immediately step down if the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA)—that is probing into the deal -- found him guilty.
But the opposition would not listen. In a nationwide broadcast over the state-run radio and television on April 16, Koirala said the country was passing through a phase of grave crisis. Without naming from where such a crisis emanated, the septuagenarian leader urged the opposition to come to dialogue and find solution to the problems facing the country. Saying that the Maoist insurgency has had adverse impact on socio-economic conditions of the country, Koirala urged the rebels to surrender their arms and ammunitions to the government or face consequences. “The government will provide opportunities and securities to those who give up arms but will punish those who continue violence, in accordance with law,” said the premier.
Though immediate reactions from the Maoists were not available, analysts say it is least likely that the rebels would surrender themselves in front of the government at a time when they were gaining major “military victories” against the security personnel. In early April this year, Maoist rebels mounted fierce attacks on remote police posts in the country. Within a week, nearly 70 policemen had lost their lives including more than 30 each at Rukumkot and Naumule. More than a dozen rebels also lost their lives in the gun battles. “We are doing our best but ill-equipped police can’t fight an insurgency like this,” said Pradeep Shumshere Rana, chief of the Nepal Police. There were reports of police deserting their posts in remote hills and others refusing to go to replace them.
This gave one more opportunity to the opposition to put the year-old Koirala government on dock. “Prime Minister GP Koirala should resign immediately as his government has failed to protect even the security personnel in the country. He should not stick to the chair shamelessly,” said Madhav Kumar Nepal, general secretary of the UML.
With a view to bringing together the faction-ridden ruling party in the wake of all-round attacks upon his government, Prime Minister Koirala, who is also the president of the ruling party, summoned the meetings of NC central working committee and parliamentary party. As expected, the party extended crucial support to the beleaguered government though some dissident lawmakers blamed Prime Minister Koirala for the deteriorating law and order situation in the country.
After unleashing a spate of violence that has already claimed more than 1600 lives over the last five years, newly elected chairman of Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) Comrade Prachanda said, “We called for the Nepal Bandh (nationwide shutdown strike) and organized other non-military actions to draw the attention of political forces and the people to political oppression taking place today. We appeal to all political parties to understand the seriousness of our appeal for dialogue and to take concrete measures in that direction.” The Maoist party has said it is prepared to discuss the need for a conference of all political forces, an interim government and changes in the constitution. “If this government continues to ignore our appeal and engage in conspiracy and oppression, we are prepared to move ahead with more serious measures.”
Analysts say both the government and rebels are trying to strengthen their position before sitting for negotiations, as and when they take place. The government re-introduced the Armed Police Ordinance to set up a paramilitary type of security force mainly to combat terrorist activities in the country. The ordinance could not be passed by the parliament as the opposition parties boycotted the entire session demanding Koirala’s resignation. The Prime Minister has had a tough time to prove the rationale of his political maneuver last year in which he forced his long-time colleague and former Prime Minister K. P. Bhattarai to step down alleging him of failing to maintain law and order in the country, check corruption and provide good governance. His critics now say Mr. Koirala has failed on all fronts. “The situation is worse now than what it was when Koirala took over,” said former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who now heads the dissident group within the ruling Nepali Congress party.
Seeing that time is running out for him, the prime minister has initiated efforts to bring about rapprochement within the party and open dialogue with the opposition. The ruling party has also called upon all the opposition parties that believed in the country’s constitution, to come together and start discussions to find out solutions to present problems. The main opposition UML, however, continued to blast Koirala, a strongman in Nepalese politics, and announced that they will not take part in any programs in which Mr. Koirala will be the chief guest.
Though the opposition and dissident groups are trying to corner him, Koirala seems to be gaining strength, if not popularity, for his stand to play by the rules. Lately, even the international community has started showing concern about the growing violence in the country. In a statement issued in mid-April (2001), the European Union condemned recent attacks upon police posts by Maoist rebels in Nepal and said it supported the democratic government and process of democracy enshrined in the constitution of Nepal. The EU said citizens have a legitimate right to expect to live in safety, and governments have a legitimate right to provide for the security and well being of the people. The governments of Norway and United States also supported the EU move.
Opposition leaders, however, brush aside such gestures. “The international community, including the US, has no right to interfere into our domestic affairs,” said Narayan Man Bijukchhe, chairman of Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, a communist outfit. “In fact, we strongly believe that the US imperialism will come to an end sooner than later.’’ More than the international concerns, undeclared ‘cold war’ between two giants neighbors, India and China, may have had its impact on the prolonged political instability in the country, say analysts. Says Ganesh Raj Sharma, a noted lawyer and political analyst, “Nepal lost its long-found stability from both of its neighbors after Chinese army took the control of Tibet in 1950. Looking at the military power of China in Tibet, India has been launching several covert and overt operations in Nepal to bring this Himalayan kingdom under its security system. That’s why, Nepal has fallen victim to all-round instability over the last several decades.” Interestingly, according to Sharma, India would find it suitable to launch its operations under communist cover whereas China would find it appropriate to use people of Indian origin or under Indian influence to further its interests. “If there were no foreign conspiracies, Nepalese people and its leadership had capabilities to run a democratic polity,” said Sharma.
Though the government has not said who are the forces, domestic or external, behind the Maoist rebellion, it is now trying to strengthen its security apparatus and win back the confidence of local people in remote areas who seem to be neglected by the seat of power in Kathmandu. After seeing that the police was simply unable to control the Maoist rebellion, the government has recently proposed an “integrated development and security package” for the districts most affected by the Maoist insurgency. Prime Minister Koirala called on the constitutional monarch, King Birendra, along with top government officials to get his support in mobilizing the army to implement the package. According to the country’s constitution, King approves mobilization of the Royal Nepalese Army upon the recommendation of the National Security Council headed by the Prime Minister.
As the government is trying hard to keep its act together, people are simply frustrated with the non-performance of successive governments. A recent opinion poll conducted by the Himal khabarpatrika and ORG-MARG said the majority of the people want a peaceful solution to the Maoist insurgency and they are not enthusiastic toward the proposal of use of force to contain the rebellion. The poll also showed that the popularity of the ruling party has dipped to all-time low and they are fed up with the never-ending in fighting in the ruling party.
As people’s expectations are rising, Prime Minister Koirala is on the tight spot. “His crisis is far from over,” said Rajendra Dahal, editor of Himal Khabarpatrika. “Besides keeping his own house in order, he will have to persuade the opposition in supporting the government’s efforts to contain the Maoist rebellion.” Since a poor economy like Nepal can’t afford military-like operations against the rebels for long, the government will have to open channels for dialogue sooner than later, say analysts. The government officials, on their part, say they are open to dialogue. “We have kept our doors open for talks,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Ram Chandra Poudel. “But I think the rebels are not sincere toward a peaceful resolution.” Critics say the Maoists are escalating violence looking for more political space for them. Others allege that they want to reverse the decade-old democratic exercise in the country. They point toward recent parleys between Ramesh Nath Pandey, a royal nominee to the Upper House of the Parliament, with the top Maoist leaders. Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, a senior Maoist leader, however, defended his secret meeting with Pandey saying that they were ready to meet even the King himself to give a way out to the present political stalemate.
As Maoists are stepping pressure against the government and major political parties are not even willing to sit together to discuss issues, political stalemate in Nepal is likely to continue for some more time to come. Such a stalemate has had adverse impact on all the sectors of governance and cases of innocent people falling victim to unwarranted violence are growing by every passing day. “If the government and opposition refuse to talk to each other, they would be doing so at the cost of democracy,” said Prof. Panna Kaji Amatya, a political scientist at the Tribhuvan University. “The government could have gone to the people saying that the opposition is barring it from delivering the goods. But it seems to have lost its moral authority to do so.” Days ahead for the Koirala government are anything but smooth. Unfortunately, his failure will be interpreted as the failure of the 11-year-old parliamentary exercise in the country.