Birth of a Democratic Nepal

After weeks of protesting, thousands of injuries and fourteen confirmed deaths, King Gyanendra announced that he would reinstate Parliament and end his rule as absolute monarch. The international community, not to mention the Nepalese people, have reactions varying from relief to exultation. The US state dept. has called for the King to adopt a strictly ceremonial role and leave the politics to the elected officials. Aid packages have been readied by India and Norway has lifted sanctions, easing the fears of economic collapse following the change-over. It's exciting to see this sort of internal regime change happen in this day and age and to see the international community celebrate and give aid a people's movement. It is however easy to be carried away in the euphoria of a dictatorial ruler's concession power to the people of his country. The Nepali people fought together, but were brought together by an oppression they all could put their differences aside to fight. But who are the people in Nepal to be represented by next, and is positive change really on the way? Can the differnces among the newly empowered constituents be reconciled or will the new democracy falter?

King Gyanendra announced that he "is confident that the nation will forge ahead towards sustainable peace, progress, full-fledged democracy and national unity." He plans to reinstate the parliament and it is probable that elections will also be held for a president. The first step will be the revitalization of the constitution and appointment of an interim parliament to preceed elections. The seven parties (which does not include Maoists) are calling for a constituent assembly elections which will lead to the first elected parliament and president, which will in turn probably draft a new constitution.

While a majority (47.8%) (1) of the Nepalese people believe an all-party government is the best way of dealing with the conflicts that have troubled the nations for the last two decades, it is possible the Maoists will be cut out. That they were not to be party to the new democracy was a point of contention in tke King's Friday night speach. In that speach the king declared he would conceed power, but the Maoists were not to share in the democracy or be met with. The Kathmandu Times had this to say about the Friday address:

"The international community's euphoric reaction to Friday's royal address is ludicrous, to say the least. It also shows how shallow is their reading of Nepali history and how far removed they are from the present ground reality. The foreign envoys' suggestion to the parties to break with the rebels and to take the royal offer is fraught with two serious problems. First, it does not address the Maoist insurgency, the main problem of the day. Breaking with the Maoists at this point in time and rejecting their legitimate demand for a constituent assembly means more bloodshed and more chaos for several years to come. Second, it denies the Nepali people their sovereign rights to decide --- through peaceful means --- the future of monarchy." (2)

What seems probable is that the Maoists, Monarchy and other parties will all have a roundtable discussion, as this is by far the most popular resolution among the people of Nepal.(2) This sentiment was echoed by the United We Stand blog:

"Finally, [Gyanendra] has addressed Seven Party Allegiance’s road map that talks about reinstatement of lower house, formation of all party government and eventually conduct CA poll. This will be on the basis of dialogue and agreement with Maoist. Only such election will end the conflict, establish loktantra and restore people’s sovereignty and state power."[sic](2)

It seems likely that the military will have a considerable say in the amount of Maoist involvement in the government, and were ready only days ago to form an agreement with the Seven Party Allegiance (SPA) to deal with the Maoists. Just today the head of the military, Pyar Jung Thapa anounced that he is optimitistic about merging the Maoist forces with the national guard. This would be a signifigant step toward solving the problems which have claimed over 13,000 lives since 1990. At present, the Maoists control roughly 70% of Nepal (though only sparsly populated areas which make up a small percentage of the electorate.)(3)

The term Maoist is confusing to many people internationaly. While Maoist in name, the goal of the Maoists is to overthrow the Monarchy and establish a democracy. Officially opposed by the Chinese People's Republic, the Maoists advocate using democracy to eliminate caste and gender inequality. The US has opposed the Maoists in the past, considering them to be a terrorist group, and has given $20m in aid to King Gyanendra to fight them. The EU has condemned the Maoists for using child soldiers and the they have been further criticized for commiting rapes and gunpoint-conscription. If democracy is established and the Maoist troop forces were absorbed into the national guard, it seems many of these abuses would be addressed more efficiently. The national guard would not permit children into the army, and children do not form military squads by themselves. The reduction in internal warfare would allow for a reduction in personel who would otherwise be holding ground in areas scarcely populated areas where soldiers are hard to find.

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According to blogger Paramendra Bhagat (4), who runs a website called Democracy for Nepal on which he proposes a Nepali Republican Constitution (5) Girija Koirala is the "undisputed commander" of the people's movement in Nepal and probably the next president. Although he is in his eighties, he is popular enough to justify his being Nepal's historical first president. Besides Koirala, Madhav Nepal, currently the Nepali Congress General Secretary is second in running. Though he doesn't have the political pull that Koirala does, he is much younger and this may have an impact.

Well, just as I was writing the above paragraph it came over Kantipur Online, that Koirala was named President of the Interim Parliament, and is to be named Prime Minister of the Nepali Congress (NC). He was nominated by Madhav Nepal, no less. This still gives him the oppurtunity to be elected president through constituent elections.

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Another important factor in the new Nepalese democracy is the address of civil rights equality for the Nepali inhabitants of the Madhesh region close to India, the Madheshi (freq. misspelled Madhesi). In Nepal there are two main cultures, the Madheshi and the Pahadi. While the Madhesi are nearly forty percent of the population, they live on a vastly unequal economic plane than the Pahadi. Of the Pahadi, Bhagat writes "Their most vicious feeling is on this question, and they will tell you the identity called Madhesi does not exist."[sic] (6) On Bhagat's site the most "contoversial" page, as he puts it himself, is his blog entry concerning the possibility of Madhesi finally achieving greater equality by becoming involved in Nepalese politics at this time. The letters he recieved in response, posted on his site, present strong feelings against this idea, partly because they believe Madheshi demands would gum up the works of establishing a new government, but also the implication is presented that they would not like to see Madheshis holding political power.

It is too early to see racial and gender equality discussed thoroughly; that will come with the drawing up of a new constitution or the revision of the existing one. What has been decided in a historical seven parties meeting today is that all unconstitutional decisions made by the monarchy are no longer in effect, that anyone found guilty of crimes against the people's rise to power will be investigated and prosecuted and the families of victims compensated. Meanwhile the streets of Kathmandu are still dizzying with people celebrating the birth of their new democracy. It only came with painful contractions that stained the streets with blood. Now mixed with the debris and wounded are the memories of 1990, when blood was similarly shed for freedom, and the memory of the time between then and now, when that freedom dimmed, crackled and went out. Now that the power rests with the SPA it is necessary the international community help to support the newly elected officials however they can. This will minimalize the retaliation that often comes after a hard fought battle, and empower not only the Nepalese people, but all oppressed people who can look to Nepal as a place where Democracy is the means by which oppression and backlash can be reconciled and peace begin.

Notes:
1 http://demrepubnepal.blogspot.com/2006/04/himal-survey.html
2 http://www.kantipuronline.com/
3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Nepal_%28Maoist%29
4 http://demrepubnepal.blogspot.com/
5 http://demrepubnepal.blogspot.com/2006/01/proposed-republican-constitution.html
6 http://demrepubnepal.blogspot.com/2006/04/madhesi-rights-total-equality.html