Nepal at crossroads (part 2)
Continued from October 30
Beleaguered Gyanendra dissolved the parliament on February 1, 2005 and clamped down on the media, seizing all powers to get rid of the civil war once and for all. The army arrested leaders and activists from across the political spectrum. The United States, the European Union and India who were supporting the king's "war against terrorism" suspended all economic assistance and military supplies to the government.
This self-destructive blunder earned the king three clear enemies -- the mainstream parties, the Maoists and a critical international community.
On September 3, 2005 the Maoists declared a three-month unilateral ceasefire to persuade other political parties onto their bandwagon. Secret negotiations took place between the Maoists and the mainstream parties. Then on November 19 the Maoists signed a 12-point agreement with the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) in New Delhi and agreed to form a common front to dislodge the Monarchy.
The SPA included -- Nepali Congress (mainstream led by G.P. Koirala), Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist), Nepali Congress (Democratic -- Deuba's breakaway party), Janamorcha Nepal, Nepal Peasant and Worker's Party, Nepal Sadbhawana Party, and the United Leftist Front -- all had representation in the Parliament. India played the catalyst's role in the agreement.
The 12-point agreement had far reaching implications for the future of politics in Nepal. The agreement actually formed the basis of all successive agreements and understandings that the political parties have reached so far.
What was significant is that the Maoists formally committed to join the multi-party stream and work towards a constitutional change in the political system. In other words they renounced their strategy of guerilla war. It also spoke about the "autocratic monarchy" and termed the king as the hurdle towards achieving democracy.
This is the first time the parliamentary parties and the Maoists closed ranks and were pitched against the king. The Nepalese polity was thus divided into two clear opposing forces -- the king on the one hand and the opposing political parties on the other.
The Delhi agreement had no effect on the conduct of the government, as all powers were concentrated in the hands of the King. The absence of the parliament forced the SPA to stir up agitation. In January 2006 the Maoists ended the four-month unilateral ceasefire. And on April 5, 2006 the Maoist called for general strike across Nepal with a blockade of Kathmandu.
The massive uprising compelled the government to impose a curfew with orders to shoot-at-sight. Thousands of demonstrators defied the government ban and clashed with police making Kathmandu a battlefield -- leaving three people killed. This was a crucial show of strength by the Maoists against the king.
On April 24, the embattled king capitulated -- he relinquished powers and reinstated the parliament. The retreating monarch named octogenarian NCP leader Girija Prosad Koirala prime minister. On April 30, Koirala invited Prachanda to Kathmandu for talks and on May 3, Koirala declared a ceasefire and announced that the Maoists will not be treated as "terrorist groups." The Maoists also declared a three-month truce. Prachanda came to the capital on June 16, 2006 and made his first public appearance in 10 years.
After months of difficult negotiations a major breakthrough was achieved when Prime Minister Koirala on behalf of the government and Prachanda on behalf of the CPN (Maoist) signed the "Comprehensive Peace Agreement" (CPA) on November 21, 2006 in Kathmandu. The agreement formally brought an end to the decade-long "Jana Joodha" and effectively terminated King Gyanendra's direct rule.
Maoist negotiations with the mainstream political parties only substantiated the fact that the Delhi agreement was the source for negotiations. Thus the CPA, which was an agreement between the government and the CPN (Maoist), laid the basis for peace -- albeit fragile.
In the two-decade long confrontation the Maoists changed their tactics on several occasions -- realising that they cannot achieve a clear military victory. They realised that they cannot change the political course of Nepal singly -- they needed the conventional parliamentary parties with them.
Besides, the killings had terribly alienated them from the people. Shrewd Koirala capitalised on this particular weakness of the Maoists to bring an end to the bloody insurgency. Koirala of course had to give-in to some major demands of the Maoist to buy that peace.
Among the significant provisions of the CPA were -- a ceasefire, meaning an end of war; management of the Nepalese army and the Maoist army; human rights issue of the people of Nepal; and implementation and monitoring of the agreement. The management of arms was to be done under another agreement known as "Agreement on Monitoring of the Management of Arms and Armies" signed by the Maoists and the government on December 8, 2006, and witnessed by the United Nations representative Ian Martin. Under this agreement the Maoist army and the Royal Nepal Army are to be monitored by the United Nations.
Before the CPA was signed, the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) and the Maoists signed a power sharing deal on November 8, 2006, which brought in the Maoists into the government. The proclamation of the king on April 24, 2006 had restored the dismissed House of Representatives (lower house of parliament) but there were no Maoists in that house.
Under this agreement the House of Representatives was enlarged from the extant 209 to 330 members. A total of 121 new members, which is more than one-third of the House, were added to the House -- the Maoists nominating 73 party cadres and another 48 members (sympathetic to the Maoists) representing the class organisations and professional bodies, oppressed ethnic communities and regions.
The way it was done defies all legality or legitimacy -- there were no elections or any form of public scrutiny or ballot, nor was there any agreed formula. It was essentially the Maoists barging their way into the interim legislature -- as it came to be called. The mandate of the new House was to draft an interim constitution.
The Maoists not only secured seats in the interim parliament but also got five berths (information and communication; local development; physical planning and works; women and children; and forest and soil conservation) in the interim government of 22 ministers formed on April 2.
CPN-UML got foreign affairs; education; tourism; civil aviation and culture; general administration; agriculture and cooperatives. Nepali Congress however, retained the important Ministries of home; defence; finance; science and technology; peace and reconstruction.
Mahmood Hasan is a former Ambassador and Secretary. This piece is part two of a three-part special backgrounder on the Nepal crisis. The concluding section will appear tomorrow.
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