I am writing again after a long hiatus. Couldn’t keep on commenting about the current situation in Nepal. For whatever it is worth…
Alright, the peace accord is signed and Nepal is headed for a peaceful future. Good news. If indeed the Nepali people get what they want (which I assume is peace followed by prosperity) I will be as pleased and content as any other Nepali. But the big question is, will we get what we want?
Certain things provide reasons to be concerned about the eventual outcome of the peace deal. While those in charge are willing to forget the 13,000 lives that were lost during the insurgency, they seem to be extremely vigilant about the 23 lives lost during Jana Andolan II. Pardon me if I come across as naïve and clueless, but those numbers do not add up for me.
The SPA leaders are extremely vocal about the corrupt practices of the royal government. And they are perhaps right about certain corrupt practices. But we also hear about Govinda Raj Joshi and Khum Bahadur Khadka being given “clean chits” by the courts. And the same “parliamentarians” that were charged about impeaching judges remained mute about these acquittals.
The general mood of everyone political has been to shift all the blame of Nepal’s misfortunes to the king and monarchy. Is that really true? Now I don’t mean that the king was guiltless. His idiotic steps messed up things really bad and hurt the very institution that he set about strengthening. But how are we to believe that simply doing away with the king and kingship will get Nepal heading in the right direction? When people like Narahari Acharya claim that monarchy is the greatest obstacle to peace, do they seriously believe that monarchy was responsible for 13,000 deaths?
Are the politicians talking about a republican setup in Nepal after thorough analysis or only as a means to deflect all the blame to the weakest party in the current situation? Are they out to kill the beast or simply cornering a cat? To say that they have no hand in what Nepal went through during the last 15 years is grossly disrespecting the rights, sentiments and dignity of the Nepali people. So, while the SPA politicians bask in the glorious role as peacemakers they should also spend time thinking about the best course of action.
I, for one, believe that the situation in Nepal is still volatile albeit a lot less than a few months ago. Therefore we cannot afford to fan the chaos by blindly removing a power source from the equation. If the politicians do what they are supposed to, then the institution of monarchy will automatically be rendered redundant. In fact, had the SPA leaders done their jobs right in the post 1990 Nepal, the redundancy would probably start to become obviously by now.
Hence, instead of wasting time in witch hunting and creating more chaos, people like Madhav Kumar Nepal and other SPA leaders should spend more time democratizing their own parties, weeding out corrupt leaders, and think about ways to make Democracy II more successful. If the soon-to-be-elected Constituent Assembly decides to get rid of monarchy altogether, so be it. But the need of the hour now is to ensure that the Constituent Assembly elections are free and fair, and that people get to vote with their free will without any intimidation from any sides.
Long live Nepal. May peace prevail…
8 comments:
How can you sit there raising your concerns when the whole country is rejoicing? We have finally achieved peace and it will be a long lasting one unless naysayers like you find a way to sabotage it. Face it, the days of monarchy are numbered and finally the people will get to run Nepal. It is time for a new Nepal. Down with monarchy, long live Nepal!
Well balanced article.
It's time to look at the bigger picture of making the democracy work. I think the UML is being very petty about ministerial portfolios when the entire democracy is predicated on the CA elections.
Annonymous 10:22 -
Now don't get me wrong here. I, too, am pleased that a peace deal has been achieved and I am cautiously optimistic about it. Note that I say a peace deal has been achieved (as opposed to actual peace) which, I hope, will lead to long-term sustainable peace. And, to allay your fears, if I could sabotage the peace process, believe me, I would not be wasting my time being logical about it.
As for the fate of the king and monarchy, I dont lose sleepless nights thinking about it. All I am saying is that we should not abolish monarchy as a means to deflect blames from politicians. If that is what the Nepali people truly want, then let that happen. But we all have witnessed in the past how serious our leaders are about what the people want.
I hope you are right and the people of Nepal do get to run Nepal. After all that is what a true democracy is. If that indeed happens, believe me, I would be as proud and happy as any other Nepali.
Annonymous 2:44
Thanks. It certainly is time to make democracy work in Nepal. Madhav Kumar Nepal is an idiot without any set positions and always seems to be calculating his moves to benefit him and him alone. The fact that the ministerial portfolios are even mentioned at this critical juncture should raise red flags in terms of the seriousness of the leaders who talk about it. Free and fair elections are the only way forward...
Nepali Blogger,
Are you the same Nepali blogger from nepali-blogger.blogspot.com?
He's giving you a bad name at Blogdai.
Annonymous 3:52,
Thanks for the heads up. As you can see from the address of this blog (and my profile) I am not the same as this other Nepali Blogger. I believe in being logical, not radical.
Good Thoughts!
I have always believed in setting examples. The first thing a leader should be capable of doing is setting one for the country, and the rest will follow. Anyone will tell us that we’ve lost more than we’ve gained in the past 15 years, and if we don’t realize soon enough we will loose the little space we are now holding beneath our footing.
Leaders including that of the Maoist, and not to forget the king, should join hands and think about the future of the nation. Should think about lifting our economy and setting it on a path to prosperity. I know I am being way optimistic, but shouldn’t we put up a fight than just give everything up?
Savenepalnow.
Author.
Hi,
Well said, you raise some very important questions not usually seen on forums and blogs, especially about who is responsible for 13,000 deaths! I too have raised one specific question which has got me a lot of abuse from Nepalis: "Just because this King may be a bad King, does that mean you get rid of the monarchy altogether? In the same way, if you have a bad Prime Minister, do you get rid of the whole parliament?" I too only want peace for Nepal and my Nepali family, but I don't see any peace when a terrorist group are given a power-share so quickly and so easily. My last question "What happens when very few Maoist candidates are elected, except where there has been violence and intimidation of the voters?"
Good luck
themountaineer
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