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RIGHTS-NEPAL: Revolution’s Speed Bumps

Marty Logan

KATHMANDU, May 2 2006 (IPS) - On the eve of Prime Minister Girija Koirala’s refusal to be sworn in by the royal council, Crown Prince Paras was returning from a round of golf in the capital when a car in his speeding motorcade clipped a vehicle in a wedding party. It was the wedding party that was hauled away to a local police station.

The incident, which spiced up daily gossip across this South Asian nation, was a stark reminder of the power and privilege wielded by Nepal’s monarchy and could foreshadow troubles ahead for those intent on moulding April’s revolution into a republican political system.

Many people here are already saying that Koirala and his colleagues in the House of Representatives, that king Gyanendra restored Apr. 24 in the face of massive, defiant street protests, are wasting the people power that propelled them to power.

“I also noted very carefully the incident (with the prince),” says veteran human rights activist Padma Ratna Tuladhar. “It was as if there was no change in power or authority, none at all. Just like in the autocratic days.”

A senior civil society leader, Tuladhar was jailed during much of last month’s “people’s movement” that finally chased the king from power after more than 14 months of direct rule. “The leaders had a strong mandate to do whatever was necessary for democracy so we were expecting them to be very serious, very wise but they failed,” he said in an interview at his home in central Kathmandu.

For example, Koirala refused the demand of many ordinary Nepalis, and some members of the seven-party alliance (SPA) that launched April’s general strike igniting the movement, to take his oath at the parliament and instead followed tradition, receiving it from the king. Party leaders are also quarrelling over posts in the new cabinet (one senior leader resigned Tuesday), added Tuladhar.


On the other hand, “the people have shown such strong will”, he said. For instance, workers at the office of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City padlocked their gate fearing that senior officials would raid the coffers during the transition period.

SPA leaders repeatedly vow that they are bent on carrying out the main demand of the people’s movement: holding elections to a constituent assembly that will draft a new constitution, which will decide the fate of Nepal’s monarchy. “Our first effort is to empower people by amending the present constitution,” Koirala said after swearing in the first seven members of his cabinet Tuesday.

The prime minister also announced that the cabinet will remove the “terrorist” tag from Maoist rebels who have waged an increasingly bloody insurgency for the past 10 years. At least 13,000 people, mostly innocent rural folk, have been killed as the rebels took control of up to 80 percent of Nepal’s countryside, destroying millions of dollars worth of government infrastructure and forcefully recruiting young villagers.

In November, rebel chiefs pledged to renounce violence and return to the political mainstream if the SPA could deliver a constituent assembly. Many political observers say that without the weight of Maoist supporters (and peasants who the rebels ordered to the capital) the people’s movement could not have put hundreds of thousands of people on the streets of Kathmandu.

Last week, Maoist leaders declared a three-month ceasefire and Tuladhar, among others, has criticised Koirala’s party for not reciprocating the pledge. “Promising a constituent assembly is an accomplishment but they still have to have an understanding with the Maoists or there is no use in having a government,” he said.

According to U.S. assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs, Richard Boucher, who arrived here Tuesday, “The Maoists cannot be part of the new political process until they renounce violence”.

But the rebels are already openly throwing around their weight. Since the king gave up power, the rebels have, for the first time in years, held open meetings around the country and their newspaper is now publicly available in the capital. Although there is much talk of peace negotiations and disarming Maoist fighters in the near future, it is widely believed that the rebel leaders will play a central role in shaping the new political system.

“The burden is on the seven parties. Knowing their characters we’re not sure they’ll perform well. So the Maoists will have the upper hand. If they lay down their arms, their credibility will increase so much,” says sociologist Harka Gurung.

Protesters chanted and burned tyres in front of parliament again Tuesday, Urging legislators to name a date for constituent assembly elections that, they believe, will vote out the monarchy.

But not everyone supports such haste. “Quarrelling is to be expected – they can’t decide everything unanimously,” says a retired development worker, adding, “As long as they keep moving forward, it’s OK. Let’s give them 100 days.”

Yet civil society leaders are discussing more ‘direct action’ in the form of a watchdog assembly, said Tuladhar. “It would suggest, advise and warn the government: ‘We are still watching you, you must act very strongly, forcefully and courageously’.”

 
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