NEPAL: Cease fire- attempts to isolate political parties will not work in the long term. Update 28

South Asia Analysis Group

Note No. 175

04.02. 2003

NEPAL: Cease fire- attempts to isolate political parties will not work in the long term. Update 28

by Dr. S. Chandrasekharan

On 29 January, in a welcome move the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) declared a cease fire, that was soon confirmed by the government sources. The political parties were taken by surprise by the dramatic turn of events and the speed with which the government readily agreed to the cease fire and dialogue thereafter.

It was known that for sometime the government was making informal approaches to the Maoists for a cease fire and some of the authoritative statements made by the Minister for Physical Planning and Works, Narayan Singh Pun on issues outside his charge gave an indication that he was negotiating with the Maoists. The last statement made by Pun on rehabilitating of the Maoists cadres in the security structure of the state ( Update 27) was further confirmation that the two sides have gone into greater detail than what has been revealed.

The Maoists had also been expecting that the government would give in. In one of his statements Prachanda (Update 25- page 3) had said that the party had formed a high level dialogue committee to hold peace talks and that the committee is being formed for a peaceful, positive and progressive outlet to hold talks with the government. He had not given up the three major demands though.

It is not clear whether the Maoists had given up now the three conditions they had made before the dialogue could begin, namely - round table conference of all political parties, an interim government and elections for a Constituent assembly. Of these they have perhaps given up the first one i.e round table conference of all political parties but not the elections to a Constituent assembly which they hope would lead to a Constitution “drafted by the people’s elected representatives” a demand voiced by them from the very beginning of their people’s war movement (See the forty points demand made by the Maoists given in the Appendix I).

The government on its part has already taken steps to withdraw international arrest warrants against Maoists leaders, withdraw the price tags on some of the leaders and above all legitimise the group by withdrawing the terrorist label.

There is no word yet as to another controversial demand of the Maoists regarding the abolition of monarchy. Both sides for tactical reasons appear to have left this point vague right now but this issue will crop up time and again along with other powers, privileges and perks of the institution of monarchy. Other political parties like the Nepali Congress of G.P.Koirala are certain to raise the issue particularly of the powers of the monarchy over the armed forces.

In the whole process, the political parties which have been demanding restoration of parliament/government have been marginalised. Without casting aspersions, it has to be said that it suited both the Royalty and the Maoists to marginalise the political parties particularly the Nepali Congress of both hues - that of G.P.Koirala and Deuba.

G.P.Koirala made three valid comments on the cease fire process 1. That the Maoists and the King were trying to isolate the political parties 2. The Maoists and the government have guns and the talks are taking place between parties having guns 3. If tangible results are to be expected , both parties ought to have incorporated the political parties in the current exercise instead of ignoring them.

Koirala should have anticipated what was coming to the genuine political parties with democratic credentials. In one of our earliest updates no, 5 titled “Nepali Congress needs serious introspection” we said

None had suffered more than the Nepali Congress leaders themselves when they were suppressed during the Panchayat Raj rule. K.P.Bhattarai, the senior leader and former Prime minister spent many years in jail for the cause of democracy in Nepal. G.P.Koirala spent his youthful days in exile for many years. Now they are squabbling with each other for position and power.... Gone are the ideals and principles on which the 1990 Constitution that institutionalised the fruits of struggles and sacrifices of the people and the ideals and principles adopted by the Nepali Congress.

It is the failure of these leaders to rise above their personal ambitions in the interest of good governance that has been exploited both by the Maoists and the King.

The Communists on the other hand adept in the “United front tactics” joined hands with the monarchy during the absolute rule of the monarchy before the 1990 revolution.   In the initial stages when the movement against the Panchayat government started, the Maoists did not join the movement. Later when they found that the tide was going in favour of the democratic forces they joined in the last stages of the movement and in fact took the leading role in marching menacingly towards the palace which though ended in a blood bath, brought in multi party democracy to Nepal. Now one sees the re-enactment of the Panchayat days with the King and the Maoists coming together , leaving the political parties in the cold.

In the present crisis, the United Marxist League (UML) of Madhav Nepal appears to be in a dilemma. First they tried to seek accommodation with the Marxists and despite a personal meeting with Prachanda outside Nepal, they did not succeed. If the national elections had been held in the aftermath of dismissal of Deuba government, the UML had a fair chance of coming to power as the Nepali Congress had split irrevocably.   Their appeal for an “all party government “ was rejected by the King and in the renewed offensive by the Maoists , the UML cadres themselves became targets. Since then the party has been having a channel to the Maoists. The killing had stopped and on the eve of their convention at Janakpur, Madhav Nepal admitted that he had just met a senior Maoists leader. The party will most likely go along with the Maoists in going for an election to a Constituent assembly which could bring a large number of their leaders in the constitution making process.

Indian position: The Indian position has all along been that any process of settlement should involve the political parties. While welcoming the cease fire between the government and the Maoists, India hoped that the dialogue between the two parties would be based on national consensus, involve political parties and be conducted in an environment free from violence. It also reiterated that constitutional monarchy and multiparty democracy as two pillars of stability of Nepal.

In any dialogue between the Maoists and the government, issues relating to India are likely to crop up. In the first ever talks between Maoists and the Deuba government, four of the demands- directly related to India. (See update No. 13). These were the abolition of unequal treaties including Indo Nepal treaty of 1950, withdrawal of Indian troops from Kalapani, controlling the open Indo Nepal border and the introduction of work permit system for those coming from India. In the forty point demands on which the Maoist movement took a violent turn, the very same points have been made. An addition was the Taliban style cultural purification which said

The cultural pollution of imperialists and expansionists (read India) should be stopped. Hindi video, cinema, and all kinds of such newspapers and magazines should be completely stopped. Inside Nepal, import and distribution of vulgar Hindi films, video cassettes and magazines should be stopped.

Pressure to review and revise the Indo Nepal Treaty of 1950 and subsequent additions will continue even by the democrats. It is time India itself makes a study and see whether some provisions which give an impression of “ master -client” relationship are necessary now and whether such provisions have really worked in the changing global environment.

Conclusion.    It is too early to say how the talks will proceed and whether at the end of the day the Maoists would be willing to lay down arms in return for a peaceful life after rehabilitation and re-employment. The political parties at the moment are down and many supporters out of fear for the Maoists had not come out openly. It is a question of time before the leaders regain their position and retrieve their following. To keep them out of the dialogue process, to say the least is short sighted and unproductive. It is time that the Nepali Congress which still commands influence in the country side makes a serious attempt to unite together and prepare for the elections to the Constitutional assembly which appear to be inevitable.

Appendix I gives the list of forty points made by the Maoists.

Appendix II gives a list of incidents relating to Maoists violence since update No. 26.

Appendix I: Maoist demands

I. DEMANDS RELATED TO NATIONALISM:

1) Regarding the 1950 Treaty between India and Nepal, all unequal stipulations and agreements should be removed.

2) HMG should admit that the anti-nationalist Tanakpur agreement was wrong, and the Mahakali Treaty, incorporating same, should be nullified.

3) The entire Nepal-Indian border should be controlled and systematized. Cars with Indian number plates, which are plying the roads of Nepal, should not be allowed.

4) Gorkha recruiting centers should be closed and decent jobs should be arranged for the recruits.

5) In several areas of Nepal, where foreign technicians are given precedence over Nepali technicians for certain local jobs, a system of work permits should be instituted for the foreigners.

6) The monopoly of foreign capital in Nepal's industry, trade and economic sector should be stopped.

7) Sufficient income should be generated from customs duties for the country's economic development.

8) The cultural pollution of imperialists and expansionists should be stopped. Hindi video, cinema, and all kinds of such news papers and magazines should be completely stopped. Inside Nepal, import and distribution of vulgar Hindi films, video cassettes and magazines should be stopped.

9) Regarding NGOs and INGOs: Bribing by imperialists and expansionists in the name of NGOs and INGOs should be stopped.

II. DEMANDS RELATED TO THE PUBLIC AND ITS WELL-BEING

10) A new Constitution has to be drafted by the people's elected representatives.

11) All the special rights and privileges of the King and his family should be ended.

12) Army, police and administration should be under the people's control.

13) The Security Act and all other repressive acts should be abolished.

14) All the false charges against the people of Rukum, Rolpa, Jajarkot, Gorkha, Kavre, Sindhuphalchowk, Sindhuli, Dhanusha and Ramechap should be withdrawn and all the people falsely charged should be released.

15) Armed police operations in the different districts should immediately be stopped.

16) Regarding Dilip Chaudhary, Bhuvan Thapa Magar, Prabhakar Subedi and other people who disappeared from police custody at different times, the government should constitute a special investigating committee to look into these crimes and the culprits should be punished and appropriate compensation given to their families.

17) People who died during the time of the movement, should be declared as martyrs and their families, and those who have been wounded and disabled should be given proper compensation. Strong action should be taken against the killers.

18) Nepal should be declared a secular state.

19) Girls should be given equal property rights to those of their brothers.

20) All kinds of exploitation and prejudice based on caste should be ended. In areas having a majority of one ethnic group, that group should have autonomy over that area.

21) The status of dalits as untouchables should be ended and the system of untouchability should be ended once and for all.

22) All languages should be given equal status. Up until middle-high school level (uccha-madyamic) arrangements should be made for education to be given in the children's mother tongue.

23) There should be guarantee of free speech and free press. The communications media should be completely autonomous.

24) Intellectuals, historians, artists and academicians engaged in other cultural activities should be guaranteed intellectual freedom.

25) In both the terai and hilly regions there is prejudice and misunderstanding in backward areas. This should be ended and the backward areas should be assisted. Good relations should be established between the villages and the city.

26) Decentralization in real terms should be applied to local areas which should have local rights, autonomy and control over their own resources.

III DEMANDS RELATED TO THE PEOPLE'S LIVING

27) Those who cultivates the land should own it. (The tiller should have right to the soil he/she tills.) The land of rich landlords should be confiscated and distributed to the homeless and others who have no land.

28) Brokers and commission agents should have their property confiscated and that money should be invested in industry.

29) All should be guaranteed work and should be given a stipend until jobs are found for them.

30) HMG should pass strong laws ensuring that people involved in industry and agriculture should receive minimum wages.

31) The homeless should be given suitable accommodation. Until HMG can provide such accommodation they should not be removed from where they are squatting.

32) Poor farmers should be completely freed from debt. Loans from the Agricultural Development Bank by poor farmers should be completely written off. Small industries should be given loans.

33) Fertilizer and seeds should be easily and cheaply available, and the farmers should be given a proper market price for their production.

34) Flood and draught victims should be given all necessary help

35) All should be given free and scientific medical service and education and education for profit (private schools?) should be completely stopped.

36) Inflation should be controlled and laborers salaries should be raised in direct ratio with the rise in prices. Daily essential goods should be made cheap and easily available.

37) Arrangements should be made for drinking water, good roads, and electricity in the villages.

38) Cottage and other small industries should be granted special facilities and protection.

39) Corruption, black marketing, smuggling, bribing, the taking of commissions, etc. should all be stopped.

40) Orphans, the disabled, the elderly and children should be given help and protection.

(excerpts from an article by Barbara Adams in The People’s Review, 07/05/1998)

Appendix II: Incidents

January 2003

8              The terrorists set a police post located at Sano Shri VDC on fire. No policemen were there when the post was destroyed. None of the policemen used to stay at the post at night and used to come back to the district headquarters, Gulariya, for security reasons. The terrorists also looted a communication set left behind by the policemen.

9              The armed-terrorists shot dead a Nepali Congress cadre in Haraiya Tole of Samanpur Village Development Committee in Rautahat district.

                In Jumla the terrorists in the Haku area planted an electric landmine.

                In Banke they brutally killed a cadre of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Jogilal Yadav, a resident of Kamdi VDC.

                The terrorists had also looted 12 country-made guns from the Kamdi VDC.

10            The terrorists kidnapped Dhurba Kumar Karki, the Local Development Officer (LDO) including two others who were on an inspection visit at Chunja Thanti, the meeting place of Arghakhanchi and Pyuthan districts.

11            The terrorists attacked two mass meetings organised by the CPN-UML in Bhojpur and Dang districts and abducted six leaders, including a former UML lawmaker from the meeting place.

12            In Dang, the terrorists vandalised a meeting organised by the party in Duruwa VDC.

13            The terrorists forcibly took about 80 students studying at grade 10 from a local school along with them to train them on guerrilla warfare and Maoist politics. The students were abducted from Jan Jyoti High School in Bhalchaur Village Development Committee (VDC).

                They set ablaze the houses of an army official and a NC activist in Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts.

                In Pyuthan and Dang they have shot dead Prakash Adhikari, an Assistant Sub-inspector of Police (ASI) who was abducted earlier.

The two security personnel were injured during four-hour long exchange of fire with the terrorists in Sutar VDC.

14            In Dingla Bazaar in Deurali VDC of this eastern hill district an eight-year-old girl, identified as Sabina Khawas, studying at grade three, was also killed and four others were seriously injured in crossfire between the terrorists and the security personnel.

The terrorists brutally killed two soldiers in the Jhulneta area of Rukum district.

15            Armed terrorists set fire the ancestral home of former Prime Minister and erstwhile chairman of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party Surya Bahadur Thapa in Muga Village Development Committee, about 15 kilometres north-west of the district headquarters.

17            Two children died of bomb blasts in Jumla.

20            The locals in the remote Village Development Committees (VDC) were faced with communication problem as terrorists destroyed and burnt down various Area Post Offices and additional postal service buildings existing in Ramechhap.

22            Three persons including a policeman were killed, and Deputy Superintendent of Police Shaurav Rana was injured when a police patrol team was caught in a terrorists-laid landmine blast in Bijayanagar in Jumla’s district headquarters, Khalanga.

23            The terrorists killed a police personnel at Chamaita VDC-9 after his abduction

24            Four personnel of the Armed Police Force (APF) were killed and 17 others injured in terrorists-laid landmine blasts, in Surkhet and Dang in the mid-western region.

                The terrorists attacked the security forces with long range weapons from atop a hill in the Chitre Bhanjyang VDC.

25            In Bara they shot dead an ex-police constable on charges of spying. The deceased was identified as Padam Kharal, 26, a resident of Maulapur of Dumbarkhana VDC-8.

27            Radha B.C., a grade six student, of Ghatgaon VDC and Naya Kami of Babiyachaur VDC, were killed when the terrorists opened fire aiming at an army helicopter on aerial reconnaissance.

28            A powerful pressure cooker bomb went off on the second floor of the Department of Customs Office, located at Tripureshwore, near the Royal Nepal Army Headquarters. The police said that the explosion was carried out by the terrorists.

29            Three security personnel lost their lives during the exchange of fire with the terrorists in the Arkhabang area of Gulmi district.

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