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Journalism of Courage
Nepal8217;s Maoists made their capacity to remake their country8217;s polity more than evident earlier this year when they sustained street demonstrations in Kathmandu, forcing the monarch to restore Parliament. It was their first unambiguous demonstration of a willingness to abandon the armed struggle to establish a Marxist republic. This week8217;s agreement between them and the seven-party ruling alliance holds out the promise of drawing the Maoists further into the political mainstream and giving the polity a centre of gravity away from the palace and the army. Nepal is poised on the verge of a new democratic moment, and it is in everybody8217;s interest 8212; in that country8217;s politicians8217;, in India8217;s and in the larger international community8217;s 8212; to see that good faith is maintained to take the pact to its promising possibilities.
Under the agreement, the Maoists will place cadres and weapons at seven sites under United Nations supervision. They are to sign a further commitment to abandon violence and armed coercion. Under the negotiated deal, they will get five berths in a proposed council of ministers within the next month, and their representatives will be accommodated in an expanded constituent assembly. The coming overground of a powerful armed movement is a special moment for any society, and it is right that the Maoists will get a significant democratic dividend for doing so.
