Opinion All for a few months more
Why confidence in Nepals Constituent Assembly has been shaken?
No one expected Nepals Constituent Assembly (CA) to deliver a new constitution by the deadline of May 28. What was uncertain till the last moment was whether the CA,which missed two deadlines,would get another lease of life. In a midnight exercise,a deal between the three big political parties the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (UCPN-M),the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) saw the term of the assembly extended for three more months.
The deal is being seen as an abject surrender by the Nepali Congress before the Maoists after the former had raised demands that put the Maoists in a spot. The deal says Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal will resign to pave the way for the formation of a national government,that fundamental issues of the peace process will be finalised in three months and the first draft of the constitution will be prepared simultaneously. It also commits to making the Nepal army more inclusive with wider representation,including from the Madhesh area. On fulfilment of these promises,the parties will go to the House to seek an extension of another three months for finalising the constitution.
No one would have shed tears for the demise of the House. Nor does one believe that the coming three months would be smooth sailing for the drafting of the constitution.
Meanwhile,the political parties stand discredited. They have chosen not to be accountable for the past failures,nor have they tried to convince the people that they would act differently in the future. The U-turn taken by the Nepali Congress and the anti-Khanal faction in the CPN (UML) proved that political tactics took precedence over commitments to principles. As the deadline approached,they found the usual excuse to retreat from a confrontation: that the only elected body in the country should not be allowed to lapse as that would lead to a constitutional and political vacuum.
The European Union,Norway and Switzerland instantly hailed the wisdom of the big three parties. So did UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. However,the peoples confidence in the House and leaders has been shaken.
The signatories soon came out with conflicting interpretations of the new deal. The chairman of the Nepali Congress,Sushil Koirala,said Khanal must resign immediately and make way for the formation of the national government. Khanal,meanwhile,insisted that he would resign the moment a situation is created for a national government. Similarly,differences are bound to come up while interpreting what the fundamental issues of the peace process are.
The Nepali Congress was under pressure from an overwhelming number of parliamentarians to save the House at any cost. In his list of demands,Koirala had earlier insisted that the Maoists hand over the key of their arms containers to the government and return property they had seized during the years of conflict. He also wanted the annulment of the seven-point agreement signed by Khanal and Prachanda on February 3 to set up a separate state security outfit for the Maoist combatants. Koirala,however,pressed for none in the crucial stages.
The Nepali Congress has shown that it has neither the will nor the capability to confront the Maoists beyond a point even when the latter defies the letter and spirit of the peace accord. All along,the Maoists have exploited this predicament of the Nepali Congress. It has demonstrated that it will be part of the peace and democratic process only on its own terms. As a revolutionary party,it needs to create a radical space and environment in Nepal politics and develop its support base. If the Maoists had handed over the key of arms containers to the state,it would have demoralised its combatants and been seen as a compromise.
To keep up the revolutionary tempo,a section of the party leadership keeps appealing to its cadres to be ready for a peoples revolt whenever serious political developments are in the offing. Prachanda plays that card at critical moments very well. It happened this time too. Barely 48 hours before the deadline,he said his party would not surrender weapons that are bartered with the blood of martyrs.
Like in the past four years after the peace accord,the Maoists will again use their propaganda machinery to tell the people what ultimately constitutes the fundamentals of peace process,leaving parties like the Nepali Congress with limited options: either to assert themselves or surrender to the Maoists and eventually fade out of Nepals political scene.
According to a recent judgment by the supreme court,the House term can be extended only by six months beyond the first two years in case a state of emergency is declared. This is enough reason to believe that the course and fate of the Constituent Assembly will be affected by several factors. Clearly,its moral and constitutional status will come under greater scrutiny in the coming three months and Maoists will continue to face tougher challenges.
yubaraj.ghimire@expressindia.com
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