Opinion U-turn in Kathmandu

Madhes,which has some of the most fertile lands of Nepal,constitutes nearly 18 per cent of the country’s geographical area. About 48 per cent of the population,including indigenous groups like the Tharus,are settled here.

Baburam Bhattarai became prime minister on August 28,with the support of the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) on the basis of a four-point agreement. One of these was about allowing Madhesis into the Nepal army,with an exclusive regiment for them.

The decision to have a Madhesi unit had infuriated two major political parties,the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML).

Many others also came out against the proposal — from the Tharus,which constitute the largest ethnicity group,to the army chief,Chhatra Man Singh Gurung,who petitioned the president and the supreme commander of the Nepal army,Ram Baran Yadav,against the suggestion. The army was agitated that there was no national consensus on the decision,which was taken primarily by two political parties.

While army spokesman Brigadier Ramindra Chhetri said,“The Nepal army will recruit anyone fulfilling the prescribed eligibility criteria. It has never discriminated against anyone in the past”,Raj Kumar Lekhi,chairman of the National Federation of Indigenous Nationalities,said it was a conspiracy to deprive the Tharus of their identity by making them Madhesis. Lakshman Tharu,who heads a militant outfit,had given the government an ultimatum of 15 days to annul the decision.

Meanwhile,ministers from the UDMF said that they would withdraw their support to the Bhattarai government if this particular demand was not fulfilled.

After the government came under fire from many sections — including some Maoists — it has revoked the decision to have a separate Madhesi regiment. It is still not sure if the Madhesis would go along with it,or pull the plug on the Bhattarai government. However,the way the government went about it,without adequate consultations either with the major political formations or with the army,and the manner in which it has been forced to go back on it,has turned this into a major embarrassment for the Bhattarai government.

To add to that,the supreme court issued an interim order on Monday,staying all recruitment.

It is not just on the sensitive Madhes issue that the prime minister is in a bind. The UN secretary-general,Ban Ki-moon,had reportedly spoken to Bhattarai to give the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR-N) at least a year’s extension. It will be ending its six-year-long operations in less than six months,but wanted to stay on,given the increasing allegations of impunity in the country. That was not to be since Bhattarai was apparently vetoed by Narayan Kaji Shrestha,his party colleague and deputy prime minister in charge of the foreign ministry.

Bijay Gachhadar,the deputy prime minister in charge of the home ministry,is also believed to have told the prime minister that he should have a free hand in the transfer and postings of senior police officials.

The internal rift in the Maoist party has,meanwhile,stalled the earlier agreement reached on the rehabilitation and integration of Maoist combatants in the army,limiting the most vaunted success in the peace process to little more than a self-patting exercise.

yubaraj.ghimire@expressindia.com