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 Who can be a Leader of Nepal?
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Posted on 08-18-05 11:47 AM     Reply [Subscribe]
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Nepal?s crises cry for strong leadership:

Article By Jan Sharma

Ambassador James F Moriarty of the United States has made a fervent plea for democracy and reconciliation between the King and the political parties to prevent the collapse of Nepal. He was silent on what was preventing this from happening.

He told a talk program that ?? the legitimate political forces should rise above their differences and come up with a plan to work together. Otherwise there may not be a country to govern.?

But he evaded a pointed question on a neighboring country providing safe haven to the Maoist guerrillas, allowing the outlawed group to operate training camps and treating their leaders as son-in-laws.

Not long ago Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala abruptly cut short his visit to China to rush to New Delhi where he met Maoist supremo Prachanda and Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, both wanted by Nepal government dead or alive.

According to Koirala?s close family sources, Koirala and his relative Chakra Prasad Bastola met the Maoist leaders ?with the kind courtesy? of George Fernandes, who was India?s full-fledged defense minister at that time.

If Maoist insurgency is not a proxy war against the state of Nepal, will India do Nepal what it did in Bangladesh in 1971, Sikkim in 1974, Sri Lanka in 1987 and around that time in the Maldives?

Nepal suffered India?s economic blockade in 1989 following the expiry of trade and transit treaties with India. The treaties were neither extended nor India was prepared to negotiate new treaties unless Nepal agreed to a security pact apparently against China.

India openly supported the jana andolan in 1990, and yet the ?revival of democracy? did not produce an automatic renewal of the treaties nor negotiations for fresh ones until the Joint Communiqu? was forced upon Nepal in June 1990 to add insult to injury.

If there is anyone that stands to benefit from the failure of reconciliation between the King and the political parties, which Moriarty refers to, it is New Delhi, which needs all the chaos and confusion to justify its intervention in Nepal.

The political parties have lost credibility and do not enjoy the trust and confidence of the common people. In 1990, they were at the height of popularity because they raised the expectations of the people to an unrealistic level.

Whether radicalization of the issues ? such as the threat to go for a republican set up ? would do parties any good is doubtful given their leadership crisis and pan flash commitments.

Even Koirala, who comes from a family that has produced three best known prime ministers, is badly shaking. Six months ago, he warned two of his party colleagues to stop raising the ?nonsense? of constituent assembly. Today, he is doing it himself.

One of his colleagues, Narahari Acharya, who never got elected to Parliament, is now spearheading a campaign to delete any reference to monarchy and opt for constituent assembly.

?Constitutional monarchy has always been a means, not a policy, of the Nepali Congress,? the Nepal Samacharpatra quoted him as saying. ?I have raised a common agenda. Let it be clear that the time for this idea is now.?

The debate on the issue, if there is any, would be interesting to follow at the scheduled party convention likely to be dominated by calls for internal democracy, financial transparency and end of the rule of party tyrants.

There is little doubt that Nepal is facing an unprecedented challenge to her national security, and her very independent existence has come under threat. It calls for extraordinary solutions possible only through a strong and committed government.

The problem with the 1990 constitution is that it has created a weak executive authority by turning the Nepali monarchy just like a helpless Japanese Emperor after the American occupation in 1945 but also a weak prime minister to prevent another Jung Bahadur.

Whether it was by default or design is open to question. What is significant is that it came in the backdrop of India?s economic blockade against Nepal and an India-backed jana andolan to punish a nationalist King Birendra.

It also remains to be seen whether the February 1 royal takeover ? indeed a harsh and unpleasant development ? leads to the creation of a strong government leadership that not only has the capacity to deliver but enjoys the confidence and trust of the people.

Jan Sharma is a Kathmandu-based journalist and consultant.

Please send in your comments/suggestions via e-mail: jansharma@hotmail.com or feedback@mos.com.np

 


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