The following are a list of Maoist quotes, made before and immediately after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accords.
Baburam Bhattarai: "The UN might take six months to fulfill its bureaucratic procedures. We can't wait that long to form the interim government."
Interpretation: Time is not something the Maoists have on their side. If the momentum of the process of legitimizing the Maoists’ violent past (often synonymous with what is referred to at the “peace process”) is slowed in favor of long-term sustainability, the likelihood of the general population rising against the Maoists for their crimes, rises exponentially. Before this were to happen, the Maoists would be “forced” to return to the jungles, the peace process would fail and it would be the fault of unknown “regressive forces” that are lurking in the background. These "invisible agents" are also known as forces that believe in open, non-violent, democratic (by international standards), political entities.
Baburam Bhattarai: "There seems to be a conspiracy even (not) to hold the constituent assembly elections on time."
Interpretation: Same song as above, this time in “G-Major” as opposed to “A-minor” – same old rhythm.
Krishna Bahadur Mahara: "It'll be a big political blunder to believe that the 10-year people's war has ended. Only people without political consciousness say this."
Interpretation: For Nepal’s “a-political” civil society, this sort of rhetoric is a necessary evil because the Maoist cadre have to be assuaged as the Maoist leaders are hooked into mainstream politics. For the rest of Nepal, this sort of rhetoric is a very clear indication of the light in which the Maoists view the political changes of the recent past – as victory for the Maoists on their terms. Peace (again on the Maoists terms), is simply a concession the Maoists have yielded from the state, in return for their legitimization.
Baburam Bhattarai: "Right now, we have entered another phase of the people's war. It's only talk of an idea to say that conflict, war and struggle has ended forever."
Interpretation: Same as above. The only difference is the choice of words. The message itself is crystal clear – the Maoists are going to keep chugging along till every one of their demands are fulfilled. There will be no let down, there will be no compromise, the Maoists intend to have peace brokered as the state’s systematic surrender to the Maoist leadership’s will.
Deb Gurung: "Raising taxes and donations will continue. Parties in government are also collecting donations now. Until now, we are in a parallel government. Only after joining the government, we won't have a separate government."
Interpretation: It doesn’t matter what treaties, agreements or accords the Maoist leadership signs. It will continue to be business as usual until the Maoists are rewarded with legitimacy, through an interim government, for waging a violent campaign against a newly emerging, democratic state. In other words, the Maoists didn’t like being insignificant in the post-1990 atmosphere so they killed 13,000 and displaced over 200,000 to make their point – their point was that they belong in power in order for the country to be at peace and until this demand is met, the war various elements of the Maoists political pressure tactics will continue unabated.
Baburam Bhattarai: "Arms management will move ahead simultaneously," he said, adding, "If interim arrangement is not put in place within Mangsir (mid-December), the CA polls cannot be held by mid-June. And if there is a delay in CA polls, the entire peace process could get derailed."
Interpretation: Blackmail. Also known as holding one’s political opponents hostage to the Maoists’ peace agenda. Either everything goes the way the Maoists want (whereby the Maoists will sweep the CA polls given the levels of intimidation and control they still hold over the Nepalese countryside), or they will have no other choice to go back to war. And the peace process being derailed will be the government’s fault, not the Maoists’ who choose to go back to war, but the government that fails to play the game by the Maoist rules.
Each of these quotes represent veiled threats. Each of these statements runs contrary to the spirit and letter, enshrined in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
A day after PM Girija Prasad Koirala claimed that “Nepalis no longer have to live under the dark shadow of terror,” (very reminiscent of President Bush’s claim regarding the end of “all major combat operations” in Iraq), news emerged of civilians being held in Maoist captivity (click here to access report).
It would appear that despite the Prime Minister’s grandiose claim and Home Minster Shitoula’s sycophantic interview (where he lauds Master Koirala as the father of Nepal’s peace), this is what thousands of Nepalis (out of media sight and thus out of public mind) are doing – living under Maoist terror.
Something is terribly amiss.
Either the Maoist leadership is faltering or the Nepalese intelligentsia is so deluded by the Maoist hold on the peace agenda (peace on the Maoists’ terms only), that the very people who everyone claims to be “fighting” for, continue to suffer untold misery.
Civil society and party elements’ are so emasculated by the Maoists’ ability to leverage fear of an already silenced monarchy, they are systematically overlooking Maoist atrocities taking place under their very noses.
If the Maoists want to be treated and perceived as responsible leaders (a task immensely complicated by their murderous past), they need to urgently begin moderating their public rhetoric and simultaneously moderating their cadres’ behavior.
Otherwise, Baburam is right, a fear-free environment for CA elections will never be fostered and there will be no one left to blame, but the Maoists themselves.
Below are 2 formerly published pieces (June & August 2006) that visit aspects of a democratic mainstream that the Maoist leadership needs to conform to; for the sake of peace and for their own sakes, immediately!
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2006/06/defining-mainstream.html
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2006/08/nepals-challenging-road-to-peace.html
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/
4 comments:
Two recent events have given me some hope that the NC is trying to stand up to the maoists. One, Koirala's insistence that the arms management be resolved before finalising the Interim Constitution. Second, Arjun KC's statement that the King will remain the Head of State until at least the CA elections (refuted by Dev Gurung). Is there a wind blowing which is bracing the backs of the SPA(and especially the NC)a little more firmly?
Sir/Madam:
I have no doubt and I remain steadfast in my conviction that 'Nepali intelligentsia' is nothing else but a mouthpiece and legitimate representation of Maoists in city centers and international arena. It is hopeless to expect any rational and pragmatic approach from those morons.
On the other hand, I actually wish Nepal was a communist dictatorship already so that these 'civil society' idiots would actually know what it means to go about and openly take sides and push their damn agenda for killers, blackmailers and hijackers of Nepali sovereignty.
Maoists ARE cracking from the inside. How long can they hold the damn anxious hormonally challenged teenagers without giving them blood (or sex)? Pretty soon we will start seeing breakaway factions once the politburo is unable to get themselves into interim parliament soon enough. Thus the hurry, threat and blackmail.
It has been unfortunate to Nepalis to have all these current political parties and power are being used-to of the outsider power who have been playing a dangerous role in making Nepalis devided resulting to make us complete interdepenable to the same,so that the evil wish to become the de-facto power of Nepal can be achieved.so,unless all the political partners of the state are not realizing the fact that they are ultimately destrying the country and people because of being used-to of external party,there is no chance to have solved our problem peacefully and dignifiedly.Jay Nepal !
Chintit Nepali
Roop Joshi - I am not as hopeful as you that the rational thing will be done. As the writer of this piece has pointed out, the Maoist grip on the peace agenda is an infalliable position. And in my mind, one an idiot, always an idiot. Girija is notorious for his wavering and lack of foresight. The NC will yield to the Maoists one way or another.
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