The Case for Shitoula’s Resignation

(Courtesy: Comrade Libre)

If shameless display of lust for power had a name, it would be Krishna Prasad Shitoula. Not only is this individual’s yearning to remain in office morally and ethically repugnant, his convoluted assertion that the peace process has somehow stayed on track at his personal discretion is absolutely flawed.

Shitoula’s attempt to claim disproportionate credit for the progression of Nepal’s peace process correlates perfectly with why the Maoist leadership is coming to his rescue – they know “useful idiots” like Shitoula are far and few between and that had it not been for Shitoula, the Maoists would have faced much more stringent (and warranted) opposition during successive phases of negotiations.

Plus, should the Nepali people be fooled into believing that Shitoula and ONLY Shitoula can deliver us peace? Is this really the case or is this a figment of Shitoula’s imagination that he would like to have the Nepali people believe? To the ordinary observer, this sort of claim sounds awfully similar to the “fear mongering” that the Royal regime practiced to prevent street protests or on a much grander scale, the kind of electoral tactics the Republican machine in the US used to win the 2004 elections – without George W. Bush to protect the American people, the world is doomed!

But today, Nepal is neither under the Royal regime nor is Bush running for office in Singha Durbar. So what’s all this nonsense about Shitoula and ONLY Shitoula being able to deliver us peace? If this isn’t a play by a supposedly “democratic” politician on the fear psychosis of the Nepali public (that we may somehow end up at war again if Shitoula resigns), then what is? In some parts of the world, what Shitoula is proposing, may even be termed subtle blackmail.

Rest assured though, the Maoists have stated time and again, what their ultimate goals are, and the cream of Nepal’s intellectual crop have gone on record to verify that the Maoists have in fact changed, are willing to adapt to the mainstream and so by these assertions, Shitoula or not, the Maoists are out of the jungles for good.

Coming back to Shitoula - the Maoist leadership knows to whom the credit for their rapid ascendancy from the status of criminals (and terrorists), to members of parliament goes – Krishna Prasad Shitoula. Unfortunately for the Maoists, they are also soon to learn that the days of operating their militia thugs under the cover of a Home Ministry that has bent over backwards to accommodate the Maoists, is coming to an abrupt end.

Catalogued below is a list of cursory items that support the case for Shitoula’s resignation as the current administration’s Home Minister. (Since he seems to pride his performance as the Government’s Chief Negotiator, he is more than welcome to carry on in this capacity):

Conflict of Interest: When Home Minister and Chief Negotiator Are One in the Same, Law and Order Suffers

Although the most serious contribution to the case for Shitoula’s resignation comes in the wake of 24 confirmed deaths in the Terai, the evidence has been mounting against Shitoula for months.

By maintaining an artificially inflated momentum for the peace process, Shitoula had managed to divert his personal failures as a Home Minister by focusing on his supposedly successful performance as the Government’s Chief Negotiator.

However, as political analysts have repeatedly pointed out, there is an inherent conflict of interest to any single individual, holding portfolios with divergent mandates. While the argument can be made that Nepal’s peace process has been highly successful because Krishna Shitoula holds both the Home Ministry and Chief Government Negotiator portfolios, a more potent argument can be put forth that speaks to the frailty of rushed agreements made under duress, without broad consensus, and the long term consequences that a lopsided focus on cosmetic, short term gains will eventually yield. The Madhesi revolt, is a case in point.

The consequences of ignoring irreconcilable conflicts of interest has been the abysmal law and order situation all over Nepal – a condition that is certainly not conducive to free and fair constituent assembly elections, but does serve the Maoists’ interest of assaulting other party members, keeping the general public intimidated and dictating voter registration patterns most suitable to their own vote count – all under the comfort of a Home Minister that deploys Policemen to outposts, completely at the mercy of local Maoists.

(As another example, consider the consummate law and order situation Nepal maintains, as newly inducted Maoist MPs walk into parliament with armed body guards).

Shitoula should resign for the number of beatings that Policemen have been subjected to at the hands of Maoists, all over Nepal, simply for carrying out this government’s orders. He should resign on principle for first negotiating (as the government’s Chief Negotiator) and then ignoring the implementation (as the Home Minister) of numerous law-and-order related articles listed in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

Murder in Lahan: No one Should be Above the Law of the Land – Especially not a Maoist Thug

The single most unfortunate event that catalyzed the Madhesi uprising was the murder of a peaceful protestor in Lahan. The fatal shot was fired by a Maoist gunman, who was part of a Maoist contingent, that “accompanied” government policemen to the scene of the demonstrations.

First off, as the Home Minster for the government of Nepal, Krishna Shitoula has yet to explain what armed Maoists were doing, accompanying a contingent of government policemen, to a scene where peaceful protests were taking place? Second, Krishna Shitoula is yet to explain to the Nepali people, why the individual who fired the shot has not been arrested, prosecuted and jailed on charges of murder?

The tragedy that took place in Lahan is not an incident that requires more than a 30 minute trial – there were close to 500 unarmed citizens who witnessed the crime, the Maoist head honcho Pushpha Kamal Dahal has submitted that it was a Maoist who committed the “mistake” and to top it off, there was an entire contingent of policemen who were present at the scene of the crime.

Does Nepal have a functioning state apparatus and a functional legal system or not? If it does, then the buck stops at the top of the pecking order and in this case, whether the allegation be a breach of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement or dereliction of duty as the nation’s Home Minister, the idiot is one in the same - Krishna Shitoula. If for no other reason, Shitoula should have resigned on grounds of morality or even conscience.

“Sorry” and Promises of Monetary Payouts Doesn’t Bring Dead People Back to Life

First, it was “regressive” forces that instigated the unrest in the Terai. This was a plausible theory. Then, it was Kamala Thapa and Badri Mandal who were placed in “preventive detention,” much the same way that the current thugs in office were placed under house arrest by the former regime. But the protestors (having taken insult at attempts to belittle their movement), intensified their activities.

Then came Baburam and Pushpa, making desperate attempts to de-legitimize what is undoubtedly the most legitimate movement for ethnic assertion that Nepal has ever witnessed. Talk of mobilizing the Maoist thugs and the nation’s security assets ensued, a Nepali Military General made the “mistake” of warning that such deployment should not happen without unanimous political consensus and the next thing we know, all media attention is focused on a “conspiracy” by regressive forces that was allegedly being aired by the Army General.

If the Nepali public is so desperate for conspiracy theories, how about this one: Could there have been a conspiracy by the Maoists to cover up their stupid bid to deploy the army against the Madhesi movement, by paying the Nepali media to take what an Army General said, completely out of context and then blow it up in the media? It certainly worked, didn’t it?

Or, how about this one: Are the Maoists working with Krishna Shitoula as their man inside the Nepali Congress to eventually take over the NC after Girija dies (which will be any day)? Was it the Maoists who advised Shitoula to apologize in the House to dilute the MJF’s call for his resignation? Is Krishna Shitoula a member of the Nepali Congress or a secretly a member of the Communist Party of Nepal – Maoists? Is it not strange that members of Shitoula’s own party would call for his resignation while the Maoists would support Shitoula with the blood of 24 innocent Nepal’s on Shitoula’s hands? (Oh that’s right, 24 doesn’t really compare to a number like 13,000 but now that peace has arrived in Nepal, who’s counting anyway?)

The bottom line is this: Much like the Maoists have laid out preconditions to their talks, time and again, the MJF has also laid out a single precondition to their talks. This is that Krishna Shitoula take responsibility for 24 deaths and resign gracefully to pave the path for negotiations. Why has Shitoula always bent over backwards to accommodate preconditions laid out by the Maoists but refuses to honor a single, legitimate, noble demand, put forth on behalf of 49% of Nepal’s population? Is it because Shitoula doesn’t recognize the vast Madhesi population because they don’t carry arms and are fighting for their rights the democratic way?

Once again, this is a no-brainer. If for no other reason, Shitoula should accept responsibility for the loss of life and property under his watch and hand in his resignation before 24 more people die on this idiot’s account.

Ultimate Accountability: Where does the Charade End?

The MJF demands Shitoula’s resignation. The Maoists come to his rescue. Members of Shitoula’s own party ask that he step down on moral grounds. What does Shitoula do? He does what any shameless, gutless, brazen, unabashed person would do – he tires to escalate the burden up to Girija by publicly placing the onus of the decision on the Prime Minister.

In case Shitoula forgot, he is in office at the will of the Nepali People – so is his boss. In case being in government has gotten to Shitoula’s head, he too is still subject to a norm known as democracy, where the collective will of the majority holds sway, not the dictates of any single individual.

When a group that represents up to 49% of Nepal’s population asks Shitoula to resign, there’s no room for debate. With the blood of 24 innocent Nepalis on his hands, when the community those 24 individuals belong to asks Shitoula to “jump,” his response should simply be “how high?”

It shouldn’t be a monologue on how popular Shitoula was (with the Madhesi population) when the citizenship bill was passed, it shouldn’t be some sorry excuse that the King’s regime denied policemen proper training during its 14 month (out of 12 years of democratic rule) tenure and it most certainly shouldn’t be Girija’s decision whether Shitoula stays in office. If Girija wishes to go against the will of the Nepali People by insisting that Shitoula carry on, Girija too should be removed.

Whatever happened to morals? What about ethics or even simple decency or even a fleeting notion of guilt? What happened to the idea of moral culpability or human decency?

There are over 24 grieving families in Nepal and numerous families that are affected by the tragedy unleashed by forces under Krishna Shitoula’s command. And all this pathetic excuse for a politician can say is “sorry, can I please continue to be the Home Minister?”

It’s hard to say what’s more dismal: How Shitoula’s refusal to let go of power reflects on himself or how his adamant stance reflects on an entire generation of “have-beens” who continue to block the emergence of the new generation of leaders (who might just as easily be sidestepped by a third generation that has already emerged, under them).

Krishna Shitoula’s resignation will not be a “silver bullet” for Nepal’s problems. It will however, be a humongous step in the right direction (in favor of the sovereign power of the people), because his resignation will signal the end to feudal, caste-dominated politics – how else can one describe the servitude-like sycophancy Shitoula displays to his grand master, Girija?