The Syndicate in Crisis

(Courtesy: Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani - Co-Chairman of the Rastriya Janasakti Party)

The seven party syndicate is facing a crisis. Koirala as usual is at the receiving end with the Maoists tightening the screw. For the Maoists election to the constituent assembly is not a priority. What they are interested is in capturing power and once this is achieved other formalities like election to the constituent assembly can then be taken care of.

A political syndicate

A political syndicate can function successfully if the members of the syndicate agree on the function that is to be maximized. It has its counterpart in economics in the form of a cartel where the objective is to maximize income for its members given the demand function of the product. The essential point is that for an economic cartel or a political syndicate stability requires that all members agree on the objective that is to be maximized. In a political syndicate if the objective is to consolidate and share power individual members must feel that their prospect of remaining in power with the membership in the syndicate is greater than acting alone. On the other hand, if members in the syndicate have divergent political objectives the arrangement will continue to lurch from one crisis to another before its collapse.

The political syndicate known popularly as the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) is now in crisis because its members have divergent objectives even though they claim their unity of purpose before the people. When they joined hands in the form of a 12 point agreement, the tactical objective was clear: it was to wage a joint struggle against the direct rule of the king which was a clear violation of the then constitution. Once this effort succeeded the unifying theme of the coalition had ended. This was quite obvious when the Maoists opposed the move by Koirala-Nepal combine to restore the parliament. They wanted the movement to continue towards a revolutionary climax so that they could intervene with their military wing to capture power.

However, they had to control their ambition because it was not possible to continue the movement on their own without the support of the non-Maoist forces. So they reluctantly agreed to the new dispensation and ultimately decided to use it to come to power through the election to the constituent assembly. The Maoists were quite confident that in the forthcoming election they will be able to ride the victory wave while leaving other parties far behind and draft a constitution that reflects their vision of the "people's republic" as opposed to a parliamentary system.

The hypocrisy

Koirala's government could not hold the election in time even though the prime minister was telling a foreign dignitary one day before the postponement of the election that the country was going to the polls as planned. That was the level of honesty on the part of the political leadership. A new date was announced with the concurrence of the Maoists. The people were once again told that the country would finally get the opportunity to elect their representatives who would draft a constitution on behalf of the people.

However, in the mean time, the Maoist charm offensive was taking a nose dive. The YCL had emerged as a new wing of the Maoists whom the prime minister in one of his rare moment of candor had labeled as "the young criminal league". Accusations against one another on the part of the top leadership of the SPA were now becoming common. The Maoists were gradually becoming aware of the fact that in a reasonably free and fair election they would have little chance of emerging as a major political force in the country irrespective of how many guns their workers may have in the military cantonment now being supervised by the United Nations.

Guns may have been useful in intimidating people in the countryside but in a reasonably free election the people were determined to prove otherwise. Naturally, this was unacceptable to the Maoists and so they have come out with new demands to make sure that the election is postponed again.

In the meantime Koirala's government for the last seventeen months, which included the Maoists in major portfolios for over five months, has proved to be a model of non-governance and paralysis. The people expected security of life and property and efforts on the part of government to improve the delivery of services as a form of "peace dividend" now that open battle with the Maoists was formally over.

Both the Maoists and the government have remained totally insensitive to these aspirations. As recently as three days ago a group of doctors were abducted by the YCL of the Maoists and tortured for over fourteen hours before being released. The victims have been begging for justice and asking the perpetrators of this crime to be apprehended. The government however is so helpless that it does not dare to arrest even one person involved in the crime. Instances like this are numerous and they create a sense of terror and lawlessness in the country.

There is a lot of talk about the new spirit of democracy and focus on the people. But the only theme that has found appreciation in the government is the wholesale acceptance of the spoils system, that has given a de facto license to the SPA to distribute government resources and positions to near and dear ones at the cost of the nation. There is hardly any institution that is not a victim of the spoils system. For the ruling syndicate hypocrisy is a normal political behavior with the hope that the rot within will not be noticed by the people.

Syndicate and adventurism

As it stands now, the seven party syndicate has become a quarrelsome group of political parties that can agree on sharing the spoils of power but totally incapable of deciding on a road map for the future. For the Maoists with faith in their guns rather than the votes of the people the new maxim now is not election to the constituent assembly but the demoralization and delegitimization of the Koirala government so that they can establish themselves as the preeminent force controlling all the levers of governance if and when the elections are held in the future. This is their road map to a "people's republic" which they claim is going to be radically different from the norms and values of a democratic parliamentary system.

For the non-Maoist factions in the syndicate, at least in theory, the formal commitment is to a liberal-social democracy based on multiparty politics, rule of law, freedom of the press and the institutional mechanism of checks and balances provides the basis for a vision of the future. Commitment to the values inherent in this paradigm, however, has been consistently ignored. The interim constitution itself is a living example of this phenomenon.

Romantic adventurism is often a political bug that is a problem with all those who claim their legitimacy to insurrection and violence. The Maoists need to realize that capturing state power as in Eastern Europe in the mid 20th century is not a viable proposition in the global politics. Many of the issues that they have raised are valid and have gone a long way in sensitizing the Nepali people to the problems of discrimination and injustice. But to move to a new society where all Nepalis have adequate political and economic space is not possible through a techno-bureaucratic authoritarian political paradigm that sees the state simply as an extension of the party. Their political behavior so far is indicative of a mindset that projects freedom as the privilege of supporting the Maoists since they represent the "revolutionary masses". Perhaps, this would have been possible if human beings were nothing more than biological machines who would always accept the verdict of the "Ministry of Truth". But human beings do have a sense of judgment and they know that authoritarianism whether it is royal or Maoists deserve to be rejected.

In the coming days the Maoists will have to decide whether or not they are willing to seek the mandate of the people. Threatening Koirala with dire consequences while offering sweeteners to the UML with a future premiership is not going to advance the peace process. Playing one party against the other is an old Maoist tactic that all are now aware of. In fact Maoist strategy so far indicates a confused mindset that is vacillating between revolutionary rhetoric and the reality of facing an electorate that is willing to express its mind through the medium of the ballot. The tactics of delay and playing one party against the other is going to be costly both for them and the nation.

Related Posts:

April's Sizzle and February's Chill in Kathmandu
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/06/aprils-sizzle-and-februarys-chill-in.html

Second Amendment to Nepal's Interim Constitution - No Cause for Maoist Joy
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/06/second-amendment-to-nepals-interim.html

A Democratic Alliance, Accountable to the People
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/05/democratic-alliance-accountable-to.html

After a Year of "Loktantra" - Is it finally time for a Democratic Alliance?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/04/after-year-of-loktantra-is-it-finally.html

Time for Change

(Courtesy: Siddhartha Thapa)

Rarely does a moment come in history when the political leadership is provided with an unchallenged authority to govern in the name of its people. Similarly GP Koirala and the seven parties had been vested with gargantuan responsibilities to steer the country towards stability and peace. However, GP and the seven parties have failed to seize this golden opportunity. It is comical to observe the lackluster performance of this coalition government even when it had such enormous powers, no opposition to fear and lastly an unchallengeable international mandate to steer the country out of the quagmire.

Today, yet again our leaders have unfortunately succumbed to the murky politics that has plagued the progression of Nepali politics for the last five decades. Therefore, it would be accurate to conclude that it is only through our active participation in the political concourse can Nepal progress towards stability and peace. Hence, it would prove detrimental if we Nepalis are to sit quietly and allow our leaders to steer our country towards further disintegration by falsely interpreting our concerns and voices.

Without any further delay, we Nepalis should ask ourselves some fundamental questions regarding the future of our country. What has been most hurtful is the fact that our government sat silently when the statue of Prithivi Narayan Shah was mutated by the Maoists. All across the globe, in all countries the founders regardless of their background are held in high esteem. We might loathe at King Gyanendra, but we cannot escape from the reality that without Prithivi Narayan Shah there would be no Nepal – this is a fact and our history.

It has become equally important for all of us Nepalis to ponder over the founding principles of our nation. This is important because without identifying the principles that founded Nepal, we cannot defend the principles that founded Nepal. A country like Nepal that is so diverse had functioned harmoniously despite some deficiencies. Unfortunately, we are at the brink of disintegration and chaos. Therefore, it is important for us to understand the logic behind Prithvi Narayan Shah's call for social harmony and unity. It is social harmony, unity, moderation and toleration that are the founding principles of our nation. And the diversity component has only added to the uniqueness of the nation.

But for Nepali politics to evolve progressively it is important that the younger generation now takes over the mantle. Consequently, a political consensus must be developed and a home grown solution must be founded where the people are invited to take ownership of the constitutional process through elections.

The present leaders are responsible for the present state of affairs and they are incompetent. It is wishful thinking for us to expect them to deliver when they have failed repeatedly. Nepal is on the brink of disintegration and even when a forceful radical communist party like the Maoists has posed challenges to the existence of democracy and in tandem disrupted social harmony in the country; even then our leaders remain divided.

There will be no democratic alliance, there never has been one and there will never be one as long as the leaders of the older generation remain in politics. It is only when youthful leaders belonging to the democratic parties and ethnic groups prevail will there be an alliance. I say this because; we non political Nepalis have a common enemy: Maoists and radical ethnic groups.

Politics in Nepal is a catalyst through which politicians and their beneficiaries have consumed enormous amount of wealth. No matter who becomes prime minister, the situation will remain just as grim since the players who aide the prime ministers are the same people who have failed again and again. And deep down the Maoists know for a fact that these leaders can be bought, so, until and unless, there is no change in the leadership, the Maoists will continue to throw generous baits at our leaders and prepare for an eventual takeover.

Our leaders fail to comprehend that foreign brokered alliance will never yield positive dividends. Examples are plentiful - Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Israel-Palestine to name a few. Therefore, a solution must be indigenous and an alliance must formalise after parties agree on a common threat based on the ground reality. For that matter, the 12 point agreement is anti-national and hence, it now makes sense as to why the peace process and the prospects of holding elections have failed so miserably. We know for a fact that our leaders will never rise to the occasion to save our country from further disintegration. They are too consumed with wheeling and dealing.

An alternative can be found when the younger generation of politicians, businessmen, entrepreneurs, journos, civil servants, the youth, and younger army officers unite identifying a common threat. It is only then will Nepal move towards permanent peace, stability and economic prosperity.

Related Posts:

The King, the Populists, the Herders and the Sheep
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/02/king-populists-herders-and-sheep.html

Hedging Against Nepal's Leadership Crisis
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2006/09/hedging-against-nepals-leadership.html

UNMIN in Need of Immediate Reform

(Courtesy: el Zorro)

After over a year of electoral propaganda, UNMIN's day of reckoning has came and gone. The question at hand however, isn't whether Ian Martin should be invited to continue in Nepal, but how UNMIN's mindset can be tailored to better fit Nepal's unique requirements. Put simply, UNMIN’s boiler-plate, consultant-minded approach has failed miserably and should no longer be given sustenance.

Setting false expectations

Months before the November 22 date, UNMIN, political pundits, their minions and Nepali civil society all understood that holding elections under continued Maoist duress would be impossible. It was the fear of publicly jetissoning a false reality (fabricated by these very actors), that the “alarm bell” wasn’t rung in time and the Nepali people were betrayed once more.

Where the setting of false election expectations is concerned, UNMIN and every high-ranking UN official who flew in and out of Nepal (while singing praise of the peace process and electoral preparations), is guilty as charged. They were all responsible for exacerbating a lie that intentionally subdued glaring challenges and highlighted peripheral progress. Ian Martin routinely presented hyped versions of UNMIN’s “progress” to his superiors (and fawning Nepalis) in New York, as evidence of UNMIN’s success - a success that had no chance of materializing.

Banking on fine print instead assuming responsibility

Regardless of how Ian Martin chooses his play on words or how he attempts to re-interpret UNMIN’s mandate in Nepal, the fact remains that Martin and his “army” of advisors were incapable of executing even the narrowest interpretation of UNMIN’s current mandate – helping set the stage to ensure constituent assembly elections.

Had Martin’s team executed its limited mandate, assigning unambiguous accountability to the actors that foiled elections would be possible. The collective allocation of responsibility would leave no room for the repetition of similar Maoist shenanigans in the future.

However, because UNMIN failed in this regard, Nepalis are left blaming the Maoists who in turn, conveniently point to the fact that it was the interim government that suspended polls (and not just the Maoists). Such rationale coming from the same weasel who 3 months ago had warned of grave consequences for Nepal (should CA elections not be held on time - i.e., November 22, 2007), is a bitter pill that thanks to UNMIN, all Nepalis must swallow.

UNMIN may have unlimited liability where the dollars spent on supporting Nepal’s peace process is concerned. But, the Nepali government and the Maoists should not be permitted to share in the luxury of such unlimited liability. These actors (at some point) will have to face the Nepali people (and each other) in elections and UNMIN will have to do a better job of ensuring that constituent assembly elections are in fact, held.

Unaccountability is what Nepali Civil Society and UNMIN thrive on

Everyone (UNMIN more than others) understood what the setting of Maoist preconditions meant for CA elections. And even with UNMIN as their vanguard, no one dared practice any of the high minded morality or democratic conviction that accompanies populist rhetoric in Nepal. (For the most part, populism and “democratic” activism in Nepal, have become synonymous).

Instead of advising the Maoists to change course, Nepal’s self-professed democratic stalwarts (those who were convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the Maoists were yearning to become practitioners of liberal democracy), turned the other way.

For example, Devendra Raj Pandey paid homage to the Maoist demand for a republic through the parliament. Human rights activist Padma Ratna Tuladhar immediately busied himself toeing the Maoist line and Krishna Pahadi’s fluorescent presence was nowhere on the streets of Kathmandu.

Also missing was headline news of Kanak Mani Dixit throwing himself into the Kamal Pokhari jailhouse (to make international SOS calls). In fact, November 22 was a day on which Mr. Dixit’s allegations of a dormant army (as a force waiting to serve it’s King), ran exceptionally hollow.

There is no better term than “pathetic” to describe the state of those who interpret the taming of a power-hungry monarch (in the 21st century) as the crowing jewel on their personal list of accomplishments. Unfortunately for Nepal, this pathetic list is long and varied and runs from Kathmandu to Brussels, from Washington DC to New York, from Sydney to London, and back again.

The connection between UNMIN and Nepal’s disillusioned civil society is this – both find themselves in a symbiotic web of conspiracy driven agendas, diverted development dollars, and foregone conclusions. They profess allegiance to a higher cause, speak of process, of rights, of empowerment and rule of law. All the while, what they practice rarely re-enforces that which they preach – neither UNMIN nor Nepal’s civil society is accountable, transparent, or flexible enough to view Nepal’s political landscape through any paradigm other than their own preconceived notion of what the landscape SHOULD look like.

Operational ineffectiveness – how should this be addressed?

Whether opponents of UNMIN like it or not, the UN is intricately tied to Nepal’s peace process. Getting rid of UNMIN (as some would propose), is not a credible solution to guaranteeing sustained peace or democracy. However, permitting the UN mission in Nepal to carry on in the flimsy manner that it has operated, is no solution either.

Essentially, UNMIN needs to be restructured to carry out its mandate in a responsible and timely manner. Below are a set of recommendations that may help the Nepali state achieve its desired, democratic end-state, at the earliest.

1. UNMIN should focus on its current mandate and stop looking for opportunities to expand. All parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) need to sit and re-establish a set of achievable milestones where constituent assembly elections are concerned. The winter session of the interim parliament declaring yet another election date (only to be missed again), should not be the driving agenda.

Instead, the SPA coalition and the Maoists should produce a set of target objectives (and associated dates) that need to be met, in order for CA elections to be held. These objectives and their associated dates should be shared with UNMIN and UNMIN’s engagement sought in an advisory capacity.

2. UNMIN needs to be more transparent with the Nepali people. Once all parties are in agreement, UNMIN should allocate its resources to ensuring that agreed upon milestones are met and should produce weekly reports (on its website) that outline progress-to-date, challenges/obstacles and upcoming milestones. Should the danger of missing any milestones become obvious, the information should be shared with the Nepali people (and the international community-at-large), in a transparent and public manner.

UNMIN’s practice of inflating progress by subduing “hiccups” should be halted, immediately. All agreements (official and unofficial) between UNMIN, the SPA and the Maoists should be shared in the public domain. For example, Ian Martin’s revelation AFTER the arms verification process had begun, that details on Maoist arms, numbers of verified combatants, etc., should be kept from public disclosure is the kind of practice that UNMIN should be reprimanded for enforcing.

3. UNMIN should negotiate a more practical mandate. In order to avoid the plethora of excuses of the past (and repeated discussion of it’s mandate), Ian Martin should once and for all, tell the SPA and the Maoists the common minimum set of conditions UNMIN REQUIRES, to effectively carry out its responsibilities.

The UN was in a remarkable position at the onset of the peace process to negotiate its own parameters for success but failed to do so. Fortunately for UNMIN, Nepal’s peace process has yet again arrived at a juncture where Ian Martin can better negotiate the terms of UNMIN’s engagement. Martin should take full advantage of the lessons he has learned and negotiate a more effective mandate for his mission. A RESTRUCTURED versus an EXPANDED role is what Ian Martin should focus on.

4. Parallel facilitators should be considered. The perception that the UN (and the UN alone) can help Nepal navigate its peace process is a myth. The nature of conflict has morphed drastically since the UN’s inception. With these transformations have emerged numerous institutions and think tanks that may not be as well funded but are intrinsically better structured to handle discrete components of Nepal’s peace process.

Although it is the usual suspects that infiltrate every one of these institutions (e.g., former ICG “expert” on Nepal, John Norris, now serves as a special advisor to Ian Martin), Nepal’s chances for sustained peace may be benefited by keeping all options open.

All “advice” where peace is concerned is “free.” It wouldn’t hurt Ram Chandra Poudel and his Ministry of Peace to capitalize on handouts.

5. UNMIN’s progress should be monitored. UNMIN should have no problems with the Ministry of Peace and an external fourth party monitoring the progress of Nepal’s peace process.

Oversight is a necessary component to any process. But because independent oversight is desired, it is understood that in Nepal’s case, the existence of the incestuous relationship between UNMIN and known civil society actors, incapacitates civil society as the sole, logical source of unofficial governance. Employment arrangements in particular, hamper the independence of most vocal opinion makers in Nepal’s case.

As an alternative, the inclusion of an Indo-Chinese component as an advisory board to the Ministry of Peace should be an excellent addition to ensuring that UNMIN does its job and that Nepal’s peace process remains on track.

Conclusion

UNMIN's credibility has eroded significantly but has not been irreparably damaged. This, thanks to Nepal's "ordinary" (according to Ian Martin) people who are able comprehend the failure that UNMIN has been but appear incapable of addressing the root causes that “disabled” UNMIN’s election propaganda. This message was the basic thrust of Ian Martin’s most recent press conference.

With all the lies that have been spewed and the double standards that have been practiced, the time to carefully re-evaluate UNMIN’s most effective application is now. It is important to revisit the fact that UNMIN is in Nepal at the behest of the SPA and the Maoists, but is accountable to the Nepali people. UNMIN is in Nepal to do what the Nepali people deem is right for their own country, not what UNMIN (or other external powers) deem, is right for Nepal.

Conscientious Nepalis need to wake up to these facts and stop elevating UNMIN onto a pedestal where it does not belong. For all the progressive politics that Nepal’s elite allegedly represents, its constituents should take a moment to dissociate their wallets from their professed morals and take a good look in the mirror. It is at this point of dissociation (self-reflection) where the chasm that defines (and perpetuates) the failures in Nepal's peace process, lies.

Related Posts:

What UNMIN Should Do to Manage Nepal's Peace Process
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/11/courtesy-krishna-hari-pushkar-un-is.html

The Problem with Nepali Political Civil Society - The Leftist, the Cowards, and the Compromised
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/10/problem-with-nepali-political-civil.html

What has UNMIN Accomplished in Nepal?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/09/what-has-unmin-accomplished-in-nepal.html

The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of Nepali Media

(Courtesy: Mr. Ripley)

For every two pieces of cogent commentary, C.K. Lal seems compelled to produce a bile-laced piece that leaves once wondering if he is the media equivalent of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Railing from Jakarta in his latest piece for the Nepali Timeshttp (nepalitimes.com/issue/375/StateoftheState/14198), he rolls-up the entire Asian experience into a pat conclusion, declaring with typical condescending certainty:

“The pathologies of Indonesian politics can all be traced to a naïve belief in the doctrine that mixing political passivity and technocratic excellence will foster economic growth. It may have done so for a brief period and it may work in a test-tube experiment like Singapore, but in Indonesia the resulting prosperity failed to lift all boats.”

He later feels compelled to then point fingers at some of the best men Nepal has produced:

We too had our version of the Berkley Mafia when graduates of western universities were brought back to Nepal by King Mahendra and King Birendra in the sixties through the seventies: Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, Pashupati Shamsher, Prakash Chandra Lohani, Mohammed Mohsin, Mohan Man Sainju, Harka Gurung. Former Finance Minister Yadav Prasad Pant who died this week was also one of them.

Lal couldn’t hold a candle to any of these men. What we can tell about Mr. C.K. Lal from both his writings in the Nepali Times or his longer (and unreadably boring) pieces in the leftist elite-masturbation-fest, Himal South Asian Magazine is that he is virulently anti-Western (read anti-American), anti-capitalist, and an anti-globalist. So what we get from him is a characteristic petty meanness and condescension of the lefist elite. No need to explain or make a very persuasive case when one simply evokes the typical leftist dogma.

The point Mr. C.K. Lal appears to be trying make in his latest piece is that countries that have opted to pursue a policy limiting political freedom while improving the quality of various institutions have failed to foster economic growth. It failed in Indonesia and this policy evidently failed in Nepal – under what he describes as Western-educated individuals (The Berkeley Mafia).

This certainly is not the case in China. A country of severely limited political freedoms but increasingly capitalist behaviour, economic growth has been astounding. But then what explains India’s lackluster economic growth under Lal’s simplistic template? Despite being a politically active country, India was an economic basket-case under socialist policies until the reforms of 1992 and continues to lag behind China.

Then let’s put the men characterized as the Berkeley Mafia in proper historic context.

First, they appear to represent a remarkable cross-section of Nepali Society. Indeed, that generation, despite coming from the dark ages of the Ranas achieved remarkable benchmarks in each of their respective fields. They were all meaningfully employed or could have had careers completely outside of politics if they chose. All were idealistic in their youth and believed they were doing the right thing for Nepal.

Second, they led during a time when there were few democracies and capitalism still had not figured as the leading model of economic growth. The Cold War was raging and the Soviet Union’s economic model had not yet been exposed for the farce it had become. They can be forgiven if they followed policies that did not yield the desired results.

Third, being well-educated and sober men who believed more in working within the system, they did not follow the same paths as Madhab Kumar Nepal, Girija Koirala, or Sher Bahadur Deuba. Unlike the “Berkeley Mafia”, our politicians are boobies who have contributed little to Nepali politics beyond their ability to agitate . It would be hard to find a cogent paper, speech, actions or other evidence of contributions to economic growth by our political leaders.

Perhaps Mr. C.K. Lal believes that Nepal’s economic growth rests on wild political activism and little else. Hopefully, the next several commentaries from Mr. C.K. Lal will come from the Dr. Jekyll in him and that Mr. Hyde takes a long break in Indonesia.

Related Posts:

Earth to John Norris and Kanak Dixit
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/10/earth-to-john-norris-and-kanak-dixit.html

The Problem with Nepali Political Civil Society - The Leftist, the Cowards, and the Compromised
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/10/problem-with-nepali-political-civil.html

No Impunity for Civil Society Leaders: Nepalis are watching....
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/09/no-impunity-for-civil-society-leaders.html

The Nepali Times Gets it Wrong - Lazy Thinking and Unworthy Patronage of Maoists
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/09/nepali-times-gets-it-wrong-lazy.html

Ordinary Nepali Realities vs. Extraordinary Nepali Dreams
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/08/ordinary-nepali-realities-vs.html

They Don’t Need No UNMIN Education

Why Does the UNMIN Feel It Needs to Market Its Failure to Nepali Children?

(Courtesy: Mr. Ripley)

Process is an important component of modern society. Software projects, once developed on an ad hoc basis, now follow rigid procedural techniques that go way beyond writing computer code.

Specialists from configuration managers, software architects, testers, and knowledge experts – all working under a sanctioned development protocol have cut out the heroics and borderline alchemy of the past. This has led to better products – despite all the burdens that process imposes.

Politics, and in particular democratic politics, also entails various interests to participate in processes that require a repertoire that includes persuasion, compromise, trust, and on occasion, threats and other forms of “leverage.”

But if process is a necessity of modern institutional practices to achieve an end– then the institution that epitomizes failure of process is reflected by the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations in general. The late United States Senator Patrick Moynihan described the United Nations as a “theater of the absurd, a decomposing corpse, and an insane asylum.”

Even in the areas where the world retains some confidence in the UN, the record is spotty; the most recent scandal being that the United Nations over the years has inflated the number of HIV infections by almost 50 percent to inflate funding needs.

So it’s appalling to see that the UNMIN, an institution that has yet to demonstrate any metric of credible success, inflicting a “mock” session of the UN General Assembly Process for secondary school children in Chitwan.

One can be sure the children participated voluntarily – after all, anyone with a budget to provide a “free” lunch or the capability to menace Nepali schoolchildren can secure their participation. Just ask the political parties and Maoists who have brought in truck-loads of children to support their political agenda.

What honest academic or worldly insights, about the United Nations or the peace process could the UNMIN impart on these kids other than their self-serving interests to prolong their Mission?

What the peace process and autocratic leadership under the Ranas, the Shahs and the Maoists have taught us is that we need our children to think more independently – not herded together to participate in group-think exercises that characterizes the General Assembly or the existing UNMIN-led peace process. Nepali children had enough of that under different masters.

Perhaps, if the UNMIN has a surplus budget, it can educate the children by building them a library where they can explore history and political experiences of other countries on their own.

Maybe there, they might read about how the early Greeks first invented the rudimentary structures of democracy – including early thoughts on republicanism. Or, they might explore how security is a fundamental need for humans as Hobbes postulated and that we readily become “nasty and brutish” without law and order. Perhaps, they can compare and contrast the record of socialism and capitalism and that “Democratic Republic” does not necessarily mean a country is “democratic” or a true “republic.”

They might read of how Churchill refused to negotiate with Hitler, correctly understanding elemental evil and courageously (and shrewdly) overcoming the Nazis. Or maybe, they will also learn on their own how the United Nations, founded with the intention to find a solution to wars and suffering, has become an un-reformable institution.

They may even explore Shakespeare which might help them to understand their political leaders better.

Nepali children will learn more about true intellectual inquiry, rationalism, historical context, and self-criticism on their their OWN if the UNMIN is successful in freeing the country of extortion, of intimidation. Most importantly, they might even respect the UN someday if Ian

Martin and his team can demonstrate independent thinking, integrity, and courage – even if it’s not in their mandate.

Related Posts:

What UNMIN Should Do to Manage Nepal's Peace Process
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/11/courtesy-krishna-hari-pushkar-un-is.html

What has UNMIN Accomplished in Nepal?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/09/what-has-unmin-accomplished-in-nepal.html

UNMIN's "Consulting" Mentality Not Conducive to Nepal's "Stakeholder" Needs http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/07/unmins-consulting-menta

The Left Threat

(Courtesy: Siddharth Thapa)

Nearing his fourth year in office, there are very few achievements that the Indian prime minister can boast about. The recent fiasco surrounding the civilian nuclear agreement with America is an elaborate example of the failure of the Congress led UPA government to impact political changes in a progressive direction. Clearly, the alliance with the Left parties has yielded in diminished returns for the Congress at both the domestic and the international stage. But if the Congress wishes to move ahead in a progressive direction, it must (like Indira Gandhi), sever its ties with the communists.

It is imperative that the Congress cease cooperation with the Left to enable the Congress to chart independent economic and foreign policies that aims to take India to the forefront of global politics. CPI –M has maintained that India should import gas from Central Asia as an alternative to the 123 Agreement with the United States. However, the trade route for the central Asian gas project cannot materialise without political stability prevailing in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The latest edition of Newsweek described Pakistan as the world's most dangerous nation. It further reports that the ISI continues to maintain clandestine relations with Taliban and other Islamist fugitives in the hope of using them to wage Jihad in Kashmir in the future. Bhutto now under the threat of Islamists and the Taliban, was a pivotal figure in aiding the Taliban storm to power in Kabul. Bhutto had envisioned a secure neighbour under the Taliban so that she could use southern Afghanistan as a strategic trade route to build pipelines to import gas from central Asia to help the ailing economy of Pakistan. Unfortunately, Bhutto's strategy (which was heavily influenced by the ISI), backfired.

More significantly, both New Delhi and Islamabad have failed to take the peace talks forward. Therefore, how the establishment in New Delhi envisions importing oil from Central Asia that has to pass though Afghanistan and Pakistan still remains a matter of speculation.

Another component vital to India's national security and industrialisation of the Gangetic plains is the urgency to restore political normalcy in Nepal. Nehru, India's first prime minister once stated, "our border lies up until the northern Himalayas". Following Nehru's statement, Kathmandu debated the context of Nehru's speech at length. But the Nepali political circle tacitly approved this remark by identifying the common threats that endangered both Nepal's and India's national security.

However, the latest Indian policy to aide a former rebel outfit like the Maoists under the influence of the CPI –M suggests India has perhaps deviated from the liberal Nehruvian doctrine that helped shaped Indian foreign policy. Like radical Islam, communism is a dogmatic ideology that supersedes geographical boundaries. The continued failure of the Indian government to understand the nefarious schemes of their Left coalition partners to help the Maoists rise to power, continues to remain ignored. The net result of this lackluster policy vis-à-vis Nepal will only complicate security issues and undermine economic development in northern India.

Although largely ignored in New Delhi, the Maoist movement in Nepal should be viewed as a symbolic political movement in South Asia. Today radical communist parties operate not just in Nepal, but in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and even in Bhutan. As identified by Indian PM Man Mohan Singh, the Naxalite movement in India remains the largest security menace to the Indian establishment. The compact political corridor that the Naxal's and the Maoists want to erect is gaining momentum due to the lack of policy in New Delhi. Even though Maoist Chairman Prachanda might have wept in Delhi declaring the Nepali Maoists have no nexus with the Naxal's and COMPOSA, recent intelligence reports indicate otherwise.

In a report submitted to COMPOSA by the Maoist Chief Prachanda, he reaffirms his party's commitment in preserving and further bolstering its ties with regional communist parties. In a candid revelation the report submitted to COMPOSA by Prachanda this summer declares: "On several occasions we have brought out our assessment that the domestic situation in Nepal is favorable and ripe to capture central state power in the near future but as all the genuine communist parties engaged in revolutionary practice know that the international situation is quite unfavorable to accomplish new democratic revolution to sustain it."

However, Prachanda's conclusion in his report to COMPOSA is the most important part of his report; a close read will magnify the eventual plan and aim of the Maoist movement in Nepal – "The enemy who is attacking our party especially its youth wing "YCL", with whatever they find in their hands, has generated mass resentment against the enemies. And our mass line, discipline of our PLA and political line has gathered momentum to prepare the ground for the final insurrection. We are utilising this transitional phase to spread our base and consolidate it, to get rid of our own short comings and bring disintegration in the enemy's camp (Nepali Congress, RJP, RPP, MJF, Nepal Army and the monarchy) so that we can give a final blow and usher into the country a new democracy.

Tare serious hurdles on both fronts to the Indian government. Nicolas Burns, the US under Secretary of State for political affairs, in his article, 'America's Strategic Opportunity with India', in the latest edition of the journal Foreign Affairs has identified India as one America's most important strategic partners in global affairs. To live up to such expectations, first, India has to curtail and confront the growth of communism and radical Islam in India and in its neighboring countries. As the leftist's continue to espouse sentiments of self determination, the likelihood of further ethnic confrontation and possible disentrancement with the center evolving into secession movements cannot be ruled out.

Already, Nagaland, Mizoram, Andhra Pradesh (Telganga) and more evidently Punjab in the past have all posed threats to India's national unity and integrity. Therefore, should Nepal fall into the hands of the communist, Nepal will serve as a core state for further communists movements in South Asia directly threatening India's national security. As India strives to make gargantuan economic leaps, it is crucial that India generates necessary energy fuel to meet the demands of its growing industries. The 123 Agreement can therefore provide India with a strategic advantage in Asia. However, as the Left continue to question the rationale of this deal; its feasibility and eventual implementation of the 123 Agreement remains questionable.

Ultimatley, India will have to seek other alternatives to meet the soaring demands of its economy for more energy. Some of these alternatives can be found in the rivers of Nepal. However, for the development of any realistic hydro power projects in Nepal, it is essential that peace and the democratic forces prevail in Nepal's political uncertainty. For this, it is sacrosanct that the Maoists in Nepal and other members of COMPOSA are confronted and viewed at a similar level of policy analysis by all agencies that help shape India's strategic policy at home and abroad.

Related Posts:

The Looming Election Fiasco
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/09/looming-election-fiasco.html

Girija's Grand Design
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/08/girijas-grand-design.html

India's Dubious Silence
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/07/dubious-silence.html

They Shoot Journalists Don’t They? - The Nepali Media Can Undo Some of Their Own Mistakes

(Courtesy: Mr. Ripley)

At first you gaze at the grisly photographs of the exhumed remains of journalist Birendra Shah with guilty curiosity. The kind that makes you watch the people in suits and dresses falling off a doomed World Trade Center on September 11 or the countless crushed bloated bodies amid a sea of dirty debris after the devastating Tsunami in 2004.

But after the initial takes, this natural yet guilty indulgence is replaced by sadness, anger, and a desire to take action against those responsible for the mayhem. You sense the humanity that was crushed: the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, a symbol of modernism and dynamic global energy created by a sometimes flawed but always progressive American culture, disappearing from New York City’s skyline within hours.

You feel a sense of hopelessness and compassion when you begin to read about the stories of little children and the elderly swept away or crushed by the explosion of an massive ocean.

So as you finish scrolling through all the images: the boots of the APF men standing over the body; the black plastic tarp where the exhumed corpse was placed; the caked lime on the body to supress the stench; the slender arms and curled feet in shades of a bruised purple; and the beginnings of liquefaction of the body; two things about the body stand out.

First, through the caked lime and remnants of his hair, you see what appears to be an eye. It’s half open in a reverse crescent but through the death that encompasses his entire body, you glimpse pain and fear in that eye – the kind of pain and terror he must have experienced when he realized why he had been lured into the jungle. The look is the same you’ve seen in a poached elephant’s eyes depicted on the National Geographic Channel. Pain, horror, and sadness are reflected in Birendra Shah’s eye – so different from the smiling and intelligent person he appears in his other photographs.

The second is, of course, is the pen. Birendra Shah’s pen protrudes from his left shirt pocket Like a fallen warrior’s still-sheathed sword. The shiny silver and black in striking contrast to the fast-fading structure of his body. It almost appears that it wants to jump out to tell his story – radiating a suppressed intellect of its own.

If there is one encouraging spark in Birendra Shah’s murder that the media is appears to be fighting back. They refused the explanation provided by the creepy Krishna Prasad Sitaula – who, even before history is written, will go down as the most duplicitous character that presided over the Home Ministry. He has either hindered investigations or presided idly over preventable killings and the death toll and the insecurity that permeates Nepali society today. The prospect of an ethnic conflagration at any moment is real – yet he is at no loss to make grandiose political statements.

Yet the media shares a tremendous amount of blame Birendra Shah’s death – they are the ones that have provided cover for the Maoists, peddling the delusion by spinning words like “surakshit abataran” (safe landing for the Maoists) and misguided analysis that there was some chasm in methods between the top Maoist leaders and their cadres.

When one publishing house formed the “Center for Investigative Journalism” during the insurgency and “Royal rule”, it became evident that the only types of investigation this unit was responsible for (at that time) was to investigate “crimes” by the Nepali Army and to attract foreign NGO dollars – along with the Caucasians raised with post-modern notions of how the world should be.

It would be victory against what history teaches us if a violent movement like the Maoists could simply be tamed by media pressure – a naïve notion that dogs the media to this day – as evidenced by their “demand” for an apology. Even as the last rites of Birendra Shah were barely over, there are reports that another journalist has been missing for four months.

After listening to the rhetoric from prominent members of the press over the last 17 years of “democracy”, one hopes that Birendra Shah’s murder signifies a fork in the road – where civil society intellectuals and journalists begin to aggressively expose what the Maoists are doing to Nepal.

Related Posts:

Debunking the Democratic Dogma
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/09/debunking-democratic-dogma.html

The Nepali Times Gets it Wrong - Lazy Thinking and Unworthy Patronage of Maoists
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/09/nepali-times-gets-it-wrong-lazy.html

Life is Good When You Are a Nepali Intellectual Elite
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/06/life-is-good-when-you-are-nepali.html

The greatest threat to peace in Nepal is misinformed, misguided, agenda-divine journalists like "The Guardian's" Isabel Hilton
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/07/courtesy-el-punto-isabel-hiltons.html

Revisiting Recent Nepali History - A brief Collection of "Inconvenient Truths"
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/07/revisiting-recent-nepali-history-brief.html

Thank You Daniela - But Nepal is Already on "Plan B" http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/05/thank-you-daniela-but-nepal-is-already.html

Special Session and After: Thinking Past the Nepali 'Post-conflict'

(Re-produced, courtesy of Dr. Saubhagya Shah)

The country took a huge leap of faith last April. More than year later, the people are still waiting for it to land, right side up. The farce called the Constituent Assembly (CA) election would not have been more than a lame joke had it also not been a fraud as well, arguably the most brazen since the millennium bug and the Mahakali scam. In the former, technology firms warned the consumers that if they did not buy their latest software and gadgets, the computer systems across the world would go kaput at the stroke of midnight, thereby causing the global economy, defense systems, health networks, transportation and the internet to go haywire to usher in Stone Age II. Thankfully no such pangs accompanied the birth of the 21st century, but the sting operation earned billions for the scaremongers.

The Mahakali caper was of a different tack, but of the same nature. Left to right, politicians here had gone in overdrive to sell the Mahakali deal. The proposal to sign off the western boundary river to India was touted as the biggest bonanza to ever befall the country that would earn a cool billion dollars per year to the country. A decade after the midnight deal in parliament, Nepal is yet to see a penny from the sell off. Nevertheless, the southerly wind from the deal has filled the sails and coffers of many politicians that dominate the political landscape today.

The ongoing constituent assembly (CA) mess is a remix of both these earlier scams. On the one hand, the people were bombarded for a whole year with dire warnings by the political parties, donors, and the willing media that if the CA elections were not held on Nov. 22, the earth would literally crumble and heaven would fall, so extreme and absolute was the propaganda. On the other hand, should the election take place, it would fulfill every wish and every need that Nepalis had ever thought of...so abundant was the promise. One just had to endure the endless TV skits, radio jingles, dohori songs, poems, talkshops and miles of newspaper space sponsored by the CA enterprise over the past year to recognize the carrot and stick approach to infantile democratization. No wonder, much of this media material imitated many of the soothing tunes and melodies of our nursery rhymes.

Experts, expertise

The transitional movement was recognized as another money spinner as international crisis firms and professionals who had made their names and fortunes in Somalia, Afghanistan, Timor or other similar human tragedies descended upon Nepal to set up shop in partnership with local subalterns. The first order of business was to establish the demand that could then be supplied by these experts. Using some convenient methodologies, it was first established that Nepalis in general were seriously deficient in their knowledge of the whole constituent assembly phenomena. Such a glaring civilizational deficit could only be filled by the superior knowledge embodied by the experts. Thus came the various CA projects and voter education programs from donors and INGOs in whose name millions of dollars were raised and millions of rupees disbursed, thousands of educators, TOTs (Tiny tots? the person who coined this development jargon must have had the most wicked sense of humor) and trainers mobilized to teach the ignorant masses how to do election come Nov. 22. Not to mention the 50,000 plus army of observers being marshaled to witness the event and the 60,000 see-through boxes dispatched from Japan to hold the secret ballots.

The chappal is obviously on the other foot now. The ignorant masses perhaps might just want to ask the experts why suddenly there is no constituent election after all this education and awareness raising? That is, if they have not already left the scene post-haste in their favorite getaways: the formidable fleet of satellite-hooked 4by4s and shiny helicopters. The people might also want to know why so much resources and effort was poured into a half-baked project whose completion was neither ascertained, nor even intended. The prevalent political culture here demands no responsibility and accountability even in cases of major policy failures and disasters such as the present one. The leadership can always plead democratic immunity in every act of omission and commission. Nevertheless, after having been taken on a wild-goose chase for a whole year, it would have made the people feel that they still count for something in this country if someone – parties, donors, or the CA entrepreneurs – had had the decency to tender even a simple non-incriminating apology following the unceremonious cancellation of the polls.

The 'post-conflict' industry in Nepal has temporarily been thrown off-gear by the cancellation of the elections. All those contracts, projects, budgets streams, networks, and careers are in disarray. But not for long, we can be sure that the resilience and resourcefulness of this highly adaptive industry will soon come up with another inspiring sales banner to continue its good work as has been the case for the last fifty years.

More than anything, the present election fiasco is an inevitable failure of a faulty paradigm whose basic premise starts not with the innate intelligence and commonsense of the people but their ignorance. Many of the assumptions that inform the intervention in Nepal are politically chic, but analytically dubious. The continued substitution of objective assessment and adherence to logical policy implications by normative homilies and ideological sermons is at the root of the present impasses, whether it be the donors or their recipients. In the absence of critical analysis, the liberal-radical consensus on Nepal appears to have become a victim of its own group think. Like all volatile mixtures, the liberal-radical combustion was eminently successful in burning down the royal edifice last year in the manner of a sweeping bush fire. But the prairie fire seldom lasts long, its fatigue is as startling as its blaze. The intense yet short-lived liberal-radical honeymoon also appears to be exhausting itself once the expressed target of that unity – monarchy – has receded from the political horizon.

Apparently, the blazes are good for burning down, not for building up. The lack of substantive momentum and direction during the past year and half and the national sense of being caught in a morass is a good indication of the exhaustion of the intellectual paradigm that guided the April uprising. To put it bluntly, not much thought was put into what was to be done after the April bonfire.

King and PR

For example, when the current ruling circle and its external guarantors have already decided in principle to make Nepal a republic after Nov. 22, what substantive difference does it make if the republic is declared by the parliament today to save the country from another likely bloodletting? The sovereign parliament that changed national identity from Hindu kingdom to secular state and confined the King to virtual house arrest in one stroke last year should have no constitutional or legal limitations in going republic to fulfill the deepest aspirations of the Nepali 'people', as claimed by the republican front. It is quite a mystery that the one party that attempted regicide twice in the past should be the one wanting to extend the monarchy’s life on some flimsy technicality. After the recent amendment to the Interim Constitution, the parliament has the authority to declare republic instantly if the king is found to be engaging in any activity intended to derail the CA elections. Government ministers, political leaders, the media, and senior civil society leaders have repeatedly charged the king of orchestrating the violence in the Terai and plotting for a regressive comeback by disturbing the CA poll environment. What more rationale and justification does the ruling liberal-republican consensus need for going republic today? To pose the same question differently, what benefits will the country accrue by keeping the much vilified monarchy another 18 days that were not there in the past 238 years?

Many republicans still blame Girija Prasad Koirala and Madhab Kumar Nepal for not seizing the opportunity to end the monarchy after the palace massacre in 2001 when it was at its weakest. Five years later, history has presented another golden opportunity to Nepali republicans. At the end of 2007, the House of Gorkha finds its neck on the chopping block and should the republicans again pull back from delivering the coup de grâce to fulfilling their historical destiny at this most opportune moment, the Crown may continue not because it necessarily willed itself to power but because there was no self evident alternative despite the rhetoric.

The wrangle over the proportional representation system also presents a similar discordance between the self-stated political stance and its necessary policy obligations. Among the other breaks, the 2006 political uprising discredited the unitary Nepali state for its historical marginalization and exclusion of various minorities and regions. The new regime has already accepted the constituencies of language, ethnicity, and region in contrast to the earlier model of universal citizenship in one nation. The new solution espoused has been the federalization of the state to provide voice and representation of these formerly excluded groups into the political process. But if the electoral process is not suitably modified to make it possible for these oppressed groups to articulate their voice and aspirations in any meaningful way, the federalization alone might not mean much because the existing first-past-the-post electoral system will continue to benefit the politically dominant Brahmin-Chhetry groups far in excess of their actual numbers in the population. If the promise of New Nepal to include and empower the formerly marginalized castes, women, janajatis, Madhesis, and Karnali into the political system is genuine, the federal structure must be accompanied by a proportional representation process. Only then will the numerically significant but politically weak cultural, ethnic, and caste communities have a viable opportunity for inclusion in the national process.

An election is an act of selection and representation by the people within an agreed upon framework. To make the democratic election meaningful, the competitors must agree on the fundamental norms of the electoral game. This includes the consensus on the purpose, method, and willingness to accept and abide by the result of the elections.
In the context of the CA elections, none of the three criteria were ever met satisfactorily. Whether it was the constituency redrawing controversy or the proportional system, there was a wide divergence of positions on the actual modality of conducting the elections. In this respect, the recently concluded special session of the parliament called to resolve these issues might have postponed the crisis for now, but it has not yet really cleared the ground for the elections yet.

More seriously, even after the elections dates were fixed, some of the contestants continued to state that they would not be obliged to abide by the results if it was not to their liking. The experts refused to take into account this danger signal and continued to send back rosy reports to New York in order to keep the illusion going for as long as it would last. Is the UN too worried about the latest cancellations here? Perhaps not. More mess in the Third World means more business, more budget, more jobs. One just needs to pass through the business class section of an airline flying into Kathmandu to see the laptop welding army of bright-eyed college graduates coming to town to do election and peace. As things complicate, UN seeking to make more elbow room for itself by seeking extended, expanded role in the host nation. Historically also, wherever UN has stepped in, it usually tends to stick around for a decade, if not longer. The good thing is, Nepalis will be assured of homespun entertainment from unminkoboli (UNMINSPEAK) over local radios and televisions for years to come.

The last point that undermined the prospects for a meaningful CA elections was lack of sincere agreement on the purpose of the election itself. For some, CA election was intended to be a rubber stamp to legitimize the 2006 regime change. For others, the CA result would have been the measure by which to take stake their claim on state power and resources.

Power to the politicians

None of the players in the game had actually wanted the people to exercise their 'sovereign' reason to express what they really wanted. In a preemptory move, the parties had already decided what the new Nepal would be: federal, republic, and pseudo secular. During his previous four stints as prime minister of the Kingdom, G.P. Koirala remained a strict secularist. He was never seen near a temple or a ritual. After having presided over the conversion of the only Hindu Kingdom into a secular state last year, it is ironic that this life-long agnostic is suddenly acting like a born-again Hindu. Whether it is the realization of his own approaching mortality or his suppressed desire to dabble in the kingly grandeur of divine rule, his ritual extravaganza around Hindu temples and festivals in his official capacity as the prime minister cum de facto president of a secular state makes a mockery of the idea of separation of state and religion. If the complete immunity from the logical policy conclusion of one’s stated political position remains the hallmark of the Nepali political class in general, it is no wonder that moral impunity is the defining feature of Nepali political culture.

Critically speaking, CA was gamed to extract popular consent for the regime, not open up informed choices for the citizens. Thus, even if the CA election were to be held on Nov. 22 as scheduled, it would not have been more than a costly ritual because the most important substance had already been preordained through an unelected process. That is why the sky did not actually fall when the election was finally cancelled and except for some perfunctory tears in some quarters, nobody is actually ruing the day.

Contrary to claims, the CA elections and the rest of the political process does not appear to be intended to empower the people through reason and information. It is, on the contrary, designed to infantilize them by playing upon their worst fears and emotions. The rule of law is being substituted by fear where insecurity, suspicion, and virulent demagoguery have become the primary ruling instruments. The nation is literally being made to live from minute to minute in bated breath as it awaits it fate outside the gates of Baluwatar and Singha Durbar while those inside wheel and deal, day and night, in perpetually extending sessions. The emotional manipulation serves two functions: buys borrowed time for the regime while reducing popular expectations of the political process to abysmal nil. The sum total? National degradation and societal demoralization.

Related Posts:

What has UNMIN Accomplished in Nepal?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/09/what-has-unmin-accomplished-in-nepal.html

Debunking the Democratic Dogma
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/09/debunking-democratic-dogma.html

No Impunity for Civil Society Leaders: Nepalis are watching....
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/09/no-impunity-for-civil-society-leaders.html

Bahunists and Bahunism - No Room for feudal elements in the "new Nepal"
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/08/bahunists-and-bahunism-no-room-for.html

Where’s Nepal heading?

(Courtesy: Shirish Ranabhat)

The agony of Nepal did not end with the end of absolute monarchy. A new phase of conflict related with ethnicity, sectarianism, religious extremism and external intervention has arisen, which has become more dangerous than the Maoists’ guerrilla war or the absolute monarchy. The structure and dynamics of these new conflicts can be very difficult to resolve, if not timely and wisely addressed. Many of these dynamics have their roots in the political, ideological and ethnic polarization.

The rise of the Maoists, an ultra-communist group, has added complexity to the peace, harmony, and the political structure of Nepal . Their intentions of imposing a harsh federal republic system under an authoritarian rule, and use of war as an instrument of political consolidation have served to widen the gap among various political parties and hence hindered the quest for the peace process.

Nepal is ethnically a very diverse country. However, ethnicity was never a very strong factor in Nepali politics until the popular movement of 1990, when democracy in the country was restored. A sort of political balance evolved among the various groups and all of them were allocated spaces within the political system. Unfortunately, Maoists rebel started a political-cum-sectarian war involving various ethnic groups. The war ended after a decade with a heavy toll of approximately 15,000 lives.

For the first time in post-1990 history of Nepal , after a decade long anarchy and rebellion, the Maoists exercised full administrative and political privileges. After overthrowing the King’s direct rule, a coalition government including Maoists was formed. A new constitution was promulgated, and a consensus on Constituent Assembly elections was reached.

The political wind of Nepal began to change its direction with the Maoists’ demand to abolish the monarchy immediately. Several political parties changed their policies of supporting constitutional monarchy to a federal republicanism. Among all these drastic political changes, ethnic conflicts and sectarianism surfaced. Different ethnic groups built their own local political institutions and started demanding their own territories. These ethnic groups started raising separate militias, who primarily support the general political objectives of the populations they come from. At present, the ethnic factor in Nepal has become more pronounced. The southern minorities have become vocal about their demands to have a separate southern state, to the extent of dividing the country.

With the recent withdrawal of Maoists from the coalition government, the Constituent Assembly elections have been postponed indefinitely. Apart from the political instability, rise of ethnic conflicts, sectarianism, and religious extremism have made the situation more complex than before. External intervention has become more apparent. Various groups in Nepal share ethnic and religious bonds with similar groups in India , which invites a natural interest in their well being. Besides ethnic and religious factors, India has interests over its political and security agendas. Moreover, there is the history and pattern of Indian intervention in Nepal .

Nepal is yet to count the thousands of people who have been killed during Maoists’ war, ethnic and sectarian conflicts. Nepal has yet to assess the cost of damage to the infrastructure. The responsibility to restore peace in the country lies primarily with the Nepali people and political parties, which represent them. An understanding on distribution of power, and form of government should be the foundations of a stable government. It is tragic that all Nepali political parties start with the demand for a share of power and leave the central issue out of the debate. Prospects for peace will remain bleak until the political parties in the conflict evolve a common framework for reordering the Nepal polity.

With the Maoists becoming irrational and unreasonably demanding, and Nepali politicians’ inability and lack of vision to lead the country, Nepal ’s future for democracy has become uncertain. In last one-and-a-half-year, after overthrowing the King’s direct rule, Nepal has experienced deadly impacts of ethnic conflicts, sectarianism, religious extremism and external intervention. Nepal seems on the verge of losing her identity. The reality in Nepal , which has to be clearly grasped and understood, is that all the responsible political parties must compromise on reasonably rational grounds.

Related Posts:

Hedging Against Nepal's Leadership Crisis
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2006/09/hedging-against-nepals-leadership.html

Rudderless Diplomacy
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2006/11/rudderless-diplomacy.html

Continued Manipulation of Nepal’s Political Mainstream
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2006/12/continued-manipulation-of-nepals.html

UN Fast Losing Credibility in Nepal
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/03/un-fast-losing-credibility-in-nepal.html

What UNMIN Should Do to Manage Nepal's Peace Process

(Courtesy: Krishna Hari Pushkar)

The UN is a major player in Nepal's ongoing peace process. Analysts and commentators have focused much on assessing the role of political parties and little has been said about the performance of the world body's mission in Nepal.

In this article I look at the dwindling peace process in Nepal despite the involvement of the UN and other international communities. The Maoists have joined the political mainstream providing some breathing space after years of civil strife. At the same time, there are approximately two dozens small rebel groups who have been rebelling against the state. These new insurgents believe they have been "severely discriminated against and have been excluded from the mainstream since hundreds of years.” The UN could do more, based on relevant past UN resolutions, in bringing these rebels into the peace process.

The UN Mission in Nepal

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the government of Nepal and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) was signed on 21 November 2006 and officially ended the decade-long Maoist insurgency in Nepal. Afterward, UNMIN, the United Nations Mission in Nepal, was established by the United Nations Security Council, Resolution 1740, to support the peace process. The objective of the resolution was to assist in creating a free and fair atmosphere for the Constituent Assembly elections and the entire peace process.

The UNMIN was constituted in response to requests by the Seven-Party Alliance Government and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), in their 9 August 2006 letters to the Secretary-General of the UN. The UNMIN officially began its work on 23 January 2007 as per special agreement made with the Nepal government and Nepal communist party Nepal (Maoist).

The Security Council authorized the establishment of UNMIN under the leadership of a Special Representative of the Secretary-General with the following mandates:

(a) To monitor the management of arms and armed personnel of both sides, in line with the provisions of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement;
(b) To assist the parties through a Joint Monitoring Coordinating Committee in implementing their agreement on the management of arms and armed personnel of both sides, as provided for in that agreement;
(c) To assist in the monitoring of the ceasefire arrangements;
(d) To provide technical support for the planning, preparation and conduct of the election of a Constituent Assembly in a free and fair atmosphere, in consultation with the parties, and
(e) To provide a small team of electoral monitors to review all technical aspects of the electoral process, and report on the conduct of the election.

The peace process & paralytic UN role

The principal objectives of the CPA and the efforts of UN and other international communities were to establish sustainable peace and to bring the Maoists into the political mainstream. This was to be achieved through the election of a Constitution Assembly (CA). However, several unfortunate episodes occurred since the beginning of September 2007. These developments have hindered the peace process.

According to CPA and other subordinate understating, the government dissolved the reinstated parliament and brought the Maoists into interim parliament in January 2007 under the terms of an interim constitution 2006. Accordingly, the Maoists joined interim parliament and also interim government on 1 April 2007. They grabbed their quota in almost all state machineries, including embassies, secretariats, corporate leadership, constitutional posts, media wings and others through political nominations. Meanwhile, the Maoists also received substantial facilities enhancing their leaders' and cadres’ luxury, as well as improving cantonment-militia management, and pecuniary concerns.

In the close-up to face the CA election, they started a lot of riotous bargaining by extending various unexpected demands in the last hour. Such demands included declaring Nepal a republic before the CA election and the adoption of a fully proportional electoral system for the CA election. The PM Girija Prasad Koirala termed the demands unrealistic. In an interview with the Kathmandu Post (October 3, 2007), he said the demands were neither possible to fulfil by time factor nor was state technically able to fulfil them before the CA election. The extended, reckless demands were widely criticized with woofing condolences. Despite the huge efforts at dialogue by the seven party alliance and international communities, the Maoists didn’t budge and ultimately resigned on 18 September, 2007. The Maoists termed their resignation "a response of non-starter to reach an adjustment on the 22-point demands."

However, Prime Minster and other leaders were ready to compromise on twenty other demands but not on the above mentioned two demands. The Maoists accused that the seven party alliances, and especially PM Koirala, were acting against the people’s mandate and in favour of the “Palace Theory.” The crisis ensued even though almost all parties principally agreed to fulfil the Maoists’ demands through the legitimate process by using the podium of constitutional assembly.

Thus, the Maoists indicated that they have not abandoned their hard-line approaches. In addition, the Maoists indicated, they would take direct action to obstruct the election if their demands were not met. Therefore, analysts perceive the Maoists are still playing war tactics and have not embraced the democratic political process. As a result of the dispute among the Maoist and other party alliance, the government was forced to suspend the scheduled CA elections slated for 22 November, 2007. The CA election, considered the backbone of peace agreement, is in doubt.

The most astonishing question is this: Why do the Maoists violate the terms of the peace agreements as well as the election bills and regulations they themselves helped to formalize? Why do they continue to dishonour agreements that they themselves agreed to in the past? Also: Why do they frequently alter their commitments and behaviours without legitimate reasoning against the peace agreement and beyond the norms of political ethics, and in presence of UN?”

Another key player in the peace process, the UN, is also not without criticism. The UNMIN have been rolling somehow their routine jobs by issuing pres release, sugar coated reports, moderated political consultation. It also has been criticized for poor cantonment management, futile monitoring of arms and armies, ceded PLA verification, superficial arm storages, disposal of non-storable light weaponry and electoral assistances. Also, it is a serous concern that the UN Secretary General recently appeared heaving appreciations on the UNMIN without analysing much the ground-level factual performances.

Though the role of UNMIN is vital in overall peace process and political mainstreaming of former and existing warrior groups of Nepal, this body has not been effective in managing conflict and maintaining peace and security in the country. On the one side the UNMIN is monitoring, cantoning, storing the army, arms and weapons and on the other side the Moist guerrillas, Young Communist League (YCL) and others groups are also publicly spearheading rebellion and protest as well as demonstrations, attacks, killings, murders, kidnaps, and other violent activities?

The UNMIN has the mandate to broadly support the CA election. In addition, the Secretary General's latest report indicates that UNMIN has also been working in the areas of civil affairs, gender, child protection, social inclusion, political affairs, public information and outreach, safety and security, human rights, etc. Despite such efforts, a few dozens of ethno-regional armed warier groups have been operating against the state in Nepal. These groups assert they are excluded, discriminated against and segregated by states. Very frequently journalists, government employees are killed, deadly communal riots take place from time to time and people are very often loosing life and suffering injury. This is happening despite a huge presence of the UN political mission exits. So, shouldn't this be a concern of the UN Security Council? Sadly, no visible remedial efforts or activities of UNMIN have been seen until now by people except routine jobs and individual celebrity consultation with the political leadership and their followers.

Thus, Nepal's peace process is limping. In special reference to the performance of UNMIN, it looks very paralytic despite receiving the synergetic support from EU, India, US, UK, China and other countries. India is playing huge role by exerting pressure on political parties to continue dialogue; the US and the UK are assigned to supportive roles. They have been sending their high-level authorities to Nepal and paying individual attention on the trend of peace performance. Similarly the EU and other countries are also assisting by sending and mobilization their delegation teams, resources and needed support to the peace process. The UNMIN, despite their huge presence, have not been able to do much. Why is the peace process about to die in presence of UN? Why the weights of international communities becoming ineffective? Why are the Maoists frequently dishonouring the all commitments and agreements concerning the peace process?

As a neutral monitoring agency, the UNMIN has limited role to play. Still, there are several weakness and lapses in UN political mission’s performance. First, except for the routine jobs, UNMIN has totally failed to guard, convince, balance and coordinate effectively the peace accord among the stakeholders as per the mandate provided by UN Security Council. Accordingly, bargaining hazards, troubles, dishonouring and violations are frequently occurring by both the Maoist and government side.

The second major point is to build appropriate atmosphere for the election of constitutional assembly, but it is not possible in the current situation at all, until the dozens of warrior groups and ethnic panels are either convinced about the utility of the CA election or ready to participate in the political mainstream. The UNMIN seems heavy-eyed in this matter, despites the frequent request of warier groups.

Third, sadly UNMIN has also failed to use, coordinate and mobilize properly the collective efforts of international communities and the Nepal's civic societies’ through the missions’ platform.

Fourth, the UNMIN is also suffering with the imbalance and discriminative local team composition. Its recruitment process failed to balance the gender, socio- ethnic and geographical representation in their local teams. Such a balance is crucial during any conflict resolution course of action.

Fifth, the UNMIN has a very light, multi-spheres network that is not enough to fulfil the assigned responsibilities. In such a situation, the UNMIN will not even be able to gain effective understanding of the situation or to build inclusive dealing strategy in accordance with political psychologies of people of Nepal and intention of UN too.

I believe that the UNMIN should review its approaches, if it has to be effective in the peace process. In line with the suggestions by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, I would like to draw UNMIN's attention to the following points:

One, the UNMIN has to develop a special diplomatic-level observer task force of local diplomats and envoys through central UN channels whose countries and authorities have been expressing and providing supports to the ongoing peace process. This task force will be highly effective for collective diplomatic pressure and actions.

Two, the UNMIN has to also draw out tactfully the diplomatic counter treatment through UN centre and other international community networks in case any party dares to violet or dishonour the peace accord.

Three, the mission needs immediately to constitute a broader civic volunteer taskforce in central, regional, district and rural level. These helping hands should be a group of peace-lovers who can report, facilitate, monitor, observe and act locally on behalf of UNMIN, based on assigned mandates.

Four, the mission could use, process or coordinate by adapting the tools of diplomatic and international laws through central UN or local mechanisms to bring the all warier groups into peace process or political mainstream. This is possible through the helping hands or local mechanisms that provide easy means for consultation among leaders and warring groups. In addition, the helping hands could also develop civic pressure on the warier groups. Hence, such mechanism would be very helpful to conduct the CA election in a peaceful environment.

Five, a socio-ethnic and gender balance among the local staffs would be most essential for such mission. This should be corrected immediately and these staff members should be assigned to play leading coordinative role of those helping hands.

Six, the UNMIN should conduct an open peace performances evaluation program through regular multi-party meetings in possible parts of the country by mobilizing and utilizing the local wings. This could help UNMIN for grassroots updates and immediate grip over emerging crisis.

Seven, the mission should conduct a nation-wide peace tutoring campaign in partnership with the peace ministry and other donor agencies with the assistive help of education ministry, local development ministry and women ministry for school and community peace education because many citizens are still ignorant about the electoral process and activities, particularly in rural areas. The role of women and students is crucial to convince members of society about the peace process. Eight, the UNMIN has to publish the weekly evaluation report of peace process performances.

For the above mentioned actions and activities the UNMIN neither require any additional mandate nor does it need a huge additional budget. However, an effective and full-phased utilization and a balanced mobilization of existing resources and channels are essential.

Dynamic role needed

The peace process in Nepal is wearing away. It's facing sever maladies to date due to a number of reasons e.g. the CA election postponement, the Maoist withdrawal from the government, continued revolt by dozens of armed and some ethnic and communal groups.

The peace process is in danger of collapsing any time. This is not a good sign especially in the presence of international support and a huge UN mission. I could only conclude that one of the major causes of the dwindling peace is the paralytic role of UN political mission. One cannot but be critical of the mission's mismanaged tactics, lack of diplomatic and functional synergetic coordination, and poor strategy in dealing with the Nepali political leaders and political developments.

The existing public diplomacy and the functional model of UNMIN have already expired and it's outdated. Similar model that was applied in the case of Angola, East Timor and Indonesia by the UN mission were botched. This might also be the cause of such paralytic situation in Nepal. However, I can not dare to blame only the UNMIN because the Maoists and other political parties are much more responsible than UNMIN for the traumatic situation of the nation today. Therefore, what we need now is a highly precautionary and dynamic role of political parties, the Maoists, the UNMIN and other international communities. Their active participation is critical to resolving glitch in Nepal's peace crisis.

Related Posts:

What has UNMIN Accomplished in Nepal?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/09/what-has-unmin-accomplished-in-nepal.html

UNMIN's "Consulting" Mentality Not Conducive to Nepal's "Stakeholder" Needs
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/07/unmins-consulting-mentality-not.html

The UN's (UNMIN) Involvement in Nepal's Peace Process: A turning point or another fiasco in the making?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/07/uns-unmin-involvement-in-nepals-peace.html

UNMIN's Arms Verification Process in Nepal - More Timely Information and Transparency Needed
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/07/unmin-in-over-its-head-in-nepal-arms.html

UNMIN Clarifies its Role but Just in Time to be Humiliated by the Maoistshttp://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/06/unmin-clarifies-its-role-but-just-in.html

The UN and Maoist Arms Controversy: Overkill or Negligence?
http://nepaliperspectives.blogspot.com/2007/02/un-and-maoist-arms-controversy-overkill.html