The UML Can Break The Deadlock

UML To Back Federal Republican Set-up Himalayan Times Madhav Kumar Nepal on Thursday said his party will take federal republican system with regional autonomy as the formal party line for elections to a Constituent Assembly...... "We are tired of this centralised and unitary political system in which the capital holds all the power and poses to be feudal. All regions should be autonomous in the sense they will be independent of the capital in the coming political restructure," Nepal said. ...... by the time the assembly elections are held, it must be clear whether we need monarchy or a republic...... "We must not forget that we need the support of the UN in monitoring and supervising weapons of the Nepali Army and the Maoists." ..... the date for the assembly elections should be announced within two months from now and polls held by April next year. He added that issues like arms management, interim statute and interim parliament should be settled before that. Around 2,000 general members were gathered on Thursday and the party aims to take its strength to 67,000 by December.

The Girija stand that the Maoists surrender their arms now is not the unified position of the seven party alliance. Girija does not consult. That just is not his style. Girija Koirala is a great example of how not to conduct internal democracy inside a political party or a coalition.

Forget Prachanda, Girija Koirala has a fundamental difference on the issue of arms management with Madhav Nepal. This is a clear indication that what is being passed as the official seven party alliance on arms management is the stand of one person, maybe one party at the most.

An issue like this which could make or break the entire peace process has to be widely discussed, debated among the seven members of the alliance. And that has not happened.

The days of the Nepali Congress being the largest party in Nepal are over for good. Nepal has entered an era of hung parliaments and coalition governments. And so the Congress necessarily will have to embed a culture of consulting with other parties because that is the only way to go ahead.

For me it is not even the decision that irks. If the seven parties were to widely discuss and collectively reach the decision that they want to see the Maoists surrender all their weapons now, I would have to pause and think. I might even support that stand, since that would mean the seven parties do not trust the Maoists on fundamental issues like rule of law and the multi-party framework. But right now it is not the stand that I am concerned about. I am concerned about the process that brought forth that stand. And that is autocratic.

In a hung parliament, the UML and the Maoists will be the most likely partners. They will likely form a coalition government. They might be the most likely parties to get together to implement meaningful land reform in the country. And so perhaps they should stop seeing each other as competitors, and start seeing each other as partners.

It is for the UML to distance itself now from the Nepali Congress stand. And it is perhaps for the Deuba Congress to do the same. And perhaps the smaller parties like the Jana Morcha and the Sadbhavana to follow along those lines.

The Nepali Congress has to be isolated in the seven party alliance if that is the price to be paid to rescue the fragile peace process. The Nepali people want peace and democracy. It is for the seven parties and the Maoists to deliver that.

There has to be a wide discusssion on arms management. All options have to be put on the table. There are a few options presented in the diagram below. Click to enlarge the image.



Critiquing The Nepali Congress Proposed Constitution
नेपाली कांग्रेसको संविधान मस्यौदा
April Convention: Creating A Glowing Core
Critiquing The Maoist Proposed Constitution
माओवादीको संविधान मस्यौदा
Critiquing Pitambar Sharma's Federalism
Baburam Bhattarai, Janadesh Article
What Is The SPA Report On The Maoists?
Fire Some Generals
Micro Investment
April Convention: Emerging Picture
Pitambar Sharma's Federalism
Girija, Resign
Interim Monarchy, Interim Army, Interim Parliament
Hridayesh

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