New Delhi
20 August 2009
Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal of Nepal would not hazard a guess on
whether a new Constitution could be drafted by May 2010 but he insisted there was a
good chance of meeting that deadline and of keeping the peace process on course if the
Maoists, with a little nudge from Nepal's friends such as India, worked with his
Government in a spirit of cooperation and accommodation to bring their collective fight
for republic to a successful fruition.
"Without cooperative attitude from Opposition, without Opposition being responsible, you
can't imagine going towards a positive direction. So I hope wisdom will prevail in the
minds of [the Maoists]," he told a breakfast meeting with Indian opinion makers,
academics and journalists here Thursday.
Mr Nepal conceded that the peace process was facing difficulties, not in small part
because of the "dictatorial tendency and authoritarian mindset" of the Maoists, but he did
not rule out a possibility of reaching an understanding with them with a little help from
India. "For this we have asked all our friends to assist us in this process," he said
without elaborating.
He maintained that it was in the best interests of the Maoists to collaborate with other
political parties and to see that the peace process remained on track. If the Maoists
relented, the ruling coalition would be willing to reciprocate with flexibility on some of the
other difficult issues confronting the Himalayan republic.
"From our part we will be flexible to deal with Maoists," Mr Nepal said, indicating that the
ball was firmly in the Maoists' court and the onus was on Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka
Prachanda and his men to take a call. To reinforce his appeal, Mr Nepal said the Maoists
would be doing themselves a disservice if they failed to institutionalise the
achievements of the people's movement for democracy.
"They and we signed the 12 Point Agreement, fought for republic, federal system of
government. Without institutionalising the achievements of movement, how can our
mission be successful?" he wondered aloud.
The Nepalese premier iterated that his Government would respect what the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement said about integration of Maoist combatants but he
qualified it by saying that the Nepal Army was but only one of many avenues for
rehabilitating the combatants.
"Broadly speaking we are thinking that large number of combatants needs to be
integrated into society. It can be integrated into security organisations such as border
force, industrial security force, civil police. But whether they should be taken into the
Army or separate paramilitary force and if so, how many of them, will require discussion
by a special committee," he explained.
Mr Nepal discounted the possibilities of the Maoists going back to insurgency or the
monarchy returning to Nepalese politics. The only way former King Gyanendra could
enter politics was by joining political mainstream like former princes of India, he said,
adding that the purpose of his visit to India was not to take back aid but to deepen mutual
understanding. Nepal would have an open and transparent policy towards India, he
added.
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