CJ-led Government-06

Siddhi B Ranjitkar

The ‘Occupy Baluwater’ protestors are back in the street. The Interim Election Council (IECM) has stated that suspension of the ‘Occupy Baluwater’ protest as one of its progresses in the month of its existence. Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda said that the IECM needed to focus on the elections rather than other businesses. The government-talks team had held talks with the Federal Democratic Front without any concrete results. The CPN-Maoist-Vaidhya refused to talk to the government rather went to the Election Commission (EC) demanding to stop all activities related to the elections. President of NC said that his party would not go to the elections in alliance with the CPN-UML. Chairman Prachanda also defended the recommendation of the four major parties: UCPN-Maoist, NC, CPN-UML and UDMF for appointing Lok Man Singh Karki to the Chief of Commission on Investigation into Abuse of Authority (CIAA). President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav said that all political parties should together go to polls to institutionalize the achievements of the people’s movement. Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda visited China and is visiting India.

The IECM had proudly stated that it held the talks with ‘Occupy Baluwater’ protestors, and they had suspended their protest. It was one of the progresses, the IECM had made during the period between mid March and Mid April 2013. ‘Occupy Baluwater’ protestors have been in the streets since December 2012 demanding to bring the perpetrators of the violence against women (VAW), perpetrators of enforced disappearances, and murder during the 10-year conflict between the state and the then CPN-Maoist led by Chairman Prachanda, to justice. Following the recommendation made by the four major political parties for forming a Commission on Truth, Reconciliation, and Enforced Disappearance Bill, Former Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai submitted the Bill to the president, and the president issued Commission on Truth, Reconciliation, and Enforced Disappearance Ordinance contrary to the provision made in the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007, and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement the then government had reached with the then CPN-Maoist, for setting up two different commissions.  Both the documents have made the provision for forming two different commissions such as Commission on Truth and Reconciliation, and Commission on Enforced Disappearances. National and international human rights organizations have been saying that the Commission on Truth, Reconciliation, and Enforced Disappearance Ordinance has been for pardoning the perpetrators of human rights violence rather than bringing them to justice. ‘Occupy Baluwater’ protestors have been in the street again demanding to bring the perpetrators of VAW and human rights violence to justice. The activities of the IECM could not be with a difference, as the IECM simply followed the footsteps of the previous governments.

Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda has repeatedly said in public that the IECM needed to announce the date for holding elections to a new Constituent Assembly immediately. Spokesman for the IECM Madhav Poudel said that announcing the election date in a hurray would be the immature decision without convincing the opposing political parties of the need for participating in the elections, completing the updating of the voters’ lists, and delineating constituencies. The opposing CPN-Maoist-Vaidhya was not prepared to talk to the IECM, as it believed that the IECM was unconstitutional, and wanted immediate annulment of the amendment to the 25 articles of the Interim constitution, and the IECM. The CPN-Maoist-Vaidhya did not want the elections but a round-table meeting of all political parties represented in the dissolved Constituent Assembly, and form an all-party government to hold elections. The government-talks team did not make any concrete results of talking to the Federal Democratic Front led by Chairman of Madheshi People’s Rights Forum-Nepal Upendra Yadav that also wanted immediate annulment of the IECM. It was one of the 13 demands he put forward to the IECM. The Vaidhya Maoists once again went to the EC, and submitted a memo to the Chief Election Commissioner demanding to halt all sorts of activities relating to the elections. The Chief Election Commissioner rightly told the uncompromising political leaders that updating the voters’ lists had nothing to do with the politics, and it had been ongoing since last two years; and it would be continued; the EC had not halted the updating of the voters’ lists on the demand of the political parties in the past, too. It was a challenge to the dissenting political parties.

A few leaders should not dictate the majority in the democratic system of governance. The strength of the opposing political parties was negligible in comparison to the strength of the political parties opting for the elections. Even the majority of the Vaidhya Maoists have been for participating in the elections. The Federal Democratic Front led by Upendra Yadav has even less strength than the Vaidhya Maoists. They needed to follow the rule of law, and the democratic principles and values. The Vaidhya Maoists have been engaged in the politics of threat. Their cadres have looted the equipment of the staffs updating voters’ lists, and even kidnapped some of the staffs updating the voters’ lists in villages in the recent past. The Vaidhya Maoists have even threatened to take up arms if the IECM were to hold elections. In these circumstances, if the IECM were to wait for the opposing political parties to be convinced of the need for taking part in the elections, the IECM would take years not months to announce the election date. Probably, the IECM would never hold elections if the IECM were to wait for the opposing political parties for participating in the elections. The IECM needed to deal with the criminal activities of the political parties following the laws.

The IECM has been taking time to prepare for holding elections even though it has on its side the four major political parties, and the president has been ready to assent to anything the IECM submits him following the consent of the four major political parties. Thus, the environment is exceptionally conducive to hold elections in comparison to the environment former Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai had had when the NC and the CPN-UML blocked him from doing anything, and the president was on the side of the opposition. If the NC and the CPN-UML were ready to participate in the elections, former Prime Minister Dr Bhattarai would have held the elections even in November 2012. These two political parties believed that the elections held by former Prime Minister Dr Bhattarai would not be favorable to them. They believed that former Prime Minister Dr Bhattarai also would take the advantage of the office of the prime minister, as they had done when they were in power during the former regime. So, these two opposing political parties had been seeking the political advantage to go to polls. That was the main reason for failing to hold elections. Today, only the CPN-Maoist-Vaidhya along with the Madheshi People’s Rights Forum-Nepal of Upendra Yadav has been trying to block the elections. The four major political parties are ready to tackle with these opposing parties in anyway possible. Then, why the IECM has been taking so long time to announce the election date?

President Dr Ram Baran Yadav was one of the main actors responsible for not holding elections in November 2012. Stating the NC and the CPN-UML did not agree on the bills, he blocked any election-related bills former Prime minister Dr. Bhattarai presented to him. NC leaders had continuously put pressure on him to fire the democratically elected government. Recently, former Prime Minister Dr Bhattarai had revealed that he had foiled the four-attempted coups by the president. President Yadav denied the attempted coups but if anybody were go back to the media reports then s/he would find that the situation was almost for the president staging a coup. Only after return from India visit in December 2012, quoting Indian leaders, President Yadav said that the problems of politics better to leave to the politicians to resolve making clear that he was not going to interfere in the political problems. Today, President Yadav called on political parties to hold elections ignoring the opposing political parties such as CPN-Maoist-Vaidhya and Madheshi Peoples’ Rights Forum-Nepal. The president was making another mistake of not being as serious about the opposing political parties as he had been in the past when the NC and the CPN-UML were opposing the elections to be held by former Prime Minister Dr Bhattarai.

President Yadav said that the IECM should hold elections in the fearless environment. The IECM would need to use serious forces to hold elections without the participation of the CPN-Maoist-Vaidhya, and Madheshi People’s Rights Forum-Nepal. If the CPN-Maoist-Vaidhya, and Madheshi People’s Rights Forum-Nepal were not to take part in the elections then the environment would not be so conducive to the elections. Violence and intimidation would prevail. Then the question of the legitimacy of the elections would also be raised if the CPN-Maoist-Vaidhya, and Madheshi People’s Rights Forum-Nepal were stay out of the elections. So, President Yadav simply calling to hold elections has committed another mistake.

President Yadav also said that let us make the elections successful; the success of his presidency was the success of the elections. He was the one that had made the elections unsuccessful in the past. Now, the president was comparing the success of his presidency with the success of holding elections. He should understand that he would have been successful in making the elections possible in the past but he did not do it, as he worked more like the cadre of the NC than the president of the nation. The president listened more to the leaders of the NC and the CPN-UML than the leaders of the UCPN-Maoist and the UDMF. Now, a part of the UCPN-Maoist became the CPN-Maoist-Vaidhya, the NC and the CPN-UML felt that they could compete with the UCPN-Maoist and UDMF in the elections.

President of NC said that his party would not go to the elections in alliance with CPN-UML contradicting the statements of some other leaders of NC. Some leaders of both the NC and the CPN-UML leaders wanted an election alliance between the two parties to face the challenges of the UCPN-Maoist and UDMF combined or individually. Chairman of CPN-UML said that his party was for going to elections in alliance with all democratic-minded political parties, as they needed the two-thirds majority to craft a democratic constitution. NC leader Bimalendra Nidhi of the Madhesh origin claimed that his party would win 75% of the Madheshi seats. The reality has been both the NC and the CPN-UML have been grappling with keeping the Madheshis and ethnic people happy. The fact is most of the Madheshi and the ethnic leaders have either quit the NC and the CPN-UML to set up new political parties or have been dissatisfied with the policy of the NC and the CPN-UML on federalism and federal states. Disgruntled Madheshi and ethnic people have a call to arms to defeat any Madheshi or ethnic candidates of the NC and the CPN-UML in the elections. Not only the NC and the CPN-UML would not receive the votes of the Madheshi and ethnic people but also their leaders of the Madheshi and ethnic origins would have hard time to win elections.

In the written reply to the Supreme Court of Nepal through his lawyer on April 22, 2013, Chairman Prachanda defended the recommendation of the four major parties for appointing Lok Man Singh Karki to the Chief of Commission on Investigation into Abuse of Authority (CIAA). Chairman Prachanda knew that Karki was indicted for repressing the people’s movement in 2006. He also knew that Karki had been the Chief Secretary in the past by the direct order of the then king. Obviously, Karki represented the old regime. Despite this fact, why the four parties recommended Karki for the office of the Chief of the CIAA? The answer is Karki presented a large amount of money to the four parties in return the four parties recommended his appointment to the office of the chief of the CIAA. Karki needed to atone for his past sin whereas the four parties needed money. Thus, they exchanged mutual favors.

Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda returned home on Saturday late night, April 20, 2013 after a weeklong visit to China. He got the highest honor any foreign dignitary receives from the Chinese leaders. He went on meeting with the leaders at the lowest village level, then town, and then the state culminating into the meeting with the vice-president and finally President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Chairman Prachanda said that he was happy to get familiarized with the various levels of the development in China. He also said that he did not see any Maoists in Sanjhen where he found only Deng Hsiao Ping. He noted that the development was so great in Sanjhen; its population has increased to 20 million from the meager 200,000 people when Deng Hsiao Ping launched the development there.

Chairman Prachanda also stated his favorite theme of making Nepal a bridge between China and India. He also said that he wanted to launch a trilateral: China-India-Nepal project. One of the examples, he cited is the Lumbini Development project. Lumbini is the birthplace of Lord Buddha. Chairman Prachanda is visiting India for two days starting on Saturday, April 27, 2013. How the Indian leaders would take his proposal for the trilateral cooperation on the future development remains to be seen. Chinese and Indian leaders wanted friendly relations between the neighboring countries but certain issues have continued to be the barrier to the friendly relations between the two countries.

Speaking to the anchor of the morning program called ‘antar-sambad’ of the Radio Nepal on April 25, 2013, Vice-chairman of CPN-Maoist-Vaidhya CP Gajurel said that Prachanda has been the main leader of the regression, as he supported the recommendation for appointing Lok Man Singh Karki to the most responsible office of the chairman of CIAA. Karki was known for his past notorious repressive activities. Vice-chairman Gajurel also said that the four-party syndicate had mutilated 20 Articles of the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007. He said that he had asked former President of US Jimmy Carter when he was recently in Nepal whether such things of parties abusing the articles of the constitution happened in his country; former US President replied that such things did not happen in the US. Then, Carter also told that he had had talks with other political leaders concerning this matter, their explanations to changing the articles of the constitution was one time, such things would not happen in the future. The question of Vice-chairman Gajurel was whether the four parties could violate the constitution even for a single time. Certainly, President Yadav should reply to this serious question, and whether such abuse of the constitution was a one-time event or not.

Vice-chairman of CPN-Maoist-Vaidhya CP Gajurel also said that his party had submitted a memo to President Yadav stating his party has 91 members of the dissolved Constituent Assembly; his party has not been given the opportunity of registering the party at the Election Commission. However, the four-party syndicate had monopolized the important decision-making on amending the constitution. President Yadav also issued the ‘Removal of Constitutional Hurdles Ordinance’ ignoring other political parties thus violating the constitutional provision for building a consensus of all political parties on such matters of amending the Interim Constitution. Issuing the ‘Removal of Constitutional Hurdles Ordinance’, and immediately appointing the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nepal to the chairman of the IECM, President has staged a mini coup. The president has violated the constitution appointing the Chief Justice to the chairman of the IECM, according to the leaders of the CPN-Maoist-Vaidhya.

President Yadav has gone to take a rest in his home village Sapahi of the Dhunasha district. Speaking to the reporter of the state news agency called RSS in his home village Sapahi of the Dhanusha district on Wednesday April 24, 2013, President Yadav said that as the president of the country, his only wish was the free and impartial elections; if all political parties participated in the elections, the dream of Nepalis would come true, and the people would have a great relief. The opposing political parties said what the president said was correct but he did not create an environment conducive to such elections, as he ignored the opposing political parties. The president also would be held accountable for the unconstitutional amendment to the 25 articles of the constitution, and unconstitutionally appointing the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nepal to the Chairman of the IECM.

April 26, 2013