CJ-led Government-26

Siddhi B Ranjitkar

CPN-Maoists have been scared of the tigers in their minds than the tigers in the wild. They have been calling the four-party leaders anti-nationals, fascists, and preparing to sell the country, acting under the instructions of the foreign power, and so on. They also have been saying that the current government headed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Nepal is unconstitutional, and the 25-point ordinance issued by the president also is unconstitutional. However, they believe that the son (also a former king) of the king that has sold a half of the Mt Everest to China is a nationalist and prepare to join hands with him to save the country from the anti-nationalists.

A Nepalese proverb ‘bana ko bagha bhanda mana ko bagha leya khayo’ means a tiger in mind than a tiger in the wild has eaten. This proverb is applicable to CPN-Maoists very much, as they have been dreadful of what they have in their minds than what actually currently happening in Nepal.

The Maoists have in their minds that the leaders of the four-party political mechanism are fascists because they have been preparing for the elections to a new CA, and are anti-nationals, as they have been selling the country. The CPN-Maoists love to use the word ‘sikkimmizing’ means merging with India instead of selling the country.

According to the meaning of the word ‘fascist’ given in any dictionary, a fascist is a dictator and right wing extremist. However, leaders of the four-party political mechanism are neither authoritarian nor right wing extremists. They have been simply following the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007 to set up the current government, as they could not agree on a government led by any political party.

The word fascist might be appropriately applicable to the CPN-Maoists, as they have been behaving as authoritarians, extremists, and not agreeing on anything other than what they have been saying a government of all political parties formed by building a consensus. They have ignored the impossibility of building a consensus of all political parties on a new government; and they have continued to demand an all-party meeting to build a consensus on forming a new government of all political parties.

The CPN-Maoists have threatened to disrupt the elections to a new CA if other political parties don’t agree on their proposal for building a consensus on forming an all-party government to hold the elections to a new CA even though it has been proved impossible. Disrupting elections means certainly terrorizing the voters. General Secretary of CPN-Maoist Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal has already demonstrated how to hit a ballot box by a sledgehammer, and break it into pieces. In fact, the CPN-Maoists have been holding training to their cadres on guerrilla style assaults on voters. Are these actions not of the extremists or fascists?

The CPN-Maoists also charge the leaders of the four-party political mechanism with being anti-nationals, as they have been going to polls without the consent of the CPN-Maoists. Their chairman Mohan Vaidhya has said that he is ready to join hands with the nationalists such as the former king and the leaders of the political party that advocates for the reinstatement of the monarchy, to fight against the anti-nationalists believing the former king is a nationalist, and the former king will extend his hand to clasp with the Vaidhya’s hand.

Mr. Vaidhya believes the son (also former king) of King Mahendra that has sold a half of the Mt Everest to China for the support from China for preserving his crown is a nationalist, and the party called Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal that wants to annul the gains of the people’s movement is also a nationalist whereas Mr. Vaidhya labels political parties that want to institutionalize the institutions of the republic through the elections to a new CA as anti-nationals. Is it logical politics that the CPN-Maoists have adopted?

Nothing is anti-national than making efforts on disrupting the elections to a new CA. The strategy of the CPN-Maoists has been to interrupt the elections to a new CA, as they don’t believe in the crafting of a new constitution by a CA means the people’s representatives; rather they think that a CA is not necessary; thus, they ignore the fundamental rights of the common folks in general. The CPN-Maoists want to capture the State power and then deploy a few experts in constitutional law and formulate a new constitution. So, the CPN-Maoists are using any possible strategy for ending the process of the elections to a new CA; however, they claim to be the nationalists.

Chairman of CPN-Maoist has a number of times publicly said that a CA is not necessary for crafting a new constitution; so, he prefers to form a government of all political parties, and then use the expertise of some constitutional experts to craft a new constitution, and then endorse such a new constitution. He does not say from where and whom he has picked up the idea of such an easy way to craft a new constitution. Such an idea is certainly anti-national if we consider the people are the nation.

Leaders of the four-party political mechanism have come to the conclusion that the CPN-Maoists are not for holding elections to a new CA; so, the CPN-Maoists have been using a round table conference as a pretext to disrupt the election process. Leaders of the four-party political mechanism also have said that once they agree on holding a round table conference, then the CPN-Maoists come up with the demand for postponing the elections, and then forming an all-party government and so on to end the process for holding the elections to a new CA. However, they have said that they keep the doors open to the talks with the CPN-Maoists but they are not waiting for the CPN-Maoists to come to talks.

Thus, the fundamental difference between the four-party leaders and the CPN-Maoists has been the four-party leaders want elections to be held at any cost whereas the CPN-Maoists are for stopping them to happen it at any cost. The four-party leaders have been successful to bring on board the Federal Democratic Front and the Federal Social Party leaving only the so-called 33-party front headed by the CPN-Maoist.

Even if the CPN-Maoists don’t participate in the elections the questions of the legitimacy of the elections would not be so strong as would have been if those two political groups that have recently joined the four-party political mechanism have been stayed away from the elections.

The CPN-Maoists have clearly two options: first one to take part in the elections and stay on the mainstream of the Nepalese politics, the second is to refrain from the elections and use force not to hold elections. The choice is certainly of the CPN-Maoists but any sensible person wants the CPN-Maoists to stay on the mainstream of the politics participating in the elections, as the second option is violence and confrontation with the establishment, and other political parties.

If the CPN-Maoists chose the second option and return to the politics of violence then the CPN-Maoists will need to go underground, and run their violent activities from there. The CPN-Maoist will be declared the terrorist party. Such a party will not have the right to function as a legal party. Thus, the CPN-Maoist will lose the legality of functioning as a political party that it has gained in 2006 after the historic 12-point understanding reached between the then CPN-Maoist and the then Seven-party Alliance.

It is hard to say whether the CPN-Maoists will be able to create sufficient violence to make the elections to a new CA unsuccessful but the prospect of peace set up by the 12-point understanding will be interrupted as long as the CPN-Maoists remain active to thwart the elections.

It would be a terrible tragic not only to the country but also to the CPN-Maoists if the CPN-Maoists are to go to the direct confrontation with the holding of elections. Once again, the CPN-Maoist might be enlisted on the list of the terrorist parties, and will need to face the worldwide anti-terrorist actions. Nepalis will need to live in terror of the CPN-Maoists on one hand and that of the establishment that goes hunting the CPN-Maoists.

This time, the CPN-Maoists will not have any valid reason for fighting against the establishment as they have had in the mid 1990s. They have neither the oppressive regime such as the monarchy to abolish nor the parliamentary system they oppose. So, the CPN-Maoists have no strong reasons for seeking the support from the people and the international community and the donor community for their violent activities. Most of the Nepalis and even the international community and the donor community will not support the CPN-Maoists for disrupting the elections.

Today’s Nepalis want political stability and peace. Navigating smoothly the elections to a new CA, then crafting a new constitution, and holding elections to a new political system that a new constitution makes provision for, will guarantee the political stability and peace in Nepal. So, the CPN-Maoists have only one choice that is to participate in the elections and stay on the mainstream of politics.

Choosing to go against the constitutional approach to the elections to a new CA for crafting a new constitution, and setting the country on the path of the political stability and peaceful socio-economic development, the CPN-Maoists will push the country back to terrorism. It will heavily undermine the prospect of peace and stability in the country.

The memory of about 20,000 dead and some disappeared during the 10-year conflict between the State and the Maoists, is still fresh in the minds of not only the families of the victims but also the common folks, too. Families of the victims have been fighting for the justice to their loved ones, and for knowing the whereabouts of the disappeared ones. So, Nepalis don’t want to go back to the conflict for killing each other.

The CPN-Maoists have been expressing their fear of Nepal becoming ‘Sikkim’ means Nepal merging with India. This is exactly the tiger in their minds scaring them of very much. This is illusion. There is not a tiger like Nepal becoming ‘Sikkim’ in the reality. If it is there, why the CPN-Maoists have been very shy to publicly state their strategy of caging such a tiger or even killing it even though it has been in their minds only. In order to disrupt the elections to a new CA, they have been simply ridiculously shouting that the four-party political leaders are ‘sikkimmizing’ Nepal.

The CPN-Maoists do not think of Nepal becoming a Tibet. They know that the Chinese army have walked in Tibet in 1949, and forcibly occupied it since then. The CPN-Maoists have shown the wisdom of not being scared of Nepal becoming a Tibet. The CPN-Maoists also know that the people of Sikkim have voluntarily joined in the Indian union not by force. However, the CPN-Maoists have a phobia of Nepal being a Sikkim in the 21^st century. Where is the wisdom of the CPN-Maoists?

The CPN-Maoists have continued to say that the current government is an unconstitutional, and the four-party political mechanism also is unconstitutional; only the president has remained constitutional. The irony is that the CPN-Maoists say that the government set up by the president they believe is constitutional, is unconstitutional even though the president has followed every Article of the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007 to form the government. Concerning the four-party political mechanism being unconstitutional, political parties have the rights to align with any other political parties for forming a four-party mechanism or a front, as the CPN-Maoist itself has done with other 32 political parties to form a 33-party front to fight against the four-party political leaders and the government holding elections to a new CA. How could the CPN-Maoists say the four-party political mechanism is unconstitutional?

The CPN-Maoists believe disrupting the elections is a constitutional. Where is the prudence of these CPN-Maoist guys? Do they think what will be the consequences of stopping the elections? They label everything done constitutionally as unconstitutional, and whatever they do going against the constitution are constitutional. Do they understand the meaning of constitution? Certainly, it appears that they don’t understand it. That has been the main problem of the CPN-Maoists.

If the CPN-Maoists don’t follow the fundamental law of a country and they are not for going to the elections to a new constituent assembly (CA) scheduled for November 19, 2013 at any cost means they are on the path of fascists very much, as they want to dictate other political parties what they think is right even though it is not. Only fascists will do such things.

The CPN-Maoists also charge the four-party political mechanism with being the puppet of a foreign power hinting at India. However, they don’t feel shame to say that the Chinese leaders have said to them that federalism might be not good for Nepal, so they reconsider being federalists. Probably, their Chinese bosses are not foreigners for them. So, the dictation of the Chinese leaders to the Nepalese Maoists is not a foreign intervention but the blessings from them for the CPN-Maoists. So, the CPN-Maoists are not the puppets of the Chinese leaders whereas the leaders of the four-party political mechanism making decisions on their own have been the puppets of a foreign power for the CPN-Maoists.

The CPN-Maoists feel that they have not sufficient strength to make a difference in the coming elections, so they want to join hands with other power such as Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal: the most absurd political party, and the former king in the name of saving the nation from the so-called anti-nationals.

Certainly, the CPN-Maoist has been contracted to the extent possible. Only a bunch of extremists have been holding together in the CPN-Maoist. Most of the reasonable leaders and cadres of the CPN-Maoist have quit the party for going back to the mother party UCPN-Maoist. So, the CPN-Maoists are for taking the helping hands of other extremists and the irrational parties. CPN-Maoists are desperate to foil the elections to a new CA, as they believe that it might give them a chance of grabbing the State power.

Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal is an absurd party, as its chairman goes on telling the public that the removal of the monarchy is unconstitutional, and the new CA will reinstate the monarchy. Anybody will say that politicians saying such crazy things must be very much crazy, too if not insane.

Having the idea of joining hands with the irresponsible parties, the CPN-Maoists have clearly demonstrated that they are irresponsible, too. So, they have been strongly holding their illogical notion of forming an all-party government through a political consensus for holding elections to a new CA. Only one rational thing, the CPN-Maoists have been saying is that they are not against holding the elections but their deeds don’t prove their rationality.

To interrupt the elections to a new CA by force, by intimidation and threat or by any means goes against the Election (felony and punishment) Act. So, the Election Commission can take immediate punitive actions against anybody doing so. If s/he wants to appeal against such ruling of the Election Commission, s/he can do so at the Constituent Assembly Court, according to the notice published by the Election Commission. The Election Act binds all Nepalis including the cadres of the CPN-Maoist. Breaking the law means finding themselves in jail.

Any political party or a front intimidating the government and the voters to disrupt the elections by any means is an extremist party, and then cadres disrupting elections are certainly extremists, and even irrational, as they want to violate the human rights of the voters to serve their interest. So, the government must use all the force it has to stop such illogical people being active at the time of the elections to a new CA. The government must not spare any one of them.

September 13, 2013