Extending Term Of Constituent Assembly

Siddhi B. Ranjitkar

After signing off the Five-point agreement, leaders of the three major political parties such as UCPN-Maoist, NC and CPN-UML took deep breadth and became happy that each one has tricked another to sign off the agreement. They have developed a five-point agreement this time not perfect for interpreting to each one’s liking and preference. However, immediately after signing off the five-point deal, Prime Minster has said that that he will quit the office only after the concerned parties find an alternative candidate for the same office; Nepali Congress parliamentary leader Ram Chandra Poudel aspirant for a prime ministerial job says Jhalanath Khanal needs to quit the office immediately. Mr. Poudel another opportunist believes that he can take the office vacated by Mr. Khanal.

Early on the morning of May 29, 2011, after the leaders of UCPN-Maoist, NC and CPN-UML have signed off the following five-point deal:

1)     Complete the basic work on the peace process in three months;
2)    Prepare a first draft of a constitution in three months;
3)    Enforce the agreements reached with United Democratic Madheshi Front (UDMF) in the past, and make the Nepali Army inclusive;
4)    Extend the term of the CA for three months;
5)    Prime Minister will resign for paving the way for forming a national consensus government;

Out of 596 members of the Constituent Assembly (CA), 504 voted for extending the term of the CA for three months while four voted against the extension of the term of the CA.

Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda, President of NC Sushil Koirala and Chairman of CPN-UML Jhalanath Khanal signed off the document at the last moment.

This time, the deal was not limited to the three major parties. They took it to the legislature-parliament and got it endorsed. So, the legislature-parliament is also responsible for enforcing it. However, UCPN-Maoist, NC and CPN-UML and various fractions of the UDMF have been ruling the parliament; so, they are equally responsible for enforcing it. Parliament’s decisions are primarily the decisions of these power political parties.

On May 29, 2011, 504 parliamentarians out of 508 present at the parliament have voted for extending the term of the CA for three months following the five-point deal the leaders of UCPN-Maoist, NC, and CPN-UML have signed off and the legislature-parliament has endorsed. Thus, the parliament has enforced the fourth point of the five-point deal immediately. Now, the question is whether the parliament is responsible for enforcing the other four points the five-point deal has.

As the parliament has endorsed the five-point deal, it gives the impression that the legislature-parliament is responsible for enforcing the five-point deal. So, the Speaker needs to play the role of a whip in enforcing the five-point deal. In the past, the Speaker had no access to the deals leaders of the major political parties often signed off. He has been helpless onlooker of the activities of the political leaders. This time, the Speaker must play a crucial role in bringing the political leaders together and building a consensus on all the matters mentioned in the five-point deal.

The parliament needs to clearly interpret the five-point deal not giving any opportunity to anybody for interpreting it to suit his or her interest. Clearly, the government needs to enforce the past agreements the government of Nepal has reached with the UDMF. So, the Speaker needs to remind the prime minister to do his part of enforcing the past agreements with the UDMF. If he could not do so he needs to quit the office immediately or the parliament needs to fire him.

The Constitutional Committee is responsible for completing a first draft within three months following the five-point deal. So, its chairman should not have any excuse for the political parties not cooperating with him to complete the draft. He needs to clearly state the name or names of the political leaders that refuse to work with him or other political leaders to complete the first draft of a new constitution within three months starting on May 29, 2011.

For completing the peace process, the Government of Nepal and the UCPN-Maoist leaders are responsible. In the past, the government has blamed the Maoists and the Maoists in turn have blamed the government for not being able to complete the peace process. Both parties have been equally responsible for not completing the peace process.

The peace process is not only integrating the two armies: People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and Nepal Army to a new army but also forming Truth And Reconciliation Commission, and rehabilitation of the victims of the conflict.

From 2006 to 2008, the interim government led by President of NC Girija Prasad Koirala had taken a stand on not integrating the PLA because the members of the PLA were politically indoctrinated. That was what the former Chief of Nepal Army Staff Rugmangud Katuwal had repeatedly told the media. The NC government had simply followed this mantra.

Then, Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda became the prime minister in August 2008. According to the news flashed in the media, Prachanda had asked Mr. Katuwal for merging the two armies into a single national army but Mr. Katuwal did not agree on it for which Prachanda fired him bypassing the president but the political leaders of all other parties except for the UCPN-Maoist, under the leadership of current Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal went to the presidential residence urging him to save the job of Mr. Katuwal otherwise the Maoists would capture the state power. The political leaders could not digest the Maoists running the administration painted such a dreadful scenario. Abusing the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007, the president directly wrote a letter to Mr. Katuwal ordering him to stay on in the job. In protest Prime Minister Prachanda quit the office.

Leaders of NC, CPN-UML and Madheshi political parties finding no capable person to lead a new government from among them, installed the man called Madhav Nepal defeated in two constituencies, as a new prime minister. Mr. Madhav Nepal entered the parliament from the backdoor using the flaw in the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007. He appointed a lady to a defense minister that had become worst than Mr. Katuwal. She did not only want to merge two armies but also take even a single Maoist combatant to the Nepal Army. Consequently, the Madhav administration failed in doing anything toward the peace process and writing a new constitution. Practically, Mr. Madhav Nepal used the 20 months of his term of the office of prime minister for grabbing anything from the state treasury and stealing money from the people’s pockets by any possible means.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and his Minister for Peace and Rehabilitation Ram Chandra Poudel of the Interim Government of the period from 2006 to 2008 were supposed to set up a Truth And Reconciliation Commission and then bring the perpetrators of human rights to justice and compensate the victims of both the state and the Maoists during the conflict but they did nothing to this end. Then, the subsequent governments had totally forgotten about it. As long as the government does not bring the perpetrators of the human rights violence, and compensates the victims for their sufferings, the peace process will not be completed.

Now, Mr. Khanal appointed Agni Sapkota allegedly involved in killing a man six years ago in the Kavre district, and a case was registered against Mr. Sapkota at the Kavre Police Office. Local and international human rights activists and the UN had vehemently opposed the appointment of Mr. Sapkota to the Minister for Information and Communication. He needs to stand on trial and prove innocence or serve the term of punishment for the crime he has once committed.

Home Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara has been preparing for withdrawing the 300 human rights violence cases including the case against Agni Sapkota and Major Niranjan Basnet that was also involved in killing a minor in the Kavre district. If Home Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara lets the culprits go free with impunity, how the peace process will be completed.

The previous government led by infamous Prime Minister Madhav Nepal had not only brought the human rights violators to justice but also promoted them. For example, Madhav Nepal and his defense minister promoted Toran Jung Bahadur Singh indicted for involving in the enforced disappearance of 49 people taken under the custody of the battalion commanded by Mr. Singh in 2003 and 2004, to the second-in-command of the Nepal Army against the protests lodged by the UN and local and international human rights activities. Nepalis need to bring Madhav Nepal and his defense minister to justice for committing the crime of promoting the criminal to the second-in-command of the Nepal Army and institutionalizing the crime in the Nepal Army, if the peace process is to complete.

If we go back to the time of the reign of Girija Prasad Koirala and his Minister for Peace and Reconciliation Ram Chandra Poudel, they also had been worst than the successive prime ministers and defense ministers not bringing the army personnel involved in crimes to justice. So, the Nepalese politicians have institutionalized crime in the Nepal Army rather than institutionalizing the rule of law and Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.

So, the Speaker needs to take immediate actions on completing the peace process following the first point of the five-point agreement, the legislature-parliament has endorsed. The parliament needs to set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and merge the two armies into a single army for the benefits of the Nepalis in general. The parliament needs to take more aggressive course to complete the peace process.

When the NC leaders put forward its 10-point demand for extending the term of the CA. Almost everybody was sure that the CA would die prematurely. Legal experts started off interpreting the Articles of the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007 to suit the political parties they are affiliated. Even the Supreme Court of Nepal has interpreted the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007 and has said that the legislature-parliament could extend the term of the CA for six months.

All democratic-minded people elsewhere in the world respect the rights of all people to interpret the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007 but they respect the facts, too. For example, the legislature-parliament could amend any article of the constitution including the article that state the term of the CA would be two years. The parliament could extend the term of the CA amending this article of the constitution as long as it needs to complete the writing of a new constitution because another article of the constitution says that the CA will end its existence only after the completion of the promulgation of a new constitution.

NC leaders have claimed that the resignation of the prime minister is for scrapping the seven-point deal Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda and Chairman of CPN-UML Jhalanath Khanal had reached for electing Mr. Khanal to the office of prime minister on Feb 03, 2011. Since then NC leaders had been demanding to annul this two-party deal. If the resignation of the prime minister comes as they have wanted it would be the victory for them. However, Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal has said that he would quit the office only after the political parties build a consensus on forming a new government.

Leaders of UCPN-Maoist and CPN-UML want to make the current government led by Mr. Khanal a national consensus government asking leaders of other political parties particularly the NC and UDMF to join in it while some factions of UCPN-Maoist and NC want to make their respective leader a new prime minister. So, some factions of UCPN-Maoist and NC have been asking for the immediate resignation of Mr. Khanal to pave the way for making one of their leaders a prime minister of a consensus government. One faction of UCPN-Maoist wants one of the Vice-chairmen of UCPN-Maoist Dr. Baburam Bhattarai to be a prime minister while parliamentary leader of NC Ram Chandra Poudel wants to get the job of prime minister despite the fact that he did not succeed in the numbers of elections held to a new prime minister in the past.

NC leaders have also claimed that the Maoists have started off following the notion of one army making decision on June 01, 2011 on ending the double security of the Maoist leaders and sending the members of the PLA members that have been providing the Maoist leaders with security to their respective cantonments. Then, Maoist leaders will entirely depend on the state security system. Maoist leaders have been enjoying the security provided by the state and the PLA members. This is also a small step toward the peace process; NC leaders claim.

After the NC leaders held a mass rally at Tundikhel in Kathmandu on Friday, May 27, 2011 and speaking from the dais, one leader after another declared that they would not back track from the 10-point demand for extending the term of the CA no matter what would happen to the CA. Most of the Nepalis concerned with the peace process and writing of a new constitution have been worried by such a stand of the NC leaders on not back tracking from the 10-point demand that was almost impossible to meet according to the leaders of the leaders of the UCPN-Maoist.

The stand of the NC leaders on their 10-point demand for extending the term of the CA has given much needed strength to the elements of the regressive forces that have been looking for every possible opportunity of taking the country back. These regressive elements in the names of different political parties that have been never known before and the Brahman Samaj-Nepal have started off calling for the Nepal shutdowns on one pretext or another. Leaders of these so-called political parties including the RPP-Nepal headed by Kamal Thapa and the Brahmin Samaj-Nepal unleashed the criminals to enforce the shutdowns and burn down any vehicle plying on the streets.

The government needed to arrest the so-called leaders and charged them with vandalizing the vehicles and other private and public properties and ask them for compensating the owner of the properties for the loss of whatever property damaged by the criminals unleashed by the callers of shutdowns. However, the current impotent government of Mr. Khanal and his Home Minister could not think of doing such things for the benefits of the people who want to defy the calls of the people for forcibly closing their business.

In fact, the leaders that call for shutdown of others’ businesses are also violating the rights of people to do their regular business; so they are also committing criminal acts. The government should charge them with such criminal acts and then bring them to justice. Then, only, peace-loving Nepalis could do their businesses without hindrance.

Some members of the regressive forces including the members of the RPP-N of Mr. Kamal Thapa have been staging the sit-ins at the entrance to the International convention Hall that houses the legislature-parliament in the name of putting pressure on the members of the parliament to complete the writing of a new constitution sensing that NC lawmakers would not let the parliament extend the term of the CA and create a political vacuum and hoping to cash in such a political vacuum. As soon as, the parliament has extended the term of the CA, all these guys have winded down their sit-ins.

Four lawmakers belonging to the RPP-N have voted against extending the term of the CA on May 29, 2011. All democratic-minded people elsewhere in the world respect the rights of the lawmakers to vote for or against the motion at the parliament but these four lawmakers have intentionally voted against extending the term of the CA to show that they are for creating a political vacuum and cash in such a political situation.

At the last moment, NC leaders have wisely surrendered the 10-point demand and agreed on the five-point deal for keeping the CA for three months for completing the peace process and the writing of a new constitution. The extension of the term of the CA for the three months starting on May 29, 2011 is primarily for completing the peace process and the first draft of a new constitution; so, they have agreed on extending the term of the CA for another three months to complete the promulgation of a new constitution.

NC leaders want Maoists to surrender the weapons and the PLA members to the government but the Maoists believe that as long as the promulgation of a new constitution is not done they need to keep the army. They don’t believe NC leaders are really for promulgating a new constitution, as they have been ready to create a political vacuum dissolving the CA putting forward a 10-point demand that was not possible to meet within the time period they have specified. Some Maoist leaders also believe that NC leaders want to give a chance to the regressive forces to stage a comeback that is why they want to keep the PLA as long as such situation will be out of question.

June 2, 2011