Negative Role Of NC And CPN-UML In Completing Peace Process

Siddhi B. Ranjitkar

Leaders of NC and CPN-UML particularly those that have been rejected by the people have been playing the negative role in completing the peace process since the elections to the Constituent Assembly held on April 10, 2008. They have never fought for setting up a Truth Revelation And Rehabilitation Commission following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement the then government of Nepal has reached with the then Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist). On the one hand they clearly don’t cooperate with the current government of Nepal on completing the peace process on the other hand they have been saying that they would not allow completing the constitution writing without completing the peace process.

Leaders of NC and CPN-UML have been saying that they would not allow the current fourth government formed with the coalition of the UCPN-Maoist and the UDMF to complete the constitution writing without completing the peace process. For these so-called leaders of NC and CPN-UML particularly those the Nepalese voters have rejected in the elections to the Constituent Assembly in 2008, completing the peace process means returning their property seized by the Maoist cadres during the conflict with the state, and the UCPN-Maoist surrendering the People’s Liberation Army rather than honorably integrating them with the Nepal Army the leaders of UCPN-Maoist have demanded. In this case, the leaders of NC and CPN-UML are surely for playing the negative role in completing the peace process and the constitution writing.

Some of the UCPN-Maoist leaders have said that they have already returned the properties to the rightful owners; they have not returned the properties some people have kept beyond the limit the Land Reform Act permits them. So, they have been saying that they are not going to return these illegally kept properties to any leaders of NC or CPN-UML no matter what they need to face the consequences. Thus, some of the leaders of NC and CPN-UML are ready to go head-on collision with some of the UCPN-Maoist for serving their personal interest ignoring the national interest in completing the peace process and the constitution writing.

The next strong excuse for not completing the peace process the leaders of NC and CPN-UML have been holding is the issue of the integration of the members of the People’s Liberation Army with the Nepal Army. Leaders of NC and CPN-UML want the complete surrender of the People’s Liberation Army whereas leaders of the UCPN-Maoist want to integrate and rehabilitate the members of the People’s Liberation Army honorably following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement the government of Nepal reached with the then CPN-Maoist in 2006, as the members of the People’s Liberation Army have been instrumental to make Nepal a federal democratic republic.

Leaders of NC and CPN-UML have never talked about the issue concerning the people in general while talking about the completion of the peace process. They have never been for setting up a High-level Truth Revelation and Reconciliation Commission for finding the truth about the perpetrators of human rights abuses, and of the crime against humanity during the armed conflict, and creating an environment conducive to reconciliation in the society following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement the government of Nepal reached with the then CPN-Maoist. Those so-called leaders of NC and CPN-UML have spent so much energy and resources on getting back their seized properties even ignoring the completion of the peace process and the constitution writing but they have not give even lip-service to the need for setting up a High-level Truth Revelation and Reconciliation Commission.

These guys have not cooperated with the previous coalition government of the UCPN-Maoist and the CPN-UML on completing the peace process. Consequently, the previous government headed by Jhalanath Khanal could not do anything to complete the peace process during the six-month of its tenure.

They also have done nothing to complete the peace process during the period of the coalition government of NC and CPN-UML headed by the man called Madhav Nepal defeated in the two constitutions in the elections to the Constituent Assembly held in 2008. His Defense Minister has been notoriously against the integration of the members of the People’s Liberation Army with the Nepal Army. Madhav Nepal and his Defense Minister rather promoted the high level officers of the Nepal Army involved in perpetrating human rights violation. Thus, leaders of NC and CPN-UML have wasted 20 months of their coalition government doing nothing to complete the peace process.

The same guys have actively engaged in not letting the first coalition government of then CPN-Maoist, CPN-UML and some Madheshi political parties to do anything to complete the peace process during its term of office. They have strongly supported the stand of the then Chief of Army Staff Rukmangud Katuwal on not integrating any members of People’s Liberation Army with the Nepal Army. These guys know that Mr. Katuwal is going against the Comprehensive Peace Agreement the government of Nepal reached with the then CPN-Maoist but they have been for breaking up the peace agreement rather than integrating the members of People’s Liberation Army.

In view of the aggressive stand of Mr. Katuwal on not integrating the members of the People’s Liberation Army with the Nepal Army, the then head of the government Prachanda fired Mr. Katuwal from the office. However, Chairman of CPN-UML Jhalanath Khanal led a delegation of leaders of other political parties including the NC to the president urging him to directly write a letter to Mr. Katuwal instructing him to stay on the job overriding the decision of Prime Minister Prachanda on firing Mr. Katuwal even ignoring the violation of the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007 in doing so. These guys have proved that they have been not sincere to completing the peace process but they could go to the extent of violating the rule of law just to serve their interest. These guys have never given the importance of completing the peace process rather have blocked any positive development to it.

The UCPN-Maoist has turned over the keys of the containers that have stored the arms of the People’s Liberation Army to the Army Integration Special Committee (AISC). However, some leaders of NC and CPN-UML have minimized the handover of the keys to AISC saying it is not so important unless and until the cantonments are vacated. They don’t appreciate the importance of having the keys with the AISC even though it means the arms are fully under the control of the AISC.

One faction called the Vaidya group of the UCPN-Maoist has been deadly against the UCPN-Maoist turning over the keys to the AISC. However, majority of the UCPN-Maoist leaders have been for this important task of turning over the keys to the AISC and then move forward to completing the peace process.

Now, leaders of NC and CPN-UML have demanded to integrate the members of the People’s Liberation Army with the Nepal Army on their terms. They want to integrate less than 4,000 members of the People’s Liberation Army with the Nepal Army despite the previous agreement on a higher than this number. The UCPN-Maoist wants to integrate 8,000 members of People’s Liberation out of more than 19,000 members of the People’s Liberation Army.

These guys of NC and CPN-UML have been against the current coalition government of the UCPN-Maoist and the UDMF agreeing on recruiting Madheshis for the Nepal Army. The Madheshi political leaders have demanded at least 10,000 Madheshi recruitments for the Nepal Army. However, the most appropriate and logical number of Madheshis would be in proportion to the population.

Nobody could deny the contributions of the UCPN-Maoist and then of the UDMF made to tear down the monarchy and declare Nepal a federal democratic republic. However, leaders of NC and CPN-UML refusing to accept the Madheshi recruitments for the Nepal Army have also refused their contribution to the Nepal Army to make it a national army, and to make the Nepal Army inclusive.

The Nepal Army had been the Royal Nepal Army that had served the interest of the then monarchy. Now, it has been the Nepal Army but it needs to be the national army giving an equal opportunity to all Nepalis to serve in it. If the leaders of NC and CPN-UML have refused to accept the recruitment of Madheshis and other ethnic groups for the Nepal Army in proportion to their populations means they have been against making it a national inclusive army.

The peace process will not be completed without the integration of the members of People’s Liberation Army and without the recruitments of Madheshis and other ethnic groups of the Nepal for the Nepal Army making it a national inclusive army. However, leaders of NC and CPN-UML have been blocking these processes that would help to complete the peace process and at the same time have been saying that they will not accept the new constitution without competing the peace process clearly indicating that they have been against accepting the new constitution.

What they really want could be presumed from their activities that they want to continue the political instability not completing the peace process and possibly dissolving the Constituent Assembly that has been elected to writing a new constitution and promulgating it. Thus, these guys have been pushing the country to the political uncertainty.

Recently, Prachanda has said that he would go to the people for fresh mandate if the current government fails in getting cooperation of the NC and CPN-UML leaders on completing the peace process, and he would accepts the people’s judgment on this matter. Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Prachanda has said such things with frustration. In fact, he has no alternative to going to the people and asking for their judgment of the performances of the political leaders if the leaders of NC and CPN-UML don’t cooperate on completing the peace process and the constitution writing. Going to the people means dissolving the current Constituent Assembly and holding elections to a new constituent assembly or to something a new assembly still unknown.

Nepalis deserve this political situation in view of not giving majority to anyone of the political parties in the elections to the Constituent Assembly. Voters have also given ample opportunity to dislodge the peace process electing most of the opportunists of the NC and CPN-UML even though they have rejected the most corrupt ones but they have managed to stay on in power. Electing even some of the opportunists of the NC and CPN-UML, they have made it possible for the most unscrupulous politicians to stay on in the power. Consequently, most of the leaders rejected by the people have been running the NC and the CPN-UML. Certainly, they have been the main obstacles to the peace process and the constitution writing. So, sincere leaders of the NC and CPN-UML have to remove these thorny leaders from standing in the way of the peace process and the constitution writing to meet the people’s aspiration for all political parties working together for the peace and the new constitution. If they would opt for going to the people asking for a fresh mandate then it is hard to prophesize what will be the consequences of such mandate.

September 20, 2011