Forgot your password?
Agreement between Government and Front
By Siddhi B. Ranjitkar
Congratulation to Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula and three leaders such as Mahanta Thakur, Rajendra Mahato and Upendra Yadav of United Democratic Madheshi Front (UDMF) for agreeing to sign off eight-point agreement that would ultimately lead Nepal to a federal democratic republic. The UDMF leaders got eight-point agreement instead of their six-point demand. The agreement has hammered a last nail on the coffin of the Shah dynastic rule reiterating the immediate implementation of the agreement that states Nepal a Federal Democratic Republic, and given a tremendous blow to the suspended king Gyanendra.
Previously, we thought that the Communist Party of Nepal- Maoist (CPN-Maoist) was instrumental to force the seven-party alliance (SPA) particularly Prime Minster Girija Prasad Koirala and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba declaring Nepal a republic. Now, this agreement between the leaders of the UDMF and the Government of Nepal has made it clear that Nepalese people in general are for making Nepal a republic.
The agreement says that Nepal shall be a federal democratic republic, and shall have a multi-party democratic governance system; Federal Democratic Republic Nepal (FDRN) will consist of autonomous Madhesh state and other autonomous states of the people of other areas; the Constitutional Assembly (CA) shall decide the structure of autonomous states, the center and the number of autonomous states, and allocation of authority to these agencies.
Another victory of the Front is that the Front has been successful to include the clause number four that says the government shall appoint, promote and nominate contenders to all state agencies including the security ensuring the proportional representation of Madheshis, indigenous people, ethnic people, women, dalit, underprivileged people and the minority communities. This is the victory of all Nepalis.
The clause number five of the agreement says that to make the Nepali Army a national entity and inclusive, the government shall ensure a group entry to and the proportional inclusion of the Madheshi community and other communities in the Nepali Army.
Until now, the Nepali Army has been exclusive for only a few selected communities. The top positions of the Nepali Army have been exclusively for Shahs, Ranas, and their relatives. Majority of Nepalis have been excluded from the army for more than two and a half centuries.
On behalf of the government of Nepal, Prime Minister Koirala signed the agreement and on behalf of the UDMF, three leaders such as Mahanta Thakur, Rajendra Mahato and Upendra Yadav signed the agreement. Prime Minister Koirala repeated his commitment to implement the agreement. UDMF leaders warned the government of they going back to the street protests if the government repeated the past mistake of not implementing the 22-point agreement signed between the Peace Minister Ram Chandra Poudel and Madheshi People’s Rights Forum.
Immediately after the signing off the agreement between the UDMF leaders and the Prime Minister of Nepal, friendly governments of the countries such as India, America, European Union, and UN welcomed the agreement. All of them said that the agreement would pave the way to the fair, inclusive and credible election for a CA throughout Nepal.
Different Nepalese agencies and organizations and personalities have welcomed the agreement between the government and the UDMF ending the 16-day long strike that has shutdown not only the Madhesh area but also entire Nepal causing tremendous economic losses to the nation, and disrupting the regular lives of Nepalis in general.
Leaders of three political parties such as Nepal Worker’s and Peasants’ Party, People’s Front Nepal, and United Left Front of the SPA have opposed the eight-point agreement between the UDMF and the government. It is the clear indication of the leaders of the three major parties such as NC, CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist of the SPA have neglected to consult the leaders of the minor partners in alliance. However, it would not make a difference to the election for a CA.
Chairman of the CPN-Maoist, Prachanda said that he would use the People’s Liberation Army if anybody attempted to disturb the election for a CA even after the eight-point agreement with the UDMF. He did not make it clear whether other leaders of the SPA agreed with him or not.
This agreement would test the credibility of Prime Minister Koirala, as the government headed by Prime Minister Koirala had lost its credibility after he failed to implement the 22-point agreement signed with the Madheshi People’s Rights Forum, and many clauses of the so many agreements signed with the CPN-Maoist. Prime Minister Koirala lost his credibility due to his often-contradictory public statement and his unpredictable actions. We hope that this time Prime Minister Koirala would keep his commitment to implement the agreement signed with the UDMF and lead Nepal to a successful election for a CA.
