Published: November 25, 2005
Op-Ed Contributor
Nepal's Alliance-Maoist Pact revealed
By M. R. Josse 
On Tuesday, 22 November what many analysts had feared or predicted came to pass: a formal pact between the agitating seven-party alliance and the Maoists. While the Alliance unveiled it at a press conference in Kathmandu, Maoist supremo Prachanda announced it to the world via the Internet that very day.
Unholy Pact
Basically, the unholy 12-point Alliance-Maoist compact frames an agreement to abolish the Monarchy through elections to a constituent assembly, with a view to the establishment of a "total democracy." That they hope to achieve via intensification of the Alliance's anti-Monarchy agitation and "active boycott" of the impending municipal polls.
Presumably, they are to be assisted by the Maoists who are themselves linked to extraneous, like-minded guerrilla forces principally though not exclusively Indian.
Despite such a common working platform, there are conspicuous differences between the Alliance's and the Maoists' declared approach. While such possibly stem from ideological divergences amongst themselves, they are, perhaps, best reflected in the studious downplaying of the crucial weapons issue.
Thus, rather than insist that the Maoists must disarm before talks on burning political issues can proceed, an attempt has been made to dodge that prickly question. This has been achieved by the proviso that during the period leading to elections for a constituent assembly, some international organisation would be entrusted to supervise weapons that the Royal Nepal Army and the Maoists respectively hold.
Key differences are also manifest in references to the two parties' intent to pursue their respective roadmaps, as well as in NC president Girija Prasad Koirala's effort to dub the unworthy arrangement as an "understanding" rather than a "working alliance."
That, incidentally, is a semantic exercise evocative of Koirala's notorious attempt, some years ago, to pass the controversial Tanakpur Accord off as an "understanding" rather than term it a "treaty," as the Supreme Court later pronounced it to be.
What is of even greater import than the specific terms of the Maoist-Alliance agreement, per se, is its background. Most conspicuously, the Alliance-Maoist covenant was forged following a series of meetings in New Delhi and elsewhere between the Maoist leadership and a covey of Alliance functionaries including Koirala and UML's Madhav Kumar Nepal. They, as all know, have been to-ing and fro-in between Kathmandu and New Delhi for weeks, ostensibly on medical grounds!
What also stands out is that the pact has seen light of day after reported meetings between Alliance and the Maoist representatives on Indian soil. So, too, that it has taken shape after confabulations between Maoists and their Indian compatriots, including most notably the Communist Party of India (Marxist) that supports the government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
It may be pertinent to point out that the Indian government has not formally rescinded its determination that the Maoists are terrorists. Indeed, what is also noteworthy is that at the recent 13th SAARC summit its prime minister, as other South Asian leaders, signed the Dhaka Declaration that, inter alia, underlines that there should not be "any double standards in the fight against terrorism" and expresses "the determination to unite in efforts in preventing and combating terrorism."
It may also be recalled that South Asian leaders noted the United Nations Security Council resolution 1373 of 2001 adopted unanimously in the wake of the terrible terror attack on the United States of 9/11. Equally worthy of note is the consistent Indian claim, at various fora, that it is engaged, along with the US and others, in an international war on terrorism.
Contradiction
Viewed against the backdrop of the November 4 "warning" by the US to Alliance leaders about forging an "alliance between one or more of the major political parties and the Maoist rebels" it will certainly be interesting to see what its reaction in Washington will now be.
Equally fascinating should be to learn of the repercussion of the Alliance-Maoist pact, including where and how it was conceived, in other world capitals.
See Also: Recent Nepal Stories
* The views of Opinion writers do not necessarily reflect the views of NewsBlaze
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