Published: January 05, 2006
Op-Ed Contributor
Betraying The Nepali People, by Terrorists
By Raj Sanyal
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has offered an ominous New Year gift to the Nepalese people. It announced the end of the unilateral cease-fire on Monday, a day after the start of 2006. By doing so, the Maoist party has shown its true colours and its true intent of hoodwinking the international community and its new-found sympathisers.
Pleas
Had the extremist Communist outfit announced the unilateral cease-fire from the heart and with a true feeling of respect and empathy towards the Nepali people, it could have extended the cease-fire. But it did not, despite pleas from the civic society, political parties, the United Nations and the European Union.
With the announcement of the termination of the cease-fire, the Maoist outfit has proved that the four-month truce was just to please the international community and thereby enhance its dwindling credibility. And this missive found some willing takers in the international community and at home, too, although the Maoists continued to perpetrate atrocious activities like killing people, extortion, looting and abductions. It also showed that the cease-fire was a political gimmick by the Maoist party to wedge a division amongst the constitutional forces of the country, which it successfully did.
In fact, the 'divide and delude' policy of the Maoist is not new. It has been using this strategy for the last ten years since the launch of its so-called people's war in 1996. It has been seen that the Maoists have been tactically playing one actor against the other to perpetuate its ruthless campaign against the state and the people.
The so-called mainstream political parties should have long ago understood this strategy of the Maoists. But they did not take it seriously, instead using the same as a ladder to climb to power.
Last November, the seven opposition political parties and the Maoists signed a shady deal in the Indian capital. This so-called 12-point understanding was described as a breakthrough and the top leaders of the agitating political parties were in heaven nine. They boasted of bringing the Maoists to the peaceful political process, without, of course, knowing that it was a ploy to drag them to the Maoist camp. Some even described this dubious 'understanding', hastily reached in a foreign land, as a harbinger of peace in Nepal.
But this was not to be.
The 12-point understanding that was branded a watershed document was criticised by some leaders of the parties in the seven-party alliance who charged that it compromised national sovereignty by proposing to keep the Royal Nepalese Army under the 'supervision' of the UN or a reliable international agency. This point alone exposed the political shortsightedness of some of the veteran political leaders of this country. By proposing to place the national army under the supervision of the UN or other agency, these leaders were, in a way, compromising national sovereignty. No sovereign nation can allow its national army to be kept under other's supervision.
Now that the CPN-Maoist has formally ended the unilateral cease-fire, what will the leaders of the seven agitating political parties, who bragged that the cease-fire was announced at their behest, say? As expected, they will be pointing fingers at the King as it is in their vary nature to blame others for every fault, and themselves not taking any responsibility for their past follies. They will be squarely blaming the government for the Maoists not extending the cease-fire.
Here comes the real test of the political parties and the Maoists. Had the Maoists been true to their words and their concern for peace and democracy in Nepal, they would have extended the cease-fire irrespective of the government's stance. It would have further enhanced their reputation in the eyes of the people and the international community. Furthermore, it would have put extra pressure on the government to reciprocate the same. But, by announcing to go on the offensive, the Maoist has once more belied the people and its allies - both national and international.
This means that difficult days lie ahead for the Nepalese people who have been all those years clamouring for peace. The termination of the unilateral cease-fire by the Maoists has also thrown cold water on the expectations of those who believed that ultimately the Maoist party has come to its senses regarding the futility of pushing ahead with the ruthless war that has claimed the precious lives of over 12,000 Nepalis. Similarly, the hopes of the Maoist party ultimately joining the peaceful political process, as claimed by the opposition political parties, have been dashed.
As things stand out, it has become inevitable for the pro-constitutional forces to unite for safeguarding democracy and establishing lasting peace in the country through dialogue. This is how the process of resolving the problems besetting the country today should be conducted. The political parties, which claim to represent the people, should realise that merely playing politics for the sake of it would not do good to the country and the people, and to them also.
The Nepali Congress recently marked National Reconciliation Day. As pointed out by most of the leaders, speaking at the National Reconciliation Day programme, all forces that be in the country should seek the path of reconciliation rather than confrontation. To arrive at reconciliation would demand initiation of confidence building measures and each side giving up arrogance and obstinacy in favour of trust and understanding. Nepal is at such a difficult juncture in its history that the sovereignty of the country is at stake.
Statesmanship
And, it is at times like the present one that those calling themselves people's leaders should show their statesmanship. The leaders of the political parties should rise above partisan interests and think about the larger interest of the people and the country. They should learn to be and act like leaders.
Terrorism is the common enemy of all, and it should be fought with the joint efforts of all the people who take the interest of the nation and nationality to be greater than their own. May wisdom prevail on all fronts.
* The views of Opinion writers do not necessarily reflect the views of NewsBlaze
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