May 29, 2010

DEADLOCK PUSHES NEPAL TO BRINK OF A POLITICAL CRISIS

Posted by The Himalayan Voice:
[“Nepal’s peace process has come through some rough spots, but letting the Constituent Assembly evaporate puts the country’s democratic transition at grave risk,” said Karin Landgren, who heads the United Nations political mission in Katmandu responsible for advancing the peace process. “Many people are saying that May 28 will be a black day in the history of Nepal. There’s still a small window of time in which the political leaders can save the situation.”]

By KIRAN CHAPAGAIN and JIM YARDLEY

KATMANDU, Nepal — Nepal teetered at the edge of a political crisis on Thursday as leaders of the country’s three main political parties remained deadlocked over a deal that would extend the term of the current Parliament past Friday so that negotiators would have more time to complete a new national constitution.

Friday represents a hard, final deadline for Nepal’s peace process that, if broken, would usher in deep political uncertainty. If an agreement is not reached by midnight on Friday, Parliament will dissolve, leaving this small Himalayan nation without a constitution and raising questions about the legitimacy of the current government.

The impasse is primarily between Nepal’s Maoists and the two other leading political parties, the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist). The Maoists are demanding the prime minister’s resignation as a precondition to extending Parliament, while the other parties insist that the Maoists make a handful of concessions for a deal.

Once a monarchy, Nepal is struggling to codify its transition to a democratic republic. A new constitution would represent the culmination of a peace process that began five years ago when the Maoists agreed to join the political process and end their 10-year guerrilla war.

In 2008, the Maoists stunned the political establishment by winning a plurality in the new Parliament, known as the Constituent Assembly. They controlled the government for nine months before stepping down over a political dispute and have since sought to force the resignation of the current coalition government, calling it illegitimate.

“Nepal’s peace process has come through some rough spots, but letting the Constituent Assembly evaporate puts the country’s democratic transition at grave risk,” said Karin Landgren, who heads the United Nations political mission in Katmandu responsible for advancing the peace process. “Many people are saying that May 28 will be a black day in the history of Nepal. There’s still a small window of time in which the political leaders can save the situation.”

Leaders spent much of Thursday in private meetings trying to reach a deal. A bill to extend the Constituent Assembly will be introduced Friday morning, but passage needs a two-thirds majority, a mathematical impossibility without Maoist support.

“We will not vote for the extension of the Constituent Assembly under present circumstances,” said Dinanath Sharma, a Maoist spokesman, adding that Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal must resign before any deal can be achieved. The Maoists have argued that as the majority party they should be allowed to form a “national consensus” government that would oversee drafting the new constitution.
Distrust between the rival parties is enormous, and the issues in dispute are enormously complicated. More than 19,000 former Maoist combatants remain in United Nations-monitored camps, yet are effectively under the control of Maoist leaders.

Under the peace deal, an undetermined number of former rebel fighters are supposed to be integrated into Nepal’s security forces, but the Maoists have refused to fix a number on how many. Moreover, the other parties want the Maoists to disband the paramilitary structure of their party and publicly commit to democratic ideals like separation of powers.

“There is no reason to believe that the Maoists will transform into a civilian party as long as they hold arms and maintain a huge private army,” said Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat of the Nepali Congress Party. “The prime minister will not step down till the Maoists agree to our demands.”

The political instability has raised fears of violence. “I am worried that there will be anarchy and violence if the only elected body is allowed to die,” said Abhishek Pratap Shah, the Constituent Assembly’s youngest member, who began a “fast unto death” this week outside the Parliament building.
Late Thursday, envoys from other parties were reaching out to the Maoists in hopes of persuading them to extend the Constituent Assembly. Civil society groups were also stepping up pressure, and some observers held out hope that a last-minute deal could still be struck.

“It looks much more uncertain today,” said Kul Chandra Gautam, a former United Nations diplomat and native of Nepal. “But we still have another 28 hours or so until midnight tomorrow night, and the Nepalese have a penchant for working things out at the last moment.”