Redefining the Acronym

Finally, the uninterrupted run of Sita Ram Prasain has come to an end. The Maoists-affiliated Young Communist League (YCL) on Monday handed over “wanted man” Sita Ram Prasain to police for necessary action. The YCL's act of handing over Prasain to police has drawn wide range of comments and criticisms from all quarters of the society. Prime Minister Koirala seems to have gotten so furious that he went to the extent of redefining the acronym “YCL”-Young Criminal League.

The Nepal Rastra Bank had asked the Nepal Police a long time ago to arrest Prasai for wrongful disbursement of loans worth 280 million rupees. Incompetence, corruption, and the undue influence of politics inside the institution of Nepal Police had so far eluded the arrest of Prasain. So, is it a good or bad action on part of YCL?

There is, no doubt, that YCL has been indulging in various illegal acts but this act of YCL should have been praised rather than condemned. YCL has done what Koirala's home minister and Nepal Police that feed on tax payers' money and whose first duty is to arrest wrong-doers could not or were unwilling to do. By acting as a moral police and handing over Prasain to police, YCL did infringe the state's right to maintain law and order, but how bad it is, when the state is turning a blind eye on criminals? Thus, before laying the blame for this one squarely on YCL, it is necessary to analyze the case in its entirety.

Who is the real culprit: YCL, who got hold of Prasain, who had breached the integrity of the position of chairman of Nepal Cottage and Small Industry Development Bank (NCSIDB) and blown off tax payers' hard-earned money or Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's home minister and Nepal Police that failed to bring Prasain and the likes of him to the justice?

The inability of Nepal Police to take action against Prasain despite his several public appearances is a severe blow to the rule of law and fight against corruption. Recent photographs of Prasain in public places and the herd of politicians gracing his lavish parties for free food and drinks have clearly revealed his close and unholy relationship with the politicians. In one of the recent parties that he threw at a five star hotel, among the most prominent invitees were Madhav Nepal, the chairman of United Marxist Leninist Party (UML) and Surya Bahadur Thapa, the Chairman of Rastriya Janshakti Party (RJP). It shows how deep Prasain and the likes of him have penetrated into the innermost circle of the major political parties. Seeing the guests that Prasain had in his recent party, it becomes evident that, our politicians instead of draining the swamp are making it even murkier and filthier.

The corrupt officials inside the police force and the politicians that might have gotten used to the free food and drinks in addition to “illegal cash” might not have liked this act of YCL, but this time around, YCL got it right. For the first time ever, YCL has done something that is in the best interests of the nation.

Some might term this as YCL's effort to earn social legitimacy to operate, whereas others might call it a public relation ploy. Whatever the case may be, the benefit of the doubt goes to YCL. In the case of Prasain, questionable conduct of the defendant was matched by many aspects of the Koirala's home minister and the police force who have been turning a blind eye to Nepal Rastra Bank's request to arrest Prasain. Where were Koirala's home minister and Nepal Police when the media was awash with the every fine details of Prasain's public appearances, his lavish parties which were thrown in five star hotels and attended by the high profile politicians and high ranking officials?

Like on many fronts, Koirala's current government is not doing enough to curb corruption. For the level of corruption to subside, you have to discourage corrupt minds. By not arresting Prasain and the likes of him on its own, the current government is fighting a losing battle against the corruption. It is not only not doing enough to discourage corrupt minds but also doing nothing to discourage a rent-seeking unholy coalition between business and politics that serves to fuel corruption in the society. Had it done enough, the politicians would have given a second thought before they attended parties thrown by an absconding “wanted man.”

Instead of following a rigorous path of ensuring that law and order applies to all, Koirala, like in the past, seems to be selective this time around too. He turns a blind eye when his men are on the wrong side of the law but wants to send a message that he is for maintaining law and order and controlling corruption. In his advent of becoming all things to people, what Koirala seems to forget is that one cannot win the battle against corruption by being selective. When you say you are for the fight against corruption and then do not do enough to make sure that “big fish” such as Prasain are punished, you are definitely sending a wrong message and encouraging the rich and famous to indulge in corruption.

We are poor not because we lack the required will, determination, or strength to succeed, but we lack equal opportunity and “rule of law”. We are poor because our leaders have been unable to stand for certain correct values in public life, values like honesty, hard work, and the rule of law. It is not a question of a couple of billion rupees that Prasain blew off but the harm corruption does by distorting our culture and undermining the “rule of law”. It disrupts the economy and destroys the morale of the general public. Out of many things, it distorts the very essence of good government and good governance. It diminishes the level of trust that general public have on government.

Whatever the reasons behind the home ministry's inability to arrest Prasain may be, the government should not set a precedence of selective justice by punishing “small fish” and letting the likes of Prasain enjoy freedom. This would reinforce the already existing notion that the rich and famous are beyond the clutches of law.

All citizens should be treated equally before the law of the land. If you can not administer justice in its entirety, do not provide a free pass to some- the likes of Prasain and make others a sacrificial lamb. It will further corrupt an already problem-ridden and a hungry nation.

Nation on the brink

While the Eight Party Alliance's (EPA) government is trying hard to maintain its composure and portray things as normal, the situation in the country is obviously far from being normal. It has been more than a year since the despotic regime of King Gyanendra crumbled, but with each passing day the future of this largely hungry nation appears bleaker than ever.

People have started asking: What have we, as citizens, achieved since the fall of King Gyanendra's despotic regime?

The nation's democracy is becoming a casualty in the "crossfire" of partisanship. Peace, which the Nepali people longed for so dearly, appears no-where in sight. The outrages against the defenseless populations: the senseless robbing and murder continue unabated. Incidents of marauding raids are increasing at an unprecedented rate.

Our combined desire to have Constituent Assembly (CA) elections is in limbo due to the intra and inter-party power struggle amongst the political parties representing the EPA. Because of inability of the EPA government to secure peace, hold CA elections on time, and bring other positive changes that are long over due, people have started referring the past one year as a "lost year."

The Maoist leaders that once ran for life have become parliamentarians and ministers and are enjoying their heyday. While the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are forced to live under sub-human conditions away from their home, the Maoists that chased them away from their homes are riding imported cars — be it state owned or forcibly seized from private citizens.

The NC and UML stalwarts seem to have forgotten the promises made to ordinary Nepalis during the April uprising and are once again busy enjoying their field day in the corridor of Singha Durbar.

The Youth Communist League's (YCL) mayhem continues unchecked in the capital and elsewhere in the country. The two rival factions-the Maoists and the Madhesi People's Rights Forum — are locked in a deadly duel for power in terai. The society that once exemplified harmony is now inching towards anarchy.

To some extent, the ongoing political violence is influenced by opportunities arising from state's weakness to ensure inclusion of ethnic communities and control political nudity of the Maoists.

The government offices in terai have been shut down for months now. The Pahadis have started leaving terai, fearing their lives. The government's power and the administrative structures vital to securing the law and order are shrinking.

Clearly, the political order is being founded on and sustained by violence. In the present day Nepal, violence, not public virtue, seems to be the basis of authority. The ordinary citizens have started suspecting the ability of the government to secure peace, and the Maoist commitment towards democracy.

Unfortunately, they are forced to keep their heads down in the face of the guns that the Maoists have covertly stored and the absence of viable options.

How do these symptoms of a dying political and social order play out? The signs of morbidity are very much evident in the present political, economic, and social life. With the ongoing decay of political and social order, politics is no longer the instrument through which contending interests are conciliated in a structured framework. Investors are shying away and moving towards greener and safer pastures and people have started suspecting those that do not belong to their own ethnic community.

The only things that will be born of this condition is a regime of rapine, despotism, poverty, and powerlessness. The current situation, if not corrected, would lead to an accelerating loss of state sovereignty, concomitant decay of state institutions, and worsen communal violence that is already reshaping social relations.

Furthermore, it will slow down the democratization process, which is essential for pulling Nepal out of poverty and placing it more firmly on the path of stability and sustainable development. It is necessary to stop political violence and lawlessness, because it impedes the necessary economic development. It does so by destroying human lives, economic assets, and through penalizing the accumulation of capital and wealth.

Every society that witnesses political upheaval confronts political violence and lawlessness for a while, but if not controlled, it can spread faster than wild fire and destabilize the essential democratic foundations in long term. Thus, political violence and lawlessness syndrome should be controlled effectively, because if allowed to persist, they could destroy people's right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

Organized criminal groups, having nexus with the corrupt officials and politicians, will start mushrooming. Organized crimes as a result of such nexus will be extremely hard to control. A country, if infested by the twin problems or crime and underdevelopment, would have little prospects of developing into a stable and prosperous democracy.

A country like Nepal which has weak institutions is an idle breeding ground for an organized crime and corruption. Crime and corruption thrive best in unstable situations, such as the one Nepal is facing. Thus, before organized crime syndicates and warlords root into our society, the current EPA government should contain political violence and lawlessness.

Nepal is already confronted with high incidence of poverty and backwardness, and therefore, it cannot afford to get locked in a double bind of political violence and poverty. There are no easy ways out of this vicious circle. Thus, political leaders should not commit the same mistakes that they committed during the 1990s. This time around, they should do it and do it right. The Nepalis, who fought hard for democracy, do not deserve anarchy, poverty, and powerlessness.

Establishing a state's authority both in and out of the capital is an essential condition for any political order, including democracy. Building a decentralized system, through devolution of power, may ultimately be the best deterrent against future guerrilla resurgence and sudden outburst of political violence. A well functioning democracy is in everyone's best interest. Hence, the EPA government should work towards strengthening the capacity of the state in traditionally "stateless" areas in order to rein in violence and create space for an unbiased civil society to take root. It is crucial for the consolidation of peace, stability, and democracy in Nepal.

Lessons Learned, Challenges Ahead

With the formation of the interim government along with the CPN (Maoist), a new era has just begun. It has spiked up people's aspirations for peace, stability and democracy once again.

However, from the current location of Nepali politics, there are two roads ahead with two different end points. The first one leads us to a stable, prosperous, and thriving democracy, whereas the second one leads us to chaotic, lawless and illiberal democracy. Where we will end up depends upon how sincerely the political parties in power act in the coming days. Furthermore, it also depends upon whether or not the new faces inducted in the interim cabinet are honest, competent and visionary.

The future of the major political parties and many politicians are at stake. As the country's political landscape has tremendously changed, none can tell for sure if these men and women sworn in as ministers will be running the ministries ever again in their lifetimes. Thus, it is the time for these men and women to prove their worth and win the hearts of the people who hold the keys to their political future. If they fail do so, the people will seal their fate. People's votes in the changed political context may not be as easily available as they have been in the past.

The mainstream political parties that participated in the previous general elections and their cadres should stop themselves from looking back at how many seats they were able to pick in the previous general elections. This will only inflate their ego only to be deflated.

The political landscape is no longer what it used to be. Now, there are several players on the ground. Which party would better address the people's concerns is the gigantic shift in the people's perception.

Nepal's journey to successful, inclusive democracy is still thorny. The politics is not yet devoid of the threat from the regressive forces which still love to fish in the troubled waters. The monarch, who is politically very calculative, but dumb as a door knob when it comes to assessing people's love for freedom is, down but not out.

The king might not have given up his despotic aspirations. On the one hand, the newly formed Eight Party Alliance (EPA) government needs to checkmate the shrewd king, who might try to fulfill his autocratic aspirations as he did in the past. On the other hand, the EPA government needs to restore peace, maintain stability, and ensure the economic prosperity of the masses that have a hard time making ends meet. So, the challenges that lie ahead for the EPA government are of Himalayan proportions and political rhetoric will be of no use while solving the real life problems.

The current government should strive towards achieving the goals stipulated in the Common Minimum Program (CMP). Any failure to do so would be disastrous. It will further deepen the crisis to the extent that it will be extremely hard to deal with. The road, thereafter, will only lead to anarchy and none will have the legitimacy to control it.

For a few, who have already warmed ministerial chairs, but failed to deliver results in the past, it is time to reinvent themselves. For the newcomers, it is time to quickly learn the tricks of the game that suit the changed political climate and meet the people's expectations. The Nepali citizens, who had the power to bring down King Gyanendra's despotic regime, which had the backing of 90 thousand strong army men and thousands of Armed Police Force and Nepal Police personnel in uniform, may not stay silent for long, fearing the covertly stored weapons to administer political control, if the promised fruit of Jan Andolan II is not delivered.

As the political landscape of the country has been tremendously altered, no one at this point in time can foretell which political parties will be accepted or rejected by the voters in the upcoming elections. The mainstream political parties --- the Nepali Congress (NC) and the United Marxist Leninist (UML) which were succeeded in garnering the support of ethnic minorities --- may not enjoy the same support this time around.

There exists both crisis and opportunity. The big political parties, which prefer an individual, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, to the ethnic groups and undermine their demand for the resignation of the Home Minister, even when he fails, may run out of the required political fuel to bring back those who are currently warming the benches of the parliament to the parliament again. So, this may put a full stop on those who are now representing the major political parties.

NC may be the one that will be hit hard. Its traditional vote bank in terai has been thoroughly stirred. The Madhesis, who once predominantly associated with NC, are now attracted towards the Madhesi People's Right Forum (MPRF) and other political outfits. The future of NC seems to be in peril if the current insensitivity towards minorities' legitimate rights and genuine demands is not corrected by the NC leaders.

When it comes to UML, first it was the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), and now the ethnic forums that have started attracting its cadres. Instead of pushing for the Sitaula's ouster, which would have consoled its Madhesi cadres, UML silently joined its competitor, the CPN (Maoist) in its covert operation to keep Sitaula in the home minister's chair. That was a tactical blunder. Instead of acting smartly in order to keep its dwindling support base among ethnic groups intact, UML's silence on the issue of Sitaula's resignation and subsequent induction in the interim cabinet as a home minister again have further alienated the UML's Madhesi cadres prompting them to join ethnic groups and radical Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morchas (JTMM).

The two biggest political parties that garnered the most votes in the past elections appear to be the losers. However, at this point in time, it is hard to tell how big of a loss they will end up incurring. What the established political parties should quickly learn is that the mere showcasing of a few leaders from ethnic minority to prove that NC and UML are pro-ethnic parties may not work in the changed political context. The only way to win hearts and minds of ethnic minorities and keep them associated with NC and UML is to refrain from actions that disappoint the ethnic groups and meet their genuine demands. If a party can save itself from the future trouble by just not putting a politician in a particular ministerial chair, it should do so. It is politically a smart thing to do and will save the political career of many seating parliamentarians from the terai regions who got elected on NC and UML's tickets.

The parties that have chances of fairing well in the changed political landscape are the CPN (Maoist) and other smaller political parties. However, in order to take advantage of the changed political context, the Maoists have to first prove that they believe in peace, stability, and democracy. They have to ensure that they are not a threat to people's lives and liberty. For the Maoists, the road from mines to ministries might have been comparatively a quicker one, but where will the Maoists end up in the future largely depends upon how they project themselves now onwards.

In other words, the future of political parties will largely depend upon their actions and how they will position themselves on the issues detrimental to the peace and prosperity of the nation. For the big political parties, the challenge is to reinvent themselves, whereas for the CPN (Maoist), it is time it reformed.

As far as the parties of the former royalists such as Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and Rastriya Jansakti Party (RJP) are concerned, their preference to enjoy King Gyanendra's despotic adventurism as bystanders have seriously eroded their credibility as a democratic party. Instead of grouching too much, the lesson they need to learn is that people look for actions that favor democracy, not lip service. They too will have space in “New Nepal”, if the notion ever materializes, but they will have to earn it.

Back to the square one: Does SPA have governance strategy?

It did not take very long for the gain of mass movement of 1990 to dissipate. Fifteen years and we are back to the square one once again chanting anti monarchy slogans, burning tyres, vandalizing public properties, and behaving more like goons than civilized human beings.

Our politicians seem to have learnt everything but Gandhian philosophy of non-violence from Indian leaders. Mahatma Gandhi hoped to win people over by changing their hearts and minds, and advocated non violence in all things. Gandhian philosophy which crumbled British Empire seems to have no buyers in the next door neighbor. Have we become more pessimistic over time and think a peaceful struggle for democracy against the tide? Or as a society, have we have become more egoistic? If we start valuing vendetta over morality, vendetta becomes our morality. We will start viewing things more and more from a teleological perspective: that as long as we are better off in the end; we have not committed an immoral act.

We can win hearts and minds of people through non-violent struggle. No guns or brick pieces are needed to bring the repressive, autocratic regime to its knees. Its foundation shall eventually crack due to its own misdeeds and repressive practices. Democracy in Nepal can and should be achieved through peaceful struggle and processes without destroying public properties. The era of nations achieving their independence through armed struggles and terrorist activities has passed. Thus it is not a matter of if but when.

Sooner or later we shall prevail as a democratic nation. However, our ability to strengthen democracy and keep it functional remains highly questionable. Moral bankruptcy among the political leaders was the major source of our failure in the past. Hopefully our leaders have learned a lesson this time. If not, Feb 1 shall repeat in some form or the other. It does not have to be royal take over. Thus, a million dollar question right now is: What would our leaders do differently than they did after the fall of Panchayat regime in 1990 that would strengthen democracy and make Nepal prosperous? Our ability to thrive as a prosperous and democratic nation solely depends on that. After 50 years of independence, Pakistan is still unable to solidify its democratic structure mainly because its leaders did not bother to take care of peoples’ aspirations.

Democracy in Nepal can and should be achieved through peaceful struggle and processes without destroying public properties. The era of nations achieving their independence through armed struggles and terrorist activities has passed.

If our leaders continued with their old habits, coming generations will have to fight for democracy again in future. This is mainly because failure to deliver development benefits and control corruption shall invite February 1st again and again in some form or the other. Insurgencies will easily flourish as impoverished societies are hot beds for insurgent movements. Thus, our leaders instead of engaging themselves in tongue lashing should come up with clear vision and plan about as and what they would do differently this time. Hard earned democracy did not last long because the rent-seeking coalition between business and politics served to fuel corruption and violence in the body politic of Nepal.

Easy money earned through illegal means was used to sustain a new class of political elites who remained immune from the forces of law enforcement because of their political status and connection. Nepal as a state was not driven by a clearly articulated vision of its leadership. Democratic structures started to tremble mainly because none of the prime ministers and their junior colleagues who held office in Nepal over the last decade appeared to be driven by a sense of mission to transform the society in a particular direction. The lack of developmental vision amongst the leadership in Nepal was compounded by their weak commitment to realize the importance of such a vision. Popular disillusionment occurred mainly due to the failure of the state to deliver expected democratization of local social relations and political authority, continuing poverty and a widening gap between have and have-nots, and widespread frustration with corruption at all levels of government.

Political parties should realize there mistakes and pledge non confrontational style of politics in a new democratic Nepal. This would help promote political dialogue to build a consensus behind a development agenda. Parliament should not be abused as an arena for rhetorical exchanges rather than a vehicle for political consensus building. Politicians should make a pledge in public that they will abandon their ill practices of the past and work for peace, prosperity, and stability in Nepal. Indulging in immoral acts of burning and destroying public property that we built through the tax payers’ money over the last 15 years is mockery of our own achievement.