While talking to Indian newspaper The Telegraph on August 10, Koirala remarked that the Maoists’ “tactic might be serving the narrow political interests of Maoists, but it is not good for the region and for Indo-Nepal relations.”
Till the time the Nepali authorities address the major security concerns facing India at present, it will be naïve to expect anything in return.
Moreover, she blamed the Maoists for resorting to “anti-democratic” methods to disrupt the peace process, and said that they are “looking for excuses to take to the streets”. She concluded that Maoists are the only political force that does not want democracy in Nepal.
It is unfortunate that political leaders of this country fail to realize that poor ties with India and mutual suspicion is not the result of any one party’s ideology or its position vis-à-vis India. It is a result of the failure of the Nepali politicians and diplomats to address the key issue -- the security concern -- which India wants from Nepal as a neighbor and as an emerging world power.
The biggest ‘impediment’, therefore, is not Maoists or their political tactics alone, but a diplomatic and political failure on the parts of the decision-makers to address India’s security concerns in Nepal. It would also be helpful for the country if the leaders understood and accepted their weaknesses and come up with a strong front to negotiate with India and design methods to bargain by keeping national interest of the country uppermost in their minds.
The leaders, knowingly or unknowingly, refuse to hit the bull’s eye when it comes to talking with India. It should have been very clear to them by now that India’s vulnerability to terrorist attacks and any perceptions of threat emanating from Nepal thereby would not be tolerable to it. In the light of the Mumbai terror attack, India will go all out to secure its domestic security and guarantee safety for its people. This is the chief reason behind the Indian government’s wish to fly the Air Marshall on board the Indian Airlines and this is precisely why the Indian Airlines authorities got special access to the prohibited zones at the Tribhuwan International Airport, a move approved by the previous Maoist government.
Unfortunately, a common front to deal with India can emerge only on the basis of a consensus, which now seems a far-fetched dream in Nepali polity. The reality is that the differences between and among major political parties, aggravated by the inner-party feuds, have already resulted in giving the peace process a major set-back. Thus, the more our ministers cry to Delhi over the uncooperative attitude of the Maoists back home, more the loss of credibility before India. As that will only demonstrate their own inability to exhibit a united voice, even in matters pertaining to foreign policy matters and in safeguarding Nepal’s national interest.
Also, the ‘anti-India sentiment’ widely prevalent in Nepal, which Koirala herself admitted before the Indian media, is precisely the result of this diplomatic failure. She said in the interview that ‘we have to politically fight it (anti-Indian sentiments) out.’ But till the time the Nepali authorities deal with the security concerns of India, it will be naïve to expect anything in return from it at this juncture.
India, on its part, is carefully dealing as per the situations developing in Nepal. While India is extending invitations to the top cabinet ministers and the PM, in return it has promised nothing concrete. That became evident after Defense Minister Bidya Devi Bhandari’s visit last month and then from poor outcome of Foreign Minister’s tour. India said yes to everything that both the ministers sought, but for obvious reasons, gave nothing in return.
That is why India asked for a ‘written request’ for resuming supply of arms, thereby diplomatically putting aside the plea to lift the ban. Bhandari’s argument that arms is needed “to ensure that the army does not have to compromise on training requirements” actually proved weak to convince the Indian leadership. Similarly, Koirala was merely told that the issue of ‘mistreatment’ meted out to the Nepalis at the border will be dealt by local level mechanism.
Likewise, India will not relent to Nepal´s request for additional 100 MW of electricity at subsidized rate. Although Minister for Energy Dr Prakash Saran Mahat said that the government will take up power trade issue once again during the PM’s trip, it is clear that India has already rejected it. The Nepal Electricity Authority team was ‘bluntly’ told that ‘it is not coming’. India will apply all pressure, like it did during the Katawal row when it refused to export mere 30 MW at the height of load-shedding crisis Nepal was facing, to get to its end. Thus, there is every possibility that India will defer all requests to be made by the PM this time around too.
There are strong dissimilarities in the views between the government and Maoists in the opposition regarding almost all issues included in the agenda of the PM’s visit. The Maoists do not want any agreement with India on arms supply, on fast-tracking the Pancheshwar Multi-purpose Project or the Naumure Multi-purpose project, the strip map and many others. It would be appropriate to point here that the former Maoist government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, had during his visit to New Delhi last year talked extensively about expediting all works relating to the Detail Project Report of the Pancheshwar project. Very conveniently, the same Unified CPN-Maoist changed its stance once in opposition.
akanshya@myrepublica.com
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