Optimism on peace deal

Recent positive statements made by all major leaders has ushered a renewed sense of optimism on the prospects of concluding the remaining tasks of the peace process. We believe the development is highly encouraging. Most notable was Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai’s remarks to the media the other day that the parties have never been so close to a peace deal in the past five years of the peace process. The prime minister’s announcement has reinforced the hope that the negotiations that were largely stagnant for the last five years are now on the right track. In addition, the optimistic views expressed by Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Nepali Congress (NC) leader Minendra Rijal, one of the key negotiators from NC, echo a concrete development toward a lasting peace in the country.



We welcome the optimism of our leaders, albeit with caution. We have seen many ups and downs in the peace process and witnessed many optimistic moments end in disappointment over the past five years. Not that there are no risks -- the ever-widening intra-party rift in the UCPN (Maoist) and their different, often opposite versions on the peace process posing the most serious risk. So time and again the other two main partners of the peace process, the Nepali Congress and the CPN (UML) have openly urged the Maoists to come up with a united opinion on thorny issues. We believe the hard efforts of Maoist Chairman Dahal will ultimately bring the rebellious faction led by senior Maoist leader Mohan Baidya on board the peace process.



However, despite the rosy prospects, one cannot rest assured and take the leaders’ statements at face value. They have made claims of major breakthrough many times in the past. They said so after talks on the eve of Dashain. They repeated the same thing after the post-Dashain peace negotiations and said in public that most of the contentious issues had been settled and assured of a deal after the prime minister’s return from India visit.



Now the leaders must understand that they do not have the luxury to spend any more time. The November 30 deadline to prepare the first draft of the constitution is just a month away. It is high time for the leaders of the major political parties to translate their optimistic words into action by finding an amicable solution to the remaining differences on the integration number and rehabilitation package, and act quickly on the historic deal.

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