Start and stop

After a promising few weeks following the extension of the Constituent Assembly tenure on November 29, 2011, the peace process seems stuck, yet again. According to the Special Committee schedule, the ex-combatants who had opted for Voluntary Retirement should have left the barracks by January 21. But the festering inter- and intra-party disputes seem to have stopped the vital process on its tracks. Nepali Congress and CPN-UML are clearly spooked by the renewed Maoist vigor to give legitimacy to land contracts approved by the ‘Maoist government’ during the conflict period.



They also see as unreasonable (rightly) the Maoist demand that progress on peace process be made contingent on acceptance of the presidential form of government. The fear is that, slowly but surely, the Maoist-led government might look to legitimize even the party’s criminal actions from the period. NC and UML, as well as the 15 smaller parties in the CA, met at the NC Parliamentary Party office on Friday, to remind the Maoists that they are going back on their promise on the peace process by putting forth one unreasonable demand after another.



The Maoists cannot brush aside these allegations, many of them very legitimate. The party, it seems, has upped the ante by linking any progress on peace process to other parties’ willingness to budge to Maoist demands on the constitutional front. This was uncalled for. Such moves, with only four months to the end of the constitution deadline, can only be interpreted as a Maoist tactic to further delay the peace and constitution processes. We believe such delays will ultimately be counterproductive for the Maoists themselves, not the least because any further delay in settling their future won’t go down well with the former fighters who seem to be losing their patience after five uncertain years spent holed up in cantonments.



Not that other parties don’t have their share of responsibility. As much as it up to the Maoists to take measures to win back the trust of NC and UML, it is equally important for the latter to give enough space to Maoist demands and keep the door open for meaningful negotiations. That may not be easy as they are rightly distrustful of the true Maoist intent, especially after Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, in the course of his rapprochement with the Baidya faction, has publicly vowed to go for a ‘revolt’ in case conspiracies are hatched against a ‘people’s constitution’.



Notwithstanding the need for Dahal to be seen as accommodative of the Baidya faction among his party cadres, such provocations will ultimately only serve to increase the polarization between the parties. Hard as it might sound, the importance of forging ahead in a spirit of consensus cannot be overemphasized at this crucial point in time. The latest developments suggest that the burden of responsibility to create such an enabling environment primarily rests on the shoulders of Dahal and co.

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