Today, sadly, the CPA has conveniently been ignored. The twelve-point agreement between the then Seven Parties and the CPN (Maoist), the Interim Constitution, and even the Agreement on the Monitoring of the Management of Arms and Armies (AMMAA) are discussed more widely today, delegating the CPA as a minor document. Yet, let us once again examine the relevance of that small blue booklet – how adhering to it could have changed the political quagmire we currently are caught in, how it embodied the spirit of the Jana Andolan II in its entirety and how we have failed in our collective responsibility of transforming this country from an unequal, impoverished and conflict-ridden one to a sustainable, equitable, prosperous and peaceful one.
Even as winter sets in, the streets may have warmed up. But at the core of the hearts of ordinary Nepali people remains the question – what about our aspirations that mandates you to claim power?
The CPA was drafted and negotiated in the immediate aftermath of the April Uprising of 2006. It begins with a simple declaration that the document embodies the mandate for ‘democracy, peace and progressiveness’ as manifested through the democratic movements since the fight against the Rana regime. Ironically, ‘democracy, peace and progressiveness’ still remain goals that we strive for.
The April Uprising was the third time that the people had successfully revolted against the state. The democratic ambitions of our first successful movement were thwarted by an over ambitious king with the absurd idea of a ‘guided democracy’, resulting in the imprisonment and banishment of one of our greatest leaders ever, B P Koirala. While the student movement in 1980 failed to restore multi-party democracy, it did lay the foundations for democratic politics through the legalization of student politics (one should be careful of complaining against the politicization of education in Nepal as it is the single-largest determinant of our political future). Building on the institutions that resulted through the student movement, the 1990 movement for democracy was the second successful uprising against the state. It is a sad reality that our political leaders of the time could not understand the spirit of the moment and instead relied on the same political structures that the Panchayat regime thrived on to perpetuate their power. Needless to say, this would inevitably create dissatisfaction among a majority of the underprivileged and marginalized population. And the underprivileged and the marginalized were the majority of the population!
The Maoists used this, as any anti-state movement, to their greatest advantage, promising Constituent Assembly (CA) elections and ethnic-based federalism, making commitments that they too today balk at fulfilling. The CPA was a culmination of both the aspirations of the Maoist-led movement for the marginalized and the underprivileged and the major so-called ‘democratic parties’ who called for commitment to democratic politics. Looking through the document, one can recognize the different points put forth by the differing parties.
The CPA was a ten-point agreement. The first two points were introductory. The third point, consisting of 13 sub-clauses, was probably the most contentious, regardless of the fact that it would be hard for any signatory party to disagree with any of the proposals made. To take an example, this is what we were promised under Clause 3, Sub Clause 4 of the CPA:
To adopt a political system that fully abides by the universally accepted concepts of fundamental human rights, multiparty competitive democratic system, sovereignty vested upon the people and supremacy of the people, constitutional balance and check, rule of law, social justice and equality, independent judiciary, periodic elections, monitoring of the civil society, complete press freedom, people’s right to information, transparency and accountability in the activities of political parties, people’s participation, impartial, competent, and fair bureaucracy and to maintain good governance by ending corruption and impunity.
These are basically the guiding principles that the constitution promulgated by the CA should adhere to. The CA, as per the agreement, is mandated to devise mechanisms to institutionalize these promises. Other sub-clauses in the agreement included the restructuring of the state, the end of inequality of the marginalized and the underprivileged communities, dismantling of the feudalist culture, scientific land reforms with the provision of land for the traditionally landless communities and labor rights. These agendas, while endorsed by all the political agendas, were championed by the Maoists. The other significant ‘idealist’ clause was Clause 7 which dealt on human and citizen’s rights, probably accommodated due to the pressure of the ‘democratic’ parties.
The remaining points related to the management of arms and armies (Clause 4), the ceasefire (Clause 5, which included the normalization of the prevalent situation), the end of the civil war (Clause 6) and Clause 8, 9, and 10 relating to how best to manage the transition.
We missed most, if not all, of the deadlines stipulated in the CPA. These included some fundamental ones such as the Truth and Reconciliation provision, the mapping and defusing of landmines, resolving the fate of the disappeared, and even of conducting the CA elections (which we did conduct at a later date). Now, we are all set to miss perhaps the most important deadline – that of institutionalizing the aspirations of the people as expressed through Jana Andolan II, of drafting the new constitution.
It is indeed sad that today we are engaged in confrontational politics that is geared more at maintaining power than at making any concrete policy decisions that would achieve the goals set in our CPA. The political climate of today is reminiscent of the days that led to the disillusionment with democracy in the mid-1990s. Even as winter sets in, the streets may have warmed up. But at the core of the hearts of ordinary Nepali people remains the question – what about our aspirations that mandates you to claim power?
daulat.jha@gmail.com
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