04-25-2006, 11:51 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Koirala's task Govern and crush Maoists </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Mr Girija Prasad Koirala, who, by all accounts, is set to be Prime Minister of Nepal once again, and the seven-party alliance which has chosen him for the job, have a heavy responsibility to discharge. The assumption of office by the Government he heads, following King Gyanendra's announcement on Monday midnight of the revival of the House of Representatives, and statement that the sovereignty and executive power rests with the people, has given Nepal breathing space but not more.
While the seven-party alliance has welcomed the King's announcement and called off their agitation for restoration of democracy, the Maoists have rejected it. Their leaders - <b>Pushpa Kamal Dahal, aka Prachanda, and his deputy, Baburam Bhattarai - have, in a statement, called the development "a conspiracy to protect the regime", and have accused the seven-party alliance of betraying them. They have vowed to press ahead with the blockades that have stanched traffic in the major roads in the country and created severe shortage of food and fuel in Kathmandu.</b> Clearly, they have their own agenda of setting up a Maoist order in Nepal and their participation in the movement for the restoration of democracy was only tactical.
<b>The leaders of the seven-party alliance have doubtless expressed their resolve to bring Maoists into the mainstream and have announced their intention to declare a ceasefire with them.</b> Their attitude is clearly reflected in statements like the one by Mr Krishna Sitaula, an important leader of the Nepali Congress and the spokesman of the seven-party alliance, "We will work together with the Maoists." They had tried to do all of these in the past and had several rounds of talks with the Maoists, drawing a blank on each occasion. They will be naïve to believe that it will be any different this time.
They can hardly afford such naivete now. <b>The Maoist insurgency began ten years ago when they, and not the present King, were in power. It grew, gradually coming to hold sway over 87 per cent of the country, while they squabbled and made a mess of governance. There is no time for indulging in such luxury now. The prolonged political turmoil has cost Nepal's economy dear and left deep scars in the psyche of the people</b>. They have to repair the damage and put the country on its feet again. For this, they will have to deal firmly with the Maoists who are now set to prolong the struggle to isolate them from the people and eventually capture power.
Even if they relent and cooperate, it will be once again a tactical move to wreck the Government from within. Mr Koirala and the leaders of the seven-party alliance will ignore this only at their and Nepal's peril. They have to crush the Maoists. For this, they have to work together among themselves and with the Army and the police. As for India, it must lend them every support. Having played a key role in bringing about the present positive turn of events in Nepal, it has a responsibility to extend every help to the present Government to restore order and curb the Maoists, who are a menace on its side of the border as well.
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The Pioneer Edit Desk
Mr Girija Prasad Koirala, who, by all accounts, is set to be Prime Minister of Nepal once again, and the seven-party alliance which has chosen him for the job, have a heavy responsibility to discharge. The assumption of office by the Government he heads, following King Gyanendra's announcement on Monday midnight of the revival of the House of Representatives, and statement that the sovereignty and executive power rests with the people, has given Nepal breathing space but not more.
While the seven-party alliance has welcomed the King's announcement and called off their agitation for restoration of democracy, the Maoists have rejected it. Their leaders - <b>Pushpa Kamal Dahal, aka Prachanda, and his deputy, Baburam Bhattarai - have, in a statement, called the development "a conspiracy to protect the regime", and have accused the seven-party alliance of betraying them. They have vowed to press ahead with the blockades that have stanched traffic in the major roads in the country and created severe shortage of food and fuel in Kathmandu.</b> Clearly, they have their own agenda of setting up a Maoist order in Nepal and their participation in the movement for the restoration of democracy was only tactical.
<b>The leaders of the seven-party alliance have doubtless expressed their resolve to bring Maoists into the mainstream and have announced their intention to declare a ceasefire with them.</b> Their attitude is clearly reflected in statements like the one by Mr Krishna Sitaula, an important leader of the Nepali Congress and the spokesman of the seven-party alliance, "We will work together with the Maoists." They had tried to do all of these in the past and had several rounds of talks with the Maoists, drawing a blank on each occasion. They will be naïve to believe that it will be any different this time.
They can hardly afford such naivete now. <b>The Maoist insurgency began ten years ago when they, and not the present King, were in power. It grew, gradually coming to hold sway over 87 per cent of the country, while they squabbled and made a mess of governance. There is no time for indulging in such luxury now. The prolonged political turmoil has cost Nepal's economy dear and left deep scars in the psyche of the people</b>. They have to repair the damage and put the country on its feet again. For this, they will have to deal firmly with the Maoists who are now set to prolong the struggle to isolate them from the people and eventually capture power.
Even if they relent and cooperate, it will be once again a tactical move to wreck the Government from within. Mr Koirala and the leaders of the seven-party alliance will ignore this only at their and Nepal's peril. They have to crush the Maoists. For this, they have to work together among themselves and with the Army and the police. As for India, it must lend them every support. Having played a key role in bringing about the present positive turn of events in Nepal, it has a responsibility to extend every help to the present Government to restore order and curb the Maoists, who are a menace on its side of the border as well.
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