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| Nepal, Kashmir not so similar | | |
When Maoists romanticized with the mainstream politics and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Parchanda, looked towards assuming power in Nepal, the Kashmir expert columnists and experts suggested the Kashmiri separatists to take a cue from the Himalayan country. Even though such suggestions were strongly rubbished in the Valley but the experiment has bitterly failed in Nepal. The simple reason lies in the fact that the children of rebellion never quite outgrow their love of brinkmanship. But that makes them eminently unsuitable for public office. The exit of Pushpa Kamal Dahal as Nepal’s prime minister should surprise few in the Himalayan kingdom and elsewhere, least of all Dahal himself. For quite some time now, he had been pushing for the endgame. In fact, the end of his brief term was predictable at the time he began it. His fall was scripted in his rise, with which the gun had more to do than the people’s will. He rose through a deeply unsettling period in the country’s history when the people seemed undecided whether the monarch was a worse enemy of the State than the Maoists. With the monarchy gone, the Maoists’ will and capacity for working within a democratic system were up on a trial. Dahal failed that test almost from the time he assumed office after his party emerged as the largest political group in a rather abnormal election. He had two basic tasks in carrying forward the peace process. He had to create a political consensus in order to form a constituent assembly that would write a new constitution for Nepal. And he had to disband the People’s Liberation Army and merge it with the Nepal Army in accordance with the guidelines set by the peace brokers appointed by the United Nations. He not only failed on both counts but also deepened suspicions about his plans for the PLA’s merger with the regular Nepal Army. His actions alienated not just the Nepal Army but other political groups in his cabinet as well. Now, Dahal faces a more crucial test. He has to unequivocally prove that his resignation does not reflect his inability to accept multi-party democracy. He has failed to win the trust of allies in his coalition such as the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) and the Nepali Congress. But he cannot afford to give the impression that his party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), is incapable of working in a democratic system. Returning to guerrilla warfare is no longer an option for him. Nor can he afford to do anything that will kill the peace process in Nepal. Having served as prime minister, he should know that the international community has a stake in seeing Nepal’s peace process run its full course. Despite the Maoists’ bloody insurgency, the people of Nepal gave them a chance to heal the wounds. Mr Dahal must not let Nepal down.
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