Good news (for people who love bad news)

Just when it seemed the peace talks had derailed, today groundbreaking progress was made. Not only had the Maoists and the government (most notably, GPK) reached an agreement of monitoring arms, the draft of the interim constitution was also presented to the dialogue committee. I am sure, being Nepal, there will be some more haggling before the constitution is ratified, but these developments are nevertheless extremely significant.













There is still something that worries me. I don’t believe the Maoists are popular anywhere in Nepal, even in the rural western regions. I think they will be thoroughly defeated in the constituent assembly elections (unless, of course, if all political parties who have so far adopted the Maoist’s ideological stance, i.e. addressing issues of ethnic nationalities and republicanism, decide they want something more akin to the 1990 constitution). However, allowing them to keep their arms under UN supervision is “a set of camps” will still make the option of going back to the jungle available for them. With this threat looming, the people of Nepal may feel threatened to vote for the Maoists. If the Maoists go around telling people that they would return back with their arms if they lost the elections, heck, even I would vote for them.

I am glad that a consensus was reached, and probably asking the Maoists for more wouldn’t be wise (why would they disarm if disarming means giving away all their bargaining power?). The job now is to make sure that the elections are conducted in the fairest manner, including the even use of media outlets, assemblies, and of course, a total absence of intimidation.