Major English and Nepali newspapers published from Kathmandu on Thursday have given prominence to various dimensions of contemporary political situation in their opinion pages. Besides issues related to upcoming provincial and federal parliamentary elections scheduled for November 26 and December 7, the recent arrest of Maoist leader Bal Krishna Dhungel in relation to a conflict-era case has also sparked various opinions in intellectuals and analysts. Some newspapers have also written editorials over the issue.
Dhungel’s arrest and leftist commitment to justice
Hari Adhikari in his lead article for Nagarik commends Nepal Police for arresting murder convict Dhungel even after years of court order. Adhikari in the article criticises the CPN-Maoist Centre, which is now on the way to merger with CPN-UML with a hope to make a larger communist party, for the party issued a statement objecting to the arrest and demanded his release.
According to Adhikari, the murder of Ujjan Kumar Shrestha of Okhaldhunga district, which Dhungel is convicted of, is not a conflict-era issue and hence it does not fall under the jurisdiction of transitional justice mechanism like Truth and Reconciliation Commission as the motive behind the murder was not anything political, but just some personal revenge. Therefore there is no point in arguing that it was the court’s interference in the TRC’s jurisdiction; rather the TRC would be interfering into the court’s jurisdiction if it began probe into the case as his involvement in the murder has been proved by three courts.
Meanwhile, the writer also questions the leftist parties’ commitment to justice as they should not have presented in favour of criminals like Dhungel. He says in the run-up to key parliamentary elections, Nepali people want to be assured of human rights and justice by political leaders; and they may choose to vote against parties or people who side themselves with criminals.
Deepak Thapa also discusses implications of the arrest in his column for The Kathmandu Post. Thapa is hopeful that the arrest will bring the spotlight back to the issue of transitional justice, which was crucial, but largely ignored aspect of the peace process.
Agreeing that Shrestha’s murder not a political act, Thapa concludes, “It will take many more cases like Dhungel’s to be brought to justice before some kind of normalcy will return to the lives… Only then might they be able to learn to live alongside murderers and torturers.”
Strengthening provinces
Chandrakishore’s column in Kantipur today discusses why and how provincial governments can be and should be strengthened. He first expresses his fear that political parties and their central leaders might want to retain the strength and authority at the centre and create provincial bodies just for the sake of name. He, however, also suggests steps to be taken to ensure proper empowerment of provincial bodies, which will be the most significant step during federalisation of the country.
He views that dividing and distributing authorities and responsibilities between central and provincial governments will be a challenge, but pro-federalism forces should go ahead with facing them and only such coping will prove their success.
Chandrakishore comments that major parties have not given much priority to provinces as they are barring capable and influential leaders from running for provincial assemblies. Citing that India prioritised provincial bodies from the beginning and assigned significant leaders to take the lead, he suggests Nepali leaders also do the same. He concludes that the upcoming elections, scheduled for November 26 and December 7, and the leadership they will elect for provinces will clearly tell what visions the parties have for these state bodies.
Bhattarai vs Shrestha: Voters faced with hard choice
With the election dates coming closer, opinion makers have also begun analysing fate of some key political leaders in the elections. One of the most interesting battles in the first phase of polls will be in Gorkha-2, between Naya Shakti’s Baburam Bhattarai and Maoist Centre’s Narayan Kaji Shrestha. In this context, Ramesh Dawadi has written an article in Rajdhani today, analysing strengths and weaknesses of two leaders, concluding that it is certain one between them will win and the other will lose; but it will be very different for the voters to make the choice as both the leaders had significant contributions to national political development.
