Opinion - Interviews

Prachanda for stronger relations with India on the basis of new realities

Nepali Maoist leader Prachanda said on Sunday that the Maoists and the new government he would be leading wanted to strengthen relations with India on the basis of the new realities in Nepal. India and China were fast-growing economies in the neighbourhood and it was important to have good relations with both if Nepal were to progress, he said in an interview with The Hindu. Given the strong cultural and historical ties, relations with India were particularly important for Nepal.

Prachanda is the nom de guerre of Pushpa Kamal Dahal, chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).

Asked to clarify his party’s demand for the scrapping of the India-Nepal treaty, he said the Maoists’ perception had been altered by a change in India’s position on the developments in Nepal. New Delhi had earlier advocated the twin pillar policy of a constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy but had changed its position and said that the new constitutional order should be according to the wishes of the Nepali people.

The India-Nepal treaty itself dated back to the time of the Ranas but now the monarchy had been overthrown and the people’s wishes have been made clear. The treaty was in need of review in the light of the new realities and the emerging order at the conclusion of the peace process that was still under way, he said. To a question whether the Maoists had identified any specific provision of the treaty that was in need of review, he said they had not done that. That could be done only after a review of the treaty by both the sides. At the moment, all they were saying was that it needed a review in the context of the new realities in Nepal.

Mr. Prachanda said he wanted to change the image of the Maoists among the middle classes in Nepal and among the international community. There was some scepticism about the Maoists’ intentions, given their background as insurgents against the monarchy and it was thought that they would be autocratic when they assumed power. Initially there were doubts whether they would participate in the democratic process of elections as it was assumed their strength lay only in the power of arms. However, the Maoists participated in the elections and proved the critics wrong.

Again, during the elections, they were predicted to emerge a distant third behind the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) and few gave credence to his claim that they would emerge as the largest party. But the Maoists knew the situation on the ground and were able to win the hearts and minds of the people.

Now that the Maoists had emerged as the largest party and were set to lead the government, there was still some concern that they would turn autocratic. Mr. Prachanda said they would again prove the critics wrong by demonstrating their commitment to multi-party democracy and democratic rights and freedoms.

Asked about their approach to the Nepali press that had been functioning under a culture of fear and self-censorship following a series of attacks on journalists by the Maoists and other groups that remained uninvestigated, he said the Maoists were committed to press freedom and democratic rights. They would strengthen the provisions on press freedom and ensure that journalists were offered security and full protection.

As for attacks on the press by Maoists, he said the incidents were “wartime hangovers” that happened at the local level and not at the direction of the central leadership. In the case of a radio journalist, Dekendra Raj Thapa, who was reportedly killed by Maoists four years ago and whose body was found ten days ago, the district committee concerned had offered all help and cooperation to the authorities to investigate the case and punish the offenders. The press had played a valuable role in building public opinion against the monarchy and the feudal order and they would always respect press freedom.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu