Conference Theme: Innovation, Policy Transfer and Governance: How can they best contribute to social and human development?

Transcription

1 Network of Asia-Pacific Schools and Institutes of Public Administration and Governance (NAPSIPAG) Annual Conference: 2006 University of Sydney, Australia December 4-5th 2006 Conference Theme: Innovation, Policy Transfer and Governance: How can they best contribute to social and human development? Conflict transformation and issues of democratic innovation: The context of shaping governance system in Nepal Krishna P. Pokharel Professor of Political Science Public Administration Campus Tribhuvan University Kathmandu, Nepal.

2 1. The background: Today Nepal is in the critical phase of its historic transformation. Engulfed between ten year long peoples' war and regressive royal move of February 1, 2005, the country was in the verge of virtual collapse. But the timely formation of Seven Party Alliance (SPA) and its twelve point historical understanding, with the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) in November 2005, paved the way for the recently held historic April revolution, Popularly known as 'Janandolan part -2', it was historic in every sense of the term. In this movement there was nice fusion of the armed strength of the Maoists and the peaceful forces of the SPA. In the climax of nineteen day peaceful movement at least six million demonstrators came out on the streets at a time throughout Nepal, chanting anti monarchy slogans and demanding democracy and peace (The Kathmandu Post: April, 23, 2006). The important characteristic of this movement was that, rather than the urban aristocracy, lower middle class as well as slum dwellers of urban centers and the rural people of Nepal participated in it. The immediate consequence of this movement was the surrender of the 238year old feudal monarchical rule. The unprecedented movement compelled the ambitious king Gyanendra to confess that Nepalese people are the source of state power and the sovereign as well as executive power of the country resides in them. He even declared to abide by the roadmap of the SPA and the verdict of the people (Kathmandu Post, April, 25). It paved the way for the fulfillment of long awaited demand of the rebel for the election of constituent assembly, radical transformation of the society and establishment of peace in Nepal. Today, SPA is in power and the talk between the government and the rebel is proceeding towards right direction. The summit talk between the Prime Minister G.P. Koirala and the Maoist supremo Prachanda and between leaders of SPA and Prachanda has created an environment on the basis of which the making of interim constitution, establishment of interim legislature, formation of interim government incorporating the Maoists, arms management of both the side and even the election of constituent assembly may be held unhindered. The relation between the rebels and the government is so congenial that under such situation most thorny issue of management of arms and the army, and the resolution of ten years long conflict is not 2

3 beyond their reach. In this regard events are unfolding so fast that, the scientific prediction of today becomes the fact of tomorrow. But it does not mean that there are no constraints before in the peace process. In the domestic front the standpatters and status quoists in the SPA are the main obstacle on the way to the peaceful solution of the conflict. Particularly the stand of Nepali Congress (NC), one of the liberal components of the SPA, is quite dubious. In its eleventh party congress held on September 2005, NC changed its stand regarding the monarchy. In his Report regarding political resolution and tasks general secretary Sushil Koirala categorically emphasized that if the king does not abide by the provisions of constitutional monarchy why his party should unilaterally pursue it? In its fifty eight years of history NC, for the first time converted itself into monarchy-neutral party. But this is one side of the coin. After the completion of the revolution when its octogenarian leader G.P. Koirala became prime minister he started to harp in the favor of so-called ceremonial monarchy. Pointing to the compromising tendency of NC towards monarchy, Narahari Acharya one of the pro republican central committee members of the same party blames the anti communist lobby of the party for it (The Kathmandu Post, October 10, 2006.). Besides this, the other stumbling block before the peace process is United State's attitude towards the Maoists. Actually what Washington had prescribed during the royal takeover was anti people and unworkable. Therefore SPA did not pay heed to it and joined hands with the rebel, against the will of United States, and it clicked. It was loss of face for that country. United States looked upon Maoist through its South American experiences which did not work. So it is trying to regain what it lost by prescribing another unworkable plan of keeping the Maoists out of power. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the peculiar nature of Nepali conflict. Apart from this, the intra -societal and extra- societal constraints of the peace process will be analyzed. And finally the ongoing crucial process of brokering of peace and efforts of innovating new politico- administrative setup and governance system wills also be dealt upon. 3

4 2. The history and nature of conflict: After the peoples' movement of 1990, Nepalese politics entered into the second phase of democratic era. Comparing its previous editions the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990 was democratic and it recognized the society as multi lingual, multi ethnic and multi cultural. Still it could not offer justice to the ethnic, linguistic and cultural minorities. Policy of one language, one dress and one country, which was the guiding principle of previous autocratic regime, was still tacitly adopted. Atrocities relating to untouchability was also not checked. But the creation of liberal and open environment provided an opportunity to the hither to suppressed people to organize and ventilate their grievances before the state. Ethnic groups, indigenous people and dalits, the so-called untouchables, started to unite and on the basis of their organized force started to claim their due place in the national politics. When the mainstream political parties were engaged in their petty interest and hankering for power Communist Party of Nepal, Maoist (CPN- Maoist) raised arms and called for protracted peoples' war from February At the outset, none of the political forces took this matter seriously. They thought that since the fall of East Europe and the Soviet Union, communism has lost its glamour and it has become quite defensive. Even the mainstream communist party, Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist- Leninist), under the leadership of its ideologue Madan Bhandari had already revised its political program and adopted the path of peoples' multi party democracy (Bhandari:2005).But the rebels exploited the sentiment of the deprived and marginalized people of rural Nepal. They correctly visualized the contradiction between feudalism and rural peasantry and marginalized people. They injected the sense of pride in the poor tribals, dalits, women, and madhesi people who were for centuries under the feudal oligarchic rule and excessively marginalized. The indigenous people in the mid western mountain were living in treacherous and sub human condition. But due the lack of political consciousness they were tolerating it in the name of fate and destiny. Partly, the recruitment opportunity in foreign army for Gurkhas was playing the role of shock absorber but, when it dried up and the message of the Maoists raised their level of 4

5 political consciousness, they for the first time took arms to change their plight. Rest is history. The fifty five years of democratic struggle in Nepal is virtually the history of empowering and depriving the people of their democratic rights. The democratic forces trusted the king and tried to accommodate with him in the name of constitutional monarchy. But every time they wanted to make monarchy an honorable institution it breached the contract and imposed autocratic rule. It was the revolution of 1951 which brought back king Tribhuvan, grand father of present king, to his throne. He had promised to constitute an elected constituent assembly and promulgate a democratic constitution (Devkota, 1976: 54). But later on he slowly retreated from his promise and declared that the sovereignty of Nepal resides in him. His heir, king Mahendra out rightly rejected the idea of constituent assembly and promulgated a new constitution of his choice. But the irony of the situation is that he could not even tolerate the elected government under this constitution. This over-ambitious monarch ousted the elected government of B.P. Koirala, dissolved parliament and established an autocratic rule. The first elected government of Mr. Koirala was not allowed even to prove its worth. The thirty years of so-called democratic panchayati rule was an obscurantist experiment which dragged the country into the Dark Age. In the fag end of the third wave of democracy the democratic and left political parties launched a joint peaceful peoples' movement which succeeded to reestablish democracy in A tripartite agreement was shorted out between the king, Nepali Congress, and the Left front which brought back the derailed democracy on the track. The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990, not only established multi party democracy and constitutional monarchy but also introduced parliamentary system of governance and rule of law. This constitution for the first time made the Nepali people sovereign. Three consecutive general elections were held and even peaceful transfer of power between political parties was made as per the peoples' mandate. It seemed, as if, the rule of the political game was settled. But, as scenario unfolded, the royalty was not content with the new settlement. Similarly the radical left organized in the name of Peoples' Front, third force in the first parliament, boycotted the second general election, put forward its forty point demand before the government and when it was not heard, 5

6 declared armed struggle in February In the beginning no one took the move seriously. Added to this, couples of factors help ignite the situation. One was the visionlessness of the mainstream political parties. In stead of visualizing the gravity of situation and taking appropriate measures they quarreled for their petty interests. Not only inter party but also intra- party fighting was becoming the rule of the day. In the later part they even exploited the insurgency to side tract their political rivals. People were fed up with the behavior of their leaders. The second one was the mysterious palace massacre of June The entire family of king Birendra, even the probable contenders of the throne for prince Gyanendra was massacred. And as per the law of succession Gyanendra succeeded the throne. The new king was not like his brother. He did not even hide this. He openly expressed that he will not be like his elder brother. He said he will like to be seen as well as heard. His role model was not his brother but, his father. Hence, when he acceded to the throne he followed 'Mahendra path', an obscurantist path carved by his late father Manendra (Pokharel: 2004). Due to the Maoist insurgency the country was in deep trouble. Added to it, the ruling Nepali Congress too was divided into two hostile camps. The king did cash this situation for his ulterior motives. He encouraged the prime minister to dissolve the House of Representatives and seek fresh mandate. But the situation was not conducive for general election. Ultimately prime minister Sher Bahadur Deoba was compelled to recommend the king to postpone the election at least for one year. The king ill-interpreted the constitutional provision of article 127, dissolved the Deoba government by charging it incompetent, and took the sovereign and executive power in October 2002 in his hand. The king's step created a serious political and constitutional crisis. The democratic system established in 1990 previously came under attack from the left and now from the right. The main stream political parties were kicked back into political abeyance and old time panchayati guards were recruited. When his soft ploy did not work, the king in February 1, 2005 declared emergency, banned political activities, curbed the press, and started to rule directly forming cabinet under his own chairmanship. He claimed that who should have known what he was planning knew and those who should not simply did not (Time, April20, 2005). He was hinting to the fact that he had 6

7 informed the powers who were supposed to know about his move. His indication was towards the United States. The king tried to convince that it was done under compulsion and he will fight the Maoist 'terrorists' and restore democracy within three years. But within months his grand design was exposed every where. Every one knew that the king was trying to strengthen his autocratic rule and main stream political parties were his real target. 3. The changed chemistry of conflict: The Maoist insurgency had gained momentum during hey days of the mainstream political parties and when they were in the power. So they were the target of Maoist attack. Some critics even charged that the palace was behind the insurgents. But when king Gyanendra usurped power and kicked the mainstream parties to the streets new equation of power evolved. The real contradiction of the Maoists was with the monarchy. Now when a new sort of contradiction erupted between the political parties and the king, Maoists changed their stand and offered the parties to join hand and fight their common enemy jointly. But before considering the offer of the Maoists, the seven mainstream political parties formed an alliance and developed six point common commitments. After wards the seven party alliance (SPA) forged twelve point understanding with the Maoists in November, 22, This changed the chemistry of the conflict. This historic understanding raised the hope in the people and confidence in the cadres of SPA. International community had some misgivings regarding the intentions of the rebel. But in due course such misgivings were properly addressed by the SPA. King's ploy to conduct local election was foiled by the joint efforts of SPA and the rebels. Finally, SPA announced indefinite strike and peaceful demonstration from April 6, Various professional groups and civil society joined it. This peaceful movement was not only actively supported by the Maoists but also participated by their unarmed cadres. The nineteen day peoples' movement was historic in every sense of the term. All schools and colleges, factories and business installations, means of transport and government offices were closed. Twenty five people laid their life, more than five thousand demonstrators were injured, and more than six million people came out on the street for protest in a 7

8 single day (Kantipur, April23, 2006). King Gyanendra's miscalculations brought him at the verge of his collapse. He tried to mend fences by proposing SPA to form government on 21st April. But the move was too little too late. Finally, he succumbed before the gigantic mass uprising. On 24th April, 2006 he declared that he is ready to surrender all his political power before the SPA and they can implement their roadmap as they desire. In his declaration he accepted the fact that the source of state power is Nepali people and the sovereignty and state power resides in them. Hence, popularly known April revolution ushered in the Nepali soil. This time, not only the Maoists but also the civil society and the youths of mainstream SPA openly advocated for democratic republic. Now the entire agitating people are in the favor of republican state. What to talk of constitutional monarchy even advocacy of ceremonial monarchy has deemed to be regressive stand. The fifty five years of democratic struggle in Nepal shows that monarchy and democracy can not go together. When ever monarchy is engulfed in trouble it compromises and when it gets breathing space it conspires. The greatest destabilizing force for democracy is monarchy in this country. B.P. Koirala, the champion of constitutional monarchy, first popularly elected premier, tried in vain to convince the king that both the forces are necessary for nation-building. In 14th December 1960, one day before the ill fated December royal coup a meeting was held between the king and the premier. The king in the pretext of their divergent temperament proposed B.P. to retreat and give way to him. There B. P. Koirala put an interesting concept of nation -building before the king. He expressed that the king represented the traditional state power and he represented popular peoples' power. The process of nation-building in Nepal is so arduous and difficult that without the cooperation of either of them the goal could not be achieved (Thapa, 2005:277). Although, B.P. failed to convince the king he developed and theorized it as the policy of 'national harmony'. Therefore Nepali Congress continued to follow this concept till It was only after the royal take over of February 1, Nepali Congress, through its national convention changed this policy and pursued monarchy- neutral democracy. Another mainstream left party, the CPN (UML) by virtue of its political ideology, was republican. But after the popular movement of the 1990, it had also slowly changed its 8

9 stand and started to pursue the policy of constitutional monarchy. That means it too was ready to provide some distinct role for monarchy. But the royal takeover of February1 compelled this party to switchover to its previous notion of democratic republic. 4. The Maoist rebellion Ten years of Maoists' rebellion has changed the political geography of Nepal. Although to take arms to settle political agenda can not be justified, however, the issues they have raised cannot be overlooked. Within years they developed themselves as a national force to reckon with. Beginning with few fire arms, cadres and meager resources from remote rural areas of mid western districts of Rolpa and Rukum the armed struggle of the CPN (M) has become a national phenomenon. Regarding the question of political development Maoists have very strong view. They are in the favor of socio- economic transformation of the society and restructuring of the state. Their minimum agenda is overthrow of 238year old monarchy and establishment of democratic republic. Their governing principles are national and regional autonomy for all oppressed nationalities, Madhesis, and oppressed regions with the right of self determination (Negotiating agenda: 2003). The Maoists are of the view that issues like national security, foreign policy, international trade, fiscal and monetary matters, big industries and macro level hydro power should be tackled by the central government and rest should be handed over to the elected regional authorities (Tamang: 2063) The interesting fact is that they have practiced this concept of regional autonomy in their so called liberated areas. For this, they have proposed to divide the country into nine regions. They are in the favor of building the nation from within. They advocate the gender, linguistic and other rights of the people (ICG report: 2005). 5. Contribution of April Uprising: The epoch making April uprising has turned the table in the favor of common people. The peoples' movement of 1990 had simply pressurized the king to forge a compromise with the agitating political parties, but this revolution compelled the king to surrender. Now the fate of monarchy is at the mercy of people's vote. In the in coming election for constituent assembly if the people of Nepal will vote for republic, monarchy will be wiped out from the political map of Nepal. 9

10 Although, some domestic and international political forces are in the favour of ceremonial monarchy, the peoples' mood is against it. As we know, the political culture is not what is happening in the world of politics but what the people think about these happenings (Pokharel: 2005). People were not reconciled with the findings of Upadhyay Commission regarding the ghastly palace massacre. Therefore they were hesitant to accept the legitimacy of king Gyanendra's power to rule. But mesmerized by the stagemanaged peoples gathering during his well televised regional tours and the ill advice of his court advisors the king staged a coup. It simply made the common people more suspicious. Therefore, when SPA and Maoists entered into twelve point understanding and called for peaceful peoples' movement the people responded immediately. They took out demonstrations spontaneously questioning the legitimacy of Gyanendra's right to rule. 6. The challenges: Obviously things are not as simple as they look. Basically the peace process is facing challenge from within and from without. At the domestic front the mind set of some of the parties within the SPA is the greatest stumbling block. Nepali Congress, the liberal component and one of the major forces in the SPA is hesitant to come out of the hangover of ceremonial monarchy. Dominant partners in the SPA alliance are communists and the rebels to be dealt with are also fire brand communists. It thinks that if it will go for republic it will not only be surrounded by them but will also be marginalized. So it finds solace in the shadow of kingship and thinks it to be a natural ally. The second but equally vital issue is that of arms management of the Maoists. In the third summit between SPA and the Maoists, this issue is at the fore front of all the agendas and consuming major time in the peace talk. In previous peace talks Maoists used to counter it with their proposal of restructuring and democratizing of Nepalese army. It used to make some of the partners in the SPA even more suspicious. But this time the rebel supremo Prachanda proposed that if SPA will agree for democratic republic they will also be ready to keep their arms in the lockup under the UN supervision. Right now both sides have agreed to settle the issue of arms management in a unique way. Maoists have accepted to keep their army in the camp and arms in lock up 10

11 with a single lock with the key to be retained by them. This will be monitored by the UN with the help of devices including siren. Same proportion of the Nepali Army will be kept under similar manner under UN surveillance (The Kathmandu Post November, 10). The Maoists have agreed upon this formula because the SPA conceded to decide about the fate of monarchy by the first meeting of the CA by simple majority. This is the major concession on the part of the rebels, but the daunting task before the government is its implementation. Third hindrance on the way to the resolution of conflict is the reactive nature of the SPA. The day first from its formation SPA has never been a proactive force. It has always worked under pressure. Even its decisive nineteen day long movement was launched under the pressure of the Maoists. This lethargic symptom is still it its blood and is stealing the precious time of the peace process. And the pro republican critical mass smells ulterior motive and the foul play of some external players. There are some major extra -societal hindrances too. Nepal is in between two Asian giants China and India. This strategic location creates lots of challenges and opportunities. The domestic actors must keep in mind the sensitivities of its next door neighbors and other major stake holders. In the context of the resolution of present conflict some of the global powers can create real trouble if not tackled properly. Northern neighbor China has limited stakes in Nepal. She is ready to reconcile with any force in Nepal provided they don't allow sanctuaries for free Tibet movement here. China even had no grudge with the royal takeover because the king's government had catered her interests properly. So far India is concerned, historically her list of stakes might be high, but at present she is in the favor of peaceful resolution of Maoist insurgency. She has nothing to do with whosoever comes in power provided her sensitivities are not hurt. India is even tolerant of Maoists joining the government. For India, it will help to resolve her Naxal problem. The other reason behind India's positive attitude is that it is claiming the permanent seat in the UN Security Council, so she wants to be more accommodative with her neighbors. It will help to muster support from the subcontinent and will send positive feelers to the world community. The answer to the puzzle that why India did not accept UN's role in Sri Lankan peace process and why did she permeate UN to play a role in Nepal's peace process can be found in this changed context. 11

12 Right now, due to the support of the left parties the government of Mr. Man Mohan Singh is in power and Indian left parties are in the favor of change in Nepal. Obviously, to keep them in good humor, the present ruling elites of South Block are so accommodative. Finally, not only India but also Europeans are not hesitant to see the leftist parties sharing power in Nepal. For, they have their own experiences of taming the political left and sharing power with them. The real hindrance before the forces of change in Nepal is American psyche. Actually, United States is looking towards the Nepalese case through the cold war perspective. For her sharing power with the communists is beyond imagination. Therefore, from the very beginning she was against the forging of understanding by SPA with the Maoists, and after the success of the Jana andolan-ii she is harping to keep the Maoists out of power and pleading for ceremonial monarchy. American ambassador James F. Moriarty even threatened to halt American assistance if the SPA brings Maoists in the power without demobilizing their army. But so far as the case of siding with the ceremonial monarchy is concerned she has explained that although she is in its favor she will honor the decision of the Nepalese people. United States is by birth a republican state but why she finds natural ally in Nepalese monarchy is a big puzzle for the Nepalese people. In order to tackle the intra as well as extra-societal challenges internal forces engaged in conflict transformation must evolve an autonomous roadmap of their own taking into the just sensitivities of all the stakeholders. If they falter in doing so the whole peace process might be derailed. In the age of globalization to think that external forces will not try to influence the process will be quite naïve. The more the internal forces will be indecisive the more external pressure they will have to face. Therefore the domestic stakeholders should be cautious while brokering the deal and even be more cautious to filter and manipulate the external influences. All of us know that after the peace deal the peace- building and recovery effort will be also more challenging. Huge international economic assistance will be needed to meet it. It is Nepal to decide on what conditions the foreign assistance should be taken. In this regard she can take help from the regional organizations like South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation (SAARC) whose member she is. 12

13 7. Governance system to come: The level of confidence between the SPA and CPN (M) is so high that the summit talk started to take place at Baluatar, the official residence of the prime minister and instead of dialogue team the top leaders of both sides started to take part in it. Even the hot line contact between Prime Minister Koirala and Maoist supremo Prachanda is a regular phenomenon. This shows the unique nature of Nepalese process of conflict transformation. Since 238 years this country has been ruled by monarchy. Even the democratic revolution of 1951 ended in compromise. But this country has been betrayed repeatedly by the kings. Experience teaches that simply the change of political setup will not suffice. This country needs the over hauling of the entire socio-economic structure including the restructuring of Nepali army. For this the end of feudal tie is must. Therefore Maoists are demanding the overthrow of monarchy and institutionalization of republic. The interesting phenomenon is that even the Maoists have pledged that they will abandon one party culture and pursue the values of competitive multiparty democracy, civil and fundamental rights, human rights and the rule of law (12point agreement, November, 22, 2005). This is not their gimmick, because in their party literature while explaining about democracy in the 21st century Chairman Prachanda professes that it will be a competitive multiparty democracy (Maharjan etal,2006:186). Right now the government of SPA and Maoists are indulged in serious negotiations. The issues they are considering consist of restructuring of the state, inclusive democracy, and electoral process to be adopted. The highly centralized character of the state has marginalized most of the ethnic groups, women, dalits and the madhesis. If one goes through the 12point historic understanding between SPA and the Maoists the governance issues to be settled by the present peace process are: -to decide whether the state would be federal or unitary, -if it will be federal how much autonomy will be granted to the federating units? -whether it will be monarchical system or democratic republic, -proportional representation system will be adopted or not, -how inclusive democracy will be incorporated? 13

14 -what will be the modality of restructuring of the army?. On November 9, 2006 SPA and CPN (Maoist) jointly made some far reaching decisions, which have been later endorsed by the government of the SPA. The important features of this decision are: -Establishment of democratic governance based on multi party political competition, civil liberty, human rights, unhindered press freedom and rule of law. -Free and fair election of Constituent Assembly (CA) in fearless environment within mid- June, Election of members of the CA will be held on mixed proportional system. -The issue of whether or not to retain monarchy would be decided by the first meeting of Constituent Assembly (CA) by a simple majority. Till then the king would have no state power. -Declaration of Interim Constitution, formation of Interim Legislature and Interim Cabinet by including the Maoists. -The present centralized and unitary structure of the state would be dismantled and would be restructured so as to make it inclusive, democratic and progressive (The Kathmandu Post: November 10, 2006). While making an understanding the SPA, CPN (Maoist) and the government have evolved a tight and compact time table for the settlement of issues relating to the conflict. Though it looks ambitious the actors are bound to abide by it. As per the schedule the government and the Maoists signed a comprehensive peace accord on November 21, 2006, which formally ended the eleven year long conflict and bloodletting (The Kathmandu Post, November, 22). The real challenge before SPA and Maoists are to implement the agreement they reached at. The issues yet to be settled are abolition of feudalism and adoption of democratic republic on the one hand and establishment of federalism on the other. The abolition of feudalism means politically- the end of monarchy; militarilydemocratization of Nepali Army; and economically- end of feudal land relation, implementation of revolutionary land reform and building economy based on social justice. Through the declaration of the House of Representatives and mutual agreement between the SPA and the Maoists it has been decided that the king would have no more 14

15 state power during the interim period and the fate of Monarchy will be finalized by the first meeting of the CA through simple majority. In this regard, the critical mass considers this formula as double edged sword. If we gauge the mood of the people and the voice they raised during the historic movement the incoming CA will be, no doubt, filled by pro-republican representatives. Therefore it will, within hours vote for republic. But the situation is not so clear. The reason behind this doubt is that, Nepali Congress and Nepali Congress (Democratic) the two liberal partners of the SPA have not yet formally opened their card. When Prime Minister Koirala time and again prompts to provide space to the king and talks about ceremonial monarchy, it creates suspicion. Similar is the case of federalism. SPA- Maoist agreement of November 9 specifies that,' the present central and unitary structure o the state would be dismantled and the state would be restructured so as to make it inclusive, democratic and progressive in order to put to an end the class based, racial, linguistic,gender based cultural and regional discrimination'(the Kathmandu Post:November,10). Participants in the dialogue process confess that in order to avoid using the term 'federalism' the above paragraph was added. It means not all partners of SPA are in the favour of federal structure. This difference of opinion will definitely emerge during the drafting of the constitution. 8. Conclusion: Despite some discrepancies and dissensions in the view points of some domestic actors this country is searching a new method of conflict management and trying to resolve its home grown problem through its home grown solutions. If it succeeds, it will set up a new and novel example for the countries still in conflict. It is sure Nepal will not be the same what it was before the conflict started. If the message of the recently held April uprising is correctly translated into people's vote then no force in the world can check her from becoming a democratic republic. Similarly, this country will be a federal state with consotiational system of governance. The federating units will enjoy maximum autonomy and the concerted efforts of the major political parties will lead the country towards democracy, peace and prosperity. 15

16 References: Bhandari, Madan(2005) Janata ko bahudalia janabad( Peoples multi party democracy) CPN(UML), Kathmandu. Devkota, Grishma Bahadur(1976) Nepal ko rajnitik darpan( Nepal's political mirror), Kathmandu. International Crisis Group Report(2005)Nepal's Maoists:Their Aims, Structure and Strategy.Asia Report No.104. Kantipur,April 23,2006.Nepal. Koirala,Sushil(2062B.S.) Rajanitik Prastab tatha Karyadisha yebam mahamantri ko pratibedan(report of Secretary General Political Proposal and Tasks) Nepali Congress, Nepal. Maharjan, Rajendra, Subedi, Jhalak and Gautam,Puskar(edi,2063A.D.),Aamul parivarran ko khaka(roadmap of Total Change),Nav. Yug Prakashan, Nepal. Pokharel, Krishna(2004) Tin Shakti tin tira( Three power at Three Direction),An article published in NEPAL,a weekly magazine of Kantipur Publication, Kathmandu. Pokharel, Krishna (2005),Modern Political Analysis and Political Research, M.K. Publishers, Nepal. Tamang, Sitaram(Edi,2062B.S.),Nepal ko sandrbha ma rajyako punha samrachana( Restructuring State in the Context of Nepal) Samana Prakashan, Nepal. Thapa, Surya(2062A.D.),Nepalma rajatantra ra dalharu bichko sangharsha(conflict Between Monarchy and Political Parties in Nepal),Nava Yug Prakashan, Nepal. 16

17 Time, April20,2005.United States. The Kathmandu Post, April, 23, 25 and October, 10,November 10,22, 2006.Nepal. Twelve Point Agreement between SPA and CPN (Maoist). SPA-CPN (M) Agreement of November, 9. Comprehensive Peace Agreement between Government of Nepal and CPN (M), November,