Start with Apology

By Jeevan Baniya


An apology might be taken as an act or weakness of a coward person. But it also demands a lot of courage and sincerity; thus very few can apologize.

I happened to read this news piece, which is often not good news anymore and is rather lightly understood in Nepal. The congress party lawmaker, Gagan Thapa realized his carelessness and publicly apologized for not providing information of his personal properties within the deadline to the office of constitutional committee. He further expressed his commitment to publicize each and every part of his life so that people will be able to read as an open book. We have rarely seen confessions and apologies from political leaders for their wrongdoings. Gagan Thapa’s prompt response from him on the allegation against him is very significant in the context of the political deadlock the country has experienced at the moment. I should come to this point later.

The problem that started from the Maoists’ decision to sack then chief of the Nepal army, Roomangud Katawal without making broad consensus in the cabinet they led. There remain no doubts that their one-sided decision was ill-intended even though it was a constitutional decision (so far I understand from the interim constitution of Nepal). The Maoist intention behind the hasty decision can be well understood from party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s Saktikhor videotape.

Subsequently, the president made the unconstitutional move after he was motivated by the leaders of other political parties, although, we can not be sure whether the president was very much concerned about the legality of his decision to reinstate the sacked army chief in the middle of the night. The move has been interpreted by many legal pundits in many different ways; and the Supreme Court of Nepal remains almost dead to address this issue--thus nothing can be expected from it. This led to the resignation of the then Prime Minister Dahal and Maoists demand for ‘civilian supremacy’. Now they have even launched second-phase protest programmes for ‘restoring civilian supremacy’, which has generated huge frustration among the citizens in Nepal.

To further anger the Maoists and complicate the peace process, defense minister Bidhya Bhandari in recent days has been making irresponsible statements regarding the need for review on the peace accord and possible deployment of Nepal army to crush the Maoist protest. For Prime Minister Nepal and UML leadership, her statements remain to be her personal as if she is outside of the government and the party. Similarly, the Maoists’ commitment to counter the possible suppression and their thuggery seen in the different parts of the country in recent days -- all point to more chaotic situation in the coming up days.

Despite the fact that attempts made to address the Maoists’ demand in the past by the leaders of major political parties, the political developments demand a broad consensus at the earliest; otherwise the country is very likely to plunge deep into conflict.

It is very clear that the stigma of the quest for power on the part of some leaders has created an unfavourable environment in the country. For me, the expectation of resolving of the problem through any decision of the present coalition government is just a wishful thinking. The keys to unlock the present deadlock are in the hands of main leaders of major political parties and the President.

Much ink has been spilled to stipulate the growing need for pragmatic thinking among leaders for taking decisions to drive the country to the right direction, but unfortunately, such possibility is withering away. If they look at the commitments they made to people, leaders must forge a consensus. But, who cares?
Let me now get back to Gagan Thapa’s apology episode. One sees a way to resolving the present political crisis based on this episode. In my eyes, Thapa can be a great lesson and the point of departure to resolve the present deadlock. How?

Yes, the answer is very straight forward. Apologize!!

First, Prachanda should apologize for his ill-intended decision to sack the then army chief. Then, President Yadav should apologize for his unconstitutional move. And, minister Bhandari must apologize for her attempts to further complicate the peace process. The first two apologies can be very crucial in the meantime. Yet, it demands bold courage like that from Gagan Thapa. The history will appreciate your apology and the people of Nepal will solute your act.

Please do it for the country desperately needs it from you at this critical juncture. You can do it for the good of Nepali people and the country.

(Baniya is a PhD candidate at the University of Oslo, Norway. He can be reached at: baniyajeevan@hotmail.com

This article was originally published in online news portal of nepal: www.nepalnews.com