A study in contrasts

Anirudha Das GUPTA

GUERILLAS: In Nepal Maoists have laid down their arms for peace, while in Lanka the obstinacy of the LTTE has brought war.

Recent events in Nepal and Sri Lanka show contrasting developments. Both countries suffered from the effects of internal civil war. In Sri Lanka, the Tamil guerrillas - the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) resorted to armed warfare in 1980s against the Sri Lanka army.

The war despoiled vast areas of settled population in the island's north and north-eastern provinces, and took a toll of roughly 70,000 lives belonging to all communities - Singhalese, Tamils, and Muslims.

Now, after a brief pause of hostilities and breakdown of the Oslo negotiated talks, another round of gun-fighting has killed over a 100 and rendered a large number homeless. The stream of Tamil refugees continues to swell the sea beaches of Tamil Nadu.

In Nepal on the other hand, things have moved in the opposite direction. A head on clash between the callous regime of King Gnyanendra and a mass uprising led by democratic parties in alliance with the Maoist groups in May this year, was avoided when the king surrendered his executive powers to the reconvened parliament.

The reassembled parliament acted swiftly. After electing G.P. Koirala, the Nepali Congress leader and five times prime minister, and an interim council of ministers belonging to seven democratic parties, the new government moved swiftly.

It deprived the king of his parliamentary privileges, his position as Commander of the army and abolished legal immunities of his own and those of his family. In a breathtaking move, the interim parliament declared Nepal a secular country - thus denying any sacerdotal origin of royal authority.

Although this created some doubt and opposition, the move was greeted with overwhelming enthusiasm from various sections of the Nepalese people.

The Maoist party, which joined the democracy movement and fully endorsed parliament's programme, also came forward to lend support to the next round of reforms as announced by the democratic parties - ie, drafting a new constitution and holding new elections.

The issue on which the Maoists differed from the parliamentary parties was their demand for a merger of Maoist cadres with the regular army.

The issue is contentious, but a possible agreement or solution may eventually emerge.

Yet, the events so far present a unique picture of a successful armed struggle voluntarily suspending its use of arms for democratic ends. In the course it has also abandoned its rigid stand on a Communist type one-party system in favour of a parliamentary multi-party system.

The fact that this change was not the result of a tactical move was demonstrated when the Maoists voluntarily came forward to join efforts for constitution-making and preparation for the coming elections.

For the seven-party alliance this came as a big boost. It greatly extended its democracy appeal as well as gave Nepal an opportunity to elect representatives from different sections of people irrespective of caste, tribe and community.

In some ways, this may help Nepalese to steal a march over Indian democracy, where considerations of caste, quota and religion still hold sway over the minds of the electorate.

In the long run, these considerations may come to play some role in future elections, yet right now we should not begrudge the honour that is due to the Nepalese.

In this context, the contrast between Nepal and Sri Lanka becomes clearer. Whereas in the former, a people's war has forged broad-based unity among all participating groups, the political base of LTTE even among the minority Tamils has visibly narrowed. More of its old cadres has become disillusioned and called for a cessation of hostilities.

Some have defected and gone over to join Com. Karuna's breakaway group. The frustration among the LTTE's top ranking leadership is also pronounced. One clear indication of this was their ridiculous demand that the breakaway group of Com. Karuna be disbanded before any talks could between them and Norway sponsored negotiators be resumed.

This demand was laughable. For whoever has heard of an adversary to intervene and cleanse the opponents' stable so that the latter could fight more efficiently? In ordinary times, such a role would have raised a storm of protest from the LTTE.

Very wisely Colombo kept aloof - an act that again would have raised the gall of the LTTE leaders. Yet, underneath the Tigers simmered with frustration.

As a result, they switched over to open warfare. The current fighting in Muttur, a river head, is but a reflection of the LTTE's growing desperation though in the process, a few thousand have been killed and a larger number rendered homeless.

In this latest massacre as well as many times before, the LTTE has deliberately attacked Tamil Muslims so that they may be provoked to turn against the Singhalese. Luckily this has not happened. The Muslims have stayed neutral as before.

But this has not discouraged the Tigers from resorting to every nefarious tactic and spread terror in every quarter. The mind of their supreme leader, Prabhakaran, can be compared closer to any Fascist leader who raises his fist to declare, "I am the leader, the one ideology and one party". He would not brook any dissent from within his own ranks nor of course opposition from outside.

(The writer is a former Professor of International Politics, JNU, New Delhi).

(Courtesy: Deccan Herald)