June 17, 2008
TEA PARTY BASH AT THE FORMER KING’S PALACE
On Sunday, a large gathering of Nepal’s governmental elite officially laid claim to the now vacated Narayanhiti Palace by pronouncing it a national museum. Droves of politicians of all stripes and colors, diplomats, military officials, police chiefs and journalists swarmed the former king’s home to partake in an inauguration tea party.
The extent of valuable items left behind in the palace has not yet been assessed. Before vacating the premises last week, former King Gyanendra relinquished his claim to the diamond and emerald crown, the royal scepter and golden throne. But there are presumed to be untold treasures and priceless documents stored in the palace’s underground vaults. Apparently, it’s not even known how many rooms make up the sprawling 4.1 million square ft complex. One item that will definitely be showcased in the new museum is the 1939 Mercedes-Benz given to Gyanendra’s grandfather by Adolf Hitler.
The event was laced with pomp and circumstance. Interim Prime Minister G.P. Koirala raised Nepal’s national flag. Politicos mugged next to gigantic tigers forever towering on hind legs with taxidermal snarls. An army band played the new national anthem – this on the well-manicured grounds where, in 2001, almost to the day, the then Crown Prince Dipendra allegedly slaughtered the royal family before turning the gun on himself. 
At the party, an AFP reporter asked the Maoist’s second-in-command, Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, if it felt bizarre to be strolling through the royal gardens. He answered with a half-smile, “It’s not a palace anymore. It’s a museum.”
History has iron wheels.
TRANSITION TO A NEW GOVERNMENT
Obviously, switching gears from a 239-year-old monarchy to a republic – and in many cases, switching from one political allegiance to another – entails massive changes in processes and procedures. Negotiations between the various political parties have been anything but smooth. Whoever leads the new republic must successfully address security, law and order, extreme poverty, hunger, disease, ethnic and gender discrimination, education and economic stability -- all of which created Nepal’s political upheaval in the first place. It won’t matter in the slightest to the downtrodden which group is in power, if that group can’t get beyond inter-party rivalry and lead Nepal away from the unremitting quicksand of corruption and power-mongering that has plagued this nation from the beginning.
Dr. Bhattarai
From the Maoist point of view, in the past week, Dr. Bhattarai has made several pointed statements meant to ward off the specter of the ex-king. On June 11, he told reporters the king must stay out of politics. “We don’t want him to be used as a weapon for counter-revolutionary forces in this transitional and sensitive period.”
On June 12, Dr. Bhattarai told Press Trust of India there would be an investigation of the 2001 palace massacre, the many unanswered questions of which have hung over the nation like a black cloud. Many people still contend Gyanendra and his son Paras were responsible for the murder of the king and queen and immediate family. Said Bhattarai, "The former king said…that he had no role in the massacre and if it was true, the probe commission will help him clear the accusation." The Maoist leader also promised there would be an investigation whether the deposed king had any foreign bank accounts.
The political advantage of party-induced probes – as American history has repeatedly proven – is that regardless of guilt or innocence, the person under investigation inevitably comes under scrutiny for other things: Auxiliary dirty laundry unearthed and breathlessly aired by the media.
If Gyanendra has future political ambitions, his path will be checkmated by Maoist leaders like Dr. Bhattarai who, by the way, is a superb chess player.
Prachanda
Although Maoist leader Prachanda was noticeably absent from the palace tea party, he has kept himself busy. The ex-rebel, wanted dead or alive during Gyanendra’s rule, received the Dr. Dilli Raman Regmi National Peace Award, to be shared with Nobel peace laureate and former US president Jimmy Carter.
A press statement issued by the Dr Dilli Raman Regmi Foundation said the board had decided to honor Prachanda because of his ''unwavering contribution to establishing a democratic federal republic in Nepal, implementing the constituent assembly agenda and restoring lasting peace''.
Prachanda recently compared himself to the ancient Indian emperor Ashoka, once a bloodthirsty king who became a pacifist after witnessing the deaths and suffering in the wake of a mighty battle.
This week Prachanda also voiced his keen desire to visit China at the earliest date to visit Beijing, and Mao Zedong’s birthplace, “to get some more inspiration by seeing and feeling.” This comes from a June 13 interview with “China Daily” in which he also said his government would maintain equidistance between China and India, while seeking rapprochement with Washington. Ideology, he assured the reporter, would “not be a barrier. We are eager to have diplomatic relations with countries which do not share our ideology.”
But closer to home, the Maoists first have to deal with their rival political parties in Nepal: Nepali Congress and the UML.
Nepali Congress Party
Current Prime Minister 84-year-old Girija Prasad Koirala of Nepali Congress has repeatedly refused to step down and make way for a new government that would be inevitably be led by the Maoists. Koirala is currently serving as both head of government and head of state. Since he controls the bureaucracy, the army and the police, there is no one to force him to resign.
Koirala tried approaching Prachanda this week to at least support his nomination as the presidential candidate – which is being interpreted as primarily a ceremonial position. But Prachanda rejected the offer. The stalemate has resulted in the resignation of all five Maoist ministers from the interim government, a move calculated to force Koirala to step down.
The Army
This may be the biggest hurdle in forming Nepal’s new government. The top three Nepal’s parties are still divided on the question of integration between the Nepal Army and the Maoist combatants, mortal enemies just two years ago.
Both Nepali Congress and the third most powerful political party, the Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) are adamantly against the en masse merger of the combatants.
The former rebels, the People's Liberation Army (PLA), number around 20,000, while the Young Communist League (YCL) is said to have half a million members scattered over the country. Former militias were renamed as YCL shortly after the Maoists entered a peace accord with the government in November 2006. PLA members are sheltered in government-run cantonments, which are being supervised by a United Nations field mission, but the YCL run free.
The Maoists now want these combatants to be integrated with the national army, as per the provisions of the peace accord and interim constitution. Leaders of other major parties, however, contend that the Maoist leadership must not be allowed to lead any kind of government as long as the PLA remains intact. 
Sensing that existing confusion and uncertainty could create bigger national challenges, General Rookmangud Katawal, the Nepal army chief swiftly moved to the forefront this week with a public pledge that the army will remain a key promoter and defender of democracy. "The army will remain as the ground on which nascent democracy can take roots and flourish in the days ahead…”
While he offered to promote and defend democracy in these transitional times, Katawal also warned, "... we strongly believe that in the name of democratization the army's purity, sanctity and integrity should not be compromised."
Analysts attach considerable significance to the timing of Katawal's statement. First, it came immediately after the ouster of the king, who was traditionally the supreme commander-in-chief; second, the views have been aired ahead of the election of a new head of state, who also has to perform the duties of the supreme commander.
The main consideration is that a politically indoctrinated group like the PLA cannot be allowed, en masse, to join an army designed for professional soldiering. This is where the army chief 's observations look relevant. There is also the question of hierarchy within in the army. How can army generals, who have come up through the ranks after decades of service be expected to sit back and watch “jungle rebel commandos”, with “no professional training” be granted positions on a par with their own?
Madeshi Bombing
The other front that must still be resolved before a new government can run smoothly is the lawlessness that prevails in the southern part of Nepal along the Indian border.
On June 15, the same day as the jubilant palace tea party, two persons, including an Indian, were killed and 18 others injured in a roadside bomb blast. 12 of the wounded, including four children, are said to be in critical condition.
The explosion occurred at a crowded bus stop in Rautahat district. The blast was caused by a time bomb hidden in a sack of wheat, according to authorities. The town of Nizgardh broke into panic, shops were sealed tight and the roads became deserted.
A fringe separatist group calling itself “Terai Army” claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Until and unless these ongoing acts of terrorism in southern Nepal -- the most populous region in the country -- can be resolved, the politicos in the Kathmandu Valley are going to find themselves doomed to wander through dilemma after dilemma like cattle without homes.
Wandering ex-royal cows
According to “The Hindu”, the question of palace possessions is still not completely resolved. 
Gyanendra's 60 cows still graze in the sprawling grounds of the Narayanhiti palace in the heart of Kathmandu. He used the cows for fresh milk but authorities say the animals, considered holy by Hindus, must also leave.
"We can't keep them there and no decision has yet been taken about what to do with them," said Govinda Prasad Kusum, a senior bureaucrat in charge of preparing an inventory of palace contents.
"Maybe the livestock department under the ministry of agriculture should use these cows for research purposes," he said. Nepal, a mostly Hindu nation, forbids slaughtering cows.
...................................................................