By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS
Kathmandu : Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon’s arrival in Nepal Saturday on a two-day visit to meet top political leaders is an indication of the mounting global pressure on the country to hold its crucial election as per schedule despite threats by Maoist guerrillas, who have been opposing polls since 1996, to start a new revolt.
Menon will meet Nepali Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, Foreign Minister Sahana Pradhan, Speaker Subhash Nembang and leaders of top political parties, including Maoist supremo Prachanda, and chief of the opposition Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Pashupati Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana.
The Indian official’s departure Sunday will be followed by the arrival of British International Development Minister Shahid Malik Monday.
Malik is coming on a four-day visit to express his government’s support for the constituent assembly election Nov 22 at a time the Maoists and two armed groups of former Maoists have threatened to disrupt the polls and unknown perpetrators set off serial blasts in the capital.
From pledging assistance for the first-ever election that will see Nepal vote to keep or abolish its 238-year-old royalty, the international community is now also concerned about the growing threats by the Maoists to quit the government and stage disruptive protests from Tuesday.
If the rebels carry out their threats, it is likely to jeopardise the critical polls for which, ironically, the rebels say they fought their 10-year “People’s War”.
The rebels, fearing failure at the election, are now demanding that the government axe monarchy by making a proclamation in parliament instead of leaving the decision to voters.
Nepal’s new constitution has the provision to abolish the crown if two-thirds of the MPs agree to do so. The Maoists, who were instrumental in adding the provision, are demanding that the government now use it on the ground that King Gyanendra is trying to sabotage the election.
On Friday, thousands of Maoist soldiers from their People’s Liberation Army came out of their barracks in violation of an arms accord signed with the government and marched in protest, demanding that the king be removed before the election.
The UN, which is overseeing the rebel camps as part of the peace deal, called the move a serious violation of the accord.
“Implementing the commitments in relation to the management of arms and armed personnel is essential to the overall peace process and in particular to preparing a free and fair atmosphere for the election,” the UN Mission in Nepal said.
It also said that it had expressed its concerns to the Maoist leadership who said they had ordered the marching guerrillas to return to their camps immediately.
A sister concern of the rebels, the Tamang National Liberation Front Nepal, Friday warned it would call an indefinite shutdown in nine districts surrounding Kathmandu valley if the government failed to remove the king before the election.
In view of the emerging threats, several foreign envoys have met Koirala to discuss the situation.
This week, the Indian Ambassador to Nepal Shiv Shankar Mukherjee met Koirala. The US Ambassador Nancy C. Powell and Norwegian envoy Tore Toreng followed suit. The South Korean and Japanese ambassadors have also met the PM and urged him to hold the election on time.
The diplomatic pressure reportedly caused the Maoists to postpone a conference where they had threatened to decide the strategy for doing away with monarchy.
Nepal’s growing anti-India lobby, that now has support from both royalists and Maoists, is singling out Mukherjee and Menon for acid criticism, accusing them of furthering “Indian interference” in Nepal’s internal matters.
The fresh anti-India propaganda comes even as New Delhi signed an agreement with visiting Nepali finance minister Ram Sharan Mahat Friday, giving Nepal a development loan worth $100 million.
The loan, pledged by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during Koirala’s visit last year, is meant for building roads and rural electrification and is to be repaid in 20 years.