Maoists settle into power in Nepal

Nepalese students demonstrate against the sharp rise in petrol prices Keystone Archive

A newly-Maoist Nepal is still finding its bearings, says Swiss development consultant Thania Paffenholz, who has just returned from the fledgling republic.

The landlocked Asian country in late May shed its status as a constitutional monarchy. It has been one of Switzerland’s priority countries for cooperation for more than half a century.

By evicting Nepal’s “last king” Gyanendra from his palace, the Nepalese reached a final symbolic turning point of a spectacular two-year process during which the country’s ten-year civil war was brought to an end and Maoist ex-rebels were brought to power.

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has been the leading political force of the country since it won the largest number of seats in the constituent assembly election held on April 10. Last week, following pressure from the ex-guerrilla movement, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, the head of the interim government, resigned.

This opened the way to the formation of the first Maoist republican government in the history of Nepal. This political outcome is a world away from the bloody conflict between the army and the Maoist guerrillas that left 13,000 dead over ten years.

Today, the small Himalayan country nestled between China, Tibet and India, has turned its back on 240 years of Hindu monarchy as it lays the foundations of a new republic.

Thania Paffenholz, who lectures at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, specialises in peace processes and the role of development aid in fragile and conflict countries.

swissinfo: What was your impression of the political climate on the ground?

Thania Paffenholz: The general atmosphere is rather positive. People are relieved at the departure of the king, but they remain sceptical. They fear that power wrangling will take precedence over a real political agenda.

Meanwhile, the culture of violence continues. As it was during the war, there are demonstrations over the slightest pretext – because the bus is too expensive or the price of petrol too high. Inevitably, these gatherings deteriorate into fighting and acts of violence. You never feel safe in the city.

swissinfo: The term Maoist brings to mind extremist and very violent groups like the Shining Path in Peru or the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. What is the reality in Nepal?

T.H.: There are several Maoist movements in Nepal, but the one that is most spoken about is the Nepalese Communist Party (Maoist). It is a political entity with a clear agenda – to rally the population on the ground. This wasn’t too difficult because the caste system ensured that there were many people excluded from participation in political, educational and health decisions. They have everything to gain from a change in their situation.

If you look at the past 12 years in Nepal, you can see that the Nepalese Communist Party has not deviated from its principle strategy. What it has done is adapt it to circumstances – ten years of war and two years of political manoeuvring.

But the conflict, which certainly claimed a number of lives, did not reach the excesses of Uganda or Cambodia.

swissinfo: Despite the popularity of the Maoists, it seems that their political victory has caused general surprise.

T.H.: There is a big gulf between the expectations of the rural population and the outlook of the capital city’s media, which are largely in the hands of royalists. Most of the people in Kathmandu were surprised at the Maoist electoral victory.

Although the intellectuals were very pro-Maoist before the elections, they have backed off since then. This is because intellectuals tend to come from the higher castes and now the theory that they supported at an abstract level has become a reality, which threatens their status.

swissinfo: The Nepalese monarchy was eventually isolated by India and the US, neither of whom would be sympathetic to the Maoists. How did this happen?

T.H.: India supported the monarchy principally in the interests of regional stability and also because of its own problems with Indian Maoists. The United States had an ally in the monarchy for its war against terror. But the excessive authoritarianism of the last king damaged these ties, favouring the position of the Maoists.

swissinfo: How is Switzerland perceived in Nepal?

T.H.: Very positively. Switzerland’s approach in combining the work of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), its traditional commitment to human rights and support for the peace process is very astute.

During the ten years of war, the SDC was one of the sole donors present on the ground. This privileged position allowed it to inform the international community based in Kathmandu and the world. The Swiss diplomatic division was able to benefit from this knowledge to contribute to the debates on Nepal at the Human Rights Council and its predecessor in Geneva.

Furthermore, Switzerland through its neutrality and lack of hidden political agenda, enjoys the trust of the Nepalese across the political spectrum. This very positive perception has allowed the foreign ministry to play a more political role in the country, encouraging the transition to a republican regime.

swissinfo-interview: Carole Vann

Swiss cooperation

Thania Paffenholz went to Nepal as a consultant for the SDC and the human rights division of the foreign affairs ministry.

She also conducted a study there on the transformation of armed groups for an international project led by the University of Syracuse in the United States.

Switzerland’s presence in Nepal goes back to the 1950s. At first Swiss aid concentrated almost exclusively on agricultural and forestry projects in the mountainous areas. Then in the 1990s the focus moved to bridge and road construction projects, the sustainable exploitation of natural resources and the training and promotion of small businesses.

Following the exacerbation of the conflict between the Maoist rebels and the monarchist government, from 1998, Swiss commitment progressively focused on the promotion of peace and the consolidation of governance. Jointly formulated with the human rights division of the Swiss foreign ministry, Switzerland’s strategic cooperation with Nepal from 2005 to 2008 forms the basis for the current involvement of the SDC in the country.