Most of the demands of the Maoists, reform programmes of the government and parliamentary parties and opinions and recommendations of experts are one way or another, focusing to these three fundamental issues and their subsets of problems. In this basis there should be no problem to collectively tackle these issues through a peaceful negotiation of the conflict. However, this aspect is not getting sufficient attention. Polarisation is increased and destruct is more pervasive. In short Nepal is in deep crisis.
Peace requires a process of building constructive relationships in a civil society not just negotiating, signing, and ratifying a formal agreement. For this reason start a political process that can change relationships and lead to the end of violence, to peace, and to reconciliation. Public dialogue is a relatively new arena for building peace.
Negotiation is a process in which two or more parties, who have both common interests and conflicting interests, put forth and discuss explicit proposals concerning specific terms of a possible agreement. Effective, concrete policy proposals cannot be made unless and until all parties to the negotiations understand each other. In the long run, disarmament is vital to the cause of peace.
The peace process is clearly one of the country's top priorities. The peace process is also part of a strategic alliance against drug-trafficking, corruption, and the violation of human rights. There is a growing social consensus among the representatives of society, economic interests and even those under arms that peace is the immediate goal.
As a result, the participation of society as a whole is considered necessary for the application of pressure on armed groups for a political solution to armed conflict and respect for internationally recognized humanitarian law. The dynamic contribution of Nepali society is also crucial for the development of ideas and suggestions to help move the process forward and to guarantee the survival of the consensus that a negotiated settlement is needed, with the participation of the international community.
The role of the international community is vital to the success of the peace process. More specifically, Nepal requires support in two areas: diplomatic and financial. The international community can act as media for, overseer or, at a later stage, verifier of compliance with agreements made. In the field of bilateral relations, military and police cooperation are vital.
Peace-keeping keeps relatively balanced parties apart, while peace-building brings unbalanced parties together. Multi-track diplomacy is a practice that includes peace-building. However, mediation alone is not sufficient to achieve sustainable peace. Peace-building strategies should also incorporate approaches that are forward thinking, and that demonstrate the common values shared by those affected by conflict. Some key perspectives must be shared by both sides, yet each group needs to comprehend the unique perspectives of the other in their own cultural context.
Speaking to this scribe at Philadelphia Mary C. Carroll is currently, a member of the Board of Directors, 1979-present, of the Philadelphia Suburban Corporation, Senior said "Third party negotiator: Surely everyone would agree that it would be best for the 3 Nepal powers in conflict to negotiate among themselves without outside intervention. Yet, there appears to be a complete lack of trust which may be justified due to previous negotiations conducted with a lack of good faith. Overcoming the lack of trust will be next to impossible without a 3rd party to help bring the parties together.
It may be a stretch to ask the Nepal negotiators to learn to negotiate by actually negotiating. A 3rd party, trusted by all sides, could help the Nepalese parties understand the negotiating process and all sides to see the other parties' positions. The temptation is to "win" the negotiations. When all sides realize there will be no complete winners or losers, only then can there be a peace agreement.
Power: This is a power struggle which won't be resolved until all sides see that they are going to lose and win. Furthermore, an agreement won't take place until all parties see that they have as much to gain through negotiation as they have to lose from negotiation. Outside forces for the good can provide positive and negative incentives to the conflicting sides. Once a balance of power is accepted by all sides is when the conflict will be over.
Another factor that is never mentioned is the fact that the negotiations that have taken place up to now have been dominated by the Brahmin and Chettry castes....on all sides- Maoist, government and royalty. Until this small group of privileged Nepalese see that they can't decide for the majority of Nepalese, the conflict will not be resolved. In other words the Gurungs, the Rais, the Sherpas, the Magars, and all the other Nepalese groups of people must be significantly brought into the dialogue. My sources tell me that he village people are no longer willing to rubber stamp or even accept the framework of a Brahmin conceived and negotiated peace.
We cannot afford to change the government every year, and the new political leadership must be allowed to flourish within the party hierarchy. Internal democracy and transparency must be the new call of the political parties.
International community can create an atmosphere of dialogue, organize news releases, and help diffuse tensions, and also provide some parameters. The international community can create a trust fund to address the needs of the people. The UN's role in the reconstruction is vital and it can also provide a neutral buffer. Even, UN has offered its good offices for possible mediation, but the present government has declined any international role to resolve Nepal’s conflict. No one becomes smaller by accepting respectable international involvement; sometimes it can actually help save face of warring factions.
The most fundamental thing is nation-building with all components of national society contributing to it in a selfless manner and, of course, with a view to promoting national harmony. Nepalese people want effective negotiations must work toward a mutually satisfactory solution and preserve the ability to peacefully coexist in both the short term and the long term.
Focusing too tightly on the immediate issues and ignoring the need to meet all parties' critical interests will doom the process to failure. But effectively working toward a win-win solution will build relationships and result in a positive and meaningful solution. There should be an independent Peace Secretariat, with full authorities, responsibilities and resources. It should have full authorities to work in peace process and negotiation. This organisation can have mandate to facilitate civic participation, collect public voices and concerns, propose facilitators and mediators to the government and the Maoists, conduct research, design code of conduct and monitor it, and monitor the implementation of negotiated agenda.
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