Nepali Times
From The Nepali Press
Protests that go nowhere



There are still some ambiguities in the common agenda of the seven parties that have been agitating against the royal takeover. The agreement hasn\'t been able to bring out a common mission statement. Since there is no uniformity in the opinion and commitment of the parties\' demands, the movement has not been able to convince the people. Forget about the people, the movement has not even been able to attract the parties\' own activists.

The process of internal debate within the parties has become very weak. There have been efforts to coordinate but when there is no open debate to generate the necessary energy for the movement, such coordination isn\'t productive. Even the NC and the UML have not thrashed out their differences. Every time the parties bring out new protest programs, it appears to be a rehashed version of the same old things. If this is going to be a real movement, it shouldn\'t limit itself to the parties. In a genuine people\'s movement, protest programs are shaped spontaneously by the people. In 1990, we witnessed how the movement grew organically out of the decay of the Panchayat. Today, it appears that the parties want to keep the situation under their control. They have been tightly regulating days, schedules, slogans and even the speeches. It is becoming increasingly clear that the parties do not want to see the active involvement of individuals in their protest. The role of the parties has been restricted to simply set the schedules and carefully calibirating the level of protest. If they control everything, the demonstrations will just remain street protests. That is exactly what is happening now and that is where things will stay.


LATEST ISSUE
638
(11 JAN 2013 - 17 JAN 2013)


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