|
|
And that is even more understandable in this country where last time the euphoria of freedom didn't take long to evaporate. When expectations are so high, people get impatient. And it doesn't help when we see the same old faces up to the same old tricks.
But before we get too cynical, we have to only remind ourselves of the alternatives: Maoist totalitarianism or absolute monarchism. The seven party alliance may be slow, but they are the least of the evils. Also, if we recognise the magnitude of what the people have achieved this time compared to 1990, perhaps it will help us be a little more patient.
After all, we are now digging down to the core issues that 16 years ago were so sensitive even the framers of the constitution left it deliberately ambiguous. The moral high ground that People Power II gives parliament allows it to be the supreme body to undertake any changes that the people's representatives deem necessary.
Which also gives the legislators and the seven party executives the responsibility to get it right. Let's not push them into doing things in half measure, or to take needlessly harsh decisions in the heat of the moment that they may regret later. Rational decisions can't be made in a charged atmosphere when parliament is forced to appease rebels with guns while it tries to tame a royal army it defanged. You can't expect MPs to think straight when they have their heads bashed in at the house gate. You can't change things with a witch-hunt. Decision taken so far smack of a government stuck in vendetta-mode. It should be spending more time in building rather than carrying out an inquisition.
As things cool down, policy-making will gradually move from the street to parliament. But the government can't waitto act like a government. How about urgently filling the vacuum at the grassroots by setting up village committees made up of ex-VDC members, party representatives and even Maoists. This would immediately improve service delivery and bring us back on track to meet MDG targets in health and education.
How about creating jobs by rebuilding destroyed infrastructure and unleash a Marshall Plan of new highways, hydropower and telecommunications. No money? Free up resources by canceling army recruitment, helicopter purchases reducing the palace guards and the royal allowance. Let's, for once, tell the donors what we want instead of the other way around.
To be sure, there are urgent political decisions parliament should take in order to keep this movement on track. It must give itself the power to decide on royal succession, reject the concept of king-in-parliament and jettison all articles of the 1990 constitution that were the fundamental demands of People Power. And the most important test: let's see progress on a peace process, get the Maoists to renounce violence and agree on an internationally-supervised demobilisation.
