Nepal:
An Interview
With Baburam Bhattarai
By Prateek Pradhan, Ghanashyam Ojha & Puran P Bista
18 April,
2008
Countercurrents.org
Maoist ideologue Dr Baburam
Bhattarai has emerged as the real leader of this country after the
Constituent Assembly (CA) polls. He defeated his Nepali Congress opponent
Chandraprakash Neupane with a huge margin from Gorkha-2. He says the
CPN (Maoist) will not dare to deviate from its political commitments
nor will it ever betray the people. He thinks the Maoists have now
taken upon their shoulders a greater responsibility, that of restructuring
the country and steering it onto the track of economic prosperity.
Dr Bhattarai,
a former student of Jawaharlal Nehru University, is not surprised
by the results of the CA election. He argues that the CPN (Maoist)
has changed the country’s ground realities. Dr Bhattarai spoke
with Prateek Pradhan, Ghanashyam Ojha and Puran P Bista of The Kathmandu
Post on how the CPN (Maoist) would proceed with its economic and political
agenda.
Excerpts:
Q: Your
party appears to have emerged as the largest one. How would you proceed
with your political agenda?
Dr Baburam Bhattarai: We had always pushed for the CA election, which
was finally held last week. During the interim period, the Seven-Party
Alliance government had already made certain political commitments.
One of them was that we would reach a political consensus to form
the government. All the political parties that have participated in
the CA polls will join the government. Now, the question is who will
head it. Obviously, the largest political party will lead the new
government. So, naturally, the CPN (Maoist) has to head the coalition
government.
Q: Who
will head the CPN (Maoist)? Could you name the captain of your party?
Dr Bhattarai: I can’t tell you right now. We have to discuss
and decide who should be the leader. We have to prepare a draft of
the new political system. We have to decide the fate of the monarchy.
And only then we can think of who will head the CPN (Maoist). Our
intention is to establish a presidential system. But we can’t
be sure as we have to discuss the matter with other political forces
too. We must reach a political consensus because the constitution
would need to be amended to set up a presidential system. Unless we
have a political consensus, we can’t amend the constitution.
So, we can’t simply go for an executive president. In case of
political differences, we may have to follow the present form of governance.
Q: How
would the CPN (Maoist), being the largest political force, approach
other political parties in order to form the government, abolish monarchy
and declare Nepal a republic?
Dr Bhattarai: First, we are going to hold discussions with the major
political parties. We would need to seek their opinion and views before
forming the government. We would have to work under the Interim Constitution
for the time being which would require a political consensus. We shall
move forward on this basis. The first sitting of the CA will declare
this country a federal republic. For that, we have to develop a political
consensus. After that the question would be forming the new government
which will be done again on the basis of political consensus. And
then we will proceed with the drafting of the new constitution of
Nepal.
Besides these issues, there are other political commitments such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, rehabilitation of displaced persons and revamping and integration of the security forces. I think there will be several challenges and questions. We have to review four things immediately – security, political structure, the economy and international relation. Such issues require a national consensus.
Q: How
do you assess the election results? Did you expect that you would
make such a strong showing?
Dr Bhattarai: The people were looking for total change. We advanced
the political agenda for total change during the decade-long people’s
war. We have people from different castes, ethnicities, genders and
people from different regions. The main agenda of the people’s
war was to restructure the state. It took 10 years of the people’s
war to establish our political agenda. The people felt that the country’s
socio-political and economic structure needed a complete overhaul.
So we couldn’t look at things through our old lenses. The media
and the elite missed the picture. As a result, the CA results surprised
many. The ground realities had changed and they helped us to emerge
as the largest party.
Q: Do you
think that the people’s support that you have garnered is more
than what you expected?
Dr Bhattarai: We had thought that we would come out as the largest
party, and that we might, if we reached a consensus, form the next
government. But the manner in which we have clinched victory in the
CA polls makes us feel that we have achieved more than what we expected
to.
Nevertheless,
we did think that the results would be in our favor. I have observed
how people’s waves have swept parliamentary elections in India.
In 1977, Indira Gandhi was defeated. Similarly, sympathy votes after
her tragic death helped Rajiv Gandhi to sweep the 1985 parliamentary
elections. I had seen such mass hysteria earlier. I personally visited
22 districts and assessed the situation three weeks before the CA
polls. I could foresee a massive wave rising in our support. Unfortunately,
the media saw things the opposite way. And we also could not convince
the media until the CA results showed that the people had voted for
us.
Q: You
told a local FM station this morning that you have now been burdened
by greater responsibilities. What do you mean by that?
Dr Bhattarai: I take it as a great responsibility because we have
to restructure the 250-year-old feudal system. You cannot expect it
to happen overnight. Secondly, while restructuring the state, we have
to take into account different aspects such as poverty, illiteracy,
health and others. We don’t have enough resources and skill
to reorganize the country in a way we want to. It may take at least
10-15 years to do it. There are mounting challenges ahead.
Q: How
can you restructure the state and achieve economic growth in a short
span of time?
Dr Bhattarai: What we need right now is political stability. We cannot
think of rapid economic growth sans political stability. Now the CA
results have given some hope for political stability. Secondly, there
must be a strong leadership. Above all, we have yet to start restructuring
the state. So, how can we think of the economy? The 30-year-long panchayat
system promised us that it would deliver the people’s needs,
but it could not do so as it was a political system imposed by the
royal regime to serve its own interests.
The post-1990
parliamentary system created a sort of anarchy. It neither had any
clear political vision nor could it deliver anything. During this
interim period, it would be difficult to think of economic prosperity.
We can only think of economic growth in the post-CA period. This mandate
has just opened the door to a future Nepal. Now the job is to garner
the support of all the political parties and maintain political stability.
This would be the beginning.
Second,
the resources we have include land, water, jungle, herbs and people.
I do not think that we run short of resources, but we need external
support for technology and skills. We need foreign investments. I
am sure if we really work together, we can achieve rapid economic
growth in a short span of time.
Q: China has adopted a liberal economic policy. It has achieved remarkable
economic growth in the past 30 years. To what extent do you think
we can follow China’s model?
Dr Bhattarai: China eliminated the feudal system during Mao’s
regime. It established a solid foundation for economic growth. We
could have thought of making rapid economic progress had the country
been liberated from the age-old feudal system. When you inject new
technology after the foundation for economic growth has been established,
you can achieve such development. We don’t have such a foundation
now. Once we restructure the state and involve the private sector,
it will be possible to achieve rapid economic growth. We would implement
a transitional economic policy during such an interim period which
involves public and private partnership.
Q: Currently
we are seeing a pattern of capital flight. How are you going to halt
this?
Dr Bhattarai: We can’t think of developing this country in the
absence of domestic and foreign investments. Technological inputs
are of equal importance. So, we will follow the policy of attracting
domestic and foreign investments. For that to happen, we have to put
an end to political instability. From our side, we have to provide
security to investors and create a conducive environment for domestic
and foreign financiers. And I also think that we will be able to resolve
the differences between labor and management. Unless we resolve such
issues, we cannot create a better investment atmosphere. In a nutshell,
we recognize the legitimacy of management and the participation of
labor in management.
Secondly,
we have to identify areas for investment and create the necessary
infrastructure. We have to focus on productive sectors. We don’t
want to encourage assembly industries. Business activities should
raise productivity and generate employment.
Q: You
mean the state’s involvement in economic activities will increase
from now on?
Dr Bhattarai: The state will play the role of facilitator. The state
cannot intervene in business activities. It will encourage investors
to raise productivity and generate employment opportunities.
Q: We have
seen – especially after the restoration of democracy in 1990
– how political parties rewarded their cadres with jobs in the
bureaucracy and other social sectors. How are you planning to restructure
the bureaucracy and other sectors?
Dr Bhattarai: We have to, at all costs, restructure the bureaucracy
and the judiciary as they have always been tools of the monarchy.
But we have to follow certain norms. So let us leave it open. But
we have to think of revamping the security forces as integrating the
People’s Liberation Army and the Nepal Army is part of the peace
process. We can think of starting the restructuring process only after
the monarchy has been removed. But it will be open to discussion.
We want to reform the bureaucracy and other sectors in a democratic
manner.
Q: You
once said that Nepal did not need a huge security force. But if you
integrate the Maoist combatants and the army, you are going to have
a huge security force. Do you think Nepal needs such a large army?
Dr Bhattarai: The strength of the security forces after the two are
combined would be roughly over 100,000. Going by the country’s
population, such a number may appear necessary. But we have to reduce
the size of the army in the long term. I think that instead of having
such a huge number of army, we could go for trained militias who would
defend the country at times of war. I think it would be useful to
train such a force. We should mobilize them during emergencies.
Q: The
UML fared badly in the CA polls. Do you foresee a single communist
party in the near future?
Dr Bhattarai: Until recently, there were three political forces –
royalists, social democrats (who represent the bourgeoisie) and leftists.
I think there will be only two forces in the future – the Nepali
Congress, which represents the rich, and the left, which represents
the poor. The NC has its own political stand. It’s not going
to lose its identity as it has a clear vision and policy.
But the
CPN-UML does not have any political position. It neither represents
the rich nor the masses. It is a eunuch though it continues to be
identified as a communist party. It has lost its identity. It can’t
stand any longer. Now the CPN (Maoist) has established itself as a
communist party. We welcome committed communist cadres of the CPN-UML
to our party.
Q: How long will it take to draft the new constitution?
Dr Bhattarai: It will take roughly two years. But how we proceed will
depend on other political forces as well. We must finish the new constitution
as early as possible so that we can focus on the economy.
Q: Some
still argue that the Maoists may retain the monarchy in a ceremonial
form.
What do you think?
Dr Bhattarai: What surprises us is why people think that we will retain
the monarchy when it has ceased to exist. There is no question of
retaining the monarchy.
We did approach some nationalist royalists to join us. That does not
mean we are going to keep the monarchy. It is not possible to save
it in any form. It has ceased to exist in our minds.
Q: When
will the king move out of Narayanhiti Palace?
Dr Bhattarai: The king has to quit Narayanhiti Palace immediately
after we declare Nepal a republic. This is the understanding of the
Seven-Party Alliance. He should leave the palace immediately after
the first sitting of the CA.