‘An Initiative for Political Dialogue’ based in Nepal has penned this statement-commenting on the recent political developments in Nepal.
After the bloody Gen-Z movement, or the historic Baneshwor Uprising, which was fought with the sacrifice of more than three dozen youth and students, the oppressive Oli government has collapsed, and an interim government has been formed under the leadership of former Chief Justice Sushila Karki on 12th September as per the demands of the protesters. The Gen-Z youth movement, which began with the protest against the corrupt government with the demand for good governance, was in essence an explosion of the systemic crisis of the Nepali capitalist system. This explosion has come to be marked as a historic youth and student uprising in Nepali politics. It is reported that more than 50 youth have been martyred so far due to the violent repression of the Oli government, while hundreds of protesters are still receiving treatment for their injuries. We strongly demand from the new interim government to immediately declare the youth who lost their lives in the movement as martyrs with dignity and provide free treatment to all the injured. In addition, we express our heartfelt respect to all the martyrs and our deep condolences to their families. The oppressive, arrogant, corrupt and autocratic government led by the then KP Oli, who refused to listen to the people’s voice, has finally been overthrown by the spontaneous youth-student movement. The power of the movement has destroyed the dominance and arrogance of the major parties, who have been immersed in extreme corruption in the capitalist parliamentary regime, sometimes as the ruling party and sometimes as the opposition, for the time being. However, the fall or overthrow of a ruler does not mean the end of corrupt rule. Because the roots of corruption, irregularities, inflation, unemployment and economic inequality are buried in the soil of the capitalist system. The major parties that have been the perpetrators of the capitalist system since 2005 are the Congress, UML and Maoists, who have been in power alternately. Although the Maoist Center has been vigorously raising anti-corruption slogans in its speeches in recent times, it is clear that it has long lost its ideological and moral ground by sacrificing its past commitment to the people; revolutionary loyalty and ideals – for power-sharing and participation. The old ruling party Congress-UML and the Maoist Center, which came to power after leading the recent great people’s uprising (people’s war) – all three parties are partners in the recent distorted parliamentary politics and shareholders in the corrupt regime. Consequently, the general public, youth & students have expressed the most anger towards the top leadership of the three parties. To consider the youth uprising of 8th September as a ‘design of the power centers’ or an ‘external conspiracy’ or to devalue it as ‘driven by the plans of the reactionaries’ is to defend the corrupt regime and the corrupt rulers in a roundabout way. Those who do not want to pay attention to the objective reasons for the uprising tend to explain every uprising of the people through the lens of the ‘conspiracy theory’. Of course, this movement did not begin with a clarion call by an organized force or by a well-thought out centralized leadership in ideological terms. This movement did not begin with the appeal of one or two groups alone, as is propagated in the media. However, many events in world history have repeatedly confirmed that such uprisings have ideological, organizational, and destination-related limits. We have seen many times that such uprisings without a clear political program and without the initiative of a strong organization have successfully overthrown the government but failed to establish a new order. It is equally true that internal and external power centers try to use or divide such popular uprisings for their own wrong interests, which has been clearly seen during this movement. However, we should not underestimate the core truth revealed in the Baneshwor uprising, namely the anger that has been simmering among the masses for decades against the corrupt ruling class. In the context of the formation of a new interim government in the country with the success of the Gen-Z Youth Uprising, the government needs to fully respect democratic rights and the sovereignty of the people while addressing the legitimate demands of the protestors to the maximum extent and taking the country in a more progressive direction. In addition, the interim government should as soon as possible.
- Declare the protesters who lost their lives on 8th and 9th September as martyrs and provide all possible assistance to the injured free of any charge.
- The current constitution has its limits, however, it should implement the maximum provisions guaranteed in the basic features of republicanism, secularism, federalism & fundamental inclusiveness.
- Radical economic and political restructuring is necessary for a long term solution to the problems of corruption, economic inequality, unemployment, inflation, social discrimination and other problems prevalent in the country leading to the ongoing crisis. For this, we demand a progressive amendment to the constitution by providing for a directly elected executive president based on a broader political consensus and comprehensive economic-political restructuring in line with the spirit of the movement.
- To strictly control corruption, a high-level commission with full powers should be formed to investigate the assets of all political leaders, employees, close relatives of leaders, businessmen etc.
- The main focus should be on monitoring and eliminating bribery, tardiness in government offices, high and unbridled market prices and eliminating the sufferings of the people at various levels.
- Progressive reforms should be made in the electoral system to end the tendency of winning elections by embezzling money and exploiting state resources/public property after winning the elections.
- A legal system should be ensured to the people to recall representatives who commit wrongdoing after winning the elections. This will honor the movement of the young people and the blood that has been shed.
- At this critical juncture in history, the House of Representatives should hold a new direct election for the acting President, while being vigilant against external forces and anti-people, anti-democratic and reactionary elements who are trying to fish in murky waters.
- We would like to warn the interim government not to do anything that goes against the spirit of the Gen-Z Rebellion.
In addition, we also sincerely appeal to all progressive forces and conscious politicians to unite in the organizational initiative of transformative politics according to the new situation and give the country a progressive solution.
