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Downloads/Pressreleases/2007-12-27- Unmin.Srsg.Press.Statement.Eng.Pdf From Peace Settlement to Political Settlement State Restructuring and Inclusive Measures for Marginalised Groups in Nepal Balkrishna Mabuhang IPS Paper 10 Abstract Nepal has been going through a historical momentum since the peaceful settlement of the Maoist Armed Insurgency which resulted from the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA). The Hindu nation, kingdom and monarchy was abolished, replaced by a federal democratic republic. The conflict issues accumulated over the centuries aspired to be resolved in the ongoing state reform process. However, the constitution–making process is yet to be accomplished. The State is still primarily controlled by forces of the old regime, who do not let new aspiring forces become seriously engaged in the discussion over how to resolve the remaining conflict issues. Thus, this paper highlights both the historical and the present condition of power contending forces, with a particular focus on marginalised societal groups and their mobilisation (or instrumentalisation) through the Maoist Insurgency. In addition, this paper seeks to portray the inclusive measures adopted since 2006 to make the State move representative of, and responsive to, the makeup of society. The study relies on secondary information as well as data collected through key informant interviews in three regions of Nepal. About the Publication © Berghof Foundation Operations GmbH – CINEP/PPP 2015. All rights reserved. This paper is one of four case study reports on Nepal produced in the course of the collaborative research project ‘Avoiding Conflict Relapse through Inclusive Political Settlements and State-building after Intra-State War’, running from February 2013 to April 2015. This project aims to examine the conditions for inclusive political settlements following protracted armed conflicts, with a specific focus on former armed power contenders turned state actors. It also aims to inform national and international practitioners and policy-makers on effective practices for enhancing participation, representation, and responsiveness in post-war state-building and governance. It is carried out in cooperation with the partner institutions CINEP/PPP (Colombia, Project Coordinators), Berghof Foundation (Germany, Project Research Coordinators), FLACSO (El Salvador), In Transformation Initiative (South Africa), Sudd Institute (South Sudan), Aceh Policy Institute (Aceh/Indonesia), and Friends for Peace (Nepal). The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Berghof Foundation, CINEP/PPP, or their project partners. To find more publications for this project please visit www.berghof-foundation.com. For further information, please contact the project research coordinator, Dr. Véronique Dudouet, at [email protected]. About the Author Balkrishna Mabuhang is Associate Professor at the Central Department of Population Studies, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He worked as the General Secretary of the Nepal Federation of Nationalities (NEFEN) from 1999 to 2002. He has also written many articles on Janajati issues in national as well as international publications, and has also participated in national, regional and global forums to raise the issues of the Janajati. As an expert on the Constituent Assembly (CA) process in Nepal, he is actively involved in the advocacy of identity-based federalism. This project has been funded with support from the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa. To cite this paper: Balkrishna Mabuhang 2015. From Peace Settlement to Political Settlement. State Restructuring and Inclusive Measures for Marginalised Groups. Inclusive Political Settlements Papers 10, April. Berlin: Berghof Foundation. Via internet: www.berghof-foundation.org. This paper is also available in Nepali. Page 2 | 27 Table of Contents 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 5 2 Mapping of Power Contenders and their Inclusive Claims to State Reform .............................................. 6 2.1 History of exclusion and insurgency in Nepal ...................................................................................... 6 2.2 The Janajati ...................................................................................................................................... 8 2.3 The Madheshis (people of Terai origin) .............................................................................................. 9 2.4 The Dalits (Untouchables) ............................................................................................................... 12 2.5 Women ........................................................................................................................................... 13 3 Addressing Marginalised Communities’ Grievances through Inclusive Constitutional Reform ............... 14 3.1 Towards a federal and secular state: codified provisions and political/cultural resistance on state restructuring .................................................................................................................................. 14 3.2 Proportional representation in the Constituent Assembly .................................................................. 16 4 Participation in State-building and Post-War Governance .................................................................... 18 4.1 The CPN (Maoist)’s transition from power contenders to power-holders ............................................. 18 4.2 Representative bureaucracy: towards a more inclusive state? ........................................................... 19 4.3 A truly ‘Nepali’ army? ...................................................................................................................... 20 5 Concluding Remarks .......................................................................................................................... 21 5.1 A question of identity ...................................................................................................................... 21 5.2 Unfulfilled promises ........................................................................................................................ 22 5.3 Prospects for a new political settlement and risks of conflict relapse ................................................. 23 References ............................................................................................................................................. 24 Author Interviews ................................................................................................................................... 27 Page 3 | 27 Acronyms APF Armed Police Force CA Constituent Assembly CPA Comprehensive Peace Accord CPN (M) Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) CPN (ML) Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist and Leninist) CPN (UML) Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist and Leninist) CPN Communist Party of Nepal FPTP First Past the Post HHHC Hill Hindu High Caste ICG International Crisis Group MPRF Madheshi People's Right Forum MRMM Madheshi Rastriya Mukti Morcha (Madheshi National Liberation Front) NC Nepali Congress NCARD National Coalition Against Racial Discrimination NCP Nepali Congress Party NEFEN Nepal Federation of Nationalities NP Nepal Police NA Nepal Army PR Proportional Representation RNA Royal Nepal Army UCPN (M) United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) URPC United Revolutionary People's Council Page 4 | 27 1 Introduction Nepal has a long history of political exclusion of groups such as the Janajati (indigenous peoples), Dalits (the untouchable cast), Madheshis (inhabitants of Madhesh) – including Muslims, and women. This exclusionary system is based on patriarchal norms, the supremacy of Hindu religion and a hierarchical caste system that can be traced back to the very foundation of the State of Nepal in 1779. A number of popular movements1 have attempted to challenge this exclusive State, most remarkably through the Maoist 'People’s War' which began in 1996. This war ended in November 2006 with the signature of a Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA). The CPA has resolved the immediate and underlying causes of violence through direct mutual engagement by the main conflict parties – the Nepali State represented by the King and the main political parties, and the rebel armed movement formed by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN (M)). However, these parties have so far been unable to deliver a new constitution due to conflicting interests between the dominating political elites, and between the State and society. In other words, the peace settlement has not yet given way to a new political settlement. Manjushree Thapa, a well-known literary writer, opined: What do you do if you’re the high caste leader of a democratic party faced with a vote that will end your caste’s supremacy? You avoid voting at all costs. This is what the leaders of the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist and Leninist) did in Kathmandu on May 27 [2012]. Their refusal to compromise with the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and other parties led to the failure to pass a new constitution and the dissolution of the country’s only democratically elected body, the 601-member Constituent Assembly. This was an unforgivable betrayal of public trust: the citizenry had waited for four years for a new constitution that would mark the birth of a “New Nepal”. (Thapa 2012)
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