Case Study on Nepal Observations and Reflections on the Peace and Constitution-Making Process Bishnu Raj Upreti, Research Director, Nepal Centre for Contemporary Research (NCCR), Kathmandu/Nepal Bishnu Sapkota, Founding General Secretary and Member of Board of Directors, Nepal Transition to Peace (NTTP) Institute, Kathmandu/Nepal Imprint Acknowledgement from the authors We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to all the interviewees, without whom this study would not have been possible. The list is too long to include here but we would like to thank all of them for their valuable time, openness during the discussion/interactions, and for sharing precious information and insights with us for this study. Similarly, we owe special thanks to two of our research colleagues: Ms Sharmila Shivakoti (former Research Officer at the NCCR and final year Master's student in Gender Studies) for supporting Bishnu Raj Upreti in collecting and scanning literature, making appointments, accompanying him to many of the meetings and taking notes, transcribing them, arranging transport and formatting the report. Similar support was provided by Mr. Lokendra KC, researcher at the NTTP Institute, who assisted Bishnu Sapkota in making interviews and provided other general research support. We would also like to thank Mr. Suman Babu Paudel (Peace Researcher at NCCR) for his review and assistance in design and formatting. Last but not least, we express our sincere thanks to Dr Andrea Iff, who connected us to this study, and Ms Corinne von Burg, coordinator of this study, who was flexible and open not only to ideas but also to the time schedule. We thoroughly enjoyed working with her. Our appreciation goes to both colleagues. Acknowledgement from swisspeace This publication was produced in the framework of a two-year project (March 2015 – February 2017) to develop a Handbook on National Dialogues, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office in cooperation with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. The purpose of the Handbook is to offer a practice-oriented guide for comprehensively designing and implementing National Dialogues. It rests on participatory methods including 1) strategic dialogue and exchange between local stakeholders, international development and peacebuilding practitioners, and policymakers; 2) a comprehensive mapping exercise of National Dialogues across the world; and 3) in-depth case studies on National Dialogues produced by local researchers. The project is implemented by the Berghof Foundation in cooperation with swisspeace. This publication is one of six case studies - others include Guatemala, Libya, Mali, Sudan, and Tunisia - that inform the Handbook’s findings. The overall aim of the project is to improve National Dialogues and enhance the capacities and contributions of conflict parties, local stakeholders and external actors towards their successful implementation. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Berghof Foundation and swisspeace or their project partners. For further information, please contact the head of the Mediation Program, Dr David Lanz, at [email protected], or the project coordinator Corinne von Burg, at [email protected]. Ordering information swisspeace, Sonnenbergstrasse 17 PO Box, 3001 Bern, Switzerland www.swisspeace.org, [email protected] © February 2017 swisspeace Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Setting the Context: Conflict Map and Conflict Actors 3 1.2 Evolution of the Peace Process 4 1.3 Relevance of the Peace Process 5 1.4 Peculiarities of the Nepalese Peace Process 5 Chapter 2 The Peace Process: Structure, Process and Outcome 6 2.1 Early Initiatives Preparing the Ground 7 2.2 Peace Talks 2001 9 2.3 Peace Talks 2002/2003 11 2.4 Royal takeover, Seven-Party-Alliance (SPA) and Peace Negotiations 14 2.5 The Decisive Fourth Negotiation Process 16 2.6 Constituent Assemblies 21 2.7 Dialogues Related to the Madhes-Terai Protests (2007 and 2015-2016) 25 2.8 NTTP: A Mechanism of Non-formal Dialogue Processes 26 Chapter 3 External support for the Peace Process in Nepal 33 3.1 Major External Actors Supporting the Peace Process 34 3.2 Support Provisions 44 3.3 External Contributions to the Peace Process 45 3.4 Public Perception of International Support for the Peace Process 46 3.5 Lessons from the External Engagement 48 3.6 Future Need of External Support 50 Chapter 4 Recommendations and Concluding Remarks 52 4.1 Recommendations 52 4.2 Concluding Remarks 53 Chapter 5 References, Annexes and Interview Sources 55 5.1 References 55 5.2 Annexes 59 5.2.1 Annex 1: Forty-point Demands of the Maoists 59 5.2.2 Annex 2: 2003 Ceasefire Codes of Conduct 62 5.2.3 Annex 3: 2003 Negotiation Agenda 63 5.2.4 Annex 4: The Maoist Agenda for the Negotiation 64 5.2.5 Annex 5: Twelve-Point Understanding Concluded Between the Seven-Party Alliance and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) 67 5.2.6 Annex 6: Proclamation to the Nation by His Majesty King Gyanendra on 24 April 2006 69 5.2.7 Annex 7: Basic Operating Guidelines (BOGs) of Major Donors 70 5.3 Sources of Information from the Individual Respondents 71 List of Figures Figure 1: Major Processes Covered in the Study (Designed by the Authors) 1 Figure 2: Visible Key Actors of Nepal's Peace Process (Designed by the Authors) 2 List of Tables Table 1: Main Causes of the Armed Conflict of Nepal 4 Chapter 1 Introduction Nepal ushered in a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy in 1990 after a People’s Movement overthrew the thirty-year autocratic party-less Panchayat system controlled by an absolute monarchy. Within six years, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), hereinafter referred to as Maoists, launched a ‘People’s War’ in February 1996, with the aim of uprooting the monarchy, displacing the ‘bourgeoisie’ parliamentary democracy, and establishing a communist ‘people’s republic’. The armed insurgency killed approximately 15,000 people from the rebel, state and civilian sides, destabilized democracy, and caused destruction to property worth tens of million dollars. When the conflict was at a stalemate, with loss of life and property continuing, various actors showed a willingness to resolve the crisis through dialogue and negotiation. This was the background for the peace process. A consensual approach, wider legitimacy, local ownership, an inclusive process and a role for specific groups (e.g. youth, women) are often referred to as defining features of a National Dialogue by the international community. In Nepal, however, they were all subject to different interpretations and therefore not all of these elements were explicitly present in the Nepali process. Although there were many key elements of National Dialogue present in Nepal's process, no explicit, official term 'National Dialogue' was used in the case of Nepal. Instead, terms such as peace talks, peace negotiations, high level talks, and dialogues were used, often in an inter-changeable way. As there was no single format of National Dialogue practiced in Nepal, it emerged more from the efforts and combination of different actors, factors, tools and techniques to end the armed conflict and to achieve peace, economic prosperity and political stability. There was a wide range of actors engaged in different activities and processes, ranging from development assistance and humanitarian support to human rights protection, roundtables and national conferences for the purpose of promoting dialogue for restoring peace. These processes and activities were either self-organized or assisted by others. In this study, we have documented and analyzed the efforts of different actors in the given context to create a favorable environment, to facilitate peace talks and reach negotiation between the conflicting parties, and finally to achieve the aim of securing a durable peace and political stability in Nepal. Major Processes Covered in the Study Constituent Terai-Madhes Assemblies Agitations Informal Dialogue Major Peace Talks (First: 2008-2012) (2007-2008) Nepal Transition to (2000, 2001, & Peace (NTTP) 2003, 2006) & (Second: Others (2015-2016) 2013-2016) Figure 1: Major Processes Covered in the Study (Designed by the Authors) 1 Maoists (Insurgents) Visible Key State Security Actors of Civil Society Forces and Nepal's Peace Administration Negotiation International Community Figure 2: Visible Key Actors of Nepal's Peace Process (Designed by the Authors) The objective of this study is to provide a systematic reflection on the background and relevance of the process and its key challenges, and to generate lessons and best practices from Nepal's dialogue and peace process that will provide empirical evidence for the development of the ‘National Dialogue Handbook - A Guide for Practitioners’ and will constitute a part of the case study section in the Handbook. In terms of methodology, this study has been developed using a combination of methods such as extensive consultation with the key actors engaged in Nepal's dialogue processes: one-to-one meetings, workshops; in-depth interviews with the facilitators, negotiators, political leaders; external actors, network organizations, researchers and analysts; review of the published and unpublished materials related to the assessment of Nepal's peace process, and reflections by the two authors of the study, who are actively engaged in contributing to the Nepal peace process through research, analysis and creating a favorable environment. One of the authors was the manager of the rounds of dialogue facilitated by the Nepal Transition to Peace (NTTP) Initiative for several years. The main findings were shared with the key actors engaged in the facilitation and negotiation of the process as part of the triangulation process. Comments on the draft paper were obtained from swisspeace, and were addressed in the revised version. Comments and feedback obtained from Nepali experts were also incorporated. Finally, after the incorporation of relevant comments, input, feedback and suggestions, the study was finalized.