Set No Double Standard in Keeping Ex-Royals of Nepal in the Archives
Prakash Bom
June 12, 2008
Basically, what Nepali contemporary political leaderships have to understand that the democratic culture can only flourish with the justice and justice is neither equivalent to the retaliatory game of tit-for-tat nor comparable to the South Asian religious tradition of love and compassion. Under the secular democratic body of law there are no exceptions because there is none above the law including elements of supernatural – gods and ghosts of our traditional Hindu-ethnic society no matter how far they have been sanctified by the tradition. If the foundation stone of this body has been laid by the successful elections of Constituent Assembly and the declaration of secular federal democratic republic then it is irresponsible to keep ex-royals in the archives against the declaration and people´s aspiration for democracy.
We do not know whether people have forgiven those royalists who had committed atrocities against the peaceful agitations of April Uprising but the political leaderships have with the greater impunity and disgraceful double standards. Every royalist has been able to escape the justice and even many of them have been re-instated to their respective state duties. What people can expect from all this at least some moral responsibility on the part of the political parties and their leaderships and cadres for not to set double standard with their commitments to democracy. For example, Constituent Assembly has abolished the feudal institution of monarchy and declared Nepal federal democratic republic with the greater majority. This simply means that no members of ex-royal can reside in the state-owned properties of the federal democratic republic Nepal. Ex-royals no longer should receive any privilege because they are none but citizens as rest of us who should live on their own earning and in their own property.
How ridiculous, for instance, that Constituent Assembly has sent the directives for ex-king to vacant the Narayanhiti palace through the government but the government cabinet has decided to grant the shelter for ex-king´s family without the consensus of the Constituent Assembly. Constitutionally, the current Interim government is illegitimate and its decision without the consensus of people´s representatives in Constituent Assembly is against the mandate of people. It is people´s Constituent Assembly which can only grant or deny the shelter for the ex-king family. Therefore, the government decisions that are executed without the vote of the Constituent Assembly are not legitimate. The representatives of the Constituent Assembly must stand for their electoral rights to veto government decisions. If not, the government will keep conflicting with the democratic provisions of Constituent Assembly.
It is time for the representatives of Constituent Assembly to step up their voice with the people and Civil Society in protest of keeping any ex-royal member off the vicinity of Narayanhiti palace on the basis of abolition of the monarchy and declaration of federal democratic republic. This is one of the historically symbolic factors of declaration that as per the people´s aspiration Narayanhiti palace must be vacant for keeping it open for people to visit as the museum of their struggle for democracy. The museum must be set with the portraits of revolutions and revolutionaries since the time of Sukra Raj Shastri, Dharma Bhakta, Ganga Lal, Dashrath Chanda to the People´s Movement – April Pursing. Therefore it is ought to be a symbol of people´s glory for democracy where we should not keep any ex-royal residing in the vicinity of people´s museum who will eventually infringe into it. If the interim government respects people´s mandate then it should immediately seek Constituent Assembly´s consensus to correct its decisions on ex-royals´ privileges – shelters and securities.
Ex-royals have ethical responsibility for their dignity since they have accepted people´s verdict. Therefore with no question for their security and shelter they should simply vacant the state-owned people´s properties. It is disgraceful that ex-king has been begging with the interim government, which has no authority to grant even temporary shelter and security without the consensus of people´s representatives of Constituent Assembly. It is with the verdict of the Constituent Assembly the institution of feudal monarchy has been abolished and it is thus only with the consensus of Constituent Assembly any further decision on ex-royals can be taken. This is the protocol that the executive body of the government must not breach. If the cabinet cannot maintain its executions with the protocol of legislation then the executive branch of government dominantly becomes authoritarian.
The ex-king Gyanendra Shah is considered to be the only richest individual in the nation based on his business investments excluding his properties that he has inherited from his father and after the massacre of late king Birendra´s entire family. Therefore, he should be able to hire his own security personnel and live in his own property. This is indeed his avariciously a cheap attempt to still thinking to depend on state-owned properties unless he find himself and his family insecure with the political reason. If not he should daringly seek independence and respect the protocol of people´s verdict.
People´s aspiration for a new democratic Nepal is fundamentally to bring an end to the government practice of double standard that breeds injustice from all kind of exceptions – socio-political, economic, religion and tradition. Justice in democracy does not mean necessarily retaliation because retaliation cannot establish justice in democracy. In order to establish justice or rule of law the society has to entirely respect the protocol of legislation or in simple language play by the rule. This means if Constituent Assembly has abolished the institution of monarchy with the establishment of people´s electoral-mechanism then it is only with the consensus of Constituent Assembly the interim government can take further decision on ex-royals. Otherwise the interim government will illegitimately set double standard conflicting with the legislative protocol that nation´s legislation has established.
This has been by default the tradition of political leaderships, ruling elites and the law experts of Nepal basically inherited from the feudal-gene of our society. Unless the gene that resides in us does not realize to play by the rule, particularly in the politics and the government, Nepali society will fail to think rationally to see how important these sequences of protocol are in establishing the rule of law. International communalities will have to put up with the tradition of impunity again for a long period of time in the socio-political and economic lives of Nepali people unless political leaderships are very serious about themselves for changing their political behavior radically. People and nation will be better off with the democracy if only political leaderships can reason and see the consequences of setting up double standard in politics, which inevitably breeds impunity. They all now world renowned proverb - ´look before you leap´ only if they can see it where they stand for holding on to themselves from rushing to make decision.
We do not know whether people have forgiven those royalists who had committed atrocities against the peaceful agitations of April Uprising but the political leaderships have with the greater impunity and disgraceful double standards. Every royalist has been able to escape the justice and even many of them have been re-instated to their respective state duties. What people can expect from all this at least some moral responsibility on the part of the political parties and their leaderships and cadres for not to set double standard with their commitments to democracy. For example, Constituent Assembly has abolished the feudal institution of monarchy and declared Nepal federal democratic republic with the greater majority. This simply means that no members of ex-royal can reside in the state-owned properties of the federal democratic republic Nepal. Ex-royals no longer should receive any privilege because they are none but citizens as rest of us who should live on their own earning and in their own property.
How ridiculous, for instance, that Constituent Assembly has sent the directives for ex-king to vacant the Narayanhiti palace through the government but the government cabinet has decided to grant the shelter for ex-king´s family without the consensus of the Constituent Assembly. Constitutionally, the current Interim government is illegitimate and its decision without the consensus of people´s representatives in Constituent Assembly is against the mandate of people. It is people´s Constituent Assembly which can only grant or deny the shelter for the ex-king family. Therefore, the government decisions that are executed without the vote of the Constituent Assembly are not legitimate. The representatives of the Constituent Assembly must stand for their electoral rights to veto government decisions. If not, the government will keep conflicting with the democratic provisions of Constituent Assembly.
It is time for the representatives of Constituent Assembly to step up their voice with the people and Civil Society in protest of keeping any ex-royal member off the vicinity of Narayanhiti palace on the basis of abolition of the monarchy and declaration of federal democratic republic. This is one of the historically symbolic factors of declaration that as per the people´s aspiration Narayanhiti palace must be vacant for keeping it open for people to visit as the museum of their struggle for democracy. The museum must be set with the portraits of revolutions and revolutionaries since the time of Sukra Raj Shastri, Dharma Bhakta, Ganga Lal, Dashrath Chanda to the People´s Movement – April Pursing. Therefore it is ought to be a symbol of people´s glory for democracy where we should not keep any ex-royal residing in the vicinity of people´s museum who will eventually infringe into it. If the interim government respects people´s mandate then it should immediately seek Constituent Assembly´s consensus to correct its decisions on ex-royals´ privileges – shelters and securities.
Ex-royals have ethical responsibility for their dignity since they have accepted people´s verdict. Therefore with no question for their security and shelter they should simply vacant the state-owned people´s properties. It is disgraceful that ex-king has been begging with the interim government, which has no authority to grant even temporary shelter and security without the consensus of people´s representatives of Constituent Assembly. It is with the verdict of the Constituent Assembly the institution of feudal monarchy has been abolished and it is thus only with the consensus of Constituent Assembly any further decision on ex-royals can be taken. This is the protocol that the executive body of the government must not breach. If the cabinet cannot maintain its executions with the protocol of legislation then the executive branch of government dominantly becomes authoritarian.
The ex-king Gyanendra Shah is considered to be the only richest individual in the nation based on his business investments excluding his properties that he has inherited from his father and after the massacre of late king Birendra´s entire family. Therefore, he should be able to hire his own security personnel and live in his own property. This is indeed his avariciously a cheap attempt to still thinking to depend on state-owned properties unless he find himself and his family insecure with the political reason. If not he should daringly seek independence and respect the protocol of people´s verdict.
People´s aspiration for a new democratic Nepal is fundamentally to bring an end to the government practice of double standard that breeds injustice from all kind of exceptions – socio-political, economic, religion and tradition. Justice in democracy does not mean necessarily retaliation because retaliation cannot establish justice in democracy. In order to establish justice or rule of law the society has to entirely respect the protocol of legislation or in simple language play by the rule. This means if Constituent Assembly has abolished the institution of monarchy with the establishment of people´s electoral-mechanism then it is only with the consensus of Constituent Assembly the interim government can take further decision on ex-royals. Otherwise the interim government will illegitimately set double standard conflicting with the legislative protocol that nation´s legislation has established.
This has been by default the tradition of political leaderships, ruling elites and the law experts of Nepal basically inherited from the feudal-gene of our society. Unless the gene that resides in us does not realize to play by the rule, particularly in the politics and the government, Nepali society will fail to think rationally to see how important these sequences of protocol are in establishing the rule of law. International communalities will have to put up with the tradition of impunity again for a long period of time in the socio-political and economic lives of Nepali people unless political leaderships are very serious about themselves for changing their political behavior radically. People and nation will be better off with the democracy if only political leaderships can reason and see the consequences of setting up double standard in politics, which inevitably breeds impunity. They all now world renowned proverb - ´look before you leap´ only if they can see it where they stand for holding on to themselves from rushing to make decision.
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