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Although the army chief and high-ranking army officials rebuffed gossip over the alleged coup, the latest action, however, has resulted in the withdrawal of support by the government’s major coalition partner, the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist). The dismissal has also sparked wide spread demonstrations by opposition groups as well as criticisms by other political parties including the main opposition Nepali Congress.
As per reports, the Maoist-led government of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, a former Maoist rebel leader, decided to get rid of the army chief over a long-standing dispute on how to integrate former rebels into the army they fought for a decade, under a U.N.-brokered peace agreement. While the Maoists fighters are confined to U.N. monitored camps, Dahal wants them freed to join the army, which Katawal resisted.
According to government sources, Katawal also disobeyed government orders to stop recruiting soldiers, boycotted six events in last month's national games in which it had to play against the People’s Liberation Army, and allowed eight army generals to continue in their posts past their tenure.
Maoists do not have many friends in Nepalese power circle and like it or not they are in the government. The question that Nepali media should ask is whether the army chief is outside the realm of civilian government control? Also, does Dahal have constitutional and legal powers to dismiss the army chief in light of Nepal’s constitution that is currently being rewritten as Nepal’s president and not the prime minister is the official commander of the army. Interestingly, Nepal’s current President Ram Baran Yadav is a member of the Nepali Congress, the main opposition party that has vowed to fight Katawal’s dismissal.
Dahal, also known as Prachanda, and his party workers have made serious blunders in the past, but that should not mean the public should judge their every decision in light of past mistakes. Some steps taken by the government have actually been good for Nepal. On the question over the army chief, before Maoists are condemned for politicizing the national army or trying to use it to achieve ideological goals, it is important to peek into the army's history.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Nepal’s army is the most feudal and rigid organization in the country, which has always pledged its loyalty to the King above other national interests. Within the army, cronyism reigns supreme. One who is close to the royals, or their friends gets promotions while those who are regular service members are pushed aside and shipped off to locations, which influential officers do not prefer, leaving them little or no opportunity to advance their skills and education. In the army, there is no such thing as fair play. And then, there is a custom of asking low ranking service members to serve high-ranking generals and their families.
A young man joins the army to serve the nation and its people, but instead the generals use him for their personal benefits, making him work as a personal servant. So, should one be proud of such an organization?
Those who are now screaming their lungs out and signing praises of the army as an “institution for Nepalese” and denouncing the Maoists for interfering in its affairs are exhibiting hypocrisy and naivety. Where were their concerns for fairness when the army was promoting service members not based on qualification and capacity but on family connections, caste and other non-performance related basis? Is the Nepalese army an institution for the Nepalese people because in the past it always put the interests of their King above the country and its people and even today, it is not very concerned about the people?
Maoists are no saints either as they have the blood of their own countrymen and women on their hands. But, one should also not make the mistake of glorifying the Nepalese army. It was established to serve the King and the Royal family. Although Nepal is a republic today, its army generals continue to bear and exhibit their past attitudes of aristocracy and influence, which is above the common man.
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(Bhumika Ghimire is a freelance reporter. Her articles have been published at OhMyNews, NepalNews, Toward Freedom, Telegraph Nepal, Himal South Asian and ACM Ubiquity. She is also a regular contributor to News Front Weekly, in Kathmandu, and Nepal Abroad, in Washington D.C. She can be reached at bhumika_g@yahoo.com. ©Copyright Bhumika Ghimire.)
