The Juggler

The pre-monsoon season of street upheaval is upon us, and as public frustration builds up there is pressure once more on Nepal’s revolving political leadership to switch partners.

There has hardly been a day in the past month when Kathmandu’s main intersections have not been blocked by royal rallies, teacher’s marches, doctors’ demos, sit-ins by victims of cooperatives scams, and even the ruling UML last week staged its own show of youth force.

In the middle of all this is Prime Minister K P Oli, who assures us that all is well. He is sounding more and more like Emperor Nero.

The street demonstrations by various professions are about corruption, bad governance, job insecurity, and unsustainable wages, but the general public finds resonance in the anger.

Teachers had been on warpath for a month, demanding that Parliament pass the School Education Bill for salaries and benefits on par with civil servants and other reforms.  

As it stands, Education Minister Bidhya Bhattarai of the UML had resigned last week following disagreements with Oli over meeting teachers’ demands. Earlier, Binda Pandey and Ushakiran Timalsina were suspended for daring to challenge Oli for taking a tycoon’s donation of real estate for the party office.

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However, on Wednesday, the teachers called off their protest after negotiating a nine-point deal with the government, warning that they would resume demonstrations if the agreements were not implemented.

The Nepal Medical Association has shut down non-essential medical services in solidarity with resident doctors in private hospitals who are demanding stipends on par with government facilities.

For months, victims of cooperatives and loan sharks have come to Kathmandu from all over the country to demand justice and compensation. The government has formed multiple committees, signed many agreements, passed an ordinance to return their money, but relevant laws have languished. 

All agitating groups have been given the runaround by successive governments led by the three main parties. Indeed, Oli, the NC’s Sher Bahadur Dueba, and Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the Maoist Centre have  reached multi-point agreements with teachers, doctors, and victims of fraud to address their grievances. But they were empty promises.

And now that the Maoists are in the opposition, Dahal is using the street protests to drive a wedge in the ruling coalition. In fact, the only issue uniting all three parties so far is their objection to reinstate a Hindu monarchy — although sections of the NC seem to be fence-sitting.  

In Baluwatar, Oli issues directives to his ministers to hold marathon meetings with protesting groups even while some coalition partners in the NC question his handling of the demonstrations.

Haggling between the NC and UML on the appointment of the new Rastra Bank governor and appointments to the Constitutional Commission have widened the fissures within the coalition.

Various factions of the pro-monarchy groups have also been holding different street rallies, including for the release of the royalist Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) leaders who were arrested following the violent pro-monarchy protest in Tinkune last month.

Nepal Police have released some detained RPP leaders but former journalist and party senior vice-president Rabindra Mishra remains in police custody, as does Durga Prasai, the business tycoon whom ex-king Gyanendra had appointed to lead the Tinkune rally.

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Nepalis across the political spectrum have condemned the continued detention and police treatment of Mishra, calling him a prisoner of conscience.

At another demonstration in Balkhu last week, the RPP criticised the government for not allowing peaceful march at the city centre.

“A democratic state must give citizens the right to assemble and express their opinions, and to create public spaces where they can practice those views,” says Taranath Dahal of Freedom Forum. 

Added Dahal: “Open platforms were established in Nepal for its citizens to be able to voice their opposition even during authoritarian systems. But in an established republic where freedom of expression is considered a fundamental right, we see an erosion of the public space.”

Shristi Karki