"The current administration must be dismissed"
	TIME talks to the man who would be Nepal's next Prime Minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal
	By Alex Perry | Kathmandu

Posted Monday, January 26, 2004; 21:00 HKT
Madhav Kumar Nepal, general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), is the man most predict will be Prime Minister should the King restore parliament. He embarrassed the Indian government this month by publicly announcing a meeting with the Maoist leadership in the northern Indian city of Lucknow.

TIME: How do the Maoists think they're doing in the fighting?
Nepal: They were optimistic. They had the feeling that they were not going to lose. They have the confidence and determination to sustain themselves. But their fear is that after they defeat the Nepalese army—they feel the Nepalese army is not a problem—but after they defeat the Nepalese army, they are going to face the American army, or some other foreign army. But even foreign forces will never eliminate them.

However, they realize that they cannot go on like this forever. They want to see some sort of way out. There was general consent that there is scope for further discussion.

TIME: What about their claim to be the only ones to represent the people, particularly the poor?
Nepal: I told them, 'I don't think you will be in a position to sustain a regime even if you win the war. Your policies are not acceptable: the whole world knows the fate of Pol Pot. You believe in one-party rule, one-party dictatorship and no one will support that. You are cutting off people's heads, taking out their eyes, committing the most inhuman barbarity. Even if anyone dares raise a finger to you, you kill them.' That sort of ideology will not maintain order for long, and they will not be able to sustain their rule as their policies will not be digestible to the international community. The practice of the Maoists is that of terrorism. Every day there are more reports that they are not sparing innocent people. Of course, they denied this was their policy, said such acts were not carried out on their instruction and if they did happen, they were investigated and the guilty were punished.

TIME: How do you resolve the present impasse with the King?
Nepal: The parties are always prepared to develop good relations with the palace and clear the distrust between us. But the King needs to make his commitment to multi-party democracy clear in his actions. He should restore parliament, and then form an all-party government on the recommendation of the parties in parliament, and thenceforth be above politics and controversy and not interfere.

If this is not acceptable to him, there will be no agreement with the parties. It's a question of principle: the question of how the Prime Minister should be chosen, and that the King must accept our recommendation on this. Plus, the King's rule in the last 16 months has shown the King to be completely incapable of solving the country's problems.

TIME: But the King says the parties are incapable of putting aside personal differences and forming a united government to help Nepal.
Nepal: He is completely wrong. [Former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur] Deuba has his claim to be reinstated, but we have agreed that if he is not, then the alternative is me, Madhav Nepal. This is the palace playing games and trying to create suspicion and rumor. They say we're all acting out of personal interest. It's not the truth.

In fact, the King also says all the time he is for democracy, and that we should not distrust him, and asks why we don't believe him. Why? Because his words and deeds don't match. How much longer should we give credence to his words when he does not back them with action? You cannot say the King's stated desires [for the restoration of parliamentary democracy] are earnest. Palace people tell us that the King has not changed his mind on this.

The point is, if the King wants to impose his own autocratic 'rule of God', it will not be accepted by anyone. And maybe we will have to wait a long time, but we will never give up and accept a return to rule by an absolute King.

And the longer we wait, then the question increasingly becomes whether the people will lose patience, and upgrade their demands. We're not talking about the monarchy being obsolete in the 21st century, but the people are. If we have more failure, then that feeling will only develop.

TIME: It's difficult to escape the impression of parties and the palace squabbling while the country folds around them.
Nepal: We do have a sense of urgency. Among the people there is a feeling that the King is not in favor of democracy, but wants to impose autocracy. And if the present situation continues, sentiment will turn against the King and the monarchy. The King is not popular. People do not give him any faith or respect. Only the parties can unite the nation. The parties might have made mistakes in the past, but who should punish them? The King, or the people?

TIME: How real is the danger of Nepal becoming a failed state?
Nepal: If the whole system collapses, Nepal will be a failed state. But with the King on one side with the army and the Maoists on the other with guns in their hands, how can we take the initiative and bring order to the nation? I have been to the Maoists and I have been to the King and we are doing our best to make to them realize the situation and be sensible. People will not accept an autocratic monarchy, neither will they accept an autocratic dictatorial one-party system. We must transform both sides, although it is true to say that the democracy of the King is better than the democracy of the Maoists.

We have even produced a nine-point roadmap, and we think that can be common ground for all. The first point out of this is that the current appointed administration must be dismissed and replaced by an all-party government as recommended by the parties in parliament. The first positive step must be taken by the King. If there is another way out, bring it to me.

TIME: What do you make of foreign military assistance to the Royal Nepalese Army?
Nepal: I don't like to see the increasing involvement of foreign forces and foreign interference in our internal affairs. We don't like to see Nepal used by other countries for their own interests. But we can't say much about it because the Maoists are killing people: both sides are not behaving properly, in fact, although the Maoists deserve more of the blame.

However, if foreigners are supporting the autocratic steps of the King, then we oppose them. If there is an autocratic King, all the assistance provided by foreign forces will be of no use. The money and the weapons will be misused. If they are for the democratic rights of the people, on the other hand, then they might have some positive effect.

	Living On the Brink [September 10, 2003] As Maoist rebels spread fear and violence across Nepal, the establishment in the once booming capital watches its world fall apart "The Military Solution is Next" [September 10, 2003] Interview with Nepal Prime Minister Suryabahadur Thapa Return to Year Zero [May 10, 2002] Nepal's Maoist rebels are murdering, beating, bombing and lootingÑall in the name of 'protecting the people' What Really Happened That Night? [June 11, 2001] The murder of Nepal's royals has the whole country demanding concrete, credible answers and some proof—to get a sense of national closure More Related Items | Search all issues of TIME Magazine