Foreign powers lobbying for 'comfortable' government in Nepal

Indian, Chinese and American diplomats have been lobbying to establish a 'comfortable' government in Nepal.

Diplomats have begun piling pressure on the top political leadership for government formation in view of their concerns regarding the formation of the new government and the role of three new forces that gained prominence from the recent polls.

Ambassadors of India, China and superpower America have intensified political meetings at the highest level after President Bidya Devi Bhandari invited parties to stake claim for government formation.

They have been inquiring about filling crucial positions such as Head-of-State, Prime Minister and Parliament Speaker, among others, with top political leaders. Besides diplomats, officials of intelligence agencies of these friendly countries are also found to be active.

In the last two weeks, Indian Ambassador to Nepal Navin Srivastava has held meetings with Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN (UML) Chairman KP Sharma Oli and CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'.

Likewise, United States Ambassador Dean R Thompson also met these leaders and expressed his concerns regarding filling of crucial positions in government and parliament.

Similarly, Chargé d'Affaires Wang Xin of Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu also called on Rastra Prajatantra Party (RPP) Chairman Rajendra Lingden last week with similar curiosities on government formation. Xin also congratulated the RPP chair for the party's success in the November 20 elections.

Besides the US, India and China, other donor countries have also been interested in Nepal's contemporary politics.

The international community is wondering who would lead the government here as none of the political parties succeeded in garnering clear majority and a coalition is certainly the path forward.

Nepal's development cooperation partner Switzerland's Ambassador Elisabeth von Capeller had also inquired about the government formation process with former NC vice president Bimalendra Nidhi last week.

A European Union (EU) diplomat informed Nepalkhabar that Kathmandu-based diplomatic community was also dwelling on contemporary political developments in Nepal. According to the source, Western countries, including the US, favor a NC-led coalition to continue in Nepal.

After the Deuba-led government came to being last year, Nepal finally passed the long-prolonged US grant agreement Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), to which western countries expressed their appreciation.

The Western bloc have also been content with the 'distance' maintained by the Deuba-led government with China. They seem to have analyzed that if Deuba continues to remain in power, China's influence here would decrease.

None of the past agreements Nepal reached with China were implemented during Deuba's last tenure, and he seemingly enjoys the support of Western countries for turning a blind eye to deals made with China.

Western countries, including the US and India, back the continuation of Deuba-led government and want the NC to hold onto the presidency.

Their analysis is that the China's influence can be minimized here if left-wing forces remain in disarray. Some donor countries seem to have developed an understanding that Western aid could shrink with increasing Chinese investment projects in Nepal.

As China-US ties continues to deteriorate, unhealthy competition between the two seem to have impact in Nepal. It is evident that the West is unhappy as the government here takes pro-China stance and vice versa.

Similarly, the unprecedented rise of three new parties is being closely watched with great interest by India, China and the West. They are invested in understanding the working style of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), the Janamat Party and the Nagarik Unmukti Party and the policies they would formulate on national and regional issues.

"We are interested in the policies to be taken up by CK Raut's Janamat Party and the Nagarik Unmukti Party, which have emerged by taking the issues of identity and development among the public. We would like to know their stance on key national and regional issues," said the European diplomat.

The West is also concerned about problems that might be faced in mobilizing foreign aid if there is political instability in Nepal.

However, a Ministry of Finance official said donors' geopolitical interests outweigh foreign aid mobilization in the country.

"The West's concerns towards Chinese cooperation projects are on the rise. Assistance received from Western countries is mobilized through regular mechanisms, regardless of whose government is formed since there has been no change in our foreign aid policy," he told Nepalkhabar.

Western countries have closely watched the RSP advocating the abolition of provinces under the federal setup.

It is said that countries, including Germany, Britain, Belgium, Norway, Finland and Switzerland, lobbied at the political level to introduce federal system in Nepal. Therefore, Western countries are wary of the growing mandate of such parties advocating anti-federalism. The West has also interests in transitional justice and human rights here. However, India and China are least bothered about these issues.

The emergence of the RPP led by Rajendra Lingden, who promotes Hinduism, has also been received with great interest by the West. Western countries are said to be in favor of a secular nation.

Meanwhile, China is watching with interest whether the next government would be formed with 'Western influence'. A Chinese diplomat said that the Deuba-led government has distanced itself from China. China also suspects that if Nepal hands citizenships to Tibetan refugees, Western countries may use them as geopolitical pawns.

During the Deuba government, China tried to expand ties with the NC from the party level. However, China does not seem to be successful in that effort.

China is also interested in the working style of the RSP, the Janamat Party and the Nagarik Unmukti Party and their policies on national and regional issues.

"The RSP is dominated by youths. Their foreign policy is also not clear. We doubt whether they will align with Western powers and become anti-China," the Chinese diplomat expressed concern.

Similarly, Chinese are wary of security concerns if a movement of identity surfaces again in the Tarai at the behest of the Janamat Party and the Nagarik Unmukti Party. India, which has an open border with Nepal, is also said to share interest on the same issue.