Pardon and National Reconciliation Process in Nepal Even though the Royal government has announced two separate policies regarding “Surrender and Rehabilitation (of Maoist Cadres)” and “Regarding Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)”, the true National Reconciliation cannot begin until the constitutional power of Pardon is exercised by the monarch. Until then the newly formulated policies aimed at mainstreaming the Maoists and restoring peace in the country through peaceful means, can only be taken as theological achievement. The prizes and other facilities announced to the different levels of Maoist cadres and leaders who want to surrender with or without arms; the government to provide economic, physical and legal security to the surrendering Maoists; to provide extra economic assistance to the group surrender; can only be deemed true and effective if the government envisages the national Reconciliation Process through offering unconditional pardon to the rebellions. The issue of employment and benefit for the unimaginable mass of the low ranking cadres and displaced youth can be sort through prioritized foreign employment only if the government provides non-interest loan to all of them without any security or collateral. Moreover, such foreign employment must be regulated through the government window only in order to ensure that they are not exploited by the profit oriented private foreign employment business. The government must take into account the truth of thousands of Nepalese being stranded, tortured and killed in different gulf countries. The ultimate solution can be a government level labor agreement with the major labor importing partners such as Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Kuwait, Qatar, Hong Kong and others. Professional training, continuing education, adult education, income generating skill development, psychological treatment, free health checkups, food-shelter-clothes should be the primary attributes of the envisioned rehabilitation centers all across the nation. Those who have already gained foreign employment experience, exposure to the 21st century technologies and expertise in different production and development jobs abroad should be used for the reconstruction. Development of infrastructure such as roads, transportation, agriculture, hydropower, information and technology should be the primary start off point ensuring employment to the people and should be compensated at global standard. Foreign donor agencies have to support such reconstruction without any reservation. The recourse towards reconstruction is only possible through a national reconciliation. For the national reconciliation, a single aligned faction cannot go too far. There is an ultimate need to join hands together with all factions be it royalists, parliamentarians or the revolutionaries. There has already been a consensus among the seven agitating parties on the issues of constitutional assembly, to curtail the power of the crown and to reinstate the parliament. The recent Delhi talks between the seven agitating parties and the Maoists have shown glimmering sign of possible truce based on national need of reconciliation too. The people have been eagerly waiting for the day when everything returns to normal and we all begin to rebuild the nation from where we left. All these immense possibilities are viable only if the Royal regime gives up its power and reinstates the parliament or forms a multiparty interim government. The reinstated parliament or the interim government can move further towards a constitution amendment or a constitution draft committee. The role of the apex court in this stage shall be to comply with the national reconciliation need and issue habeas-corpus (show-the-body) orders to all security forces, executive government bodies and the palace controlled army. Reinstatement of the crown as the constitutional monarch, revival of bicameral legislature and multi-party democracy, exercise of adult franchise for popular will, reinstatement of the sovereign authority on the people and guarantee of fundamental human rights should be the unconditional attributes to be considered. -Advocate Santosh Giri, Human Rights Lawyer-Nepal. March15, 2006. (Based on the historical development of Pardon as conceived by Professor Daniel T. Kobil in ‘The Quality of Mercy Strained: Wresting the Pardoning Power from the King’, [69 Tex.L.Rev. 569 (1991)