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Peace, Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation
As I Perceive

Mukunda Das Shrestha
Associate Professor of English, T.U.

This article is a reflection of the writer’s personal view of Peace, Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation. The ideas and opinions expressed here are less materialistic and more spiritualistic. As such, they do not repose much confidence in the existing philosophies, approaches and practices towards conflict resolution through negotiation alone. It is strongly argued that conflict resolution would not be possible without realization of truth, and internal purification of sinful mind, which calls for management of one’s own self, management of people and, finally, management of organizations.

The demoniac person thinks: “So much wealth do I have today, and I will gain more according to my schemes. So much is mine now, and it will increase in the future, more and more. He is my enemy, and I have killed him, and my other enemies will also be killed. I am the Lord of everything, I am the enjoyer, and I am perfect, powerful and happy. I am the richest man, surrounded by aristocratic relatives. There is none so powerful as I am. I shall perform sacrifices, I shall give some charity, and thus I shall rejoice.”

The person referred to above may be prosperous materially and physically, but poor mentally and spiritually. Such a person may be able to have the pleasures of life, but not enjoy the blessings of peace, because pleasures and happiness are two different things. Pleasures are material, and happiness, spiritual.

The term, violence, on the other hand, could be understood and stated as hateful and heinous actions directed towards destroying the existing order of beautiful things and commonly accepted set of customs, traditions and manners. The two, as such, are the human traits opposed to each other. Count Leo Tolstoy’s most celebrated novel War and Peace, the vast epic of Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion of Russia in 1812, gives a vivid picture of the two opposite human instincts. To elaborate, the two characteristics are a reflection of two different states of mind- mental satisfaction derived while being/getting attached to greater things, and the pangs of suffering and separation felt while getting detached from things of greater value. In short, peace is an elixir, a panacea for all pains and ills- physical as well as mental, whereas violence, a venom, a deadly poison.

During ages of prolonged struggle between good and evil and between peace-lovers and war-mongers, human beings had and have witnessed how protagonists and war-mongers in different ages of human civilization, in their crusade against peace and the established order of things, got themselves defeated. Having no alternative, they had to submit to peace. Retreating from the battle against good and fine creation of nature, resulting in irreparable loss of millions of lives and property, and in pervasive destitute and dissolution, the war-mongers and the humpty-dumpy, who always took pride in sitting on the lofty wall of arrogance, in tickling their vanity, and in terrorizing the whole peaceful atmosphere, finally had to recognize and embrace peace as the ultimate truth of survival and human civilization. Samrat Ashok, the Great Ruler of the Mauraya Dynasty, after the sanguinary battle of Kalinga, and Angulimal, who quenched his thirst for human blood by wearing wreaths of human fingers, attained eternal peace only by singing hymns of peace and by preaching peace throughout the world. The currency note of India still bears the Pillars of Ashok, as an incarnation of peace. Contrary to this, nowhere in Germany has not a pillar or statue of Adolph Hitler of Nazi Germany ever been built, nor has any part of the land in Italy been spared to erect the statue of Mussolini. Even the name of the so-called Alexander the Great has been buried into oblivion, whereas the photos, logos, or statues of Lord Buddha are seen in many parts of the world with Buddhist communities. Nepal takes pride in that the Buddha, also called the Light of Asia, was born in Nepal, and that his message of non-violence is pervasive throughout the world. Mahatma Gandhi of India, an incarnation of non-violence, whose photo is seen hung in many offices, still dwells in the heart of many ideal and peace-loving people both in India and around the world.

The word peace is used with different connotations and discussed and understood in different contexts and perspectives-, social, spiritual, political, etc. Politically, and in the context of bilateral and multilateral relations, peace is understood and elaborated in a rather materialistic and non-spiritual sense. In reality, it is a state of mind, a human condition and a framework for thinking good, being good and doing good. It is only through this philosophy that we can enjoy the blessings of life. As such, peace refers not only to arms control and regional security (ACRS) arrangements, but also indicates various conditions that ultimately rest in the conviction of its necessity. Thus restoration of peace in the Middle East calls for an integrated process at three levels: an agreement upon political settlement, a coordinate economic development, then security arrangements which involve a stabilizing role for the United Nations. Unlike in the Middle East, the peace needs considerations in Indonesia and in Kosovo. The Asian sub-continent is of different nature

Peace is a sensitive state of mind opposed to unhappiness and mental unrest. Generally speaking, the domain of peace gets disturbed under the predominance of violence. All beautiful creations of nature being conserved and many other marvels of art and architecture preserved through years of toil during ages of peace and progress are damaged and destroyed in no time on the altar of violence.

A utilitarian theory that aims at the greatest happiness of the greatest number is utopian. As such, never has there been an age of all peace. It would not be an exaggeration to say that human history began with rivalry, if not with conflict, over the issue of commanding ownership over water (river or rivers). To speak of other causes, the gap between haves and haves-not, and the exploitation of the weak by the strong and of the poor by the weak are some of the tangible factors contributing to the origin of conflict. Asia and Africa have been the homeland of large number of people living below the poverty line. Violence, as such, in the Asian sub-continent and in the African countries is mainly poverty-related. It has driven the people to insurgency and terrorist and violent activities, all widening the magnitude and dimension of violence. In late 1970s in Cambodia during the reign of terror of the Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, who abolished education and religion, more than millions of the innocent people were forced from cities into rural communes and another million people were killed or died of starvation. Pol Pot’s philosophy was that ultimate peace could be established only after violence and bloodshed. The world does not believe, but practice this.

Violence in Indonesia stemmed from student movements demanding political and economic reforms. President Suharto, in a bid to receive critical loans from the International Monetary Fund to cure the country’s ailing economy, announced an end to government subsidies. The result was a considerable price hike and bloodshed, leading to clashes between the riot police and the rioters resulting in the killing of thousands, burning of shops and houses of the Chinese nationals in Indonesia, seizure of the parliament building, etc. In spite of a series of political changes-resignation by Suharto and a take-over by his protégé Haibie, things did not change for any better. Despite these changes and peace restoration efforts, the island country is still at unrest with eruption of new racial and ethnic violence. Conflict resolution and reconciliation, in this country, through negotiation alone seems very difficult. In the Philippines, the corruption charges against President Joseph Estrada has not only resulted in violence, but also forced the President to resign. Behind the bars, he is facing a trial that may end in a life sentence.

Over the decades, violence has been increasing considerably, posing a great threat to global peace. Though the U.S. Crime Index Trends shows a steady decrease in crimes in the late 1990s, with the 9 % decrease in murder, and 8 % in robbery and 6 % in aggravated assault with 4 % fall in the crime level in 1996 in the suburban areas, the level of crime by region, geographic division, religion, etc. in other countries in the South-East Asia, East Asia, Africa, and Latin America- is increasing tremendously. The frequency of violence in Muslim countries is much higher. Fundamentalist militants in Egypt killed 58 foreign tourists and 4 Egyptians by striking at the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, the 3,400 year-old structure in the Luxor area. Armed men at the Tzotzil Indian village of Actea, in the Mexican village in the state of Chipas, took 45 lives on 22 December 1997. More than 400 people during the 9 days of December, 1997 and another 500 people lost their lives in violent incidents flared up by Muslim extremists at the onset of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. As estimated by the Algerian government, a total of 26,536 persons have died during the 6-year-long civil war in the country.

Not only physical violence, but also other factors and unusual happenings are hostile to peace. Disasters, diseases and epidemics and the lack of social security schemes/ programs are other causes of human unhappiness.

With the marvels of modern science becoming necessities of human life, the magnitude and dimension of disaster has further widened. With man’s increasing association with the scientific inventions and discoveries, the world is witnessing a considerable increase in disasters of all kinds. Such disasters are both natural and man-wrought. It is difficult to reckon lives lost in shipwrecks, aircraft disasters, railroad accidents, bomb explosions, nuclear accidents and tests. These are disasters with high rate of fatalities and others with relatively low fatalities. Earthquakes, mine explosions, hurricanes, typhoon, blizzards and other storms, fire incidents, etc. result in more disruptions and fatalities, adding more to human worries.

Life-taking diseases like cancer, HIV/Aids, diabetes, heart disease and cancer are also equally threatening.

For ages, Nepal has been recognized as a peace-loving country, the birthplace of Lord Buddha. Considering the atrocities of cold war and regional conflicts spreading across the world, King Birendra had proposed before the distinguished heads of state and heads of government during the auspicious occasion of His coronation that Nepal be declared a zone of peace. The proposal was accepted by more than one hundred countries, but by India, Nepal’s nearest neighboring country.

The last six years after the restoration of the multi-party democracy in 1990, has seen political turmoil and disturbances and an unexpected increase in the Maoist activities throughout the countries. Such activities, which began sporadically, have now taken a devastating turn, resulting in mass massacre of police personnel and innocent people for the last six years. As stated in a report published by INSEC, during the one-year period rule by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, 2 hundred and 63 persons including and police personnel and the Maoist insurgents have been killed in the rigorous attack launched by the Maoists at Jhorletar, Rukumkot, Surkhet, Dolpa, Palpa and other districts. The organization has also reported 6,000 incidents of human rights violations. The report released by Deputy Prime Minister keeps the number of those killed since 13 February 1996 till now at 1 thousand and 27. INSEC has recently reported that a total of more than 2 thousand persons, including the police personnel, the Maoist rebels and the ordinary people have been killed during the six years period of Maoist operations and interventions.

The root cause of ever-increasing Maoist activities in the Himalayan Kingdom, as the majority of the people say, could be attributed to the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the ruling party government. It has failed to maintain the law and order situation, eliminate poverty and backwardness and control increasing exploitation of the disadvantaged communities by those in power. Regarding the security issue, it has also been alleged that the government has not been able to mobilize security mechanisms available at its own disposal to ensure peace and security to the lives and property of the people. The government, on the other hand, has been condemning the Maoist activities as heinous, criminal and directed towards damaging the norms and values of the democratic system of governance. More and more allegations have been levied that the Maoists have turned down government’s proposal to sit together for an open dialogue and discuss the country’s burning problems. Most surprisingly, the Main Opposition Party and other political parties, witnessing the unusual developments taking place in the country at a faster degree, have not yet been able to state whether the Maoist insurgency problems are political or criminal. Some of them say that the problems are political needing political solutions. To an intellectual, such a cunning statement seems all confusing and deceitful, because it does not analyze the nature of the political problem, if it were a political problem indeed, nor does it explicitly propose or prescribe any tangible political solutions.

The government promises to be neat and clean and remain committed to the selfless service to the people, which seems to be a remote reality, and has recently announced a few development package programs for the downtrodden. However, it would worthwhile to ask, “Will this alone help solve the Maoist problem? “The answer could be both “Yes” to some extent, and “ No” to a great extent. It could be “Yes”, if Maoist invasions and operations against the government are directed and restricted to elimination of rampant corruption, misuse of national resources for fulfillment of vested interests of the political leaders in power, and for the establishment of a just and equitable society through restoration of peace and equal development opportunities for all. The answer to the above question may be “No” if the prime motives of the Maoist insurgency were to overthrow the multi-party system and establish a new Janabad regime of their own. It could be one of the reasons why the Maoists are not responding to the government’s call for an open dialogue. Their hesitation as well as refusal to sit vis-à-vis with the ruling parties across the negotiating table seems to be an expression of their hidden and evil intentions. With the intensifying of more disastrous interventions and operations, the possibility of open dialogue seems to be remote.

The ever-increasing activities of the Maoist insurgents and the deteriorating law and order situation have posed a great threat to International Donor agencies working in Nepal for decades with various development projects. Over the years, in many Maoists held forums, effectiveness of donor assistance in terms of investment-returns ratio has been questioned. The Maoists have upheld that donor assistance has not been properly utilized. As a remedy to this, donor assistance should be directed towards poverty alleviation and overall development of the disadvantaged and marginalized communities. Donor agencies carrying out of their development programs in the Maoist affected areas have perceived mixed impacts of Maoist violence on their assistance. Such impacts at macro and micro levels are both positive as well as negative.

After an in-depth assessment of the donor assistance and of increasing Maoist activities, donor agencies have felt the need for strategic change in donor assistance policy. They now realize that local development assistance should be less donor-driven and more local needs based. To this end, there have been increasing trends among the donor agencies to work in partnership. INGOs like Redd Barnet, GTZ, MS-Nepal, SAP-Nepal and many others with exception of a few, have already started working in partnership. There have been important implications of Maoist conflicts on the development agencies to change their incentive systems. DFID-Nepal in a study report on this issue has prescribed Do’s and Don’ts for the development agencies working in Maoist influenced areas. The Do’s focus, among other things, on the use of local resources – human, technical and material and formulation and materialization of local development policies in consultation with the target group/s. The Don’ts include moving and working of the donor agents with police personnel, and use of sophisticated and costly equipments.

Over the years, it has been realized that civil societies and local NGOs can work more effectively than the GOs in raising public awareness and in properly mobilizing scarce local resources-human, material, technical towards poverty alleviation, good governance and effective participation of the local people in policy formulation and management of state affairs. But they seem to be least concerned with the Maoist problems. The problem being political or of some other kind, it is risky indeed for them to get involved in such matters. But they can, at least, help the people analyze and realize the seriousness of the problem so as to devise ways and means of solving the problem.

Violence is an offshoot of evil and destructive human instincts. It, as already been discussed, generates from a number of causes. But it is sure that all crimes are acts of violence. The loss of lives and property incurred in violence is irreparable. Civil wars, which sometimes become more disastrous than wars among nations, constitute one of the forms of violence. It can even endanger national strength and territorial integrity. With the disintegration of the former USSR, for example, into small nations, Russia ceased to be a Super Power with its glory eclipsed by internal civil disorder and with many misfortunes brought upon the lives of the people, who had never to worry about bare necessities of life. After its disintegration, the country saw and had to bear more violence. The country could not do what it could have done as a Super Power towards minimizing violence and maintaining power balance between the pro-communist and the pro-western nations. The disintegration considerably increased tendencies among communities, sects, races, tribes, etc. to be free from the Central rule. Not only Russia, but also many other nations, including even small ones, has now become vulnerable to the threat of separation. Needless to argue, global peace in such a situation is almost unthinkable.

Politically, an approach to peace stems from political leaders’ moral integrity to tell the truth to the public at large. Quite irrespective of the violence mounting in their homeland, they make tall talks about world peace. It sounds quite strange for countries without peace at home, to speak of peace abroad. Many political efforts seemingly undertaken for restoration and promotion of peace end in otherwise results. Transformation of a country’s atom-for-peace program into an atom-for-war-or-otherwise purpose, for example, is a testimony of this. Concerning the nuclear tests conducted in May 1998, by the two longtime adversaries- India and Pakistan, both Prime Ministers- Atal Behari Vajpaee and Nawaz Sharif said that there was no release of any radioactivity into the atmosphere from the tests. Coming days will see the impact of such tests.

Ceasefires, negotiations, summit meetings, though are most acceptable ways of conflict resolutions and restoration of peace, are not enough. We have witnessed failure of many efforts of this kind. Reasons of failure of peace-making efforts could be attributed, among others, to the lack of sincerity among the signatories of peace conference and summits and non-implementation of commitments. The failure of the League of Nations after its establishment in 1915 is a living example of it. Despite noteworthy achievements of the SAARC, the tension between India and Pakistan is increasing. Despite the fact that conflict is a human evil and that conflicts are manageable, they impede our development and drive us into momentary or long-term displeasure or unhappiness. Every conflict, it should be realized, stems from the want of conscience and from a state of non-realization of truth. For this, all the human beings could be accused- more or less or and one way or the other. Every accused is required to confess his or her guilt, and deserves to be forgiven. It is only through self-realization, apology and confession of guilt that we can get near to peace and remain far apart from conflict. The world has physically and materially been turned into a global village, but the feeling of alienation has kept us far apart. The WTO aims to bring together world business communities to enhance each other’s effectiveness and to benefit from each other. But contrary to this spirit, will the individual or communal feeling of suppressing others for fulfilling vested interests make WTO a reality of the day? The answer could be affirmative YES, if we could, as George Bernard Shaw in his masterpiece play Man and Superman expected every normal human being (Man) to be turned into a wise and judicious being (Superman), healthy- morally and spiritually, quick to love, affection and brotherhood, but slow to anger, greed, jealousy, malice, and ill-will. This calls for internal purification of mind of all human beings

People in the new millennium feel lucky to be living at the very moment of history when humanity is conquering new frontiers of knowledge. As space faring species, man’s life on Earth and his attitude towards the Universe are changing rapidly. With the advance in technological and scientific innovations, man has entered into an epoch-making era, making global communication easier and beneficial to all. Despite this, we have witnessed a steady decline in the amount of wisdom. Though all human beings can rightly assess the value of peace and estimate the dire consequences of conflicts, we are quick to violence, but slow to wisdom. Consequently, human civilization in the present-day world is faced with increasing violence, civil disorder, communal riots, separatist movements, and party conflicts for fulfilling everyone’s vested interests. World peace becomes almost impossible in such a situation. Such innovation, need to be compatible with peace needs of human beings.

All civilized societies perpetuate the memory of a great heroes- Buddhist, Christ, and Gandhi. Such societies will continue to denounce and condemn warmongers -Hitler, Mussolini, and Pol Pot. The decades of nineties and twenties ended with many conflicts and violence in many parts of the world. It would be too early for us to foretell the future of the new millennium. But let us conclude by saying, “Hope brings eternal in human breast”. Let us also take it in mind that peace begins at home. Without this, let us not talk about peace abroad. This peace at home would be possible only if the people elected representatives will remain clean and green and committed to the selfless service of the people.

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