Barun Roy: The supreme law

ASIA FILE

We'll wait to see where people's power is going to strike next. We haven't seen the last of it in Asia.

For the third time in recent Asian history, the power of the people has struck to unsettle a settled fact. We had seen it in action twice before in the Philippines "" in February 1986 when four days of protests by millions of Filipinos ended 14 years of Marcos dictatorship, and again in January 2001, when Joseph Estrada, an equally hated president, had to quit in the wake of an impeachment trial. And now in Nepal, 19 days of massive, non-violent popular revolt has forced King Gyanendra to loosen his royal stranglehold on power.

Marcos had ordered his tanks to mow down the unarmed protesters massed on Manila's famed Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). When the soldiers climbed out of their vehicles with rifles at the ready, they faced nuns holding out rosaries, priests offering prayers, children greeting them with carnations, and women giving them sandwiches to eat. They broke down in tears.

Joseph Estrada, charged with gross corruption and abuse of power, had thought he could manipulate his impeachment trial in the Senate. When he kept refusing to resign, people gathered on the EDSA once again and simply elected Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the deputy president, to replace him. The Supreme Court stepped in quickly to support the people's move. Remember what the court said? "The welfare of the people is the supreme law." That was the end of Estrada.

In Nepal, King Gyanendra's first offer to transfer executive power to the seven-party alliance was clearly aimed at dividing the movement. People saw through his ruse. It was only after they refused to give up their barricades, tightened their noose around Kathmandu, and threatened to march against the palace in a final push that the King gave in and announced the restoration of the Parliament he had dissolved. He had no choice.

The implications of this popular victory, proving to ordinary Nepalese that they have the power to bring about a peaceful change through the sheer exercise of their will, are going to be far-reaching. First and foremost, it will redefine, possibly permanently, the role of monarchy in Nepal's body politic. King Gyanendra may have saved himself the ignominy of being forced into exile, but he certainly has lost the room to manoeuvre. His kingship no longer holds the Nepalese in awe and fear. People defied death to call for democratic elections to form a constituent assembly and adopt a new, democratic constitution. They will defy it again, perhaps with even greater courage, if there's any attempt to thwart the people's will and seek for the monarchy anything but a strictly ceremonial role a la England or Japan or Thailand.

Second, the victory will affect the political parties, too. It's good that the seven-party alliance stuck together through the entire movement, but that doesn't make them sacrosanct. Popular memory isn't too short to forget how they used to behave in the past. If ever they now fail to stay together to deliver the goods they are expected to deliver, people won't be content with merely being curious observers from the sidelines, after what has happened.

Third, the popular upheaval is a warning to the Maoists, too. It was peaceful change that the people fought for and democracy they sought to uphold. A violent takeover of the government was never their intent and that's what made their movement so glorious and remarkable. It's to the Maoists' credit that they sensed the popular mood and lent the people's movement their full support. If they think they could return to violence in future to impose their will on the evolving political process, they are mistaken. They would do well to remember that it's the people's peaceful protest, and not their decade-old campaign of violence, that has brought about the change we are currently witnessing in Nepal.

One should have no doubt about the deterrent power of people's movements. We saw it amply demonstrated for the third time in the Philippines when President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had to beat a quick retreat after declaring an emergency to silence opposition demands for her resignation on charges of abuse of power and corruption. We saw it again in France where the government had to withdraw its new labour laws in the teeth of stiff popular resistance. We are seeing it now in Nepal where the popular will has compelled the fledgling government to stay on course and take all the correct steps, including a decision not to treat the Maoists as terrorists anymore.

We'll wait to see where people's power is going to strike next. By no means have we seen the last of it in Asia. Wherever people's welfare is ignored and human rights are abused and trampled upon, people power will be ready to play its role to enforce the supreme law. Will governments listen?