Bhutan and Maldives moving towards representative rule

True, people in every nation are likely to see their involvement in the affairs of their country, which is the essence of democratic rule. The people of Bhutan too are understandably keen to watch such a development, but here is a popular monarch who, so far, as such, has not been the subject of ire of his people. The King has already brought some minor reforms and has gone for devolution of power at lower level. Now he has gone for much bigger step in the right direction. If his scheme of things are implemented within the time frame with all seriousness and sincerity, which one can hope will be done, then democratic rule in south Asia will move a step further even though it is unfortunate that in some countries of the region such governance has suffered setbacks.

Developments in line to introduce representative government in another small nation in the south Asian region is also quite positive. This Indian Ocean island state of Maldives is also coming closer to slowly replacing the one-party governance. President Mamun Abdul Gayoom, who has been at the helm for long, has made it clear that his nation is moving towards democratic reforms. However, he has to succumb to the wishes of the pro-democratic movement in the country demanding functioning of political parties. The parliament has approved existence of political parties for the first time in this Indian Ocean archipelago in a move that would help end long autocratic rule and pave the way for multi-party democracy. Indeed there is something to cheer about since this South Asian nation is intermittently facing pro-democracy agitation and any step forward towards changing the pattern of governance is definitely deserves kudos.

The "Majlis" is made up by independent members, but it has decided to allow registration of political parties that would facilitate party oriented politics, an issue that caused unrest in the country early last year. President Gayoom, who has been in power since 1978 and is Asia's longest serving ruler, earlier promised political reforms, but the pro-democracy activists were skeptical about his intentions. The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which operates from Sri Lanka, says that it will carefully monitor the progress towards democratisation of the country. It's leader Mohammad Nasheed was among the four activists arrested a few months ago when government said they were taken into custody for fear of inciting unrest and were later released. Nasheed, who returned to the country after self-exile for 18-months, said they would not relent until Maldives introduces multi-party democracy. At least three parties have applied for registration including the MDP and president Gayoom's Maldivian People's Party after the parliament opened ways for multi-party political system.

Civil societies in the South Asian region did not turn a blind eye to the developments in one of its smallest nations because the issue of representative authority is inextricably linked with the unrest in the Maldives. It is experiencing pro-democracy movement for some time past and a state of emergency was also declared a year ago to quell the unrest. This was not for the first time during the rule of president Mamoon Abdul Gayoom that the small but attractive tourists land was convulsed by demands of democratic rule. The undemocratic pattern of governance was continuing for long without reforms towards turning it into representative character. The country of only three lakh people is otherwise generally quiet and the ascendancy of president Gayoom is quite strong without any sign of slackening his authority. He is not known for any iron-fist kind of rule or as a tough dictator. In fact, he has a sober and gentle image abroad which is not without any reason.

President Gayoom, regardless of the size of his nation, is not unknown in the international arena and he has particularly played an active role in the growth and development of the seven-nation South Asian Association (SAARC) which has earned for him admiration in the region. He is the only head of state in the SAARC who has attended all the summits being a founder-leader of the regional forum. The King of Bhutan is the other such leader who is still at the helm since the SAARC was launched in 1985, but he has not taken part in all the SAARC heads of government conferences. While Gayoom is active in the regional and international arena, the Bhutanese King is somewhat reclusive. However, he is generally praised in and outside his country as a pro-people monarch.

South Asia is largely a democratic region as most of the countries here are practicing representative government for a long time. The case of Pakistan is little different since it is yet to witness return of full democracy after an elected government was overthrown by the military in 1999. A kind of democratic rule is there following parliamentary elections and an elected prime minister is the head of government, but the real power is rested with the president, who remains in active service of the army as its head. Pakistan was stripped of its membership of the Commonwealth following the removal of the elected government, but it was restored as the process of return of democracy highlighted by the parliamentary elections was taken into account. This development notwithstanding, the country is yet to revert to full representative authority.

Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka are practicing democracy while Nepal has unfortunately slipped back to effective monarchy when elected prime minister was dismissed last February and the King seized all powers. An unrelenting movement is continuing there for restoration of representative rule as the politicians are keeping the pot boiling. The encouraging signs that are being received from Bhutan and Maldives about democracy are a message to the King of Nepal on the need for restoring democracy without taking much time.

Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury is Foreign Editor of BSS.