India should be requested for mediation: Dhungana

December 5, 2004
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December 5, 2004

KATHMANDU: Former Speaker and leading human rights activist, Damannath Dhungana, has said that Nepal should request India to mediate for the resolution of nine-year-old Maoist insurgency.

“Internal measure to address the current insurgency is (to hold elections for the) constituent assembly, while externally, India must be requested for the mediation.” said Dhungana. He, however, ruled out the possibility of third-party involvement other than India to resolve the conflict. Addressing a workshop in the capital Sunday, the former Speaker called upon the political parties to head towards the constituent assembly.

Saying that the political parties had committed mistakes during the 12-year-long multi-party polity, Dhungana said, “But it is not the King who should correct these mistakes. People are the final arbiter.” His Majesty King Gyanendra is now in the center of conflict in the country’s politics, he said. Dhungana also alleged that the government was trying to find a military solution to the conflict. “Military solution will finally lead the country towards authoritarianism, which is unfortunate,” he said.

Professor Krishna Khanal, presenting a paper on ‘Nepal’s current discourse on constituent assembly’ stressed on the need to draft a new constitution through an elected Constituent Assembly. Referring to experiences of various countries to adopt constitution through constituent assembly, Prof. Khanal-a political scientist– claimed that Nepali people were never involved in the constitution-making process.

“As a result, none of the constitutions evolved into a document of political consensus and provided stability to the country,” he said.

Rajan Bhattarai, Secretary at the foreign relations department of CPN-UML, presenting a paper on ‘geopolitical characteristics of Nepal and a regional approach to conflict transformation,’ said the crisis that Nepal had been facing also had implications in the geo-political, geo-economic and geo-strategic context.

Saying that insurgency in Nepal could have spill-over effect into India and neighbouring China, Bhattarai said, “It will force the countries of this region to devise joint strategies for containing the insurgency. “If we (domestic stakeholders) fail to deal the crisis the possibility of the direct involvement of the international forces can’t be denied,” he added.

The workshop on the theme ‘Discourses on Constituent Assembly and regional approach to conflict transformation in Nepal’ was organised by Friends for Peace, a civil society initiative for conflict resolution and peace building, in Kathmandu Sunday.