Newspapers, general public and political leaders are unanimously praising the Agreement and celebrating the achievement
Public Voice:
Hearing the news about peace deal, I became so much emotional that tears started coming from my eyes. I saluted the leaders. –Ashok Kumar Pathak, a reader, in Kantipur daily.
Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala and Commander Prachanda deserve Noble Peace Prize. The role of these two in the great effort of creating a New Nepal is second to none. –Sajal Bhattarai, a reader, in Kantipur daily.
A day after the historic agreement between the ruling alliance and Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) that will end the decade long bloody conflict and take country toward peace, Nepalis around the country are celebrating the achievement. Leaders of Seven Party Alliance have lauded the deal where as leaders and cadres of Maoist party around the country are taking out processions to celebrate the peace deal. General public is elated and reports coming in from various parts of Nepal say they are organizing candlelight ceremonies. Major newspapers published from Kathmandu have welcomed the deal and praised the leadership on both sides for agreeing to end the violence.
In its editorial titled “Conditions For The Nation Building”, most influential daily newspaper (Nepali language) Kantipur writes: “There are two clear messages in the agreement. One, political powers of Nepali people are capable of confront the national crisis in peaceful and democratic manner. Another, sustainable stability and peace could be achieved through the politics based on broad national consensus.”
The paper believes that this agreement is just a roadmap to take the country to the Constituent Assembly. “After the formation of CA, that will decide the future course of Nepal on its own. The future of Nepal will depend on political parties and representatives elected by the people of Nepal… Again the responsibility of taking country successfully to the CA lies on the shoulders of political parties…Maoist party should opt the policy of reconciliation abandoning the violent and forceful activities where as other political parties must establish themselves as true democratic institutions. This is the main condition of nation building.”
Under the title “Historical Roadmap”, the state owned Nepali language daily Gorkhapatra writes: “People have started commenting that new ray of building a new Nepal have spread from the morning of Wednesday along with the historical agreement between the seven parties and the Maoist… It would be best to start the mahayagga of implementing the agreement in time.”
Nepal Samacharpatra, another vernacular daily, has Special Editorial titled “Historical Achievement” on the front page. The daily thinks that the 11 year long Maoist peoples’ war “has been formally stopped.” The paper writes, “The contribution of leaders including Girija Prasad Koirala, Madhav Kumar Nepal, Prachanda, Sher Bahadur Deuba is important for this achievement as they were continuously engaged to make the summit talks a success respecting peoples’ wish and understanding the ground realities.” The paper also thanks both chief negotiators: Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula and Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara. The paper also lauds the role of civil society…. The country has entered to the new age.”
General public is also giving emotional reactions to the historic deal. Hearing the news about peace deal, I became so much emotional that tears started coming from my eyes,” writes Ashok Kumar Pathak in Readers’ Forum page of Kantipur daily. “My trust and respect for political parties became even deeper. I saluted the leaders while closing my eyes that were wet with tear. How much developed our country would be if [political parties] work together to implement the agreement and run the country. I prayed for that.”
“I don’t’ want to hurt myself distrusting leaders,” writes Pathak who has been identified in the Readers’ Forum as the secretary of “Youth for Peace and Human Rights”. “I want to celebrate with a heart free of doubts. Why should I doubt to a commitment to build new Nepal when we are being unsuccessful to because of mutual distrust, non cooperation and disputes?”
Sajal Bhattarai of Kanya Campus, Dillibazar writes, “Our leaders have shown maturity. Leaders from Madhav Nepal of CPN UML to Bharat Bimal Yadav of Nepal Sadbhavana Party deserve respect. But Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala, who led the Peoples’ Movement and the government from the time of 12-point agreement and Commander Prachanda who is willing to prove the saying ‘revolution for peace’ deserve Noble Peace Prize. The role of these two in the great effort of creating a New Nepal is second to none. The image of Nepal would be even brighter if these two leaders get the prize for leading the agreement that is an example to the world.”
Padam Thagunna of Darchula warns the United States not to “speak nonsense on the agreement. “The responsibility of solving our problem lies in Nepali people,” Thagunna writes. “We don’t accept foreign intervention. But Americans are always blabbing about our exercise on peace process. These same Americans were telling to befriend King at the time of Jana Andolan 2. But no one listened to them. We should not allow any element to stay in Nepal that intends to trouble the agreement.”
“The agreement has made not only Nepalis but the world happy,” writes Chintan Dhungel of Maitedevi, Kathmandu. “Now the concern is about implementing this and other previous agreements.”
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Comments
18 responses to “Nepal Celebrates The Historic Agreement”
Ahhhh! Lasting peace is finally within sight. Thank allmighty. Our motherland has been held hostage by few individuals for such a long time. It seemed as if peace was only a distant dream. Now Peace loving brothers and sisters will get a sigh of relief. We shall celeberate this long awaited day because a day like this comes only once in the blue moon. Each developed nations on this planet has gone through turmoil and chaos. I guess these grueling past ten years have been Nepal’s turn. I hope no Nepali will ever suffer the same fate again. I hope no fellow Nepali’s precious blood will be shed again. And I hope we can walk any corner of our beautiful nation yet feel right at home, right with family, again. I love Nepal. I love you all.
Sajal Bhattari,
Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala and Commander Prachanda do not at all deserve Noble Peace Prize. Girija Prasad Koirala followed by Prachanda and Gyanendra are the ones who were responsible for giving Nepal and Nepalese this state of misery. Gyanendra is punished and others only helped clean their mesh and misdeeds they created. It is the patience, tolerance and courage of Nepali People who desrve the credit and if possible any prize of the highest order and may be Nobel Peace Prize. I urge all these three guys not to repeat the same mistakes again.
Does anyone have any clue about the negotiation Pushpa Kamal had with the Indians to cut this deal? He simply bowed to the pressures from our southern side and now is making a trip there to glorify the Indians whom he had been publicly demeaning all throughout– Pushpa Kamal is as good in giving lip service as anyone else around!
However, regardless of this shortcoming, on teh face of it, the pact is win-win situation for everyone. We did rejoice in 1990 and we are rejoicing again. let’s hope the mistakes of the past wil not be repeated and another group will not emerge for another “worthy” caue to counter the new set up that Nepal will see in coming years. So,tongue in cheek- let’s give peace a chance.
Hats off to Gokarna! I am with you.
Let me say something on Padam Thagunna’s comment.
I do not quite understand why so many people are so badly after Moriarty, Rukmangat Katuwal and the US. The Maoist leaders, civil society (so-called, they are in fact the Maoists’ civil society), and some intellectuals have developed a hobby of cursing these three things to show that they are smart alecs. I consider this not only an antipathic blend of mind but a loser’s mentality. Padam Thagunna’s remark is an example.
When you are not confident about yourself, you find it important to knock others down.
If there is a sigle person who vomits truth in Nepal and/or about Nepal -it is Moriarty. I have no respect for the US policy in the world, but I greatly admire Moriarty’s courage of speaking the truth. He is a pain on the Maoists’ ass beause he reveals truth about the true nature of communists.
I remember watching a talk show in Kathntipur TV in which Hisila Yami was one of the guests. Her logics and expressions were so shameful that I ran into dispair. A leader like Yami spent more than half of her time in criticizing Rukmangat Katuwal, a civil servant.
I do not understand what kind of mind allows the comment of this sort to publish as the letter to the editor in Kantipur Daily. I sometimes suspect the level of the intellect in the Kantipur team.
Baby steps! It is time now for people to educate the maoists and people in government that the easy part of the job is done. Now everyone should work together without flashing party manifestos at each other and the rest of us to make a long term road map for our country. Cursing each other and pointing fingures is, as Sanjeev said a sign that the self is also unconfident and clueless. Finding faults are easy, finding solutions is the correct path. Mindset has to change, weapons are useless without people willing to use them. Locking up arms may give a temporary sense of relief, but both the maoists and the government security and for that matter people in general have to discard this midset of violence as quick fixes. When the mind is convinced, even placing a gun in your hand and asking you to shoot your worst enemy without any consequences will get a negative response. We have to free ourselves of violence in the way we think, guns are just tools, just like knives and stones and even the bare hands.
Sajal Bhattarai as quoted in Kantipur must be high on bhang or the good old Himalayan ganja….
NO WAY does Puspha K Dahal aka Prachanda nor Girija deserve the Noble Peace Prize. They are the very ones who brought about this mess.
The people of Nepal are the ones who deserve the Peace Prize by telling the leaders that they will not stand for any more killing fields.
Just wait until a free & fair election, Maobadis will get a kick in their A$$…
Sanjeev cut the crap Moriarty and the US Embassy as been working around the clock to sabotage the deal between Prachanda and the SPA.
If you are not niave then you are just creating mischief.
Hahaha Prachanda and Girija the Nobal Peace prize? That’s got to be the biggest joke. Prachanda should technically be tried for crimes against humanity at the Hague.
Anyway leaving that aside the peace deal is still a great achievement and I really hope things work out!
I agree with Sanjeev that Moriarity is a stright shooter. I think his position was correct – Maoist with weapons was an acceptable seanario to everyone!
The palace probably not pleased by these developments. It looks like the monarchy is going to get it. I don’t know how people will vote in the CA elections but if things are stable and the Maoist behave themslves people may opt to get rid of the monarchy altogeather. We’ll have to wait and see.
Bhudai, don’t discount it! They gave that S. African white supremist, Botha, one and also to Dalai Lama, for doing God knows what?!
Anyway I’m glad you are sharing the optimism now, your glass was getting a bit too half empty!
Yes Kirat, I am optimistic but still cautious.
bhudai and kirat you both are too optimistic.but i am not, because, still many atrocities are going being carried by killers.girija is the father of corruption in nepal and prachanda is the father of all killers. how they get obel prize ? they will get opposite of Nobel prize, bhangra ko topi ma gunyeli ko phool.Ha ha ha ha ha ha .
MAOISTS..U HAVE RAPED NEPAL, THE PEOPLE, CULTURE AND TRADITION COZ OF UR IGNORANCE. THANKS FOR LOOTING COUNTRY N POPULATION THAT IS ALREADY SO POOR..YES, WE DIDNT HAVE ANYTHING IN NEPAL, BUT WE HAD PEACE…N U TOOK IT AWAY…FEAR IS YOUR ONLY GOD!
Several years of violence in Nepal has moved many of us beyond tears to a state of numbness. Let us all work together and hope things will change for the better.
Prachanda and Girija for Nobel peace prize??? Is anybody joking? They are the main culprits for damaging the 2046 democracy and killing of 13,000 people. If they get noble peace prize then many Prachanda and Girija born in other countries…
Read you must:
Maoists’ Hands Are Stained With Blood Of The Innocent
By John Lama
It was a great mistake for Prime Minister Girija Koirala to take Maoists’ words at their face value. Their commitment to peaceful transition and competitive parliamentary democracy is nothing more than a macabre ostentation. They were desperately in need of some stranglehold. Amidst burgeoning odds, the Maoist leadership was fervently looking for some subterfuge. Girija Koirala’s attempt at accommodating the Maoists could turn out to be a devastating nightmare for democratic forces.
The agitation against the royal regression was motivated by a host of factors. Most important, a burning vengeance against King Gyanendra inspired Koirala, the leader of the seven party democratic alliance, to go to any extent. Gyanendra’s manipulative obduracy to prevent Koirala from stepping into the shoes of Deuba, Chand and Thapa pricked him the most. Instinctively a narcissist, Koirala was nastily narked at being ignored by the monarch.
Collusion with the Maoist terrorists against the institution of monarchy was a gambling for the octogenarian leader of Nepali Congress. Without doubt, it was not only against the spirit of BP Koirala’s principle of national reconciliation. Verily, it represented a callous stabbing behind what BP Koirala, the founder of Nepali Congress, stood for throughout his life. The moment Girija joined forces with the Maoist terrorist outfit, Nepali Congress lost its identity as what its leaders tend to boast of being a savior of democracy and human rights.
Nepalese monarchy was bound to be destroyed under the weight of King Gyanendra’s hubris. Gyanendra who is widely suspected of being the mastermind behind the royal massacre of 1 June 2001, woefully failed to fathom “people’s power”. He was convinced that people would not support political parties for what they did during the 12 years of multi-party democratic dispensation. They twisted democracy beyond recognition. They made a mockery of the rule of law. They embezzled national exchequer. So-called democratic leaders, who were respected for their valiant role in the 1990 movement, had reduced themselves to grotesque scoundrels and squalid buffoons. Moreover, they unleashed a sordid legacy based on the bizarre travesty of rule of law.
Gyanendra himself did not do anything for the Nepalese, either. Worse still, during his visits to different parts of the kingdom, he tried to sell false promises and fantastic dreams to millions of Nepalese who were deprived even of basic necessities of life. Virtually he did nothing to redress their economic grievances. Nor did he embark upon any creative solution in order to protect them from Maoists’ barbarism and savagery. Instead, his military lieutenants were accused of having been involved in the supply of arms to terrorists. His ambition to emerge as an active monarch was equally taken as a direct challenge to the fundamentals of democracy. And the Nepalese were not prepared to tolerate this decadence even at the cost of their own lives.
The resentment of the Nepalese reached its climax last April. People’s power prevailed. The king had no choice but to relent. However in the process, several forces including Maoists, tried to define people’s victory in their own narrow terms. By using the sheer power of intimidation, terror and murder that they were unleashing for the last several years, Maoists continued to prevail over the seven party democratic alliance. Democratic forces were swayed in such a way that even the newly-restored House of Representatives began to function as a puppet in the hands of Maoists. It seemed as if the terrorist outfit had cast black magic over them.
Democratic alliance led by the Nepali Congress lost both reason as well as the sense of direction. It seemed as if it were suffering from amnesia. The major objective of the April movement was declared to be the restoration of democracy. But in the aftermath of the movement their declared mission disappeared into oblivion and the Maoists’ goal – establishment of a democratic republic as a strategic prelude to subsequent communist totalitarianism – came into the forefront. Those struggling for multi-party parliamentary democracy started dancing to the tune of nihilist Maoists whose sole objective is to reduce the entire kingdom to a contemptuous communist nightmare.
Equally abhorrent is the uncanny obsequiousness of Nepalese intelligentsia. Without even a modicum of resistance they seem to have submitted themselves to Maoists’ coercion and eccentricity. It appears as if they were subconsciously trying to avenge the royal authoritarianism by being subservient to unscrupulous Maoist diktat. A majority of them feel comfortable in playing second fiddle to the Maoist leadership that is squarely responsible for the gruesome death of more than 15,000 Nepalese and the wanton destruction of physical infrastructure.
So far, Maoists appear to have notched up something substantial. But I don’t see any reason why protagonists of democracy and rule of law should be exhilarated. Democracy and Maoism are mutually exclusive. They cannot coexist. Sugar-coated pronouncements of the Maoist leadership – including their commitment to democracy, human rights, independent judiciary, free media, competitive politics and peaceful transition – should not be allowed to camouflage their endemic proclivity towards intimidation, terror, abduction, violence and extortion. The hands of Nepalese Maoists are stained with the blood of the innocent. Peace and harmony do not exude therefrom. Nepalese society ought to treat them accordingly.
The so-called settlement reached between the seven party democratic alliance and the Maoists needs to be viewed against the above perspective. US ambassador to Nepal James F. Moriarty sounds prescient when he observes that Maoists cannot be trusted unless the spirit of the settlement is reflected in their future deeds. (11/09/06)
Ae John Lama,
Ani what is your solution, babu? You seem to be one of those incurable cynics who always keep complaining, this didn’t happen and that didn’t happen. So what did you want? Maoists unconditionally surrendering the weapons and Gyanendra again ruling Nepal?
Maoists, who were fighting, yes, fighting with guns and bombs, are now ready to lock up their arms under the supervision of UN. They are mentally preparing themselves to come into the competitive democratic politics. What do you want? Restoration of peace in a minute?
Ani ke re, ke re? “Democracy and Maoism are mutually exclusive”? I kindly suggest you to first drink cold and clean water and think again. You saw Marxism and Leninism successfully included in Nepali democracy in the 90s when communists played important role in governing Nepal, didn’t you? CPN UML (And ML in that means Marxism and Leninism) was the second largest party in the parliament. You just showed another trait of incurable cynics: always keep complaining in one pretext or other.
Go hide as quickly as possible, your days are over. People of Nepal have risen and they have decided to build a new and prosperous and peaceful and democratic Nepal.
Seeing is believing, I think this time maoist are serious with their peace process. People should not take it in another way. But still they are threatening to raise their arms if their desire will not be fulfilled, that is again not showing the commitment of people mandate. They should ready to obey the public mandate with democratic norms and peace….
thank GOD…
HOPE things turn out well now…
GOD BLESS NEPAL…