NC was again at the forefront to end the decade-long Maoist insurgency which began in the mid-1990s. It rose to the challenge to not only initiate the peace process, but also to thwart the ambition of an autocratic king to make Nepal an absolute monarchy. [break]
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The 12-point peace agreement between the Maoists and political parties of Nepal was signed with the help of India in 2005. This agreement was vital in ending Nepal’s violent conflict which took the lives of 17,000 people. The end of this conflict has brought peace to Nepal and propelled our nation into a new era. This agreement also initiated a partnership between all key political parties for the re-establishment of democracy. NC again successfully led the 19 day-long second peaceful Peoples’ Movement to end King Gyanendra’s authoritarian regime in 2006.
The 12-point agreement and the second Peoples’ Movement had two key agendas. The first was to end the violent conflict and bring peace, including the management of Maoist combatants, and the second was to enact a new constitution of federal, democratic, republic of Nepal. Though we have been successful in the former agenda, the latter still poses a challenge to us.
Nepal had a Constituent Assembly (CA) for four years from 2008 to 2012. Through this CA, we were able to abolish monarchy and establish a republic state; we, however, failed to draft a new constitution. There are numerous reasons for the failure of this exercise, an important one being the attempt to transform a unitarian state into a federal one. Another reason was that the parties in the CA were unable to evolve consensus among themselves on various important issues. The presence of parties from across the political spectrum with extremely divergent views on numerous issues and lack of flexibility made the task untenable.
At this point of time, Nepal’s highest priority is to consolidate democracy by enacting a democratic, federal, republican constitution. In order to do so, we have to ensure free and fair elections to the CA by the end of this year. Though the challenges to complete the process of writing a new constitution remain the same, I am hopeful that the lessons learned from past mistakes and the emergence of NC as the major party in the parliament after the elections will bring the constitution–writing process to a logical end.
As Nepal’s leading democratic party with over six decades of experience in leading political changes, it is inevitable that NC has to be at the helm of affairs to reach a political resolution. The history of NC speaks for itself in this regard. Though the UCPN (Maoists) have laid down their arms and changed from using violent means for political and personal gains, they are still in the process of transformation and require time to reconcile themselves to parliamentary democracy. As the largest democracy in the world, I request India’s support in encouraging the Maoists to adopt peaceful means for politics for now and forever. I would also like to request the Government of India to provide logistic support for holding the CA elections.
Nepal is in a crucial phase of democratic transition and the government and political parties are working, even as I speak, to ensure that the CA-cum-Parliamentary elections are held by November 2013. We hope that the proposed elections and subsequent writing of the constitution will pave the way towards building a stable, democratic and prosperous Nepal.
Regarding Nepal’s development potentials and its relationship with India’s fast-paced economic growth, we in Nepal hope to participate in the exemplary progress of India. When I was Prime Minister, a trade treaty was signed in 1996 between our two nations, which has led to significant growth in bilateral trade.
A key area of priority for me has always been the development of water resources for mutual benefit. Thus, the historic Mahakali Treaty was signed during my first tenure as Prime Minister in 1996. Nepal has the potential of generating over 100,000 MW of hydro-electricity. India’s rapid growth dictates high energy requirements, and Nepal’s fast-flowing rivers can assuage India’s need for energy. There is much to be gained by both our nations by adopting a joint-approach to the diverse use of water resources including for irrigation and flood control. Joint work will also support the climate change challenges that our region will be facing in the near future.
I believe that to achieve the goals of economic transformation, we can create synergy between Nepal’s resources and India’s capital, knowledge and technology. I would like to take the opportunity to offer partnership in this context both to the Indian Government and the Indian private sector. To achieve the primary goal of inclusive development and economic transformation, I envisage the involvement of the private sector of both our countries as an engine of growth. I am committed to promoting policies, institutions and infrastructure required to create an enabling environment for it, including providing safety and security to investors.
Learning from India’s economic growth since the end of the license ‘raaj’, we will work towards improving the investment scenario in Nepal after the elections. It was the market-led policies adopted by the NC governments that also led to the growth in communications, transportation, education and health service sectors. My vision for Nepal’s progress is focused on creating wealth with strong participation of the private sector. As a social democrat with commitment to alleviating poverty in Nepal, I strongly believe wealth has to be created before it can be redistributed.
In line with this belief, in my tenures as Prime Minister, I put my weight behind strengthening Nepal’s economic liberalization policy with strong government monitoring for economic development. I also initiated income tax reform and the implementation of the value added tax (VAT) which sustained our economy to a great extent through the entire crisis faced in the last 15 years by Nepal.
The other sector of great potential for Nepal is tourism. I believe tourism offers tremendous opportunities for welcoming visitors from the neighbourhood and from around the globe. This is another area which needs to be seriously explored jointly by stakeholders from both nations.
Another potential area for joint work is developing new road networks as well as upgrading existing ones. India’s support in the development of railway system in Nepal would be crucial in ensuring connectivity within Nepal and also with India, and increasing the size of Nepal’s economy.
India can also help Nepal in harnessing knowledge economy, in particular in the area of information technology: such as by aiding in the development of information technology parks and helping Nepali IT entrepreneurs establish links with Indian counterparts in particular to access third countries’ markets.
Nepal’s population is very young, with more than 60 percent under the age of 25. With proper education and training, the youth can be Nepal’s biggest asset. The remittances sent by the youth have already pushed 25 percent of our population into the middle income group. If we can channelize their energies and skills towards more productive areas within our own borders, Nepal could take a great leap forward towards sustained economic growth and social progress.
Good governance and end of impunity are top priorities for Nepal. A nation’s progress can only be sustained if guided by the rule of law. I am committed to good governance and accountability. The wider picture of governance of a nation entails transparent and accountable fiscal dealing, especially against the current background of global crimes. My priority would be to set up a monitoring system which is on par with international standards to make Nepal viable to attract foreign investors.
To achieve all these, visions for the future of Nepal political stability is required, reinforced by a strong democratic system with peace and security for all. NC and I are committed to writing a federal democratic republican constitution which allows for inclusive, equal and equitable representation of all strata of society in governance structures.
Speech by NC leader and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba at a program organized by Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi on June11
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