FES-Nepal
seminar: “Democracy Building” discussed <Top>
TGW
Chautara, Sindhupalchowk, July 8-9:
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), Nepal office organized
a two-day seminar on "Initiative about Democracy
Building: state building and constitutional questions"
at Sindhupalchowk where 170 participants took active part
in constitutional discussion. Chairing the seminar district
judge Mahesh P. Pudasaini said, "The future constitution
should reflect the aspiration of entire Nepalese and seek
the stability of the state-society ties through popular
legitimacy." Dev Raj Dahal argued, "If politics
increases the cost on the tax-paying citizens by bloating
the size of politicians they might become either non-political
or even anti-political. Politics as a vocation should
serve the public interest and resolve all political conflicts
in society. It should not become a burden for citizens."
Another Speaker Kashi Raj Dahal argued
that consensus is required on a number of key questions—"election
for the head of state, nature of state, democracy, concept
of federalism and unity in diversity. National pride strengthens
the concept of statehood and subordinates primordial loyalties
of people." Chandra Dev Bhatta explained universal
elements of democracy and the necessity of their application
in Nepal. He made a clear distinction between the voluntary
sphere of civil society and projectization of NGOs and
expressed anxiety over the fusion of business, political
and civil society in Nepal and neglecting the notion of
public good.
Chief District officer, local development
officer, election officer, army officials, armed police
force, party leaders, civil society members, Dalits, business
leaders, local government officers and religious people
viewed that the seminar of this nature should be organized
regularly to instill civic responsibility in citizens.
Participants recommended taking such seminars at the village
level for consciousness building so that people feel that
sovereignty springs from bottom up and reconciliation
supports the reconstruction of peace and progress. One
male and one female participant evaluating the seminar
said that it has good impact on social transformation.
Source: The
Telegraph Weekly (16 July 2008)
Demand of
one Madhes province against past pact with govt: UML <Top>
Kathmandu, June 30
CPN-UML general secretary Jhala Nath
Khanal on Monday said that the demand of Madhesi leaders
of incorporating autonomous ‘One Madhes One Province’
in the Fifth Amendment Bill was against the agreement
signed in February 2007 with the government.
"The whole Madhes cannot be a single
province as there are so many cultural, linguistic and
geographical diversities even in Madhes. It cannot be
in harmony with the aspirations of Madhes minorities,"
he said.
Speaking at a press conference organised
in the party headquarters Balkhu, he asked the Madhesis
leaders to solve the dispute through negotiations rather
than regular disruption of the Constituent Assembly (CA)
meetings.
"They have been stalling the CA
meeting regularly and it is a misfortune for the country
as the crucial business of forming the new government
is delayed," Khanal said adding, "All the agreements
cannot be incorporated in the constitution. These are
political issues and will be solved through political
discussions."
He, however, noted that his party was
in favour of multi-province but would strongly stand against
the demand of declaring whole Madhes as single province.
He also said that the CA would be left without businesses
if all the important issues were to be incorporated in
the constitution before writing the new constitution.
Meanwhile, General secretary of the
CPN-UML Jhala Nath Khanal Monday claimed his party’s
role in convincing the CPN-Maoist, which carried with
it a legacy of a decade long armed struggle, to sign the
12-point agreement and join the peace process through
a series of dialogue.
The holding of successful elections
to the Constituent Assembly (CA) and abolition of the
240-year long monarchy were the twin victories of the
people. Both of which have paved the way to liberate the
Nepalese at large, Khanal said.
Khanal was speaking at an interaction
on ‘Future Strategies of Trade Unions in the Federal
Democratic Republic Nepal’ organised by Nepal Trade
Union Federation.
Appreciating the role of trade unions
in the process of abolition of monarchy and re-establishing
democracy, he said that the workers should be more conscious
about their rights and duties while drafting new constitution
and making a new Nepal.
"More than 60 per cent leftists’
representation in the historic CA has proven that the
Nepalese people want radical social change. The left forces
have to shoulder the challenges that have surfaced in
the nation and lead it towards change and progress."
Khanal added.
He argued that the constitution making
process would remain incomplete without co-operation among
CPN-Maoist, CPN-UML and Nepali Congress, as the three
parties held a two-third majority in the CA. "The
demand of ‘One Madhes One Province’ raised by
the Madhes based political parties, is illogical and unjustified
which may disintegrate the nation. There should be multi-provinces
in Terai, mountainous and Himalayan regions."
Head of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
-Nepal (FES-Nepal) Dev Raj Dahal said that the workers
should be actors and implementers of the policies, rather
than being mere consumers.
"The more the trade unions become
competitive the more they can uphold their rights in the
changed context. The trade unions should contribute to
the democratisation process, the process of making the
country more inclusive and achieving lasting peace."
Source: The Rising Nepal (1 July
2008)
Politics
of confrontation can weaken CA: Dahal <Top>
JANAKPURDHAM, June 17: Speakers at a
talk programme organized here Monday by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
have said the people's wishes and expressions can not
be reflected in the constituent Assembly (CA) built arithmetically,
while drawing attention that the country should not be
made a laboratory of constitution-making.
Speaking at the talk programme on "Modern
State Building ad aspects of constitution", legal
experts informed that some 42 countries of the world have
made the constitution as per the CA process.
The countries mainly successful in this
are Italy, Norway, South Africa, Venezuela, India and
Columbia.
Chief Judge of the Appellate Court Bhola
Kharel said the CA should play a responsible role as a
best alternative for making constitution from larger people's
participation.
Judge Giriraj Paudel said constitution
should be made to guarantee the rights of all as the constitution
is the roadmap of the constitutional forces of the state.
Constitutional
expert Kashi Raj Dahal said formulating constitution as
per the loktantrik norms is not enough but it is needed
to develop a culture of politics as per it. Chief of the
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Dev Raj Dahal sad the CA
can be weak because of the politics of confrontation.
Source: The Rising Nepal (18
June 2008)
Discussion
on Building Modern State <Top>
Janakpurdham-June 16. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
(FES) initiated two-day discussion on building modern
state and constitutional questions. Head of FES Dev Raj
Dahal highlighted the works of FES and presented his paper
on building modern state. "The future constitution
should include the views and concerns of rural people"
said Bhola Kharel, appellate court judge of Janakpur.
Chief Justice of Appellate Court Giri Raj Paudel said,
"Constitution is drafted to legitimize political
issues. It should therefore include the concerns, interests
and aspirations of all classes of people." The constitution
is not to be drafted frequently. It should reflect the
long-term aspiration of people. "In a post-conflict
Nepal the drafting process must be reflective of the opinion
of Nepal's social and cultural diversity," said Kashi
Raj Dahal. He added, "The current deadlock of political
parties over the selection of president does not give
message to the people because leaders see ever thing from
numerical point of view. Nepali Congress leader Digambar
Roy said that people's trust over politicians is declining
because of their self and family-centeredness. So many
kings have emerged after the abolition of monarchy. In
this condition how can we build modern Nepal? Leader of
Dalit and janajatis Bipti Mandal argued that we have to
focus on serious problem of federalism, the problems of
agricultural economy and participatory constitution-making
process. The discussion was lively as many people asked
questions and passed their comments.
Source:
Simanchal (The only Maithili Language Daily) 17 June 2008
Modern state
agenda, contents of constitution under discussion <Top>
BARDIBAS, June 15: A Two Day Talks Programme
on 'Building Modern State and Contents of Constitution'
kicked off in Jaleshwor today.
At the programme, constitutional expert
Kashi Raj Dahal presented a working paper on 'Building
Modern State and Contents of Constitution' while FES Chief
Dev Raj Dahal presented on 'Building Modern State: Possibility
and Challenges' and Chandra Dev Bhatta on 'Fundamental
Principles of Democracy'.
Chief District Officer, Netra Prasad
Sharma and media person Gopal Baral expressed their views
in the inaugural session of the seminar.
The programme has been chaired by Mahottari
District Judge Daya Nanda Kharel.
Altogether 131 people including representatives
of various political parties, legal practitioners, teachers,
professors and civil society have participated in the
programme.
Source: Gorkhapatra Daily (15
June 2008)
Nepal: Participatory
Constitutional Discussion Sparked off <Top>
Dhulikhel, Kavre May 23-24. Over
160 political leaders, civil society members and the attentive
public of Kavre district favored participatory process
of constitutional making in the country. They expressed
this in a two-day seminar on "Building Modern State
and Constitutional Questions" organized by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
(FES) Kathmandu office as a part of its ongoing constitutional
awareness debate. The local public articulated their concern
as to how the voices and visibility of grassroots needs
are reflected in the Constituent Assembly. Many of them
expressed anxiety about their elected representatives
as to whether they will come back from Kathmandu to collect
their legitimate suggestions and include them into the
technical committees of the Constituent Assembly (CA)
for reasoned debate and consideration.
Women participants were particularly
concerned about strengthening the political competence
of women CA members in the various committees of CA, others
wanted to know the importance of cultural rights of minorities
in a secular and federal state. Participants viewed that
as long as the culture of impunity prevailed in the country
and law dominated by partisan politics, there is no way
to build modern state.
"The balance of power approach
to constitutional process, therefore, does not foster
durable peace and development", the participants
observed.
Chief Guest of the seminar Judge of
the District Court Prakash R. Mishra said, "The beauty
of modern state is that it serves the people in various
ways from cradle to grave. The future constitution of
Nepal should be brief, inclusive and visionary."
The Chief District Officer Kabi Raj Khanal speaking on
the occasion stressed the need to "set up guiding
principles before drafting the constitution".
Presenting his paper Dev Raj Dahal said,
"Modern state alone can fit together the diverse
interest of society, muster legitimacy and resources,
fulfill people's freedoms and propel this post-conflict
nation into a peaceful future." To him, the future
challenge of Nepal is to bridge a gap between legitimacy
and performance of the government so that the political
transition from the fatal fault line conflict and gridlock
to constitutional state reconciles the cracks of society
and enables to resolve the problem of collective action.
K. R. Dahal, noted constitutional exert,
shared the constitution making experience of Germany,
India, South Africa and India, the multi-stage negotiation
processes and methods of sorting out differences.
Source:
The
Telegraph weekly (28 May 2008)
Constitutional
debate commenced <Top>
BY OUR REPORTER
Bidur, Nuwakot, May 16-17: The intellectuals,
political leaders and civil society members of Nuwakot
district expressed various social, economic and political
measures to build a new Nepal. They argued that drafting
a democratic constitution in the country requires inclusion
of contesting visions, voices and views of all the segments
of Nepali society. Long-term and shared vision of the
people can be mediated by regular public debates, rational
agreement on key public questions such as head of the
state, nature of democracy, political system, ecological,
social, economic, political and foreign policies, and
proper distribution of powers among the various institutions
of governance. They viewed that law-abiding government,
political parties and citizens alone can protect the culture
of human rights and abolish prevailing chaos in the country.
Speaking from the chair district judge
Krishna Prasad Banstola said, "Mere floating various
concepts in the public is not sufficient unless they are
implemented to change the life of the people for the better.
In the transition phase of politics, justice should be
fostered at the various levels of society so that conflicts
can be contained and losers of the political game have
faith in the future." Similarly, Chief District Officer
Bhanu Bhakta Pokherel stated that constitutional debates
are essential to educate the public about the issues and
build their informed choices and opinions on political
affairs. Constitutional expert Kashi Raj Dahal while presenting
various models of constitution, such as the US, Indian
and German stressed that constitution basically legitimizes
the political ideology of the nation. Since Constituent
Assembly election in Nepal has produced a fractured mandate
recently, politicians of all hues must evolve a politics
of compromise and consensus. What is essential is to develop
unsentimental understanding about national issues so that
social cohesion contributes to collective future of Nepalese
people.
Dev Raj Dahal, head of FES Nepal office,
presenting his paper on building modern state, needs and
challenges of Nepal argued that modern state is based
on civic political culture which transcends the particularisms
of the nation's prevailing caste, class, region, religion
and ethnic affiliations. Civic spirit is the product of
rationalistic and humanistic culture as it tends to balance
freedom and order, rights and responsibilities and aspirations
and institutions. Nepal has to foster the conditions of
modernity in various areas, such as education, technology,
economy, organization and leadership and steer the nation's
transition from post-conflict peace building to participatory
democracy. Modern politics ought to be based on ideology
rather than biology. He furnished five points for the
solution of Nepal's ills: people-oriented politics, democratic
peace, socially embedded economy, equal social integration,
good governance and balanced foreign policy.
Chandra Dev Bhatta explained various
components of democracy that are necessary to be incorporated
into the future constitution. The floor discussion spotlighted
about the question of equal representation of various
people in CA, formation of CA, role of technical committees
and the drafting process. Some participants raised issues
about property rights, de-politicization of educational
and health institutions, bureaucracy, police, army and
foreign policy and a sense of collective leadership. Others
wanted to know how people can enforce the accountability
of leadership and transform political parties into mass-based
organizations. Still, others wanted to know how self-determination
works at individual, sub-nation and the state levels so
that local identities do not contest with, rather contribute
to, the formation of national identity. A group of people
stressed on the role of religion and culture in reconciliation
and peace. Participants argued that it is important to
learn about various models of democracy, development and
peace but we must try to indigenize them to suit national
conditions.
The two-day seminar attracted 185 participants
from all the political parties, civil society groups,
government officials and representatives of various social
institutions, students, business chamber of newly elected
CA members. On the occasion Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES)
distributed its publications on women and CA, Handouts
on Democracy and Compromise Politics to all the participants.
Source: People's
Review (22-28 May 2008)
Constitutional
debate begins <Top>
Bidur, Nuwakot May 16-17: The intellectuals,
political leaders and civil society members of Nuwakot
district expressed various social, economic and political
measures to build a new Nepal. They argued that drafting
a democratic constitution in the country required inclusion
of contesting visions, voices and views of all the segments
of Nepali society.
They viewed that law-abiding government;
political parties and citizens alone can protect the culture
of human rights and abolish prevailing chaos in the country.
Speaking from the chair District judge
Krishna Prasad Banstola said, "Mere floating of various
concepts in the public is not sufficient unless they are
implemented to change the life of the people for the better.
Similarly, Chief District Officer Bhanu
Bhakta Pokherel stated that constitutional debates are
essential to educate the public about the issues and build
their informed choices and opinions on political affairs.
Constitutional expert Kashi Raj Dahal
while presenting various models of constitution, such
as the US, Indian and German stressed that constitution
basically legitimizes the political ideology of the nation.
Dev Raj Dahal, Head of FES Nepal office
presenting his paper on building modern state, needs and
challenges of Nepal argued that modern state is based
on civic political culture which transcends the particularisms
of the nations prevailing caste, class, region, religion
and ethnic affiliations.
“Civic spirit is the product of
rationalistic and humanistic culture as it tends to balance
freedom and order, rights and responsibilities and aspirations
and institutions”, Dahal stated.
Modern politics ought to be based on
ideology rather than biology. Dahal furnished five points
for the solution of Nepals ills which were, for example,
people-oriented politics, democratic peace, socially embedded
economy, equal social integration, good governance and
balanced foreign policy.
Chandra Dev Bhatta explained various
components of democracy that are necessary to be incorporated
into the future constitution.
The floor discussion spotlighted about
the question of equal representation of various people
in CA, formation of CA, role of technical committees and
the drafting process.
Source: The
Telegraph weekly (21 May 2008)
Trade
Union Cooperation <Top>
Kathmandu, May 9-10, Asian and Pacific
Regional Organization of the International Textile, Garment
and Leather Workers' Federation (TWARO)'s Nepal affiliates
of Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC) and General Federation
of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) organized two-day training
on "Trade Union Education," on May 9-10, in
Kathmandu. It involved 35 district level leaders of carpet,
garment and handicraft workers from seven national affiliates
in the training. Trainers provided the training on role
of trade union in the drafting of constitution, industrial
relations and Collective Bargaining Agreement, gender
equality, women and youth participation in union, basic
legal knowledge including social security, flexibility
of labor demanded by employers and core labor rights articulated
by the International Labor Organization.
Speaking on the occasion head of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung,
Nepal office, underlined that the CA has unveiled new
opportunities for the workers to participate in the long-term
vision for nation-building. The future tasks of unions
are: make human rights as non-negotiable agenda, strengthen
unions' role in the technical committees of CA through
their elected members, link economy to democratic politics,
insert issues of social security and workers rights and
support the institutional pillars of democracy and peace.
He added that the unions have provided the workers five
critical resources-knowledge, linkages, voice, organization
and solidarity to combat their situation. These roles
need to be further institutionalized by making the union
autonomous of party politics.
General Secretary of General Federation
of Nepalese Trade Union Binod Shrestha stressed the need
for the bottom-up development of leadership in the union
while General-Secretary of Nepal Trade Union Congress
focused on the transformation of relationship between
political parties and trade unions towards more equality
and democracy. Other speakers voiced their concern for
the unity of all trade union confederation on their agenda
for the CA. The two-day program was organized with the
support of FES Nepal office.
Source: Tej Tara Weekly Chronicle
(12 May 2008)
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