U.S. Congressman Calls for Political Reconciliation in Nepal

By David Shelby, Washington File

James Walsh criticizes king, Maoists for domestic insecurity

Washington - New York Congressman James Walsh has criticized both Nepal's Maoist revolutionaries and King Gyanendra for creating an atmosphere of domestic insecurity and political repression in Nepal.

"We all feel very strongly that the Maoist revolution in Nepal is a bad thing, that the violence that is occurring because of that revolution and because of the response by the king to that revolution by clamping down on press and arresting political leaders is also a very bad development," Walsh told a group of Nepalese reporters during a December 15 videoconference with Kathmandu, Nepal.

Walsh is a former U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal and has taken a special interest in U.S. policy toward that country since being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1988.

Walsh told the reporters that he joined several other U.S. congressman in writing a letter to Nepal's late ruler, King Birendra, 17 years ago encouraging him to support democratic reforms in Nepal, and that the king ushered in an "exciting time" of political opening with his declaration of a constitutional monarchy in 1990. "Our hope is that that excitement can begin again and that Nepal can be the peaceful place it was when I lived there," he said.

Since 1996, the country has been roiled by a Maoist insurgency, and the political situation has deteriorated in recent years. King Gyanendra dissolved the parliament in 2002, installing a pro-royalist government under his direction. Since then, he has dismissed three governments, most recently in February when he declared a state of emergency, detained several political party leaders and journalists and curtailed civil liberties. (See related article.)

"We will continue to consistently urge the king to work toward redeveloping democratic institutions," he said, "and within that construct, of course, freedom of the press, freedom of association, freedom to assemble are all essentials."

He added, "We continue to urge the political parties to work with the king and with the Maoists to develop a dialogue to re-establish democratic institutions."

Since the dismissal of the government in February, the country's main political parties have been at odds with the king over plans for elections during the coming two years. State Department official Stephen Blake, who also participated in the videoconference, said that any elections must be accompanied by broad civil liberties, including free and open campaigning.

Blake also maintained that the Maoist insurgency can be defeated only politically, not militarily.

Walsh said that there are human rights violations on the part of both the Maoists and the Royal Nepalese Army, and he condemned both.

Drawing parallels with the recent disarmament of the Irish Republican Army, which has brought an end to decades of violent conflict between republican and loyalist forces in Northern Ireland, Walsh urged the Nepalese Maoists to put down their arms and join the political process.

"There can be no private armies in a democracy," he said.

Blake told the reporters, "What we would like to see them [the Maoists] do is give up their arms, join the political process and act like a responsible political party - end the violence that has been their tradition for so long."

Walsh said Nepal's United Marxist Leninist Party once participated in the political process and actually ran a government at one point. He said, "We applaud that. If the people of Nepal support certain communist principles, that's their choice. But they have to arrive at that government through the vote - one man, one vote."

Walsh called on King Gyanendra to reinstate basic civil liberties and restore the democratic process.

"The actions that King Gyanendra has taken so far to suppress the freedom of the press and freedom of association are reprehensible to me as an American," he said.

"Nepal's destiny should be determined by the people of Nepal," he said, "and the only way that the people of Nepal can determine their own destiny is by having elective representatives who will voice those views."

"Peace cannot last in Nepal without democratic institutions," he added. "They go hand in hand. We just wish that this difficult time can be put behind you and that you'll find a way to develop a government that everyone in the country can believe in."

Source: U.S. Department of State

See Also these stories showing progress in Nepal:
All Nepal News
Democracy? It's The Elections, Stupid! Peace and Democracy in Nepal
Elections, Democracy and Terrorism In Nepal
Nepal: Why I Support The King
Summits Testified Nepal's King as a Visionary Leader
Nepal's King Forms Election Government

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