UN, India welcome change, US withholds

Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon has congratulated the Nepali people on the historic first meeting of the Constituent Assembly that has transformed Nepal to a federal democratic republic.

"The people of Nepal have clearly spoken for peace and change through the April 10 Assembly election," he said in a statement.

The Secretary-General has encouraged all parties to continue working in a cooperative manner and to form a new government as soon as possible.

Similarly, his special representative to Nepal Ian Martin also congratulated the people of Nepal on the achievement of convening the historic Constituent Assembly.

"The United Nations is proud to have assisted in the election of the most inclusive body Nepal has yet known," he said adding, "Its democratically-elected representatives have the solemn responsibility to prepare a new constitution as well as to act as an interim legislature during this next important phase of Nepal's peace process, and to fulfill the people's aspirations for sustained peace, economic and social progress, democracy and human rights."

Likewise, extending warm felicitations on behalf of the parliament, government and people of India, the Speaker of India's Lok Sabha Somnath Chatterjee Wednesday has said that India remains steadfast in its commitment to extend all possible support to Nepal in realising the goal of a stable, prosperous and democratic Nepal.

He said that the successful formation of the CA to draft a new constitution for Nepal is, above all, a result of painstaking efforts and sacrifices made by its people and political leadership for the cause of democracy.

Chatterjee further said "We hope the discussions of the Constituent Assembly will be inspired by their sacrifice and reflect the spirit of the cooperation and political consensus that lie at the heart of all democracies."

"The CA elections to the CA that fully represent Nepal's cultural and social diversity and the progress Nepal has made in institutionalising peace and democracy are an example for aspiring democracies across the world," he added.

However, the US government has withheld comments on Nepal's political change saying it continues to watch the change.

"There's been a political transition. There have been elections. The new government is in place and moving forward. We have had some conversations with those officials, in part to verify that some of the efforts that we can make, in terms of being able to provide humanitarian assistance and other programs, are going to be able to move forward," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said.

He further said, "Certainly, it's a situation we continue to watch. And we continue to urge forward political developments in that country." nepalnews.com ia May 29 08