All Party Mandate

AS the second round of peace talks between the government and Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) is being held in the near future, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba convened an all-party meeting in Kathmandu the other day in order to seek suggestions and support from all political forces in the country for the issues to be discussed in the talks. This must be taken as an attempt by the Prime Minister to seek a national mandate for the forthcoming peace talks. In the meeting, representatives of different political parties strongly stressed for the need in making the dialogue successful and called upon both the government and the Maoists to advance the peace process in order to end the six-year old insurgency and restore peace in the country. The nation has had to suffer a lot because of the violence perpetrated in the name of insurgency in the last six years. Violence never serves the interest of the nation and the people. Development and progress are possible only in an atmosphere of peace, harmony, mutual understanding and cooperation. This is what the nation and the people are demanding at present. It must be understood that the main enemies of the country and people at present are massive poverty, backwardness, disease and hunger. These are the issues that need to be attacked for the progress and prosperity of the nation. In order to achieve the lofty goal of alleviating poverty and getting rid of all other social and economic evils, a common and collective approach and cooperation of all political forces, people and civil society are necessary. For this, the Maoist problem needs to be solved politically and peacefully. Against this background, the peace process has already begun, which needs to be given continuity and made fruitful. The government is committed to the peace talks and has made all efforts to create a congenial atmosphere for the peace process. However, the other side also needs to be equally serious and committed to the peace process. Some recent activities carried out by the Maoists do not seem compatible with their earlier commitment. Both the government and Maoists have announced the halt of all forms of offensive activities, but the Maoists continue to carry arms and explosives, which by no means helps the peace talks. In such a situation, Maoists need to be honest and sincere to their earlier promises and shun all forms of offensive activities like intimidation, threat, extortion and making provocative statements. This was one of the concerns raised by all political parties in the all-party meeting. Thus, both government and Maoist need to be sincere and committed to talks and make the peace process a success.

Another Monument Of Peace

IN what is yet another landmark, the world’s tallest Peace Pagoda has just been completed in Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha. Built by Nippon Jon Myohouji, a Japanese Buddhist Organisation, the World Peace Pagoda stands 41.5 metres at the northern end of Lumbini. The dome shaped structure, which houses four Buddha statues facing four different directions, used up 900 metric tons of cement and about 410 metric tons of iron rods. The stupa has been built to fulfill the late Buddhist guru Nichidatshu Fuji’s objective of spreading Lord Buddha’s message of peace. There are 73 world peace pagodas worldwide in eight countries, including two in Nepal. The late guru had spent four years in Nepal before passing away 18 years ago at the age of 100. The stupa is not the first of its kind built by foreign organisations in Lumbini. Listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO, Lumbini in recent times has seen a flurry of activities with Buddhist countries and organisations constructing temples and monasteries in the area to turn Lumbini into a major Buddhist pilgrimage. Crores of rupees have been spent on their construction. Eye catching is the Myanmar Temple, also called the Lokamani Cula Pagoda, which is a structure built in the shape of the famous Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. The China Temple (Zhong Hua Temple), built by the Buddhist Association of China, is a complex of pagodas, prayer rooms and meditation cells. The International Gautami Nuns Temple represents the Swayambhu stupa of Kathmandu in all respect. Also located here are the Nepal Buddha Temple and the Dharma Swami Maharaja Budha Vihara. Temples are being constructed by South Korea, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand, and Mongolia. The tremendous support shown by the international community to see Lumbini as a centre of world peace is enough testimony that it can be converted into a major tourist spot. However, Nepal has so far failed to cash in on this. Tourism to a great extent is still concentrated in just three places – Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan, although tens of thousands of trekkers visit the Everest region also. Inability to promote Lumbini as a major tourist destination, despite its rich archaeological sites, museums and the nearby historical places of Tilaurakot - which contains the ruins of ancient Kapilbastu where the Buddha spent his childhood days as a prince - and Devdaha - maternal home of Buddha’s mother Mayadevi, just shows lack of vision and entrepreneurship. With the construction of landmark religious sites, like the tallest Peace Pagoda, one can expect the situation to change for the better, but still, proper planning and promotion are also necessary for Lumbini to become a major tourist destination for people from all over the world.