Kathmandu: Maoists and Communists celebrate Pope Francis, promise reconciliation
Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - The leaders of Nepal's Maoist, Marxist-Leninist and conservative parties have sent birthday wishes to Pope Francis. They also announced their intention to overcome hatreds and differences that have bedeviled Nepali society for years.
This comes a month after elections on 19 November won by the Nepali Congress (NC) to renew the Constituent Assembly. Since the monarchy was abolished in 2008, the country has been without a constitution.
NC leader Ram Chandra Poudel said that "this year the pope spoke many times about reconciliation between the leaders of religions, ideologies and groups. We are ready to take this step to bridge the gaps within our society, form a new government and write a constitution that gives long-lasting stability to the country. This is our wish of hope and respect for the pontiff to whom we promise that we shall achieve results before Christmas."
The Unified Communist Party of Nepal- Maoist (UCPN-M) and the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) also welcomed the calls for peace and reconciliation issued by the pope in recent months
Although his party suffered a major blow in the elections, UCPN-M leader Posta Bahadur Bogati stressed the need "to end the transition in the country by overcoming differences between the parties," adding that "We took advantage of Pope Francis' birthday to agree to work together on the reconciliation process".
On behalf of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), deputy party secretary Bam Dev Gautam announced today that his party would also send a congratulatory message to the pope and all Christians in the country and abroad. "Francis' birthday," he noted, "has brought together all the parties around the shared goal of giving the country a new secular constitution," Bamdev said.
Elections were held on 19 November after five years of political chaos and four coalition governments that ran the country's reconciliation process into the ground.
In 2006, Nepal emerged from a decade of civil war that brought down the Hindu monarchy. However, the king's fall did not end divisions in the Nepali society.
In recent years, the country has seen many clashes between former Maoist guerrillas - winners of the elections to the Constituent Assembly of 2008 - and conservative parties, bringing the country to the brink of a new civil war.
After the last election, Maoists have refused to join the new Assembly, accusing Congress and the government of plotting against them.
.png)
02/04/2009
