Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-10-24-Speech-4-179"
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"en.20021024.10.4-179"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to start by expressing our sympathy for the Nepalese people, for whom the last few years have been one of the most difficult periods in their history. Nepal’s fledgling democracy is shaky and the rule of law is constantly giving way to the arbitrary and to violence. Over 3000 people have died in less than a year – which is appalling – following the violent confrontations between the army and the Maoist guerrillas, whose aim is to overthrow the monarchy, apparently against the wish of the population.
In actual fact, this people has been subjected to a genuine civil war for over six years, and the reaction of the international community has been almost total indifference. The difficult situation has just been violently exacerbated by the events which took place at the beginning of this month. In announcing the dismissal of the Prime Minister and temporarily assuming the executive powers, something which has not happened since the end of the absolute monarchy in 1990, King Gyanendra has sparked off a major political crisis. Indeed, even though he subsequently appointed another Prime Minister, the new Prime Minister has no representative legitimacy and, indeed, the King must be sorely tempted to use the fight against Maoist guerrilla groups to suspend the rule of law and put an end to the period of parliamentary democracy which has prevailed for 12 years.
These events have destabilised Nepal and thus exacerbated the unrest and instability throughout the region as a whole. The European Union can no longer be content just to express good intentions faced with such a situation. We must urge the new Prime Minister in the strongest terms possible to resume unconditional dialogue with the Maoist rebels. Moreover, it would be desirable, in this respect, for the Council to appoint a special representative for Nepal without delay, who would, if necessary, be able to serve as mediator between the two sides.
Lastly and most importantly, given that this conflict is largely the result of economic and social problems, we must set aside a substantial amount of financial aid in order to be able to make an effective contribution to the restoration of peace and democracy in this small kingdom when the time comes."@en1
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