Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-29-Speech-4-161"
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"en.20050929.23.4-161"2
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".
Mr President, for nine years Nepal has been in the middle of a bloody civil war. Maoist rebels have engaged in violent confrontations in Nepal with the state army causing thousands of deaths. Human rights abuses have been rife; NGOs have published shocking reports of child soldiers fighting for Maoists, and who, if captured, were imprisoned by the state. We also heard of villages being destroyed in the midst of armed conflict and minorities being targeted for discrimination.
However, very little has been done to quell this particular situation. Disbanding the government in February has only served to increase civil unrest and demonstrations and to harden the stance of the Maoists, with restrictions placed on the media and political players doing nothing to help restore public confidence or restart the process of democracy.
We in the European Parliament have been
disappointed that our previous resolution was ignored. I would now urge the government and the King to engage in political dialogue to find a peaceful solution. I would strongly implore him and his government to make progress, especially in light of the Troika next week. I call on Nepal to work towards elections by next year. I appreciate that municipal elections are planned for April and I see no legitimate reason why national elections cannot be held at the same time.
On 3 September 2005, the Maoist groups declared a ceasefire. It must be sustained and reciprocated. With the support of the international community, it could mark the start of much-needed peace talks. If changes are not made, the situation will worsen. Nepal is among the poorest and least-developed countries in the world. However, it has so much to offer. We must do all in our power to allow this beautiful and inspiring people to develop into a peaceful nation once again. The international community must support peaceful negotiations. I would strongly urge the Council and the Commission to work with the King and all the other players to broker a peace deal in this fragile country."@en1
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