INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MISSION FOR PEACE IN NEPAL

2006 MAY 26 - JUNE 2 | KATMANDU and NEW DELHI

REPORT

The visit of the international peace mission led by Peace for Life from 24-31 May 2006

By DR. K. B. ROKAYA

2006 JUNE 12

An international peace mission led by Peace for Life, an international interfaith peace group, visited Nepal at the joint initiative of CEPJAR, the peace and reconciliation programme of the National Council of Churches of Nepal (NCCN). The objective of the peace mission was observe and study the situation of Nepal through interaction with representatives of the widest possible section of the Nepalese society in order to contribute to the peace building process in Nepal through lobbying at the international level.

The members of the peace mission consisted of the following persons.

• Carmencita Karagdag (Philippines) – Coordinator, Peace for Life
• Dr. Kathryn Poethig (USA) – Associate Professor of Global Studies, California State University Monterey Bay
• Gabriel Habib (USA/Lebanon) – Director of Religious & Cultural Relations, Middle East Fellowship
• Irfan Engineer (India) – Director, Centre for Study of Society and Secularism
• Ranjan Solomon (India) – Executive Director, Ecumenical Coalition on Tourism
• Sagarika Chetty (India) – Executive Secretary, NCCI Women & Gender Justice, Children & Life Formation Program
• Rev. Khongwir (India) – National Council of Churches in India

Important meetings

Meeting with representatives of civil society
27 May 2006, 12.00 to 3.30 PM

The team had an interaction with representatives of the wider civil society in Nepal. The meeting took place in Baishali Hotel, Thamel and about 80 people representing various sections of the Nepalese civil society were present on the occasion. Prominent members of the civil society spoke on the occasion on the political and human rights situation in Nepal with special reference to the recent people’s movement for democracy and the political scenario in the aftermath of it including the declaration by the parliament to make Nepal a secular state. A lively and fruitful interaction between the members of the peace mission and the representatives of the civil society took place afterwards. The meeting was organized by Citizen’s Peace Commission.

Meeting with the Executive Committee Members of NCCN, CEPJAR
and Kathmandu Valley Christian Council (VCC)
27 May 2006, 4.30 to 6.30 PM

The members of the peace mission met with the Executive Committee members of NCCN, CEPJAR and VCC for an interaction and fellowship dinner. The meeting was held in C & W Restaurant, Kamaladi. The team members shared their experiences on the role of the Church in peace making and learned about the role the Church in Nepal had played in the peace building process through NCCN and CEPJAR. It was an enriching experience for all present at the meeting.

Meeting with representative of CPN (Maoist)
28 May 2006

The members of the peace mission also met with Mr. Krishna Bahadur Mahara, the spokesperson of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and Coordinator of the Maoist dialogue team. This gave the team members an opportunity to get to know the view and position of CPN(Maoist) on various issues.

Meeting with representatives of religious communities
28 May 2006, 10.00 AM to 1.00 PM

The members of the peace mission met with representatives of the various religious groups in Nepal like Hindus, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Bahai and Kirat. There was wide representation from the various Hindu groups and other religious communities in Nepal. The team members shared their experiences on the role of religious communities in conflict resolution and peace building in other parts of the world and appreciated the harmony existing among the various religious groups in Nepal and the role the Inter-religious Council Nepal is playing in the peace building process. The members of the peace urged the religious leaders to continue to make efforts to maintain the religious harmony and continue to play even more effective role in ensuring peace and social justice. The interaction was mainly centered around the issue of Nepal having been declared a secular state by the Nepalese parliament. All the religious leaders present including the representative of the World Hindu Federation Nepal Chapter were of the opinion that the decision of the parliament to declare Nepal a secular state was right as the state should treat all religions equally, but the timing and the process was not right. They were of the opinion that the issue should have been left to the much awaited constituent assembly to decide. Prominent Hindu leaders said that as Hinduism is itself a secular religion, the declaration of a secular state did not really make much difference as far as the true spirit of Hinduism is concerned. They also urged people not to link Hinduism directly to the monarchy.

The meeting was organized and coordinated by the Inter-religious Council Nepal.

Participation in the Celebration of Asia Sunday
Sunday, 28 May 2006

In the afternoon on Sunday, the members of the peace mission participated in a special prayer meeting jointly organized by NCCN and Valley Christian Council to celebrate the Asia Sunday announced by the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA). The special event was held in Putali Sadak Church, the first Church to be started in Kathmandu after Nepal opened to the outside world following the demise of the 104 year old Rana Regime through the people’s revolution in 1950. It was also a thanksgiving service for the success of the people’s movement for democracy which was jointly led by the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and supported by Nepal’s civil society.

Every year CCA announces a particular Sunday as Asia Sunday with focus on one particular country in Asia. This year Sunday the 28th of May was announced as Asia Sunday and the focus was Nepal as the youngest member of the ecumenical family.

Field Visit
29 May 2006

To have a closer look at the impact of the decade long conflict in Nepal and to have an opportunity to interact with the local people affected by the conflict, the peace mission visited ….. village in Dhading on 29 May 2006. The team members came back with exciting stories to tell about their interaction with the village people and a first hand experience on the impact the conflict has had on the lives of the people in rural areas. The field visit was coordinated by First Environmental Trekking (P) Ltd.

Before leaving Nepal, the team also met with representatives of the various professional groups and visited some places of interest like Nagarkot.

Conclusion

The visit by the peace mission was very timely and it will certainly contribute to enhancing the peace building process in Nepal by creating an increased awareness at the international level about the situation in Nepal and the constructive role the international community should play in peaceful resolution of the conflict and establishing lasting peace with justice to all the stakeholders in Nepal. This was probably the first peace mission of this kind from the level of the people from many countries in the world joining hands for peace, justice, democracy and religious freedom in Nepal.

The international delegation derived inspiration and empowerment from the stories of the Nepali people’s heroism and dedication to the cause of peace, justice and democracy; and how they have recommitted themselves to concrete work of solidarity in support of the civil society and interreligious movements for peace, including lobbying their governments to desist from meddling in the internal affairs of Nepal and to respect the genuine wishes of the Nepali people.

The National Council of Churches of Nepal (NCCN) takes pride in being able to play a key role in this.

Dr. K.B. Rokaya is the general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Nepal (NCCN) and national coordinator of the Christian Efforts for Peace, Justice and Reconciliation (CEPJAR). Dr. Rokaya initiated the formation of CEPJAR under the NCCN’s peace and reconciliation programme, as well as the Inter-Religious Peace Committee in Nepal (IRPC) which co-organised the solidarity mission.

More on the International Solidarity Mission for Peace in Nepal:

• Communiqué – issued on 31 May 2006 by the international delegation
• The Nepal Tragedy – background materials for the visiting team
• Concept paper
• Album – photos of the field visits and encounters in Katmandu, 26-31 May 2006