PM gives in, turns to civil society

POKHARA: Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal today said the course that the future politics would follow was as unpredictable as climate change phenomena. He said that the two -- politics of a nation and climate change-- had a strong correlation.

“Like climate change, politics is unpredictable. We don't know what course it takes,” he said, talking to journalists here.

The PM's remarks follows widening gulf between major political parties in recent days and the Maoists greeting him with black flags and anti-government slogans in almost every function he attends to.

He also warned that the nation was heading towards a serious crisis due to a polarisation among parties.

“The onus lies with the civil society to take initiatives for the resolution of the present deadlock,” he said.

PM Nepal also acknowledges his defeat in his attempts to diffuse the tension and said, "I made several attempts but there is little likelihood of resolving the crises.”

“This is why I am compelled to urge the civil society to play their part in resolving the crisis," the PM said, adding, "I had already urged civil society leaders Damannath Dhungana and Padma Ratna Tuladhar to play a proactive role as they exhibited in the past, to mitigate the tension."

PM Nepal also vowed to start a serious consultation with leaders of the Unified CPN-Maoists after return to the capital.

"Dialogue is the only way to prevent further complexities. Therefore, I have always insisted on dialogue," he added.

He also warned of a serious situation in the making in the nation in the upcoming days, especially, if the Maoists obstructed the budget. “Maoists should themselves be flexible to prevent such a situation from unfolding.”

The PM said the regular disruptions of the parliament by the UCPN-Maoists has given a bad message both at home and abroad and that the Maoists should reconsider their stance.

The United Nations had written a letter to UCPN-M giving them an ultimatum to release the minor combatants from the cantonments, Nepal said, adding, "If the UCPN-M do not act accordingly, they will lose all their credibility before the international community."

PM Nepal said the minors should be liberated from their confinements by November.

On the issue of flood victims, desperately awaiting aid relief in the far and mid-west, PM Nepal said his government was committed to helping them and he himself was serious on the issue.

Meanwhile, commenting after observing the International Mountaineering Museum here, the PM said the nation in the past 50 years had seen no remarkable changes. "Far-reaching changes are necessary in the lives of the people," he said.

PM Nepal, who arrived here yesterday, met with the victims of Jana Andolan II as well as the representatives of student organisations and workers unions, before flying to the capital, today.