Kathmandu, August 29:

Dr David Seddon, professor of Development studies at the University of East Agngilia, today said the role of political parties would ultimately play a decisive role in setting the country’s future. “Nepal is now in the biggest crisis in its history of several centuries. Only if the political parties make some concrete joint effort, it will be a great political history,” he said. He also urged that the political parties have to play a role in defence of democracy. He was addressing a talk programme organised by the Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS). Dr Seddon, who has been here in Nepal for past 30 years, has written several books on the crisis on Nepal. He is currently social development and/or conflict adviser to several DFID funded projects in Nepal and a director of Alternatives, a new development agency.

The Peoples’ Movement of 1990 opened people to many more possibilities.

One among them was that the Maoists showed reluctant interest to admit to the constituting and they finally came to the conclusion that road to change is not democracy, according to him. He also addressed the international forces — namely, US, UK, India and China — for playing roles in political changes in Nepal and stressed that those countries should make their policy to Nepal clear. “So far as the Maoists are concerned, they have a very clear concept but lack of technology will make them face the problem,” he said.