B. Lynn Pascoe (centre) meets with Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala. At right is Special Representative Karin Landgren
“As a friend of the United Nations and a staunch believer in its ideals and principles, Mr. Koirala will be remembered as a strong voice of multilateralism and global cooperation,” according to a statement issued by the Secretary-General's spokesperson.
The Secretary-General hailed him as a “pioneer of Nepal's labour and democratic movement of the 20th century who fought fearlessly and at considerable personal sacrifice for justice and democratic rights in his country.”
He also paid tribute to Mr. Koirala's “courageous and resolute leadership” in the so-called 2005-2006 “people's movement,” which saw hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets in cities and towns across the country, culminating in the king relinquishing executive power and reinstating Parliament.
Mr. Koirala, the statement said, also played a central role in ending the 10-year conflict which claimed over 13,000 lives.
After conducting Constituent Assembly elections in May 2008, Nepal abolished its 240-year-old monarchy and declared itself a republic.
“With his passing, Nepal has lost a towering figure in its political history,” Karin Landgren, the Secretary-General's Representative, said on behalf of the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) and the UN Country Team in the country.
Mr. Koirala, she said, played a key role in the peace process. “He brought his political skill and credibility to bear in persuading the parties to begin the dialogue that led to the [2005] 12-point Agreement, and later to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement itself,” Ms. Landgren noted, referring to the 2006 accord which ended the civil war.
Just 10 days ago, Mr. Koirala – who proposed the high-level political mechanism, which was promulgated in early this year to resolve the most contentious remaining issues – spoke with urgency about the peace process in a meeting with B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, during his visit to Nepal.
“Mr. Koirala served his country and the cause of peace,” Ms. Landgren said, calling him the “irreplaceable and fearless defender of a democratic Nepal.”
“The greatest tribute to G.P. Koirala will be to take up the spirit of his conviction, bringing fresh dedication to concluding the process of preparing a new constitution and consolidating a lasting peace in Nepal.”
At the end of his three-day visit to Nepal last week, Mr. Pascoe underscored that now is the time for Nepal's leaders to move the stalled peace process, which has been threatened by tensions and mistrust between Maoists, the Government and the army.
But he expressed optimism that a solution will be reached. “All of us understand that this is a Nepali process,” he said, voicing the UN's support for peace efforts.
“It seems to me that after talking with [a] very wide range of people that there is strong hope and strong understanding of what needs to be done to get there, to settle the peace issues,” the official stressed.
“Nepal's leaders understand exactly what has to be done and now is the time to move it forward,” he told reporters at the airport in the capital, Kathmandu. “They need to do it.”
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
Google+