Canada Forum for Nepal calls for making constitution with broad participation

Ottawa, Canada, 14 February 2006. A constitution assembly must be inclusive of all sectors of society if the constitution made by such body is to win the hearts and minds of the people. Formulating a new constitution for a country is a special event in history and an assembly to write it need not be composed in the same way as a parliament elected under a permanent constitution. This was the conclusion that came out of an interaction program organized by Canada Forum for Nepal in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada on February 11. The interaction program on currently emerging ethnic and constitutional issues of Nepal was organized by Canada Forum for Nepal, says a release from the Forum.

All participants had almost unanimous view that the interim government should implement the Rayamajhi and Mallik commission reports swiftly. They shared a view that the interim parliament should scrap old 205 constituencies, formulate more fair election process, and use proportional representation system. The interim parliament should also amend interim constitution to enshrine fair representation for women, Dalit, Janajati, Madhesi, handicapped, remote communities, civil society figures, and professionals in the constituent assembly election.

“Grievances against non-inclusion are strong and the movement of Madhesh of January 2007 was fueled by those grievances.”, expressed the General Secretary of Joint Forum for Human Rights, Mr Gopal Siwakoti Chintan, who spoke in the interaction program.

In the same program, Mr Richard Harmston of South Asia Partnership Canada said that the current troubles experienced by Nepal were primarily streaming out of an “incompetence window” as opposed to a “conspiracy window”, and Dr Pramod Dhakal of the Canada Forum for Nepal said, “The process of making the constitution must involve the whole society.”