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Norwegian Minister Solheim For Consensus On Peace and Constitution
By KTM Metro Reporter
May 22, 2010: speaking at the press conference held in Kathmandu to brief the media people about his one-day visit to Nepal, Norwegian Minister for Environment and International Development Erik Solheim said, "In course of my meeting with different leaders including Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, I urged everyone to show compromise to reach national consensus and they all expressed their readiness for compromise," according to the news published in the state-run newspaper ‘The Rising Nepal’ of May 22, 2010. The Norwegian Minister has been hopeful that the political parties would be able to build national consensus on a national unity government, Maoist army integration and rehabilitation, and extension of the term of the Constituent Assembly (CA) at the last moment in view of the past trend of doing so.
A statement released by the Norwegian Embassy in Kathmandu on Friday, May 21, 2010, has quoted the minister, "I have always been a strong supporter of the peace process which is Nepali-owned and driven. However, many countries share our concerns that lack of consensus is seriously threatening the peace process at a very critical stage. All parties need to urgently consider what is best for the process and sort out the significant outstanding differences in the peace process through consensus."
"He called on the parties to maintain the focus on implementing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and on writing a democratic constitution. He reiterated that Norway and the international community stand ready to support Nepal’s peace process."
The minister has also been concerned with the possibility of Nepal facing a constitutional crisis if the term of the CA is not extended before May 28, 2010: the deadline for promulgating a new constitution.
