Security Arrangement

The government is committed to strengthening the security arrangements with a view to creating a congenial environment for election to the constituent assembly. The determination expressed by the government comes at a time when serious concern is being raised from different quarters regarding the deteriorating law and order situation in Madhesh and other parts of the country. Needless to say, the security situation in the country has worsened due to the low intensity conflicts and contradictions surfacing in different parts of the country. Thanks to the negotiation between the state and the revolutionary party, the CPN-Maoists, the violent conflict that took a toll of around 13,000 lives during the last one decade has been resolved. The country has entered a new era of peace building and democratisation. The date announced for the election to the constituent assembly testifies to the fact that the political parties are working in concert to take the country towards a new era of peace, consensus and harmony through a series of succinct steps towards conflict transformation. However, the new liberal and democratic political environment has allowed for the rise of ethnocentric and regional tendencies as a result of which local and regional issues have overshadowed the subjects of overall national concern and development.

The tensions in Madhesh and other parts of the country have presented difficulties in terms of maintaining law and order for peace and harmony. The worrying part has been the indiscriminate killings and kidnappings carried out in random in the terai as a result of which the situation has become more abnormal and unusual. The economic activities in the terai have been disturbed, and the business community is facing threats and intimidation. The senseless resort to strikes and vandalism of property has created a difficult situation which might have negative repercussions in the process of holding the polls to a constituent assembly. As the government has decided to deal with the unrest in the Terai with a firm hand, the situation is expected to come under control and become normal in the days to come. Against this backdrop, it is necessary for the political parties and civil society organisations to cooperate with the government to handle the law and order situation in the Terai. It should be understood that if the situation is allowed to worsen further, it would be difficult to build a conducive environment for the polls to the constituent assembly.

Source: The Rising Nepal, July 4, 2007