Hiroshima (The Newah) – Nepal Ambassador to Japan H.E. Dr. Ganesh Yonzan Tamang called on the international community to support consolidate the ongoing peace process in Nepal. Joining โthe 7th HiPeC* Peace-building Exchange – Talk on Peace in Nepal: Conflict and Ongoing Peace Process in Nepal”, held in the Grand Hall of the Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation (IDEC), Hiroshima University on August 5th, Ambassador Yonjan made a presentation on “Nepal in a Painful Transition from Conflict to Peace Process: Present and Future.โ In the presentation, Ambassador Yonjan dwelt about a number of issues – political conflict and development, causes of violent conflict, cost and consequences of conflict, efforts for peace-building, and national development strategies and priorities to consolidate the peace process. He said the violent conflict took more than 13,000 lives, destroyed infrastructure worth more than 300 billions of rupees, bifurcated the society with conflict trauma, gradually militarized the country and made it autocratic and anarchic. The conflict caused a large scale exclusion of historically discriminated population from governance, increasing social and economic disparities, pervasive poverty and lack of employment, polarization of political forces and continuous resistance to reforms from the elite and feudal classes. Ambassador Yonjan called on international community to consolidate the ongoing peace process in Nepal by supporting the agenda of inclusion to make democracy more participatory and meaningful and support individual liberty and social justice.
The program was attended by some 40 academic staffs and students of Hiroshima University. A lively discussion followed the presentation, in which students from Botswana, India, Nepal, pursuing Ph.D. at IDEC under Professor Keshav L Maharjan, gave their views to deepen the understanding of the issues.
At the program, while Hiroshima University vice president and HiPeC Joint Committee chair Professor, Yamane Yasuo delivered welcome speech, Professor Yoshida Osamu, the chairman of HiPeC Executive Committee moderated the program. Dr. Akiba Tadatoshi, former mayor of Hiroshima city, who was awarded Nepalโs prestigious Gautama Buddha Peace prize, and currently professor by special appointment at Hiroshima University gave vote of thanks to the ambassador and presented gift from Hiroshima University. The program was closed by Professor Maharjan, who not only upheld the presentation by the ambassador but also highly valued his visit to the Hiroshima University accompanied by Mrs. Tamang and the embassy officials that included deputy chief of mission Dr. Durga Bahadur Subedi and Attachรฉโ Mr. Krishna Bahadur Thapa. On behalf of the dean of IDEC, Professor Maharjan also presented gifts to the embassy team.
Ambassador Yonjan also participated in the memorial of the victims of the Hiroshima Atomic bomb held next day in the Hiroshima city.
In another program held in Osaka organized to promote Nepal Tourism year 2011 by the Nepal Embassy, Ambassador Yonjan distributed letters of appreciations to several Japanese and Nepalese resident in Japan for their contribution in promoting Nepal in Japan and Japan Nepal relationship. Honorary Nepal Consul for Kansai Mr. Imanishi, Professor Keshav L. Maharjan, Mr. Dinesh Shrestha were among those who received the letters of appreciation from the Ambassador.
*[HiPeC stands for Hiroshima University Partnership Project for Peace-building and Capacity Development].
(The Newah News edited by Suwarn Vajracharya. Dr. Keshav Maharjan provided photos and contributed to this news article.)
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