NC President Deuba stresses on national unity for prosperous Nepal

Kathmandu, Aug 30: Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba called for building a 'Prosperous Nepal' by departing from the bygone days' conflicts.     

Unveiling a book 'Dwanda Patrakarita ko Ek Dashak' (A Decade of Conflict Journalism' penned by journalist Dirgharaj Upadhyay here on Friday, leader Deuba emphasized on the sustainable peace achieved after years of conflict and building an inclusive and prosperous society.     

Published by Sangam Books, the 154-page book offers an in-depth insight into nearly a decade long armed conflict in various titles such as 'Disrupted Assembly of Maoist', 'The Night, FM station was looted', 'Two incidents where innocents were killed' 'When shall justice prevail?', 'The Attack on Deuba' among others.     

On the occasion, Deuba, also the former Prime Minister, assured that the incumbent government was working towards building society free from fear.     

Furthermore, he voiced the need for fine-tuning constitution in a timely manner ensuring it reflects everyone's essence and sentiments.     

Noting the importance of democracy and human rights for building a civilized society, he mentioned that efforts were underway to further make it better by incorporating sentiments of all caste and communities.     

Stating that past conflict involved many struggles and upheavals, he acknowledged the national and international cooperation and contribution in establishing peace in the country in the wake of decade long conflict.     

"It's high time we manage it sustainably and institutionalize the achievements," he urged.     

 Lauding the recent authentication of Truth and Reconciliation Bill a 'huge' milestone for conflict management, he argued that the country was moving ahead taking lessons from past experience.     

Similarly, CPN (UML) Secretary Lekhraj Bhatta explained that the Maoist-waged 'armed' conflict was a struggle for political changes and against the injustice prevailing in the society.     

He recalled, "Many "unexpected" incidents had occurred across many places during the armed conflict. At that time I was party's In-charge of Seti-MahaKali and recollection of such incidents still pricks his heart."     

Taking a great deal of comfort in sharing that Sudurpashim region did not witness any such "unwanted" incidents during the conflict era, he reiterated that Sudurpaschin experienced fewer such incident due to ideology they upheld that there should not be any loss of human lives although some 'loss' are bound to incur during clashes.     

Similarly, NC leader Nain Singh Mahar opined that the newly launched book would be an important resource for understanding Nepal's history about conflict.     

Expressing his dismay that the peace envisaged in the post-conflict era was not yet fully realized, he described the current governance system as a result of the resilience of journalism sector.     

Federation of Nepali Journalists President Bipul Pokharel highlighted the vital role of journalism sector to conclude peace process of Nepal in a 'unique' way.     

Criticizing the apathy on the part of the State towards journalism sector, he rued over the lack of important legislative measures for media.     

Noted journalists such as Kunda Dixit and Babita Basnet commended journalist Upadhyay's book as an 'incredible' example of peace journalism.     

The book describes journalists' experience during the armed-conflict, cruelty, pain, torture and their condition during that period minutely, according to them.     

They assessed that the book stood a witness to the 10-year conflict in the country and said served as comprehensive historical account of the decade-long conflict, document in dates, locations and experiences of the involved people. ---