KATHMANDU, DEC 24 - Mobilisation and involvement of young people and students could help resolve the conflict in Nepal, German Ambassador to Nepal Rudiger Lemp said here Tuesday.
Speaking at the inaugural of a two-day workshop on "Political Youth Organisations: Strategic Planning Workshop" organised by the Youth Initiative, Lemp said, "The dangerous development I have seen in Nepal is to a large extent because of not enough involvement of people in grassroots."
Indirectly hinting at the present student agitation in Nepal, he said that the young people need not only be mobilised but also be involved in politics.
"If the tension between tectonic forces is reduced, dangers of big earthquake can be minimised," he said suggesting that the young people be involved and mobilised in politics to avoid the possible dangerous situation.
"We have to tackle people at their young age itself to avoid conflict in future," he said, adding, "A constant participation at the grassroots was important to minimise the social tensions and threat to peace".
Commenting on the latest student strikes, Prof Dr Lok Raj Baral said, "Students are catalysts in this country. They were so in 1960 and in 1990. Now they are emerging again as the force for change as the parties have failed."
He blamed the parties for not coming up with clear objectives and accused the latter of having failed to adjust to the changed context. "They are repeating the same old things like constituent assembly."
"Those were the demands we already raised in 1951. Now the parties are repeating them," he added.
Hari Roka, a scholar at the Jawahar Lal Nehru University in India, said students must not only involve themselves in politics but also intervene.
"You need quality education to be the basis of a free society," said Hubertus Von Welck, South Asia regional director of the Friedrich Naumann, a German-based organisation, currently supporting the Youth Initiative in Nepal.
"We in Germany believe in liberal policy and freedom with responsibility," he said adding that democracy works well only when power is at the grassroots and that the people are sovereign.Posted on: 2003-12-25 05:32

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