News, Views From Nepal

Yuba Nath Lamsal Democracy, in theory, is collective self-rule which implies that people oversee their affairs on the basis of collective consent. When it comes to practice, this has hardly been at work in the present complicated word. In ancient Athens, the true concept of democracy used to be practiced through the participation of all eligible citizens. Athenians would gather in the city center where they would collectively take decision on each and every issue of national significance. These decisions used to be binding for authorities and they had to implement without any question. In this self-functioning type of system or democracy, each electorate directly participated in the decision-making process and governance. This was called a direct democracy, which is the mother of democracy in the world. With the march of time, the social fabric, demographic pattern and society itself underwent phenomenal change and transformation. With the demographic pressure, social stru...

Yuba Nath Lamsal The European Union won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. It is not bad and not good either. An organization or individual has to get it and the EU got. That’s the bottom line. There should be no surprise as the organizing committee thought it appropriate to award the organization of their own governments. Looking back to history of Nobel Peace Prize, many deserving individuals and organizations have been honored with this most prestigious award. However, questions were raised over the credentials and qualification of certain individuals that were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.   This year’s Nobel Peace Prize has gone to the organizations of the European governments, the reins of which are at the hands of a few powerful countries. The Nobel Prize is nothing for such big powers in terms of the amount the prize carries. But this was a political backing to the organization. It was, indeed, a cheer for an organization that is struggling to tackle the continent's...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Even though it is still in the state of fluid, Nepal is in the process of transformation. All old and obsolete concepts of nation state, its structure and political system have taken a paradigm shift with the systemic change brought about by the 19-day Jana Andolan II (popular movement) and a decade long Maoist insurgency. We have witnessed a phenomenal change in all spheres of country’s political life over the last six years since the peace accord was signed between the state and the UCPN-Maoist. The monarchy that had been in the helms of power for centuries based on feudal values was permanently trashed into the heap of history and Nepal was declared a republican state therein heralding a new era in which people have become masters of their own destiny. The phenomenal political change has also brought about changes in the national perception on varied issues of public concerns including the national security. It has been widely felt that Nepal now needs a ...

Yuba Nath Lamsal With yet another powerful and resourceful regional organization taking shape and wielding influence and clout in its neighborhood, Nepal needs to enter into Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and make its best utilization to further boost Nepal’s strategic value and security interest. Viewed as the counterweight to the NATO expansion and consolidation, the Western countries are taking this regional group as their security threat. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a regional group given shape at the initiative of China way back in 1996. The organization was originally called the ‘Shanghai Five’ as China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan met in Shanghai of China in 1996 to discuss mutual cooperation mainly on issues concerning settlement of border disputes in a peaceful manner and largely to demilitarize the border mainly between China and the countries of former Soviet Union. In 2001, the organization added Uzbekistan and renamed itse...