One never hears much of anything on this Himalayan nation other than assaults on the famed Mount Everest. TGO
Refer to story below. Source: Associated Press
KATHMANDU (AFP) – Tens of thousands of people gathered in Kathmandu on Sunday to pay their last respects to Girija Prasad Koirala, the former Nepalese leader who helped bring a decade-long civil war to an end.
Huge crowds of mourners filled the streets to catch a final glimpse of the former prime minister, who died Saturday aged 85, as his body was driven through the capital to a Hindu temple for cremation.
Koirala, who became Nepal’s first elected prime minister in 1991 after pro-democracy protests, was seen as the guardian of the country’s peace process right up until his death.
“He was a true statesman who led Nepal through its most difficult period,” said banker Sadikshya Poudel, waiting in the hot midday sun to pay his respects. “He was like a father figure and I don’t know what will happen now he is gone.”
Koirala led the Himalayan nation through some of its biggest upheavals, including the 2001 massacre of the king and queen and eight other royals by a drunken crown prince.
But his lasting legacy stems from his decision in 2006 to open talks with Maoist guerrillas waging a bloody insurgency. The move led to a peace agreement later that year and eventually brought the former rebels to power.
His funeral was to be held with full state honours at the Pashupatinath temple on the banks of the holy Baghmati River, where around 40,000 mourners had gathered, police estimated.
In a break from tradition, his daughter, Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala, was to light the funeral pyre — an honour usually reserved for a male family member.
Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who goes by the nom de guerre Prachanda, said Koirala’s death was an “irreparable loss” to the peace process, which has faltered since the fall of the Maoist-led government last May.
“Taking the peace process and constitution-writing to a logical end and leading the country towards prosperity… will be a true tribute to Koirala,” he said in a statement.
Lawmakers are drafting a new constitution that will shape the future of the world’s youngest republic following the abolition of the 240-year-old Hindu monarchy in 2008.
But with just two months to go until the interim constitution expires, disagreements remain on such fundamental issues as the structure of national government and the creation of federal states.
The question of how to integrate former Maoist fighters into the national army — a key tenet of the peace agreement — also remains unresolved amid fierce disagreement between military leaders and the ex-rebels.
The head of the UN mission in Nepal, Karin Landgren, said the country had lost “a towering figure in its political history”.
“The greatest tribute to G.P. Koirala will be to take up the spirit of his conviction, bringing fresh dedication to concluding the process of preparing a new constitution and consolidating a lasting peace in Nepal,” she added.
