Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak has said that a completely conflict-free society is only an imaginary concept.
Inaugurating a workshop on “Challenges of Peacebuilding in Nepal” today, Minister Lekhak remarked that conflict and its resolution go hand in hand. “If someone says a conflict-free society exists, that is imaginary, not reality. Where there is conflict, there is also a solution. We must understand conflict properly, and managing conflict also means reaching compromises,” he said.
He pointed out that the distribution of rights under the new constitution has been generating tensions in the country. “We are now seeing disputes between local governments over natural resources and boundaries. These existing and potential conflicts must be managed,” he added.
Sharing his experience as a member of the peace talks committee during the Comprehensive Peace Accord, Lekhak recalled that the armed conflict officially ended on November 21, 2006 (Mangsir 5, 2063 B.S.). “We transformed a violent society into one of peace. But the nature of conflict differs worldwide, and as long as society exists, conflict will remain,” he said.
While emphasizing the importance of development projects like universities, schools, roads, and bridges, he criticized Nepal’s frequent constitution-making process. “The 2015 constitution was our seventh. It reflects how unstable and uncertain the nation has been and how deeply conflict-ridden our history is. Nepal is among the few countries in the world that has made seven constitutions within seven decades. The journey began back in 1948 (2004 B.S.),” Lekhak noted.
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