The following is part of an address to the people by Nepal's Communist Prime Minister Manmohan Adhikari on the decision to call early elections. The statement was sent to the World by the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist).
KATHMANDU, NepaI - For the last 45 years. we have, continually and with full determinaflon, been working for national self-respect, democracy and the people's livelihood. As a result, CPN (UML) has, today, been established as a forceful and widespread political party.
In the mass movement of 1990 and afterward in the formulation of the constitutituion, we have represented the sentiments of millions of Nepalese people. By evaluating our role, the people established us as the main opposition in the general election of 1991 and further assigned the responsibility of operating the government as the largest party in the~House of Representatives in the mid-term poll of [November] 1994.
Even within the limited periphery of the budget formulated by the Nepali Congress government in July 1994, we started programs oriented to development and to the people's welfare in the light of the commitments expressed during the election. Within a short period, we started the program "Let Us Build Our Village Ourse1ves" aiming at the villages stricken by mass poverty, illiteracy and scarcity. We have already formed a high level land reform commission, a landless problem resolution commission and a high level citizenship commission.
We have been working for the eradication of the Kamaiya System (a kind of bonded labor), for the control of polluflon, the reduction on of electric Ioad-shading, eradication of the land tax, containment of prices of essential commodities like fertilizers and kerosene, and promotion of women's and children's welfare. After we undertook the responsibility of operating the government, noticeable reforms have been realized in the national economy and in the field of foreign cooperation.
We are constantly at work both in policy and practice for the promotion of mutual cooperation and tolerance among the people of all the classes, communities and regions and for their equal rights. It is because of these patriotic and popular activities of our government that frustration gradually increased in the main opposition Nepali Congress Party (NC). The leaders of the main opposition started campaigning for the collapse of our government within a few days of its formation and concentrated efforts to create obstacles to the works initiated by the government of the people's mandate. The NC has strengthened barriers to the presentation of the budget, policy and programs in the parliament.
However, we had been in discussion with the leaders of different political parties, including the NC, with the intention that the House should work for the full five years [of its term] for the economic development of the nation and for the benefit of the people. Our endeavor, to prevent the country from being pushed towards a mid-term elecion, could not succeed because of the irresponsible activities of the opposition.
The Nepali Congress filed a petition to His Majesty the King [to dissolve the parliament]. This action created instability in the country by hindering the regular and constitutional process of operating the government formed by the largest party, the CPN (UML).
Ignoring our endeavor for the stability and continuity of the government, the sudden filing of the petition made it inevitable to proceed towards a new mandate of the sovereign people for the implementation of the policy and programs of the present government and to ensure stability in the country. For this purpose the recommendation for dissolving the House and for the fixating of a date for the general election in November has been forwarded to the King.
The time of challenge has appeared before all those fighting for the people's rights and democracy. I appeal to all patriots and democrais to defend the nation from movements agalnst the nation and people.
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