Nepal's Bishop welcomes nation’s preliminary draft constitution ‎

The head of the Catholic Church in Nepal has welcomed the recent preliminary draft of the nation’s first republican constitution as a welcome step, though it was criticized by the Supreme Court and the opposition.  On June 30th the president of Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), Krishna Prasad Sitaula, presented the Constituent Assembly with the first draft of the text which among other things, guarantees freedom of conscience and the practice of religion. After about a year and a half of work, the Second Assembly has succeeded in reaching general agreement on the basic terms of a democratic constitution which the country has never had.

Bishop Paul Simik, Apostolic Vicar of Nepal said that the presentation of the draft "is a welcome ‎step towards the promulgation of the new constitution of Nepal." "The measures in the religious theme ‎‎– he added – will bring democracy, because people will be free to choose or leave any religion."‎

However, the Supreme Court of Nepal has questioned the legality of the document that was rushed through after devastating earthquakes spurred politicians into action. Some opposition members protested, tearing up what they said were copies of the draft. They complained the charter was not progressive enough and did not reflect the interests of marginalised groups.

The new constitution was a condition of a 2006 peace deal with Maoists rebels that ended a 10-year civil war, which killed more than 17,000 people. The country's 239-year-old monarchy was abolished two years after the conflict ended.

The draft, which seeks to divide the country into eight provinces but leaves their boundaries and names to be decided later, follows seven years in which Nepal's politicians have missed a series of deadlines.  The document will now be placed in the public domain for discussion before a final draft is prepared. (Source: AsiaNews/AP)