Nicholas Howen Quotations

The reinstatement of parliament is a major step on the long path towards re-establishing democracy in Nepal and ensuring stable democracy.

Nepal is in a double crisis ? the armed conflict and the conflict over democracy. By sweeping away democracy and stifling legitimate protest and dissent, the King is denying his people the democratic space they need to decide their future and to resolve the conflict peacefully. It is time for the international community to step up its response.

The situation has deteriorated so much by the king of Nepal sweeping away democracy and suppressing democratic rights. And now that has become one of the most serious problems because the people of Nepal do not have democratic space to discuss and decide their future and to resolve the conflict peacefully.

We are in the process of creating the architecture of international accountability for human rights violations. You need to hold individuals responsible, but there is a big gap if you can't say the machinery of a state is responsible, too.

It is not only these lawyers who have suffered the consequences of exercising their right to freedom of assembly and expression. In the past week over 2,000 people have been arbitrarily detained and hundreds injured as a result of excessive use of force by the security forces.

The curfew, the ban on demonstrations, today's mass arrests and severe communication restrictions are all attempts by the government to silence peaceful and legitimate political protest, which is needed now more than ever in Nepal.