"We have reached the South Col in the constitution drafting process" - Baburam Bhattarai, Leader of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) said yesterday.
The South Col is the final camp before a summit attempt on Everest. It is a place where things get deadly serious, there is no guarantee of success and often there is tragedy... but there is a chance of reaching the top of the world.
Nepal is in the category of LDC (Least Developed Country) putting it on a par with Afghanistan and a few African States. At the moment it feels like the country is going backwards, there is confusion and remember, it wasn't that long ago Nepal was almost a failed state.
This is maybe the most critical juncture in Nepal's history. If it is ever to really progress, and that will take time as it is, the final climb to the summit has to be successful. Then, as all climbers know, there is the perilous journey back to Base Camp where healing and stability really begin...
From conservation and humanitarian standpoints (the two are tightly linked) there has to be a strong Base Camp in the form of a stable Government and a much more unified people.
A lot depends on it...
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