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ANMA Conventions |
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ANMA & NASeA Joint Convention 2005
September 03 - September 04, 2005
Theme: Coming Together
Nepalese Association of Southeast America (NASeA) and
Association of
Nepalese in Midwest America (ANMA) organized their annual convention during
the Labor Day Weekend (from September 03 to September 05) in Atlanta,
Georgia, USA. Several other Nepali organizations throughout the United
States attended the convention as well. As the theme of the convention
stated “Coming Together”, all members, volunteers and representatives
of organizing associations, as well as several other participating
organizations were focused on working together and supporting the Nepali
communities in the US.
The convention started with the national anthems of Nepal and the US.
Speaking on the opening ceremony, Dr. Prakash Malla, the president of
NASeA welcomed the attendees to Atlanta and mentioned that the convention
theme “Coming Together” was selected because of its appropriateness,
and it is the need of the time both in Nepal and around the world.
During the convention, the ANMA general members voted to continue with
the existing executive committee headed by Mr. Anand R Tiwari. The NASeA
members elected the new executive committee headed by Dr. Narayan
Rajbhandari as the president.
During the general session, Dr. Prakash Malla introduced the
representatives of all the participating organizations, and provided
some time for the representatives to present brief information about
their organizations. Dr. Josephine Tan represented the Governor of the
State of Georgia, read the message from the governor. In his message
the governor commended the associations for their contributions in
strengthening and promoting Nepali culture and heritage, and extended
his best wishes to all for an exciting and memorable event. Ms. Shelby
Steinhaur, a former Peace Corp volunteer, talked about her experience
in Nepal, where she worked as a volunteer-teacher.
Mr. Anand Tiwari, the president of ANMA, provided updates on the
organization and its activities. He also urged the Nepali communities
to come together for the greater cause of the communities. He stated
that by “coming together” the communities can benefits from each other’s
strengths. Dr Shyam Karki and Mr. Sharda Thapa briefed the audience on
the upcoming NRN conference in Kathmandu and urged the audience to
participate in the conference in October. Mr. Brian McQuinn, the Carter
Center Assistant Director of Conflict Resolution, mentioned that President
Carter is deeply concerned about the current situation in Nepal and hopes
that the conflict will resolve in a peaceful manner soon. He also
mentioned that President Carter trekked in Nepal in 1985 and has a
sense of attachment with the people of Nepal. Nepali Baba, Tej Nath Sharma,
prayed in Sanskrit and gave a peace message.
One of the attractions of the convention was the live concert by Deepak
Bajracharya on Saturday, while the local talents rocked the night on
Sunday. The friendly soccer match between ANMA and NASeA members, and a
poetry competition was held during the convention. People from Krishna
Consciousness organized a session on Eastern Culture and Philosophy.
"The Role of Women in Multicultural Environment: Expectation, Conflict
and Strength" session was also a part of the convention and was sponsored
by Nepali Women’s Global Network.
ANMA and NASeA joint convention committee also decided to donate
US$ 2,000.00 towards the relief works of Hurricane Katrina victims.
One of the major programs of the convention, The Nepal Forum, was
moderated by Mr. Girija Gautam. During the forum, Mr. Roger Adhikari,
Dr. Pramod Aryal and Mr. Anga R. Timilsina spoke on the conflicts and
political situation in Nepal. Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Adhikari
highlighted that if the current problems persist there could be pressure
on all -- the Maoists, political parties and monarch -- to resolve the
situation. However, in view of recent steps taken by monarch, Mr. Adhikari
stated that the ultimate looser would be the monarchy of Nepal if the
things are not resolved. Although scenarios of reinstatement of parliament
was also discussed, he postulated that if King does not heed to people’s
pressure, probably there could be bloody crackdown of protestors which
might lead to undesirable disaster that may disintegrate many institutions.
Dr. Aryal, identified that the monarchy of Nepal has been an impending
force for recognition of diverse groups of Nepal. He, however, pointed out
that if proper solution is not sought, there could be other insurgencies in
the future. He also stated that to resolve the present conflict, "people’s
supremacy” should be restored and the both forces with guns and political
parties need to merge at single point. He stressed that the root cause of
insurgency is the alienation of people from decision making process.
The presidents of ANMA and NASeA, Mr. Anand R Tiwari and Dr. Prakash Malla,
thanked the volunteers and convention committee members for their hard work
and dedication. This was ANMA’s twenty-fourth and NASeA’s fifteenth convention.
Amod PyakuryalSeptember 08, 2005
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