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Prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala has appealed to the Nepali people to develop a positive attitude and also to generate a congenial atmosphere for the elections to the Constituent Assembly. Indeed. He knows fully well that if he cannot restore peace in the country, elections are not possible. He also knows he is a prime minister without a constitutional backing and a very shady background. And he also knows he as not been able to win any public esteem in his own country. He can overlook all these important factors to stay in the exalted position he is in as long he enjoys strong extra-territorial support . It is reported that the powers that be seem to be determined to deny the Maoists any kind of impressive presence in the Constituent Assembly after the elections. For this they are sure to provide the Prime Minister all kinds of support and even open their purse as wide as need be. And Koirala as is his wont, will not shirk from carrying out their behests to the letter. The Indian envoy Shiv Shankar Mukherji has made it amply clear by his frequent and close hobnobbing with the Prime Minister. More so by his recent most undiplomatic explosive statements. Any other country would have censured his behavior being incompatible to his status and taken extreme action. But Girija Koirala’s government doesn’t have that guts and the envoy goes on strutting like a cock. Even Dev Gurung, a Maoist minister in the eight party government, recently charged the Indian ambassador as openly interfering in Nepali politics.
That Nepal needs elections to the Constituent Assembly most urgently is an undeniable fact. And as long certain conditions are not met mere wishing cannot accomplish the impossible. The overwhelming people of Nepal have no faith in the heterogonous eight party government. An honest neutral government must be formed without delay if the elections are to be held on the stipulated date. Millions of the displaced persons have to be rehabilitated in their homes so that they can exercise their fundamental rights. Billions worth of looted properties have to be restored to the rightful owners. How can the powers that be, other international communities and the U.N agencies assert that present situation does permit holding of elections when there is not even a semblance of law and order through out the country? Are they interested only to win kudos not caring even if the country is pushed towards a devastating civil war? Have they shelved all morality and humanity only to keep the Maoists sidelined? And how can the exalted commissioners of the Election Commission become so impractical? We have taken them for people of honor and integrity. Are they also tarred with the same brush like their predecessors? And the Maoists - are they as dumb and naïve as Koirala’s friends think them to be? And now the bomb blasts -a new dangerous phenomenon - has been introduced in Nepal’s most disturbed politics? Even though it is not very difficult to guess correctly who could be behind Nepal’s acute destabilization, it is very surprising to see that not one Nepali of the name has the guts to point a finger at the miscreant. These bomb blasts are, indeed, very ominous and could pose quite a serious threat in the coming days if not nipped in the bud. Koriala’s claim to hold the elections on November 22, 2007 is not at all convincing as the security situation is worsening instead of improving every passing day. It is totally futile to appeal to the eight parties in the government and other ethnic groups outside the government to give up their personal or partisan interests and to unite in the interest of the country, because none of them seems to be its own master. The only way out in these difficult times is for all the patriotic forces to come out in the open and prove that they are not spineless and can go to any extreme to save the nation’s integrity. One must never forget that the right action if taken at the right time only can yield concrete results. Else it becomes an action in futility. We have been emphasizing that at this critical time the Nepal Army has to bear the greatest responsibility of not only preserving the integrity of the country but also to avoid the vicious civil war that is lurking around the corner. The overwhelming patriotic Nepalis know that the Nepal Army can always rise up to the occasion and no one can deter them from their path of duty. They also know that there is no word like ‘procrastination’ in Army’s dictionary. They also believe that Pashupatinath will not come down to save Nepal.
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