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Kathmandu Sunday September 17, 2000 Aswin 01, 2057.
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Indian response on refugees better: PM
By a Post Reporter
KATHMANDU, Sept 16 - Prime Minister Girija
Prasad Koirala returned home today after attending the UN Millennium Summit at New York
and meeting Nepalese ambassadors to European countries in Geneva on his way.
Speaking with the mediapersons at the
airport, PM Koirala talked about a host of issues he dealt with in his two week long
foreign trip.
Bhutan not positive
"I sought India’s intervention in
resolving the Bhutanese refugee issue and its response is not negative like before,"
said Koirala. India had all along been maintaining that it was a bilateral issue between
Nepal and Bhutan.
"I also pointed out to Sadako Ogata (UN
High Commissioner for Refugees) that Bhutanese King and the prime minister are positive
when they talk (on refugee issue) with you," said Koirala, adding "but at the
UN, I did not find their (Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bhutan) attitude
positive." Koirala also said he had told Ogata that Bhutanese "are clever and
use sugary tongue" while holding dialogue and "you (Ogata) have been influenced
by it".
"Even the European countries remarked
why Nepal should suffer from Bhutan’s wrong-doings." Replying to a question,
Koirala said there would be no policy change vis-a-vis the level at which talks are held
between Nepal and Bhutan, terming the foreign ministerial level talks
"progressive".
UN needs restructuring
"The UN has given importance to smaller
nations and for the first time there has been separate group interaction between different
countries," said Koirala, talking about his experiences at the UN Summit.
"Nepal has highlighted that in the light
of Information Technology revolution, UN needs restructuring," added the PM. He also
said Nepal’s suggestion of closing the gap between the haves and have-nots, which
otherwise would pose security threat to UN, was appreciated by many nations.
SAARC Summit uncertain
The Prime Minister said all the SAARC
member-states, except India, were in favour of immediate holding of the SAARC Summit.
"India said it should be done at an appropriate time," remarked Koirala, without
specifying the time-frame for the Summit.
Ambassadors not briefed
While speaking about the challenges faced by
Nepalese envoys, Koirala admitted that the ambassadors are not up-to-date with the
happenings in Kathmandu due to faulty mechanism. "The agreements signed by different
ministries do not get reported to the Foreign Ministry. So our ambassadors are in the
dark." PM Koirala added that he had asked the ambassadors to focus on economic
diplomacy.
Koirala also sought help of UN Human Rights
Commissioner to help make Nepal’s Human Rights Commission independent. "I told
the Commissioner that if our HRC depends on the government, it will lose its
credibility."
Swiss help sought in banking sector
Speaking about bilateral assistance, the
Prime Minister said he had asked Switzerland’s help in strengthening banking services
and promoting village-based tourism in Nepal. "The Swiss have assured
cooperation."
Koirala also added that he had requested
Italy to reestablish their diplomatic mission in Nepal. "Their prime minister said
that it was closed due to economic constraints and they would reconsider the matter."
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