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| Kathmandu, Friday December 20, 2002 Paush 05, 2059. |
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Don’t escalate violence
This refers to the news story carried by your
paper on December 16, 2002 which explicitly stated that "500 Belgian made machine
guns are arriving very shortly."
Belgian prime minister faced a vote of no-trust
after former prime minister Sher Bahadur approached Belgium for the sophisticated guns in
order to fight the Maoists. By then Deuba had termed the Maoists as
"terrorists".
But will the machine guns really eliminate the
Maoist insurgency when every citizen of this country wants the government to hold talks?
The use of guns against the Maoists may escalate only violence and take the country to a
point of no returning to normalcy. Peace is indeed the need of the hour, but how and when
are the questions.
Secondly, the Maoists are engaged in the armed
struggle which may take years to restore peace. Political leaders have refused to
cooperate with the Chand government, citing it an undemocratic government. And I do not
see any reason to join the present government because the responsibility of the Chand
government is not to dilute politics with democracy in the name of Maoist insurgency, but
to draw a line between the Maoists and the democratic parties and join the latter, if it
intends to resolve the Maoist problem.
The more the present government recognizes the
democratic forces the better it is for the country. The country does not need a handpicked
government but a government elected by the people. So election is the only option left
now.
Raju Aryal, Chabahill, Kathmandu |
