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| Kathmandu, Thursday May 16, 2002 Jestha 02, 2059. |
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Western support
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba returned home
yesterday after what will rank as a historic and rare meeting with US President George
Bush. He obtained pledges of support from US President Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony
Blair. At a time when the US is leading the global movement against terrorism in any form,
the support from two powerful western countries for Nepal’s fight against what the
government calls Maoist terrorism was to be expected. That Prime Minister Deuba expressed
satisfaction at the support extended by the US and the UK is only to be understood, after
all he is the first head of the Nepalese government to be received in the White House in
four decades. Indeed, the support from the US, the UK and many other developed countries
would have been there anyway but the gesture which President Bush extended in meeting the
Prime Minister is symbolic of the US commitment to help new democracies like Nepal root
out terrorism and the causes that give birth to terrorism. It is also a US statement put
in strongest possible manner that the US makes its own assessments about Nepal and as a US
State Department official recently put it: "US views Nepal through its own eyes and
not through someone else’s". But the western support should not be taken for
granted. The western countries do not supply arms merely to kill one another but to help
the terrorist affected countries help themselves by helping to hit out against terrorists
and, at the same time, addressing the state machinery towards economic, social, political
as well as infrastructure development. This is a tall order for any government but even
more so for a government in Nepal said to be neck deep in corruption and corrupt
practices.
Prime Minister Deuba stated during his US and UK
visits that the Maoists have destroyed physical and developmental infrastructures to the
tune of 250 million dollars. The trail of Maoist destruction ranges from airports that
form the only links with remote areas of this country to telecommunication towers and
exchanges to bridges and roads to schools and universities to health posts. The Prime
Minister’s visit abroad has helped to highlight the destructive nature of the Maoist
movement and why the government was more than justified in labeling the Maoists as
"terrorists". Experts think that because of the Maoist spree of destruction the
country has now been pushed back by 25 years. It is in this light that an international
meeting to be hosted by the UK in support of Nepal next month must be viewed. The meeting
will prove an opportunity for countries sympathetic towards Nepal to show their commitment
to support Nepal, not merely in vanquishing the violent armed Maoist insurgency but even
more importantly to replace the destroyed infrastructures, build new ones and initiate
projects and programmes and polices that will provide greater opportunities to the
neglected people, create more job opportunities and gradually root out the causes that
breed violent movements. And with the help of the friends of Nepal, the government too
must be able to do its bit. The Deuba government initiated a number of actions, including
the formation of a high level probe committee, in order to investigate post-1990 ill
gotten wealth. But the government not only has to take action but also must be seen by the
people as really having taken action. Unfortunately, the government has not been able to
do so and as a result its image continues to suffer, a bad omen it wants the people to
defy the Maoists and get the action on the development front going. Important as is the
support from foreign governments and institutions to the Nepalese cause, the ultimate
makers of this country are its own people who must be made to feel at all levels and at
all times that they have a government that constantly works for their welfare. |
