Reciprocity Wanted

MINISTER for Information and Communications Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta once again made the government’s position clear on the peace process that has already been initiated with the Communist Party of Nepal(Maoist). The objective is the ending of the six-year old armed insurgency in the country. At a weekly press meet,in Kathmandu, Minister Gupta, who is also the spokesman of the Council of Ministers, said that His Majesty’s Government is fully committed to talks and has done everything possible to create a congenial atmosphere for the success of the peace talks. The Minister also called the Maoist leadership to exhibit a similar attitude and flexibility if they are sincere and committed to peaceful resolution of the problem. The government has, indeed, shown enough flexibility and liberal posture for the success of the talks to resolve the problem peacefully through dialogue and negotiations. It has already withdrawn cases against Maoists workers and released them from police custody and different prisons. As a result, two rounds of talks between the government and Maoist representatives have already been held. In a new goodwill gesture, the government has withdrawn case against the Maoist central leader Matrika Yadav. However, it has been felt that there has not been the much needed reciprocity and flexibility on the part of the Maoists. The government is open to discuss any economic, political or social issues, except for constitutional monarchy, multi-party democracy and fundamental human rights of the people, at the negotiating table. Despite agreement for halting all kinds of offensive and coercive activities, Maoist rebels have continued to resort to extortion, intimidation and abduction of supporters of other political parties. There are still more than 100 people including several policemen in Maoist captivity. This is not at all the spirit in which the peace talks can be held. If Maoists continue to resort to such activities, it would mean that they are not sincere and committed to the peace talks and peaceful resolution of the problem. Now, it is high time that Maoists need to show the world that they are not for violence but a political party concerned with the cause of the people and the nation by behaving responsibly. Thus, they need to show reciprocity by releasing all policemen and other people from their captivity and halt all forms of uncalled for activities, if they want an amicable solution which can only come about through the talks with the government. The liberal and flexible attitude of the government should by no means be taken as its weakness. The ball, thus, is in the Maoists’ court and they would be responsible if talks fail.

AIDS Campaign 2002

ONCE a problem thought to be chiefly ravaging the western world, HIV/AID epidemic spread quite fast throughout the developing world over the last decade. It was only a matter of time before it hit Nepal. Experience particularly over the last half a decade has certainly shown that the epidemic has come to roost firmly also in Nepal, where the number of AIDS patients is growing with time. For a country where most people have to struggle for a semblance of a decent living, the extra burden placed on its resources by the AIDS epidemic could wreck havoc on its development plans and programmes. Worries that the meagre resources allocated to the health sector in developing countries could be further strained by the AIDS problem are wholly shared by Nepal too. For this reason, the country’s government and non-government health officials and workers have been sounding alarm bells, which gets shriller with further indications that AIDS is spreading rapidly. Injecting Drug Users (IDUs), for instance, are one of the factors contributing to this spread. Similarly, a range of reasons contributes to the cross-border spread of HIV/AIDS. Bordering India, which has seen an exponential growth in AIDS cases, means that Nepalese migrants come back as HIV carriers in an alarming degree.

Against this background, the news that Nepal is going to observe 2002 as a year of HIV/AIDS Awareness and Prevention with involvement of the people from different walks of life, government and non-governmental organisation is welcome. Addressing the Sixth International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific recently held in Australia, Minister for Health Sharat Singh Bhandari gave this information of the planned campaign year for which a Council on HIV/AIDS would be formed under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister and will have representation from all the line ministries, NGOs and INGOs working in the field of HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention. Some silver lining has emerged in Nepal’s fight against AIDS, thanks to the recent efforts of government and non-government health agencies. Though the spread of HIV/AIDS in rural areas form one of the most formidable challenges for Nepalese health agencies, a recent study revealed that about 50 per cent of rural women knew about HIV/AIDS. That is certainly encouraging, pointing to the fact that awareness raising initiatives have worked. That the issues of gender empowerment and HIV/AIDS are to be included in the forthcoming 10th Five Year Plan is also reassuring. But, bearing in mind the sheer scale of the problem, massive efforts are in order from the government, non-government and international aid agencies like UNAIDS to arrest the growth of AIDS cases in Nepal. Nothing less will make a real dent on the problem.