PM’s Appeal
THE daily reports of
the encounters between security forces and terrorists at different parts of the country
clearly mirror the troubling times the nation is going through. Apart from being a huge
security threat, the terrorist activities have also badly affected the fragile economy of
the country. At a time when all out efforts should have been taking place in implementing
different development works for the benefit of the people, it is ironic that the
government has had to focus all its attention on security matters. However, it must be
understood that it is the foremost duty of any responsible government to maintain law and
order in the country and provide a sense of security to the people. The present state of
emergency was also implemented after the Maoists perpetrated mindless violence in
different parts of the country. The government had no alternative but to take this harsh
decision, keeping in mind the security of the nation and the people. Prime Minister Sher
Bahadur Deuba, at an interaction programme organised by the Foundation of Parliamentary
Studies the other day, quite rightly recalled that the government had done all it could to
create a conducive environment to end the Maoist problem through dialogue. However, it was
the Maoists, who unilaterally withdrew from the peace talks and went on a spree of
terrorist activities that took a huge toll on lives and property and forced the government
to implement the state of emergency. As mentioned by Prime Minister Deuba at the
interaction programme attended by an impressive array of representatives from political
parties, intellectuals and other members of the civic society, democracy and weapons just
can’t go hand in hand. It is true, there is no cause which is good enough to call for
the raising of arms, specially in a democratic society, where there are enough other
options to make ones voice heard. Aptly taking up the opportunity to alert the respected
representatives of the civic society present on the occasion, the Prime Minister while
informing he was aware the Maoists have been knocking on the doors of intellectuals and
human rights activists to lobby against the state of emergency, asked why the
intellectuals were not criticizing the Maoists who were committing so many heinous crimes
against their fellow countrymen. Terrorist activities definitely cannot be good for the
nation or for any cause. The only way to bring prosperity for the nation is through
peaceful means and the government must be given full cooperation from all sections,
specially the civic society, to end the current spate of terrorist activities and bring
normalcy and development back to the nation.
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