Deadlock & Diplomacy

NEPAL's diplomatic skill and maneuver that played a crucial role in resolving the deadlock suddenly cropped up in the Asian Conference of the World Summit on Information Society in Tokyo, Japan and has been well received and hailed by the participating Asian nations. The controversy concerning the participation of Taiwanese delegation had delayed the start of the Tokyo conclave. Minister for Information and Communications Ramesh Nath Pandey, leading the Nepalese delegation in the conference, took the tough stance and played the lead role in resolving the deadlock. Minister Pandey, reiterating Nepal's one-China policy, ruled out the participation of Taiwanese delegation, which was immediately followed by India and supported by all other participating Asian nations. Nepal has always regarded Taiwan as an integral part of People's Republic of China, which has remained unchanged ever since diplomatic relations between Nepal and China were established. Nepal has always taken a firm stance in several international issues and has earned special place and recognition in the international forum. Despite being small in size and population, Nepal has always played a very important role in every international forum in resolving crisis and problems. This diplomatic acumen Nepal has demonstrated has helped in enhancing its image in the international community. Minister Pandey, who is also one of the skillful personalities of Nepal in the foreign policy front and international relations, has further enhanced Nepal's diplomatic knack in mediating and resolving conflict and crisis. Apart from playing a lead and crucial role in ending the deadlock in the Tokyo conference on Information Technology, Minister Pandey clearly and loudly raised the issue and problems being faced by many poor and least developed countries of Asia especially in the field of information and communication. He has rightly raised the issue of narrowing the digital gap currently facing the world. This is not only the issue of Nepal but of many other countries in the world. Some nations, especially developed ones, have achieved tremendous progress in the field of information technology and taken maximum advantage from the revolution in IT sector for their social and economic development. At the same time the information and communication technology is still a luxurious and unaffordable commodity for the people of some Third World countries, which are poor and underdeveloped. As observed by Minister Pandey, the international forum like the one in Tokyo needs to pay a serious attention to this issue and act accordingly to end the digital gap and provide easy and affordable access to IT facilities for all people.

Bad Impact Of Cold Waves

COME summer and there are devastating floods and landslides to cause huge damages to lives and properties. Come winter and there are cold waves to kill the poor children and the sick old persons. This is the common phenomenon that the Nepalese people undergo every year. The victims of the last floods are yet to heave a sigh of relief, the same people who lack adequate clothes are now suffering from cold waves in the entire Terai regions. The people of the affected areas even reportedly failed to mark Maghe Sakranti, one of the most important festivals, due to severe cold. A number of people, mostly children from Kailali in the West to Siraha in the East to Udayapur in the North have already fallen victims to the killer cold waves. Others are braving the severe cold either sitting on the firesides or warming themselves inside the blankets. But for the average people getting firewood for the fire and warm blankets or even sweaters are beyond their capacity. Hence, the effect of the severe cold becomes severer to them. Reports have it that like in Parsa, the local people are provided with firewood to warm their shivering bodies. Same measures should be applied in other affected areas too considering the economic status of the Nepalese people; fire is the only available remedy of the cold waves.

Generally, cold waves cause cold, cough and pneumonia to the small children. Most of the victims of the waves are reported to have suffered from pneumonia. As such, emphasis needs to be given to provide the people of the affected areas with an easy access to medical facilities. Moreover, majority of the poor people are illiterate and as such are not aware of the negative effects of pneumonia and other diseases on their wards. So, it is also necessary to generate awareness against the diseases and encourage them to take their children who are showing the symptoms of cold-caused diseases to hospital as soon as possible. These preventive measures can work effectively in reducing the possible loss of the lives from cold waves. Hope all the Terai people will soon get rid of the cold waves.