LETTERS (Spotlight Weekly)

Governance In A Mess

Our leaders have proved utterly incapable of dealing with national as well as international issues ("Crisis Of Governance" December 15-21). What kind of government is it that merely looks on as hotels and schools remain closed? The government has lost its credibility as the schools remained closed despite repeated assurances of security. People simply do not feel the existence of government, whether in the remote Maoist-affected regions or in city centers where they have to stand in serpentine queues to get cooking gas and sugar.

Kamal Aryal
Battisputali

Nero's Fiddling

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has effectively turned himself into Nero, the infamous Roman king who fiddled while Rome burned. The widespread sense of frustration among the general people could become counterproductive to the process of democratic development. It is strange how the preachers of democracy and champions of socialism could stoop so low in their conduct.

Hari Thapa
Jhamsikhel

Devil's Choice

The Nepalese people are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. While violent insurgents are terrorizing villages, corrupt and unscrupulous leaders are eating away the system at the center. There is no choice between the two. God save the country.

Binaya KC
Chabahil

SAARC In A Limbo

The interview with SAARC Secretary-General Nihal Rodrigo ("We Are Now Encountering The Complexities Of Promoting Regional Cooperation", December 8-14) indicated that there is no immediate chance for a summit. It is regrettable that India refuses to talk to the present Pakistani leadership. While India's concerns may be an internal affair of the country, the indefinite suspension of the SAARC summit will be detrimental to the interest of the region. This lack of regional dialogue will hamper the process of alleviating poverty and confronting various other problems in the region.

Gopal Bhattarai
Paknajol

Koirala Should Quit

If he has any sense of commitment and responsibility left, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala should now start keeping the promises he has been making (and breaking). He has been heading the party and the government for last so many years but is still to prove his skill, be it in improving the party organization or in promoting good governance. In the past, Koirala had promised to groom younger leaders and hand them over party and government responsibility. This is perfectly the right time he should be handing over the party leadership to Congressmen like Sher Bahadur Deuba. The former prime minister has already shown his ability to rally workers behind him and has been able to garner support from all the dissenting voices in the party. It would be proper for Koirala to make way for Deuba to lead the party.

Sudhir Basnet
Gongabu

Baseless Allegations

The allegations that smuggled Chinese goods coming through Nepal has flooded the Indian market, thereby jeopardizing Indian industries are totallybaseless and unsubstantiated ("Imaginary Threat" December 1-7). The low price and good quality of Chinese goods have made an impact in markets as far away as the United States. In today's economics, consumers are supreme. If a consumer finds a particular product good, he will buy it regardless of its origin. The growing demand for Chinese goods in the Indian market should be understood from this perspective. Unfortunately, the allegations that Chinese goods are smuggled in a large quantity via Nepal have once again tarnished the image of our country. Definitely, smuggling is a menace that is damaging to both Nepal and India. In fact, there should be a joint effort to tackle this issue. However, the manner in which the Indian media have portrayed Nepal in this whole issue will do nothing more than harm relations between the two neighbors.

Ram Kumar KC
New Baneshwor

Valid Points

The interview with senior advocate Kusum Shrestha ("Constitutional Amendment Not Needed Yet," December 1-7) has raised some very valid points regarding the debate on amending the basic law. Shrestha's contention that calls by some political parties for an amendment is not the outcome of serious deliberations is very true. The main opposition UML's call for an amendment is faulty and ludicrous. Definitely, there can be no government or election government that is neutral. Even during the last general election, when the poll was held by a coalition government to which the UML also belonged, there were big allegations of rigging. Therefore, the party's claim that election governments could conduct free and fair polls falls flat on the ground. It is a pity that a responsible party like the UML is calling for changes in the constitution without studying what its long-term consequences are going to be.

Anil Sharma
Jamal