EDITOR'S NOTE
The tenth round of Nepal Bhutan talks to
decide the miserable fate of the Bhutanese refugees languishing in sub-human refugee camps
in eastern Nepal does not seem to come to any final conclusion: While the Nepalese
participants to the talks were exuding some kind of optimism on the outcome, Nepalese
political pundits do not show much enthusiasm. Even though the Bhutanese delegation has
shown a slight variation on their stance, the past experiences of nine round of talks make
it very unrealistic to believe that the vexing problem will be resolved soon. The hopes
that the recent visits of the U.S. dignitaries to Bhutan may exert some kind of pressure
on the Bhutanese government are opt to end in disappointments. Such international
pressures in the past have failed to generate any reaction not he Bhutanese statesmen.
Since Bhutan's defence and foreign policy are guided by their friend and big neighbor in
their South Bhutan can afford to ignore pressures coming from other directions. This
ethnic cleansing by Bhutan, started more than a decade back, could not have been initiated
without the tacit approval of Bhutan's mentor. Consequently, this imbroglio cannot be
expected to be resolved without India's cooperation. It was in this perspective we have
been advocating India's involvement in the discussions. Twisting Bhutan's arms may not
produce any satisfactory results. Whether India is willing to lend its cooperation is
another matter. Otherwise, the sorry exposed of eleventh round of talks will be repeated
without any end.
* * *
Storm over a tea cup. Why should the Nepalese
people react in such a violent manner over the insensitive statement of an Indian actor is
beyond our comprehension. What is Hritik Roshan? What is his standing in the context of
Nepal-India relations? Moreover, this is not the first time, Indian movie stars have made
insulting remarks about Nepal and Nepalese people. This kind of comment does not deserve
any attention. The Nepalese people can afford to ignore them. Have we forgotten the simple
Indian proverb that elephants do not notice the barking dogs? Moreover, in a democracy,
how can any one be prevented from expressing his opinion? By resorting to emotional
outbursts, the Nepalese have only given importance to the statement of a man who does not
know what he is talking about. The sooner we stop this violent refection, the better for
us. The unnecessary demonstration has taken away a few precious lives. Who is responsible
for this? Such kind of behavior only reflects our immaturity.
| Chief-Editor & Publisher |
: Madhav Kumar Rimal |
| Editor |
: Sarita Rimal |
| Consulting Editor |
: Keshab Poudel |
| Senior Correspondent |
: Bhagirath Yogi |
| Senior Reporter |
: Navin Singh Khadka |
| Reporter |
: Sanjaya Dhakal / Sunil Kumar
Gupta(Nepalgunj) |
| Photographer |
: Shyam Chitrakar |
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