LETTERS (Spotlight Weekly)

Don't Hurry

Serious debate should take place before amending the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990 (A decade of Constitutional of Exercise November 3-9, Spotlight). Any hasty decision could push the country towards civil war. As rightly pointed out in your cover story, amending the constitution is not after all a solution of present political crisis. We have already changed four constitutions in the past five decades. Keep up the present one. Any hasty decision to amend the constitution could prove counterproductive.

Nirdan Sharma
Sifal

Amend The Constitution

Constitution is not a rigid document. There is no document which is above the country. If the constitution hurts the interest of the country, it should be scrapped. I don't argue with your cover story in the Spotlight that people need patience in democracy. How long do the poor people like me have to show patience and watch the activities of the corrupt leaders.

Jeevan Khatri
Kalimati

Upadhyaya's Unjustified

Comment

I have not seen the people like former chief justice Bishwonath Upadhaya who always sees himself as a messiah of Nepal. He accused the politicians charging them as a promoter of corruption. How can he blame others at a time when he himself is riding the government vehicles violating get through the ministerial procedures. Had he not restored the House of Representatives in the 1995, the situation may not have been like this. In the course of framing the constitution, Upadhyaya tied the hands of the King. Later, he tied the hand of prime minister.

Niru Adhikary
Jawalakhel

Explore Peaceful Avenues

The government must explore and experiment all possible peaceful avenues to resolve the Maoist problem before deciding to quell it under army's boots. Using army in domestic conflicts is never a good idea unless the government has exhausted all other means to solve it. Apparently, there is still room for resolving the Maoist problem through negotiations, so it is needless to send army at this juncture.

Dinesh Shrestha
Balkhu

Deuba Committee's Role

The Deuba committee is playing a conflicting role regarding the Maoist issue. Though former prime minister Deuba remained largely idle for over six months, Deuba has started saying he has contacted Maoist leaders after the committee's tenure has expired. This leads one to believe that Deuba is trying to lengthen the life of the committee while doing nothing.

Sri Ram KC
Jhamsikhel

Don't Break the Talk

Almost all political parties in the country except the ruling Nepali Congress has been calling for dialogue with the Maoists. In the given circumstances dialogue is regarded as the best way to resolve the problem facing the country for the last half a decade. As the rebels themselves have shown willingness to sit across the table, it is strange to see what has withheld the Koirala government from talking with them.

Dadhiram Bista
Banepa

No Way Out

As things stand in the country, there is no alternative to dialogue to end the violence . Whatever the government claims, one thing is pretty clear that many of the issues raised by Maoists are genuine and have to be addressed soon. Until and unless these issues are properly addressed, until and unless equitable distribution of resources are ensured, until and unless the various forms of discriminations are terminated, such insurgencies will always find a fertile ground to breed. Mobilizing army or armed police will not bring in the desired result.

Sudhir Sharma
Chhetrapati

Woes Of Freedom

The joys of the emancipated Kamaiyas could not last for more than few weeks. The taste of freedom turned bitter for the thousands of homeless Kamaiyas. The same government which had received bouquets for doing away with the vestiges of slavery had to face brickbats after the released laborers were not properly rehabilitated. This reflects the lack of homework on the part of authorities. A decision taken in haste without adequate homework for countering the consequences was bound to result in failure.

Suman Pradhan
Balkumari