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EDITOR'S NOTE Ten thousand miles away from home worries do not seem to stop chasing.
Till writing this column on 5 March the impasse in Nepal's Parliament does not seem to
resolve. It is totally unimportant whether the Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala is
right in the opposition. That the poor country and the unfortunate people of the miserable
country are suffering needs no emphasis. In such critical situation what has impelled the
Prime Minister to embark upon a foreign jaunt beggars our ordinary comprehension.
More enigmatic is the French decision to receive the beleaguered Nepalese Prime Minister
who may have to quit in a very ignominious way. Since it has become very difficult
for us to appreciate the moves of either government, we will wait for the visit to end
before we announce our verdict. * * * Undoubtedly, King Birendra's visit to the friendly country of the People's
Republic of China has been 'remarkable." In our last issue of the magazine we had
wished the monarch a very happy and successful visit. That the visit was more
successful than we had wished for is the true reflection of the respect the people and the
government of China hold for our sovereign and the sincere friendship they cherish for the
Nepalese people. Since we are not aware of the details of the outcome of the visit,
we are not in a position to comment. But we can rest assured that there could
be nothing to worry at all and the relations between the two countries must have attained
to even greater heights. * * * That India has at last, relented to the meeting of the foreign secretaries of
the SAARC countries must be taken as a positive step in the right direction. The set
back the organization had to endure due to India's unwillingness to participate in the
dialogue along with the Pakistanis after Pervez Musharraf's take over has adversely
affected the development of SAARC hurting the interest of the smaller members to a greater
degree. It is indeed a great pity that the towering stature of India in south asia
has not been able to generate the kind of confidence that is so indispensable to turn
SAARC into an economic bulwark. Attempts to win over their unstained allegiance by
punitive policies or exploiting their smallness and other vulnerabilities have always been
counter productive to Indian interest must come home to the Indian policy makers.
The sooner the better. They have to understand now after more than five decades, that they
can never step into the shoes of their colonial masters. SAARC is an institution
that can unite all the members into a solid bloc capable of withstanding great pressures,
political or economic. It would be in India's overall interest not to hurt the smaller
neighbors by ignoring the speedy development of SAARC. As such forgetting the
misguided policies of the past India should start giving second thoughts to focus on
safeguarding the interests of all the SAARC countries.
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