EDITOR'S NOTE
That the country has become embroiled in a
civil war is, indeed, very unfortunate. This terrible situation could have been avoided
had our humble advice been heeded. The unforgivable complacency on the part of the
establishment and security forces has, to a great extent, helped such a sorry episode to
happen. This has only substantiated, once again, how miserably unqualified are they who
bear the burden of ruling the country. What an irony of fate that it is again Sher Bahadur
Deuba who has made another recordóthe first ever promulgation of Emergency in the
country. Poor Deuba thinks he has been betrayed. He, perhaps, cannot realize that he has
been treated like a child and taken for a drive by the Maoists. Naturally, we are always
blind to our own blemishes. Be that as it may, if he has any semblance of integrity and
love of the country, he must give in to some one who is better equipped to tackle the
volatile situation and avoid unnecessary losses of precious human lives and properties of
a poor nation like ours. It is an extra-ordinary situation and for the nation to get over
such a cataclysm without greater damage we need leadership with imagination and strength
of character. The present leadership has proved its imbecility and it is not a time to
nourish personal and partisan interest. We are facing a national calamity and we must all
unite, sinking all differences, to fight it tooth and nail. And this urgently calls
for a national government. We know, it will be a cry in the wilderness, because it is not
for the first time we have made such a call. We had definite prognostications of such a
situation and had, time and again, exhorted the
King to act. May be, King Gyanendra is
destined to come to the rescue of the nation and the people. And he cannot afford to
procrastinate. It is, indeed, very gratifying to see that Nepalís friends are really
getting concerned at the turn of events here and have called upon the Maoists to give up
their violent activities and return to search for a negotiated outcome. Even though it
might not be opportune, at this juncture, to humbly ask them to delve into the causes that
have brought forth such a disastrous situation, the poor people of this wretched country
would really feel ingratiated if they could believe that the anxiety shown by Nepalís
friends is not hypocritical and what they are shedding are not crocodile tears for about a
decade the poor country was virtually subject to loot and except a handful of crooks the
poor people did not profit.
But our foreign friends could only advise
their poor friends to have patience as democracy was a lengthy process and it was the only
panacea for all ills of the poor and developing nations. If Nepali friends and donors are
genuinely concerned for Nepal's poor people and want their cooperation to become more
productive, they not only have to reshape and reorient their aid policies but also twist
the arms of the recipient governments for better governance of their respective projects.
It needs no emphasis that these powerful friends can have a big sway in the functioning of
the governments of the poor third world countries. Since the pressing problem in our
country, at the moment, is to restore peace and normalcy, Nepalís traditional and
non-traditional friends have to quit rhetorics and come out with total sincerity to help
her in her fight with terrorism. The Maoists too must give second thoughts and quit their
suicidal activities, which will only contribute to destroy our poor economy. We Nepalese
as a whole should never overlook the plain and obvious fact that such fratricide will only
further the evil interests of those who do not want to Nepal develop and prosper.
| Chief-Editor & Publisher |
: Madhav Kumar Rimal |
| Editor |
: Sarita Rimal |
| Managing Editor |
: Keshab Poudel |
| Associate Editor |
: Bhagirath Yogi |
| Senior Reporter |
: Sanjaya Dhakal |
| Reporter |
: Akshay Sharma |
| Photographer |
: Nishchal Chapagain |
| Editorial Office |
: GPO Box 7256,Baluwatar,Kathmandu, Nepal. |
| Telephone |
: 977 1 423 127 |
| Fax |
: 977 1 417 845 |
| email |
: spotligh@mos.com.np |
|
