EDITOR'S NOTE
The Anglo-American strike against
Afghanistan in retaliation to the terrorist attacks on World Trade Centers in New York and
the Pentagon in Washington D.C. has started a war that is sure to generate far reaching
repercussions all over the world. Even though Afghanistan has been totally isolated and
can hardly stand up to the might of the United States, not to say anything about the world
coalition, to imagine that the victors will ever tame the fanatic Islamic fundamentalists
and restore uninterrupted peace in the world would be nothing but foolhardy. As long as
there is one man willing to dedicate his life to his perverted cause, no country in the
world can totally feel free of terrorists. The Talibans and the Al-Qaeda can be
annihilated. Can the world coalition cleanse the hearts of the weird fanatics of the
hatred they bear for their enemies? If history is any testimony, it is impossible.
Consequently, it must be understood without the least bit of reservation that flushing out
the terrorists is not the final solution. They must make sincere efforts to bring justice
to the deprived people. Whether it is the Balkans, the Middle-east, Kashmir or Nepal, the
smaller peoples and nations have to be protected from the domineering and aggressive acts
of their bully neighbors.
War against terrorism will have to be a
long drawn out affair. The causes that encourage terrorism have to be eradicated. The
Indian Prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee could not have uttered a better truth when he
said, "It is for America to decide whether terrorism is a global phenomenon or
whether it is restricted to just one individual. America alone can determine whether it
will address the symptom of terrorism or the system of terrorism. Afghanistan is (only) a
symptom. America will have to look at the sanctuaries provided to terrorists, at the
training camps, at the arms and money flowing into the lands of terrorists if it wants to
get rid of terrorism root and branch." We Nepalese do nor the Indian Prime minister
and trust he believes in what he says. Will he apply same principle to the Nepalese
Maoists and other terrorist groups in the region? We, along with the world, will wait and
see.
The United States has indeed a very tough
job in its hand. It has not only to provide total peace and security to its own people,
but as numero uno power in the world, has the responsibility to guard against serious
unrest in any part of the world. And this demands a stupendous exercise on their
part. They have to treat every information about terrorism with greatest care. They just
cannot afford to ignore or neglect any leaks that may lead them to the hardcore militants
and terrorists. And all the peace loving peoples of the world have to cooperate with the
United States and furnish all kinds of information to them. And the United States has to
meticulously use all the informations to reach to the terrorists. Eventhough the whole
world is focusing on Osama Bin Laden, the Al-Qacda and the Talibans at the moment, they
have to address other flash points like the Middle-east and Kashmir too without undue
delay. It is true that the Middle-east has been in the forefront of global politics and
Kashmir has been sidelined for long. But in the changed scenario of international
equations, the United States has to accord increased importance to the solution of the
Kashmir problem as it is directly related to the well being of more than one fifth
of the worldís poor population. The people of Kashmir have suffered greatly and it is
high time they were delivered from an unjust rule and given the right to choose their own
destiny. It need not be emphasized that this perennial problem has been responsible to
generate a great deal of internal and external terrorism that has cost many valuable human
lives. If the United States and the United Nations still prevaricate to resolve this
nagging problem, no one need be surprised if it bred some terrible terrorism. The United
States and its allies in the fight against terrorism must not overlook the importance of
narrowing the gap between the haves and the have-nots, as it is also one of the important
factors that breeds terrorism. One other factor that is greatly responsible, in generating
terrorism, like in Nepal, is political in generating terrorism, like in Nepal, is
political corruption in poor developing countries of the world. The democratic leaders of
the world cannot continue propping up corrupt politicians in the named of supporting
democracy. They must not fail to appreciate that live humans must be given greater respect
than lifeless ideologies. If they are really keen to mitigate terrorism from the face of
the world, they must come to the rescue of the deprived peoples. Otherwise, like a Nepali
saying goes "The crow will keep cawing while the oilcake will keep on drying."
| 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 |
|
