Editorial (Spotlight Weekly)

The heavy casualties the Maoists suffered in recent security operations must have impelled the Maoist leaders to give second thoughts whether to continue their violent insurgency against the state. As it is, they were totally misguided to have started this kind of armed rebellion which has already cost heavily on both sides. If wisdom dawns the Maoist leaders must not delay in calling for an immediate cease fire. Surrender of arms and ammunitions can follow the beginning of the dialogue. It must not be treated as a precondition which might hamper the negotiations. Those ruling politicians who insist that unless the Maoists lay down the arms no peace talks can start keep on forgetting that they themselves are not less responsible for brining the country to such a situation and deserve equally hard punishments. They can stay fully reassured that once they are thrown out of their chair, the people will not hesitate to take them to task and mete out just punishments. The miseries and sufferings the poor Nepalese have undergone must have chastened them and they would not be beguiled by these unscrupulous thugs any more. In this regard, the Nepalese intelligentsia can play a very important role. Instead of holding seminars and talk programs to pocket the dole, they must try to educate these illiterate and innocent masses about the anti-national behavior of the so called politicians and expose their true identity to them. These self-centered elites too have to understand that the time is not very far when even their hypocritical acts will have to be accounted for.

* * *

The country is expectantly waiting to see what Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba brings back in his bag. With such a host of sincere sympathetic friends wanting to help Nepal with money and materials to meet the challenges posed by the insurgency of the Maoists, India as an immediate friendly neighbor cannot afford to lag behind. Their smaller neighbor will no more be hood winked by empty rhetorics of age old relationships. It is a testing time and India's behavior is definite to set the tone the relationship is going to take in future. Since Nepal cannot even think of having any confrontation with her bigger and powerful neighbor, it is beyond her comprehension why India is taking recourse to duplicity as far the Maoists are concerned. It is needless for us to remind them that patronizing the terrorists always boomerangs. India should not permit the bilateral relations be influenced and be-muddled by the Maoists. We do hope, she will try to clear the atmosphere before the ensuring state visit of King Gyanendra to India.

* * *

The clear mandate the almost fifty million Pakistanis have given President General Pervez Musharraf is definite to strengthen his hands to lead Pakistan. In a region where stable governments have become a thing of past. Pervez Musharraf has given Pakistan some kind of political stability in the last three and a half years. Since no one has, so far, dared to lift a finger at him for corruption, can Musharraf set on example for other rulers of the poorer countries of the region? What kind of government should Pakistan have is for the people of Pakistan to decide. We only do wish peace and prosperity in this region and do hope a strong and stable Pakistan can impart a very healthy influence in that regard. While congratulating President Musharraf we do wish hi will continue to lead Pakistan to greater strength and development so that she will continue to contribute to bring overall peace in the region.

* * *

The ongoing communal riots in the western state of Gujrat is India has not only soiled India's image as a secular country but also cast undeliable aspersions on the Bharatiya Janata Party. The leading party in the coalition government in India. Even though, it does not affect Nepal and Nepalese directly. Since Nepal is a Hindu Kingdom and people around the world could be misled to think that hindu religion is intolerant, it has become imperative to tell the world that Hinduism is the most accommodative and tolerant religion in the world and no one should form any wrong notion about it. It is the spirit of Akhanda Bharat that majority of BJP members are obsessed with and the colonial mindset of superiority the Indian establishment still suffers from, that might have contributed to such inhuman behavior. We do pray, sanity returns soon in the troubled Indian state.