National 2 (Spotlight Weekly)

Sympathy And Support

Prime Minister Deuba appears to have succeeded in drawing the West's support for Nepal's effort to crush the Maoist insurgency

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

Even as Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba was describing the nature and scale of the Maoist threat to Nepal in his meeting with US President George Walker Bush at Oval Office in White House on Tuesday night last week (May 7), the rebels were launching one of their biggest attacks against the security forces stationed in Gam area in Rolpa district of the mid-western region. In the ensuing fight, 70 security personnel and hundreds of rebels lost their lives. The magnitude of the threat posed by the Maoists might not have been lost on the world's sole superpower, which has been leading an international coalition against terrorism since it was attacked on September 11 last year.

In recent months, the Maoist threat to Nepal has grown in a proportion and magnitude that cannot be exaggerated. The government was forced to declare a state of emergency in November last year after the rebels abandoned the path the dialogue and attacked military barracks.

The Nepalese government has been receiving crucial support from both its neighbors, India and China, in the fight against the rebels. Nepal's foreign secretary recently visited the United States, Britain, Russia and China in an effort to rally global support. Deuba visited India last month for the same purpose. India's support to the fight is crucial, as Nepal has a long open border with the country. Moreover, many of the top rebel leaders are reported to be hiding in India. Deuba's visit to the United States came after Secretary of State Colin Powell landed in Kathmandu in January, which was followed by the visit of a US military team to assess Nepal's military needs.

Prime Minister Deuba and President Bush discussed matters of bilateral concern with special focus on US support for Nepal's campaign against terrorism. "I am very glad. President Bush is very much supportive of our campaign against terrorism and he has assured us that he will help in many ways," Deuba told reporters at White House after the meeting.

He said the United States will extend assistance on both military and economic fronts, adding that employment generation and the fight against poverty remain crucial in tackling the rural insurgency. Deuba also met Powell and Dr. Condoleeza Rice, National Security Adviser to Bush. The specific nature of the US assistance would depend on the report presented by the US military assessment team.

The positive response from the US government has boosted the confidence of the Deuba government. Similar pledges of assistance from the British government, too, have come at a time when the international community has been standing solidly behind the Deuba government in its fight against terrorists.

"The pledge of support and assistance by the sole superpower has big significance," said Jhal Nath Khanal, former minister and senior UML leader speaking at a talk show on Nepal Television. Former Nepalese ambassador to the United States, Yog Prasad Upadhyaya, said the manner in which Deuba "frankly put forth his views" had impressed the US government.

In the last six years, the Maoists have risen from a ragtag guerrilla force to become a formidable threat to nationhood. Their violent war is taking a heavy toll on every sector of the country. The intensity of the Maoists' attacks, which grew shriller since the royal massacre in June last year, has now made the international community sit up and take notice. It is in this background that Bush invited Deuba to the White House.

This flurry of diplomatic activity indicates how Nepal's friends are coming out in full support of the kingdom in its hour of terrible crisis.