Editorial (Spotlight Weekly)

The long belated peace talks between the government and the Maoists have started after all. Our long and sad experience warns us that disruptive forces, both internal and external, would never tire in their machinations to wreck the dialogue. Since Nepal is always plagued by the nefarious activities of vested interests to disrupt any constructive political development, it may not be very difficult to assume the real causes behind the inexpedient delay. It is, indeed, very gratifying to see that both the negotiating parties have become able to see through the malevolent designs of the saboteurs and decided to sit together to amicably thrash out all the differences and reach a mutually beneficial understanding. Baburam Bhattarai, Prachanda and party must have been chastened by now that it never pays to go piggy back. You always face the dangers of falling and breaking your bones. The thirteen years of multiparty democracy must have taught them good lessons that if quislings come to power, they not only ravish their own country but cut at the very roots of the system that brought them to power, because they always dance to the tunes of their masters who do not mind to stoop to any depth to achieve their evil ends. The Maoist leaders should know fully well that they must not insist on associating these anti-national politicians in the talks. Since they are directly dealing with the King's government, they should have no apprehensions whatsoever of playing into the hands of any undesirable or anti-national element. King Gyanendra's unstinted commitment to constitutional monarchy must not leave any doubts or misgivings for the Maoists. Their flexible stance on the issue of constitutional monarchy might be seen by some as a positive trend. The Maoists, as such, must understand that the monarchy in Nepal has much stronger and deeper roots, and unlike the corrupt and unscrupulous politicians, the monarch has the biggest stake in peace and stability in the country. When circumstances have sidelined these anti-national politicians no patriotic force must make this mistake of bringing them back to the center-stage. Since King Gyanendra is well aware about the chameleon-like character of these politicians, he need pay least concern to their threats of agitation. He must not hesitate at all to send them to the place they deserve to belong. If they have any use left, the people will decide their fate at the time of general elections if the laws of the land will permit them to contest. If they insist in their anti-state activities they must be dealt with severely and shown no mercy. Both the King and the Maoists must make a united stand and solve the pernicious problems these very corrupt self-oriented politicians have bequeathed and take them to task for all of their unpardonable crimes against the state and the people. Any knee-wobbling now might make us rue in future.

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It is very distressing to see that Nepali students are still being led by forces inimical to the national interests. Were it not so, they would not have resorted to bandhs, at a time when the country has been reeling under years of economic stagnation. We all know well that bandhs in our poor country always contribute to aggravate the miseries and sufferings of the overwhelming poor people apart from badly hurting the already wrecked economy. And they are not as powerful tools of pressure in our country as elsewhere. Moreover, vandalism and arson are not the civilized ways of expressing resentments and dissatisfactions. The arson at the University this time has caused immense harm in the destruction of invaluable manuscripts. Will the sponsors of the bandh answer who has suffered most by such acts? We believe the prime duty of the students is to concentrate on their studies. They can start politicking after they finish their studies. Moreover, as the future pillars of the state, they must not let themselves be used as pawns by peoples who are most insensitive to the sufferings of the people.

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The telephonic conversation, although quite brief, initiated by the Pakistani Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali with his Indian counterpart Atal Behari Vajpayee has come as a breath of fresh air in the stifling atmosphere of South Asia. Even though the first reports from Indian media is not so encouraging (it said Vajpayee has refused Jamali's invitation to visit Pakistan) there is no reason to be despondent. Since Indian behavior is quite unpredictable as proved by the Kathmandu SAARC Summit and the bilateral Agra Summit, it still can be expected the Indians will relent and agree to meet the Pakistani Prime minister some time soon. Since it cannot be in India's interest to keep on annoying all of its smaller neighbors for a longer time, there is no option for India but to start mending fences with her neighbors. It is almost an open secret that the Pakistan-India impasse is hurting India more than it is Pakistan and the Indians are looking for some plausible excuse to break the stalemate. As such, it can be expected that Pakistan-India relations might take a turn for the better in not very distant future. A good augury for South Asia.