Editorial (Spotlight Weekly)

King Gyanendra in his address to the people of Nepal at Pokhara on 28 March, 2004 has exhorted all the Nepalis, whether it be the politicians or the Maoist insurgents, to get ready to go to the polls in just over one year. He has irrevocably re-expressed his commitment to democracy and representative government and his keenness to hand over full authority to the people's nominees. This is a clear message not only to his own people, not only to his feuding politicians, not only to his friends but to the entire world that he is not regressive as censured by the corrupt and discredited politicians of Nepal. He was, indeed, forced by the circumstance to interfere in the administration of the country when it was on the verge of collapse. As the defender of the constitution and as the King of the people and the country, he could not stay a silent spectator when the imbecile rulers of the partisan political parties were looting the nation dry and ready to push her down the precipice. Now, since he is fully convinced that only the honest, dedicated and patriotic representatives of the people can give a good government to the country, he has emphasized on the urgency of the most free and fair elections. And this demands that a caretaker government of just, irreproachable and patriotic people be appointed without undue delay. This, naturally, necessitates that this partisan and nincompoop Thapa government is dismissed immediately. Because one year is not a very long time and so many important things have to be performed before the elections can be held. And the most important is restoration of peace and normalcy. And this might not be possible as long the Maoist leadership is not persuaded to come to dialogue and arrive at a permanent agreement that would stop all insurgency and pave the way for a smooth and peaceful poll.

The unnecessary loss of precious human lives in the last few years of Maoist insurgency in Nepal and the recent massacres in Bhojpur and Beni have impelled even Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the United Nations to offer his organization's service for restoring peace in Nepal. Nepal's good friends, the United Kingdom and the United States, in conjunction with Nepal's closest neighbor — India, have come forward to help Nepal get over the imbroglio. But, it is becoming a very hard nut for Nepal to swallow. India's double standard she blatantly follows while dealing with her tiny neighbor makes it practically impossible for Nepal to pin her faith on India's behavior. The experiences of more than five decades leave no room for any doubts. Not that the U.K. and the U.S.A. are not aware of the situation. But self interest overweighs all other considerations Tiny Nepal could never become an overriding issue when their bigger interests are involved. But Nepal can manage her affairs even if she has to pay through her nose. What she needs most urgently is a patriotic government that can meet all the challenges boldly.

Since terrorism is no solution to any issue and respects no frontiers, all the nations, big and small, must cooperate to eradicate it from their neighborhood 3/11 in Spain is a definite proof that it can attack anywhere in the world and no country howsoever big and powerful is entirely secure. Small Nepal is being plagued by terrorism, which has not only taken a big toll of precious human lives but set back the clock of development aggravating the miseries of twenty four million poor Nepalis. Nepal's big neighbor in the South and her friends further away seem terribly concerned about the prevailing anarchy there. But their endeavors to rescue her out needs more pith. Since Nepal-Britain ties are quite old and friendly and poor Nepalis have spilled their blood for their friend on various occasions, the British must be trying to pay back some of the debt. And have as such, appointed a special every to help Nepal out of her trouble. Since the special envoy is extremely busy meeting the same group of vitiated politicians what he is trying to achieve is becoming quite enigmatic to patriotic Nepalis. And our good friend — India, if they are really keen to mend fences with their smaller neighbor, it is high time they gave up rhetorics and started treating her like a good friend. Perhaps, Nepal, too, has to make shift to robust foreign policy. And this again entails upon King Gyanendra, in the present circumstances, to appoint a government that can come up to the expectations of the people. Needless to emphasize that a strong implementation of a strong determination needs a strong action.