Editorial (Spotlight Weekly)

The failure of the Deuba government to start a dialogue with the Maoists must be making King Gyanendra quite concerned. That none of the leaders of the political parties represented in the dissolved parliament have been able to generate the required confidence as to entice the Maoists to the negotiating table must be impressing King Gyanendra to find a worthier substitute who can deliver. He must have seen through their glib talks their real intentions. Since he took over the responsibility of running the country in the absence of an elected government chosen from a regular parliament, all the men he selected to lead have let him down. As a matter of fact they all did not possess the stature that could justify their elevation to the exalted position.

According to reports waved over here, some diehard, discredited and degenerate politician is again machinating to replace the incompetent Sher Bahadur Deuba. Since the country can no more endure the self-oriented and corrupt regime of the tried and found wanting politicians, it can be well assumed that King Gyanendra will think not only twice or thrice but many more times to pick them again and not succumb to the wiles of such politicians. The country needs a strong and honest man who can stand up to all kinds of pressures and defend the national interest by sacrificing his own.

Even though an average American is hardly concerned in the events happening in the remote part of the world, one does come across men and women in this far away place who not only have a soft corner but are good friends of Nepal. It is quite heartening to find them not only interested in but worried about the political turmoils in the tiny mountainous kingdom. Reliving their memories of their travel maybe, twenty years back, they still think that Nepal is the small paradise – ‘a land of beauty and peace.’ They do believe that the King of Nepal can save his country from further misery. And rightly so. It is turning out to be a big dilemma why King Gyanendra is still trying to bank on the discredited politicians. Since perfect democracy may exist in the books only why cannot a small country like Nepal twist it to suit her exigency when bigger countries even don’t bat their eyelids to outright murder it? Since the pressing need of the hour, for Nepal, is to bring the insurgency to end without losing any time, King Gyanendra can very well afford to give a deaf ear to all the hue and cry of the mercenary politicians and take urgent steps to put an immediate stop to all the nonsensical killings. As it is our poor country has suffered much and can take no more. The one and only priority for us is peace. The corrupt politicians are trying to lead us astray by emphasizing the urgency of elections. No one will be fooled by their unrealistic rantings. Elections can follow peace. We do trust King Gyanendra will not fail to take all necessary steps, howsoever unpleasant, and restore peace and normalcy to the country. Let all anti-national politicians go and jump into the Tukucha.