The concern shown by Nepal's good friends and benefactors,
the United States of America and the European nations over the recent political
developments in Nepal may not be difficult to understand. But the vehement outbursts from
our friendly neighbor in the South is certainly beyond our comprehension. A small
landlocked country, one of the poorest in the world and the poorest in the region,
perhaps, could have avoided this terrible situation had our good friend not permitted the
Maoist insurgents to use their territory both as a refuge and a safe place to mount deadly
insurgency against us. This has been irrefutably established that the Maoists had been
enjoying a safe haven in India and are still enjoying it. Had this Maoist insurgency been
nipped in the bud, of course with India's cooperation, thousands of innocent lives might
have been spared and Nepal's teeming poor millions would not have become refugees in their
own land. The poor country, too, would neither have been devastated. When the unscrupulous
political leadership of Nepal hobnobbed with the Maoist leaders and spat venom against the
King and the security forces, these great powers kept quite mum as if these unscrupulous
politicians only deserved the benefits of the democratic system. They were even condoned
of their nefarious behavior of looting the country at the cost of the poor people. Had the
big powers used their overriding influence with these politicians not to resort to blatant
corruption, Nepal surely would not have faced such difficult times. Had the politicians
given good governance to the country and shared the benefits of democracy with their
people, the poor millions of Nepal would now be enjoying a better and more peaceful life,
the Maoists would not have been inspired to insurgency and democratic ideals, too, taken
much deeper roots. Unfortunately, that was not to be. When the peoples' representatives
repeatedly failed to deliver pushing the country to the brink of the precipice by their
corruption and bad governance, the Maoist insurgency gathered momentum and the whole
country got embroiled in a civil war. The situation kept on deteriorating to such an
extent that the Maoists have now imposed their rule on the greater part of rural Nepal.
Since no politician commanded respect from the people, they dared not travel to remoter
parts of the country for fear of the Maoists. No patriotic citizen could stay a silent
spectator and let things worsen. And since monarchy is the only unifying force of this
multiracial and multilingual state, it became the monarch's bounden duty to fill in the
vacuum and take the responsibility of saving the country. Moreover, since the overwhelming
majority of the Nepali people still reposed their ultimate faith in the monarch, King
Gyanendra had no option but to act. He had to act to save the sovereignty of Nepal. He had
to act to meet the rising aspiration of his poor people. He had to act to restore peace
and normalcy so that proper democratic process could be resumed. And he had to act to
prepare the grounds for a new set of honest and patriotic politicians to emerge through a
free and fair election at the shortest possible time. The biggest constraint King
Gyanendra suffers from, at the moment, is time. He has to achieve a great deal in a short
time. And this makes it imperative for him to be aware of the sycophants and self-seekers
and pick men of caliber, integrity, vision and imagination who can rise above themselves
and serve him and the nation honestly. And this is the time when Nepal's friends must have
patience and cooperate with him. His commitment to constitutional monarchy and multiparty
democracy must be given a chance to work. And one must never forget that democracy is not
an end in itself and no nations' sovereignty can be put at stake for whatsoever reason in
the name of democracy. Threats and warnings to cut down aid could only prove to be
counterproductive. Nepal could not be compared with Iraq, Iran or North Korea. Small, weak
and poor Nepal may not be able to withstand international pressures. Moreover, Nepal
cannot even imagine to have any kind of misunderstanding with her friends and neighbors.
Surely, these rich and influential friends of Nepal don't want a republican Nepal under
the Maoist regime. Surely they don't want to see the sovereignty of their tiny friend
infringed. They must be knowing Nepal fully well to realize that she will never give in to
unreasonable pressures. Instead, Nepal really expects all her friends to use their good
offices to impress upon their good friend India, the greatest democratic country and
Nepal's traditional friendly neighbor to immediately stop the Maoist insurgents using
their territory for destabilizing poor Nepal. Negative tactics seldom produce positive
results. As such, we will like to appeal to all of Nepal's friends and well wishers not to
take any steps that will only penalize the poor people and aggravate their miseries. And
it will be contrary to all humanitarian considerations. |
