Ambassador Lemp speaks his mind!

It is pretty evident now that the international donor community based in Kathmandu is watching the Nepali events very carefully and that it also possesses a good number of reservations on certain aspects of Nepali style of governance witnessed more specifically after the imposition of the state of emergency in this beleaguered Himalayan Kingdom. Powerful donors of the developed West now prefer to ventilate their internal feelings in a subtle manner apparently wishing that their host government in Kathmandu becomes serious to their concerns and acts accordingly. Their concerns are indeed genuine ones which fortunately is also the voices of the Nepali population.

If German Ambassador Rudiger Lemp's observation made through a broad-sheet vernacular daily dated 9 August last week were any indication then what could be fairly concluded is that the international donors have so many things to differ on the style of the functioning of the government and the political parties of this nation but also on the Maoists issue and the manner it has been taken up by the Nepali establishment as well.

The Ambassador's remarks if considered to be the joint voices of the entire developed West, and perhaps it is so by all accounts, then what could again be inferred is that Nepal's "friendly" countries were not that happy with the ongoing scheme of political things in this country of late.

The Ambassador has been candid enough in bluntly maintaining firstly, that the donor community was finding it more difficult in digesting the absolutely poor "'implementation" part of any given project or for that matter any other similar services; secondly, that the friendly West would wish to see the Maoists issue being sorted out through "peaceful" means; and that, thirdly the developed West would also wish the political parties including the civil societies of the country shouldering their due responsibilities and not only relying on the whole-sole use of the Army alone in containing the threats of the insurgency; and that fourthly the developed West now concludes that the local level representatives were much more reliable in discharging their assigned duties compared to the "bureaucracy" in the Singh Durbar complex; and that fifthly the majority of the countries of Europe, more so Germany, consider that the Republic of India can't escape its responsibility from Nepal's overly stretched refugee issue which according to the German diplomat "India can't disown its responsibilities" from the Bhutanese refugee issue for it is this country, adds the German envoy, through the territories of which the refugees have entered into Nepali camps. And finally what is also clear from Ambassador Lemp's assertion is that his country and perhaps all other donor community is not happy with the government dissolving the local level bodies as the absence of these bodies have made them all weary on how to continue to support the country. This clearly means that the democratic West would wish very much to see the local level bodies in place at the earliest which ultimately enhanced the process of "decentralization"-an important element in a democracy. This again means that the develop West would wish to see Singh Durbar powers and authorities being devolved to the villages and the districts so that the people out there could chart their fates on their own without any sort of interruption. However, the fact is that the government at the center has dissolved it purposely understandably for latent political reasons. But then the problems now being faced by the local people in absence of the bodies is simply unimaginable.

Now if a responsible and informed citizenry gives an unprejudiced glance to what the Ambassador has pointed out in his voluminous interview and compiled here, would surely conclude that the international donor community would wish to continue their support to this country ad infinitum provided their concerns too were addressed. It also becomes clear that Germany and her friends in the European Union would wish the immediate resumption of the dialogue process with the Maoists in order to restore peace in the country. Perhaps this could be a hint to the Deuba establishment to act accordingly. The expression of the German envoy also hints at the brazen fact that the nation has been left to the mercy and the valor of the military force alone and that the other sectors of the society too should have come to shoulder their respective responsibilities that is due to them at times of crisis of the ongoing sort. This hints that the envoy differs with the manner in which the Nepali political parties and the likes have taken up the nation's plaguing issues and have exhibitedly remained "silent spectators" to the obtaining scheme of political things in the country of late. This again means that the envoy would have wished all sectors coming to the front in taking up the national challenges unitedly. This is in essence what we too had been hinting out in our previous issues but all in vain.

While it is not possible to summarize all what the German diplomat hinted in the interview, however, the envoy was candid in pointing out to fallout of the personality clashes in between Koirala and Deuba. But then yet he preferred to hit both for their show of strengths. By implication the German Ambassador firstly hints that the Deuba-Koirala clash was an unfortunate event. And that when Deuba has already pushed the nation in today's state, equally foolhardy would be if some one put hurdles to block the formers' way. IN essence the envoy says, we presume, Deuba's declaration of the polls were a hasty move and that Nepal as a weak nation economically could have easily rejected this option; and that Koirala's (implied) moves at dismissing the possibility of the polls too could not be considered a wise step.

All put together, the interview of the German diplomat is not only an eye-opener to the government but equally pinching to the opposition parties as well. We wish other powerful donors too ventilate their feelings so that a sort of pressure is on the government which ultimately helps Nepal in achieving or accomplishing positive development and that too in a state of peace.

It is in this light that we appreciate Ambassador Lemp's daring expressions.

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