Now European Union takes the timely initiative!

Diplomacy requires speed. Nepal's tortoise speed is well known to the world. Diplomacy requires negotiation. We do not possess that skill at all. Diplomacy requires secrecy. Our ministers or for that matter bureaucrats would possibly leak the matters to the other camp prior to the negotiation if it were to take place at all. Diplomacy requires expertise. Our politicians or say leaders albeit possess expertise in fighting with their own men in the party and thus have excelled in creating ugly scenes that at times entertains the entire world. And finally, diplomacy requires strong leadership. Nepal's leadership is a mess and a shame.

Had it not been the case mentioned above then how could a tiny Bhutan would have taught Nepal lessons of diplomacy in series since well over a decade and a half for a fault that surely were not of Nepal's creation. But yet look at their sophisticated diplomacy that after each meeting at the government to government level the other side has been avoiding further talks with regard to the refugee imbroglio in order to penalize Nepal further as if it were this country which extended a red carpet welcome to those Bhutanese who were in essence forced to leave their own motherland for fear of being killed, raped or escape untold sufferings at the hands of the state security forces there.

Indeed, the refugee issue got compounded when the then Prime Minister Koirala served an ultimatum to His Majesty King Jigme of Bhutan when both met in Dhaka some years back and in turn the Bhutanese monarch spoke his mind to some Indian newspapers wherein he had stated that Nepal's Prime Minister lacked the required etiquette which is what he should have kept in mind while meeting a monarch of a friendly country.

But then for Koirala's fault why should the Bhutanese national languishing in Nepali camps for years and years is penalized by the Bhutanese King? The fact is also that the Bhutanese refugees still possess very high regard for their monarch and claim that it is the hard-liners in and around their benevolent monarch who have made their case worse. We through these columns appeal His Majesty King Jigme Singe Wangchuk to take up the matter on his own shoulder and facilitate the easy and safe return of his own subjects now in Nepal. If he does so will not only enhance our bilateral ties but would also send very positive signals in the minds of those Bhutanese who were at the moment living a hellish life in Nepal.

Talking of Nepali diplomacy again what could be fairly concluded is that Nepal, as a nation-state has no foreign policy at all. Even if we have, it is being practiced at the whims of the men handling the system or at best guided by the ministry bureaucrats who neither were trained personnel nor possess stamina to defend their case. In sum, Nepal's foreign policy is working in an adhoc basis and that is why we lag behind in extracting benefits from the other negotiating side. Add to this the lack of homework prior to such complicated negotiations. Under such circumstances Nepali policy is found to bag failure which is why Nepal always gets seduced by the Bhutanese side. If it were not the case then how come Bhutan could linger the repatriation of those Bhutanese nationals who have been identified as their own nationals at time of the joint verification carried or accomplished some six or eight months ago?

Thanks the international community, more so the European Union members of the developed West, who have time and again voiced their concern regarding the plight of the Bhutanese refugees and have urged both the governments to speed up the verification process so that the refugees could proceed to their homeland in a safe and sound manner. In effect, the international community has been supporting this country in this regard. But since we ourselves shelve the refugee issue and keep ourselves engaged in a never-ending political tussle, the other side gets encouraged in lingering the issue.

Thanks that yet again the European Union members based in Kathmandu have decided to visit the refugee camps in Morang and Jhapa districts and take stock of the situation wherein the refugees were at the moment. The decision taken by the powerful EU members in this regard deserves our deep appreciation for we consider that this eye-witness trip of the visiting dignitaries would not only put pressures on the incumbent Bhutanese regime but would also concurrently impress upon the regime there to speed-up the process of dialogue in between the two monarchies and later facilitate the process of repatriation of the poor Bhutanese nationals.

But yet it is this community of the EU, which is supporting Nepal is being held suspect by the Koirala and the Madhav Nepal camp for unknown political reasons.

Hopefully, the EU members will issue a press statement upon return that would pave the environment for the resumption of the now stalled dialogue in between the two friendly governments.

The decision of the EU to visit the refugee camps has come in the wake of the Nepali Prime Minister's appeal made to the government of Bhutan to work for an early settlement of the problem so that the refugees may be able to go back to their home in safety, honor and dignity.

We wish to thank the European Union which has taken this initiative that is not only timely but will also be in the interest of the refugees and the economic, social and environmental health of this country.

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