Give peace a chance

Nepal's Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba appears to have gone crazy. His aggressive speech made the other day regarding the resumption of the now stalled talks with the Maoists insurgents is not only dangerous but also bodes ill for the already battered nation. His utterances that he would prefer to go his own way means that he would prefer more bloodshed instead of talks come what may. To recall it was Deuba who wished talks with the insurgents at time when his political rival was occupying the Prime Ministerial chair of the nation. The man in the chair preferred bullets. In the process Deuba initiated talks with the insurgents the moment he assumed the post of the chief of the executive but finally felt cheated by the other camp. Now the tryst with destiny is that his political rival prefers talks and the man occupying the chair wishes an all out war with the insurgents and vows to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country through the use of force. But will things go his way? This is the million dollar question over which the nation's intellectuals must now begin debates.

Question now arises as to whether the population should remain hostage to the whims of prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his nearest and dearest arch rival president Girija Prasad Koirala? Should we the people follow the dictates of these two diametrically opposed camps and remain ever unsecured in our own motherland which was once a paradise on the earth and that too not in the distant past?

Koirala could have preferred bullets then for achieving political mileage. He now wishes talks perhaps yet again to bag unknown political benefits. On the other hand, Deuba then exhibited his soft corner for the insurgents apparently to secure political benefits and he did secure and later became the prime minister of the nation.

It is believed in general that a government is a body on whom the people, the governed ones, repose trust and allow the body to rule the country with set of rules and certain established procedures. In doing so the governed ones believe that the men in the government will act as per the wishes of the governed ones as and when such wishes were made public either through meetings or through the use of the media. IN the Nepalese case, clearly the "we the people" prefer dialogues with the Maoists insurgents in order to restore peace in the Kingdom and more so for reducing the number of deaths. But then the mood of the government appears different which clearly means that it will not take respite until the men in the other camp were annihilated. The fact is that this country has ever believed in peace and dialogue. If the mere resumption of the process of dialogue with the rebellions saved precious lives on either sides, for both at war were the sons of this soil, and restored peace, the preference should be for the dialogue. We wish that the process of dialogue resumed not only because Comrade Prachanda has hinted about the same only recently but also keeping in mind the sort of terror and chaos prevails in the country at the moment in the absence of the talks.

Without challenging the very intent of the Nepali armed forces' statement issued just the other day hinting that it unconditionally supported the government's stance on the talks with the Maoists, what becomes amply clear that the army too would wish to move ahead come what may. This also indicates that the army is apparently satisfied with its heavy assaults on the other side and the successes received so far. Understandably the army's morale has gone up. But then yet the army is comprised of the Nepalese patriots and hence the army is thus politely requested to listen to the voices of the lay men who undoubtedly prefer talks with the insurgents. What conditions should be put forth to the insurgents prior to the resumption of the dialogue will have to be charted out by the government indeed for which the latter can enjoy the support of the HR activists, civil society members and other peace loving citizens of the nation.

All that we can urge the government and the nation's army is that "give peace a chance"'.

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