Reveal the truth

Better late than never, a cease-fire has been simultaneously announced by both the two warring rivals, the Maoists and the government. The cease-fire thus announced has had its immediate impact on the overall security situation in the country. As a result of this announcement, the people have taken a sigh of relief. The students now can continue their studies. The educational institutions remain now free from the fear of being attacked on one pretext or the other. Above all, an arrangement has been laid down now which will disallow one Nepali to kill the other, whether it be a common individual or a person involved in the security management. Enough had been enough and thus the fresh announcement of the cease fire must be hailed.

We salute all those on both the sides who might have remained instrumental behind the curtain in arriving at the decision which has been greeted by not only the national population but also by the entire peace-loving world.

We thus unconditionally welcome this decision of the Maoists and the government for the announcement of a cease fire and hope that both will understand the gravity of the situation and will work for the prevalence of a sort of permanent peace in the country which till to date has sacrificed so many precious lives from both the warring camps.

Our special thanks goes to Comrade Prachanda and Dr. Baburam Bhattarai who apparently have hinted that they too wished a permanent peace in their own motherland and perhaps prompted by that desire have contributed to the announcement of the cease fire. After all, they too were the brilliant sons of the same soil-Nepal.

However, both the government and the Maoists are thus suggested to remain alert from those quarters who wish the talks to fail for obvious reasons. It is time that both the parties in question remain vigilant to such possible overtures in order to bring about a success to the impending talks in between the two.

Thanks Dr. Bhattarai and Comrade Prachanda for your timely moves.

Salute to the departed senior police officer!

Our attention has been drawn towards the merciless killing of the late Krishna Mohan Shrestha and his wife together with the Police Sergeant while they all were in their regular morning walk a fortnight ago. Though much has been said regarding the death of late Shrestha, the then chief of the Nepal’s Armed Police Force, but then what has not calculatedly been said is the internal dynamics of the killing. Certainly the population at large would wish very much to know as to which forces, national or a foreign one, killed the senior Police officer; and what could have been the motive behind the killing of the Shrestha couple. The merciless killing of the couple which came as a bolt from the blue to the entire nation definitely took a different political turn when the national population greeted a cease-fire in between the government and the Maoists insurgency well within forty hours of the said killing. Question thus that come to the fore is: if the announcement of a ceasefire in between the two warring rivals were round the corner, why was Shrestha killed? Why the government body did not communicate to the other camp suggesting that it would not tolerate any more killings? Or is that the Maoists, who have yet to accept the responsibility of the said killing, killed the late Shrestha and his wife in order to hasten the speed of the announcement of the ceasefire which in effect came as a surprise? Or is it that the Maoists insurgency’s top hats couldn’t send the signals to its low level ranks not to kill any big shots in the government as the cesaefire announcement was on the cards? Or is it that the Maoists top leadership did send the signals of the possibility of a ceasefire with the establishment but the men instructed to kill simply ignored the orders thus coming from the top?

The government under Chand is silent in answering to these potential questions those are being raised by the majority of the population and more so by the kinsmen of the late Shrestha.

Of all, two things must be answered by the State and the Maoists at the earliest. The first being who killed Shrestha and his wife and what could be the motive behind the killing? The second question being that if it were the Maoists themselves then why they shirk from accepting the blame onto their heads? Until and unless they clarify their position in this regard will continue to consider the insurgency the killer of Shrestha and his wife. If they have not killed Shrestha then why they were reluctant in clarifying the matter to the people? Let’s hope they didn’t kill the Shrestha couple as is being alleged.

The tragedy is that the government is silent in this regard. The Maoists don’t take the responsibility for the killing. The people have gone crazy to know the truth with a growing possibility that if the State doesn’t reveal the truth in a stipulated time, the people might express their wrath in a manner that might be very difficult to handle later. More over, a sort of anxiety also prevails in and among the members who currently man the Nepali security apparatus of the State itself who too wish the government at least reveal the truth.

The public assumption is that the government knows the killers but appears reluctant in making it public fearing that the declaration might damage the prospects of peace in the country. But this could not be the solution. The government must come clear on this account by revealing the truth or else it might lose the confidence of both the population and the men who have been told to manage the prevalence of peace in the country.

The government has no choice other than to divulge the details of the killing of the late Shrestha and his wife.

Our salute to the departed souls. May Ye! Live in eternal peace!

Headline | National | 5 Question  | 2nd Impression | International | Past