Black Wednesday

Sher Bahadur government now possesses no moral authority to occupy the seats in Sigh Durbar. He and his cabinet colleagues have miserably failed in controlling a disastrous situation that could have been comfortably controlled had the ministers and the concerned security agencies been alert and understood the gravity and the dimension of the impending situation right the evening of Tuesday when the news of our twelve young boys had been brutally massacred in Iraq broke in Kathmandu through various Television channels.

It was very natural that the population in Kathmandu and elsewhere in the Kingdom to get irritated and infuriated by the ghastly news of the cold-blooded murder of our youngsters for a crime that they never committed.

While the security agencies too remained helpless and did little to control the deteriorating situation in the capital for a few hours of the mayhem that Kathmandu witnessed in the aftermath of the Iraq incident, the government and its ministers were found analyzing the situation at a time when they should have already acted in order to arrest the ugly situation that took its heavy toll.

What was more frustrating and disgusting that the irate mob of some hooligans in collaboration with certain "disintegrative" forces tried to fish in our troubled waters and thus managed to disturb our communal harmony that has perhaps no parallel in the entire history of the world. The manner Nepali Hindus and Muslims have co-existed in the country sharing the same pains, sorrows and pleasures is simply superb. Nepali muslims are neither fanatic nor aggressive as is being given to understand by certain interested quarters here and there. We have Muslims who enjoy Hindu festivals and we have Hindus who take pride in the festivals of their Muslim brethrens. Thanks the Almighty, the all-powerful Allah that the nation was saved from a great disaster that could have torn us apart on communal lines and the consequences of which would have been definitely beyond imagination. Wisdom has prevailed in between the two great religions as usual and both have concluded that such acts could in no way be a matter perpetrated by peace-loving Nepalese and that the acts of vandalism inside the sacrosanct Mosque should have been a well planned and calculated design of certain forces, both within and without, who do not wish to see Nepal and the Nepalese in peace and harmony. However, their nefarious designs have already been provided with befitting reply that we the Nepalese, whether Muslims or Hindus, will not bow down to disintegrative forces come what may. The Nepalese have come through a great examination and have exhibited that tolerance factor is very high in the air of Nepal. We thus deplore the vandalism at the Mosque whosoever would have designed the fanatic act to create a sort of rift in between the two religions, which have ever coexisted with each other in total and unconditional harmony. Long live this harmony.

Equally disturbing is the attacks on the media houses and some international airlines which have its origins in Muslim countries. It was just a barbarous and unwarranted act that must be deplored. Here again we see, as others have been observing it, the engagement of certain elements that wish to bring down the Nepali tourism business by pushing the theory that Nepal is not a safe destination for the incoming tourists on security reasons. Though the airlines, for example, the Qatar airways, PIA and a host of others, who have suspended their flights to Nepal have done it rightly so. However, we wish that the flights be resumed when they conclude that the security situation in the country of arrival has improved.

Talking about the attacks on the media, what is for sure is that those forces that have been hit hard by their pen should have thought it opportune to go in for a rampage indicating that those who differ with the ideas and the theories of those invisible forces were not far from their calculated targets.

It is time that we ascertain those anti-social and disintegrative forces which want to weaken the country and penalize their henchmen so that such incidents become a matter of the distant past. That's all.

Let us observe this Wednesday as a black day.

Attention Confederation of Nepalese Industries!

Our concentration has been drawn to an account, which says that certain residential diplomatic missions were told not to bring in their high placed officials to attend a discussion sponsored by the Confederation of the Nepalese Industries, CNI which got unfortunately deferred sine die due to the Iraqi incident which took the lives of some twelve young Nepalese by one militant outfit in that country.

The fact is that some missions were told in written by some anonymous group(s) in Kathmandu to abstain from attending the CNI meet in Kathmandu, which was to be participated in by some renowned political stalwarts of the ASEAN countries.

Sadly, neither the CNI officials nor the government establishment did come to the rescue of those foreign dignitaries who had already landed in Kathmandu without knowing that the seminar for which they had come here had already been postponed. Neither the government agencies nor the office bearers of the CNI took note of the plights of the incoming VVIPs as to what would have happened to them given the meet cancelled at the last minute and the situation in the capital being awfully chaotic.

The CNI should have informed the incoming VVIPs instantaneously when it came to know of the chaotic situation prevailing in the capital and should have told them politely through their own or diplomatic channels that the meet has thus been deferred sine die due to unanticipated events in the country which it did not. The CNI must explain how this blunder could happen!

We appeal the government to take note of the men involved in sending such unwarranted letters which must have come to the recipient missions as a threatening which might force the countries concerned to think twice in sending their dignitaries to Kathmandu should such events happen here again.

The government is thus advised to be in contact with those missions, which received such letters and bring the men to book so that such sad events do not recur in the future. The CNI authorities too would do well if they clarify their position at the earliest or else they will lose credibility in the eyes of the diplomatic community based in Kathmandu. That's all.

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