News, Views From Nepal

Yuba Nath Lamsal Internal imbroglio in the political parties has taken an ugly turn, pushing the agenda of peace and constitution writing to the back seat. The peace process has hit a snag, not because of the differences among the parties but because of internal wrangling within the parties. All the major parties at present are occupied in factional fighting, driven by the lust for party power and state power, which has a serious impact on the country’s ongoing political process. If we look closely at the unfolding developments in the parties, it becomes clear that the political parties are not serious and sincere to the promises made to the people. As a result, public trust on the parties and leaders has waned, bringing uncertainty to the peace process. Each and every political party is in a mess. Factional fighting has intensified so bitterly that leaders and workers of one faction are not even on talking terms with those from the rival camps let alone working together. The bigger th...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Not even a week had passed since new Chinese Ambassador Yang Houlan had presented his credentials to President Dr Ram Baran Yadav in Kathmandu, New Delhi announced the name of a new Ambassador to Nepal to replace its unpopular envoy—Rakesh Sood. Jayanta Prasad, a career diplomat who has already served more than two and half decade in the Indian ministry of external affairs, is India's new ambassador to Nepal. Although Prasad 's fundamental duty will be to serve Indian interest in Nepal and pursue the policy and agenda of his own country, he will have to work hard to rebuild India's badly bruised image in the mind of Nepalese people. The new Indian ambassador, if wants to build more cooperative partnership with Nepal and create India's better image in Nepal, will have to work extra time to firstly clean up the heap of diplomatic mess his predecessor Rakesh Sood had created and secondly pursue different approach so that the susceptibility of Nepalese peop...

Yuba Nath Lamsal When politics goes haywire, people are the ultimate victims. Politics occupies a dominant place everywhere in the world. This is more so in the developing and least developed countries where the process of nation building is underway. Even in the developed western democracies, politics continues to dominate the other sectors although the economy is said to dictate politics. In a developing country like ours, everything revolves around politics. Given our own experience and also in some other developing countries, including our neighbours, politics is guided, motivated and dictated by power. The general rule of politics is and should be to serve the people, and politics should be guided, motivated and dictated by the interests and welfare of the people Power - the driving force Unfortunately, this does not happen in Nepal as the politicians, parties and leaders run after power and position rather than the interest of the people and the country. This is the stark reality...

Yuba Nath Lamsal The policy of the United States on Nepal’s Maoists still seems to be shaped by the perceptions of the Cold War despite the sea change in Nepal’s political landscape over the last five years. The Maoists have not only given up the armed insurgency and joined peaceful politics, but they have also proved their supremacy in competitive politics. The U.S. as the champion of liberal democracy uses certain yardsticks in measuring the degree of democracy and freedom. One such yardstick is free and fair elections. In the Constituent Assembly election held three-and-a-half years ago, the Maoists won over 50 per cent of the seats in the first-past-the post system, and emerged as the largest force in the proportionate system. Signs of thaw The recent days have seen some signs of thaw in the fallacy and mistrust between the Maoists and the United States. The increased engagement between the U.S. and the Maoists is definitely a step towards building mutual trust. The interactions, m...

Yuba Nath Lamsal On the eve of 90th anniversary of founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), to which China has attached greater importance, Beijing sent a senior official at the foreign ministry to take up diplomatic task in the Himalayan republic. This may be a mere coincidence but it carries a special meaning and significance in the bilateral relations between Nepal and China. Yang Houlan, the new ambassador of the People\'s Republic of China, assumed diplomatic responsibility in Nepal on June 20 when he presented his credentials to President Dr Ram Baran Yadav. Since then he has kept himself busy in flurry of diplomatic activities including meeting and interaction with different stakeholders. As a new ambassador of an immediate neighbour of Nepal, the meeting and interaction with leaders and officials is normal as they are aimed at getting familiar with the political and diplomatic circle of Nepal and also getting a feel of ongoing developments in Nepal. Yang\'s appoi...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Upon victory of Chinese Revolution on October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong, the architect of modern China, proudly declared the establishment of People's Republic of China in Tiananmen Square proclaiming ' We, the Chinese people, have now stood up'. True to Mao's words, China has stood and is standing tall in the world economy accompanied by military power, thanks largely to the great people's revolution of China and pragmatic leadership and hard work of the Chinese people. As envisioned by the founding fathers and their successors, China stands now as a proud country and a model of development for the countries and people in the developing world.Of a few miraculous events that the world has seen in the modern history of mankind, Chinese Revolution is one of them, which has been a source of inspiration for liberation movements across the globe. The charisma and commitment with which the founding fathers of modern China like Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Although they are in better position today than during the time of Peoples' War, the relations between the United States of America and the UCPN-Maoist are still uneasy, much to the chagrin of young Himalayan republic's fledgling peace and stability. The crisis of trust that has embittered the relationship between the world's only super power and Nepal's largest political force is mainly owing to psychological fear and flawed perception in understanding one another. This is more so on the part of Washington as it unnecessarily suspects the intention and behavior of the UCPN-Maoist. If Nepal's peace, stability and prosperity are to be institutionalized, the suspicion and differences between the Maoists and the US must be narrowed down and a working partnership built to cope with the present changed context.The United States still carries the old ideological baggage that existed during the Cold War era when it comes to dealing with communists and revo...

Yuba Nath Lamsal On the eve of 91st anniversary of founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), to which China has attached greater importance, Beijing sent a senior official at the foreign ministry to take up diplomatic task in the Himalayan republic. This may be a mere coincidence but it carries a special meaning and significance in the bilateral relations between Nepal and China.Yang Houlan, the new ambassador of the People's Republic of China, assumed diplomatic responsibility in Nepal on June 20 when he presented his credentials to President Dr Ram Baran Yadav. Since then he has kept himself busy in flurry of diplomatic activities including meeting and interaction with different stakeholders. As a new ambassador of an immediate neighbour of Nepal, the meeting and interaction with leaders and officials is normal as they are aimed at getting familiar with the political and diplomatic circle of Nepal and also getting a feel of ongoing developments in Nepal.Yang's appointme...

Yuba Nath Lamsal China marks the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on July 1, 2011. On this occasion, China is reviewing and reassessing its success, setbacks and lessons learnt and experienced during the arduous 90 years that were marked by many ups and downs; dangers and dissensions; and challenges and opportunities.It is, indeed, an opportune time to assess how the party was able to achieve remarkable success in economic front and accordingly chart out future strategy to cope with the newer challenges in the present global context. The speed and pace with which China is rising and the economic miracle it has achieved remains no more the concern of China alone. China's success is an issue of academic discussion how it was possible in China and not in other country, what impact it would have on global economy and politics and what the world in general and the developing countries in particular can learn from this remarkable achievement.China ha...