News, Views From Nepal

Yuba Nath Lamsal At a time when members are vigorously debating on the agenda of reforms in the United Nations system, Nepal seems to be unconcerned with this issue. It seems that Nepal does not have its own view on how the United Nations should be reformed or what should be the modus operandi of the UN reforms. As a country that has based its foreign policy on the ideals of the United Nations, Nepal must come up with a clearer view on UN reforms. The demand for reforms in the United Nations in general and the structure of its executive body—the Security Council—in particular is not a new one. Member states have been demanding reforms in the UN structure for a long time, perhaps for more than 20 years. But the voice became stronger and more vocal in the 65th General Assembly meeting. All member states are of the opinion that the structure and working style of the world body needs to be changed in order to make the United Nations more representative, legitimate and efficient so that it...

Yuba Nath Lamsal United States President Barak Obama recently wrapped up his ten-day maiden Asia trip which has been dubbed as an image boosting initiative back home. Although Obama returned with high note of success in pursuing America's interest in Asia and bringing some jobs back home, the outcome is not as enthusiastic as it had earlier been expected. Obama's whirlwind visit of four Asian giants namely India, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea came at a time when his popularity in America was in the lowest ebb. This was also reflected in the recently held mid-term elections in which Obama's Democratic Party lost to rival Republicans in both Senate (upper chamber of Congress) and House of Representatives (lower chamber). The election was a big blow to President Obama's reforms and other policies he promised during the election last year. There are a number of reasons for dwindling popularity of President Obama and his party. Firstly, Obama has not met with his promises...

Yuba Nath Lamsal The global power equilibrium has changed completely. The situation that existed after World War II is nowhere to be seen in the 21st century. The post-war period saw a completely new international order in which the dominance and influence of the United Kingdom declined. Until the war, the United Kingdom was a colonial power throughout the world. But the colonies that were the main source of economic might of the United Kingdom got independence from British rule one after another, which reduced the UK to the status of an ordinary European power. Following World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as two superpowers, which dominated the world almost until the end of the last century. Cold peace The post-war period was marked by an ugly Cold War. The superpower rivalry over the domination of the world created a sense of tension and division in the world that gave a different shape to international politics and international order. However, this situati...

By Yuba Nath Lamsal In a talk programme a fortnight ago, Pakistani Ambassador to Nepal Syed Abrar Hussain raised some pertinent issues related to peace in South Asia, of which he dealt with Kashmir issue in more detail clearly explaining how Kashmir is under siege. According to Ambassador Hussain, the legitimate freedom struggle to exercise the right to self determination of Kashmiri people is suppressed by force resulting in brutal violations of human rights by over 7,00,000 Indian troops deployed in Kashmir. It is true that Kashmir is a case of worst human rights violations in the world's history after Hitler's holocaust. Even Indians are now fed up with the central government's policy of suppression in Kashmir and have started coming up openly in favor of Kashmiri people's peaceful struggle. An acclaimed Indian writer and winner of several international prestigious awards Arundhati Roy has recently joined this bandwagon and said that Kashmir has never been a part of...

By Yuba Nath Lamsal Even a layman in Nepal is starting to ask if the Constituent Assembly will ever write the new constitution. This is because the political parties that were entrusted with the job do not possess the capability and interest in writing the constitution and steering the country out of the crisis facing it. The parties and leaders still claim that they can accomplish the job. But the people are not prepared to believe them and are almost certain that the parties are neither going to write the constitution nor conclude the peace process. The rhetoric that the party leaders are making is just to confuse and mislead the people and the international community. Public opinion During the four-year journey since the peace process began, people have come to realise that the parties are not trustworthy because what they say is not meant to be accomplished. Public opinion about the political parties is so poor that the parties and leaders have simply lost credibility in the eyes o...