India concerned about the situation in Nepal: Dr Mahat

December 13, 2004
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Leader of the opposition Nepali Congress and former Foreign Minister, Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, has said that India is increasingly concerned about the deteriorating security situation in Nepal.

Talking to Nepalnews Monday upon returning from New Delhi, Dr Mahat said India was also concerned about the lack of unity among the political forces in Nepal.

“They seem to be having a view that if India isn’t involved, other political powers could enter Nepal (to help resolve the conflict),” said Mahat.

Dr Mahat was one of the Nepali delegates who took part in the two-day conference (Dec. 6-7) on “Restoring Peace and Stability in Nepal” organized by the India International Centre in the Indian capital.

India has reiterated that it is ready to provide any kind of help to the Nepal government to help resolve the Maoist insurgency.

Participants at the seminar discussed at length the latest situation in Nepal and also deliberated on a number of probable solutions.

“The conference discussed seriously about the issue of reinstatement of the dissolved parliament as a way to break the on-going political impasse in Nepal. If that can’t happen, going for fresh elections could also be an option,” said Mahat.

Indian government as well as intelligentsia are in favour of legitimate, democratic solution to the present crisis in Nepal, he added.

“At the conference, we said that the parliament alone could be a meeting point among the constitutional forces in Nepal. The process (to bring the constitution back on track) should also be legitimate,” he added.

During the conference, Indian speakers had expressed concerns about the role of Nepali Maoists in the merger of the two major Indian Maoist outfits, Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) and People’s War Group (WG). They had also expressed concerns about increasing Maoist activities in the Himalayan rim region, according to reports.

The process to restore constitutional and democratic polity could either be through an all-party consensus, and a clear guideline of what the reinstated parliament would do and whether it should move towards the constituent assembly, or through the court, said Dr Mahat.

Addressing the seminar in New Delhi, Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran had said that Maoists in Nepal and India had clear linkages and that it could have spill over effect in India.

“The need of the hour is reconciliation and unity among democratic forces (in Nepal) so as to put together united front against Maoists,” he said.

The former envoy to Kathmandu suggested two-pronged strategy to deal with the Maoist problem. He asked Kathmandu to “convince” the insurgents to return to the negotiating table and suggested “aggressive and proactive” border patrolling by the two countries, according to news reports.

In an article published in a leading daily on Saturday, independent writer Prakash A. Raj, who also participated in the Delhi seminar, wrote that “As a country which has a long open border with Nepal along its “heartland” and whose capital is only eight hours drive from Mahendranagar in Kanchanpur—one of four insurgency affected districts in western Terai and which has its own Naxalites similar to Nepal’s Maoists, it is natural for India to be interested in Nepal’s insurgency.”

The Delhi seminar was a manifestation of this interest and the need to interact with Nepali intellectuals on this important topic, Raj added.

Analysts said the conference might have helped the Indian policy makers to draw a coherent policy towards Nepal prior to His Majesty King Gyanendra’s visit to New Delhi later this month.

They further said Nepal, too, should formulate its India policy and put it before the Indian authorities and intelligentsia in a rational and convincing way. neplanews.com by Dec 13 04