By Shashi P.B.B. Malla
The Dahal-Prachanda government is willfully ignoring the plight of Nepalese lured into fighting for the Russian Army in its aggressive war in Ukraine.
This is the case of another scam in the corruption-ridden ‘Himalayan Democratic Republic’, where most institutions are failing. After all, this is a country where scampedemic is rampant.
In the meantime, the government is praising itself day-in-and-day-out for its achievements. Dahal-Prachanda claimed that ‘the first year of his third term had succeeded in setting standards and that he would build on that to achieve greater success in his second year,’ (The Rising Nepal, Jan.16).
How is it possible that the government was ‘completely unaware’ that travel agencies were demanding exorbitant fees and making wild promises to Nepalese aspirants?
We are still waiting for stern action against these travel agents and other miscreants. But why is the government remaining silent? The Nepalese people demand quick and reliable answers to what the government is undertaking and who/which institutions are in collusion with the travel agents and their helpers and helpers’ helper.
Putin’s war against a sovereign, independent state and a founding member of the United Nations cannot be Nepal’s war or even proxy war, although there are interested Nepalese and vested interests cheering on Putin [who is now wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes].
The Dahal-Prachanda government has not made this clear. It has also not been energetic enough vis-à-vis the Russian government. It should have undertaken a two-pronged approach: very forceful in Kathmandu vis-à-vis the Russian embassy; and also a very pro-active Nepalese embassy toward the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow.
The Nepalese Ministry of Foreign Affairs must immediately form an ad hoc committee to coordinate with the embassy in Moscow to :
- To repatriate all Nepali mercenary soldiers currently serving in the Russian army;
- Bring back the bodies of all Nepalese who have fallen, so that their families can perform the proper final rites in their own motherland;
- The Russian government make all due payments to the families of the fallen soldiers, as well as, to the current hired soldiers, who should be disbanded and discharged from the Russian army.
The Nepal government should be willing and able to apply maximum pressure, if need be by recalling the Nepalese ambassador for ‘consultations’.
Nepal’s foreign policy should not be motivated by ideological motives. It should be transactional and be guided by vital national interests. Non-alignment which is one of its vital tenets should be issue based.
It is not in Nepal’s interests to be non-aligned in Putin’s Ukraine war. He has violated the Charter of the United Nations by using force to alter territorial borders. Just as we oppose India occupying sovereign Nepalese territory, so must we also oppose Russia taking possession of Ukrainian land and violating its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Dahal-Prachanda government is doing very little or even nothing to bring back our countrymen home. They are just dragging their feet!
Not for nothing is Nepal’s international reputation at a record low.
Tailpiece
In the global mobility spectrum taking into account the number of countries that can be accessed visa-free, Nepal stands at the 98th position, just before Afghanistan which is last at 104.
Sri Lanka is at 96 and Bangladesh at 97.
The writer can be reached at: shashipbmalla@hotmail.com
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect People’s Review’s editorial stance.
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