| interesting article |
Posted
on 19-Mar-02 07:56 PM
An Interesting Interview in Indian Express:
‘No one is being allowed to use Nepal to destabilise India’
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Nepal’s Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will be arriving in New Delhi on March 20 for a three-day visit that will also take him to Kolkata. His Ambassador in India, Dr Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, has been the face of Nepal through controversy after controversy, be it the Hrithik Roshan row or the massacre of the royal family (when.). Everything in Kathmandu ultimately spins off into anti-India sentiment, but Thapa hopes this time with Deuba’s visit, India and Nepal will be talked about in ‘‘happier circumstances’’. Deuba, says Thapa, hopes to get an assurance from Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that India will not provide a safe haven for Maoist rebels. Thapa spoke to SONIA TRIKHA:
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There’s speculation that Prime Minister Deuba’s visit was announced rather suddenly.
I saw that. The visit has been on the cards for some time now, almost three-four months. This is not a last-minute rush job. Developments here as well as incidents in Nepal meant we waited till very late to announce it.
What are going to be the big issues surrounding Deuba’s visit?
The agenda will be based on recent developments in Nepal. Not because we want to bring our domestic troubles out but given the open border between the two countries, we have to find ways to prevent it from being a source of difficulty for the other.
We also want to talk about issues of economic development.
Would those issues also be targetted at controlling the Maoist rebellion?
Yes, we want a long term solution to insurgency.
‘We’ve heard that Nepali soil is being abused by elements not of Nepali origins. And that India’s bordering areas are being used by elements hostile to Nepal. We need to be more confident of the other’s territory’
How can India help with that?
We want to create employment opportunities. For that, the PM will discuss the issue of water resources and helping Nepal build infrastructure.
Water resources has been a problem area in Indo-Nepal relations recently.
You know, when Mr Deuba came the first time, the Mahakali Treaty was signed in 1996. Now we need to review the progress in these areas. We have to look at water resources at a broader level. Especially in flood control, rather than India undertaking construction on the border at the cost of the other. We must stop construction that leads to inundation in other, we must stop construction that will call for retaliation and difficulties.
What are Nepal’s concerns on national security that will find articulation in this visit?
Over the last few years, the message that has come to us is that there are elements, not of Nepali origin, but from other neighbouring countries and that the Nepali soil is being used and abused by them. Now on the other side, in India, the bordering areas are being used by elements hostile to the government of Nepal. We will stress that we need to be much more confident of one’s territory being equally secure for the other. This should be reciprocal.
If this should be reciprocal, then would you give guarantees to the Indian government that Pakistani agencies will not be allowed to use Nepali soil for spreading insurgency in India.
I think our cooperation on this needs to be updated and intensified and sustained. But we have been assuring the Government of India that no one is being allowed to use Nepal to destabilise India and steps consistent with our assurances have been taken. We have said that we would not knowingly allow any activity detrimental to India.
Pakistan is not the only concern, your relations with China and its increasing presence in Nepal has also caused worry in some quarters.
Frankly, our relations with China are very cordial. But our belief is that recent developments are not at the cost of any other country. For instance, we are told that Chinese goods enter into India through Nepal. But our view is that with liberalisation these goods are coming into India as part of Indian policy. Goods come from all over the world and only an insignificant portion comes through Nepal. Some of the thinking, I believe, is based on past assessment and there must be recognition here that reality is changing very fast.
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This was a rather interesting interview dealing with the "irregular rectangle" issue (Nepal World News Coined Word), ie on India, Nepal, Pakistan And China, and mainly on Nepal And India.
Whats your take on this article? And Whats with that TITLE, ‘No one is being allowed to use Nepal to destabilise India’?
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