US ex-President Carter Made Koirala Cartoon
14 June 2007
by Mohan Nepali,
Kathmandu:
US ex-President Jimmy Carter, who arrived in Kathmandu on 13 June on a four-day visit to Nepal, is scheduled to meet
political leaders of Nepal, including Maoist leader Prachanda. Although the US Administration has officially kept
Nepal’s Maoists in its terrorist list, the retired president is expected to try to tame Nepal’s Maoists to US
intentions. So far the Maoists have declared to follow pluralistic norms of democracy but not to be a puppet. But the US
Administration has been stressing that Nepal’s Maoists be like other political parties of Nepal that have
unquestioningly followed the prescriptions given by the USA and related agencies.
The US Administration favors Girija Prasad Koirala, a diehard hater of any communist party. He does not want Maoists to
be the mainstream force though in appearance he appears to have been tolerant. His ideological intolerance remains a
deep-seated problem even within his own party. Similarly, the US Administration, too, favor its own choice of political
party in power. Nepal’s money-minded and self-centered political parties have been racing to flatter the US
Administration and get its blessings.
When Nepal’s Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala defended the smuggling of red sandalwood and a warranted national
criminal, the Nepalis perceived him as the chief protector of criminal gangs in Nepal. By circumstances he became the
prime minister. The Nepalis thought he would change his mind, but he did not. He still staunchly remained on the side of
feudal monarchy. The Nepalis one day will not have any way out without punishing him if he lives more years.
But US ex-president Jimmy Carter used the word ‘hero’ for Girija Prasad Koirala when he met him. If Carter has
understood what type of person Koirala is, he must have used the word ‘hero’ as a derogatory remark. Otherwise, it is a
naïve expression. However, the Nepalis are eligible to term Koirala as ‘villain’ because he could never stand on the
side of people. He has listened to king and forces outside the nation but not to his own people in the country. He has
never become a protagonist in decisive moments.
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