Foreign envoys concerned about violence

Kathmandu, September 1

Kathmandu-based foreign diplomats today expressed serious concerns over the ongoing violent protests across the country.

The envoys had held a meeting at the UN Country Office in Lalitpur under the coordination of the UN country office, after the Nepal government last week briefed them on the progress in constitution writing and protests by various groups across the country.

Without elaborating, a UN official told The Himalayan Times that the meeting was held “just to share note on the current political development in Nepal.”

According to sources, the envoys appreciated the “determination of the leadership to bring out the new constitution.”

However, they expressed some “genuine concerns” over the evolving ground situation, including the brutal killings of eight policemen and a child in Tikapur of Kailali last week.

At the meeting attended by representatives of almost two dozen foreign missions based in Kathmandu, diplomats stated that everybody has to shun violence and seek peaceful a solution, a source told The Himalayan Times seeking anonymity.

Meanwhile, the government has refuted a report in The Economist, which interpreted the Tikapur incident was interpreted as “ethnic violence”, according to Tara Prasad Pokhrel, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Dispatching a Letter to the Editor of the British magazine today, the Embassy of Nepal in London wrote: “The attention of the Embassy has been drawn to the text and tone of the news ‘A nasty bout of ethnic violence in an already battered country.”

“It is unfortunate that The Economist chose to picture an unfortunate incident killing unarmed policemen and an eighteen-month old child at Tikapur, in Western Nepal, as the proof of ‘ethnic violence,” reads the letter.

The embassy stated that the article published on August 29 conveniently overlooks such a heinous crime and completely ignores the restraint and professionalism demonstrated by the police even under the life-threatening situation.