Mukherjee’s Nepal visit

Indian external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee is quite right in saying that the kind of statute Nepal needs should be decided by the Nepalis rather than by foreigners. “India ... remains committed to supporting all efforts aimed at achieving peace, democracy and

development in Nepal”, he added.

In yet another positive statement about harmonising the ties between the two countries, Mukherjee said that India was also prepared to review the 1950 Peace and Friendship Treaty.

Slightly unclear is why India has agreed to provide the Armed Police Force with “equipment.” At a time when the political forces are coming closer to reconciliation, the question arises why the APF needs any more equipment. We should not forget that the APF was created only for controlling the Maoists when it was clear that Nepal Police was unable to contain the rebels. I see no sense in the government asking a friendly nation to provide equipment to buttress the APF’s base when the right thing to do would be to disband the APF and provide alternative employment to its personnel. Is the government still not convinced of the success of the peace process?

Akash Upadhyay, via e-mail

Untrue

With reference to Krishna Gyanwali’s letter “No vacancy” (THT, Dec. 18), we would like to make clear that “Good spoken English and a good communication skill” are the basic requirements for the vacancies at the ServingMinds. We hire people if they meet our requirements. In the last three weeks alone, we have hired 91 people out of the 150 who had applied.

We will continue the hiring till we meet our target of 1,000 people.

Sraddha Ghimire, HR Department, ServingMinds Pvt. Ltd.

Media’s role

The media played a highly important role in the success of the Jana Andolan II. Democracy cannot be upheld in the absence of media freedom. The media has an equally important role to play in the days to come. In this regard, the media can help monitor and expose unscrupulous people, even those who may be in power.

Ramesh B Shrestha, Lalitpur

Correction

Apropos of the news report “GAESO submits memo at Blair’s office” (THT, Dec. 15), it was not the Gurkha Army Ex-Serviceman’s Association (GAESO), but the Brigade of Gurkhas’ Welfare Society (BGWS), that submitted a memorandum to British prime minister Tony Blair concerning the benefits for ex-Gurkha soldiers. You should check your facts before publishing any story.

Birendra, via e-mail

Mighty Oz

The Aussies have done it again. England’s defeat in the first three tests of the ongoing Ashes series leaves no doubt about which side is the better one. Everybody seems to be firing for the Aussies: Warne, Ponting, Hussey, McGrath, et all. Even though Damien Martyn, one of the most prolific and reliable middle order batsmen, just called it quits, it does not seem to have made any difference to the Aussies. I don’t know how any team is going to stop the Australian juggernaut come the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

Pranab Subba, Pulchowk