They did no wrong

The journalists who sat on the chair vacated by ex-King Gyanendra after his farewell address at Narayanhity have been roundly criticised.

Apparently, their actions were ‘unseemly’ and ‘cheap’. But can any behaviour be judged right or wrong merely because it ‘looks’ so?

The right question to ask is: Why was it wrong for a common Nepali to occupy that chair? If the answer is that commoners have no right to occupy that chair, nothing could epitomise the feudal mindset more. But even that line of argument rings hollow. After the

departure of Gyanendra Shah, there is no institution of monarchy. Then, has a commoner insulted the dignity of the royalty by sitting on the ex-king’s chair?

Some say that we Nepalis have humiliated ourselves before the foreign media. Hardly so. The foreign media correspondents are not so ignorant that they fail to see that it is the government and the palace authorities that deserve the blame, not the media personnel, for

arranging to have such a large press corps without adequate seats. Even animals deserve better treatment than being forced to accommodate in such a small space. If anything, I saw the scribes’ occupation of the chair as a symbolic gesture aimed at the

government that it should give them the respect they deserve. Can anyone offer a credible argument why the action was not right except that it just ‘seemed’ wrong at the outset?

Aakash Subba, via e-mail

Cheap

The cheap antics of local reporters at the press conference of the deposed King Gyanendra is

unacceptable. Some reporters sat on the ex-king’s chair and started clicking photos. Tomorrow, they might do the same with a minister’s chair. This kind of cheap behaviour is not expected of any Nepali when the whole world is watching. The Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) should enforce a strict code of conduct so that such incidents do not happen again.

Riyaz Ahmed, via e-mail

Shame

I was shocked to see some journalists posing for photographs on the seat vacated by ex-king

Gyanendra. For a few moments, they seem to have completely forgotten their responsibilities as the fourth organ of the state. What a shame!

Krishna Kanchan,

Department of Microbiology, TU, Kirtipur

Opportunity

Apropos of the news report “Gyanendra leaving Narayanhity today” (THT, June 11), the end of the Shah dynasty gives the country a golden opportunity to embark on a new path. Now is also the time to dig deeper into the real causes of royal massacre. Moreover, the new government should set up a commission to look into the ex-king’s wealth both at home and abroad.

Shiva Neupane, Melbourne, Australia

It stinks

Among the 17 gates of Bhaktapur, the gate of Byasi is the dirtiest. Many tourists enter Bhaktapur through this gate, only to be greeted by human excreta overflowing from the public toilet. The Bhaktapur Municipality has never tried to remove this filth although all the locals have their own toilets.

Rabin Rachalica, Green Team, Bhaktapur