Misplaced insistence :

Since the Maoists have agreed to keep their army and arms under UN supervision, why is the

government insisting on separating the Maoists’ arms from their combatants before the constituent assembly (CA) polls?

Is this the government’s ploy to deny the Maoists a place in the government at the behest of the palace and some foreign elements? If so, Nepal will once again slip into conflict. The recent fiasco about arms import has only deepened suspicions. Incidents like this can seriously affect the outcome of the peace negotiations.

Prime Minister Koirala seems to be giving more attention to party re-unification while in fact peace and the CA polls should have been the centre of his attention. If the talks are delayed further, regressive forces will get a chance to raise their ugly heads.

Ranjeev Shrestha, NCCS College, Paknajol

Job interview :

This refers to Eak Prasad Duwadi’s Midway piece “Sour grapes” (THT, Sept 14). Interested in getting a secure government job, I, too, had applied for the section officer’s post. I cleared my written exam and was invited for an interview. But to my surprise, three interviewers asked me only mundane personal details. I would be informed if I passed the final hurdle, they told me, and then they dismissed me. Months passed without any information from the office.

Sajan Subedi, Lalitpur

Help them :

This refers to the report “Keep child rights laws in curriculum: SC” (THT, Sept 11). The report talks about the need to incorporate child rights laws in school curricula. But I would like to draw attention to an equally pressing problem: the fate of child soldiers in the Maoist militia. The future of these young boys and girls is bleak unless the government and the agencies working for children’s welfare unite to safeguard their interests.

Education should be their main concern. Both the SPA and the Maoists should take the matter seriously.

Rupak Sapkota, SOS

Hermann Gmeiner School

PAC move :

This refers to the report “PAC decides to review SC verdict” (THT, Sept 14).

Independence of the judiciary does not mean that judges can get away with decisions that are not supported by facts, evidence and the rule of law. There has to be a review mechanism for decisions taken by the country’s highest court.

World Bank representative for Nepal Ken Ohashi’s description of Nepal’s market system as a “crooked playing field” applies equally to the judicial system where the “haves” use the system for their benefit and the “have-nots” are at the mercy of the former. The question of legality apart, PAC’s decision to review the SC verdict on Mahalaxmi Sugar Mills will hopefully lead to some soul-searching among the judges.

Manoj Shahi, via e-mail

Glue sniffing :

Street children are increasingly getting addicted to glue sniffing. Though it provides some mental relief, it will prove very harmful in the long run. Social organisations appear unable to make any impact.

Concrete measures are required to control glue sniffing and other addictions among children.

Anoj Pandey, via e-mail