Help poor, not Maoists:

This refers to the news report “Drafts of truce, rights pacts finalised” (THT, July 22). CPN-UML lawmaker Ishwar Pokhrel said that the draft of the Ceasefire Agreement had proposed “an arrangement of financial support for the survival of the Maoists’ regular armed forces.” I cannot understand why the Maoists should be given any kind of support. Is it for their part in helping develop Nepal’s economy, for the devastation of crucial infrastructure, for setting off a chain of violence and deaths, or for their bravery against ‘foreign’ invaders?

I find it amazing that the Ceasefire Agreement has singled out the Maoists as the sole recipients of financial help. What about the 2.5 million people who are living in utter poverty? The Maoists, the messiahs of the downtrodden, will undoubtedly rebuff any largesse from the government, won’t they?

Tara Bhattarai, Jhapa

Letters to UN:

Maoist chairman Prachanda has written a letter to the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, protesting against some of the contents of the government’s missive to the UN. Clearly, the government letter violated the 8-point pact between the Maoists and the seven-party alliance. Such actions will create misunderstanding and might derail the peace process. Both sides should be careful not to lose mutual trust.

Sushil Bhattarai, Kaldhara

Add page:

I am a regular reader of THT. Being a science student, I would like to see more articles on science and technology. The best solution would be to have a separate page for it. This would undoubtedly benefit many science students like me.

Sabin Sapkota, Kapan

Unfair blame:

There have been a number of letters in this column pertaining to the increase in the number of crimes in the Valley and the cops’ inability to stop them. We should not forget that the policemen are human beings as well. With the number of petty criminals rising by the day, it is not easy for the police to keep tabs on all of them with the limited resources at their disposal. Even during the street protests, the demonstrators are seldom blamed for their acts, but if one of them gets injured, the police have to face incessant allegations of brutal suppression. While the police are to blame for many of the unpleasant incidents, it would, however, be unfair to blame them alone.

Ram Paudel, Dhapasi

No two states:

The Nepal Army cannot be compared to the Maoist militia. Also there should not be two national armies in the country. The Maoist army should be taken into the Nepal Army on the basis of each soldier’s qualifications. The rebels also need to dissolve their courts, and only the national courts should be allowed to dispense justice.

Deepak Gurung, via e-mail

Mistake:

My message published in the Message Board (THT, July 24) was totally wrong. Instead of my original message, “Wish you a very happy first anniversary of our friendship”, the message published was “Wish you a very happy birthday.” Hope such a mistake would not be repeated.

Alina(Ith), via e-mail