Maoists are playing multiple diplomatic cards - Dr. Jayaraj Acharya
Dr. Jayaraj Acharya
Dr. Jayaraj Acharya, a noted diplomat, is former permanent representative of Nepal to the United Nations. He talks to Prithvi Shrestha of Nepalnews on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s recent visits to China, India and the United States and their significance in the context of the political change in Nepal. Excerpts:
US President George Bush met with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal during a reception in New York. What does this indicate with respect to Maoists-US relations?
The parley between Prime Minister Dahal and US president Bush suggests that the U.S. is supportive to the ongoing peace process in Nepal and their attitude towards the Maoists is changing positively.
But, the US still seems reluctant to remove the Maoists from its Terrorist Exclusion List . How do you view this?
This is a technical matter. The process of removing the Maoists from the list takes a long time as it should go through a long legal and administrative procedure.
What do the Maoists stand to gain from meeting with Bush?
It is the diplomatic achievement of the Maoists to have got a chance to meet with the president of a superpower like the US although they are still in the list of terrorist outfits. It is also the fact that it would not be beneficial even for the US to cut off all relations with the Maoist government as Nepal is in strategically location. So, the US approach seems to help the Maoists to democratise themselves.
The United Nations has described its involvement in Nepal as a success. Do you see the possibility of UN assistance to Nepal increasing in Nepal’s reconstruction process?
It is not only the success of the UN but it is also the success of the efforts made by our neighbouring countries, the US and our own political process too. Whether the UN assistance to Nepal’s reconstruction process would increase would depend on how handles its diplomatic relations.
Prime Minister Dahal also met with leaders of other countries including those considered as foes of the US during his visit to New York. Do you think such meetings would have negative bearing on the relations between the US and the Maoists, which seems to be improving of late?
It is natural for the Prime Minister to meet the leaders of North Korea, Cuba, Laos, China and Vietnam for ideological proximity. But, it must be noted that the US and other western countries as well as India to some extent may take such meeting seriously. Such meetings may complicate the relations with U.S. and its allies. The Maoists leadership may have to make more efforts to have a diplomatic balance in such situation.
PM Dahal first visited China and then embarked on trips to India and US respectively. As soon as he returned from India, he sent defense minister Ram Bahadur Thapa to China to observe a military parade. Does this mean the Maoist leadership is playing multiple diplomatic cards at a time by leaving all options open to keep intact the coalition government?
Of course, the Maoist leadership has played multiple cards at a time. There remains a risk while playing multiple cards in diplomacy. If such game succeeds, the leadership gets credits for this. But, if it ends in a failure; it may lead to downfall of the Maoist leadership.
Russia and Cuba have also shown eagerness to meet with the Nepali Prime Minister. Does this signal their growing interest in Nepal?
I don’t think Russian interest has grown in Nepal. But, being a world power, it is natural for Russia to show interest in the country like Nepal which is in strategic location in the context of China and India becoming world’s economic powerhouses.
Prime Minister said that relation between Nepal and India can not be compared with relation with China. Did he mean that Nepal and India have special relations?
He didn’t use the word ‘special’ while referring to relation with India. The wording ‘special’ is still taken as a taboo. But what the Prime Minister said is very natural and it is also a reality.
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