We are of course not implying that no lawmaker should go on foreign trips in the days ahead. But if such trips can be avoided and their presence here helps in expediting the peace process, they should not hesitate from pulling out of it. The only thing that we want our lawmakers to understand is that the tasks before them are gargantuan but the time is short.
Going on junkets has been one of the favorite hobbies of our leaders. The culture is so pervasive that our lawmakers have not refrained from flying abroad even when the domestic environment was critical and their absence had the potential of deteriorating the situation further. The recent case in point is Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal’s trip to Turkey to attend the UN Conference on Least Developed Countries from May 7 to 15. Given the precarious political environment at home, PM Khanal’s long absence did the nation more harm than good. Considering the urgency of the time, the PM could have safely delegated junior ministers from the cabinet to represent him and expended his energy in forging political consensus.
Madhav Kumar Nepal, Hisila Yami and Sujata Koirala left for Bangladesh Friday despite protests from the ‘Facebook’ crowd at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). No problem there. Maybe the visit was very important or maybe it was difficult for them to retract from a prior commitment. We just, however, want our politicos to understand from the protest at TIA that people are eager to see fast-track movement in the peace process this time around. They are in no mood to sit back and just watch all the dilly-dallying that has been the hallmark of the past three years. At a time when Nepali people have lost all hope from the politicians, canceling petty foreign trips and concentrating their energy in peace building and drafting a national charter could be one opportunity for our lawmakers to prove their sincerity and accountability to the people.
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