I was really touched after reading Mohan Mainali's "East is red" (#101) on your website. Far away from Nepal, I saw the picture of the Arun river, and thought the article was about the scenic beauty of our homeland. But instead, it was about hardworking, innocent people being trapped between the security forces and the Maoists. It was a devastating indictment of what we have done to our country. The people of the east are industrious, hardworking, and committed to developing their VDCs with farming and cash crops. They have no interest in active politics, and they don't care who is in power. Even if it is the Maoists, because they know they will be no different. We have great resources, great nature and a great civilisation why are we determined to ruin everything?

Khagendra Timsina,
by email