I am rather puzzled by CK Lal's comment in 'The dogs of war' (State of the state, #157). He says, "But Baker's theory of the fear of the peace movement has to be taken seriously when the American Information Centre in Kathmandu provides reproduction rights to local newspapers" Let me clarify: we had received a number of inquiries over the past several months from Nepali publications as to how they could obtain reprint rights for articles from major US newspapers. In order to be helpful, I sent this question to the relevant office at the State Department and obtained an answer, giving samples of the major US print media and their reprint rights' cost. Again, in a spirit of helpfulness, I decided to provide this information not only to those print media that had asked me for the information but rather to all, for their future reference, if desired.

To misread this action as one having been prompted by a fear of the peace movement seems to me quite ridiculous and I sincerely fail to see the connection! Quite to the contrary: the US Department of State and the US Embassy in Kathmandu have repeatedly, consistently, and openly supported the peace talks and expressed our sincere hopes for a peaceful and prosperous Nepal.

Constance Colding Jones
US Embassy, Kathmandu