I couldn't agree more with your editorial 'Party Nepal' (#239). To sum it up in one sentence: had our so called political leaders kept the national interest ahead of their personal agenda, Nepal wouldn't have been in such deep trouble as she is today.

Dhruba Khanal,
email

. I read your insightful editorial on press freedom 'Something to hide?' (#238) and couldn't help writing to tell you that if you replace 'Nepal' with 'the United States' everything you say in it about Nepal could be true about America. Sobering thought, considering how much America is lecturing to Nepal about democracy and free press.

Lina Undholm,
email

. You say the blanket censorship on the Nepali media will backfire on the government and the military. I agree. It is simple logic that a free press and parliamentary democracy are necessary for justice, freedom and plurality. The current rulers, as you say, must be trying to hide something because something is seriously wrong. By polarising society and forcing them to choose between peace and war, the authorities are giving the people a false choice. We want peace but not by sacrificing freedom.

Sameer Ghimire,
Sydney

. Why do so many people in the Nepali media blindly accept the European or American model for government? As an American citizen, I can tell you that democracy in America is utterly corrupted by big businesses and the military-industrial complex. The 'choice' between the Democrat and Republican parties is so ludicrous as to be tantamount to a one party system. The news is controlled by a few large entertainment companies that manipulate public opinion rather than inform the public. Is that really something to emulate or strive to imitate?

Daniel Birch,
New York