WAKE UP

There is a simple reason why the Maoists quit the government ('Peace hiccup', #367). They don't have a clear vision as they did during their insurgency. Like your cover picture shows: they live in an illusionist world of Stalin and Mao. What surprises me is that Nepalis living illegally in Scandinavian countries and UK are sympathetic to these red comrades. If they like Maoism so much why don't they go back to their motherland?

Prakash Thapa,
email

. It was heartbreaking to read about the violence in Kapilbastu ('Wake up, prime minister', #367) As Kanak Mani Dixit argues, where is the presence of the state? This government should take responsibility and resign.

Bimal Poudel,
email

. Politicians in Kathmandu seem to believe that without a republic the country can't run properly. I think the declaration of republic without constituent assembly election will be the worst decision for the country. This is the worst time for Nepal to be a republic, getting rid of the monarchy will not solve our problems. Given the violence in the tarai and the inability of the government to restore peace, the republic slogan is just to distract attention from their failures. It seems that the eight parties are running the county as per instruction from south of the border.

Saurav Sharma,
email

. Ever since the restoration of democracy last year, all we have heard are slogans from the selfish political parties. While the tarai burns, all they can think about is their own petty interests in Kathmandu. Unless they mend their ways, nothing will change.

D R Gurung,
email

FLAWED ANALYSIS

Shristi Jha's analysis on election arithmetics is flawed ('Fix this first', #367). Jha doesn't seem to have read the Constituent Assembly Act properly otherwise she couldn't have said the various quotas add up to more than 100 percent. In Schedule 1, which gives the percentage of candidates, the table lays out what the proportion of electees should be but with a note saying the following: 'Explanation: As a number of candidates represent more than one group, the sum total of the percentage of the candidates of all groups appears to be more than one hundred.'

Deepak Thapa,
Baneswor

CONSERVATION HEROES

The first anniversary piece ('Conservation can't wait', #367) on the Ghunsa helicopter crash rightly remembers the contributions of our conservation heroes. But the article should have also mentioned the conservation accomplishments of Mingma Norbu, Tirtha Man Maskey and Narayan Poudel. Tirtha Maskey spent over 30 years in the conservation field beginning with the establishment of Chitwan National Park in 1970, and worked tiredlessly until he retired in 2004. As a former government employee at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, I feel the legacy of these great conservationists should be continued through individual and collective efforts. May their souls rest in peace, and the bereaved families have the strength to cope with their loss.

Nima Sherpa,
California, USA

JAI NEPAL

Thanks to Maura Moynihan for such a wonderful article ('Jai Nepal', #365). It is so hard nowadays to hear something good about this country. I am so glad to see that people still have faith and hope for Nepal and Nepalis. Moynihan's article gave me hope. I miss the Kathmandu that I left 15 years ago. I also feel sorry to read the news of violence, but I have confidence that Nepalis can resolve these issues through negotiations. For this, the politicians have to be less selfish.

Srijana Tuladhar,
email

. I felt so proud and happy to read Maura Moynihan's upbeat Nepali Pan column. The horrific stories on Kapilbastu and the serial bombings in Kathmandu, but they were so depressing I culdn't even finish reading them. Nepali Times has shown how good news can also be news. That news need not all be negative. In Israel, the media has stopped putting news of bombings on page 1, they put inside so as not to make the people feel cynical and hopeless. Thanks to Moynihan for brightening up the day for a lot of your readers.

Swikrit Manandhar,
University of Maryland, USA

. Thank you for bringing out the tragic human side of the evil bomb blasts in the capital ('Only memories remain', #367). It may be in our culture, as yet again our outrage over this terrorist attack is muted. It's as if we have been numbed by violence. The government is just paying lip service and insensitive to the anguish of the relatives.

Amit Pyakurel,
Kathmandu

JOHN FINLAY

I was very sad to read of the demise of John Finlay ( 'Father of Nepal's gobar gas industry', #366). I met John five years ago at Bir Hospital and before he went off to the UK he had told my family that he was worried about the situation in Nepal. He was a true friend of Nepal and the people. His work to uplift Nepali livelihoods was selfless.

Krishna Pradhan,
Banepa