After seeing destruction, fighting and killings on television and newspapers I have learnt that there is no respect or mercy for anyone in this world. Instead of learning good things in life there is only mistrust and bad feelings for one another. Yes I sound like a grown-up, but I am just a nine-year-old girl and this is about my little experience in life. Since I was born I have only seen destruction everywhere. Every other day there is Nepal banda or something happening in our country. Everyone looks angry and always ready to fight with each other. As I grow older I can see many things happening and they are scary. This was a most beautiful and peaceful country until the government and parties disagreed on something. Then unfortunately the king and many members of the royal family died. Everything started going wrong after that. The people that requested something found out that the government had disagreed and so they were furious over it. So they started to argue and started to kill, destruct or burn everything and from that day on they were called Maoists. From that day on until now they still struggle and fight to get them to agree on the request. I do not the blame government or the Maoists but if they do not agree we will all be in danger. Nepal may be destroyed completely. If you can understand, somebody try to end this before it is too late.

Aashna A Lama

The new government has done a right thing by punishing those involved in suppressing the people's movement. But this process should not just stop here, after all 1990 was just 16 years ago and that is not a long time in a country's history. Culprits at that time as identified by the Mallik Commission's report should be brought to justice too. Not only that, politicians, ministers and others involved in corruption during the brief democratic period should also be prosecuted. Forgiving may be the best option in order to move forward but forgetting never is and never should be.

Sagar Sharma,
email

. Ending absolute monarchy is one thing; having concrete plans about the next steps is another, and I hope that the leaders won't fail this time. I am tired of going online to read of various leaders dedicated to punishing people. Can we really afford to be going on a revenge drive at this point in our history? The last 10 years have shown that turning one Nepali against another was our biggest curse. Did it ever occur to them that perhaps a civil servant, or a villager had no choice but to support the royal (or any other) government, or the army just to be able to support the family? If you are really set on punishing people, who will take up the task of punishing those political leaders who have misused funds, bribed and bought people in the past? And what about the atrocities committed by the Maoists? Or is that not on your agenda, because now, you are potentially on the same side? While pointing fingers at the mistakes of other people, do not forget your own.

Last month the Nepali people stood up for their right to choose their own form of government, their right to decide who should lead them, and that is at the core of the Rhododendron Revolution. Now we have to work with everyone no matter what their political ideology. Isn't that the essence of democracy after all?

Sujala Pant,
Thimphu