During the last two years I have visited Nepal four times. It is with sadness that I am reading about the violence in Nepal. You have one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and the Nepali people are one of the kindest. Whatever you do, please do not destroy the tourism industry. Whichever government is in power, the present, Maoist, or both, the Nepali people will still need to make a living from tourism. What will Nepal's rulers tell the people working in the hotel business, the restaurants, in the transport sector, in the Annapurna and Everest areas when the tourists don't come in the spring of 2002? Please go back to the negotiating table and try one more time. There is no alternative. The Nepali people deserve it.
Claus Andreasen
Kokkedal, Denmark

I pray for peace for all Nepalis, and that the legitimate objectives of the government will be reached swiftly without massive loss of life or destruction of property. A country and people who are so reliant on tourism cannot be further harmed with the current situation. Until peace and civil freedoms are returned to the people of Nepal, everyone is the loser. May the gods help heal our minds and deeds.
D Michael Van de Veer
Hawaii

Let us suppose that the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) has a right to raise demands and wield all resources to establish a communist regime even through bloodshed. Yet I have two questions to our Maoist leaders:
1. How do they justify setting free prisoners from prisons in Dang and Syangja? Very few of the inmates were there on a political charge since the government had already set the Maoist prisoners free during the talks. The Maoists ended up freeing murderers, robbers and criminals. So, for the Maoists such crimes acceptable? Such behaviours are not social evils for Maoists? Is this the type of society they are trying to establish through their revolution where murder and burglary will be rife? Crime is crime irrespective of political regimes. Even Mao wouldn't condone this.
2. How do they justify extorting money from people? The Nepali people are already suffering from bribery. Our political leaders are loyal to big business because they take money from them.
So, if the Maoists are carrying out a revolution how come they are just doing what the corrupt political parties are doing? Is this the way to bring amul paribartan?
Dhruba Nepal
Kathmandu

The comments by Kunda Dixit ("Let's get this over with," #70) and CK Lal ("A state in dire straits," #71) were constructive arguments for people from all sectors in Nepal, including opposition parties. If we recall the examples of developing states that went through emergencies we can easily come to a conclusion that it is like opening a Pandora's box. I hope Nepali politicians will realise that the state of emergency was the last resort, and they will not misuse it.
S Khatiwada
USA

I support the state of emergency that has been applied in Nepal. In fact, I believe it was high time the government started protecting its citizens against atrocities inflicted by the Maoists on innocent people. However, it was shocking to hear that medical personnel would not be allowed to treat wounded terrorists unless instructed to do so. Can this be possible? Whether they are Maoists or not, they are Nepali citizens, and as such, are entitled to their human rights. In fact, as a signatory to the Geneva Convention, Nepal has a legal obligation to the wounded. But more importantly, it would be morally wrong to ignore those who suffer because of who they are, or what they stand for. Fears about human rights violations by the government cannot be alleviated if such statements keep on being issued by our representatives. The government must act as humanely as possible if it is to win our war against terrorists.
Sujala Pant
London School of Economics

Kunda Dixit is quite right to say "the Maoist brought this on themselves". Perhaps he should have mustered sufficient courage to say that we Nepalis also brought the Maoist curse on ourselves. We elected these corrupt and the incompetent leaders and tolerated them for too long. The resulting social injustice alienated a vast majority of people and was the breeding ground for the Maoist ideology. The intelligentsia (this includes the Nepali Times and other mainstream media) flirted with the Maoists even after they engaged in criminal activities such as abduction, extortion, arson, murder of villagers, and slaughter of policemen. This coverage lent Maoists respectability. The insurgency is now a social cancer that needs to be cleanly and completely excised from the Nepali nation.
Suresh K Kafle
UK

Why are our opposition parties so knee-jerk? The government had no choice but to declare a state of emergency, but our unimaginative opposition parties led by the UML had to oppose it. Why can't parliamentary parties at least agree on certain things that is of common importance to all of them? Can't we have a consensus on at least the bare minimum: like safeguarding democracy? The opposition leaders in Kathmandu should be taken to a Maoist-affected district and left there for a month so they can experience first hand the face of terrorism. The government was sincere about talks, but it had to declare the Maoists terrorists, and use the army to flush them out. The Maoists were able to spread their influence because they were killing demoralised policemen, sometimes in their sleep. Now with the army's guns trained on them, life is not going to be easy for them anymore. It is only a question of time before they feel the heat.
SRJ Thapa
Kathmandu

The government decision to apply a state of emergency is correct to save innocent lives and handle terrorists who do not want to join the mainstream of democratic Nepal.
Balmukunda Prasad Joshi
UK

We need peace at this moment, both the Maoists and the government should cease all violence. Declaring Maoists terrorists may not have been such a good idea, because it may make it more difficult to bring them out in the open.
Ishwor Kharel
Belgium

The consequences of the emergency could be bad, but I am willing to accept the consequences if I see the end of the psychotic and insane acts of brutality of the Maoists.
Lalanath Dev Acharya
By email

I love my country, I am always proud to be Nepali. But recent events in Nepal make me ashamed. I don't believe in violence as a way to get to power, and it grieves me that my country is gripped by it. This violence must stop so that our country is a better place for us and for our children.
Gyanendra Shrestha
Cyprus

Reading your chronology of the Maoist movement ("Prachanda's war path," #70) I couldn't help thinking that the Left worldwide suffers from one problematic delusion, that they are right and everyone else is wrong. You either have to agree 100 percent with the ideology, or you are a reactionary puppet of the capitalist bourgeoise class and a reformist. It is this fundamentalist streak that gives the Left its intolerant, self-destructive characteristic of splitting into fragments. Because anyone who doesn't agree with the leader by definition has to go off and form a splinter group. That happens at the international level: with the Sino-Russian split, the Euro-communists, the Stalinists, the North Koreans, the Lin Piao faction, the Maoists, the Deng group etc, and each had their proteges in Nepal. What we have always needed is someone to give socialism a human face and a democratic soul. Alas, there was no one to do that here.
Kailash Gurung
Pokhara

Both the government and the Maoists are responsible for the current situation. They must both beg for pardon from the Nepali people.
Basudev Regmi
by email

The Maoists and the government had a golden opportunity to resolve the crisis. But the Maoist never tried to move the talks towards the right direction. They killed hundreds of innocent and illiterate people in the villages instead of bringing the really corrupt people to justice. There is now no doubt that the emergency was the right decision and the Maoists must be eradicated. But the government must also be careful not to misuse its emergency powers for revenge. This would destroy the nation, and all of us Nepalis must be careful in this matter.
Bishnu Pokhrel
Dublin

Ultimately, it was the government's inaction that brought about the present situation. The emergency may lead to a further escalation of violence that may now affect a lot more people.
Sameer Bajracharya
By email