I still have the vigour to keep this thread alive but have very little time to put my own write ups for the next few days. In the mean time, doing some cut and paste business. These are some impartial and sensible thoughts but not mine. A poem that depicts the current dilemma of hopes first and then an article predicting the fate of a current minister so soon. Here we are: Poem by Bimal Niva कहिलका"ही हिउ" भ्रम भएर म छेउ आउ"छ र सुस्तरी भन्न थाल्छ आफ्नो नवीन आत्मकथा मलाई अनुभूत हुन्छ तमाम भ्रमहरू हिउ"को ढिक्का भएर म अगाडि जमेको छु म चिसो कामिरहेको छु हिउ" कतै छैन । Will Pandey save blushes for Nepal? (courtesy Kathmandu Post) By DAMAKANT JAYSHI - Minister for Foreign Affairs Ramesh Nath Pandey is understandably under tremendous pressure to deliver. So far he has nothing to show except tall claims with the help of a few journalists who are going out of their way to portray that the minister has achieved a lot.The day Pandey arrived from New Delhi after what he claimed "a very fruitful visit" and "widening of understanding of each other?s position" on recent developments in Nepal, two Indian ministers reiterated India?s position which the latter has maintained right since February 1. One of the ministers, in fact, made a suo moto statement.It might come as an uncomfortable reminder that the United States and the United Kingdom have been shaping their stance on Nepal?s developments in close co-ordination with India. Despite a columnist claiming about a fortnight ago that the international community has given a mixed response ? "shocks, surprises and support" ? the majority of the international community has unambiguously opposed the developments in the country since February the First. There has been no political support at all from any quarters so far. Even China has termed the developments here as internal matters, its standard position. Why did Minister for Education and Sports Radha Krishna Mainali go public charging that Nepal?s diplomacy has failed to garner international support? Especially when you consider that three countries ? India, the UK and the US ? that claim to have nasty experiences of dealing with terrorism, being the staunchest critics of the February 1 move. Has Pandey done enough? When ministers devote more energy and time on retaining their position rather than focussing on the task at hand, then consequences can be very grave at a time like this. You are thus forced to call up obliging media personnel and plead them to write news/articles in your favor. This is a worrisome aspect since we have to deal with an upcoming meeting of the 61st Session of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva where minister Pandey, in his capacity as foreign minister, is travelling. With reports that his job is on the line of fire gaining currency day by day, the minister would be under intense pressure to prove that he can convince the international community to turn their blind eye to the events unfolding here. He failed in India. Failure in Geneva would certainly do him no good. Unfortunately for him, he does not have much in his kitty to convince a more combative and hostile international community which nearly succeeded in bruising our pride last year. The deterioration of situation here since the meeting last year will make it very difficult to convince the international community that the human rights situation has improved. Let us not forget that last year, India and the US bailed Nepal out by killing the Switzerland-sponsored and European Union backed resolution on Nepal. The US Congress has since tied up military aid to Nepal with improvement in human rights situation here and India?s position has been consistent: rolling back emergency, releasing political detainees and restoration of constitutional and press freedoms. Their support this year will be nothing short of miracle. And miracles don?t happen every year. True, there have been no reports of rights abuses in the past six weeks or so, but this will be seen in the light of a gagged press which has been barred from reporting anything related to the security forces or the Maoists unless the information comes from the army. With Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) declaring their campaign for appointment of UN Special Rapporteur for Nepal on monitoring human rights, things would be pretty difficult for the government. Can the government escape severe strictures that are certainly to occur in Geneva? If only Pandey were not worried about retaining his ministerial job?