Emodus, As a long-term Nepal watcher, I have come to see that this is how the game is played (while the same mistakes get repeated on and on) in Nepal. Allow me to explain. 1) Let's say that something nasty happens in Nepal. Take this example (of so many civilians being killed on that bus), which is truly a sad and heart-rending crime. 2) Everybody agrees that it's sad that such a thing has happened. Political parties and others issue their obligatory letters of condemnation. 3) THEN: Various members of Nepali Civil Society look for ways to react to it. And this part is what I always find interesting in that whatever they do, their work amounts to one big navel-gazing activity. What I mean is this: If there had been a journalist on the bus, Bishnu Nisthuri and his journalist brothers would be on the streets by now. If there had been a lawyer on that bus, Shambhu Thapa and others would be calling for Prachanda's elaborate apology. If there had been a human rights activist on that bus, the entire human rights brigade would be marching outside of Ratna Park. But none of that is LIKELY to happen. Because, you know why? No one important (journalist, human rights activist or even a lawyer) got killed in that bus accident (and that's a very good thing!) But who got killed? Faceless, nameless, defenceless and poor Nepalis -- who have, since 1996, silently CONTINUED to supply statistics as innocent casualities of the war. They've been killed by the Maoists and the Army personnel. 4) That is why, the OVERAL reaction amounts to no more than: public obituaries that are are GENERAL and VAGUE with some people engaging in the usual louder-than-thou condemnations of the Maoists. 5) Asking the Maoists to give up violence -- in whatever tones -- is like asking cats to be vegetarians. Let's be very clear about this. Violence is coded into the DNA of Maoist idealogy. How many deaths of poor Nepalis does it take for us to understand this simple point? MEANTIME, TO AVOID SUCH AN ACCIDENT IN FUTURE, WHAT STEPS HAVE BEEN TAKEN? The answer: None. 1) Has the Army been sent a letter or words of strong protest for using public buses to transport "civilian-dressed" soldiers, thereby increasing civilans' risks? No. 2) Has the life insurance policies of bus companies changed to benefit the victims? No. 3) Has even the dead been fully identified by the press so that their human stories are written up about as representative of Nepalis who have suffered the most in this senseless war wrought by Pushpa Kamal Dahal? No. In other words, all of us have repeatedly FAILED (and I blame the card-carrying members of the civil society the most because they have set themselves up to do these kinds of work the most) the to start working to put in nitty-gritty things in place so that we can better deal with such accidents in the future. But that's not going to happen, right? And so, as a result, the next time, such an accident happens, what happens? Go back to the start of the post, and repeat the game as necessary. This is my "cynical" interpretation. oohi ashu