Just sharing an old open letter written by Roger Adhikari to then prime minister Mr. Sher Bahadur Deuba. Roger condemns Deuba for what Roger describes as Deuba's 180º turn between just before being in the street and after being appointed prime minister by the King. November 22, 2004 An open letter to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba Dear Mr. Prime Minister, As an observer of Nepali politics with a neutral stance on party politics, I am expressing my humble opinion from 12,000 miles away. File Photo : PM Sher Bhadur Deuba My expression in many ways may be the representation of hundreds of thousands of frustrated Nepali and friends of Nepal living in and outside the country. As we all know, the on-going violence in the country has not only taken over ten thousand lives, it has also destroyed the social fabric of the country. No one has ever witnessed moral decline of such magnitude in the long history of this country before. If something is not done to stop this madness soon, not only we’re going to loose countless more lives, our existence as a country and our cultural identity-- that of a Nepali-- will be sadly lost for ever. Therefore, you must act and act now, to bring peace in Nepal. Great leaders are not born by birth; they are born by the event. There is no bigger event than this in hundreds of years of this country and you’re in a crossroad to be that very great leader. Among many characteristics, great leaders require wisdom and courage; courage to challenge the most powerful and courage to sacrifice personal interest for a worthy cause. I believe you will be able to demonstrate that you have both wisdom and courage and that you will use those attributes for the well being of Nepal and Nepali people. About a month prior to your appointment as the Prime minister in June this year, you had sent a letter to the “Nepali Diaspora for Peace” supporting your position to UN Assistant Secretary General, Kul Chandra Gautam’s proposal for UN mediated/facilitated trilateral peace negotiation in the country. However, after you assumed the responsibility of the chief executive of the country, you have made clear through news media that you’re not in favor of UN mediation any more. What happened after you became Prime minister that you had to take 180 degree turn on such an important issue? One of your advisors has explained your new position to be the result of the external pressure. First of all, I must ask you – Is that true? If not then why did you change your position? However, if your answer is yes, I must say your decision was wrong and against Nepal and Nepalis’ interests. Here is why I say that – I understand the political pressure, especially when that is coming from big and strong neighbor(s). As a nation, we must listen to our neighboring countries and accommodate their need as much as possible. However, we can’t afford to risk our own existence as a country and dream and hopes of our own people to keep our neighbors happy. You, as a leader must be able to say no to those countries, who rather see their policy kept alive than our people. If we continue to embark on this vicious path, who is to say how long are we going to last as a country? The issue before you, as a leader of the country, how best to bring peace so that Nepal continue to exist as a country inhabited by your children and grand children and cherished by mine. Mr. Prime minister, please show your courage and help bring peace in Nepal by inviting third party (UN) mediation, even if that means making India temporarily unhappy. As you know, under the environment of distrust, negotiating peace by parties (Maoist, political parties and the government) themselves if not impossible is very unlikely. Hence, third party mediation is the only hope for peace at this time. Time is running out; therefore, you must not wait any longer. You must ask every national and international agencies, including UN to help initiate peace process today. You have an opportunity of life time to change the destiny of the country and bring smile to the millions of Nepali people for generations come. Yours truly, Roger Adhikari (Excerpts of the “Open letter” by Adhikari who lives in Tracy, California. – Ed.) Source: - http://www.nepalnews.com.np/archive/2004/others/guestcolumn/nov_guest_columns.htm#4