JOIN USDelhi continues to mount pressure on Kathmandu
Even as Nepalese Prime Minister K P Oli slammed India for criticising his country at the United Nations Human Rights Council, New Delhi is likely to maintain its tough stand and continue to mount pressure on Kathmandu to address concerns of Madhesis over the new statute of the neighbouring nation.
Oli on Friday raised Kathmandu’s pitch against New Delhi. He accused India of imposing an “unofficial blockade” on Nepal.
“Nepal is currently at the receiving end of unofficial blockade. But this is the time for us to find alternative,” a PTI report from Kathmandu quoted Oli telling a delegation of Federation of Nepali Journalists.
“Our close neighbour has opened our eyes. I will render efforts to bail the country out of the existing crisis, maintaining our national independence, dignity and national integrity,” he said even as Kathmandu and Beijing on Friday agreed to open seven more border trading points for supply of essentials from China to Nepal.
He also strongly reacted to India’s statement at the UNHRC during a discussion on Universal Periodic Review of human rights situation in Nepal.
In a statement at the UNHRC in Geneva on Wednesday, India expressed concern over “continuing incidents of violence, extra-judicial killings and ethnic discrimination” in Nepal and urged the government of the neighbouring country “to investigate and take credible measures to prevent their recurrence”.
New Delhi also recommended that the Nepal government should consolidate the “constitution building and democratization process by accommodating all sections of Nepal to enable broad-based ownership and participation” and ensure effective functioning of “Truth and Reconciliation Commission and full implementation of its recommendations, including prosecution of those responsible for violent insurgency.”
Oli said that India dug out “a decade-old-issue” by asking Nepal to prosecute ultra-left insurgents.
“We faced war in the past. Then we realized it was not possible to have war all the time. So we initiated the peace process,” said the Nepalese prime minister.
Nepal has been traditionally depending on supplies from India for a range of essentials – from petroleum products to medicines. But ever since the new Constitution of Nepal and protests against it by sections of its own population cast a shadow on its relations with India, Kathmandu has been accusing New Delhi of choking supply of essentials.
“Foodstuff and protection come into priority under the humanitarian aspect even during a war. Neighbouring country has further troubled our country by blocking checkpoints while it is still paralysed by the April 25 devastating earthquake,” said Oli.
Refuting allegations
New Delhi has been refuting the allegation and pointing out that disruptions in supply of essentials were caused by unrest in Terai, the southern lowland of Nepal bordering India, due to protests against the new Constitution by Madheshis and other disgruntled communities of the neighbouring country itself.
Officials in New Delhi said that India was making every effort to send as much supplies as possible to Nepal. Several hundred vehicles carrying essentials from India were crossing over to Nepal everyday.
But the main border trading point at Raxaul-Birgunj, which handled 70%-80% of commercial traffic between the two nations, was still blocked due to protests by Madhesis in Nepal, they added.
New Delhi is of the view that “problems facing Nepal are political in nature and cannot be resolved through force or a security-based approach”.