NO BETTER TIES WHILST THE MAOISTS KEEP ON ANTI-INDIA RHETORIC

[ Mr. Rahesh Sood has become one of the most controversial seating Indian envoys to Nepal in decades, who, as soon as  landing in Kathmandu to take charge of the office, has been heavily involved in the ongoing peace process. Nepal’s ongoing peace process is equally important for India’s peace and stability, and hence  security also. His coming into the scene is understandable but the pro-nationalists group of people holds him responsible for the current impasse and also for not shying away from the Maoists who seem not having shunned violence yet. Now he finds difficulty in reconciling the Maoists desire for better ties with his country India, whilst the latter are hell bent in anti-India rhetoric. We found this interview interesting to post here as the ongoing peace process in the country is apparently going nowhere right now. EXCERPTS from myrepublica]

Myrepublica.com: In the press conference in Katmandu on Monday, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that his party is in constant communication with India. What level of Indian engagement is with the UCPN (Maoist) party and what is your assessment of the engagement?

Rakesh Sood: We have been engaging with the Maoists for many years now. Even now whenever we have a high-level visitor coming from India, we always try to make sure that they are able to meet Maoist leaders. The last high-level visitor was Indian Minister for External Affairs, S M Krishna, about three months ago. At that time, he had a long meeting with former Prime Minister Dahal. He had separate meetings with other Maoists leaders as well. At my level, I continue to meet Maoist leaders from time to time. So I think the level of engagement is there and there is no breakdown of communications. We continue to convey our points of views and concerns to the Maoists regularly.

Myrepublica.com: Is there any direct communication between Dahal and New Delhi and is there any connection between that and the current stalemate?

Sood: I met Dahal a week before leaving for Delhi last week. I conveyed our concerns about the ongoing political impasse and the consequent delays in drafting the constitution and also about the delays in integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants. I also spoke to him about some of their activities targeting Indian joint ventures. He told me that his party would like to have good relations with India. Naturally, we welcome that. I have drawn his attention to a lot of anti-Indian activities being undertaken and rhetoric by his party activists and organizations affiliated to the Maoist. This is inconsistent. Imagine, today one wants to be a friend and tomorrow he does unfriendly acts. It is difficult to reconcile the two. We would like to see all anti-Indian activities come to an end. But that has not happened.

Myrepublica.com: Can you be specific what kinds of anti-Indian activities are you talking about?

Sood: We see statements made by Maoist leaders from time to time and anti-Indian graffiti in Kathamndu. In protest marches, anti-Indian slogans appear regularly. We have also seen reports of how certain Indian companies were prevented from doing their work. I have taken this up with Dahal and with the government of Nepal.

Myrepublica.com: Does that mean the trust level that India had with Maoists has gone down?

Sood: There are two pillars to the whole process of Maoists coming over ground. One was their commitment that within six months of the elections, rehabilitation and integration of Maoist combatants would take place, and the second was their commitment to multiparty democracy. I think somehow there is a feeling that some concrete action needs to be taken to reestablish the trust that the Maoists are still committed to these. It is difficult to reconcile to a desire to have better relations with India in the light of ongoing anti-Indian rhetoric.

Myrepublica.com: From the day Dahal stepped down saying pressure from foreign masters, has the trust remained at the same level or come down?

Sood: It is important to understand that the Maoist-led government resigned as its own coalition partners were no longer with Dahal. He took an honorable route and tendered his resignation. The question is: Why did they leave him? I believe they left as there was a growing lack of confidence generated by Maoist decision. So, there is a need to rebuild that confidence to return to politics of consensus.

Myrepublica.com: Dahal was saying that a leader from his own party was proposed by India to be the next PM of Nepal. Is that true?

Sood: I asked him this question. He said that there were various reports in media and he heard this from other people who keep visiting India. But that is hardly credible. He, however, also said that that was a thing of the past.

Myrepublica.com: Does that also mean India has no preference for any other leader besides Dahal?

Sood: These are internal affairs of Nepal. We have no agenda other than to support economic development and Nepal’s emergence as a stable multi-party democratic state.

Myrepublica.com: Dahal has explicitly said that India is trying to interfere with his party affairs and even attempting to split his party. What do you say?

Sood: He has never provided concrete examples of how India has interfered with his party. In his interview to The Hindu, he said that he asked me to get a high-level envoy. We did not do so. It shows we were not interfering. He said subsequently that he met senior Indian leaders in Hong Kong and elsewhere.

There are two pillars to the whole process of Maoists coming over ground. One was their commitment that within six months of the elections, rehabilitation and integration of Maoist combatants would take place, and the second was their commitment to multiparty democracy. I think somehow there is a feeling that some concrete action needs to be taken to reestablish the trust that the Maoists are still committed to these.

Myrepublica.com: Does Indian government know who the people Dahal met were in London, Hong Kong and Singapore?

Sood: You must ask this question to him.

One of the complaints Dahal has made publicly is that the relations between India and his party fell apart after his government tried to balance relations between China and India. He wanted to maintain equi-distance and India did not like that and started ‘playing games’ leading to his resignation. Is there a tradeoff between India and China’s security interest in Nepal? Can we address both?

First, Nepal is a sovereign country and it is the right of the leaders of Nepal to decide which foreign country they want to visit. This is not something like India vs China. Second, from my discussions with Chinese colleagues and other high-level discussions between the two capitals, both countries would like to see stability in Nepal. Third, we have a strong and long-standing relations with Nepal and we do not see our relations with Nepal through the prism of Nepal’s relation with other countries.

Myrepublica.com: Dahal has explicitly said that India did not want him to go for Olympics Games held in China in August 2008. He even said that President Dr Ram Baran Yadav canceled his China visit as India did not approve of it. Does that contain any truth?

Sood: Former PM Dahal stated on record during his visit to India that he was extremely happy with the visit and said it was a successful visit. This is something he said to media and others subsequently. Thus, his own views do not reconcile with your question.

Myrepublica.com: Some Indian newspapers have carried opinions saying that Maoist-led government was tilted to China and that was against India’s security interest. Do you agree?

Sood: In our dialog with China on Nepal, we both agree it is of importance to both our countries that Nepal should be a stable country as instability in Nepal is a cause of concern to both of us.

Our security concerns vis-a-vis Nepal are naturally different as there is 1,800 km open border, there is visa-free regime between India and Nepal, which emerges from provisions enabled through 1950 Treaty. Therefore, we would like to ensure that this open border – which has been misused increasingly in recent years – does not become a source of vulnerability for India. That is at the root of our security concerns.

Myrepublica.com: Can you specify how open border has been misused and what are the security concerns of India and Nepal?

Sood: In 2009-10, the amount of fake Indian currency confiscated here amounts to almost IRs 19 to 19 million. That is a huge sum. Clearly, people who are bringing the currency do so as it is easy to take it across the open border. Last year, about 17-18 terrorists having links with various terrorist organizations were apprehended in different parts of India who had entered India via Nepal. They came from different places, mostly by air and decided to make use of the open border to get into India undetected. We need to be conscious in today’s time and age about vulnerability that this possesses and we need greater cooperation in strengthening our vigil against such potential terrorist activities which can affect both our countries.

Myrepublica.com: Do you think that Dahal’s government was not serious enough in addressing the security concerns of India?

Sood: Maoist government, the present government and successive governments have assured us that they are sensitive to India’s security concerns and that they will not allow Nepal’s territory to be used against anti-Indian activities. We respect these assurances, but we need to be able to put together a mechanism of working together where we can ensure that these assurances transform into a watertight arrangement.

Myrepublica.com: What was the reason behind deteriorating relations between Maoists and India?

Sood: Dahal told me that his party wants best of relations with India. He said he has spent so many years in India and is sympathetic to India’s concerns and that he wants the relations between his party and India to improve. I also wish for the same. But he has to answer your question. We have not come up with such differences during our meeting. He has neither raised such differences with any high-level leaders who have visited Nepal of late.

Myrepublica.com: In your letter to Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala, you raised the issue of open border. What is the relation between printing of Machine Readable Passports in India and India’s security concerns?

Sood: First of all, I think it is a matter of regret that confidential communication between embassy and the government was leaked in this manner. It is also unfortunate that the issue of MRP was politicized and lot of misinformation was spread. My letter to the foreign minister was a straightforward one because a Nepali passport holder enjoys certain privileges in India by virtue of being a Nepali passport holder. For example, no work permit is required, a Nepali passport holder can open a bank account, can engage in trading in stock exchange, buy property – so naturally it is a shared concern that Nepali passport should be a document that should be as tamper-proof as possible. There are many reports of lost Nepali passports – on an average as many as 40 passports are reported lost every day. This is a cause of concern to us as much as it is for the Nepal government. We would not like Nepali documents to be misused. So, as a friendly neighbor, we were offering that we could prepare MRPs of high standard. Also, we were supplying the MRPs at a price less than the price at which it is supplied to India’s Ministry of External Affairs.

Myrepublica.com: Will the Indian company take part in the new bidding process? And how was the MRP cancellation taken by the South Block?

Sood: This is a question for the future and depends as and when the tender comes out. But there is a sense of disappointment and regret at the manner in which misinformation was spread and partisan politics politicized the issue. We were printing the documents and the personalization would have been done here. We were providing the equipment and technical training free of cost and the Nepali officials would do the entries.

Myrepublica.com: What is your assessment of the peace process?

Sood: India would very much like that the Constituent Assembly produce a new constitution. Nepal with support of international community has made considerable progress for the last four years and now that we are close to the finishing line, I think we must realize that we cannot afford to fail. As far as India is concerned, we have no agenda other than to support Nepal’s emergence as a stable multi-party democracy and Nepal’s economic development. We have provided all assistance as sought for moving toward these goals and in whichever way we can help, we would do it to enable Nepal to cross the finishing line successfully.

Myrepublica.com: When Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal visited India, he said that the twin objectives of his government are to write the new constitution and hold the next elections. Do you see this government holding a new poll?

Sood: This is a decision for the people and parties to make. Our interest is that together we have made gains successfully. We would like to see a new constitution emerge as that was one of the key aspects in terms of bringing about transformation.

My letter to the foreign minister was a straightforward one because a Nepali passport holder enjoys certain privileges in India by virtue of being a Nepali passport holder. For example, no work permit is required, a Nepali passport holder can open a bank account, can engage in trading in stock exchange, buy property – so naturally it is a shared concern that Nepali passport should be a document that should be as tamper-proof as possible.

Myrepublica.com: What do you think are the main hurdles in the peace process?

Sood: Growing polarization and absence of consensus. And behind that there are other reasons, which all leaders understand.

Myrepublica.com: It is said that in Nepal a last-minute solution is always found. Are you positive? And has India initiated a new political agreement between the political parties in Nepal?

Sood: Hopefully, a solution is designed. India played a role of the facilitator. Today’s requirement is not for a new agreement, but for concrete steps to rebuild trust and that the agreements are implemented. There has to be an effort at rebuilding trust and it comes from realization.

Myrepublica.com: Has India adopted ‘wait and see’ attitude or are you going to facilitate this time as well?

Sood: It is difficult to make predictions. India will play a supportive role as per the desire of the people and leaders of Nepal. It is difficult to define it now.

Myrepublica.com: The government has not yet requested the UN Security Council to extend UNMIN’s term, which expires on May 15. Many argue that the government has delayed the process under India’s objection and pressure as India was not positive towards UNMIN’s presence in Nepal in the first place. What is your take on this?

Sood: This is a decision to be taken exclusively by the government of Nepal. The whole process is Nepali-driven and Nepali-led and the government is fully capable of taking a decision to its best interest. It is completely incorrect to say we did not want UNMIN to come here in the first place. We were fully supportive. In fact, we provided a huge amount of assistance in terms of material resources for setting up its operations here and conducting its role in elections. We supplied over 90 vehicles and 50 wireless sets to UNMIN, 70 containers for storage of arms being managed under UN supervision, supplied 6,800 metric tons of food material and 4,000 tents for rehabilitation of internally-displaced people. It shows our confidence in Nepal government’s ability to make a decision on its interest and we do not want to be seen as interfering.

Myrepublica.com: What is your assessment of UNMIN’s performance?

Sood: That assessment has to be done by Nepal government.

Myrepublica.com: Of the three issues – signing of strip map, extradition treaty and MRP deal – which you took up since you came to Nepal two years ago, why have none of them worked?

Sood: The boundary strip map is a long-standing issue and the strip maps prepared over a period of more than two decades by the experts, surveyors on both sides. We have agreed on 97 percent of the border which has been mapped. The best way to settle this is to formalize boundary as set out in the maps.

Extradition Treaty is not something that has been there only for two years. It has been there for much longer. The Treaty has been negotiated by both the sides and has been initialed at the official level. Now it requires a political decision to be formalized.. We have raised our security concerns time and again at all levels. Today’s security concerns are quite different from the security concerns 40 years ago. Open border has acted as a bridge between the people of two countries. But in the light of today’s security concerns it should be seen as a source of vulnerability . The way we can manage it is through additional instruments through which we can work together to address common security concerns.

Myrepublica.com: How satisfied are you with your job in Kathmandu?

Sood: I was looking forward to coming here. I enjoy being here. It is a beautiful country. I like photography and get out of Kathmandu whenever I get a chance to take pictures. I find that satisfying and most rewarding.

(Republica´s Editor-in-Chief Ameet Dhakal and Special Correspondent Akanshya Shah

caught up with Indian ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood to talk about his country´s present relations with the Maoist party and India’s security concerns, among others.)

    

This interview has been resourced from myrepublica.com
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Comment(s) on the Post:
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1. Skepticism Must Be Maintained 

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Misras misras@ntc.net.np
Date: Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 1:21 PM
Subject: Re: NO BETTER TIES WHILST THE MAOISTS KEEP ON ANTI-INDIA RHETORIC
To: The Himalayan Voice himalayanvoice@gmail.com
During 1996 to 2005, India had called the Maoists, terrorists while giving them shelter in Indian cities, and the Maoists had been making anti-India statements.
This joint effort was useful in fooling many Nepalese into believing that the Maoist problem was completely due to internal factors and not geopolitical.
Given such ploys of both India and Maoists, what are we to make out of this, now ? Skepticism must be maintained.
Misras
Kathmandu, Nepal
----- Original Message -----
From: The Himalayan Voice
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2010 9:55 PM
Subject: Re: NO BETTER TIES WHILST THE MAOISTS KEEP ON ANTI-INDIA RHETORIC
April 29, 2010
NO BETTER TIES WHILST THE MAOISTS KEEP ON ANTI-INDIA RHETORIC
[ Mr. Rahesh Sood has become one of the most controversial seating Indian envoys to Nepal in decades, who, as soon as landing in Kathmandu to take charge of the office, ..]
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The Himalayan Voice Team
Cambridge, Massachusetts
United States of America
http://thehimalayanvoice.blogspot.com/