By Rabi Raj Thapa

All nations around the world love to reiterate rhetoric of nationality and sovereignty. But how do people take it when thousands of unarmed Palestinian women, children and elderly people are bombed and killed in Gaza, and people talk only about the horrendous attack of Hamas on Israelis!

When the former terrorist commander captured Syria on December 8, the world is talking of the future of Syria but not the plight of hunger and suffering of Palestinians.

When Nepal's government faced blockades, few countries really came to rescue it. When Nepal was going through a ten-year armed conflict, many powerful countries were playing games to tame Nepal according to their national interests.

Immediately after the capitulation of Syria, people began to speculate on the life and death of Syrian President Basar-al-Assad. Once the news of his safe refuge in Russia came to light, people diverted their attention to the future of a terrorist leader with a 10 million bounty on his head turned victor backed by powerful forces like Israel, USA and Turkey. Still world is silent on the hunger and death of poor Palestinians and Lebanese civilians along with the unfortunate fate of remaining hostages of Hamas.

Going back to Nepal She is one of the luckiest and most blessed countries that could solve its internal conflict so amicably. Nepal must learn that just appeasing foreign powers like Bangladesh or Syria cannot save a government in the absence of their own people's support.  

Strong countries cannot always save their vassal all the time. How powerful countries like Russia and Iran could not come to rescue Assad when he was falling?

Within weeks of the Nepali Prime Minister’s visit to China, Indian media started floods of apprehensions and speculative news which sounded very unfriendly if not hostile. When the US Assistant Secretary Donald Lu visited Nepal, he may have an equally sensitive issue or message, but that was not raised by any Nepali or foreign press with equal intensity.  

There are many reasons to think the Nepali government is losing ground in economic, political and social sectors. First, it has become too much dependent on foreign assistance and goodwill. Political parties’ indulgence and dog-fight on any issue like MCC and BRI will bring dissension and conflict within. There is nothing that can hold and pacify Nepali people’s discontentment just by filling their ears with promising rhetoric.

The most important part is the weakening Assad regime with decades of war. The dangerous part of the Nepali government is that it is losing ground and getting weaker and its rulers are losing their credibility like that of Assad of Syria. Besides, Shuttle Diplomacy alone is not the only remedy for all national maladies. Take Antony Blinken and Volodymyr Zelensky for example. However, foreign diplomatic missions and visits by Nepali leaders have not brought any promising results, so far till date.  

Why did a foreign visit by the Nepali PM to be India or China-first ignite so much fuss inside and outside the country? When did this start who started it and when, this is a bug question. People must remember that, during the King’s rule, there was nothing like India or China visit first. It looks like the Nepali PM’s visits to China always provided a good platform for Indian media to quench their insatiable appetite for provocative sensational news on China.  

The worst part is Nepal’s begging diplomacy. Nepali most remember that “Bragging over and begging with pride does not add glory to the nation whether it is in the form of aid, grant, donation or whatsoever. The outcome of such expensive and jumbo diplomatic shuttle visits of Nepalese leaders should not end in “Hatti Aayo, Hatti Aaya- Fussa” or “much ado about nothing”