Businces community has sincerely welcomed the news of ceasefire in the ongoing Maoist movement and resumption of peace process. Now the major concern of the community is that the outcome of the peace negotiations must guarantee two major points.

First, the fundamental economic rights such as the right to earn, and enjoy personal property and the right to pursue one's profession should be guaranteed. Second, the peace that is expected to be established should be a lasting one. The business community is not wedded by any means to any particular type of political system. It should be happy with any political system as long as such a system guarantees these two points. As a famous Chinese proverb says, one need not worry about the colour of the cat as long it kills the rats.

Hopefully, the ensuing period of peace dialogues will not be treated by the government as a period of free play for the Moists to pursue their one-sided movement. They had enjoyed such freedom during the peace negotiations last year from Deuba government. Some businesses had to experience lot of trouble during that period. Now it is logical to expect that the government has grown some wisdom teeth

For the mean time, while the peace negotiations continue, the business community has its own role to play. It should go on expanding the economic activitics also to the countryside and create additional employment opportunities there so that the people would have added motivation to stay in the village, not going to the jungle or to overseas. The chambers have to take the lead in this respect as the individual profit motive may not be sufficient to drive the investors to the villages right now. There has to be a national level movement.

The government on its part should be brave enough to come up with drastic policy changes to encourage such back-to-the-village campaign. The stingy attitude as shown in the renewed budget ordinance of early January and the retrograde follies of trying to open the loss-making public enterprises and causing the scarce govemment revenue to go down the drain with the losses of these enterprises should be done away with.

Beating around the bush with silly programs, such as the Deuba government's land reforms last year, and avoiding the crux of the problem that led to the current situation will not help to establish a lasting peace. Everybody understands that the current problems are the results of the widespread poverty which is in turn caused by growing inequality, as shown by various reports, including the latest Nepal Human Development Report 2001. Simply disarming the rebels now will not solve the underlying problem unless the model of economic development that Nepal will follow now helps to reduce the existing level of inequalities.