Nepali plea from the battlefield

This voice of theirs describes the situation not only of those four brothers, but of the entire Nepalese who were recruited into the Russian army. They say that they have lost hope and trust in their government after months of pleading for rescue have not taken any meaningful initiative. The situation where its citizens have to persuade the Indian government for rescue should be a matter of hesitation for the Nepalese government, but what is the government thinking? No reliable initiative has been observed.

Based on the statement of the young man who is in the Russian army and has escaped to the country, there are at least two thousand Nepalis in the Russia-Ukraine war. But even though it has been 10 months since this issue came up in the national debate, the government has not been able to confirm the number of Nepalis in the Russian army. According to the information given to the consular department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the families of the fighting youth, 96 people are without contact, and 14 people have been confirmed dead. Seven people have been taken into custody by the Ukrainian army from the war-torn area, while 13 people are injured there. Some young people risked to run away and come home. The government of Nepal has not taken any meaningful initiative to rescue its citizens who were trapped in the war by joining the Russian army. There has been a general agreement with Russia to provide relief to the families of the deceased, but no one has benefited from it.

In February 2022, Russia launched an attack on Ukraine, and Nepalese youth seem to have been lured in the initial days after the campaign that Russia will give citizenship to immigrants who serve for one year in their army and their family members will also get such a facility. Later, brokers lured and lured them to Russia. The news of Nepali youth being illegally recruited into the Russian army was made public in May. A Nepali lost his life in the war against Ukraine. As the Nepalese government failed to take immediate effective measures to stop illegal recruitment, the brokers took hundreds of Nepalis to Russia, charging up to 8-9 lakh rupees per person. After 15 days and one month of general training, all the youths who are deployed in the war are in a very dangerous situation, and the family members are worried. The news is coming every day that they have requested the government of Nepal to rescue them as soon as possible.

The government of Nepal has not taken the initiative, and the results have not come. The police have also arrested some people involved in the business of sending young people to Russia. Travel to Russia for tourism or labor is prohibited. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had sent a diplomatic note to Russia on December 18 last year saying that 'Nepali citizens should not be recruited into the Russian army and should be returned to Nepal immediately'. The then foreign minister NP Saud called the Russian ambassador to Nepal Alexey Novikov twice and drew his attention. Similarly, during the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement held in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, in the first week of January, Saud raised this issue in a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vasilievich. But the Russian government is neither ready to return the Nepalese youth nor has it agreed to stop the recruitment. There is no progress to free the Nepalese youth who are under the control of Ukraine. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Narayankaji Shrestha, in a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last Thursday, asked him not to recruit Nepalese and to send back those recruited, but there was no positive response.

The government should take this seriously in the context of the lack of progress in repatriating its citizens from the battlefield. Russia may need troops because of the ongoing war with Ukraine, but there is no doubt that every step to meet them must be legal. In such a situation, the Nepalese government should be able to continue the dialogue with the Russian high officials or increase the pressure through the Russian ambassador who is here. Diplomatic lobbying should be intensified with the help of neighboring countries China and India, which have good relations with Russia. Even though If

cannot become an environment for their citizens to return, they should raise their voices in international forums. Because the Russian step to go to war by recruiting the citizens of another country into the army without an agreement/understanding is illegal. The government should leave no stone unturned in fulfilling its responsibility to protect the lives of its citizens and it should not be delayed.