Nepali lawmakers have raised objections to the remarks by Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Chen Song, about the ongoing search operation in the Trishuli River to locate two missing passenger buses that were washed away in a mudslide, earlier this month.
The leaders have termed the comments at a time of grief as ‘inappropriate’ and asked the Nepali government to summon the envoy.
The incident happened on July 12. Two passenger buses carrying 65 passengers on board were swept into the Trishuli River by a mudslide in the Simaltal of Chitwan during the wee hours. Only three passengers could escape the bus, while the remaining are unaccounted for and the search operation for the possible human remains and the buses has continued till date.
In the course of the search operation, a magnet weighing 19 kilogrammes, brought by Indian specialists, was washed away by the current of the Trishuli River.
The Chinese Ambassador shared a news link on X, stating, “Find the magnet then,” while the search operation had continued for weeks.
Abdul Khan, a former minister and lawmaker from the Janamat Party, raised the issue during Tuesday’s parliamentary meeting and called the comment offending for the families who are undergoing grief.
Lawmaker Khan also stated that it is not acceptable for any of the Nepali citizens on any terms and called for the action of the government.
“On 28 Ashad (July 12), two buses were swept into the Trishuli River. In the search operation for 65 people on board the bus, one of the neighbouring countries assisted by sending experts and equipment. Another neighbour, the People’s Republic of China’s ambassador, made mockery of Madhesi, Muslims, Tharu, so-called-Dalits and Nepal as a whole. At the hour of grief, adding more pain gave an offending statement,” he said.
The Nepali leader further said the government needs to seriously look at the issue.
“It is a clear intervention and uninvited comment on internal matters of a nation, which an ambassador of any nation is not acceptable and welcome in any scenario. Nepali citizens won’t tolerate it at any level,” Khan said.
Soon after the Chinese Ambassador’s remarks created an uproar, he defended his post and said the search operation should be expedited.
“Some people argue that it is inappropriate to comment. My answer to them: What is wrong with the comment, Shouldn’t the search be speeded up and facilitated by all means? If a magnet is needed to speed up the search, then find the magnet. Why, when a magnet was lost, people started to think of ending the search,” Chen Song said in a post on X.
Another lawmaker, Sarbendra Nath Shukla from the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, also criticised the Chinese envoy ‘s remarks, labelling them “irrational” and “unfortunate.”
Shukla stated that a good friend of Nepal would not make fun of the sorrow the nation has been undergoing at the moment.
He also called the action of Chinese Ambassador to be against the diplomatic norms and values of any nation while addressing the parliamentary meeting.
“For seven continuous days, a large team comprising more than one hundred searchers, nothing, which is unfortunate. More unfortunate than getting no clue are satirical expressions. Thousands of people are now grieving, and they are lamenting for not being able to see them breathing or even the body of their loved ones for last time. As everyone is grieving and in sorrow, one of the excellencies made fun of it by making posts on ‘X’. A friend is supposed to express sorrow but far from that expectation, the joint efforts are also being ignored. These kinds of acts are against the diplomatic norms of any country,” Shukla said.
Nepali Congress lawmaker Ramhari Khatiwada also called for Nepal’s Foreign Ministry to summon Chinese Ambassador, Chen Song, for an explanation regarding his “inappropriate comments” about the search for missing passengers and buses in the Simaltal accident.
Ramhari Khatiwada said, “Till today, we don’t know the status of over forty passengers but in such a situation, one of the ambassadors of our neighbouring nation, breaching the diplomatic norms, the diplomatic code of conduct, has been commenting on the issue.”
“He has been tweeting, ‘Good Luck all the search team’ and ‘Find the magnet then.’ In this hour of pain and trouble, at least he could have talked about human sense, rather than making fun of and mocking it. I would request not to make human sentiment a subject of gags. I also request that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summon the concerned ambassador on the issue,” Khatiwada said.
Two buses carrying 65 passengers along the Narayanghat-Muglin road section were hit by a landslide in the wee hours of July 12 and swept away by the Trishuli River.
Three of the passengers somehow managed to get outside the bus and swim to the bank.
Rescue and search teams from the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force (APF) have been searching the bus and the passengers since the incident, but they haven’t been able to trace the buses so far.
The buses were washed away by a landslide at Simaltal on the Narayanghat-Mugling road.
More than 200 security personnel have been deployed to search for passengers. So far, about two dozen bodies have been found in different locations and 17 people have been identified.
The whereabouts of the two buses and the 37 passengers on them are still unknown. The rescue team from India had arrived in Nepal at the request of the Nepali government due to a lack of manpower and proper equipment in the country.
The team also returned earlier on Sunday after assisting the Nepali team for a week. The Nepali side, on the other hand, has continued the search operation, though nothing has been found.
