‘Rhino diplomacy’ raises a stink

KATHMANDU: An attempt by Nepal to reach out to Europe by gifting a pair of rhinos to an Austrian zoo has raised a storm in Austria, with the opposition there warning the government not to have any truck with visiting Crown Prince Paras.

In the latest twist to the ‘rhino diplomacy’, the foreign policy spokesperson of Austria’s Green Party, Lunacek Ulrike, has urged the Austrian government not to have any contact with a “regime that violates human rights”.

The storm erupted this week after Nepal’s media reported that Paras, the highly unpopular heir to the throne, was to visit Austria, France and UAE with his wife, Crown Princess Himani, Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey, and an entourage that would cost the cash-strapped government about Nepali Rs 60 million.

Alarmed by the snowballing controversy, Chancellor Schusel, who was earlier scheduled to attend the inauguration of the rhino park, has instead deputed Minister of Economics and Labour Martin Bartenstein and State Secretary of Finance Alfred Finz to attend the ceremony. But even that decision has come under fire from the opposition.

Ulrike has warned the Austrian government that at a time when Austria holds the presidency of the European Union, the royal regime in Nepal would misuse such contact as an official visit and try to legitimise itself through the EU.