| |
|
|
|||
|
Maoists announce unilateral cease-fire Considering the nearing festivals of Dashain and Tihar, the underground Maoists Friday evening unilaterally announced a nine-day cease-fire from October 2 coinciding with Phulpati, the seventh day of Dashain. In a statement issued by Maoist strongman Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda, the rebels said the decision was taken in response to repeated calls from Nepali people, civic societies, political parties and human rights organizations to declare truce during the festival. “We have decided to adjourn all our aggressive activities for nine-days from Phulpati to Purnima (last day of Dashain),” said the statement signed by Prachanda. At the same time, the party has warned of strong retaliation “if the so-called security body attacks its militia or common people.” “All party members, people’s liberation army and all bodies of new regimes are hereby ordered to be alert for retaliation, if attacked, during the ceasefire,” Prachanda said in the statement. The statement has further blamed government for ruining the talks. “The old regime spoiled talks resorting to the series of terror and murder, and being puppet to the power nations.” “The old regime misused peace talks as a tool to lengthen its tenure. The so-called royal army is also mis-publicizing us with exaggerated death tolls in our side. “We are worried that the nation has now entered a civil war. We want real ceasefire, peace and progress.” The statement further said the unilateral ceasefire from the Maoist side is not going to solve the ongoing problem anymore. “Unilateral ceasefire from our side during festivals of different Nepali communities will only provide unnecessary opportunity to the old regime to carry out its criminal activities,” said the statement. “Finally we urge all people, organizations, civic societies and political powers to exert pressure on the old regime, which is dancing to the tune of foreign powers.” On the possibility of permanent ceasefire, Maoist supremo Prachanda said, “We will be instantly ready for permanent ceasefire if the old regime respects the sovereignty of people in true sense.” nepalnews.com br/mr Sept 26 Maoists Friday shot dead NC activist K. Ansari at his home village in Bara, police said. Rebels torched the ancestral home of former Chief Election Commissioner Bishnu Pratap Shah at Dhading Friday, radio report said. Insurgents bombed and damaged two government buildings in Bara and Mohottaril districts. nepalnews.com br Sept.25 UN to focus on girl child education: Kahane In the next fiscal year, the United Nations in Nepal will have the chief priority of educating girl children and working on poverty eradication, Matthew Kahane, the newly arrived UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal told journalists in his first press meet Friday. “There will be no change in the UN policy in Nepal during my tenure,” Kahane said in the informal press assembly organized at the UN Complex, Hariharbhawan. Fielding a query whether the UN is increasing its budget in the forthcoming fiscal year, he said, much more attention is being paid to Nepal. On the UN role in Nepal’s ongoing conflict, Kahane said, “The UN is always ready to provide its good offices, if it is sought by the particular nation. The member states must take initiative first.” Asked, whether Nepal has sought such a role from the UN, he said, “Some matters need to be done quietly.” On what would be the possible solution to the present conflict in Nepal, he said, “Violence is the not way to resolve the conflict because it is not the solution to political problems.” He further stressed that the global role of the UN is always pro-poor and it works for the upliftment of downtrodden and unprivileged people. The new UN chief in Nepal expressed satisfaction over Nepal’s role in the UN, saying, “Nepal has distinguished contribution in the peace making process abroad.” Kahane, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, was appointed the UN chief in Nepal on September 6, 2003. He started his career in the UN in 1970 as a UK volunteer to the United Nations Development Program in Tunisia. nepalnews.com mr Sept 26 Sir Jeffrey James, special representative of the British government to Nepal, did not meet the King in his third visit to Nepal in six months, he said Friday. "I did not meet the King," he said in an opening remark at a news conference before leaving for home Sunday. " "I had asked for an interview. The King was extremely busy," Sir James said. The King meet with Sir James during his two previous visits. He expressed disappointment. The retired British diplomat is co-ordination British government policy and co-ordination activities of Nepal's international friends from his office in London. nepalnews.com br Sept.25 Bloomfield met Nepal at latter's request: Sir James Sir Jeffrey James Friday dismissed claims of foreign interference in Nepal's internal affairs by foreign diplomats and said British Ambassador Keith Bloomfield last met CPN-UML leader Madav Nepal at the latter's request. "The meeting took place at Madav Nepal's request and that is normal," Sir James said in response to a question whether discussions between diplomats and opposition leaders constituted interference in Nepal's internal affairs. Bloomfield confirmed at a news conference the last meeting between him and Nepal was at Nepal's request. Sir James dismissed foreign mediation to resolve the insurgency issue. "It's for the Nepali side. It's for them to control the process not for outsiders," he said in reply to another question on the role of foreign mediators to resolve the Maoist insurgency. "Long-term objectives are identical. I don't see any difference in the fundamental approach," he said in reply to a question whether there were differences between US and EU member countries in assessing Nepal government's handling of the insurgency. nepalnews.com br Sept.25 Dipak Mahat has been elected president of the Trekking Agents Association of Nepal (TAAN). The annual meting of TAAN also elected a 14-member executive committee. nepalnews.com br Sept.26 Madhav Ghimere declared national poet
Madhav Ghimere has been declared a national poet. The cabinet took the decision Thursday, Annapurna Post said. The government has also decided to award him a life-time monthly Rs.12,000 stipend. Ghimere celebrated his 85th birthday this week. nepalnews.com br Sept.26
Head of the Nepali delegation to the 58th session of the UN General Assembly Dr. Bhek Bahadur Thapa met with US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Christina Rocca in New York Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry said. Dr. Thapa also co-chaired a dialogue between SAARC and ASEAN, the Ministry said. Foreign Ministers of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka attended the meeting. The meeting decided to continue the regional dialogue. The meeting also instructed both the secretaries of SAARC and ASEAN to engage in strengthening cooperation in areas of mutual benefit. nepalnews.com br Sept.26 RONAST has signed separate memorandum of understandings (MoU) with the Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST) and the Iranian Academy of Sciences (IAS) to further scientific relations, an announcement said. The MoUs were signed in Teheran by Vice Chancellor Dr. Dayananda Bajrcharya and President Prof. Kyu Han on behalf of KAST and Prof. Reza Davari Arkadari on behalf of IAS. nepalnews.com br Sept.26 Royal Nepal Embassy in Japan hosted the second Nepal tea promotion event in Tokyo Wednesday, RSS said. More than 80 tea connoisseurs, teachers, representatives from trading companies attended the two-day event. Charge d'Affaires Mohan Kirshna Shrestha said Government had given top priority to growing tea and exporting it to various countries, including Japan. President of Japan Green Tea Co. Ltd. Isamu Kitajima said the quality of Nepali tea was good and Japan could be its good market. nepalnews.com br Sept.26 Nepal Red Cross Society and the International Committee of the Red Cross have expressed concern on an attack on a clearly marked Red Cross ambulance near Pokhara on September 18, the two organizations said in a statement. The
ambulance was torched by suspected Maoists during a nationwide strike. Nepal
is signing air service agreements with Croatia and Thailand. Tourism
Secretary Riddhi Baba Pradhan said this at a meeting of the Trekking Agents
Association of Nepal Thursday. Crown Prince thanks international community Crown
Prince Paras Thursday thanked the international community for their support
for Nepal in Excerpts
of address: Nepal is fortunate enough to earn the goodwill of the international community. Many of our friends have lent their helping hand in our development efforts. Nevertheless, the challenges we face are enormous. We still face emerging problems that defy easy solutions. We need the support and understanding of all our friends all over the world. Like any other problems, they also call for concerted efforts on the part of all concerned with the seriousness of purpose they merit. With the support and goodwill of our friends abroad and the sincere and honest hard work of our fellow-countrymen, we hope to be able to tide over the tribulations that Nepal is currently facing. On behalf of the Nepalese people and His Majesty's Government, let me express our gratitude for the support the international community has extended to us at all times. At
this juncture, I must mention that in spite the world getting increasingly
integrated and interdependent there are emerging differences between the
North and the South dividing nations even in this era of globalisation. The
way the Cancun meeting of the World Trade Organization concluded a short
while ago is a telling testimony of the need for building bridges between
high and low income economies, between the haves and have-nots, and between
technology-rich and the technology-starved world. Let Cancun be an
eye-opener; let us move beyond the blame game and recognize that all actors
have a point of some merit even though others may not fully subscribe to it.
Let it sensitize policy makers around the world to the spirit of
globalization, globalization with a human-face, as well as cooperation,
whether it is Nepal has benefited from the spirit of cooperation shown by our friends abroad over the last decades. While benefits have been many, so have there been weaknesses. We, as a country, realize that many of these are of our own doing and, as a result, in the last several years emphasis have been placed by His Majesty’s Government on reforms, the primary purpose of which is to ensure the fruits of development reach the poorest and the most vulnerable in our society. It is this spirit of better governance that lies at the heart of sustainable development as well as people friendly conservation. Ladies and Gentlemen, Nepal’s commitment to sustainable development and the biodiversity of the country is reflected in the growing awareness in civil society and in the rapidly increasing autonomous organizations and institutions engaged in safeguarding the environment. One such approach in meeting these goals is eco-tourism with partnership based community development in and around protected areas and nature reserves. One such organization in this endeavour is the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC). Established in 1982, the Trust was blessed with the leadership of my august father His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev for nearly two decades. His Majesty has been gracious enough to continue to bless the Trust as its Patron and I have now been entrusted with the task of leading it. Without being pretentious, may I share with this august gathering that in the realm of mountain development, KMTNC is globally renowned for its Integrated Conservation and Development Program paradigm that places people in the center for securing their conservation and development needs. In concrete terms, KMTNC’s contributions towards making eco-tourism both economically profitable and environmentally sustainable has been widely acclaimed and has also been a source of inspiration for many mountain systems.
Nepali film 'Numafung' second best in Dhaka Nepali film "Numafung", made in Limbu language has received the runners-up award from among 123 entries in the International Film Festival in Dhaka, Bangladesh, two Kathmandu-based broadsheets reported Friday. According to the news reports in Nepal Samacharpatra and Rajdhanai, Indian film "Lesson One" directed by TV Chandra stood first in the festival. The film received US$ 6,000 and a certificate. Numafung received US$ 2000 and a certificate for being second in the contest participated in by 36 countries. Nabin Subba directed Numafung, which literally means "beautiful flower." The week-long film festival ended Thursday. nepalnews.com mr Sept 26 Govt. decides to form all-party committees The government has decided to run the local bodies through all-party committees providing them all authorities at par with the elected representatives, a published report said Friday. "Such committees will be first announced for municipalities," a report in Nepal Samacharpatra said quoting government sources. "Then it will be implemented for village development committees (VDCs) and District Development Committees (DDCs)." The report said the decision was taken during the cabinet meeting Thursday. The first lot of heads to lead the all-party committees in ten municipalities will be announced today (Friday), claimed another news report in Annapurna Post. According to the report, ex-Mayor Keshav Sthapit will be appointed the Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City again. A total of 53 municipalities, 4 sub-metropolitan cities, 1 metropolitan city, 75 DDCs and nearly 4,000 VDCs have no political heads at present due to their date expiry and incapability to hold elections. nepalnews.com mr Sept 26 |
|
2003 © Mercantile Communications Pvt. Ltd.
P.O. Box 876, Durbar Marg, Kathmandu, NEPAL. Tel : 977 1 220 773, 243 566.
Fax: 977 1 225 407. Reproduction in any form is prohibited without prior permission. No
part of the articles which appear in the internet version on NEPAL NEWS FLASH may be
reproduced without the permission of Mercantile Communications Pvt. Ltd. For reprinting
rights, please write to |
