| |
|
|
|||
|
|
Understanding
with Former
Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa has said that understanding with In
an exclusive, front-page interview with the Kantipur daily Thursday, Thapa
said Maoists are taking shelter in “It is the Maoist strategy of speaking nothing
against Thapa
said Referring
to the Indian assistance to the Royal Nepalese Army and Nepal Police in
the form of training and logistics and (act of) arresting senior
leaders of the CPN (Maoist) and extraditing some of them, Mr. Thapa
said it is “There
has been change in the Indian attitude (towards Experts
say security has been on top of the Indian agenda while dealing with Referring to the failed peace talks with the rebels a year ago while he headed the government, Thapa said Maoists broke off the negotiations under pressure from RIM (Revolutionary International Movement)—a loose alliance of pro-Maoist organisations around the world. Saying that the situation has
changed now, Thapa expressed his confidence that the Maoists will
return to the table of negotiations especially due to (pressures from) Related
News
A group of Maoist rebels have beaten an elderly villager to death in west According to reports, Maoists abducted 61-year-old Lal Bahadur Roka and his 15-year-old son in the western district of Baglung Saturday and killed Lal Bahadur at Hill VDC Sunday evening. They repeatedly hit his head by firewood until he died. The Maoists tortured Roka in front of hundreds of villagers and his son. “They also threatened me that my fate would be similar if I did not join them and study ‘people’s education,” Indrajit Roka Magar later told Kantipur daily. The Roka family was living at the district headquarters of Baglung as a refugee for the last two years due to Maoist threats. The father and son duo had gone to see the Maoists at Ghodabaghe in the district after they were invited by the Maoists for discussions hoping that they could get their land and property back. But the rebels abducted them and killed Lal Bahadur who was supporting his family by working as a mason. nepalnews.com by Aug 19 Related
News Transport affected due to blockade, officials claim `there will be no shortage’ Movement of goods and people in and out of Kathmandu has been affected due to the indefinite blockade imposed by the rebel CPN (Maoist). The number of vehicles leaving the capital Wednesday went down to nearly one-fifth of normal traffic. According to Thankot security check post, over 1,100 vehicles used to leave the capital every day on an average. Only 12 passenger buses entered the valley from Thankot post with security escort. There was, however, significant movement of public and private vehicles along Sanga and Dhunche posts linking Kathmandu to nearby districts. But no vehicles plied on the Pasang Lhamu highway that links Kathmandu to the western part of the country. Number of vehicles moving along the Banepa-Koteswor route was also low. Meanwhile, officials have said they have taken necessary steps to avoid shortage of essential goods in the valley. Speaking over the state-run Radio Nepal, Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies Dinesh Chandra Pyakuryal, said the government had enough stock to of essential good to last for one month. Similarly, Home Secretary, Ananta Raj Pandey, assured that the government had made adequate security arrangements for the public, businesses and industries. District units of Maoist and its affiliated organisations have called the indefinite blockade. nepalnews.com by Aug 19 04 Related
News People will benefit due to blockade: Jamarkattel A leader of the pro-Maoist trade union has said that the on-going movement launched by his party would ultimately benefit the Nepali people. Talking to BBC Nepali Service Wednesday from an undisclosed location, president of All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF), Shalikram Jamarkattel, said the blockade was announced in order to resolve people’s day to day problems. He claimed that there was widespread support to this movement. He alleged the trade unions close to parliamentary parties of protesting against the movement and that factory owners were forcing their workers to speak out against the Maoist trade union body. When asked how long the blockade would last, Jamarkattel said, “It was up to the government. We will withdraw it as soon as they fulfill our demands. Otherwise, it will continue.” The Maoist demands include probe into the killing of their two cadres, Bharat Dhungana and Baikuntha Pokhrel, and bring the guilty to book. They have also demanded that the government make public whereabouts of their comrades who have allegedly disappeared after security forces took them into custody. nepalnews.com by Aug 19 04 Related
News Nepali press strongly defends its freedom In response to increasing Maoist threat upon free press in the country, Nepali media professionals and publications have exhibited unprecedented unity to protest against what they call encroachment upon their constitutional rights. As per the call of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), most of the major broadsheets and weekly newspapers published editorials Thursday denouncing the killing of Dekendra Raj Thapa, a reporter with the state-run Radio Nepal in Dailekh, last week. In its front-page special editorial, a leading daily Kantipur wrote, “The campaign of the Maoists to ‘execute’ district-based correspondents in a planned way is aimed at bringing the media into its control. They have attempted to prove themselves as a terrorist bunch by killing yet another journalist and declaring to ‘execute’ ten more media personnel.” Similarly, Rajdhani daily, in its editorial entitled “The killing of journalist: an unforgivable crime,” wrote: “In fact it is the Nepali press that helped the Maoists to reach to the height of publicity that it finds itself today. While Indian press generally ignores the activities of their rebel groups, Nepali press is giving free publicity to their activities. Ironically, most of the journalists (here) are forced to live under the shadow of terror.” In its front-page special editorial, The Kathmandu Post daily declared, “The media will not surrender.” Having crippled security, local politics, administration and the judiciary, the Maoists have now taken recourse to intimidating the Fourth state, the daily wrote. In its editorial entitled “Murderous mindset,” The Himalayan Times daily wrote, “Threats, torture, or killings by either the State or the rebels will not be able to stop the flow of news, though temporary disruptions might occur sometimes.” nepalnews.com by Aug 19 04 Related
News `Prolonged blockade would hit the capital hard' If the Maoist blockade is continued for more than 15 days, it could hit the Kathmandu valley hard as most of the consumers goods have to be imported into the capital from outside, a news report said.
In its cover story entitled "How Close are the Maoists," the latest issue of Himal Khabarpatrika reported that 100,000 litres of petrol, 150,000 litres of diesel, 300,000 litres of kerosene and 120,000 litres of aviation fuel is consumed within the capital valley every day. According to the state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation sources, its stock of petroleum products would last between 15 to 25 days only. Similarly, nearly two million residents of Kathmandu valley would need 10,000 tones of rice for the next 15 days. The state-owned Nepal Food Corporation has a stock of 5,000 tones of rice only while the private sector is believed to have the stock more than that of the government. The government also relies heavily on the private sector for the supply of 3,700 tones of sugar and 2,000 tones of edible oil, which is consumed within the capital valley every month. Deputy general manager of the Salt Trading Corporation, Manoj Acharya, told the magazine, "If the private sector did not exhibit its honesty, there could be shortage of everything in the market except salt." Spokesman of the Royal Nepalese Army, Rajendra Thapa, however, said, "We will not allow any type of shortage to occur in Kathmandu. We are prepared to provide security, whatever is needed, to foil the blockade." The Maoists are trying to take psychological advantage but the blockade would not succeed, he added. nepalnews.com by Aug 18 04 Related
News Journalists take out rally, RWB condemns killing of reporter Thapa Nearly two hundred journalists took out a rally in the Nepali capital Wednesday afternoon in protest of killing of Dekendra Raj Thapa, a journalist based in Dailekh, some 500 km west of Kathmandu by Maoist rebels.
The rally, also participated in by human rights activists and lawyers, carried placard denouncing Thapa's murder. "Long live the pen of a journalist, Down with the weapon of the murderer," said one of the placards. President of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), Taranath Dahal, told Nepalnews that it was the first formal protest organised by any professional organisation in the country against the atrocities of the Maoists. In an open letter addressed to Prachanda, chairman of the CPN (Maoist), the FNJ has asked the underground party to make its views clear towards press freedom and fundamental rights of people. FNJ has also asked the Maoist leadership to beg public apology, provide compensation to the family of victim and make public commitment that such incidences will not recur in the future. Meanwhile, in a statement issued Wednesday, a Paris-based press freedom watchdog, Reporters Without Borders said it was shocked and "revolted by this barbaric murder." The Maoist leader, Prachanda, had been put on the Reporters Without Borders worldwide list of 37 predators of press freedom, the organisation said. Maoists admitted this week that they had 'executed' Thapa on August 11 after detaining him for nearly six weeks. They had charged him on ten different counts. Thapa is the second journalist to be killed in the country this year. Padma Raj Devkota, editor of the fortnightly Bhurichula, was killed by army troops in the western district of Jumla in February. nepalnews.com by Aug 18 Related
News NFEEA to probe situations of stranded Nepalis in Mumbai A ten-member team headed by President of the Nepal Foreign Employment Entrepreneurs’ Association (NFEEA), Nirmal Gurung, has left for Mumbai Wednesday evening to find out the situation of the stranded Nepalis traveling to war-torn Iraq in search of employment. Thousand of Nepalis have been reportedly stranded in Mumbai due to an Indian travel ban. However, the government has denied the report. Meanwhile, according to the news posted in the BBC website, Bombay police seem unaware of the problem. ''We are aware that there are Nepalis in the city but we are not aware of Nepalese trying to go to the Middle East or Iraq," BBC quoted Police Commissioner AN Roy as saying. "We have received no complaints of them being stranded in the city. Nor have any complaints been made that Nepali people have been cheated,'' it added. Over 200,000 Nepalis, with over 15,000 in Iraq, are employed in the Middle East, taking advantage of the high demand for blue-collar workers, it is learnt. nepalnews.com pd Aug 18 04 Biodiversity conservation and eco-tourism training held A two-week long training on biodiversity conservation and eco-tourism development was held on August 13 for the first time in Nepal. According to the press release issued by the Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Program (TRPAP) Wednesday, eighteen participants, including 13 from various protected areas and 5 from Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management (NATHM) were trained on biodiversity conservation, eco-tourism, environment awareness, gender mainstreaming and herbal farming among others. Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Program is an important pilot program of the government, implemented by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, jointly funded by UNDP, DFID and SNV. It works to develop sustainable tourism in six districts of Nepal, the release added. Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation organized the training. The TRPAP, Program Management Office at the training wing of Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation and Multi Disciplinary Consultants had facilitated the training, it is stated. nepalnews.com pd Aug 18 04 Govt. escorting the convoys: Home Ministry spokesman Pandey
In the wake of the `blockade' imposed by the
rebel CPN (Maoist), the Spokesman at the Home Ministry, Gopendra Bahadur Pandey, told Nepalnews that the government had increased the mobility of security forces along the major highways and was making arrangement for other security forces.
"We are ready to add more security if the need
be," he added. Pandey said that there were no reports of any violence
on the first day Some vehicles have started moving in and out of Thankot, the major entry point to Kathmandu, during the day along with the security escort provided by the government, reports said. Most of the private transport operators, however, opted off the roads taking precautions. Some vehicles entered Kathmandu from the east of capital, Kavre, in the morning carrying vegetables and milk.
Two district units of Maoists and its
affiliated organisations had jointly They have demanded a probe into the killing of their senior activists, Bharat Dhungana and Baikuntha Pokhrel and that the guilty be punished. nepalnews.com by Aug 18 04 Related
News |
2004 © Mercantile Communications Pvt. Ltd.
P.O. Box 876, Durbar Marg, Kathmandu, NEPAL. Tel : 977 1 220 773, 243 566.
Fax: 977 1 425 6761. 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
|
