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Student protests continue, parties ask govt. to free all the arrested |
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Dialogue the best remedy: Sri Lankan envoy At a time when security forces have been deployed in the country to combat "terrorism", Grace A. Ashirbathum, Sri-Lankan Ambassador to Nepal Tuesday said such a situation can only be addressed permanently through political means. “It's true that terrorism can be suppressed by force. But, only dialogue and political options bring a durable and justful solution,” Ashirbathum said adding, “Sri Lanka believes that the Maoist problem is Nepal’s internal problem and Nepal is fully able to resolve it.” “Nepal can learn from our success and experiences in dealing with such conflicts, though, the nature of conflicts differ,” she said. Stressing on the need to find causes behind conflicts in the region, Ashirbathum said,” We must identify the root causes of the problem and find measures to address them through using various approaches.” Nilaramba Acharya, former Ambassador of Nepal to Sri Lanka said Nepal should learn from the ongoing peace process in Sri Lanka. “There is no alternative to combat terrorism in Nepal other than resuming dialogue,” he said. Acharya, however, said the country must head for talks only after the restoration of democracy, which according to Acharya, “is in coma” after the King’s October 4 move. He also stressed the need to address the root cause of violence in the country. Indrajeet Rai, a conflict expert, said the defense policy adopted by the government is wrong. “Gunning down the Maoist rebels is not the permanent solution to the crisis,” he said. Rai, commenting on the Maoists’ demand for a constituent assembly, queried, “What is the harm to go for a constituent assembly election?” They were speaking at an interaction program on terrorism faced by Nepal and Sri Lanka organized by Yuba Patrakar Samuha in the capital on Tuesday. (Earlier the Sri-Lankan Ambassadors' remarks were misquoted, we apologize for the error). nepalnews.com pd Feb. 03 04 Student protests continue, parties ask govt. to free all the arrested
Confrontations between agitating students and police continued Tuesday as well with students taking out rallies at different places in protest of police action during their ‘peaceful’ demonstrations. Students of Amrit Science College and Saraswoti Campus staged torch processions in front of college premises. The situation the area was tense till 5 late afternoon. Secretary at the central office, Nepal Students’ Organization (NSU) Ram Prasad Adhikari informed Nepalnews that police had barged into Ratna Rajya Campus at Exhibition Road this morning, beating scores of students. In a separate incident, irate students set a van of Nepal Electricity Authority on fire. Likewise, students of Pashupati Multiple Campus halted curricular activities in the morning demanding early release of Kundan Kafle, chairman, Free Student Union. According to information made available by the NSU central office, student organizations have organized publics hearings on “relevance of monarchy” in a number of schools and colleges across the country. Meanwhile, a meeting of the task force of the five-party alliance was held Tuesday morning. In a statement issued after the meeting, the parties have urged the government to immediately release the arrested students, warning of massive protests in the days ahead. The five-party also dubbed Monday's bandh (closure) a success. nepalnews.com mbk Feb 03 04 Related
News Experts discuss ‘roadmaps’ of King, UML Press Chautary Nepal Tuesday organized an interaction program to Speaking on the occasion, Central Committee member of CPN-UML, Shanker Pokhrel said his party is still firm on the agenda outlined by the agitating parties. “The nine-point roadmap presented by the party is not contrary to the “The 18-point agenda of the five parties focuses on bringing the Stressing the need of a new constitution, Pokhrel argued that the President of Nepal Bar Association, Advocate Shambhu Thapa said there is no alternative to the multiparty democratic system. “It’s high time the King and the political parties should reach a consensus,” he said. President of Shanti Samaz, Nepal, Krishna Pahadi raised objection over the general belief that 'the King is an icon of unity.' “The King has tried to place himself above the people and the country. It is not good,” he said. Besides the three speakers, there was no representation of other Related
News Tourist Arrivals by air up 40% in January 2004 Figures released Tuesday by the Immigration Office, Department of Immigration, Tribhuvan International Airport, showed a growth of 40% in international visitors arriving to Nepal by air in January 2004. The total reached 22,552 visitors, a net addition of 6,499 in comparison to January 2003. The Indian market grew by 19% and non-Indian by 51%. The growth continued in arrivals from major markets like Japan, USA, UK and quite significantly from China. The Chinese market, which had been showing signs of progress throughout last year, showed a record growth of 147% for January 04. The chief reason attributed to the rise in Chinese arrivals was due to Chinese New Year in January and the marketing campaign done by Nepal Tourism Board along with RNAC and private sector last year. A significant growth was also observed from Taiwan with an 83% increase. Japanese arrivals also grew by 23% whereas USA and UK showed growth of 8% and 27% respectively. The other markets showing gains were Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Bangladesh as well as the European markets like France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and Norway. The arrivals from major markets are as follows: India up 19% to 6,612 visitors, China up 147% to 1,102 visitors, Japan up 23% to 1,578 visitors, US up 8% to 1,478 visitors, UK up 27% to 1,693 visitors, Taiwan up 83% to 1,158 visitors and Germany up 11% to 546 visitors. (press release of NTB) nepalnews.com dr Feb 03 04 Related
News French envoy says 'No' to republic demands Asserting
that France favors a multi-party system and constitutional "We
have been repeatedly saying that we support the existing On
the five parties' ongoing protests, the envoy called upon all The
envoy further raised concerns over the increasing cases of human On Maoist insurgency, he said the government should now enter a new ceasefire agreement with the Maoists. "We also conveyed this message unto to the PM on Monday," he said, adding that both the warring sides should return to the negotiating table again. He, at the same time, revealed that he and the whole EU delegation could not receive any "categorical commitment" from PM Surya Bahadur Thapa on the ceasefire issue. "The PM told us that the government is always open for talks (with the Maoists)," the envoy said. "On elections, the PM has said that he will declare polls as soon as the security situation in the country improves," he said. The French envoy was speaking at a face-to-face program organized by Reporters' Club, Nepal in the capital on Tuesday. nepalnews.com mr Feb 03 04 Related
News Blast in arms facility kills five Maoists At least five Maoist militants were killed
in a blast that occurred in a small-scale arms facility run by the ultras
in Naumule area of Dailekh district three days ago, reports Tuesday said. The Maoists had turned a residential block of a local family of Guranse in Naumule area where homemade guns, revolvers and ammunitions were being manufactured. Five Maoists including three women died on the spot, reports said. Although the house was completely destroyed, none of the family members were injured. nepalnews.com mbk Feb 03 04 Related
News Mid-Marsyangdi construction to resume soon The construction of the 70-megawatt Middle Marsyangdi Hydropower Project is set to resume soon following an agreement between the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and DDC-JV, the construction contractor of the project, published reports Tuesday said. The project remains stalled for the past few months following dispute between the contractors and the NEA regarding security matters. Both the sides, reports said, have agreed to upgrade security arrangements in and around the construction site. A report published in Nepal Samacharpatra citing NEA sources mentioned that the Royal Nepali Army would be mobilized for the security of the power plant. DDC-JV had broken the agreement with NEA on grounds of poor security conditions. “There won’t be disputes anymore. Construction will begin shortly,” report quoted top officials at the NEA head office as saying. The NEA and the construction company reached an agreement two weeks ago to resume the construction. It is learnt that work will resume as soon as the recruitment process of the laborers is complete. The construction deadline, as per the latest agreement, has been extended to 15 December 2006, two years late than the stipulated time. The cost of the project has almost doubled – Rs.13 billion to Rs.27.65 billion. Project officials have claimed the hike in construction costs has much to do with massive appreciation of Euro to the rupee in the last three years. Construction of Middle Marsyangdi hydel had begun in 25 July 2001. nepalnews.com mbk Feb 03 04 Related
News In a bid to continue its program to fill local authority posts in District Development Committee's (DDC), the government Monday nominated various people in the DDCs of Lalitpur, Kapilvasru and Surkhet districts, Nepal Samacharpatra said Tuesday. According to the report, Salahuddin Musalman has been appointed as the chairman of Kaplibastu DDC. Similarly, Shyam Timilsina and Basant Thapa have been appointed as vice-chairman of Lalitpur and Surkhet DDCs respectively. nepalnews.com pd Feb 03 04 Related
News Nepal, India to work jointly to combat terrorism The Nepal-India Home Secretary level meeting ended in Kathmandu Monday with both countries keen to support each other in combating existing terrorism, published reports said Tuesday. “An agreement has been reached between us to step up vigil along the borders,” Ananta Raj Pandey, secretary of the Home Ministry who lead the Nepali team told reporters after the meeting. He added that the both sides have expressed commitment join hands in curbing untoward activities targeted against either country. Pandey claimed that the both sides expressed satisfaction with the progress made in the implementation process of the agreements signed earlier, stressing on further effectiveness. Talking to the media, secretary of Internal Affairs of India N. Gopal Swami maintained that there could be substantial headway in curbing terrorist activities if information is shared on time between the security officials of both the countries. India also informed it has already repatriated 57 Nepali Maoists to the Nepali government. The meeting also decided to record movement of people across the border. India also committed to train Nepali police personnel in intelligence gathering to combat border terrorism. The meeting however could not reach any agreement regarding amendments in the extradition treaty. A proposal prepared by a team of experts will be discussed at the earliest, it is learnt. The next secretary-level meeting will be in New Delhi, India. The meeting ended with an idea of institutionalizing a mechanism of meeting of district and state heads of the bordering areas to combat border terrorism and effective management of the border by setting up integrated check posts. Meanwhile, Indian home secretary N Gopal Swami met Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa Tuesday afternoon. According to Nepal Television, issues of bilateral interests were discussed during the meeting. Indian ambassador Shyam Saran was also present at the meeting. nepalnews.com mk/pd Feb 03 04 Related
News The cabinet meeting on Monday appointed ad-hoc Presidents and General Manager in three different Public Corporations, various reports said. In Janakpur Cigarette Factory and Nepal Oil Corporation, former |
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