CROWN PRINCE PARAS ATTENDED the Rhino Presentation Ceremony at Vienna Zoo in Austria on March 22. Addressing the ceremony, Crown Prince said that the two beautiful rhinos have found a comfortable, safe and friendly home away from home in Vienna . “This also reinforces Nepal 's commitment to conservation of rare species, including through the propagation of viable gene pools outside Nepal ,” he said. “We take this opportunity to bring to your attention the fact that the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC), which I have the privilege to chair, is committed to realizing the goal of conserving biodiversity through people’s participation, coupled with building a bridge between economics and ecology. Embarking on a mission of delivering 'conservation with a human face', KMTNC hopes to benefit from its association with the Schoenbrunn Zoo and other like-minded institutions in Austria .” Crown Prince Paras also spoke about the bilateral relations between Nepal and Austria . “ Nepal and Austria share many commonalities. We are both largely mountainous countries and we are both landlocked. Our peoples have learnt ways to survive in harsh conditions through centuries of practical indigenous knowledge. Our landscapes provide major attractions for mountaineering and tourism. Rich in water resources, our mighty rivers are the lifelines for the millions living downstream. Nepal also shares with Austria common concerns in safeguarding the fragile, vulnerable ecosystem of the mountain environment, promoting sustainable development of the rugged terrain and easing the living conditions of mountain communities.” He added, “Just as the Republic of Austria is strategically located at the crossroads of Central Europe , the Kingdom of Nepal , too, is situated at the crossroads of Central and South Asia . Both of us have maintained warm and friendly relations with all countries in the world. We are pleased to mention here that our august father has recently proposed that the Kingdom of Nepal be utilized as a transit point between India and China , the two emerging economies of the world. We believe that this will play a catalytic role in bringing our two neighbors even closer, thereby promoting regional peace and prosperity.” The Crown Prince said, “But the contrast lies in the fact that if Austria belongs to the developed world, Nepal is still a developing nation. Far too many of our people live in poverty; far too many suffer from inadequate health care, education opportunities and access to basic public services. This has had adverse socio-economic ramifications. Sadly, this sorry state has resulted in Nepal being plagued by insurgency, over the past few years, resulting in the loss of thousands of precious human lives and the destruction of infrastructure erected with huge investments. As a result, our development efforts in all spheres, including conservation, have been badly disrupted. Efforts towards finding a peaceful solution through dialogue are afoot. The people of the Kingdom of Nepal harbor a deep sense of amity and friendship towards Austria and her people and we are appreciative of the cooperation we have received from Austria over the years. With Austria hosting the Presidency of the European Union, we are confident that it will further deepen cooperation and understanding between the European Union and Nepal .”
AS THE AGITATION ANNOUNCED by the seven parties approaches, the government has strengthened the security arrangement within capital valley. In a press statement issued on Saturday, the Home Ministry has informed that security patrolling and checks have been intensified along with search operations. The additional measures are in view of possibility of infiltration by Maoists into the valley. The Ministry has appealed to the public to bear with the inconvenience. The Ministry also urged people to bear with the inconvenience caused. In case of any suspicious or untoward activity, the Ministry has requested people to ring 4211208 of the Ministry’s control room, 4412780 of the Police Headquarters, 105 of the Valley Divisional Headquarters of the RNA or 100 of the Valley Police Control Room in Kathmandu . In cases outside the valley, people should contact the nearest security body, the Ministry said.
WRAPPING UP THEIR FIVE-DAY visit to Nepal , the delegation of six British parliamentarians led by Sir John Stanley returned home on Friday. Talking to reporters prior to their departure, the team emphasized the need for dialogue between the King and the parties to restore democracy, human rights and security. Expressing disappointment at not being able to meet with the King, the British MPs said they found the human rights and security situation deteriorating in the country. The team will present its findings to the British government.
ADDRESSING A PRESS MEET on Saturday (March 25), the international media mission, which was here to assess the situation of press freedom in the country, has expressed grave concern over the worsening situation. In a statement released after their 8-day-long study and interactions, the mission said, “We are gravely concerned with the continued systematic attacks, threats of disappearance, intimidation, harassment, sexual abuse in custody, and arbitrary detention of media practitioners by the security forces, specially in the districts, and demand that all such incidents cease immediately.” Reading out from the statement, Jesper Hojberg, the director of International Media Support, said the anti-terrorism legislation must not be used to curb freedom of expression and to detain media practitioners arbitrarily. It urged the government to abolish one-door advertisement policy and stop exerting pressure on commercial entities to refrain from advertising in independent publications. The 17-member mission consisted of 12 international media organizations. The organizations participating in the international mission include Article 19, Free Voice, International Federation of Journalists, South Asia Press Commission, International Media Support, Rory Peck Trust, IFEX and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), among others. The latest visit is the continuation of the international advocacy mission that visited Nepal in July last year.
VOICING DEEP CONCERNS over the spiraling human rights violations in Nepal , Amnesty International said it wants to keep all the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) personnel guilty of violating human rights out of peacekeeping missions and called for a screening mechanism to purge such personnel. AI has urged the UN to ‘screen out’ such RNA personnel from UN peacekeeping missions. “UN should week RNA human rights violators from peacekeeping missions. It is not good that they be part of such mission,” said Purna Sen, Asia-Pacific program director of AI. A four member AI delegation led by Sen monitored the country’s human rights situation from March 20-23.
THE INDIAN OIL CORPORATION (IOC) is going to refund the custom duty dues amount to Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) within March. Although there is an agreement between IOC and NOC whereby the former has to refund the custom duty imposed on petroleum products it sells to NOC, the refund has not been made for the last three years. The outstanding dues have, thus, reached to Rs 1.12 billion. When NOC buys petroleum products from IOC, the price it has to pay includes the custom duty imposed on Indian market. And when the product reaches Nepal , the Nepalese consumers are made to pay custom again. Since March marks the end of fiscal year in India , the IOC has indicated that it would clear all the dues. The government of India , in fact, refunds IOC the total amount of custom duty on the petroleum products supplied to Nepal , which, in turn, will be provided to NOC. At present, NOC has dues amounting to billions of rupees to IOC. This refund will provide it with a big relief.
WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF MAKING the government procurement, service and contract well-managed, transparent and corruption-free, the government is preparing to introduce Public Purchases (Government Procurement) act soon. The cabinet is reported to have approved the draft of the act recently. The draft had been prepared with the help of the Office of Accounting General and a US organization called International Law Institute. Till now, the government offices have been conducting their purchases based on Financial Regulations. Donor organizations had been pressing the government for such act stating that the existing financial regulations were not adequate and effective to deal with the whole gamut of government procurement, tenders and similar activities. Likewise, the new act is being introduced also in reflection to the government’s commitment in the International Convention against Corruption.
