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PM Koirala meets visiting former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wiekremesinghe |
WHILE PRIME MINISTER GIRIJA PRASAD KOIRALA reiterated his call for talks, the activists of the Madhesi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF) have laid down preconditions. PM Koirala talking to reporters at a tea-reception he hosted in honor of MPs of interim parliament, said, “This is a small country and belongs to all of us. Each one of us should care about the country and try to settle grievances through peaceful means.” Maoist chairman Prachanda, on the other hand, told reporters that while he is in favor of fulfilling genuine demands of Madhesi people, he was unhappy over the undue importance given to organizations like MPRF. Prachanda said talks should only be held with political organizations. He said demands for federal republic and proportional representation system are genuine and must be fulfilled. “We are also engaged in consultations to fulfill those genuine demands,” he said. He accused MPRF to be guided by extremist Hindu elements of India . Meanwhile, MPRF has vowed to continue its agitation for indefinite period in Terai region until and unless the interim constitution is changed to address their demands. The forum has warned, they will continue with programs like chakkajam (traffic blockade), blockade of district headquarters, demonstrations, sit-ins, and so on.
THE NEPAL ELECTRICITY AUTHORITY (NEA) has informed that the current hours of load shedding will be steadily increase in coming months. Beginning mid-February, the NEA will impose six hours a day of load shedding (up from current three hours a day). Likewise, from mid-March, the load shedding hours will increase to eight hours a day. It might come down to six hours a day from mid-April. “Generation of electricity has come down by almost 70 percent due to lack of water discharge in rivers,” said NEA managing director Arjun Kumar Karki.
CHITRA LEKHA YADAV HAS BEEN elected, unanimously, as the deputy Speaker of the interim parliament. Yadav, the leader of Nepali Congress – Democratic, was the deputy Speaker in the earlier House of Representatives also. Her name was proposed for the post by Maoist MP Matrika Yadav and seconded by leaders of Nepali Congress, UML and NC-Democratic. After her election, she was administered the oath of office by Speaker Subas Nemwang.
WRAPPING UP HER SIX-DAY VISIT TO NEPAL, Louise Arbour, the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that she had focused on two major issues in Nepal . “First is the need to end impunity. The people of Nepal have suffered killings, torture, disappearances and other gross violations on a massive scale. At the same time, as conflict has receded, issues related to discrimination are emerging as major factors to be addressed. Resolving both are crucial to building sustainable peace,” she stated at press conference held on Wednesday. She said that while in the phase of transitions to peace, it is common to hear warnings that looking into past abuses will jeopardize the fragile political process, - “this is false. Durable peace is built on the foundations of justice, and the guarantees for the protection of human rights that this brings.” She said that ending impunity is an essential step to preventing future human rights violations, and building a society which recognizes that violence is not acceptable and that no-one is above the law. “The case of Maina Sunuwar has come to symbolize the struggle for victims of human rights violations and their relatives to achieve justice. I am encouraged that both the Home Minister and the Chief of Army Staff have assured me of their commitments to see justice done in this case. I was informed that orders will be given to launch a thorough police investigation, with the full cooperation of the Nepalese Army, to clarify the circumstances of her death so that those responsible can be held accountable. I will be following developments very closely, through my office in Nepal . I expect to see immediate positive progress in this case,” she said. Arbour, who met with Prime Minister, ministers, government officials, army chief, leaders of political parties including the Maoists, victims of the Maoist insurgency and other marginalized communities said that all the marginalized people should feel that they have some role in the political process of the country to establish sustainable peace in the country. “It is essential that all peoples who have been traditionally marginalized in Nepal have an opportunity to participate in the historical political process now underway and that their voices are part of the Constituent Assembly process,” she said, adding, “I obviously include here Dalits and indigenous people, but there are also those within each community who suffer double discrimination, be it women, the disabled, sexual minorities and others.” She also urged Maoists to allow the re-establishment of police posts.
THE UNITED NATIONS (UN) Security Council on Thursday (Jan 25) adopted a resolution tabled by Secretary General authorizing establishment of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN). The resolution decided to dispatch a UN mission that will monitor implementation of the peace agreement and disarmament of parties in Nepal . The UN political mission in Nepal , under the leadership of UN Secretary General's personal representative, Ian Martin, will have a 12-month mandate to monitor "the management of arms and armed personnel of both sides, in line with the provision of the comprehensive peace agreement." the Security Council said in adopting a resolution.
DESPITE THE END OF CONFLICT and comprehensive political agreement, the investors have not started to have faith in Nepal yet. In the first six months of the current fiscal year, the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) approved by the government has declined by 80 percent compared to the same period previous year. The Department for Industry has informed that this year the total FDI commitment worth Rs 250 million has come compared to Rs 1.25 billion during the same period previous year. During this period, various companies like Bottlers Nepal Limited, Himalayan Snacks and Dabur Nepal had to shut down their operations for some time due to pressure from Maoist-supported workers. Of the FDI commitments of Rs 250 million, around Rs 128.9 million is for the service sector. In terms of commitment volume, China leads the lack with Rs 94.6 million followed by South Korea (Rs 48.8 million), Japan (Rs 36.7 million) and India (Rs 21.3 million).
