TENS OF THOUSANDS OF HINDU DEVOTEES thronged at Pashupatinath temple on February 16 to worship Lord Shiva on the occasion of Mahashivaratri – one of the biggest Hindu festivals. Thousands of devotees including Sadhus travel from India on this occasion. This year, the authorities said there will not be special passes for the VIPs. King and Queen normally visit the temple every year and are accorded special treatment. Meanwhile, Nepali Army (NA) celebrating the Army Day on the same day. This year, army chief was the chief guest at the celebrations organized at Sainik Manch in Tundikhel. In the past, the King used to grace such occasion in his capacity as the supreme commander of the armed forces. However, the parliament has already stripped the King of that position. In his message on the occasion of Army Day, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala said the NA should bring about reforms and improvements in keeping with the democratic system. He said the army would make an important contribution in respecting the aspirations of the people and protecting democratic values. In his message, the army chief General Rukmangad Katawal said that a structural reform is necessary to make the NA inclusive.
AFTER A PERIOD OF OVER SIX DECADES, the capital valley witnessed the first snowfall when on the Valentine’s Day, the Kathmanduites were treated to a rare phenomenon. The snow was part of a westerly disturbance that had earlier dumped about 20 mm of rain all over Nepal . The mercury dipped due to biting cold. In surrounding hills, snowfall was heavy. People rushed to Nagarkot and Phulchowki to enjoy the snowfall. According to senior Divisional Meteorologist of the Meteorological Forecasting Division, Krishna Bahadur Manandhar, the temperature of Kathmandu Valley dipped to 3 degree Celsius. Meanwhile, normal life across the country was badly affected due to incessant rain and snow fall. Some of the western and eastern hilly districts and mountainous regions witnessed heavy snowfall following continuous rain. Two to three feet thick snow has been recorded in several parts of the country. The district headquarters of western Baglung, Myagdi and Parbat districts saw snowfall for the first time. Schools in remote parts of these hilly districts remain closed due to rain and snowfall. Some places around Kathmandu Valley like Phulchoki, Godavari and Nagarkot have been covered with snow, inviting hundreds of merrymakers and Valentine’s Day celebrators from Kathmandu . In Dolakha, all the schools remain closed for a week following snowfall in the area.
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (ICRC) has sought to clarify the status of 800 missing persons. The list of names of more than 800 persons reported missing by their families was published on February 15 in Nepal by the ICRC in an attempt to obtain information on their fate. "ICRC has the names of more than 800 people who remain unaccounted for in the wake of the armed conflict. The families of these missing persons suffer intolerably from not knowing what has happened to their loved ones and they have the right to know", stated Mary Werntz, Head of the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Nepal . Under international humanitarian law, all parties to the conflict must take all feasible measures to account for persons reported missing as a result of the armed conflict and must provide their families with any information they have on their fate. "I appeal to all families anxiously waiting for news of their missing relatives and to anyone else who may know about the fate of a person who remains unaccounted for to check our list. If your missing relative is not on the list, or if you have any information about the fate of anyone on the list, please contact the nearest Red Cross office and make sure it is informed" said Werntz. “Since it began work in Nepal in 1998, the ICRC has regularly submitted all requests concerning missing persons to the parties to the armed conflict and demanded that families be told about the fate of these persons. The ICRC and the Nepalese Red Cross are firmly committed to pursuing their efforts on behalf of the families and to seeking to alleviate their suffering,” states a press release issued by ICRC on Wednesday. The list will be published in the newspaper Gorkapatra on 15 February 2007 and will be available in electronic form at www.icrc.org and www.nrcs.org.
THE FEDERATION OF NEPALESE JOURNALISTS (FNJ) has released a report its team prepared after observing the situation of media freedom in Terai region during recent unrest. Publishing the report, FNJ president Bishnu Nishthuri informed that there have been 124 different incidents of atrocities against press and journalists during the unrest. The report says that19 journalists were attacked; 5 media houses and 23 journalists discouraged; 19 journalists displaced; 53 papers suspended publication for a short time; and 12 vehicles belonging to press vandalized during the unrest. The FNJ has demanded independent probe of all these atrocities through a commission. It has also demanded proper compensation. The FNJ has expressed concerns that journalists actively promoting democracy during People’s Movement were targeted this time.
THE UNITED STATES, THROUGH USAID’S Office of Food for Peace, has provided $1.8 million dollars to the UN World Food Program (WFP) in Nepal to feed more than 108,000 Bhutanese refugees living in camps in Eastern Nepal . The in-kind donation of 2,640 metric tons of commodities such as rice, lentils, chickpeas, and vegetable oil will provide up to two months of rations for the refugees. “We are glad to help the World Food Program help the Bhutanese refugees in their hour of need,” said Ambassador James Moriarty. “This assistance reflects the generosity of the American people and their commitment to help others around the world.” “This donation could not have come at a more critical time. This year, WFP is in a situation where each month, we don’t know if we will have the funds to ensure adequate food supplies to the refugee community. We appreciate how quickly and generously the United States responded to our call for support to provide food aid to the refugees,” stated Richard Ragan, WFP Country Representative in Nepal . Under their current status, refugees are restricted from engaging in economic activities outside the camps and from owning land – making humanitarian assistance, like the food aid through the support of the donor community, critical to fulfilling their basic needs.
