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VOL. 27, NO. 28, March 21, 2008 (Chaitra 08 2064 B.S.)
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THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION will deploy a 110-member election observer team for the constituent assembly elections in Nepal scheduled for April 10, EuAsiaNews reported Saturday (Mar 15). The Election Observation Mission (EOM) will be led by Jan Mulder, member of the European Parliament. He will officially launch the EU EOM in Kathmandu March 18, the EU's executive body announced here on Friday. The mission will consist of 40 long-term observers who will be deployed March 22 and over 60 short-term observers, who will be deployed in the main parts of Nepal around election day. In addition, there will also be a core team of 10 EU experts. The mission will stay in Nepal for an overall period of 10 weeks. "The elections for the Constituent Assembly are a cornerstone in the peace process in Nepal. The Constituent Assembly will provide the Nepalese population with a forum to carry forward democratic reform in the society," said EU Commissioner for external relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner. The EU's election mission to Nepal will cost 2.9 million euro (about $4.51 million).
PROTESTING THE 'CRACKDOWN' BY Chinese authorities in Lhasa, a number of Tibetan refugees marched to the UN office complex in Pulchowk on Saturday (Mar 15) to stage a demonstration. However, police intervened and detained one dozen refugees. The refugees subsequently gathered in front of Metropolitan Police Range, Lalitpur. The detained refugees were later released. Tibetan refugee community in Kathmandu have been holding protests against Chinese 'crackdown' in Bouddha area also.
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCHDOGS HAVE expressed deep concern over the recent disruptive activities during the election campaigning of political parties. Issuing separate press statements Friday (Mar 14), National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR-Nepal) called upon the parties to respect the rights of all others participating in the constituent assembly. NHRC said its attention had been drawn by the attack on Dev Shankar Poudel, the CPN-UML candidate in Ramechhap, by Maoist cadres, and the obstruction created by Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) cadres in the election rally of Nepali Congress leader and minister Sujata Koirala in Sunsari-5 this week. NHRC urged all sides to cooperate in conducting the April 10 election in a in a fair and peaceful manner. Similarly, OHCHR-Nepal described the physical attacks on political cadres in Ramechhap, Chitwan and Dhankuta districts as serious impediments to creating an environment conducive to free and fair elections. "OHCHR-Nepal is urging all political actors to respect the political rights of all others participating in the Constituent Assembly election process," the statement said. Head of OHCHR-Nepal, Richard Bennett, said he was in contact with the Maoist leadership, which had assured him that they were investigating the Ramechhap incident. "Other incidents, such as that in Arghakhanchi district on 25 February, still need to be probed. Respect for the unobstructed right to participation will be essential for the success of the CA elections and to the long-term success of the peace process," Bennett said.
AROUND 281 OUT OF 100,000 MOTHERS die untimely during the postnatal stage in Nepal, according to the statistics made public by Federation of Safe Motherhood Network (FSMN) Saturday (Mar 15). Similarly, FSMN also released statistics that point out 3 infant deaths every hour and one maternal death every four hours. The MMR, which has reduced in the past few years, is still the highest in Nepal among the South Asian countries. FSMN President Dr Arju Deuba Rana said that the MMR can be reduced significantly by social awareness. FSMN also indicated that lack of awareness about health facilities and weak access of the general public to the existing health facilities is responsible for the high MMR in the country.
THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SPORTS has decided to close down schools for two weeks during election. In order to provide school premises to be used as polling centers and to free teachers from their daily routine – since they will be deployed for election – the schools will be closed from April 2 to 15. The Ministry has asked the schools to complete their annual tests before the holidays. The Ministry has also advised the schools to adjust the extra two-week holidays with regular annual or winter holidays.
THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF) has warned that prolonging case against the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) governor will have long-term effect on country's overall economy. A senior delegation of IMF, which recently visited Nepal, opined that Nepal's ability to maintain economic achievement amid difficult situation was a good sign. But the delegation said the protracted case against governor would have negative effect. The delegation also felt that in absence of the leadership, the NRB was not able to play effective role in monetary policy, financial sector reforms and regulatory jobs. The IMF has advised Nepal to exercise special strategy to tackle inflation. The IMF is helping Nepal in financial sector and poverty reduction. The delegation met with Finance Minister and other senior officials.
