All bilateral issues to be reviewed within certain framework and time, says PM


By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug 6 - Back from a week-long visit to India, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala today said that Nepal and India have agreed to review all issues concerning the two countries within a "certain framework and time."
"All the issues concerning Nepal and India will come within the framework and ways to resolve them will be attained within a certain time," said Koirala while talking to the media at Tribhuvan International Airport on his return. "I said that there is a need to review the 50 years of friendly relations between the two countries in order to give new dimension to the relationship," Koirala told.
Koirala said that border issues concentrating on the Indian Army's control at Kalapani and Maoist insurgency were discussed in the talks and that they will be covered by the "framework for discussion" which will try to resolve the problems. India has refused to concede to Nepal's demand that Indian Army be withdrawn from Kalapani, but at the same time has assured that "it would not occupy even an inch of Nepal's territory."
Both sides have agreed to leave the issue of border disputes to the Joint Technical Boundary Committee that has been assigned to complete field work latest by 2002.
Though Koirala refused to elaborate on the specific issues he held talks with the Indian Prime Minister and their understandings and agreements over them, Koirala said he was "satisfied" with the overall outcome of the "agendaless" visit.
I must narrate the details of my visit and its outcomes to the Parliament," Koirala said today. "I cannot tell you (media) everything before I make the Parliament clear."
Koirala said that security concerns raised by both the countries were discussed. "I have raised the issue of Bhutanese refugees as a security concern to both the countries and that India should help in resolving the problem," he said. However, a joint communique released after the end of the talks remained silent on Nepal's suggestion that India intervene to facilitate the return of Bhutanese refugees back to their country. In fact, India continued with its stance that it intended to play no role leaving the matter for the two sides to settle.
Regarding the inundation and other impacts of India-built Laxmanpur Barrage on numerous VDCs in Banke district, Koirala said that an agreement has been reached to let a technical team consisting of experts from both countries to have a visit to the affected area and reach a decision.
"Separate feasibility studies on Sunkoshi Diversion and Saptakoshi High Dam will be carried out," said Koirala.
Referring to Madhav Kumar Nepal's comment about the visit being "fruitless", Koirala said that Madhav Nepal would not say that once he clarifies everything to the Parliament.
Before going for the visit, Koirala repeatedly stressed that the visit did not have a definite agenda and that he would try to bring the relation that has gone "off-track" to the "right track". "I am going neither to achieve or lose anything. My visit will make an attempt to establish the lost confidence between the two countries," Koirala had said.
Koirala had maintained that he would make an attempt to fill the vaccum as for four years no Prime Minister had made a visit to India. The last Prime Minister to visit India was Sher Bahadur Deuba who made the visit on February 1996.

Rain continues to play havoc nationwide

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug 6 - Incessant rain continued to play havoc with life and property all round the country, according to reports received here today.
Two people were killed by a landslide caused by the week-long rainfall at Murkuchi Bazaar, 27 km west of Gaighat, headquarters of Udaipur district, east of Kathmandu. Hundreds of families have been displaced by the heavy rains. Ten houses were washed away.
Reports from Biratnagar say that rivulets in Morang caused extensive damages. A bridge connecting Rangeli Bazaar and Darvesha was swept away, disrupting transportation to Kanepokhari through these two places.
Similarly, in Chitwan, seven houses were swept at Shivadwar in Ayodhyapuri VDC-4 due to the floods in Ghanghar Khola and Rewa river. Crops were also damaged by the floods.
Meanwhile, three days of continuous rain in Hetauda submerged fertile lands damaged village roads connected to the Tribhuvan Highway. There are also reports of crops, stored in houses, being damaged.
Our correspondent at Rajbiraj reported that five million rupees worth of fowls, food stuff and clothes were damaged due to floods in different rivers in Saptari district.
Similarly, our Bhadrapur reporter said that more than 150 houses were washed away and about 260 were severely affected by flash floods in rivulets - Ratua, Kankai and Biring - of Jhapa.
South-west Jhapa was also severely affected due to the flash floods. While about 110 families were displaced, more than 400 families have been affected by the floods.

Bill to outline parties' activities introduced Govt's sincerity questioned

By Binaj Gurubacharya

KATHMANDU, Aug 6 - After nearly one decade of multi-party democracy, the government has finally brought a Bill to outline the activities of political parties.
    However, questions are already being raised over the sincerity on the part of the government to make the activities of the political parties transparent and within the boundaries set by the law.
    The Bill brought to manage political parties is being presently discussed and amended at the Parliament State Affairs Committee (SAC) whose majority of the members come from the ruling Nepali Congress (NC).
    Among the many snags SAC has hit, one involves the clause that says president or chairman of the party can nominate at least 25 percent of the members to the central committee.
    This according to legal experts is against the provision in the constitution that says all the members in the central body of a political party have to be elected.
    NC's 31-member Central Working Committee has over 85 percent members who are nominated by the party president. Only six including the president is elected to the party's apex body.
    Sources say that NC is willing to drop down to a 50-50 provision where the president would nominate half the members and this has delayed the discussion and agreement on the Bill.
    The main opposition CPN-UML, whose Central Committee gets only 10 percent nominated members, has filed an amendment proposal seeking that it should be mandatory for these parties to elect 90 percent members to the central body.
    The smaller parties like United People's Front, National People's Front and Nepal Workers and Peasants' Party has sought complete removal of this provision that allows nomination of members.
    The Election Commission (EC) in its list of recommendations has suggested that the nominated numbers be limited to 10 percent only to maintain "democratic practice inside the party."
    The question of nominating members in the CWC has always brought controversies in the ruling NC. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala while choosing the members had been accused of choosing only the people close to him or his relatives so he could have control in the decision reached by the party.
    SAC last week managed to scrap a controversial provision in the Bill that proposed annual grant from state coffer equivalent to Rs 1 per vote. At that rate NC would have received Rs. 3.2 million and CPN-UML Rs. 2.7 million annually. Only national parties, which have managed to secure at least three percent of the total national votes, would have qualified for the grant.
    EC and smaller parties had pressured the SAC to drop the provision from the proposal.
    The major thrust of the proposed Bill has been to make the financial activities of the political parties transparent. If the Bill is passed, political parties would have to get their accounts books audited by an auditor assigned by the Auditor General's Office.
    EC too would have the authority to order auditing of the account books if it feels the need.
    In the annual report that these parties would submit to the EC, it would have to give details of the name, occupation and addresses of individuals or organizations that give over Rs. 5,000 in donation to the party.
    The list and amount of donations received needs to be made public by the middle of October.
    The provision is being added to control the misuse of donations received by the political parties. In the past, political parties have been accused of receiving money from business houses and individuals in exchange for "special favours".
    Though there had been much demand and pressure for the government to present the Bill, it was presented only last year.     EC, however, is not satisfied with the present form of the Bill and is urging extended discussions and amendments to correct the flaws before it is tabled to the House of Representatives for adoption.

NC delaying talks with Maoists: DPM

BIRATNAGAR, Aug 6 (PR) - Deputy Prime Minster Ram Chandra Poudel today said the problem within the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) was the delaying of talks with the Maoist insurgents.
"Government is in favour of holding talks with the Maoists," said Deputy Premier Poudel, addressing a press meet. "Problem within the party is, however, delaying the talks," he was speaking at a press meet here today. He, however, didn't elaborate the "problem".
Poudel, himself, is one of the six members of the High Level Consensus Seeking Commission on Maoist problem headed by the former Prime Minister and senior NC leader Sher Bahadur Deuba. The Commission has the mandate to hold talks with the insurgents so as to resolve the insurgency.
The differences within the party over the Maoist issue was flashed out after Deuba publicly alleged the Prime Minster of not helping him to resolve the problem on July 23. His remark came as back fire to the Premier's statement that government was unaware of the talks proposal of the Maoists.
"I had handed over the letter (on talks proposal) by the Maoist General secretary Prachanda to the Prime Minister one months ago," he had claimed then. The intensity of the differences was further exposed when the Minister for Information and Communications JP Prasad Gupta on the same day alleged Deuba's Commission of failing to fulfil its responsibility.

A Nepali lady abused abroad

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug 6 - One more heart rendering tale of an innocent woman maltreated in foreign land unfolded here today.
Chandra Kumari Gurung, 44, a resident of Pokhara submetro returned home about two months ago with bitter and agonising memories after languishing eight years in South Korea, according to a press release issued by Nepal Korea Concern Centre (NKCC) and Nepalese Consulting Committee (NCC).
"I have no intention of going back to Korea. I will stay in Nepal with my parents," said Chandra in Gurung language brimming with tears in front of a small gathering of media persons.
Gurung, who worked in a Korean textile company for about a year and half, was literally on streets when her room mate threw out the middle-aged worker unceremoniously. One bad luck followed another. She became a pauper when she lost her 30 thousand Korean Yens - her only possession, according to the press release.
After going through a series of police hassles, Gurung, who could neither speak or understand Korean language properly at that time, was forcefully "imprisoned" in a mental hospital.
There she was neither allowed to make telephone calls to her friends nor was provided with a translator, states the release.
Finally, the victim was "tagged" mentally ill and transferred to an orphananage. How had the Koreans confirmed that Chandra was mentally sick ? She could not even speak or understand that foreign language," said Jagannath Oli Secretary at NCC, the release adds.
The orphanage then handed her over to a rehabilation centre at Yong Ying Hospital. A doctor at the hospital, Wang De Yon informed the Immigration Department Seoul about her status. The Department, however, refused her permission to return home pointing at the spelling mistake in her passport.
Meanwhile, the members of NKCC and other Korean Social workers filed a case at the police station in Seoul concerning the sudden disappearance of Chandra. Dr Yon finally approached them through a homepage on Nepalese who are presently residing in Korea.
At the initiative of NKCC, NCC and Nature Trail, a Korean association, Gurung was finally released from the hospital early this year after seven years of hospital imprisonment, the release adds.
"The government should be sensitive about the plight of Nepalese labourers who are working abroad," said Oli. "Government should also demanded compensation from Korean government for the victim," he added.

Threat to national interest as aliens swamp labour market


By Sanjeev Ghimire

KATHMANDU, Aug 6 - Fear of serious threat to national interests because of immigrants pouring in from the South is so profound amongst majority of natives of this tiny country that they urgently want to enforce work permit on them. But, is the fear genuine?
The inquiry initiates other query. Why do people migrate? Like any other market, experts maintain, labour market is also guided by the principle of "demand and supply".
Now, why is there so much demand for the aliens (mostly Indians) in the country? Labour market studies on Nepal, done by various national/international institutions clearly unfold the lack of skilled and semi-skilled Nepali labourers in the domestic market. This is considered the prime cause of the foreign labour influx.
"Nepal has one of the toughest pro-labour laws in the world. Employers mostly prefer aliens (mostly unauthorised Indian workers) just to escape the law and also avoid facing strong trade union activities," says Dr Narayan Manandhar, an industrial relations expert.
On the contrary, trade union activists disagree. "The labour laws aren't as tough as they should have been," argues Bishnu Rimal, the General Secretary of GEFONT, a left leaning trade union. "Employers prefer Indian workers because they can be easily exploited. Enforcement of the provision of work permit in line with labour laws would have resulted in better working conditions for the aliens too."
Article 4 (a) of the Labour Act has made work permit mandatory for foreigners. It stipulates that the employers must seek permission from the Labour Department to hire the alien technical employees that too only for five years in case of skilled employees and seven years for highly skilled employees.
The foreigners, however, could only be hired if Nepali employees aren't available for the posts even after advertisement for the required job in the national newspapers. Employers, meanwhile, must also groom Nepali employees to take over the posts by the time aliens retire, the Act adds.
Meanwhile, the provision of work permit for the aliens is confined to words. "Hardly any employer seeks government's permission to recruit aliens," says Deep Basnyat, Director General at the Labour Department. "It is because the Department critically lacks logistics to enforce it."
Also, the Act contradicts the Nepal-India Peace and Friendship Treaty (1950) helping the influx of Indian workers. The Treaty, signed by the last Rana premier in a bid to quell the democratic movement at that time, heavily favours Indian interests, say foreign affairs experts. The Treaty requires Nepal to give "national treatment" to Indians.
"Work permit has almost negligible significance if the Indians are not to come under its domain because there are negligible number of alien employment seekers from a third country," says Dr Harka Gurung, demographer and the Coordinator of the only government formed Task Force on Migration (TFM, 1983).
The open and unregulated 1700 (plus) km of border with India is another major contributor for increasing the magnitude of international migration in the country. Foot-loose and other illegal aliens can easily cross the border in search of better livelihood.
Moreover, as most of the India-locked country's transaction is with or carried through India, transactional ease of having Indian employees is another factor in the inflow of alien workers, says Dr Manandhar.
Similarly, promotion of foreign investment in context of liberalisation and globalisation has been one of the top priorities of the government in recent years. Foreigners come tied up with such investments. India is investing heavily in joint ventures and multi-national industries in the country.
Having made all these observations, we again arrive at the central question: Does the migrant influx actually pose serious threat to the country's socio-economic and political arenas?
The processes of emigration and (or) immigration are not necessarily counter-productive for the comprehensive development of the country, maintain experts. Countries like the United States and the Philippines benefited from immigrants and emigrants, respectively.
Evidences, however, have established that though emigrants contribute a lot to Nepal-approximately Rs 79 billion annually, immigrants are indeed posing various threats to overall development of the poor country.
As such, immigrant workers have hampered the overall skill development of the natives, reveals International Labour Organisation (ILO) led Task Force on Employment in the country in 1999. This could prove fatal in the long-term especially as the "underdeveloped" country is seeking the WTO membership.
National Labour Policy (1999) in view of these facts has stressed human resource development so that the country depends more on the natives and lesser on the aliens. It also intends to promote natives for foreign employment as it is virtually impossible for the labour-sending-country to employ the ever growing labour force at home.
Every year, some 300 thousands fresh labourers add to the already over-crowded domestic labour market, according to the first ever comprehensive Report on the Nepal Labour Force Survey 1998/99 prepared by the government with assistance from UNDP and ILO.
Furthermore, immigration always has detrimental impact on a country like Nepal with high population growth rate (2.3 percent per annum) with its subsequent dissipated development efforts.
Experts assert that though it is impossible to tell the exact number of immigrants, the intensity of the immigrant influx can be gauged by looking each day at the stream of immigrants coming in from the open and unregulated Southern border points adjoining most populated and least developed Indian States of UP and Bihar.
A very recent survey conducted by the scholars at Economic Department of Patan Multiple Campus reveals that 34.5 percent of the domestic labour market is captured by Indian workers. The survey conducted in various districts with both low and high immigrants flow was focused on aliens working in the non-governmental and informal sectors alone. The survey also reveals that 43 percent of them work in the organised sector, mainly manufacturing industries who have obvious tendency to stay longer in the country.
On the other hand, some 7 percent of the Terai population are immigrants with almost 95 percent of them Indian immigrants. Likewise, the average year of acquiring Nepalese citizenship is only 5.9 although the naturalisation law prescribes minimum residence of 15 years (TFM). "These facts imply that uncontrolled international migration is not only inconsistent with population control policy but might also prove detrimental to the national interest in the long run," warns Dr Gurung.
Strict regulation of border (for the mutual interest of both the countries) and enforcement of work permit are the two most effective means to control the influx but it is virtually impossible at present, especially with the 1950 Treaty between Nepal and India.
There still are other ways to discourage the influx, suggest labour experts. Maintenance of record at the border points (at least at the strategic border points) and mere update of aliens at their working places could provide the country with vital data on them.
The record not only reveals the status of immigrants but also helps policy makers to draft the policies and programmes to promote natives, thereby gradually displacing aliens," says Rimal. "Work permit is not necessarily essential at present."

Implementation of human rights 'poor'

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug 6 - Though Nepal has signed over 16 international treaties and conventions on protection of human rights, their implementation has remained lacklustre, said experts here today.
"Though the Constitution of the kingdom has guaranteed it, there are many human rights violation instances in the recent years in Nepal," said former speaker of House of Representative and a senior lawyer Daman Nath Dhungana at a seminar on `Role of Human Rights in Democratic System' organised by Nepal Democratic Lawyers' Association.
"Human rights is something to do with but not to speak about," Dhungana said, "No matter whether a country is democratic or autocratic, they all should respect human rights since it is a universal phenomenon."
Human rights is an 'intrinsic' friend of the poor, exploited, downtrodden and marginalized society, he said.
The state has not been able to protect human rights activists. There is politics of 'capture' in Nepal. Everybody is 'capturing over' definition of human rights. Moreover, they are capturing over people, place and party. Human rights has been a 'good spice' in speeches. We cannot imagine democracy without human rights and vice versa, speakers at the programme said.
"Only the law or constitution can do nothing in the same way as a hospital without other provisions is futile," Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Mahantha Thakur said. "Nobody can completely eliminate errors in the system but the government should guarantee necessary remedies for the errors."
"Harmonious relationship among the judiciary, the executive and the legislature should be well maintained. They are blaming each other for a particular error," General Secretary of Nepal University Teachers' Association Gun Nidhi Neupane said. "Guarantee of human rights in laws and the constitution is not enough, there should be organs and procedures to let the citizens use and enjoy such guarantees."
Since a particular political party or the government and its responsible subordinates are being unable to grant human rights to the people, the term 'human rights' is wrongly defined, Neupane said.

Dumping garbage along Bagmati to invite disaster

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Aug 6 - The decision to dump garbage along the Bagmati river, upstream from Pashupati area, is not only unscientific but also illegal, waste management experts here said.
"The government has not done Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for dumping waste along the Bagmati," said Bhushan Tuladhar, waste management consultant with Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC).
This is illegal according to the Environment Protection Act, 1996.
"From the geological point of view, dumping along the Bagmati is unscientific," said Bharat M. Jnawali, senior divisional geologist at the Department of Mines and Geology. "The dumped water is going to contaminate groundwater which will be nothing short of environmental disaster."
The upstream of Pashupati area, the northern part of Kathmandu, has porous soil through which the refuse can seep through and mix with ground water. Since this zone is the main source of water for Kathmandu, coupled with the lowering of water table, "dumping of garbage along the holy river is wrong."
Tuladhar said the government's plan to use plastic sheets to avoid groundwater contamination is not enough.
The government is currently spending about Rs 500 million to construct a waste water treatment plant to clean up the Bagmati upstream of Pashupati. "Why spend so much money if we are going to pollute the river anyway?" asked Tuladhar.
Garbage along the holy river will result in the generation of methane, a highly inflammable gas. The site, so close to Tribhuvan International Airport (about 200 metres away), will attract birds which could also pose a major hazard.
Both Tuladhar and Jnawali suggested setting up an aerobic composting facility using Excel technology, "currently being successfully operated in 22 Indian cities", to manage all the waste.
The KMC had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a private company (Sushil Vanaspati of Nepal with technical collaboration with Excel Industries of India) to set up such a facility.In this technology, bacteria culture is inoculated to decompose garbage dump in just weeks and the treated refuse can be used as compost manure.
Tuladhar said the project will not cost the government anything and the waste will be managed in an environment-friendly manner and produce 22,000 tons of high quality organic fertilizer annually. "All that the government needs to do is provide about 10 hectars (200 ropanis) of land," added Tuladhar.
"Such a site is available at Sundarighat where the government is constructing the waste water treatment plant," Tuladhar said further. "But the government has refused to give that land to KMC for use."
"The government is playing politics with the garbage which affects the public directly," said Hutaram Vaidya, President of National Concerns Society, which organised today's weekly discussion on garbage and Bagmati's future.
"It is in politicians' vested interest to ignore and sideline technological experts," Vaidya said, adding, "Only then can they have hefty commissions." Earlier, Tuladhar had said that it was wrong to believe that waste is something that needs to be dumped. "Waste should be seen as a resource," Tuladhar added.

Maoist commander remanded to custody

By a Post Reporter

SIRAHA, Aug 6 - Police presented a Maoist guerrilla commander of three Terai districts Narayan Yadav at the Siraha District Court today.
A police team had arrested Yadav last Saturday evening at Zero mile of Mahendra Highway here, according to Superintendent of Police at District Police Office (DPO) Kedar Koirala.
A single bench of Justice Ramesh Pokharel remanded Yadav to four day's custody. Police had requested six days remand for the interrogation.
Yadav is convicted of series of offenses against the State in the past two years, including killing of three police personnel and various looting incidents across the district, police said.