Educational institutions to close down for a week

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KATHMANDU, Dec 7 - Despite repeated calls for security, and the government’s failure to provide it to students and teachers, the public and private schools and colleges in the country are closing for a week starting Friday as per the calls from All Nepal National Free Students’ Union (Revolutionary), a student wing of the underground CPN (Maoist).

The union has called for a week-long nation-wide closure of all public and private colleges starting December 8 putting forward its 15-point demand, which includes protest against privatisation of education, high price of education and "incursion of foreign agencies" in the education system of Nepal.

A majority of government schools throughout the country remained closed on Thursday, but none of them mentioned the threats by ANNFSU (Revolutionary) as the reason for closure.

According to the teachers, they fear possible violent attacks if they do not comply with the call of the Maoist supporting students’ organisation. They add that, it would be safer to just close down the schools.

"Life is precious than the job," said Krishna Bhakta Manandhar, principal at Balseva High School, who said that it is impossible to run the schools even if the government assures to provide security.

Chairman of Private and Boarding Schools Organisation, Nepal (PABSON) Rajesh Khadka told The Kathmandu Post that the schools are closing down due to lack of security. He said that the private schools do not intend to keep the schools closed for a week and stressed that the government should sit down for talks with the students’ organisation and resolve the crisis immediately.

Around seven million students of the country are affected by the closure. According to the government’s statistics of 1999, there are around 4.8 million students currently enrolled in the government schools and around 600,000 students in the private schools.

But PABSON chairman Khadka said that there are around 1.5 million students in over 10,000 private schools of the country. Over 200,000 teachers teach in over 30,000 government and private schools of the country.

According to a teacher at a private school, the pro-Maoist students have been extracting money every month from over 90 percent private schools of the capital. None of the teachers, who talked to The Kathmandu Post agreed to be identified.

"They are not students but Maoist cadres," said the teachers.

National Private Schools’ Federation of Nepal, in a press release issued here today said that the schools are closing due to concerns for the students and parents and has decided to call upon the Prime Minister and Home Minister and demand for security.

ANNFSU (Revolutionary) presented a memorandum to the Prime Minister last week demanding cancellation of Sanskrit education and turning the private and boarding schools into government schools.

US move may harm garment exports

By Bhaskar Sharma

KATHMANDU, Dec 7 - The US government’s recent decision to dismantle tarrif and quota barriers on textile imports from several poor African countries may be a boon to those nations, but for poor Nepal which depends largely on the US market for its garment exports, it is a decision that spells disaster.

At issue is the survival of Nepal’s vibrant ready-made garment industry, which has been growing at an annual rate of 30 per cent, and which last year exported Rs 13.92 billion worth of ready-made garments - 85 per cent of it to the US market.

But that market now appears threatened due to the US decision to scrap duties on garments imported from Sub-Saharan African countries, garment exporters here say. The US also revoked the quota system, completely opening its market to the products of these countries. Some of the Central American countries are also enjoying the same preferences.

"With almost 85 per cent of the country’s readymade garments going to US, duty free access of the US market for garments of other countries would add to Nepal’s disadvantages," said Brij Gopal Inhani, president of Garment Association of Nepal (GAN), talking to The Kathmandu Post.

While Nepal is also eligible to the facility as per the criteria set by the US, decision in Nepal’s favour is yet to be taken. America granted the duty-free facility to those countries that have per capita income of less than US $ 1500. Since Nepal’s per capita income hovers at around US $ 200, the nation is entitled to the facilities, said Inhani.

Though businessmen are hopeful that US would grant the facility soon, they are unsure just when the decision will come. They fear that if the decision to grant duty-free access to Nepal’s readymade garments is not taken quickly, the country would be at a disadvantage in the American market.

Presently, businessmen in US importing textile products from Nepal pay 18-21 per cent duty. "If other countries need not pay any duty, certainly they would be at an advantage," said Inhani.

Exports to America, which touched Rs 13.92 billion in 1999/2000, is expected to reach around Rs 15 billion at the end of the current fiscal year.

Exports of readymade garment industry, the largest foreign exchange earner of the country presently, has grown in the last three years at an average of almost 30 per cent annually.

Chataut defends Lauda jet deal

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KATHMANDU, Dec 7 - Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Tarinee Datt Chataut, on Monday defended the RNAC-Lauda Air jet lease deal, saying it was in the best interests of the Corporation and the country.

Chataut also ruled out the possibility of his resignation on moral grounds.

"I do not feel that I have done anything wrong. So, there is no question of my resignation." He added that the press had blown the issue out of all proportion. "I don’t think people’s war has started by bringing the jet."

He said this at Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and reiterated it again at a press conference organised at his Ministry.

Defending RNAC’s lease deal through negotiations, the minister said, "18 times in the past, jets were brought by the Corporation through direct negotiations."

"When we received the directives (on November 20 and 29) from the Public Accounts Committee, it was too late," said the minister, adding, "had the deal been cancelled or delayed, RNAC would have lost 2,010,000 USD sent on October 31 and November 16 as bank guarantee and rent for first month".

The Minister added, in case of default, there was a prospect of facing the litigation in the UK according to English law and in most cases the courts have favoured the oppressed party (Lauda Air, in this case).

He had no explanation as to why the bank guarantee was sent to Lauda Air when it was not a part of the lease agreement.

At the conference, Chataut admitted that the Ministry, instead of clearing the foreign exchange as asked by RNAC, referred the matter to the Cabinet to "bypass the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority" which had asked to abide by the tender process while buying or leasing a plane.

Service charge stand-off continues

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KATHMANDU, Dec 7 - The standoff between hoteliers and hotel workers over the 10 per cent service charge did not show the sign of breaking as both sides stuck to their guns today. The agitating hotel employees have threatened to go on all out strike from Monday if their one-point demand is not met.

Prithvi Raj Ligal, Vice chairman of the National Planning Commission (NPC) and chairman of the high-level committee formed by the government to study the 10 per cent service charge issue today asked the agitating hotel workers to defer the strike for two months saying, "Since it is a very sensitive subject, we have to find a permanent solution."

Ligal said, "We cannot reach an immediate solution through ‘day-to-day’ negotiations as we have to study the pros and cons of the imposition of a 10 per cent service charge on hotel services."

Ligal categorically stated that the government will not decide the issue on an ad-hoc basis. It is not time to say "yes or no" as its modality needs to be studied seriously. Ligal was speaking at a face-to-face programme organized by the Reporters’ Club today.

Ligal suggested that both hotel owners and workers should be flexible towards ending the deadlock and await the result of the high-level committee.

Laxman Basnyat, President of Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC), however claimed that it was a delay tactic of the government and the hotel owners. Said Basnyat, "Due to growing distrust between hotel workers and employers, the service charge issue has been further complicated." He added that service charge row could be resolved if both sides met for a dialogue. He also accused the hoteliers of not attending government and trade union leaders meetings.

Chairman of the Employers’ Council-Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Rajendra Khetan, expressing worry on the deteriorating environment in the tourism industry said, "If the tourism industry is closed down, the country’s budget deficit would shoot up, and that will have a big impact on our economy."

‘Middle class emblem’ spells trouble

By Leela Baral

BIRTAMOD, Dec 7 - What does it take to get your recently stolen brand new motorcycle back? Depends, but Rs 20,000 in Indian Currency is not far off the mark. Just ask Dharma Oli of Budhabare who recently went through this experience.

A day after his motorbike - that sparkling new emblem of having finally arrived in the new Nepali middle class - got stolen, Oli got a strange call. A mysterious voice told him: "we have your motorcycle. If you want it come with Indian Currency (IC) Rs 20,000 to Bagdogra (India)."

He just followed the stranger’s call and reached Bagdogra, which is 20 kilometers from Nepal-India border and gave the amount to an Indian citizen who was waiting there and got back his bike with number plate Me.1.Pa 1416.

This has become more of an everyday affair here since the past two years, which has got the bike owners really worried. In this eastern Terai district of Jhapa, you never know when your bike gets stolen and when you have to pay the "asked amount" to have it back.

In the past one year alone, 20 motorcycles were stolen in this district, according to police. Places like - Birtamod, Charpane, Mechinagar, Bhadrapur and Budhabare - are where the bikes get easily stolen.

Lawyers boycott hearing

By Pramod Poudel

KATHMANDU, Dec 7 - Four Lawyers in a controversial contempt of court case today boycotted a Supreme Court single bench accusing the judge of being biased against the petitioner.

The hearing was going on a petition case filed by Advocate Rabi Raj Bhandary, which stated that the remarks made by some MPs in the House of Representatives on June 28 regarding the decision of the Special Election Court-Patan on the Nuwakot-1 election case was a contempt of court.

The petition filed five months ago was based on the news published in the Kantipur Daily, sister publication of this newspaper, on June 29.

The lawyers who boycotted the bench were Senior Advocate Chudamani Raj Singh Malla and Advocates Sushil Pant, Dhruv Lal Shrestha and Rabi Raj Bhandary.

Advocate Sushil Pant said that the way the justice behaved and asked questions amounted to the denial of just decision. Before boycotting, Pant requested the case to be transferred to another bench.

Despite the boycott from the Advocates, Justice Arbind Nath Acharya issued a "show cause" notice requiring the respondents to furnish clarification within seven days to the court as to why there should be no legal action against them as demanded by the petitioner.

The filed petition had named the Speaker Taranath Ranabhat, Main Opposition (CPN-UML) Leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, three MPs of CPN-UML Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, Rajendra Prasad Pandey and Sherdhan Rai, and Publisher and Editor of the Kantipur National daily as the respondents.

The bike owned by Yam Nath Dahal of Charpane was stolen one month back within minutes after he parked it. It was taken away before his eyes.

Lonely hearts find ‘pleasurable’ stay in Kathmandu

By Jitendra Shah

KATHMANDU, Dec 7 - "Do you need a young, heterosexual Nepali partner to accompany you on your trek? If the answer is ‘yes’, you can contact me by e-mail. I am educated, young, proficient in English and computer literate."

This is not a figment of someone’s imagination, but an actual advertisement that hangs on the wall of a small travel agency in a dingy corner of Thamel, the tourist hotspot of Kathmandu.

Needless to say, the ads, and there are quite a number of them at areas frequented by tourists, are all aimed at lonely tourist of both sexes who seek a "pleasurable" stay in Nepal.

Programme Co-ordinator of Inside Nepal Friendship, Naresh Asim, who has been in the tourism business for years, says that the tendency to provide "physical services" has been growing among unemployed, educated Nepali youths over the last year.

The trend is not unlike the more fabled sex tourism destinations of South East Asia. The difference in Nepal, however, is that, it is done discreetly and is still a far too small part of the tourism industry.

Thanks to the clampdown on sex tourism in other Asian countries, and the deadly scourge of HIV/AIDS that has scared tourists away from HIV hotspots of Asia, more and more tourists are turning to countries like Nepal where lax laws and relatively less number of HIV cases is fuelling the slow drive of sex tourism.

"Sex-tourism" is not a new concept in Nepal, says experienced tourism entrepreneur and editor-cum-publisher of a travel magazine, Bishnu Poudel. But the trend of offering such services to trekkers is rather a novel idea among the Nepali youth. And there is a market for it.

According to Poudel, although tourists do not directly ask for a partner, they sometimes request travel operators to arrange for a guide to assure their "security and entertainment."

Asim of Inside Nepal Friendship asserts that quite a few number of male tourists aged between 16 and 30 and females between the age of 31 and 45 visit Nepal for sexual pleasure.

A young Nepali male who is studying for his bachelors degree admits that he has provided comfort for foreign women. "Middle-aged women look for a sex partner who is usually half their age," he says on condition of anonymity.

Tourism industry-wallahs suspect that some small tour operators in the Basantapur Square, King’s Way, New Road and Thamel areas discreetly make such arrangements for tourists.

It is difficult to estimate just what percentage of tourists come to Nepal seeking amorous pleasures, but it is safe to say that they are small, but growing in numbers. Most such tourists make arrangements before arrival, but some seek out partners after arrival.

A French woman who declined to give her name said that though Nepali youth are shy in nature, she nevertheless enjoyed "natural sexual pleasures every time I visit Nepal." And she’s visited quite a few times.

Tourism entrepreunneurs say, those who have suffered family disintegration and divorce recently are the most prone to turn to this type of holiday in an effort to console themselves.

UML urges Maoists to hold dialogue

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KATHMANDU, Dec 7 - Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal today urged the Maoists to grab the opportunity to hold dialogue over its recent proposals for constitutional amendments.

Speaking at the start of the Fourth National Conference of Democratic National Youth Federation (DNYF), UML’s youth wing, here Thursday, Nepal said that the "Maoist leadership lacks a clear vision for a prosperous Nepal".

"Even the Nepali Congress (NC) party has shown readiness to hold consultations over the demand for constitutional amendments, so why not the Maoists do the same?" he said.

He added, "Our Maoist comrades too should come forward and grab this opportunity. They should give up violence...If they are really serious and feel that they are confident enough to win people’s faith they should embrace democratic polity. This way we can sideline Nepali Congress which does not want the change."

The main opposition party leader’s calls came a day after the ruling NC and UML agreed to form a Joint Working Group (JWG) to discuss and reach an understanding on UML’s demand for constitutional amendments. UML leader Nepal made the proposal for constitutional amendments in the party’s 18th Central Committee meeting held recently.

Among others, CPN-UML proposal includes, an all-party government to oversee the elections, restructuring the parliamentary constituencies every 25 years based on population and decentralization as envisaged by the Local Self-governance Act.

Coincidentally, leaders of the underground Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) - which has been waging what it calls "People’s War" in the mid-western, western and central hill districts of the country since February, 1996 - in their articles published in the vernacular press in recent times have been talking of changing the constitution after holding elections for Constitutional Assembly.

General Secretary Nepal, however, said that such an election (for a Constitutional Assembly) is "unnecessary", and asserted that "the best way out for the present political mess is constitutional amendments".

Nepal also said that the underground party has been distracted from its vision. "There seems to be some distortions in the Maoist party visions these days; they have started to befriend those (private schools) who give donations to them and not those (government schools) who cannot afford to pay them," he said.

He was referring to the Maoist students’ - All Nepal National Free Students’ Union, Revolutionary (ANNFSU-R)’s - recent move to close down government schools, harass school principals and teachers and spare private schools in the Kathmandu Valley.

UML leaders, Jhala Nath Khanal, Keshav Badal and others also addressed the inaugural session of the week-long Conference which is being participated by more than 1,500 DNYF representatives from across the country.

Left party representative from Palestine Wail Batrikhi, Orlando D.S and Christiano Pinto from Brazil, Jamal from Algeria, Shahheedul Haque and Shankaracharya from Bangladesh, Iraklis T from Greece and Harchand Singh from India expressed their solidarity for the success of the meet.

Locals form security teams

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BIRATNAGAR, Dec 7 - After the local administration failed to provide security to the people of this eastern border city, locals have formed security committees to protect themselves from the growing incidents of robbery.

It has also put a question mark over the credibility of the police administration in ensuring a sense of security among the citizens. Incidents of robberies shot up in this city over the last month.

Chief District Officer of Morang, Binod Gyawali, takes this people-level initiative for security positively. However, Gyawali said that it would have been much more effective had the locals and police worked together.

"The security issue has been politicised," Gyawali said. Members of the security committees, however, claimed that people had to arrange for their own security after the police administration "appeared to be incompetent at dealing with such social crimes".

Security committees from all 22 Wards of the Sub-Metropolis handed over a memorandum to the Prime Minister, Girija Prasad Koirala, demanding immediate action to improve the deteriorating security conditions during his recent visit to his home town.

CDO Gyawali denied the public claims, saying that the situation was not as serious as the locals made out. "I cannot prevent those who wish to ensure security on their own initiative," he added.

A group of armed locals survey the most sensitive parts of their locality throughout the night. The group interrogates everyone passing through the area.

"This practice is going to be effective," Radha Raman Bhandari from Ward No-4 said. The security committee imposes a fine of Rs 500 on those shirking their trice-weekly patrol duty.

Chief of Morang District Police Office, Krishna Bahadur Thapa, claims that police have also been on the alert throughout the night. He said that police patrols had been beefed after the rise in social crime. Police have publicly announced that they will reward Rs 20,000 to those providing any crime-related evidence.

Secretary of Morang Industry Organisation, Shyam Poudel, claims that police have had to make such an announcement because of its total failure to curb the crime growth rate.

A high-level police official, requesting anonymity, said that social crimes were often overlooked as police personnel had to be deployed to Maoist hot-bed areas.

Police suspect that organised gangs from Sarlahi and Dhanush were responsible for the surge in numbers of robberies in the city area.

Gautam denies party break-up

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KATHMANDU, Dec 7 - General Secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist Leninist), Bamdev Gautam, today claimed that his party stands "totally united" for the five-day National Conference of the party, which is slated to kick off here tomorrow.

However, Gautam also hinted that some of the party’s members might quit the party soon but denied that the party was on the verge of a break-up.

Controversies have clouded CPN-ML, ever since Politburo member, C P Mainali, and some central committee members registered an alternative policy document challenging the one presented by Gautam.

The Central Committee meeting held on November 23-27 had decided that the conference would discuss only Gautam’s document. However, the organizers now say all the five policy documents registered so far will be put forward for discussion during the conference.

"We are not breaking up. Comrade Chandra Prakash Mainali is still with us and we stand united," said Gautam. "Assumptions cannot be made just because some are leaving the party. There are also many who are coming on board...the Communist movement in the country is very varied."

CPN-ML President Sahana Pradhan is slated to inaugurate the conference tomorrow at the capital’s Tudikhel, after rallies in the major thoroughfares of the capital. Altogether there are five proposals to be considered at the national conference being attended by 894 CPN-ML representatives from across the country, organizers said.

Later, replying to queries, Gautam accused the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), the mother party from which Gautam and his aides broke away some three years ago to form CPN-ML, of "minimizing" other national issues by adopting the proposal to amend the Constitution.

"The proposal is positive but it has ignored many other pressing socio-economic problems of our society. If we concentrate on such narrow issues people will think the parties are just power- hungry," Gautam said.