No-trust proposal filed against PM Koirala
56 MPs sign proposal, Koirala camp confident of defeating motion

By Binaj Gurubacharya

KATHMANDU, Dec 28 - Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala is being haunted by a tactic he used effectively against his predecessor, a no-confidence motion.

Exactly nine months after he ousted his predecessor Krishna Prasad Bhattarai from the prime minister’s chair, Bhattarai’s protege Sher Bahadur Deuba is using the same tactic in a concerted bid to unseat Koirala. On Thursday, Deuba and a retinue of Nepali Congress lawmakers marched to the Congress parliamentary party offices inside Singha Durbar to register a no-trust proposal against Koirala, their parliamentary party leader.

The rebel camp claims that the no-trust proposal has been signed by 56 of the 113 Nepali Congress Lower House lawmakers, which is one short of the required number to unseat Koirala. The Deuba-led dissident group has also claimed that they have at least four more lawmakers willing to vote against Koirala, including three ministers and Bhattarai himself.

The Congress parliamentary party has now to call a meeting to decide upon the proposal. Before the vote can be taken, it is certain, given past experiences in similar situations, that both sides will try to lure as many lawmakers as possible. Indeed, horse-trading has already begun, according to party sources.

Meanwhile, late Thursday, Bhattarai issued a statement saying he supported the no-trust vote against the prime minister. "I support this proposal and urge all Nepali Congress MPs who have not yet signed it to put their signatures behind the proposal."

Earlier, soon after registering the proposal, Deuba told reporters that it was time for Koirala to go. "We were compelled to file the no confidence proposal against our leader Koirala to save the nation, and democracy." It is also a move to establish peace and security in the country and solve the problems facing the nation today, Deuba said.

The Koirala camp on the other hand says it is confident of defeating the proposal. Minister for Defense and Finance Mahesh Acharya, a close aide of Koirala, told The Kathmandu Post: "Girija babu still has the majority and he will prevail. I do not believe that this proposal will pass anyway. But we are surprised as to the timing of the proposal, which comes when the country is passing through a difficult phase."

Minister for Information and Communications Jaya Prakash Gupta said that the Prime Minister will face the no-trust proposal without any delay. The parliamentary party meeting will be called soon, most likely next week, he said.

Koirala supporters suspect that the no-trust move is aimed more at shoring up the rebel camps’ bargaining position in the party.

The move towards a no-trust vote comes after days of guessing on whether the rebels would actually file the proposal and just few days ahead of the party’s General Convention scheduled to be held at Pokhara next month. The dissident move is reminiscent of a similar move by Koirala supporters against Bhattarai, who held the prime minister’s chair for nine months before being ousted by Koirala.

Since then, Bhattarai has handed over the reign of anti-Koirala camp to Deuba. "Koirala had removed the Bhattarai government accusing it of failing to control corruption, Maoist violence and establishing good governance," Deuba said. "Instead the Maoist issue has gotten worse ten times and there is no such thing left as good governance."

Deuba added that now the whole cabinet is being questioned on the controversial Lauda Air deal where the leasing of a jetliner for the state-run airline has been marred with allegations of financial irregularities.

The Lauda Air controversy was echoed by Bhattarai in his statement when he referred to a report by the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee which implicated the cabinet in the controversial deal.

Deuba, backed by rebelling NC members like Khum Bahadur Khadka, Chiranjibi Wagle, Purna Bahadur Khadka, walked from his office at Bijuli Bazaar to the parliamentary party office at Singha Durbar to register the no-trust proposal.

The document is also said to have signatures of Birendra Kanaudia and Narayan Singh Pun, who in the past have remained loyal Koirala supporters. Besides them, Prakash Koirala, a scion of the Koirala family too has signed the document. NC whip Tek Bahadur Chokhyal too resigned from his post today to join the rebels.

In August, Koirala had managed to avert a similar no-trust move against him after he agreed to some of the demands put forth by the rebels. Khum Bahadur Khadka, who was then Minister for Water Resources was sacked after he openly said that no one leader should hold two key positions - Prime Minister and the party president. Koirala currently retains both the positions.

Ice broken, will refugee repatriation follow ?

By Damakant Jayshi

KATHMANDU, Dec 28 – After years of disagreement over refugee verification, Nepal and Bhutan this week, finally, agreed to agree. This may be one small step for the Dragon Kingdom, but is a huge leap for the nearly 100,000 Bhutanese refugees languishing in UNHCR-run camps in eastern Nepal.

So much so that refugees are now seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Even deeply suspicious refugee leaders have welcomed the agreement reached during the Tenth round of ministerial level talks between Nepal and Bhutan that concluded Wednesday in Kathmandu.

The agreement during the Tenth round, says Bhutanese exile Rakesh Chhettri, "is a ray of hope". It gives a road map and it is a good beginning," said Chhetri.

Ratan Gazmere of Association of Human Rights Activists, Bhutan, too, has "appreciated the positive outcome of the talks."

But the beginning of the refugee verification process is in itself not an achievement if the process does not help in repatriation of the refugees. Refugee leaders and both the governments of Nepal and Bhutan realise that the hard part, far from over, is just beginning now.

To begin with, how many of the nearly 100,000 Bhutanese languishing in camps in eastern Nepal will be repatriated? What about their land in southern Bhutan where many northerners have been reportedly settled by the Druk government? And in the absence of any deadline on completing the verification process, how long will Nepal have to shelter the refugees?

"We are proceeding in good faith," Gyan Chandra Acharya, Spokesman at the Ministry of External Affairs told The Kathmandu Post. "We have broken the deadlock on verification of the refugees. We have solved the problem on three important aspects - basis, method and time of verification."

After the verification the Bhutanese are likely to be categorised into four categories that Nepal and Bhutan have already agreed on: genuine Bhutanese, Bhutanese who willingly emigrated from their country, Bhutanese with criminal backgrounds and non-Bhutanese.

Acharya feels that it was imperative upon Nepal to allay the fears of Bhutan that non-Bhutanese would not enter Bhutan as refugees. "Whether there are any non-Bhutanese in the camps was a fundamental question for Nepal too."

It is of secondary matter to Nepal what kind of Bhutanese the refugees are and what laws will apply on them in Bhutan. Nepal’s position throughout has been that Bhutanese refugees, irrespective of their nature, have to be repatriated with dignity. A lot of heat has been generated by two of the four categories -Bhutanese who willingly emigrated and non-Bhutanese. The two categories were kept upon the insistence of Bhutan.

Was this a shrewd ploy by the foresighted Bhutanese to back out of any agreement that is unpalatable to them? Could they have perceived that international community, sooner or later, was going to call the spade a spade and tighten its screw on them to seriously move towards resolving the issue amicably?

Only future can tell. But one thing is certain that if international community continues to put pressure on the Dragon Kingdom, then its rulers might not be able to delay the solution to the problem. Realising this, Bhutan has predictably insisted on bilateral mode in resolving the issue.

It is learnt that Nepal had suggested the provision of third party mediation in case of any disputes during the verification process. Bhutan urged Nepal to rely on the verdict of the Joint Verification Team (JVT). Nepal is understood to have relented after Bhutan agreed to UNHCR’s role in such cases. International practice too points out that in case of disputes between two countries, third party involvement is imperative. One unanswered question is: What happens when a refugee disagrees with the decision of the JVT which brands him/her a non-Bhutanese? It has still not come to light who should they appeal to in case of such an eventuality.

While the answers can be known only in future, both Nepal and Bhutan deserve kudos at present for crossing a very difficult hurdle.

Appeal to control violent activities

KATHMANDU, Dec 28 (RSS) - The Council of Ministers has appealed to all responsible political parties and civic society to co-operate in its efforts to discourage and control violent activities that have suddenly started up in the capital.

In a press communiqué issued today, the Council of Minister says—"The acts of violence and vandalism that have suddenly occurred for the last two days resulting in the loss of life and property in the capital are extremely regrettable. The unbridled spread of violence in the capital on the grounds of an individual’s unsubstantiated and repeatedly refuted remark is not fitting for the national dignity. Moreover, the unleashing of violence leading to attack and vandalising inside the houses and business centres, which is likely to harm social harmony in a multi-lingual and multi-ethnic country like ours, is contemptible."

Valley bandh largely peaceful

KATHMANDU, Dec 28 (PR)- Apart from some police-protestors clashes, the bandh called by five left leaning student organizations passed off without any major incidents and the valley, ransacked by violent protests for the last two days, largely remained peaceful today.

The streets bore a deserted look as the vehicles stayed off the road and markets and the educational institutions remained closed. However, a few incidents of scuffle between the police and the protestors have been reported in various places including; Tri Chandra Campus, Ratna Park, Bhotahiti, Ason, Chabahil, Patan Dhoka, Lagankhel and Bhaktapur.

According to a source at the Bir Hospital, one local woman was rushed to the hospital after she was injured with a bullet in a clash in Bhaktapur.

Similarly, at least 10 people have been injured, as police confronted with student protestors at Ason Chowk. According to a report, the five student organizations, who called for today’s bandh clashed with the students during a corner meet at Ason Chwok at around 3 pm. The police reportedly fired several rounds of tear gas shells and resorted to lathi-charge.

According to a press release issued by the Home Ministry, there were no major incidents apart from a few incidents of stone pelting at vehicles and obstructing vehicle movements by burning tires at the streets.

The release adds that the police used some force to control a mob which pelted stones at vehicles and tried to shut down a factory in Bhaktapur. The police arrested 143 people in Kathmandu and 5 in Lalitpur, the press release adds. By the time this report is being filed, there are reports of on-going clashes between protestors and police in Thankot, Battisputali and Nardevi. There has been no reports of violence from other parts of the valley.

However, the ripples of Hrithik episode today hit Dehradun, a north Indian town where a number of Nepali students are studying. Accoring to a press release issued by Nepali Students Association in Dehradun, a group of protesting Nepali students clashed with the local police. The incident occured when the police tried to stop the students from moving towards the Chief Minister’s office to hand over their protest letter to the Chief Minister, accoring to the release.

A border village longs for past glory

By Surendra Phuyal & Narayan Sharma

TRIVENI, Nawalparasi, Dec 29- Until 15 years ago, Ganga Prasad Haluwai, 65, made a respectable living as the proud owner of two sweet shops in this small village of about 2,000 people near the Nepal-India border. Today, he is broke.

Since India imposed a crushing economic blockade on land-locked Nepal in the late 1980s, businesses have fled from this once flourishing trading outpost. No businesses meant no customers, including those who bought his sweets.

"We have gone kind of bankrupt after late-1980s," says Haluwai ruefully remembering his prosperous past. "Visitors and businessmen would crowd my shop from dawn to dusk. I was a wealthy man then..."

Much like Haluwai, other locals of this small village situated at the foothills of Churia mountain range along the bank of mighty Narayani river (called Gandak in India) lament that their heydays are gone now. They attribute the downslide in cross-border commerce to the souring relations between Nepal and India during the 15 month-long trade embargo in the late 1980s.

"Indian people from the States of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh used to literally flock this business hub searching for Japanese, Chinese and Nepali goods before 1989," says Nirmal Amatya, a young businessman who runs a communication centre here. "But these days no one comes here."

The reason, according to Triveni locals, is that all the Marwari businessmen (business people of Indian origin) closed down their enterprises and shops just as the relationship (including the people-to-people relations) began souring, packed up whatever they possessed and left for Kathmandu and other cities.

According to Amatya, 32, who is also the president of Triveni Youth Club and Nepal-India Friendship Association (NIFA), the Marwaris and other businessmen owned over two dozen garment and apparel, and electronic and other goods shops in Triveni up until 1989-1990. When they left, so did the customers.

One-time business lanes of Triveni wear a deserted look now. Ninety per cent of the shops have been closed down. Visitors to this ramshackle town are rare except during Trivenidham mela which is observed during (Maghe Aunsi) February each year.

Perched on the right bank of the confluence of Narayani, Swarnabhadra and Purnabhadra rivers, Triveni(dham)—which literally means a confluence of three rivers—is also a holy pilgrimage site of Hindus.

Trivenidham is also a gate way to another important Hindu pilgrimage, Valmiki Ashram, where sage Valmiki is said to have lived and written Ramayana. The area is also where, according to Hindu mythology, Lord Rama’s wife Sita spent her years in exile, and her twin sons, Lava and Kush, grew up. The famous Ashram lies in the south-western edge of Royal Chitwan National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Dotted with temples and images of various Hindu gods and goddesses, Trivenidham is also famous for Gajgraha—another important Hindu pilgrimage site—where "Lord Vishnu, with his Sudarshan Chakra, rescued a devout elephant while the latter was being attacked by a crocodile."

Devout Hindus still believe that a hole on the rocky bank of Narayani river here was formed when the elephant was struggling to survive from the crocodile’s mouth.

And, long before the trade embargo was imposed upon Nepal by the southern neighbour, Triveni was an even better cross-border trade centre, say elders here. "When the East-West highway (which was constructed in the 1960s) was not there, Triveni used to be one of most popular trade routes between India and Nepal," says Upendra Joshi, 60. "Nepali businessmen would sail down on huge boats from Narayanghat and sell their goods to Indian businessmen here...It is now a thing of the past."

A run-down custom office building, which is now occupied by the postal department, in the heart of Triveni bazaar is an evidence of this areas once thriving border trade. Adds another elderly boatman from his little boat: "It took us four days to boat upstream to Narayanghat - and only eight hours to sail downstream from there."

But it seems that there is light at the end of the tunnel. According to Amatya, construction works of a link road joining this beautiful hinterland with the East-West highway’s Arunkhola point is underway. And, a few enterprising individuals are contemplating starting "motorboat service" on the river from Chitwan’s Kurintar to Triveni.

"They say they are going to start the motorboat service within this month," says Amatya, and adds optimistically: "Who knows very soon Triveni may have its haydays back."

Show cause on the legality of Special Court

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 28 - The Supreme Court today issued a show cause notice in response to a writ petition filed on Wednesday challenging the legality of the formation of the Special Court and summoned the respondents to present themselves within seven days on whether an interim order should be issued or not.

The order was issued by a single bench of justice Gopal Bahadur Khatri.

Advocate Jyoti Baniya had filed a writ petition arguing that the formation of the Special Court by the government violated the constitution. "The formation of the Special Court impedes the jurisdiction of the general court," the writ had stated.

The petition had named Cabinet Secretariat, Law Ministry, Judicial Council Secretariat among others as the respondents.

Earlier on December 18, Baniya had also filed a writ petition seeking the cancellation of the Special Court Act that contradicted with the constitution. The case is also under the consideration of the court. "Formation of the court is also against the law, as the case is sub judice, " argued the writ.

The government had established a special court, after issuing a notice in the Nepal Gazette on December 25, to look into the cases of crimes against the state. The notice in the Gazette stated, "The Court has been established under the provision - Article 3 and 4 of the Special Court Act - 1974. The Court will look into cases of crimes against the state, drugs, foreign exchange transactions and women trafficking."

Advocates Borna Bahadur Karki, Rewanta Kunvar, Shiva Raj Adhikari and the petitioner Baniya himself had pleaded from the petitioners side.