Govt, Maoists urged to hold talks

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Feb 7 - Twenty-one human rights groups today urged the government to hold dialogue with Maoists and end the cycle of violence immediately.

During their interaction today with the high-level consensus-seeking committee headed by former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, they appealed "both the government and Maoists to at once stop violence and killings and open dialogue."

The activists also urged the government to keep its promise to form Human Rights Commission without delay. On December 12, Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai went on record saying that the "details of the Human Rights Commission and anti-Corruption will be worked out soon."

Formed on November 30, the six-member committee headed by Deuba has already held talks with five major political parties -- CPN-UML, CPN-ML, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Nepal Sadbhawana Party, United People’s Front.

According to Prakash Mahat, member secretary of the committee today said they have not yet been given a definite time-frame to submit their recommendations. "But we intend to submit it by mid-April."

According to the last official count, at least 1,023 people have succumbed to the three-year-old People’s War launched by Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). Two persons succumb to People’s War each day, according to rights groups.

During what the participants later described as "a heated discussion", which lasted for almost seven hours, rights groups stressed political parties should hammer out a national consensus on so grave an issue.

According to an activist at the interaction, rights groups said political parties should try and find the root cause of Maoist insurgency. "Unless the political parties develop the political culture of honouring the people’s view, the problem of insurgency will not subside," said a participant, indicating that non-performing political parties had been crucial in fuelling the popular disenchantment.

According to participants, activists who are close to Maoists were also present in the interaction. Though a number of issues related to the three-year-old insurgency were raised at the interaction, all rights groups had a common position on three key recommendations.

Amnesty International Nepal (AI-N) opted out of today’s talks, saying it had been asked by its headquarters to keep out of the talks keeping in view the upcoming visit of a high level delegation from the London-based organization. The AI team is slated to arrive on February 20, said Krishna Kandel, the newly elected president of AI-Nepal.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and member of the commission, Ram Chandra Poudel said democratic polity allowed people to sell their ideology to the people and form their own government, adding the nine-month rule of CPN-UML has already proven so much. "People should be given the right of choice and political parties should strive for people’s trust," said Poudel, asking Maoists to give up their violent ways and join the political mainstream. "Once we win the people’s confidence, we can go ahead and implement our ideologies."

Deuba, who heads the committee, said that a huge amount of money is being spent to ward off the insurgency. "The money the government is spending to mobilise the police force and stockpile weapons could be better utilised to enhance the status of women, children and the underprivileged of the society and ensure human rights."

Home officials ‘misuse’ fund under security head

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Feb 7 - The Home Minister and officials under the ministry spent at least Rs. 16 million during the last fiscal year under the provision of peace and security related expenses that is kept secret and the details are never audited.

The figures were revealed today from the documents sent by the ministry to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House of Representatives. PAC is investigating allegations that money allocated for relief works is being misused by ministry officials and ministers for the benefit of themselves and their supporters.

Besides the Rs. 16 million spent during the fiscal year 1998/1999, Rs. 14 million was spent a year before that and Rs. 18.8m the year even before that.

This fund is called secret expenses related to peace and security and in theory is mostly used for security purposes and kept secret. But PAC officials say the reality is quite different.

Unlike other expenses, money from this fund is paid out to individuals and organizations without disclosing their identity or even getting back a signed receipt. The accounts are not audited, so there is no way to find out if the right people are getting paid for the right purpose or the fund is being used to finance political support or for personal expenses.

The Home minister in one year spends an average Rs. 6 million from this fund while the Secretary at the Home Ministry spends Rs. 2.5m The Inspector General of Police spends an average Rs. 1.8 million and the chief of the National Investigation Department spends Rs. 2.8 million each year.

The minister has the limit to sanction Rs. 50,000 at one time while the secretary can sign a check amounting Rs. 20,000.

Meanwhile, PAC has asked the Home Ministry to immediately impound at least four government vehicles belonging to the ministry which are still being used by two former prime ministers and one former minister.

The Auditor General’s annual report has stated that two former prime ministers have taken two jeeps and one car but have not returned them and one former minister has converted a government jeep to a private number plate and is using it for personal use.

The names of these people were not immediately known and the report is silent on their identity.

PAC sub-committee has asked the ministry to investigate the prime ministers and minister and then have those vehicles impounded within the next 10 days.

No Summit, no repair

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Feb 7 - A few months back major roads in Kathmandu were getting a face lift. Workers were filling potholes and adding a layer of tar at a breakneck speed to ready the roads for the 11th SAARC Summit which was expected to be held in November last year.

The roads are only half done but the work has stopped. The repair work was halted immediately after the postponement of the Summit was announced.

Shyam Prasad Adhikari, director at Mid-Western Regional Road Directorate, said the repair work was discontinued after the announcement of the postponement of SAARC Summit. "There has been a slack in the repair work after the postponement of the Summit," he said.

However, Adhikari cited unfavourable weather condition for the discontinuation of the black-topping. "Winter is not a good time for black topping," he said.

Some 18 hundred thousand square metre of roads in Kathmandu, 5,000 square meters in Lalitpur and 22,000 square meters in Bhaktapur were to be repaired for the preparation of the SAARC Summit.

Officials claim maintenance work in Kathmandu is already complete except for the Lainchour-Maharajgunj stretch and the road that leads to Bangladesh Embassy. Eighty percent of the work in Bhaktapur and sixty percent in Lalitpur is already complete, they claim.

UML protests price hike

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Feb 7 - Opposition communist activists throughout the country today burnt Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai’s effiging to protest rising commodity prices.

The decision to mount an effigy-burning campaign was taken by the main opposition CPN (UML)’s high level meeting in Pokhara a month ago.

UML leaders said, the protest is aimed at rising inflation, price hikes of commodities, removal of food depots in remote areas and the general lawnessness that is rampant in the country since the Nepali Congress government of PM Bhattarai came to power over eight months ago.

Effigies of PM Bhattarai were burnt today by UML activists in Kathmandu, Dhading, Hetauda, Dhankuta, Doti, Salyan and several other districts.

In Kathmandu Valley, the effigy was burnt at Prayag Pokhari Chowk at Lagankhel in Lalitpur district at 4:00 p.m. today. Earlier, the effigy was brought from the party office nearby. Police tried to intervene but could not penetrate the human chain of the party activists.

"The effigy not just symbolises the Prime Minister but the whole Nepali Congress party and its majority government who has failed to check the price inflation and deteriorating law and order situation in the country," said an agitated youth activist Suraj Acharya.

After burning the effigy a protest rally headed by the party lawmaker Raghuji Pant reached Langalkhel Chowk to turn into a mass meeting in which the district committee chairperson Baldev Sharma Majhgainya came heavily on the Prime Minster for his inability to curb price hikes.

Lawmaker Pant alleged the government was fostering insurgency by its anti-people moves. "If the police is called to forcefully intervene with a peaceful protest programme we may also be compelled to resort to weapons like the Maoists," said Pant.

Meanwhile, reports of demonstrations have come from Doti, Morang, Rautahat and Salyan and other districts.

In Doti, on Feb 3, the demonstrators protested with black flags and anti-government slogans. On the same day, in Salyan, demonstrators gheraoed the district adminstration office and protest meetings were held in different areas.

According to the party programme in Salyan, on Feb 15, a torch lit rally and on Feb 16, a district level demonstration will also be held.

Blast children out of danger

NEPALGUNJ, Feb 7 (PR)- Two unsuspecting children, who were injured Saturday when a bomb went off in their backyard in Bajerichaur-5, Surkhet, are out of danger, police here said. Police suspect Maoists are behind the design.

Deputy Inspector General of Police at the Mid-Western Police Office Rajendra Bahadur Singh said the victims - Purni Damai, 11, and Aiti Damai, 14 - were airlifted by the police helicopter from Surkhet. They are currently undergoing treatment at the Bheri Zonal Hospital. "It was a home-made bomb and it must have been planted by Maoists insurgents," said DIGP Singh. "No one in the village possesses such a bomb."

Dr Binod Thapa of the Zonal Hospital said that the children "are out of danger."

Medical Superintendent Dr Arun Koirala said the hospital has been providing free treatment for the general public affected by the insurgency.