Micro-buses below Euro-I

KATHMANDU, Jan 18 (PR)- The Ministry of Population and Environment (MOPE) today said the recently imported micro-buses advertised as those meeting Euro-I standard are not upto the mark.

In a press release issued today, MOPE has said that none of the micro-buses meet Euro-I standard. The vehicles meeting Euro-I standard should have secured type approval before manufacturing and should have undergone five different tests.

“Such vehicles should have type approval and conformity of production,” the press release states.

Importers have registered Indian vehicles like Voyager manufactured by Mahindra, Tata, Indian Toyota and Japanese Toyota at the Department of Transport Management (DOTM) as those meeting the Nepal Emission Standard-2056. Nepal Emission Standard 2056 is the Nepali name for Euro-I standard.

However, the documents presented at the DOTM show that the vehicles do not meet the standard. The only criteria met by these vehicles is that these vehicles have undergone the emission test. The emission has also exceeded the limit fixed by the standard.

Devkota’s moves ‘illegitimate’

-By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Jan 18 - Lokendra Bahadur Chand, the new “leader” of recently merged Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) today accused his erstwhile soul-mate Rajeshwor Devkota of “illegitimately” assuming the position of the chairman of RPP (Chand).

At an RPP press conference here Tuesday, Chand said Devkota’s declaration of being the chairman of RPP (Chand) was done with  “a vested interest. His actions in the past have been erratic and he did all of them with some or the other interest.”

Chand also accused Devkota of attempting to capitalize on the situation created by the merger of Chand and RPP recently. 

After Chand’s move to unite two RPPs, Devkota last week declared himself to be the chairman of RPP (Chand) saying that the party is still in legal existence. RPP (Chand) holds the position of a national party but it failed to win a single seat in the May General Election.

“Unification is the result of demand for it from majority of our (Chand’s) central committee members,” said Chand. Chand said that 22 out of its 31 members in the erstwhile RPP (Chand) central committee had supported the unification. Kamal Thapa, spokesperson of RPP said that RPP (Chand) does not exist since the unification was “constitutional”.

“The party headed by Rajeshwor Devkota is not the same party headed by Lokendra Bahadur Chand,” said Thapa. “However, if Devkota has opened a new party under that name, he is using his constitutional rights.”

In a query of his position in RPP, Chand said “the post of “invited” leader has been given to me at my request.”   According to Chand, the unification helped in creating a “third force” in the country. “Our party will fulfil the vacant position of a third force in the country,” said Chand.

Koirala concerned over ‘threat to democracy’

-By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Jan 18 - A Nepali Congress seminar inaugurated today by party president Girija Prasad Koirala became a conspicuous affair not because of what the NC strongman said but because what he did not.

The septuagenarian but still energetic leader dwelt at length on the meaning of democracy but failed to utter a single word on the much-reported cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai.

Though Bhattarai again failed to announce his cabinet expansion today, many in the NC gathering had expected Koirala to vent his anger against the PM  for even daring to consider such an expansion at this moment.

But Koirala instead spoke long on democracy and its meaning for a country like Nepal. The seminar, fittingly, was titled “Consolidation of Democracy: the NC, Intellectuals, and Professionals”

“Democratic polity is the best system in the world,” he said. “The entire world believes in democracy, and every country feels democratic polity is best. But unfortunately in our context, democracy has been a hide-and-seek-type affair.”

He was referring to over a century of Rana autocracy which was overthrown in 1950, and the three-decades-long Panchayat that was wiped out by a people’s movement in 1990.

He expressed concern over “growing threats” to democracy, apparently in the wake of heightening Maoist insurgency, and called on the participants of the seminar to come up with ideas to resolve the same.

He also suggested his partymen and other individuals alike to develop their moral characters so as to popularize democracy.

Prominent intellectuals, leaders and professionals affiliated with the ruling NC today hinted that besides other factors nearly four year old Maoist insurgency currently haunts Nepal’s over nine year old democracy.

So far over 1,000 people have fallen prey to the insurgency. Its fever has gripped more than a dozen remote hill districts of the country.

“Unless there is decentralization of powers, and until people feel sense of participation democracy can’t flourish,” Koirala said in his opening remarks. “Democracy can be consolidated only after empowering the poor, the labours, and the women. Every individual has got a role to play in democracy.”

Senior advocate Harihar Dahal flayed the underground Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) for “raping” Nepal’s democracy. “Political scenario at present is horrible,” he said. “Democracy is under fierce attack from all sides.”

He added, “Political scenario after the restoration of democracy is horrible. Maoists are killing NC activists in a selective manner. They are even collecting donations in the capital city. But no body is speaking out against such excesses.”

Dahal called upon the people at large to isolate the underground force. “Unless and until people at large can isolate Maoists, the problem cannot be resolved,” he said.

About a dozen working papers were presented at the one day seminar participated in by NC leaders, intellectuals and professionals affiliated with the country’s oldest political force.

How rebels struck a well-guarded village

-By Kedar Ojha

DHAKU, Achham, Jan 18 - It was a meaningless death and family members of Ratna Bahadur Chalaune cannot help ruing the fact.

Ratna Bahadur was among the nine people - two of them alleged Maoists - killed here Friday when police and the insurgents had a violent showdown at an evening gathering where he was watching a cultural programme. Police attribute the deaths to Maoist bombs.

In his mid-20s, Ratna Bahadur was among the onlookers who had gathered to watch the cultural programme, a customary forum which is used by Maoists to indoctrinate villagers, according to police.

Much like Ratna Bahadur’s family members, other villagers have a similar story to tell: they were ignorant about the Maoist design until the police barged in.

Villagers say they gave shelter to the outsiders (alleged insurgents) when they arrived here a few days before the Saturday’s incident. “We didn’t know why they were here,” said a villager in Dhaku-5, which is a full day’s trek away from the district headquarters Mangalsen.

A police striking force, posted in a number of Maoist affected areas lately, had just arrived at a nearby Kamalbazaar police post from Kathmandu and a 14-member team immediately left for Dhaku on a tip-off, according to senior police officials. Meanwhile, the Maoists were holding their programme under a three-tier security umbrella.

“When we mounted the surprise attack, the nervous Maoists started hurling explosives,” said police inspector Sudip Giri, who led the police operation. He said the local residents may have lost their lives in the explosion.

“We repeatedly asked all the locals to lie down. And those who tried to flee were caught in the police-Maoist encounter and the hand-bombs hurled by the insurgents,” Giri said, adding the insurgents mounted the attacks - at 11pm and 4am - later during the night.

“They fled from the village collecting their belongings as we were caught in the encounter. It was only in the morning that we became aware of the fatalities,” Giri said.

Earlier, Maoists had kept two bags of bombs in various houses in the village, according to Bijaya Singh Chalaune, a local villager. Over five dozen insurgents had descended in the village, eyewitnesses here said.

“Either the police post at Kamal Bazaar has to be immediately expanded, or disbanded altogether,” said Shivraj Chalaune, who was a witness to the whole drama. Villagers here say the insurgents had claimed that the five policemen posted at the police post would be “ably handled by our single warrior.”

“This was considered to be the safest place in all the district,” said Ram Bahadur Bista, lawmaker from Achham-2. “If this is the case with a village that’s protected by a nearby police post, what are the other doing? The government has to set up police posts in all the villages, empower the police posts and man them with enough personnel.”

A team headed by Minister of State for Communication Govinda Bahadur Shah, lawmaker Bista, police DIG Ombikram Rana, CDO Khumraj Punjali and district police chief Dil Singh Rokka made an inspection of the village today.     

Students run riot over alleged tampering

-By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Jan 18 - Angered by alleged tampering in their examination results, students at Tribhuvan University (TU) economics department today set their department buildings on fire.

The students claimed there were evident irregularities in results of the second year MA examinations published by the T.U. Office of Controller of Examinations on Jan 13. Six students from the last year’s list of top ten have failed in the second year exams, according students.

In a press statement issued today the Economics Student’s Society (ECOSS) demanded immediate action against the alleged culprits. “The published result is unexpected and preposterous,” said ECOSS. “We strongly demand immediate investigation into the case.”

Secretary of the Free Student Union of the University, Manohar Parajuli said that the irregularities in the University examinations have become more or less “customary.” “The present result is just another example,” he said. “Union demands that the  university sort out the problem within three days as it is directly related with the future of the students.”

“Other two toppers have passed with very poor marks,” said an agitated student. “Everyone one knows that there is something fishy with the board at the Controller’s office but no one takes any action.”

Scrutiny Board is the ultimate body of the Controller’s Office which sanctions examinations results.

Office of the Controller of Examination, however, refutes all the allegations as “baseless”.

Who’s new boss of the CIAA permeates the air

-By Sanjeev Ghimire / Hari Bahadur Thapa

KATHMANDU, Jan 18 - Five days later the head of the powerful anti-corruption constitutional body the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) retires. But the public is still in dark about who the future Chief Commissioner is.

The government still has not announced the name of the prospective candidates despite the fact that the ruling party had in its election manifesto announced to make appointments in constitutional bodies transparent.

Even the main opposition CPN-UML and Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) had pledged their commitment to keep the appointments in constitutional bodies transparent. All the three parties have their representatives in the Constitutional Council which recommends the name for the appointment of officials at the constitutional bodies. But the Council is also keeping the prospective names under wraps.

The five-member Council consists Prime Minister, the Chief Justice, the Speaker, the Chairperson of the Upper House and the Leader of the Main Opposition.

Experts are demanding that the Council hold public debates while selecting the heads of such bodies.  

Advocate Prakash Awasti maintains the Constitutional Council should first announce the names of the prospective candidates and then hold extensive discussions on their calibre. “The officials should then be appointed on the basis of meritocracy. The best should be selected for the post,” he says.

“However, in Nepal the Constitutional Council makes the name public only after appointing the person,” says Awasti.

Kedar Khadka of Pro Public, an NGO working on the issues of public concern, says there should be public debate while appointing officials at the constitutional bodies. “The civil society should also be involved in the process,” he says.

Lack of transparency while appointing the officials at the coveted posts in the constitutional bodies have resulted in political appointments at these bodies. This trend has made the Commission ineffective.

“Political party’s quota system, and appointment of people suitable to their interest has destroyed the Commission,” says Ramesh Nath Dhungel, Vice-chairperson of the Transparency International Nepal. “The positions at the Commission is not an award to give away to people.”

“Besides, the very trend is against the spirit of the Constitution,” he says. The Constitution has a provision that states the officials at the Commission has to be a non-political person. Members of political parties are ineligible to be a Commissioner. 

Intellectuals are also demanding that the government explore candidates outside bureaucracy. The trend till now has been to appoint a retired bureaucrat.

Political analyst Krishna Hachhethu labels this practice as “extremely misleading”. “Running CIAA is not like operating bureaucracy,” says Hachhethu. “We cannot expect the former bureaucrats softened by years of government service and conditioned to please the power rather than to serve the people to punish the powerful personalities who are the most corrupt ones.”

Third World nations told to come together

-By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Jan 18 - To safeguard themselves from the global forces, Third World countries should develop a regional cooperation to “collectively” meet challenges of the new world order, said experts here today.

President of the Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity Organisation (AAPSO) and former Egyptian Foreign Minister Dr Morad Ghaleb said the developed countries, led by the United States, were using mass media to foster globalisation that exploit the developing world.

“None of us (the underdeveloped and the developing countries) can meet the challenge independently,” said Ghaleb. “We should collectively meet it.”

He added the developed European countries have formed European Union to jointly face the threats posed by American dominance.

AAPSO is a Cairo based high profile non-governmental organisation trying to develop cooperation between the Africa and Asia.

He was addressing a talk programme organised by Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity Committee of Nepal on “AAPSO Movement and South-South Dialogue and Cooperation” here today.

Chairperson of the Raj Parishad Standing Committee Dr Keshar Jung Rayamajhi said that Nepal should support AAPSO’s movement for “peace and prosperity” in the region. “Two continents should develop closer ties as both the continents advocate peace and prosperity for the entire humanity.”