PM unaware of Maoist response

By Post Reporter

BIRATNAGAR, June 17 - Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala today claimed the government hasn’t received any official response from the Maoists yet regarding the much expected talks with the government.

"It’s only the newspapers which are carrying the rumours. I do not know the reality or the people Baburam Bhattarai (of NCP-Maoist) has deputed for talks and what the agenda are," he told reporters here.

"The government has not yet received any authorised proposal for dialogue. Even the Prime Minister knows nothing. Nothing can be done on the basis of newspaper stories."

The Prime Minister’s claims, run counter to former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s recent assertion that the NCP-Maoists have sent a letter to him, naming Maoist leaders who will take part in the talks.

Asked to comment on the state of the party affairs, the party president said he lamented the "traditional spirit" of his party "that is now dying", which has resulted in a "waywardness".

The party’s established principles have been ignored and the party workers are now just aiming for chairs and rich material dividends, he said, adding he wanted to "discipline party workers."

The prime minister urged people to assist the police force in maintaining law and order in the country and not to demoralize them.

Referring to the current budget, Koirala lauded it as "the most challenging in history, capable of making the country self-reliant, if implemented effectively".

Rights activists urge dialogue

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, June 17 - Rights activists have urged both the government and the underground Maoists to put an end to the spiral of violence and sit for an "unconditional dialogue".

The appeal comes at a time when the High Level Consensus Seeking Commission headed by former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and the Maoists are preparing for talks. On Tuesday, the Nepal Communist Party-Maoist (NCP-Maoist) accepted the government’s calls for dialogue and named representatives for the talks.

"Both the government and Maoists should sit for unconditional talks," said a rights activist. "If the government goes on fulfilling the demands prior to talks, they (Maoists) might put more conditions before the talks."

It was not immediately known whether Maoists had put any "conditions", if at all, for the talks.

Kapil Shrestha, a member of the newly formed Human Rights Commission (HRC), argued that it would be "unrealistic" to expect the first round of government-Maoist talks to resolve the long-festering crisis.

"The first talks will not weave any magic. However, it certainly would help create conducive environment for future talks."

Prachanda, the General Secretary of the NCP-Maoist named senior leader Dr Baburam Bhattarai, Diwakar (former MP Krishna Bahadur Mahara) and Badal (Ram Bahadur Thapa) for the talks.

Since June 13 - the day Maoists are said to have formally announced their participation in the talks - nearly half a dozen police have been killed by the insurgents while a number of police posts have been attacked. Nearly a dozen Maoists have died during this period.

Bhakta Bahadur Shrestha of the pro-Maoists National Agitation Coordination Committee has also urged both police and Maoists to stop violence."The dialogue can resolve the long running conflict but both parties must stop the violence at once," he said.

This is the second attempt made by the Commission to hold talks with the insurgents. Deuba had earlier held preliminary talks with one Comrade Ashok of NCP-Maoist, days before the collapse of the Bhattarai government in March.

Two other members of the Deuba Commission formed late last year are no more cabinet members. "The government should first clarify whether we are members of the commission or not," said deposed Minister Chiranjivi Wagle. Purna Bahadur Khadka, the former home minister is another member of the Commission, who, according to Wagle, finds himself in a "dilemma" now.

"The Home Minister (Govinda Raj Joshi) should also be active in the dialogue," said Wagle.

India violates int’l law on Rapti

By a Post Reporter

NEPALGUNJ, June 17 - Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Human Rights Committee today said India has not followed the international law while constructing a barrage at the Rapti river, south of the Banke district.

Over 15,000 villagers in Nepal will be affected by the dam.

Pointing out a guideline - which states that if the construction of any edifice within 8km of the border affects another country -the affected country must give a go head to such a construction.

"This shows that India has clearly not followed the international law," said President of the parliamentary committee Som Prasad Pandey. He made this remark to reporters after his team completed its investigation of the regions affected by the barrage.

The committee expressed regret over the Indian government’s oversight and appealed all political parties to speak on behalf of the probable victims of the barrage which is expected to submerge 33 villages in Banke.

According to a report issued today, 15,174 locals of 33 villages of the five VDCs -- Holiya, Bethhani, Gangapur, Fattepur, and Matehiya -- will fall prey to the construction.

Jajarkot report sought

KATHMANDU, June 17 (PR)- Speaker Taranath Ranabhat has asked Home Minister Govinda Raj Joshi to furnish details of the police-Maoist encounter in Panchkatiya, Jajarkot where 25 people were killed on June 8.

"I have reminded the Home Minister about the incident and he has said he would present the details to the parliament," the Speaker said today.

"I would ask the Home Minister to present the details of Panchkatiya and other places (of recent encounters) as well."

The Speaker made these remarks in Parliament in response to CPN-UML MP Birodh Khatiwada’s complaint that the government continued to stonewall on the Jajarkot terror.

Of the 25 dead in Jajarkot police-Maoist clash, 12 were police personnel, 7 local residents and 6 Maoists.

Police said hundreds of Maoist guerrillas attacked the Special Police Striking Force unit based in Panchkatiya in Dhime Village Development Committee(VDC), neighbouring Khalanga, the district headquarters.

Lawmakers concerned over jail situation

By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, June 17 - Lawmakers have raised concern about the deteriorating situation of jails in the country.

The legislators who visited jails in all five regions of the country for investigation on the conditions of the jails have stressed on the need to improve its condition. "The wires are all exposed, please be careful while walking," was the kind of concern the prisoners showed to the lawmakers visiting the jails in Kathmandu.

The State Management Committee of the Parliament in its report on the Condition of Prisons submitted to the House today said that jails need "immediate attention so that the prisoners do not have to be alert and cautious in each step within the jail."

The report submitted by chairman of the Committee, Hom Nath Dahal states that all the jails in the country are in a pitiful situation as they lack minimum facilities, and that the prisoners are tortured mentally and physically by the jail administrators.

The report has enlisted 40 major problems faced by the prisons in the country, among which it has raised foremost concern about the situation of children, the elderly and the sick.

It also raises concern about the congestion in the prisons, lack of adequate drinking water, electricity and proper toilet conditions, and leaking rooms.

The report states that people have been suffering in jails due to the delay in deciding their cases.

The lawmakers have expressed sadness over the "miserable condition" of the Central Jail, which keeps AIDS victims and mentally sick prisoners together.

According to the report, the Womens’ Jail has five mentally sick while the number of mentally unstable prisoners in the Central Jail and Bhadragol is much higher.

The prisoners have demanded an increase in their daily rations and allowance, and facilities for training and employment, states the report. Currently, prisoners receive 700 gm of rice grains and Rs 10 per day.

The committee has presented short-term and long-term proposals for the improvement of the jail conditions.

The short-term plans to improve the situation includes the need to keep the prisoners with contagious diseases in separate cells, give various kinds of training, establishment of library and provision of study classes to the illiterates.

The long-term strategies for improvement, among others, state that "facilitated" jails be constructed somewhere far from the towns and provide employment opportunities according to the prisoners’ skills.

Bagmati ‘blueprint’ awaits govt’s nod

By Suman Subba

KATHMANDU, June 17 - Exactly a month and a day after publicly pledging to clean the Bagmati, noted industrialist, Binod Chaudhary today seemed to have made good his promise.

In front of a host of reporters and interested parties, he made public his decision to go ahead with plans to clean the Aryaghat in Pashupatinath.

He declared that a short term ‘Blue print’ to clean the Aryaghat is in place and various working committees are in the process of being formed for the task.

As yet no other private individual has ever promised to take up such an undertaking while the country’s holiest Hindu temple site continues to flounder in the rising pollution. Despite tall claims, the Pashupati Development Trust (PDT), largely responsible for the upkeep of the temple complex, has failed to improve the level of pollution in the Bagmati and the central Aryaghat area.

"We came up with this plan in the shortest period of time possible," said Chaudhary at the conference organised by his own Chaudhary Group. "If the plan works successfully, then clean water will run through the Aryaghat in all weathers allowing the remains from the cremated bodies to be washed away."

On May 16, in an open letter to the Prime Minister published in The Kathmandu Post’s sister publication, Kantipur, Chaudhary had made a fervent plea to the Prime inister to clean the Aryaghat and his resolve to do it himself should the government fail to do so in six months.

Distressed by the sight of the Bagmati, he had made the pledge while putting his mother to the funeral pyre at Aryaghat.

But the PDT had questioned Chaudhary’s capabilities at undertaking such a task. "How familiar can a businessman be with the laws and plans?" it had questioned.

The promise had touched a nerve in the pulse of the nation.

According to Chaudhary, the blueprint was prepared after a feasibility study carried out by a team of Indian technicians. "All we need now is approval from the government," said Chaudhary. "The government must first give approval for any work carried out in a public place," he added.

In the May 16th letter he had requested the government to allow independent individuals to clean the river if they so wished. "...it (government) should let others who are willing to take up the responsibility," he had written.

As yet the government still remains silent on the issue.

He added that the date for the start of construction, its overall cost and its date of completion will be made public after further studies carried out by the technical committee.

"After four years of promising much and spending Rs 300 million we have lost patience," he declared. "But we do not stand against the government’s project," he added.

According to the blueprint, various ponds will be made around the cremation pyre in Aryaghat and a purifying centre will be set up on the shores of Gaurighat.

GAESO to approach British court

POKHARA, June 17 (PR)- The Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen’s Organization (GAESO) today said that it will be approaching the British courts after a year but in the meantime will focus on "internationalizing" the pension and welfare parity issues vis-a-vis the British retired soldiers.

"We will first expose the conspiracy webbed by all political parties and the British government to curtail our movement...Then we will file a case in the British court after consulting international human rights organizations in the United States, Britain and Japan," GAESO President Padam Bahadur Gurung told reporters here today.

According to Gurung, GAESO has already placed a collateral of Rs. 1.7 million with a lawyer to file the lawsuit in Britain.

Since the past five years, the ex-Gurkhas have been demanding pension to those who were dismissed from service without one, pension parity, better employment opportunities for their children, and right to British residential visa.Two GAESO members are presently in Havana, the Cuban capital, to take part in the preparatory meet for the 15th World Festival of Youth and Students, slated for June 18.

GAESO is also organizing an International Human Rights Conference in Nepal to press their demands.

Exam paper re-prepared

TULSIPUR, Dang, June 17 (PR)- The examination authorities of District Level Examination had to prepare again the question papers for Sanskrit after the pro-Maoist All Nepal National Free Students Union (Revolutionary) seized the papers a day before scheduled date of the exam.

The question papers of Sanskrit for class 5 and 8 were seized by a group of around seven and distributed to the locals on Thursday. The exam was scheduled for Friday, June 16.

According to Juddha KC, sub-Inspector at Tulsipur, the group chanted Maoist slogans before seizing the question papers.