AI to press for release of woman detainee  

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KATHMANDU, Nov 10 - The Amnesty International (AI) today said it would mobilize international pressure to make the Nepalese government to release a woman arrested for her links to the Maoist rebels.

"We will mobilize international pressure on the government and the Inspector General of Police so we are told as soon as possible where she is," Amnesty International General Secretary Pierre Sane told reporters today.

Sane, who is in Nepal to launch the international human rights organization's global campaign to eradicate torture, said that Geeta Shahi was last seen taken by two plain clothed policemen from her home at Baghbanjyang in Tanahu district on Oct 31.

When her family tried to contact the police station the next day and the district police office the day after, they were told that she was never in police custody and they knew nothing about her arrest.

"We have serious concerns about   her fate. The Amnesty International considers her as disappeared and fears she is being subjected to torture," Sane said. "We are calling on the government to make public her whereabouts and allow immediate access to doctors, lawyers and family members."

Shahi is the regional chairperson of the All Nepal Women's Organization (Revolutionary), the women wing of the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist).

"We would urge the Maoists to make sure that their combatants are instructed to leave torture out," he said.

The Amnesty International which has launched a global campaign against torture on Oct 18 also launched the campaign in Nepal today.

"Torture in Nepal exists due to discrimination against the poor and lower castes," he said criticising the political parties' apathy to enact laws to ban torture.

"The laws has not been brought and I wonder why despite the fact that many of these parliamentarians had been victims of torture during the Panchayati time," he said.

"Even when the Constitution has the provision I wonder why the law is not passed...I wonder if it is because the victims are poor people and the Parliament has not seen the urgency," he said.

Earlier, talking to The Kathmandu Post on atrocities carried out by both the government forces and the Maoists, Sane said any body violating international convention on human rights can be tried for rights violation anywhere outside the country.

"Both the parties do not have the rights to attack civilians and enlist children as soldiers. Our role is to make sure that everybody is aware of international law and all parties abide by them," he said.

Meanwhile, AI directors from 30 countries and 13 participants from International Secretariat took part in Director's Forum meeting that started today at Lalitpur.

The three day meeting is expected to chart out the future course of action of AI according to  Krishna Kandel, chairperson of AI Nepal section.

Prince Philip coming on November 14

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KATHMANDU, Nov 10 - His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh will be visiting Nepal from November 14 to 17 to attend the 39th annual conference of the World Wide Fund for Nature(WWF), a British Embassy press release said here today.

Prince Philip was a central figure in the 1986 WWF annual conference held in Assisi, Italy where WWF and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation joined together to celebrate the new conservation action by the world's major faiths under the banner of Sacred Gifts for a Living Planet, the release adds.

The Kathmandu Conference is the follow-up of this commitment.

Over 500 wildlife experts, religious leaders from different faiths and WWF officials from around the world will be attending the conference with the theme "The Journey to Kathmandu: Sacred Gifts for a Living Planet", the press release further adds.

Prince Philip was the first president of the World Wildlife Fund(WWF)-UK from its formation in 1961 until 1982 and international President of WWF(later the World Wide Fund for Nature) from 1981 until 1996. He is now President Emeritus of WWF.

NIDC on the brink of collapse

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KATHMANDU, Nov 10 - Nepal Industrial Development Corporation (NIDC) is on the brink of collapse due to "unnecessary government interference" in its functioning and lack of accountability, said the Corporation officials at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Friday.

The "over centralization of decision-making power" has made the recovery of loans a near impossible task, stated these officials. At present, NIDC has Rs 2.2 billion in outstanding loans, out of which more Rs 300 million remains to be recovered from government undertakings like Butwal Spinning Mills Limited, Himal Cement and Gorakhkali Rubber Industry. Of the three, Butwal Spinning alone accounts for a total outstanding loan of more than Rs 234.8 million.

"We are not free to take decisions," said Uttam Narayan Shrestha, general manager at NIDC, "as most of our activities are controlled by the Department (of Industry)." "Without disbursement, there can be no recovery," Shrestha added, giving reasons for the NIDC's inability to recover outstanding debts.

Since 1995, a general manager can sanction a loan amounting to Rs 2.5 million. Any loan over this amount has to cleared by the Board. Previously, general managers could sanction loans up to Rs 20 million.

"Another problem is that general managers are frequently changed," said Milan Bikram Shah, deputy general manager at NIDC. "We have been facing problem over the last five years. "Foreign investment has stopped coming and our resources have depleted. Our vital clients have left us."

Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani, PAC member, criticised the management for charging high rate of interest, despite being a development financial institution. "Why should the customers come to you?" said Dr Lohani, adding "Why should the Corporation be not disbanded to put an end to the sorry state of affairs?"

DGM Shah said they have already brought interest rates down to 13.5 per cent from the earlier 16-17 per cent.

Today, NIDC officials presented a list of those firms and companies which had been given loan of more than Rs 10 million. PAC Chairman Subhas Nemwang directed the Corporation officials to furnish a list of loans of more than five million rupees for their investigation.

NIDC officials said strict adherence to Corporation's regulations would help it recover. PAC members concurred with the suggestion.

NIDC was established in 1959 to provide capital to industries and help them run.

Meanwhile, PAC decided to send letters to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation asking them to send the copies of all correspondence between them and Lauda Air. At present, PAC is investigating the RNAC-Lauda Air B-767 jet lease deal.

Deuba threatens mass resignation

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JANAKPUR, Nov 10 - Former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said here today that, if need be, he and his colleagues would tender their collective resignations from the Central Working Committee of the Nepali Congress party.

Speaking to the press at the end of his three-day stay in Janakpur, former prime minister Deuba said, "There is high possibility of rigging in the party presidential election during the forthcoming 10th General Convention. The way our friends have resigned from the party election commission, many members of the CWC will also follow suit".

Deuba also accused the Koirala camp of indulging in a massive rigging in the preparation of the voters list published in all parts of the country. "Even then, we will be victorious," he added.

Former PM Deuba declared his candidacy for the coveted post of the party's presidency while addressing a mass meeting here Wednesday.

When asked to comment on the basis of his victory, Deuba said, "Our movement is against injustice. Those fighting against injustice will always be triumphant".

Asked to comment on the recent statement of old generation leaders who extended their support to PM Girija Prasad Koirala, former PM Krishna Prasad Bhattarai-backed Deuba said, "But Congress youths are with us. The 21st century is of the young generation".

Deuba said that he wanted to see his party become fully democratic. "My candidacy to the party presidency is directed to honour those who even disagree with the party leadership, as well as to resolve the regional imbalance, linguistic and ethnic problems and also to alleviate poverty and illiteracy," Deuba said.

Talking to the press, Deuba said that he would honour the philosophy of one-man-one-post and he would not become the prime minister after being elected the party president.

Asked to comment on the remarks made by Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Ram Chandra Poudel, about the report on Maoist issue, Convenor of the High Level Committee for the Resolution of Maoist Problem, Deuba said, "The DPM made no suggestions when I handed the report over to him."

As a convenor of the Committee, former PM Deuba officially handed the report on Maoist issue over to the DPM on last Tuesday.

Replying to a query, he said that the Maoist problem had thrived after he stepped down from the government. Maoists declared their People's War on February 12, 1996, during the incumbency of Deuba as the prime minister of the NC-RPP and NSP coalition government.

Paleo lake drained approx 3m years ago

By Surendra Phuyal

KATHMANDU, Nov 10 - Was it really Manjushree, the deity from Tibet in the history books, who drained all the water from the paleo-Kathmandu lake which supposedly existed over what now is the Kathmandu Valley millions of years ago? Or was it a natural force that cut open the gorge of Chovar to empty the lake?

Scientists from Nepal and Japan, who are currently working to gather scientific evidence surrounding the paleo-Kathmandu lake, say the mystic lake was drained out naturally, and that no divine force--such as Manjushree or Lord Vishnu--was involved. The "natural event" took place approximately three million-plus years ago.

And the gorge of Chovar was not the only gorge that was cut open naturally more than three million years ago. "There were and are other gorges too--like the Gokarneshwor and Pashupatinath gorge," Dr Hideo Tabata, a scientist on the team told The Kathmandu Post Friday.

He added, "After rigorous analyses of the sedimentary layers, what we have concluded is that the Chovar gorge was formed naturally as a result of massive erosion--and deposition--which possibly was triggered by an event of lake outburst. All the three gorges were formed around the same time."

Dr Tabata and other scientists on his team, meanwhile, argue that the presence of the deep gorges gives rise to the possibility that the huge paleo-Kathmandu lake was divided by these gorges, meaning there was more than one lake in the Valley.

The scientists, however, have not yet calculated the exact date of when the paleo-lake was formed, and when was it drained out. Said another member of the team, Dr Harutaka Sakai of Kyushu University: "Although we are still in the process of (paleo-magnetic) dating the sedimentary rocks and other layers that we have found during the course of our study, it appears that the lake is over three million years old."

Supported by Japan's Ministry for Education, the team of scientists comprising geologists, paleoecologists, structure ecologists, petrologists and sedimentologists--most of them from Japan--are involved in the "detailed geological research project on the historic Kathmandu Valley".

The project started last year, and is due to finish in March 2002.

Both mythology and science say that the 500 sq km Valley was a lake once upon a time. While some say that Manjushree from Tibet cut open the gorge near Chovar with a sword, others say that the Hindu God Lord Vishnu used his Sudarshan Chakra to drain out the water, paving the way for the formation of a fertile valley.

Dr Tabata said his team members also recovered fossils of fish belonging to the carp family, fish-eating gharials, algae and plankton--a floral species found at the bottom of lakes--in the lacustrine and sandy sedimentary layers of the Valley.

Think twice before constructing...

The scientists have warned Kathmanduites to think twice before constructing big structures such as buildings and bridges as the surface of the Valley is still "very soft".

"We found the surface really soft and unconsolidated up to 20 meters deep in all the three holes drilled as part of our study recently," Dr Harutaka Sakai said, referring to the drilling which was conducted in three locations in the Valley in October.

He added, "It is imperative that detailed engineering designs are drawn up before undertaking any construction venture here. The foundations for bigger structures need to go really really deep, say, up to at least 20 meters."

The holes were drilled in Patan, Tri-Chandra College and Rabi Bhawan, according to him. Situated on the lap of mighty Himalayas--which were formed as a result of collision between the Indian and Tibetan plates some 50 million years back--Nepal is prone to earthquakes.

Sweet homecoming for abducted policeman

By Ishwori Neupane

CHARIKOT, Dolakha, Nov 10 - The Maoist-abducted Police Inspector Dilip Gurung, 47, says, the old and non-functional 303 rifle was the main reason behind his abduction, killing of a constable and the loss of the police weapons. He was abducted by Maoists on Sunday and was released on Tuesday night.

At a press conference organised here to hand over Gurung to his family by human rights activists today, Inspector Gurung said, "Maoists hurled bombs from all corners of the (Doramba) Police Post at about 2 a.m. after we ran out of ammunition."

"Then, all constables and the head constables started surrendering to the Maoists and I was also compelled to surrender," Gurung says. The Maoists then blindfolded him and was taken to an unknown place on foot the whole night. The whole journey was quite painful recalls Gurung.

"At the time when I was being taken out of the Post, the Maoists were busy punishing all the surrendered policemen," he says, adding "I was tied up and taken to where the Maoist Commander was present."

"Then after manhandling me the Maoists asked whether I was Tek Bahadur Gurung of Tokarpur Police Post," Gurung said. When he said he was Dilip, they made further inquiries about him.  However,  during the press meet, Gurung did not mention anything about the Maoists' concerns with Tek Bahadur Gurung.

Gurung still showed fatigue of being escorted to the unknown place by the Maoists. He said quoting the Maoists' saying - "Now, our base camp has come and no police can find this place." Gurung said that the place was at the centre of a horrible and steep jungle guarded by Maoist militants. He said that he became too disoriented to recount anything about the location of the place.

Previously, Tek Bahadur Gurung was posted at Tokarpur Police Post. However, Tokarpur was  merged with Doramba foreseeing possible dangers from the Maoists. But, at the time of attack, Tek Bahadur was not present at the Police Post.

"We are against the State Government and not against you. We attacked the Police Post for the formation of our new Base Camp and for the weapons," Dilip quoted the Maoists as saying.

"When we reached their camp, I was bleeding from my ear and they  gave me first aid," he says, adding "they did not torture me, but told me either to help them or to leave the job." However, Gurung says, he will take his decision only after meeting his seniors.

Maoists had released Inspector Gurung, father of two,  and handed him over to Human Rights Activists in the presence of the captive's family members.

"The Maoists had shown their military prowess after they took my statements," the Inspector said, adding "I was amazed to see the Maoists in a big open ground, just like the police and the army troops."

According to Gurung, there were almost 1000-1500 Maoist militants present. After showing their troops, the Maoists took Gurung away from there the same evening. After walking for three days and three nights, Gurung was handed over to the human rights activists during night and the Maoists disappeared.

At the time of attack on Doramba, an amount of about Rs 27,000 belonging to a head constable and one constable was lost. Gurung says, the money was burnt.

Though Gurung is a pensioner, he is still holding the job as acting Police Inspector waiting for the confirmation of the pension. Gurung was born in Lamjung and his family lives at Kamaldanda, Hetauda with his 84-year-old father.

Maoists released Gurung by giving him a set of clothes, a small bag, water-bottle and a towel. He was handed over to his family by human rights activists - Bal Krishna Sharma of INSEC and Hom Pathak of HURON. Released Inspector Gurung says that he will report to the DIG Office after visiting his family in Hetauda.

Pashupati leads Surya Nepal Western Open

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POKHARA, Nov 10 - Pashupati Sharma of Royal Nepal Golf Club shot a six-over 79 on the first day of the Rs 50,000 Surya Nepal Western Open to lead by one stroke over Deepak Neupane at the breathtakingly beautiful Himalayan Golf  Course, today.

Neupane carded a seven-over 80 on the par-73 course which put him two strokes adrift of Radhey Shyam Thapa and Purna Sharma, joint third at nine-over 82. Amateur Yelamber Adhikari put up a superb display and was leading the amateurs at eight-over 81 which was good enough to give him a sole third position in the entire field. Sabin Sapkota, Gopal Nagarkoti and Deepak Magar were tied for the fifth place at ten-over 83.

The Surya Nepal Western Open is sponsored by Surya Tobacco Company Pvt Ltd., who have changed the face of Nepalese sports with their sponsorship programmes.

Pashupati began in brilliant fashion as he hit his lob wedge second shot to five feet on the first hole and began with a birdie. But the joy was shortlived as he hit his tee shot out of bounds on the very next hole and ended up with a double bogey.

Thereafter, his short game deserted him and he made bogies on the fourth seventh, eighth and 11th holes, all resulting from bad chip shots from close to the green.

The 27-year old pro got the second of his three birdies on the 12th hole when he sank a six footer birdie putt.

He three-putted for a bogey on the very next hole and on the 16th, he made a double bogey after an errant tee shot. Pashupati made up for some of the disappointment with a birdie on the 17th.

" I think the score was very good on this difficult course. I was tied for second place here last year and would definitely like to go one place better this year," said Pashupati who won the 1995 Warren Open in Calcutta as an amateur.

Deepak Neupane was going great guns but for two holes on the back nine that completely spoiled his card. After making successive bogies on the second and third holes, the 27-year old pro made back to back birdies on the par-5 fifth and sixth holes.

He then three-putted for a bogey on the seventh to make the turn at one-over.

On the back nine, Neupane, who represented Nepal in 1999 Asia Nations Cup in Kuala Lumpur, made a double bogey on the 13th after hitting his tee shot into the drain and then had a nightmarish 14th hole where he hit two out of bounds to make a quadruple bogey.

"Those two holes killed my chances for the day. But I am sure I can shoot a much better score than this tomorrow and win the title," said Neupane who is playing at the Himalayan Golf Course for the first time.

The Surya Nepal Western Open offers a total prize money of Rs 50,000, with the winner getting richer by Rs 8,300 on Saturday afternoon.

The runner-up will receive a cheque of Rs 5,800, while the third placed pro gets Rs 4,400.