Hotel row deadlock ends temporarily

By Gopal Tiwari

KATHMANDU, Nov 11 - The deadlock between hoteliers and hotel employees regarding the  imposition of an additional 10 per cent service charge on all hotel services has ended today after both the parties agreed to seek an amicable solution within a month.

The decision was taken at an emergency meeting held between the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce-Employers Council, the employees and the government officials. However, Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) has yet to make its stand clear on issue.

Ajay Sthapit, Secretary General of HAN asserted that the time limit is too short, and it should be extended for at least one year instead of one month, to study in detail about the problems of tourism industry including extra service charge being raised by the hotel employees.

A source close to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) disclosed today that the government is to make its formal statement seeking at least 3 months to study the issue in detail.

It is said that the commission, will study at length on the additional service charge and other labour related policies, it is learnt.

The meeting held today was attended by Shanker Koirala, joint secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA), Tarini Dutta Chataut, Minister for MoCTCA, Rajendra Khetan, Chairman at Employers’ Council-Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Director General of Labour Department Deep Basnet, Member Secretary of Joint Central Action Committee Bishnu Lamsal and other trade union leaders Achyut Raj Pandey, Basu Joshi and Madhav Neupane. However, there was no one representing from Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) in the meeting, it is learnt.

Issuing a press statement today, Central Joint Action Committee of Hotel Employees has also stated that they have postponed the strike for a month. Meanwhile, they have also asserted that if the government and the employers do not come up with a solution in time agreed upon, strike would resume after one month.

Hotel employees had threatened to go on nationwide strikes from November 19 if the employers could not solve their problem.

According to a source close to PMO, a meeting held between Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and Shanker Koirala Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation along with Kumar Poudel, Acting Secretary at the MoCTCA has decided to form a committee and seek amiable solution within a short period of time.

One of the members of an emergency meeting, Rajendra Khetan, Chairman at Employers Council-FNCCI said that the HAN and employees should hold dialogue to solve the problems. They are in the same wave length to have a tripartite committe to resolve and, both will understand today’s crisis and importance to tourism as a whole.

HAN’s Sthapit is concerned with the crisis created by the hotel employees. He added that tourism industry alone contributes 4 percent to Gross Domestic Product. He said the industry alone employs more than 1 million people across the country, directly or indirectly. Tourism sector earns more than 168 millino US dollar per year.

Shailaja standing for elections too

BIRATNAGAR, Nov 11 (RSS) - Nepali Congress central leader and former deputy prime minister Shailaja Acharya issued a press release here today making it clear that she fielded herself for the post of party president with a view to giving continuity to the glorious history of the Congress party and restoring the politics of norms and values.

Acharya also cleared the suspicion that she will not fight against the incumbent party President Girija Prasad Koirala who has already declared to run for the post, but she will make every effort till the last minute to win his support.

On the one hand, one clique is bent on capturing the whole party on the count of money, while the other is doing its best to tear the party apart taking the crutches of a leader, she said, adding she has presented herself as a third viable alternative within the party since the both situations are likely to invite a crisis.

She decided to take the strong decision to save the party, she further said.

NOC rules out rollback in petro-prices

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KATHMANDU, Nov 11 - Dismissing speculations that the government might reduce the prices of petroleum products, a Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) official today said that the state-owned monopoly is not in a position to do so.

"NOC can’t reduce the prices as the price of petroleum products in such a situation - when the prices of petro-products have skyrocketed in the international market," NOC’s Executive Director Mandan Raj Sharma told The Kathmandu Post Saturday. "We have not yet received any notification from the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) to this effect (rollback)."

DPM Ram Chandra Poudel on Friday held talks with the leaders of the Main Opposition CPN-UML, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and the group of nine left parties, which are spearheading a series of protest programmes to protest the hike in the prices of petroleum products. They have gone on to call Nepal Bandh on Mangsir 1 and 2 (November 16 and 17).

In the Friday’s all-party meeting, Poudel was known to have assured the opposition parties that he would discuss the matter with concerned officials.

The government last month hiked the prices of petrol, diesel, kerosene and LP-gas by 17.5, 20, 100 and 18.3 per cent respectively, besides announcing that it would distribute three litres of kerosene to each families every month at a rate of Rs 15.

Commenting on the NOC statement, RPP leader Prakash Chandra Lohani said that the reason cited by NOC - that the rise in the prices of petro-products in the international market prompted NOC to hike the prices - is not justified.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the group of nine left parties held Saturday at the party office of CPN-ML decided to go ahead with the protests, warning that "the government should be held responsible for any eventualities".

WWF conference from tomorrow

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KATHMANDU, Nov 11 - The upcoming annual conference of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) will herald a new era in the conservation of nature in that it will involve the world’s major faiths towards the "preservation of their own creation", WWF International officials said here today.

WWF International President Prof. Ruud Lubbers and Director Claude Martin arrived here today for the landmark meet which is due for November 13-17. Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburg also WWF President Emeritus and founder of Alliance of Religions and Conservation, is also arriving for the event.

Talking to reporters at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) Saturday, the officials also said that the event will encourage Nepali authorities to protect the fragile nature and ecosystem of the Himalayas, besides contributing to instill awareness about the importance of nature conservation amongst the masses.

WWF International President Prof. Lubbers, also a former Prime Minister of Netherlands, said that Nepal’s unique bio- and cultural-diversity and its Himalayas encouraged them to choose Nepal as the venue for the 39th Annual Conference.

To a question as to whether conservation of nature would help reduce poverty, Lubbers said, "There is no contradiction between nature and poverty. At least it will help people get rid of difficult conditions."

Lubbers will formally take charge of the High Commissioner for UNHCR (United Nation’s High Commission for Refugees) beginning January 2001, according to WWF officials.

Shedding light on the conference, WWF International Director Martin said, "We really think that harmony with nature and cherishing nature will be a key point during the meet."

Over 500 wildlife experts, religious leaders belonging to 12 different faiths and WWF officials from around the world will participate in the five-day event which is expected to boost Nepal’s image as one of the finest nature destinations in the world. The faiths involved are Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islam, Jain, Jew, Shinto, Sikh, Tao and Zoroastrian.

Prime Minister of Mongolia, Enkhbayar - who will represent Buddhism - will also participate in the "largest ever Annual Conference" on the theme - The Journey to Kathmandu: Sacred Gifts for a Living Planet. The event will be broadcast live on the state-owned Nepal Television, the Internet and other world media such as the BBC and CNN.

WWF and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) have joined together to encourage, secure and celebrate significant new conservation actions - called Sacred Gifts For a Living Planet - by the world’s major faiths.

Nepali Siamese twins to be separated in S’pore

SINGAPORE, Nov 11 (AP) - Doctors in Singapore have offered free surgery to separate the brains of six-month-old Siamese twins from Nepal, and a Nepalese official urged the world on Friday to donate the money the poor parents will need to pay for the girls’ hospital care.

The girls, Ganga and Jamuna Shrestha, are joined at the head — a rare condition known as vertical craniopagus.

On Friday, the chief doctor who plans to perform the operation, Dr. Keith Goh, said this kind of surgery has only been conducted four other times in the world and only once successfully.

Goh said the operation on the girls will be very risky but that they are healthy, and a successful separation is possible. He said their brains are "sort of merged together" at some points but have suffered no neurological damage.

Currently, Goh said, there is a risk that the girls’ brains could become more fused as they grew older, but that the doctors are not rushing into surgery. Goh said Ganga, who has a cleft palate, is always hungry and that she and her sister have very distinctive personalities. He said they tend to fall asleep and get hungry at different times each day.

M.N. Swami, a top official at the Nepalese consulate in Singapore, appealed on Friday to the world to send donations to help the family pay for the twin’s care.

The surgeons are donating their time to perform the surgery, but the Shrestha family will need to pay the girls’ estimated U.S. dlrs 60,000 hospital bill. Swami said he is counting on donations from Nepalese living in Singapore, but also from donors in other countries.

Abducted NC Secy escapes

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NEPALGUNJ, Nov 11 - Nepali Congress Secretary of Dailekh district Mani Ram Regmi escaped after a month of captivity from the Maoist insurgents today, police said.

Maoist rebels had abducted Regmi from his house in Khursanibari of Narayan Municipality-3 on October 12 when he was mourning the death of his mother.

According to Amar Singh Shah, Acting Deputy Inspector General of Police at Mid-Western Regional Police Office, Nepalgunj, police escorted Regmi to the Police Office from Bharta VDC at the border of Dailekh and Kalikot districts.

Regmi reached Bharta from Jouchour of Lakandra VDC deceiving the Maoists this morning. Then, he contacted the army of Tele-Communication Tower at Bharta and police got the information through the army.

Regmi was tortured by the Maoists and is undergoing treatment in Bheri Zonal Hospital.

Democratic census to follow

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DHARAN, Nov 11 - All nationalities should clearly state their ethnic groups, languages and religion in the coming national census, activists said here today.

Addressing a two-day eastern regional seminar about awareness on census, sociologist Dr Krishna Bhattachan said that though the tradition of census in Nepal is 90 years old, the rulers have been misguiding the census statistics for their vested interests.

He said the data on nationalities were not collected in the Rana period, the questionnaire did not include questions on mother tongues and nationalities in Panchayati period and even after the restoration of democracy questions on all topics were asked but only to produce perfidious statistics.

"The studies have found that there are over 125 languages in Nepal but census has recognised only 32 languages," he claimed.

Central chairman of Dharmodaya Sabha Lok Darshan Bajracharya said that it was a conspiracy to remove the Newars from the government’s list of the 61 nationalities. "Delisting the Newars from the list of nationalities who fits in the definition prepared by the government’s Nationalities Development Committee is an accident," he said.

Balkrishna Mabohang, the general-secretary of Nepal Federation of Nationalities, said that each nationality has separate religion and language. And if it happens to possess more than one language or religion, it ceases to remain nationalities. But he admits that one can convert himself into any other religion as per the basic rights.

He said that census is not only a technical subject. It can affect the economic, social and political interests of the nationalities so apart from raising awareness, creating a pressure group is also necessary to let the surveyors write the exact names of the nationalities, their mother tongues and religions.

Executive Director of Nepal Nationalities Development Committee Dr Chaitanya Subba said till the eighth census, the policy of one-language-one-religion prevented the statistics of being fair but, he assured, the government would come up with better results in this democratic environment.