senior poet Madhav ghimire honoring literature Tukraj Mishra with the "Siksha Parishad" Award in Kathmandu on Tuesday.

Maoists call for talks Dinesh Sharma expelled

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KATHMANDU, Nov 16 - Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has retreated from its earlier stance that there was ‘almost no possibility’ of dialogue with the government and has set fresh conditions for its resumption.

A press release issued here today by CPN (Maoist) and signed by its General Secretary Prachanda says that the party is ready for dialogue if the government makes public the whereabouts of Central Committee members Dandapani Neupane, Matrika Yadav, Central Committee Advisor Ishowri Prasad Dahal among others, initiates action for their unconditional release and stops state terrorism.

Commenting on the Maoist latest call for dialogue, Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel told The Kathmandu Post that the government was always open to dialogue to solve the problems facing the nation. When asked, whether the government would fulfil Maoist’s new sets of demands, Poudel said that it first wanted to know why the Maosit didn’t sit for dialogue even after the release of Dinesh Sharma. Though Poudel said it would be immature for him to comment further on the issue, he hinted that the government might be ready for an informal dialogue with the Maoist.

The press release issued by CPN(Maoist) also says that it has expelled and put on observation its leaders Dinesh Sharma and Dinanath Gautam from the party.

The two leaders were released by the government two weeks back after they appeared and condemned Maoist movement in a controversial press conference.

"The way they conducted themselves during the "sponsored" press conference prior to their release was totally against the revolutionary principle, spirit and will of the people," says the release. Sharma and Gautam had appeared at an unexpected press conference on November 3, condemned the Maoist movement and renounced violence. Sharma told the press conference that they were wedded to Maoist philosophies. "However, we found that the citizens were not able to live safely due to a sharp rise in incidences of murder, terror, looting and rape over the last five years." Sharma further added, " Since the nation’s integrity was undermined we have decided to forsake the policy of violence and terror."

However, three hours after their release, they issued a press statement saying that they were forced by the government to renounce violence during the press conference. "Therefore, I refute what I said in the press conference and vow that I will fulfill my responsibility under CPN (Maoist)," read a press statement issued by Dinesh Sharma. The release of these two leaders was one of the major demands posed by CPN (Maoist) for a formal dialogue with the government.

Nepal defends proposal to amend Constitution

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KATHMANDU, Nov 16 - The main opposition CPN-UML General Secretary, Madhav Kumar Nepal, today defended his proposal which seeks to amend the Constitution, hinting that the decade-old-document was "out of date".

"We need to update the document in line with the changing times or else it will begin to lose its effectiveness in the changed situation," Nepal told reporters today.

During the party’s Central Committee (CC) meeting which concluded Wednesday, Nepal submitted a political report to the members suggesting amendment to the present Constitution, that was drafted in 1990, following the restoration of democracy in what he called a move to resolve the problems being faced by the nation.

Although the political report that proposed the amendment was adopted unanimously by the party’s apex body, questions were raised by other powerful members about the process that needs to be adopted for the move.

Khadga Prasad Oli, the party’s second most powerful leader, had questioned the process that needs to be adopted. While Nepal was not clear about the process, Oli insisted that such moves be done within the perimeters of the Constitution.

To make any changes in the Constitution, a two-third of the total 205 votes in the House of Representatives, the Lower House of Parliament, is required.

The one-decade-old Constitution has not been amended to date although there have been attempts by some Parliament members.

Nepal denied any rifts in the party over the proposal and it was adopted unanimously. "There is no such differences in the party over the proposal that was unanimously adopted by the CC," Nepal said.

In the proposal, the party suggests that there should be changes in the election process in the Constitution. They are pressing for the formation of an electoral government formed to conduct free and fair elections.

"The options are open but we are suggesting that such a government be led by the largest party in Parliament and representation in accordance with the proportion of their lawmakers," he said. "This way the elections will be free of rigging and this will help reduce the misuse of police and administrative machinery."

The party is also suggesting that the demarcation of constituencies remain the same for at least the next few years. At present it changes depending on the population that, according to him, gives unfair advantages to some candidates or parties.

Nepal was also a member of the Constitution Drafting Committee that drew up the document in 1990.

UML’s call for constitutional amendment: How necessary?

By Ameet Dhakal

KATHMANDU, Nov 16 - The Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), in its just-concluded central committee meeting, has adopted a political document calling for amendments to the constitution.

As such, the main opposition party has become the first to officially seek amendments to the constitution, a document which is the result of a compromise between the Nepali Congress, the monarchy, and the CPN-UML itself in the days immediately after the restoration of democracy in 1990.

The decision by Nepal’s largest communist party to solicit support in parliament for constitutional amendment is, sooner or later, certain to drag the ruling Nepali Congress party and others into what is likely to be an interesting constitutional debate in the post-1990 period.

The issues CPN-UML is raising are lofty ones; and they are not just concerned with the "technicalities" of the Constitution.

Madhav Kumar Nepal, the powerful General Secretary of CPN-UML, who himself is among the draftees of the present Constitution, has argued that amendment is necessary to address some of pressing issues of Nepali society, such as corruption, land reform, election irregularities, review of parliamentary constituencies based on population changes, and above all, fair representation of ethnic groups and nationalities in the national mainstream.

It is in these issues that the constitutional experts question the legitimacy of CPN-UML’s call for amendment.

"I don’t see any reason why these problems cannot be resolved within the framework of the Constitution," says Daman Nath Dhungana, former Speaker and one of the draftees of the present Constitution. If there are any problems, CPN-UML should come forward and present them in black and white and not in the form of a generalized political statement, he added.

Is the present Constitution a real hurdle to addressing these problems? More importantly, will the amendment alone help to resolve these issues?

Take corruption and fair representation of nationalities, for instance. " For a political party, corruption and fair representation of nationalities are more of an ethical question than a legal one, it is therefore unfortunate that CPN-UML is seeking a constitutional solution to the political problems," says a senior constitutional lawyer who is also one of the draftees of the constitution, but who requested anonymity.

The Constitution does not stand in the way of political parties taking action against corrupt leaders at the party level, neither does it obstruct the way for them to accommodate different ethnic groups and become more representative in their outlook, he says. "But they are blaming the Constitution for their failure to do so."

Talking to The Kathmandu Post, Madhav Kumar Nepal slightly backtracked from his stance on constitutional amendment and said, "Our issue of amendment is mainly focused on the creation of a national government to oversee elections and on the abolition of the practice of reviewing the number of election constituencies before every election."

The rest, he said, are general issues and "my stance is only that we should not shy away from amending the Constitution if it becomes necessary," he added.

Though it is obvious that the CPN-UML wants to share power during election-time to take advantage of incumbency, it is still not clear why the party is so adamantly against the practice of reviewing election constituencies.

A CPN-UML lawmaker, on condition of anonymity, argues that the party is averse to the dangerous trend of increasing the number of parliamentary constituencies in the Terai belt at the expense of such constituencies in the hilly regions, which cover over two-thirds of the total area.

"We want to pre-empt the future consequences of such a trend and it has become more important in the wake of the recent adoption of the Citizenship Bill by the Parliament, which is too liberal towards the foreigners," says he.

For the majority of Nepali people, who are illiterate and cannot read the Constitution, let alone understand the legal jargon, the constitutional debate is hardly going to be interesting. But for constitutional experts, it at least has an academic value: it indicates a clear shift in CPN-UML’s thinking.

When CPN-UML extended "conditional" support to the present Constitution during its promulgation in 1990, it had reservations on some key features of the Constitution, such as the issue of Nepal remaining a Hindu Kingdom and on unalterable provisions such as multi-party democracy and constitutional monarchy. Ten years down the line, CPN-UML seems to have come round to these values and has shifted its concerns to more political issues.

KMC to stop illegal constructions

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KATHMANDU, Nov 16 - After the successful demolision of the illegal construction at the north-east corner of Rani Pokhari, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City is now planning to pull down the construction made over the ancient elephant statue, south of the pond.

On the southern edge of the 17th century pond stands a large stone statue of an elephant mounted by the maker of the religious pond, King Pratap Malla and his two sons. A terrace was contructed over the statue around seven months ago by the restaurant situated in the adjoining building. The building is a property of a government body - Public Garden and Auditorium Development Committee (PGADC).

"We will have the terrace, partly covering the statue, demolished very soon at any cost," said Executive Officer of KMC, Hari Prasad Rimal, Thursday. He also added that KMC would continue its campaign to pull down all the illegal constructions, which damage the ambience of the ancient monument and the beauty of the pond.

"Now we are confident that people will be on our side when we stop illegal constructions. KMC will take any harsh step if the Kathmanduites want to safeguard Kathmandu’s ancient and historic monuments," he added.

Tasty Cafe built the terrace over the statue which has taken the building on lease from PGADC for ten years.

Architect Sudarshan Raj Tiwari says the historic statue of King Pratap Malla, who built the religious pond should be exposed to public view at any cost.

Devendra Dangol, Senior Engineer at Urban Development Department says not only terrace but the building holding the terrace and other structures around Rani Pokhari should be demolished in order to revive the original look of Rani Pokhari.

A plan to demolish all the surrounding new buildings and changing the road south of Rani Pokhari into a pedestrian lane was designed some six years ago. But due to political pressure and other reasons it was shelved and the number of illegal houses around the historic pond are growing day by day.

Team to begin embankment survey

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NEPALGUNJ, Nov 16 – Technical teams from Nepal and India are set to begin within a week, technical surveys to construct an embankment on the right bank of the Rapti river, as agreed earlier during a meeting between Water Resources secretaries of both the countries.

According to high level officials in the Water Resources Ministry, the technical team will survey the area where the embankment is to be constructed.

The Nepali side is to be led by Division Engineer of Banke district irrigation office Rishi Ram Sharma, and the Indian side will be headed by Superintendent Engineer of Baharaich district irrigation office R D Singh. The proposed embankment could be as long as five kilometres, officials said.

India committed to construct the embankment on the Rapti river during secretary level talks in Kathmandu some months ago. The construction of the Laxmanpur Barrage on the river, just within 300 metres of the Nepal-India border, flooded dozens of villages in Banke district.

According to a report prepared by Nepali technicians, nearly 3,400 bighas of land will be submerged by the barrage, and more than 15,000 Nepali families will be affected. An Indian report, however, says that "there is no question of Nepali land being submerged."

The furore over the Laxmanpur barrage soured relations between the two neighbours this past monsoon season as reports of flooding on the Nepal side began pouring in.

But during Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s visit to Delhi early this year, the two sides agreed to look into the matter and resolve it amicably. The secretary level talks in Kathmandu that followed decided that India would commit itself to build an embankment on the river to protect Nepali land from being submerged.

Nepali technicians however say that the embankment is not the complete answer to the problems. Experiences elsewhere, along the Koshi river in Bihar, show that embankments are often the problem, not the solution.

Doling out favours RNAC-style

By Damakant Jayshi

KATHMANDU, Nov 16 - It is not unusual for RNAC, the national flag-carrier, to land in regular controversies. Throughout its four decade-long history, the airline has weathered many controversies.

So is the case during the present tenure of RNAC executive chairman Hari Bhakta Shrestha. Since becoming chairman of the national airline, Shrestha has found his name splattered across the pages of newspapers in the course of the usual hullabaloo raised over his attempts to lease a wide-body jet.

First it was a deal with Babcock and Brown, an Irish aircraft leasing company, that fell apart. Then came Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services, and now Lauda Air.

In all these controversies, hidden behind the scenes is the allegedly close relationship between executive chairman Shrestha and a leading trading house of Nepal - ICTC. The relationship is so special, point out RNAC insiders, that executive chairman Shrestha will not lease a wide-body jet not promoted by ICTC.

"Given the circumstances of the past few months, it seems that the chairman has a special affinity for ICTC," says Badri Bahadur Karki, vice president of the RNAC Employees’ Union.

Both RNAC and ICTC deny the charges implied in this special relationship.

"It is 300 per cent false," asserted RNAC chairman Shrestha. "We’ve given equal opportunity to everyone in our leasing deals. We see only the merit of the case."

He added: "Most of the representatives here claim they are authorised agents of this and that airlines or companies but when we ask them to show their licence, they are nowhere to be seen."

ICTC managing director Dinesh Lal Shrestha is equally vehement. "These are baseless, nonsensical rumours. A section of the press is out to malign my good name," he fumed.

The denials notwithstanding, the way RNAC has behaved since Shrestha became the executive chairman does provide grounds for suspicion.

RNAC’s official policy before Shrestha came to the airline had been to lease a wide-body jet that was less than five years old. In April-May this year, ICTC represented Babcock and Brown in an RNAC tender for a Boeing 767 jet. But the jet was nine years old. RNAC simply revised its age limit to 10 years. Insiders say, that was done to accommodate the Babcock and Brown jet.

The airline even went ahead and granted the leasing deal to Babcock and Brown (represented by ICTC). The Kathmandu Post possesses documentary evidence in which ICTC is seen boasting to have won for Babcock and Brown a Letter of Intent from RNAC "in a record time of 7 days, for the first time in the history of RNAC for a tender of such size."

The Irish lease deal, however, fell apart after Babcock and Brown failed to supply the promised aircraft. Shrestha then began talks with Ansett of Australia, which had come in second after the Irish company in the tender, but that too failed after two months of negotiations.

RNAC then called for a re-tender. Of the companies that had applied, none were found to meet chairman Shrestha’s criteria, so he began direct negotiations with Lauda Air, again represented by none other but ICTC.

To do that, RNAC crossed its own (revised) aircraft age limit of 10 years. The age bar was now further raised since the Lauda Air aircraft RNAC is currently gunning for is more than 12 years old.

Asked why the age specifications were changed repeatedly to accommodate an aircraft promoted by ICTC, RNAC chairman Shrestha replied, "we did not get the required aircraft even after floating four tenders and sealed offer at different times. Since we need a wide-body jet to face competition on our international routes, we had to do it."

Justifying the leasing deal with Lauda Air, Shrestha added: "Unnecessary fuss is being created. I reiterate that we have complied with all the norms."

Dinesh Lal Shrestha of ICTC also vehemently denied that he had influenced RNAC in changing the age-bar in any way. "It is RNAC that makes the specifications. I have nothing to do with them," he asserted.

Non-bandh affects normal life

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KATHMANDU, Nov 16 - Despite the eleventh hour call-off of the two-day-long Nepal bandh called by the left parties, normal life was affected all over the country today as most vehicles stayed off the road and educational institutions and businesses remained closed, according to reports from our correspondents.

The left parties, including the main opposition CPN-UML, had called for a nationwide shutdown for two days, starting today, to protest against the recent hike in the prices of petroleum products, but decided to withdraw after the government late yesterday decided to lower the price of kerosene to Rs 22 per litre from Rs 26.

Although no untoward incidents were reported, there were less vehicles plying on the streets of the capital city and elsewhere. News of the late-night breakthrough was slow to trickle down and educational institutions and marketplaces remained closed in many places.

Normal lives and businesses were severely affected in eastern parts of the country. The far-eastern Terai district of Jhapa, a left stronghold, was majorly affected by the bandh call as such townships as Birtamod, Urlabari and Damak wore a deserted look with virtually no vehicles plying the roads and only pharmacies remaining open. Motorcycles and rickshaws were the only forms of transport to be seen on the roads.

The districts of Morang and Sunsari were also affected by the bandh call as 75 per cent of the vehicles were not operating and 25 per cent of the educational institutions remained closed in the townships of Biratnagar and Dharan. In Siraha, a group of left-wing activists vandalized a long-distance night bus running along the East West highway early today.

The bandh call also affected business activities in the bustling commercial hub of Birgunj in the central Terai. Fifty per cent of the shops remained closed throughout the day. Normal life was also affected in Rautahat, where marketplaces in the townships of Chandranigahapur and Gaur remained closed.

The bandh call also affected day-to-day activities in the districts of Chitwan, Dhading, Kavre and Dolakha. While the inter-city bus services were not operating, only a handful of local buses and smaller automobiles could be seen plying in these areas.

Business was also affected in the western districts of Kapilvastu and Lamjung.

The government, in the second week of October, hiked the prices of petro-products by up to 100 per cent, saying that rise in the prices of fossil fuels in the international market prompted it to do so.

Subsequently, the left parties comprising the group of nine left parties and the main opposition CPN-UML came up with a series of protest programmes, most of which were staged in the capital city.

But after the protests failed to yield substantial results the left parties did what most parties - both political and non-political - have done over the last ten years: call Nepal bandh. That too for two days not one.

In the last ten years since the democratic polity was restored in 1990, various parties, mainly the opposition political forces, have already called - and subsequently staged - Nepal bandhs 50-plus times.

Experts have raised serious concerns over such tendency to call bandh after bandh in recent times. They say that such a mode of staging protests only serves to cripple tourism--Nepal’s major foreign currency spinner.

This time too the bandh were called when the capital city was hosting a major international conservation-religion meet despite pleas to the contrary by the organizers of the 39th Annual Conference of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Jomsom air-route strike ends in truce

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POKHARA, Nov 16 - The Jomsom-Pokhara air-route strike ongoing since the past four days finally came to an end today after a truce was reached between the private airline operators and the locals of Mustang.

In a meeting that took place today at Jomsom between Chief District Officer (CDO) Devi Prasad Bhattarai and representatives of all private airline operators, a verbal agreement was reached to provide two emergency seats on every flight for the locals on the recommendation of the CDO.

According to Nirmal Gauchan, chairman of Mustang VDC who had been heading the strike, private airlines which do not operate frequent flights to Jomsom also agreed to operate additional flights for the locals as well.

The agreement also includes charging a predetermined discounted rate of Rs 863 by private airlines and Rs 730 by the state run RNAC for all Nepalese even when they travel in a tourist flight.

Locals had argued that the private airlines prefer to fly tourists rather than the locals. This leaves the people wanting to travel out of the district stranded or waiting for a flight for days.