Government not to fall into Maoist’s trap: DPM Poudel

By Damakant Jayshi

KATHMANDU, Nov 17 - Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Ram Chandra Poudel said on Friday that the government was not going to concede any more concessions and fall into the trap of fresh conditions set by the Maoists.

Speaking to The Kathmandu Post at his Home Ministry office, DPM Poudel accused the Maoist rebels of trying to extract maximum national and international publicity.

"The rebels are using the talks as a ruse to get a maximum mileage out of the whole exercise and it is only their strategy to buy time and strengthen themselves," said Poudel. "We not only need to find out the authenticity of the statements issued by them (rebels), but also need to know how genuine is their intentions for the dialogue", said the minister.

"I repeat, if they had really wanted to talk, could Dinesh Sharma’s statement have stopped them? Previously, we released Deb Gurung, meeting their condition for talks. They did not come. Now even after Sharma’s and Gautam’s release, they are not coming forward for talks. On top of that the rebels, the media and intellectuals, are questioning our good intentions," observed Poudel.

In the press release issued here Thursday, Pushpa Kamal Dahal a.k.a. Prachanda had asked the government to make public the whereabouts of the party’s central committee members Dandapani Neupane, Matrika Yadav, advisor Ishwari Dahal and other members "without any drama", and start the process of their release and "put an end to state terror". "If the government meets these demands, we are ready to sit for the talks," the release stated.

When asked about the whereabouts of the "missing rebels", Poudel declined to comment.

The DPM said he would insist for a few more rounds of informal talks if the rebels agreed to sit for dialogue. "At least to prepare the modalities for the formal talks, we need to have some informal rounds."

When asked to state the government’s response if the violence escalated, Srikant Regmi, Home Secretary, who was also present during the talks, said that the government would "employ all the possible measures to protect the lives of the citizens."

Speaking about ex-MP and human rights activist Padma Ratna Tuladhar’s comment that the government "only talked about talks without taking any concrete steps", Poudel said, "Tuladharji has not remained as neutral as was expected."

It was Tuladhar who had brokered the informal talks between the DPM and Maoist Rabindra Shrestha, central committee member last month on the ministers request..

Replying to DPM Poudel’s charge, Tuladhar said he had not sided with anyone. "Just because I have spoken as a human rights activist and criticised the government’s handling of the Dinesh Sharma episode, I have been accused of being partisan towards Maoists."

Tuladhar stressed that it was the government’s responsibility to initiate talks now as it was the government, and not the Maoists, which had proposed the dialogue". He added, "If the government does not trust me, they can look for another mediator. It is not necessary that I be the one to mediate again."

Meanwhile, talking to The Kathmandu Post, Narhari Acharya, Spokesman of the ruling Nepali Congress too accused the Maoists of not being sincere about the dialogue with the government. "After Deb Gurung and later the release of Sharma and Gautam, this is the third time they have set conditions. Their motive is questionable. Earlier, they had said they would not talk with the government. What do they actually want?"

Acharya said the NC was in favour of talks and reminded that previously the NC Central Working Committee meeting had asked the government to be open for talks. "As for the party, our task is to create minimum positive environment for talks."

Regarding the rebels’ conditions, Acharya said it has almost become their habit to set fresh conditions. He added that although the government had not yet set any conditions, "it might do so at later stage". However, he did not elaborate on this.

New water resources policy draft submitted to Govt

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KATHMANDU, Nov 17 - The Ministry of Water Resources has submitted to the government a draft on Water Resources Policy 2000, with which it proposes to replace the policy document enforced eight years ago.

With at least half a dozen new private investors applying and eager to develop and operate various hydroelectricity projects in the country, and couple of more already in the process of developing such projects, the new draft takes into consideration many other specific aspects on the future management of water resources in the country.

The draft proposal stresses both on attracting private investors to develop the vast water resource potentials as well as on rural electrification and better management of the power presently generated.

"We presented the policy so that the policy governing hydro power development which is beginning to attract many foreign investors is separated from the integrated policy that was adopted about two months back," said a high ranking official who did not want to be named.

The Infrastructure Transfer Policy that was prepared by the National Planning Commission had also included the clause on hydel project development but the Ministry of Water Resources is stressing on the changing scenario of power development proposed in the new draft.

"The integrated policy includes development works like road and other infrastructure, however, we needed separate and more specific policy," the official said adding that the new draft includes specifics on royalty and tax exemptions for investors investing in hydel projects.

On the royalty front, the annual fee for projects ranging from 1 megawatt to 10 megawatt would be Rs. 100 per kilowatt and 1.75 percent energy fee per kilowatt for the first 15 years and Rs. 100 and 10 percent thereafter.

Similarly, projects ranging from 10 to 100 megawatts would be levied with Rs. 150 per kilowatt as annual royalty and 1.85 per cent for the first 15 years and Rs. 1,200 and 10 per cent for the time after that.

For the projects over 100 megawatts, Rs. 200 per kilowatt annually and 2 per cent as fees for the first 15 years and Rs. 1,5000 and 10 per cent thereafter will be charged.

The document proposes to identify the projects viable for export of power and develop them through private investors. It also calls for maximum down stream benefits when mega-projects are developed in the country.

A Rural Electrification Fund is to be established that would help in electrification of the villages in the country using local people’s participation to the maximum.

Making the process of electricity tariff fixing transparent and justifiable, the ministry is proposing to control price-hike and power leakage.

The priority, however, will be on attracting private investors, both from home and abroad, by offering incentives and making the process more transparent.

A recent study has shown that Nepal has the potentiality to produce 83,000 megawatts of power out of which 42,000 megawatts is feasible. However, at present only about 300 megawatts is produced even when there is high demand for power during the cold winter days, creating a huge shortage in supply of power. Worse, only 15 per cent of the total population have access to electricity.

At present, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA)’s various hydel power plants produce maximum 319 megawatts of power with additional 32 megawatts from diesel-powered plants whenever needed. NEA projections show that by September next year, new projects like the 14-megawatt Modi Khola, 20-megawatt Chilime and 36-megawatt Bhotekoshi will also be generating power totalling the power generation to 428 megawatts, which would leave only one megawatt as surplus.

But, the biggest boost will be when Kaligandaki ‘A’ will begin to pitch in 144 megawatts of power two months later in November, the total generation for that Fall-months will soar to 544 megawatts leaving 110 megawatts of surplus power against 69 megawatts of deficiency in the same month the year before.

NC not averse to CPN-UML’s proposal

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KATHMANDU, Nov 17 - The ruling Nepali Congress (NC) is not totally averse to main opposition party’s call for Constitutional amendment but might not easily give into the proposal seeking the formation of an all-party electoral government to conduct free and fair elections.

Speaking to The Kathmandu Post on Friday, spokesperson of the nation’s largest political party Narhari Acharya said that NC will discuss the amendment so long as it follows the proper parliamentary procedures. However, NC will not support any motion seeking "any alternative" to a democratically elected prime minister conducting elections, he said.

During the CPN-UML’s Central Committee meeting which concluded Wednesday, the main opposition party’s apex body unanimously adopted the political report submitted by its General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal suggesting amendments to the present Constitution drafted in 1990.

"The prime minister represents the whole party and has to give continuity to the government," said Acharya. "When we talk about free and fair elections, we should actually think about strengthening the Election Commission...UML should seriously think over this matter."

Acharya further added that unlike in India, Nepal has a provision in the Constitution where the prime minister has to be a democratically elected lawmaker to conduct an election. In India, any one can become a prime minister provided he is elected to the Parliament within six months of assuming the office.

However, on the other suggestion -- brought about by CPN-UML -- such as the abolition of the present practice of reviewing the number of constituencies in each district before elections, Acharya said that his party could come to an agreement with the nation’s largest communist party.

"But all the proposals to amend the Constitution have to come through proper parliamentary procedures," he stressed.

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 decade-old Constitution has not been amended to date although there have been number of attempts to do so.

SC issues show cause on RNAC-Lauda Air deal

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KATHMANDU, Nov 17 - The Supreme Court today issued a "show cause notice" on RNAC- Lauda Air wet-lease deal requiring the respondents to furnish clarification to the court as to why an order should not be passed declaring the deal as illegal.

A single bench of Justice Krishna Kumar Verma also summoned the respondents to be present at the court within seven days for hearing on whether a stay order should be issued preventing the execution of the contract until the final disposal of the case.

The court issued the order after the first hearing on a petition filed by advocates Gopal Sivakoti "Chintan" and Rajaram Dhakal making the Prime Minister, the Cabinet Secretariat, the Minister and the Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, RNAC’s Executive Chairman Hari Bhakta Shrestha and its management committee chief, ICTC (a local company) and Nepal Rastra Bank as respondents.

The writ was filed on Thursday challenging the legality of the deal and also requesting the court to issue a stay order pending the final disposal of the case.

The writ argued that all the transactions regarding the deal should be transparent as per the Constitutional provision- the right to information.

The claim as per the writ was that the deal made without any tender-call is illegal. The writ stated that the process by which the payment was made to Lauda Air was also against the law. "The account number to which the amount had to be sent also seems fake," the writ stated. Besides, RNAC didn’t require to make any advance payment as per the agreement made, the writ argued.

"RNAC had decided that it would not lease the jet that is more than 10 years old. But, now it is trying to lease Lauda Air that is 12 years and 8 months old," the writ had stated.

Road-side counselling against HIV/AIDS

By Rajeeb Tamrakar

KATHMANDU, Nov 17 - Biswa Ram Maharjan, a 16- year-old boy from Kirtipur, read about HIV/AIDS at school, but he never realized that this deadly disease could be transmitted through needle-sharing even in the process of tattooing.

But not until he met Dr John B. Chittic, a researchers at Havard University, USA and his team of volunteers who are now out to instil awareness about HIV and AIDS the world over, did he realize that youngsters like him are the most vulnerable to HIV (Human Immuno Virus), the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome).

"I was aware that HIV/AIDS can be avoided by practising safe sex, such as using condoms," he says. "But I was never especially cautious while piercing ears or even tattooing. But after meeting Dr John I have realized that HIV can also be transmitted through tattooing and ear piercing."

Dr Chittic arrived here in the second week of November, and together with local volunteers he is walking from door to door in the Kathmandu Valley encouraging young people to avoid unsafe sex, needle sharing and other activities that could lead to the spread of HIV.

Moved by the plight of young HIV/AIDS victims, he began his mission in February 1999 from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and has so far travelled to 34 countries around the world. Dr Chittic says he has already shared his message with 75,000 youths in these countries.

Maharjan is not the only one who feels that a meeting with Dr Chittic changed his perception about HIV/AIDS. Says Maili Shrestha, a young girl from Bajra Barahi village on the outskirts of Kathmandu: "I did not know much about AIDS before. Besides, I was too shy to discuss this disease with my elders. But after meeting Dr. Chittic, I know what HIV/AIDS actually is."

Dr Chittic, who plans to travel further after working for a week in Nepal, is currently walking through the crowded streets, bus parks and highways in and around the Valley creating public awareness about the deadly disease.

"Would you like to be a soldier on a crusade against AIDS?" is the question with which Dr John catches you unaware in the middle of street. Whether the answer is yes or no, he then asks you whether or not you know about the incurable disease.

"Mine is a global mission that aims to ensure that all the youths protect themselves from the threat of HIV/AIDS," he told The Kathmandu Post while on a field trip Friday. "Because there is no cure or vaccine for AIDS, spreading information about the deadly virus is the most effective weapon you have against saving your best friend from making a mistake that could cost him his life."

A plump man with a great sense of humour, Dr. Chittic feels that joking is the best medicine for him to lessen the pain of the sad truth that hundreds of his friends and acquaintances have already caught HIV, many of them already dead or on their deathbeds.

He happened to travel to Nepal after meeting Nepali girls in the brothels of Bombay and Pune while on his mission journey in India recently. "I met more than 35 Nepali girls in Pune and over 100 in Bombay," he recalls. "That is when I decided to come to Nepal."

"It is estimated that between 60 and 85 per cent of girls working in these brothels have been infected with HIV. This is because most men does not prefer to use condoms," he adds.

According to the United Nations data, there are between 50 and 70 million people world-wide infected with HIV. Other experts working in the field, however, say the number is much higher.

In Nepal, according to data made available by the Health Ministry, there are 1,714 HIV-positive cases and 416 AIDS patients. A total of 140 people have already died of the disease.

NC local elections yet to conclude in Birgunj

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BIRGUNJ, Nov 17 - Despite Nepali Congress (NC) spokesman, Narhari Acharya’s claim that his party’s Village Development Committee (VDC) and Town Development Committee (TDC) elections have been successfully conducted in all districts across the country except Kathmandu, Birgunj is yet to witness the TDC elections.

As of Friday, the election here at Ward No-18 had not been held and the result of the election at Ward No-2 is yet to arrive. The TDC elections cannot be held until all results are out.

"We haven’t held the Birgunj TDC election yet," said Rajendra Bahadur Amatya, Chairman of NC Parsa district’s ad-hoc working committee. "It will take two or three more days before everything is sorted out."

Similarly, the election results of some villages in Parsa Constituency No. 2, 3, and 4 haven’t arrived here yet either.

Meanwhile, NC Lawmaker from Parsa Constituency No. 2, Ajaya Kumar Chaurasiya, and a former MP, Ramesh Risal, issued a joint press release accusing party authorities of holding the internal elections of about 50 per cent of the total 82 VDCs without the presence of the returning officers. They added that on no condition are they prepared to accept the election results.

Risal even claimed that names of the elected persons from his Constituency were pasted on the party’s district office at the district headquarters, in the absence of the returning officers in the respective VDCs.

The NC District Working Committee Chairman, Rajendra Bahadur Amatya, however, denied such allegations and claimed that all elections were held in a free and fair manner.

Neupane leads Surya Nepal Eastern Open

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DHARAN, Nov 17 - Deepak Neupane overcame the unfamiliar conditions of the Dharan Country Club golf course and led the RS 50,000 Sure Nepal Eastern Open after the opening day with a score of one-over 71 today.

At the par-70 course, which is hosting its first ever professional tournament, Neptune was one stroke ahead of last weeks Sure Nepal Western Open winner Deep Thai Magyar, who returned a card of two-over 72. Local professional Satin Sapkota was third at three-over 73, while Deepak’s brother, Bishnu Neupane, was fourth a further stroke behind.

In the amateur section, local golfer Mani Rai led the field with a score of eight-over 78. Rai was followed by Kathmandu’s CB Bhandari at 10-over 80, while Yelamber Adhikari, the top amateur in Surya Nepal Western Open was third at 11-over 81.

The Surya Nepal Western Open is sponsored by Surya Tobacco Company Pvt Ltd., who have been in the forefront of sports sponsorship in the country. "We would like to broadbase golf in Nepal and the two regional tournaments showcase the golf course outside Kathmandu," said Binod Jung Thapa, Sr Brand Manager, Surya Tobacco Company, on the eve of the first-ever professional tournament in Dharan.

Neupane, who represented Nepal in the 1999 Asia Nations Cup in Kula Lumpur, stored with a bogey when he failed to make his up-and-down from the bunker. He then made back-to-back olrdies on the par-5 sixth and par-4 seventh hole, before finishing his front line with a bogey on the until hole on the back line, Neupane made a birdie on the par-5 12th, but lost the advantage with a bogey on the 15th and another dropped shot on the 17th saw him finish the day at one-over 71.

"I was in an almost similar position in Surya Nepal Western Open but finished way below the leaderboard after playing badly on the final day. I will make sure that I play a calm and composed game tomorrow," said Neupane who was second in Pokhara after the first day.

Deepak Thapa Magar, who shot a three-under on the final day to win the Pokhara tournament, was level-par at the turn but made three bogies on the back line, before recovering with a birdie on the final hole. "I am pretty happy with my position. It is much better than what I was last week. I am hopeful of adding another title under my belt," said Deepak after the round.

The Dharan Country Club was established in late 1950s by the British Army. It was first used as an airstrip for landing small aircraft and later developed into a golf course. The par-5 third hole is where the airstrip used to be. In 1990, the British Army handed the course over to Ministry of Health and the club, now situated adjacent to the BP Koirala Institute of Health Science, is run by a honorary committee. The 5,811-yard course has a flat layout with various dogleg holes adding to the challenge. The fully-grown trees dictate the strategy on most of the holes.

Earlier, the tournament was inaugurated by Manoj Kumar Meyangbo, Mayor of Dharan Municipality. The Dharan municipality is a co-sponsor of the tournament.

The Surya Nepal Eastern Open offers a total prize money of Rs 50,000, with the winner getting richer by Rs 8,400 on Saturday afternoon, the runner-up will receive a cheque of Rs 5,000 while the third placed pro gets Rs 4,500.