Home Secy transferred too

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KATHMANDU, Oct 16 - The cabinet meeting held today has appointed Health Secretary Srikant Regmi as the new Home Secretary, and the erstwhile Home Secretary Padam Prasad Pokharel has been sent over to the Ministry of Health as secretary.

The shakeup confirms rumours that Pokharel would be transferred out of the Home Ministry in the aftermath of the killings of policemen in clash with the Maoist insurgents in Dunai, Dolpa, late last month.

The then Home Minister Govinda Raj Joshi had also been forced to resign after the incident as was the Inspector General of Police Achyut Krishna Kharel who was sent on a forced home leave.

According to highly placed sources in the government, Kharel is now no longer on leave. His resignation has been accepted formally by today’s cabinet meeting, sources said. The cabinet however has recommended that former IGP Kharel be appointed the Royal Nepali Ambassador to Myanmar, and the recommendation has been sent to His Majesty the King for formal approval.

Among other high level changes made by today’s cabinet is the transfer of the Defense Secretary Keshav Raj Rajbhandari. He has been shifted to the Cabinet secretariat, and Padam Kumar Acharya of the Cabinet has been moved to the Defense Ministry as secretary.

The Cabinet has also appointed Krishna Prasad Sharma as the chief of the Special Police Department. Sharma was joint secretary at the Home Ministry.

Another important decision taken by today’s Cabinet was to open up the exports of paddy to international markets. A bumper crop in both Nepal and India has led to plummeting paddy prices in Nepal causing farmers to protest. The cabinet also decided, according to sources, to regulate the import of Indian paddy in a bid to drive up prices as a relief measure for farmers.

Most parties want talks with Rebels
Prachanda too signals willingness

By Damakant Jayshi

KATHMANDU, Oct 16 - The governing Nepali Congress party has come under increased pressure to pave the way for talks with the Maoist guerrillas who have waged a nearly five-year-old battle against the state.

At an all party meeting today called by the High Level Recommendation Committee for Resolution of Maoist Problem headed by Sher Bahadur Deuba, members of all major parties urged the government to hold talks with the rebels. Only the Nepali Congress refrained from issuing the call.

The clamour for dialogue was bolstered further by a statement from Pushpa Kamal Dahal, a.k.a. "Comrade Prachanda," the general secretary of the underground Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). The statement, issued late Monday, confirmed that one of the top leaders of his party had recently met with Deuba as the latter had claimed yesterday.

"During the meeting, our colleague once again repeated our long-standing position that our party is ready to hold talks if the whereabouts of our colleague Dinesh Sharma and others is made public, and the government stops state-sponsored terrorism," Prachanda said.

The statement rues the fact that no efforts to address the issues have been made from the government side, and therefore, "We reiterate again that we are willing to hold talks with all parties involved in framing the Constitution."

The rebel leaders’ statement, and the general clamour for talks by various political parties at today’s all party meeting, has raised the political stakes for Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. The Prime Minister is in a bind whether or not to extend the tenure of the Deuba committee, which expired today. Till late Monday, he was still in deep consultations with his colleagues trying to decide the issue.

Earlier in the day, during the all party meeting, Deuba began his briefing with the rebels’ latest position. He said that Maoists had "promised to stop all offensive action and come to the negotiating table if the whereabouts of (rebel leader) Dinesh Sharma and others is made public."

Ram Chandra Poudel, Deputy Prime Minister and newly-appointed Home Minister, who is also a member of the Deuba committee, later told The Kathmandu Post, "the government will come to a conclusion (on the reported proposal of Maoists) after discussion." On the extension of Deuba Committee, the Deputy Prime Minister said that today’s Cabinet meeting would decide the issue.

Meanwhile, NC Spokesman Narhari Acharya who represented the Congress at today’s all-party meeting told The Kathmandu Post that the party (NC) had not yet discussed Deuba’s statement. "If the Maoists are sincere, we will take it positively," said Acharya, adding "but we are of the view that no pre-conditions should be set for holding the dialogue."

When asked if Deuba’s statement, coming just a day before his Committee’s term was about to end, was motivated, Acharya denied the implication. He also said today’s meet was not much beneficial. "There was nothing new. Most of the leaders, including Deuba, took known public posture and most of the time was spent on discussing our proposal."

Prakash Chandra Lohani of Rastriya Prajantra Party said that the "indecision displayed by government on the issue is a reflection of power struggle within the ruling party". "The NC leaders are using the serious problem as ladder to power".

Madhav Kumar Nepal, General Secretary of the main opposition party, CPN-UML said if Dinesh Sharma and other Maoists had been killed, the government should admit it. Nepal expressed concern on the views expressed earlier by RPP (Chand) leader to involve His Majesty the King to find a solution.

"Is this a ploy to make the King play a political role? Is this a loss of faith in parties and as a consequence an expression of loss of faith in multi-party democracy?" said Nepal.

Nepal added that if the Maoists want change and are struggling for that, "then they should be talked to". However, he said, "if the rebels want to reintroduce the system prevailing before 1990, then their attempt should be defeated."

Speaking to The Kathmandu Post after the meet, Sher Bahadur Deuba said the parties had decided that talks with Maoists should be held. Deuba denied any difference between NC and other parties on holding dialogues.

When asked to comment on his Committee’s role in the light of the rebels’ statement that they would only talk with the framers of the Constitution, Deuba said, "Our role is only to bring the rebels at the negotiating table with the government."

"It is the government that will decide whether or not the Committee’s tenure will be extended," Deuba said, replying to a question on the extension of the Committee’s tenure.

Insurgents threaten to attack Dunai again

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BANKE, Oct 16 - Three weeks after the fierce attack at the police offices in Dunai Bazaar, the district headquarters of Dolpa killing 14 policemen and injuring dozens, Maoists are sending warnings for more attacks.

According to a district based government official, more than hundred rebels dressed in army uniforms have been spotted near Dunai. "Their warnings of attack this time is much stronger than the last time," said the official citing eyewitnesses.

The insurgents are proclaiming that they would take Dunai under control, said the official. A powerful bomb explosion was heard near Dunai yesterday. It is reported that the Maoists are organising various cultural programmes in the villages surrounding the headquarters, Dunai.

The rebels had been sending warnings even before the carnage attack on September 24, which however, had been neglected. According to reports, the Home Ministry had been given 72 hours of prior notice before launching the attack.

The official said that the Home Ministry and the police headquarters have already been notified of the warnings.

Fourteen policemen were killed and more than two score were injured in an attack by over 1000 Maoist rebels in the government and police offices in Dunai Bazaar, the district headquarters of Dolpa on September 24. Eleven policemen guarding the local jail were also abducted by the rebels, who were released 13 days after the attack.

The office of the Chief District Officer, the district police headquarters, the district jail and several government-owned offices were devastated in the attack.Rebels also destroyed the local jail with grenades, socket bombs and pipe bombs, setting free 19 prisoners. Rebels also looted Rs 60 million from the vaults of the local Nepal Bank Limited office, the only bank in the district.

The National Defence Council (NDC) recently decided for the mobilisation of army for patrolling, but only after a "written request" from the Chief District Officer (CDO). There have been no particular directions about the use of army, the source told The Kathmandu Post. The district administration office has been told to ask for the assistance from the army after an attack, said the source adding, "but then the situation would already go out of hand."

NC spells views on guerrillas

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KATHMANDU, Oct 16 - The ruling Nepali Congress today made its views on the Maoist rebellion public at an all-party meeting called by High Level Recommendation Committee for Resolution of Maoist Problem headed by Sher Bahadur Deuba here today.

The party document, presented by Narhari Acharya, spokesman of NC, speaks on the whole gamut of insurgency spearheaded by Nepal Communist Party (Maoists).

The party proposal called upon the government to take initiatives to evolve a united approach to solve the Maoist problem. It also asked the government to hold various programmes with the help of other parties in Maoist-affected areas.

While welcoming the talks with the rebels, the document says that NC was not going to compromise on the basic canons of the Constitution and that the party had also not received any proposal for the amendment of the Constitution from any quarters.

On the creation of right atmosphere for talks, the party proposal called upon the government to ensure safe return of the rebels even if the dialogue with them fails and asked both the sides to keep the details of the talks secret till they reach a conclusion.

About the role of security forces, the document says the Constitution has given the right to the government to use them to protect life and property of the citizens. It also speaks of the need for establishing civil defence committees in districts.

Stating that the present situation cannot be treated as a law and order problem, the paper asked the government to see law and order and internal security aspects differently. Asking all the political parties to take note of the difference, the ruling party admitted the problem had a political angle too.

The party expressed its willingness to streamline the electoral process and restructuring of local unit of governance. It also stressed on need for transparency in the income of people holding political and other important posts and early passage of Bill on Political Parties.

PAC calls Lauda Air dealing officials

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KATHMANDU, Oct 16 - The parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today summoned officials of the Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC) and the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation to inquire on the deal to lease a widebody Boeing B767-300 ER jet from Lauda Air of Austria.

RNAC’s Executive Director Hari Bhakta Shrestha and Secretary of the Ministry Barun Shrestha have been asked to report to the committee on Oct 31 to inquire on the deal, said PAC Chairman Subash Nembang.

RNAC managed to irk PAC after it sanctioned US dollars 1,005,000 as advance payment it sent to Lauda Air which it considered direct contravention of directives from the PAC and Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) after the infamous Chase Air scandal of 1998 that ended in loss of over US dollars 700,000.

PAC today sent a letter to both RNAC and the Ministry with a list of inquiries asking officials to be present on the day with answers to them.

In the letter, PAC has asked to submit details of the offer and negotiations, the recommendations made by legal advisors, details of the proposed aircraft to be leased and its logbook.

The committee also demanded rational on why the airline agreed to a US dollars 3,350 per flight hour deal, details on maintenance costs, training of crew and costs, why RNAC was paying for half the cost of C-checks and why RNAC had decided to go against the directive of PAC and CIAA.

The B-767 is being leased at a rate of US dollars 3,350 per flight hour. It has been guaranteed a minimum of 300 flight hours a month. If the aircraft is operated beyond that threshold, the lease rate comes down to US dollars 2,200 per flight hour. The term of the lease is for 18 months and begins on December 1, 2000.

Court-martial a strong signal, says army brass

By Sanjeev Ghimire

KATHMANDU, Oct 16 - The court-martial underway of over a dozen Royal Nepal Army soldiers has been initiated to send a signal to the international community that Nepal is serious about maintaining the high moral standards of its army, top army officers said Monday.

"The trial is a must if we are to maintain the lustrous history of the Nepali UN peacekeepers," a high ranking army officer told The Kathmandu Post on condition of anonymity. "The trial shall also convey a loud and clear message to the international community and the armymen alike that there is no room for offenders in the dignified Nepali army."

The Royal Nepal Army has come under a fresh cloud of controversy due to the alleged irregularities of about 15-16 soldiers from the Singanath Battalion who were stationed as UN peacekeepers in Lebanon. Charges are, the soldiers sold some thousands of rounds of ammunition to Hizbollah, a militant Islamic group fighting against Israel.

Army sources here said, the charges were initially levelled more than six months ago after complaints from UN officials.

The RNA then investigated the case, and only recently decided to court-martial the soldiers involved. The court-martial proceedings is being led by Brigadier General Kiran Shumsher Thapa.

"Court-martial is being conducted against all those charged in the alleged arms sell-out," a highly placed source in the RNA headquarters told The Kathmandu Post. "This, however, does not mean that they are convicted."

Meanwhile, the RNA headquarters here declined to provide any further information about the proceedings. Officials there said that, according to the army regulations, no information pertaining to court-martial proceedings can be made public until the trial is over.

The Ministry of Defence also declined to furnish any details. "It is the army which conducts the court-martial, the Ministry is not involved in it," said the Ministry spokesperson Bhola Silwal. "We can’t say anything till the army headquarters submits the trail decision to us."

Kathmanduites, are you ready to pay for your garbage?

By Razen Manandhar

KATHMANDU, Oct 16 - After Kathmandu metropolis faced new slap due to the five successive air accidents in the only international airport, Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has finally taken step to bind its citizens with sanitation fee.

"The Authorised Solid Waste Management Committee of KMC has decided today to levy sanitation fee from each household of the metropolitan city to seek people’s help in minimising the volume of garbage," said KMC Executive Officer Hari Prasad Rimal on Monday.

Till now, the around 15 million citizens of the capital pay nothing to KMC for the management of over 300 tonnes of garbage they produce everyday. Only in some specific areas, local contractors levy fee for managing the litter of certain area who in turn deposit 10 percent of the amount at KMC office.

Whereas, KMC spends around Rs 180 million per year for the city’s solid waste management.

Rimal said that the streets of Kathmandu would be divided in five categories and each would have separate rules for the residents. "According to the amount of solid waste they produce, each of the households and firms will have to contribute from Rs 30 to 1000 every month."

He said the people could have done a lot from local level too, to reduce the daily volume of trash by reusing or destroying the biodegradable materials.

He regretted that KMC has not been successful to draw people’s cooperation in minimizing the amount of garbage. "At least in the days when the whole metropolis is suffering from dumping site crisis, people should have been more cooperative."

On this recent decision, Prem Lal Maharjan, the Secretary General of Consumers’ Forum Nepal, said the forum would welcome this decision if KMC levies the fee based on the citizens’ capacity instead of imposing it harshly.

"KMC should have done this long ago. Now it seems that KMC alone cannot solve this bulging problem. Still, if KMC has determined to do it now, I think the citizens will not deny because this will ultimately be beneficial for themselves in long run," he said.

Meanwhile, the garbage of Kathmandu is being piled up in the collection centre at Teku for four days since the pile has not been taken to Guheshwori as usual due to the bird hazards which recently shaved up in the nearby Tribhuwan International Airport.

The hovering vultures and other birds have posed serious threat to the around 300 aircraft daily, taking off or landing in the airport in past two weeks averting some near-fatal disasters. In last fortnight, five planes have escaped major accidents.

KMC officials said the garbage has not been transported to Guheshori since Friday.

Secretary of Sanitation Sub-Committee Solid Waste Management and Resource Mobilisation Centre, Bishombhar Lal Pradhan said the government is committed to provide KMC with an immediate solution to manage the growing pile of garbage very soon.

In addition, he said the construction of road with garbage as filling material at Guheshwori stopped because of bird menace at the airport which has become a national problem.

"Some people indicated a link between the bird hazards in the airport and the filling of the garbage in Guheshwori. So stopped our work," he said.

However, Pradhan claimed that the road construction at Guheshwori is not only the reason behind the growth of bird activity in the airport. "We have been using garbage as filling material since last six months but the problems has suddenly come up."

He said the current season, river pollution, earthworms, growing residence area at Koteshwore were all to be blamed.

The garbage was being used as filling material for a local road construction at Guheshwori-Jorpati area for last six months.

Rebels lynch 2 in Kailali

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DHANGADHI, Oct 16 - Maoist rebels brutally lynched two people at Chuha Village Development Committee, which lies about 65 kilometres east from here, on Sunday night, an eye-witness said.

Maoist rebels lashed out Dil Bahadur Chaudhary, 44, and his nephew Kedar Chaudhary, 31, to death at VDC Chairman Jang Bahadur Badayek’s house, a 14 year-old boy Dhani Ram, the eye-witness and the son of deceased Dil Bahadur said.

"They mercilessly beat my father and uncle with their hands tied back. My father and uncle fell unconscious. They brought their consciousness back sprinkling water and flogged with rods and batons," Dhani Ram added.

Dil Bahadur’s legs were broken and body bruised all over. VDC Chairman Jung Bahadur was also tied to a pole until they fled the place, after killing the Chaudharys.

The 40-strong armed group in military uniform had earlier kidnapped Kedar Chaudhary from his house at Teghari, located close to the East-West highway, and led him towards a local market where his uncle was running a shop.

Chief District Officer said that police have lauched a massive search campaign against the rebels. A team of police personnel led by Superintendent of Police has been sent to the site of incident, police said.

A total of 15 persons--two ordinary persons, one political activist and 12 Maoists--have lost their their lives in Kailali since the rebels waged four-and-half years old People’s War.

New Everest hero wants to set up ski school in Khumbu region

By Binaj Gurubacharya

KATHMANDU, Oct 16 - After a record-making ski down the slopes of the world’s tallest mountain, Slovenian climber and ski instructor Davorin Karnicar now wants to use his name, fame and money to run a ski school for local children in the Khumbu region.

Karnicar, who returned to Kathmandu Monday after skiing down Mt Everest on October 7, said that the Khumbu region is deprived of economic development, and people in the area are not familiar with the concept of skiing. Under such circumstances, his efforts to open up a ski school for kids would open up new avenues there, he said.

Though Nepal has eight of the 14 tallest mountains in the world, there are no ski resorts or facilities and the concept of ski is new for Nepali people.

He says Nepal has lot of potential for ski tourism and the area around Annapurna is much suitable with hills that are not too high or steep and idle for ski resorts.

Despite his long-term goal of establishing a ski school, Karnicar wants to enjoy the fruits of his achievement for the moment.

"It is too early for me to begin celebrating ... I want to celebrate and feel the success for the rest of my life. This is just great," he told The Kathmandu Post after returning from the mountain on Monday.

Early this month, Karnicar etched his name in the record books by becoming the first person in the world to ski down the 8848 metre-high Mt Everest. It took him four days to reach the summit but only five hour hours to return back to the base camp on skis.

His friends and fans waived banners at the Kathmandu airport welcoming the new Everest hero who looked exhausted but was full of smiles to greet the welcoming party.

This was the first time that anyone has succeeded in covering the full length of Mount Everest on skies. A Japanese climber Yuichi Miura had skied parts of the mountain in 1970 but never has anyone skied from the summit. He not only did establish his name in the record book by skiing down the slope but he did it non-stop without taking his skies off.

On the morning of Oct 7, Karnicar reached the summit with Franc Oderlap, 41, of Mezica, Slovenia, and Nepalese Sherpas Chuldim, 23, and Pasang Tenzing, 23, reaching the summit at 6 a.m. after nearly eight hours of overnight trek to the summit.

After two hours of preparations and rest on the summit, Karnicar began his ski run.

"The weather was perfect and conditions were just right for the run. There were no major problems and the journey was smooth covering every meter of the mountain on my skies," he said.

Karnicar had a camera attached on his helmet, capturing visuals of him maneuvering through the steep snowy slopes of the world’s highest mountain that has already become an icy grave for nearly 200 climbers, who fell to their deaths.

This was the second attempt for him to down ski Everest. His first attempt in 1996 cost him two fingers that he lost to frost bites. On the day he was going to try the summit from Tibetan side, a snow storm swept through the mountain killing eight climbers in Everest’s worst recorded disaster.

When the storm was over and he was set to go out again, he found out he could not ski due to the fingers and had to return back.

A year before that he had skied from the summit of 8,091 meters Mt. Annapurna with his brother Andre Karnicar, 30. But despite the success in ski mission, his brother lost eight toes and was forced to quit high mountain skiing.

"This time too I felt my fingers were numb but it was just normal feeling at that altitude and will go away in a couple of weeks," he said.

Father of four children, Karnicar says success on Everest is just a small victory but the success lies in his family life. "This will just give me power for my normal life," he said.

Karnicar’s ski run and the expedition was transmitted on his Web site by satellite phone as thousands of people around the world got to see the historic feat.

"Now I want to try and ski all the tallest mountains in all the seven continents," he said.