Deuba urges Maoists to cease violence

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KATHMANDU, Oct 24 - Former prime minister and Convenor of High Level Recommendation Committee for Resolution of Maoist Problem today urged the Maoist leadership to immediately stop the execution and torture of political workers.

"Top Maoist leaders including Dr Baburam Bhattarai, Prachanda and others should stop the killing and maiming of workers of other political parties which is done in the name of people’s court and people’s voluntary actions," Deuba said at a programme.

Deuba also said he would continue working towards solving the Maoist problem through peaceful means even if the term of his committee was not prolonged.

"I am not worried about my position," Deuba said, adding "We together with Comrade Prachanda (General Secretary of CPN-Maoist) can reform our society." He also reiterated his appeal for the Maoists to cease violence and come for talk.

The report from Deuba committee is eagerly awaited after its term expired on Oct 16. The government has remained silent whether it wants to extend the committee’s term.

Deuba told The Kathmandu Post that he would present the report immediately after Tihar holidays. Human rights activists and political party leaders have been demanding that the term of Deuba committee office should be extended.

Former minister and human rights activist Padma Ratna Tuladhar urged the government to extend the term of Deuba-led High Level Recommendation Committee for Resolution of Maoist Problem.

Speaking at District Peace Conference organised here by Human Rights and Peace Society (HURPES), Tuladhar said, if the government is serious for peaceful resolution of the (Maoist) problem, the term of the Deuba-committee must be extended.

"(Sher Bahadur) Deuba has gained lots of experience about the problem and he frequently tried his best for the peaceful resolution of the problem through dialogue," he said.

Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) went underground and launched so called People’s War in February 13, 1996 during the premiership of Deuba after the government failed to fulfil their 40-point demand.

The United People’s Front led by Babu Ram Bhattarai, political wing of the underground Maoists at that time actually didn’t wait for the government’s response and went ahead with their plan.

Speaking on the occasion today, president of CPN-ML Sahana Pradhan said, "If the government really wants talks, Deuba committee should be revived." Addressing the function, former speaker of House of Representatives Daman Nath Dhungana said, the government should cooperate with the government-formed body (the Deuba committee). "Till now, the government merely made it a subject of talk," he said, adding "now such committee should not be made like that."

Central Working Committee member of main opposition CPN-UML Jhal Nath Khanal said if there is possibility of peace by reforming the Constitution, we should not decline from doing this.

Speaking at the function, chairperson of HURPES Krishna Pahadi said the government should be able to make the Maoists responsible and should bring them at political mainstream, which is not possible by using arms.

RPP leaders injured in lathicharge

KATHMANDU, Oct 24 (PR)- A number of leaders of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) were injured during lathicharge by police at a protest rally organised to protest the recent price hike of petroleum products.

According to a press release issued by the party, the leaders injured today included - the party general secretary Pashupati Shamser JBR, spokesperson Kamal Thapa, former minister Buddhi Man Tamang and member secretary of the publicity department of the party Kiran Giri. Those injured by the lathicharge have already returned home after undergoing treatment.

Hundreds of RPP party-workers went around the streets of Kathmandu to protest the government’s decision to raise the price of petroleum products.

Earlier, several leaders and party workers of CPN-ML were arrested by police when they tried to gherao the Ministry of Supplies and quarters of the ministers. The arrested included members of the party’s central committee - Devi Ojha, Rajendra Shrestha, Balram Baskota, DB Karki and member of the Royal Standing Committee Rup Narayan Shrestha.

According to a press release, more than 100 persons had been arrested. Those arrested were later released within an hour, according to police officials at District Police Office, Lalitpur.

When will both the government and Maoists sit for talks?

By Binaj Gurubacharya

KATHMANDU, Oct 24 - Though both the government and the Maoist rebels have publicly expressed willingness and seriousness to sit across the dialogue table, the much talked about peace talks is yet to turn into reality.

Human Rights groups and analysts say this is the closest the two sides have reached towards solving the Maoist issue that began from the remote hills of central and mid-west parts of the country four and half years ago.

There have been repeated attempts in the past to bring the rebels to negotiate face to face. These efforts have mostly run into either shallow waters or hit dead ends.

Now, the Maoists through the High Level Recommendation Committee for Resolution of Maoist Problem, better known as Deuba committee, formed to initiate talks has twice approached for dialogue and now has also asked another prominent human rights activist and leftist leader Padma Ratna Tuladhar to initiate the peace talks.

Just few days back, the general secretary of CPN-Maoist had called Tuladhar on the phone and inquired about where the government stood on possible talks.

"I talked to Prachanda on the phone and he asked me what the government was proposing and asked me if it was possible to mediate the talks between them and the government," Tuladhar said today.

However, prior to the talks the rebels want what they called a "minimum conducive environment" before sitting in for the peace dialogue.

The rebels want the government to release some of their comrades in jail including central member Dinesh Sharma or at least make public their whereabouts.

"We human rights groups know for sure that the government has killed some of them after capturing them, but at least the government needs to say where the remaining of them are," Tuladhar said. "When Krishna Prasad Bhattarai was the prime minister he told us directly that they were already killed."

It is just not the rebels who want their supporters released but also the government and the governing Nepali Congress (NC) who claim that their supporters have been kidnapped and are being held captive by the rebels.

This exchange of "prisoners of war" could pave the way for the dialogue, Tuladhar said adding that the government is also suggesting an informal meeting before sitting down for the formal meeting to clear out few things.

Tuladhar met Deputy Prime Minster Ram Chandra Poudel on Monday and informed him the conversation with Prachanda. He also said there could be such an arrangement for the exchange too.

"DPM Poudel assured me that the government did not believe in resolving the problem by force and there should be talks between the two sides...but first he suggested that there should be an informal talks to identify what the rebels are actually seeking and their demands."

In the past few weeks and months, the Maoists have also written two letters through the Deuba Committee in reply to the government’s proposal for the peace talks

Former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba who heads the committee assigned to bring the Maoist rebels to dialogue table says the rebels are ready for the talks but blames the government for failing to respond positively when the rebels have agreed for the talks.

"I have submitted two letters from Prachanda to the prime minister already...but I am still waiting for a positive response from the government," Deuba told reporters last week after his Committee’s term expired and the government refused to extend the date.

Through Deuba too the rebels asked for a suitable environment before coming forward for talks. He said beside making public the whereabouts of the rebels taken prisoner by the police, it should cease attacks on the rebels holds.

According to government figures, since the Maoist rebels began their violent campaign in 1996, they have killed at least 231 policemen and lost 980 of their own fighters and supporters. Similarly, 249 civilians have either been killed or caught in the cross fire between rebels and the police.

Last month, the rebels launched their biggest offensive and attacked a police station, the district administration office and a jail at Dunai, the headquarters of Dolpa district in which 14 policemen were killed, another 40 injured and nearly a dozen held prisoner by the rebels during the attack.

Two days later, the rebels ambushed a police patrol at Bhorletar village, in Lamjung District killing eight policemen.

UN should consider least developed in agenda reformation: PM Koirala

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KATHMANDU, Oct 24 - Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala today said that the efforts of the government should be geared towards promoting economic development in order to reduce poverty as it stood as the single threat to national and international peace and security.

Addressing a function organised by United Nations Association of Nepal, an NGO to mark the 55th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) here today, Koirala said that UN while reforming its agenda to adjust to the changing realities should take into consideration the issues of development and constraints of the least developed countries into the mainstream of international interest.

Dr Henning Karcher, UN resident co-ordinator said that UN would support the government to focus on the most deprived group in order to assist the agenda for poverty reduction.

Earlier at another programme organised by the United Nations to mark the anniversary, Prime Minister Koirala said that reducing poverty needs a sustained economic growth within the country and a favourable external climate.

Koirala said during his recent participation in the Millennium Summit he urged the international community to give a special consideration to the issue of growing debt burden.

UN is celebrating its anniversary this year with the theme "Race Against Poverty: Breaking the Silence on HIV/AIDS".

Koirala said that human trafficking is contributing to the spread of disease like HIV/AIDS which in turn posed a threat to the society more since health care system is weak and unaffordable.

Karcher, the UN resident co-ordinator pointed out the need of political commitment to reduce the threat of HIV/AIDS. "Until political and community leaders speak out and breach the wall of silence, there is little hope of mounting a vigorous, broad-based effort against the epidemic," said Karcher.

PM’s effigy takes life

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KATHMANDU, Oct 24 - A 35-year-old CPN-UML activist received a deadly electric shock while attempting to fasten an effigy of Prime Minister GP Koirala on a roadside electricity pole this evening. He died a few minutes later on the way to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital.

Police identified the activist as Kishan Lama of Bouddha. Eyewitnesses said he was trying to fix an effigy of Koirala which was hung over the road near Bouddhanath Gate to protest the recent hike in the prices of petro-products.

Encephalitis merciful this year

By Tilak Pokharel

KATHMANDU, Oct 24 - Altogether 117 deaths out of 1,178 cases throughout the country have been reported from Japanese Encephalitis (JE) epidemic that surfaced with the onset of this year’s monsoon in June, according to Epidemology and Disease Control Division (EDCD).

This year’s death toll is significantly less compared to last year when a total of 434 persons out of 2,924 reported patients died. Seventy per cent of the total deaths from JE were from Kailali and Banke districts with 102 deaths from Kailali alone.

According to Dr Mahendra Bahadur Bista, Director of EDCD, the reasons for reduction in the number of deaths are: last year’s vaccination in districts of Terai belt with help from a South Korean pharmaceutical, free medical facility in hospitals and better medical care in the hospitals.

There are 24 affected districts from Terai belt of which Kailali, Banke and Bardiya are worst hit, Bista said. Altogether 41 persons succumbed to the deadly mosquito-borne disease in Seti Zonal Hospital and Tikapur Public Health Centre of Kailali district alone this year, according to a data made available by EDCD.

Till now, JE has claimed 4,723 lives in Nepal since it was first detected in 1978 in Rupandehi district. The least number of deaths was in the year 1981 (only 16) while last year’s death toll remains the highest.

Last year, 11 persons out of 59 admitted in different hospitals in Kathmandu valley died of JE (seven in Patan Hospital and four in Teku Hospital). Though three cases of JE were registered this year in the Valley’s hospitals, nobody died.

According to World Health Organisation’s record, out of 50,000 average reported cases of JE in South East Asia Region, 20 per cent (10,000) of them die each year. "But, only about 10 per cent of the reported cases die in Nepal," Dr Bista said.

According to a report provided by the EDCD, JE is a viral disease which was first detected in Japan and is widespread throughout Asia. Epidemics occur in late summer in temperate regions, but occurs throughout the year in many tropical areas in Asia.

The virus is transmitted to humans by culex mosquitos, which breed in rice fields. The incubation period of JE is 5-14 days.

Onset of symptoms is usually sudden, with fever, headache, vomitting, shivering and weaknesses. Late symptoms add neck rigidity and weight loss. Usually, a JE patient should be treated in its early stage effective treatment. According to Dr Bista, pigs are the most amplifying hosts of JE virus and farmers are more prone to this disease. "Maintaining a hygienic surrounding and keeping domestic animals - such as pigs and ducks - away from houses are the best ways to escape from JE," Dr Bista said.

Last year, Boran Pharmaceuticals of South Korea made 225,000 anti-JE vaccines titled SA-14-14-2 available. Out of which, 56,000 vaccines were given to patients in Banke, 46,000 in Kailali and 123,000 in Bardiya districts, Dr Bista said. But, the Pharmaceutical declined from donating the vaccines this year instead asking the government to buy it. However, Health Minister Dr Ram Baran Yadav recently said, the ministry, on August 21, made an agreement with Chinese government for providing 500,000 vaccines. Minister said, these vaccines which will arrive here soon, can be used for next year.

Lions Club also made some 300 vaccines available in Morang and Nepalgunj last year, according to a government official. Once a vaccine is given to a JE patient, the person develops life-long immunity against its virus. But, the vaccine becomes effective only after one and half month.

According to Dr Bista, each SA-14-14-2 vaccine costs almost Rs 500 and if it is to provide in all 26 affected districts, the total budget crosses two billion rupees, which Nepal cannot afford. But, that of Japanese vaccines are expensive and each costs about Rs 700.

Joint effort fruitful on leasehold forestry

By Damakant Jayshi

POLYANG (Tanahun), Oct 24 - A joint effort of the government and funding agencies has started bearing fruits, and literally too. The beneficiaries are visibly elated.

The effort in question, Hills Leasehold Forestry and Development Project (HLFFDP), is currently underway in 10 districts of the country, started in 1993 with the objective of raising income of poor families who live below the poverty line and to improve the ecological conditions in the hills of Nepal.

According to Frits M J Ohler, chief technical officer for the project put it : "It’s not about making (poor) people rich, but the focus is on making them less poor."

Some mediapersons met the users in Polyang in Vyas Municipality, Barbhanjyang VDC and Maibal VDC in Tanahun district and Kyaure New Colony in Manakamana VDC in Gorkha district, covered under the programme, during their two-day field visit jointly organised by the concerned department of forests and HLFFDP.

"Earlier, it was free-for-all on exploiting the forest products," said Aas Maya Gurung, a member of leasehold group Mukunde ‘C’ at Polyang, adding "now we protect the leasehold area ourselves. We are also able to keep cattle and pay our debt."

Department of Livestock Services (DLS) in the district provides the leaseholders training on animal husbandry and forage (fodder) production, health services and grass and legume seeds, among others.

Agricultural Development Bank too chips in with its support. The branches of the bank help identify target families, assist in the formation of user groups and provide loans to support income generating activities and assist in group saving.

"We provide soft loans to those below the poverty line which they have to repay in eight years," said Ram Raj Lamsal, loan officer

at ADB at district headquarters Damauli in Tanahun.

The bank provides a loan up to Rs 15 thousand to those unable to provide any security and up to Rs 30 thousand to those who furnish loan guarantee. Lamsal added that the loan is interest free for the first two years and then the borrowers have to pay only 50 percent of the regular bank interest of 18 percent.

According to Thir Bahadur Karki, Ranger at District Forest Office, Damauli said those families having annual income less than Rs 2500 per member and having less than 0.5 hectare of land or no land at all are considered to be below the poverty line.

Buddhi Kumar Bastola, credit assistant belonging to HLFFDP explained the formation of leasehold groups. "Once the target families are identified, we form groups with a member of each family comprises a group of minimum five members and ten at most. Then degraded land is given to the group for 40 years and this provides incentive for these families to maintain their interest in the project."

"This project has encouraged the families to start their own cooperatives," said Lamsal. Two such cooperatives, Buldi Multi-purpose Cooperative Society, Polyang and Shri Maibal Multi-purpose Cooperative Society, Ghasikuwa, both in Tanahun, have savings over 100 thousand rupees.

Urmila Khanal, leader of a leaseholder group in Polyang said the women were encouraged to play a more assertive role. As an example Khanal cites ban imposed by the ladies on gambling and drinking. "Recently, we compelled a drunkard from our village to go to India by collecting money. Of course, we took his wife’s consent," she added.

Jimnath Poudel, assistant forest officer at Damauli DFO said the biggest impact has been the encouragement among the leaseholders that degraded and barren land could be converted into greenery that "gives both short-term and long-term income generating prospects".

"45 per cent of the leaseholders are women and people at the grass roots level are beginning to take decisions themselves on their own social and economic developments," added Poudel, citing other positive sides of the project.

"However, the project covers only a minuscule population, especially those who fall under small scale farmer groups," said Poudel. The forest official pointed out that leasehold forestry was given less priority than community forestry, "despite the fact that leaseholding has proved to be more effective in poverty alleviation.

"There is also no clear cut definition of degraded land which makes it difficult to identify the possible land as consent of the whole community has to be taken," said Poudel. "But the biggest negative impact is the fear among the users that the project is coming to an end next year in July."

"We need support of both the government and the project for at least five more years," pleaded Khanal.

The project is funded by grant of The Netherlands through Food and Agricultural Organisation and by the government through soft loan from International Fund for Agricultural Development.

Police undergoing rigorous training

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BARDAGHAT, Nawalparasi, Oct 24 - Royal Nepal Army (RNA) on Monday started a seven-week long rigorous training for police personnel on semi-automatic rifles and jungle warfare, a police source said.

The source added that currently the police personnel are receiving jungle warfare training in all RNA barracks in different groups. According to the source, a total of 1,500 police personnel have already received such training.

According to the source, a total of 150 police personnel, including four inspectors, will be receiving the seven-week long training on handling modern weapons and jungle warfare tactics at Bardaghat.

RNA Colonel Gaurav Shumsher Rana inaugurated the training amid a function at Western Region Riot Control Camp. The source told The Kathmandu Post that 22 RNA personnel led by a Major will coach the policemen on jungle warfare.

A police official on the condition of anonymity said that the trained police force will be deployed in Maoist insurgency-hit districts along with the sophisticated arms after they complete the training.

31 Tibetans arrested

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JIRI, Oct 24 - Within less than a week of the arrest of 26 illegal Tibetans, police again on Tuesday nabbed here another group of 31 Tibetans for illegally entering Nepal through Nepal-Tibet border, the Autonomous Region of China, police said.

According to Police Inspector Prakash Adhikari in Dolakha, the arrested Tibetans were handed over to the Immigration Department, Kathmandu on Tuesday.

Police said that the Tibetans who are all above 16 years of age fled Tibet from anyone of the exit-points from Sagarmatha to Jiri. Police said that they did not have to use force while arresting the emigrants as they came to the police station on their own.

The Immigration Department usually sends them to their sought-after destinations after making necessary investigations, Inspector Adhikari said.

Within the beginning of this fiscal year, the exodus of Tibetans to Nepal is increasing compared to the previous years, statistics revealed.

The police said that a total of 201 Tibetans have so far fled Tibet this year. After entering Nepalese territory, most of the Tibetan emigrants go to Dharmasala, India where the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan Buddhists, has been living there since he fled Tibet.

Children’s Act to be amended

KATHMANDU, Oct 24 (PR)- State Minister of Women, Children and Social Welfare Kamala Pant today said that Children’s Act 1992 will soon be amended to make it more relevant and to ensure children’s rights.

Speaking at a programme on child welfare, Pant also stressed on the need of efforts from all quarters to increase the income level of the mothers, and to increase awareness among them.

Dr Tika Pokharel, Member Secretary of Social Welfare Council said that the Child Welfare Committee, under the Council, should work properly to improve the situation. "This organisation needs to work extensively, for it is capable to co-ordinate all the other organisations working on child welfare," he said.

Teachers denounce rebel wing's act

KATHMANDU, Oct 24 (RSS) - Nepal Teachers Association, Nepal National Teachers Organisation and Nepal National Teachers Council have in a joint press statement today strongly denounced the indecent behaviour meted out to the headmaster of Padma Kanya Vidhyashram (secondary school), Dillibazaar and Nepal Teachers Association, Kathmandu District President Iswor Prasad Sapkota by a group of 30/40 people calling them associated with ANNFSU (Revolutionary) inside the school premises yesterday.

Demanding that His Majesty’s Government take immediate measures for security of the headmaster and the school, the statement has also called upon ANNFSU(Revolutionary) to stop such undemocratic act.

Use of electric vehicles stressed

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KATHMANDU, Oct 24 - What could countries like Nepal do to reduce their dependency on such fossil fuels as petrol and diesel which are said to be on the brink of complete exhaustion?

The easiest way would be to promote electrical vehicles like Safa tempos and trolley buses which do not consume petroleum fuels and instead help make the environment better and cleaner.

"This will not only contribute for the cause of environment protection but also utilize the surplus hydro power that the country will have after the completion of such mega hydel projects as Kali Gandaki A and others," said clean energy activists at an interaction program here Tuesday.

Officials say the country will have surplus hydropower production when the 144 MW Kali Gandaki A project comes into operation and gets connected with the national grid some time next year. The project’s works are going on in the warfooting, according to officials.

While the activists urged the government to create a conducive environment for the development of electric vehicles, they condemned the government’s recent decision that stopped the registration of all the vehicles including the battery-powered Safa tempos inside Ring Road area of the capital city.

"The government should not discourage the entrepreneurs of Safa tempos by taking such decisions," said Bikash Pandey, an energy expert of Winrock International. "Instead, it should encourage Safa tempos here, if it really wants to promote electric vehicles in hydropower-rich Nepal."

As of now there are 600-odd Safa tempos plying the streets of Kathmandu. Experts say about Rs 450 million have already been invested in the electrical vehicle industry which came into being since mid-1990s.

The speakers also pointed at the need to expand the services of Trolley Bus both in and outside the Valley. But no representatives of National Transport Corporation (NTC) which oversees the country’s only trolley bus service was present at the function. The program was latest in the series of similar programs organized by Martin Chautari, a talk forum.