Left parties riot in Capital Public properties, Govt vehicles damaged

By Utpal Raj Misra

KATHMANDU, April 16 - In nasty turn of events of what was supposed to be a "peaceful protest in accordance with the Constitution" today, at least a dozen government and corporation vehicles were burned beyond recognition and streets in various prime locations of the capital resembled virtual battle zones.

Almost all the top leaders of the CPN-UML and the other supporting left parties were taken into custody and moved to the Mahendra Police Club, Exhibition Road, during the first hour of the protest.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala turned out to be the clear winner in the first round of the ‘battle’ as he was successful in getting into his office in Singha Durbar without much hitch outsmarting the opposition and the other left party cadres.

Koirala whizzed past the "blokade zone of Putalisadak" at around 8:15 am along with a cavalcade of a dozen security vehicles, even before the rallies brought out by the left parties reached the planned spots of blockade.

At the same time left leaders like CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, senior leader KP Sharma Oli and leader of the United Peoples' Front Amik Sherchan and Lila Mani Pokharel were taken into custody by the police even before they could lead their cadres to their destination, Putalisadak.

As the police eased their presence after the Prime Minister entered the premises of his office, the cadres of CPN-UML and other left parties resorted to violence. They uprooted the pavement railings and placed it in the middle of the streets, then they started pelting stones and bricks at the stationed police teams from Bagbazar, Exhibition Road and from the front of Shankar Dev Campus.

With the rise in violent activities the police resorted to lathi charge and fired tear gas shells in order to disperse the various groups of agitating cadres who burned vehicle tyres, abused and pelted stones and brick at the police, infuriated after the arrest of their leaders.

The incidents of planned agitation then spilled over to Ratnapark and Bhotahiti crossing which later in the day took an ugly turn resulting to smashing windows and burning of several vehicles.

Although some incidence of minor violence were anticipated during the "battle of Singha Durbar blockade", no one had thought that it would get to this extent of loss of public property and taxpayers’ money.

By the end of the day one government vehicle, Baa1 Ja 4494, was set afire at Chhetrapati and half a dozen motor cycles (four government and two corporations owned) Baa 1 Ba 2622, 3904, 2489,3922 and Baa 1 Ma 3904 and 465 were also completely burned down.

A car belonging to the Gorkhapatra Corporation was badly damaged and almost set ablaze in front of the Bir Hospital but was prevented from being burnt as a police team reached the spot in time. Windowpanes of more than dozen government vehicles were also smashed at different places.

Meanwhile, according to Gopendra Bahadur Pande, spokesperson of the Home Ministry orders to release all the people, including the leaders and the cadres, that were taken into custody today have already been given to the police.

The Nepali Congress Central Office has issued a press release strongly condemning the "undemocratic and unconstitutional acts of violence" of CPN-UML and the other supporting left parties.

On the other hand the left parties in a press release signed by various left leaders including CPN-UML’s Madhav Kumar Nepal, CPN-Mashal’s Chitra Bahadur KC, United Peoples' Front’s Amik Sherchan, CPN-Ekata Kendra’s Nar Bahadur Karmacharya and Nepal Workers’ and Peasants’ Party’s Budhi Kumar Gosain has lambasted the government for disrupting "peaceful protest program" in a "fascist" manner.

"We appeal to all the law abiding citizens of the Nepal to come to the streets demanding resignation of corrupt Girija Prasad Koirala," the release states. Similarly, CPN-Mashal, National Peoples' Front and the alliance of six left parties have also issued press releases strongly condemning the police intervention and atrocities meted against the protesters.

The alliance of six left parties has stated that they will continue their agitation program with a rally from Bhotahiti at 8 am and a torch rally at 6:30 pm Tuesday. The CPN-UML and the other left parties, sticking to their stand, will continue to try and prevent Koirala from entering his office until he resigns.

Unknown disease kills thousands of sheep

Post Report

SIMIKOT, Humla, April 16 - More than 2,000 sheep and goats were feared dead in the southern part of this remote mountain district during the last few days due to the outbreak of an unknown disease, according to the locals.

A local, Surendra Karki, from southern Madana VDC, said that out of the total 143 sheep at his disposal, 120 have been killed due to the disease.

Sheep and goat rearing is one of the main sources of income of the people of this remote north-western district.

Another local, Ram Prasad Jaisi, from Bhaila VDC-6, said that a large number of lambs and goats have succumbed to the disease which is yet to be identified.

People suspected that the disease broke out in the neighbouring districts of the Seti zone while herding them into the jungle. Veterinary doctors in Bajura district suspected that the sheep and goats were affected by the disease called Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) while grazing into the forest of the district. Most of them were killed whilst returning to Humla at the end of winter season.

According to the Vet doctors, the sheep developed a symptoms of dysentery and succumbed to the disease within a couple of hours.

Officiating Chief of the District Veterinary Service in Humla, Jaya Prakash Yadav, said that a team of medicos had been dispatched to the disease affected areas with medicine. Yadav also said more than 70 sheep had been killed in the Kharpu VDC, which lies close to the district headquarters.

Yadav, however, expressed his inability of the total number of the sheep killed by the disease.

NSP against Oppn move

Post Report

KATHMANDU, April 16- Gajendra Narayan Singh, President of Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP) today said that the opposition move to block the Prime Minister from entering into his office was illegal.

Citing the opposition’s move to block the Prime Minister from entering his office as illegal, Singh said that NSP is a democratic party and will strive to uphold democracy and parliamentary norms. "Madhav Nepal ought to have contemplated if such a situation would come upon him in the event of his assuming the chair of Prime Minister," he added.

For the upcoming budget session, we are ready to support the government on some major issues effecting national interest but for those minor issues we will oppose individually , top party official said. The statement came at a time when the party was commemorating its 11th Foundation Day today.

Pointing out the loopholes in the budget allocation for the Terai link roads, the party President said the government appropriated a massive six billion rupees budget towards the construction of link roads in the hills while it made only 60 million rupees towards the link roads in Terai. He also expressed his concern over the situation faced by Madhesi farmers in Terai who have not been given a fair reward to their products by the businessmen after they manipulate and coax them to sell their products at extremely low price.

Speaking to The Kathmandu Post, Rameshwor Raya Yadav, former Minister for Forest , said the issues like Constitutional amendments, regional governments, and reservations were first raised by NSP and now other parties are raising them. "NSP has emerged from a closed box and now has become a nation-wide party with around 400,000 members," he said. "This is our achievements in just 11 years," he added.

The national crisis the country is facing is immoral and unconstitutional and has to be dealt constitutionally to arrive at a solution, a top party member said.

Badri Narayan Mandal, leader of Parliamentary Party, NSP said that NSP has been constantly striving to solve the multifarious problems in the country from its very inception.

When asked to brief on the talks with the Prime Minister, Singh refused to disclose anything saying that they only had some political level talks.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Chakra Bastola, Govinda Raj Joshi, Minister for Local Development, Defense Minster, Mahesh Acharya and various other party members were present at the 11th foundation day of Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP).

Alliance USA outraged by Maoists, police violence

By Akhilesh Upadhyay

NEW YORK, USA, April 16 - The USA-based Alliance for Democracy and Human Rights in Nepal has expressed its outrage over the recent killing of police personnel and civilians in western Nepal, and urged both the rebels and the government for restraint.

Alliance president Rajendra Shrestha warned that failure of political leaders to deliver the goods had steadily undermined Nepal’s fledgling democracy at large, giving ample opportunity to forces hostile to democratic system to become strident.

"At this point, Alliance is alarmed that the killing has reached a dangerous scale," Alliance said in a memorandum sent here today to Nepal’s New York Mission. It blamed both "weak political activities and the corrupt system" and "wrong way of protesting the system" for the current situation.

After its inception in 1989, Alliance first successfully lobbied for the restoration of the multi-party democracy, and later at lobbying MPs and governments in institutionalizing democracy. Ten years later, Nepal is once again at crossroads, said Shrestha, adding there was no alternative to democracy, and political leaders needed to get their act together.

Alliance calls on all intellectuals, human rights and student organizations and all Nepalese people world-wide to condemn the outrageous massacre and ongoing situation in western Nepal, said the memo. But it did not single out Maoists, pointing out that Amnesty International and other Human Rights organizations have blamed both sides for serious human rights abuses. In its latest report, however, AI has accused the rebels of overtaking the government in rights violations.

Alliance has appealed to the leadership of the CPN (Maoist) to respect the rights of all civilians, and to give clear orders to its members to stop the deliberate and arbitrary killings and maiming of civilians and police, the taking of hostages, and torturing those who have been abducted. It has called on all political parties to put the protection and promotion of Human Rights high on their agenda.

It has also appealed to the government to rid the system of corruption, provide sufficient safeguard to all citizens, uphold freedom of expressions and movement, grant Human Rights groups access to the affected areas, and provide them with assistance to ensure that the Human Rights violations can be reported and investigated. "We will make an appeal for calm and restraint to various political parties, Human Rights groups and organizations," said the Alliance chairman, Pramod Pokharel.

RNAC fails to increase Int'l flights

By Tilak Pokharel

KATHMANDU, April 16 - Despite a much-hyped public notice of Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC) appearing in the media on increasing its weekly flights in five international sectors, the Corporation failed to do so. Instead, it has cut the number of some other international flights, while one of the Corporation’s two aircraft has been grounded since February 17, according to sources at RNAC.

On January 13, RNAC published advertisements in different media including The Kathmandu Post about increasing flights in Bangkok, Bangalore, Hong Kong, Mumbai and Singapore. According to the Corporation’s plan as appeared in the media, it was about to increase the number of flights from three to four in Mumbai, two to three each in Bangalore and Singapore, three to four in Hong Kong and four to five in Bangkok.

This has naturally raised concern about RNAC’s claims among ordinary passengers and in the tourism industry.

However, the RNAC management defended the allegations by saying that the Corporation has been complying with its notice and says that the additional flights, added as a part of the summer schedule, have been cancelled for some days. "We are operating the international flights according to the schedules," said Mohan P Khanal, Director of External and Public Affairs (EPA) at RNAC. "But, some of the flights have indeed been cancelled."

The Corporation had published the advertisement as to show the rationale of bringing the much controversial and infamous Lauda wide-body jet by increasing the international flights.

At present, Lauda jet has been made busy by under-utilizing other aircraft of RNAC. Boeing 757-ACA was grounded since last February by giving the reason of engine problem. According to the reliable sources at RNAC, the national flag carrier underwent a loss of over Rs 130 million in two months’ time just by not using the aircraft.

Apart from increasing the number of international flights after bringing the Lauda jet, RNAC has decreased the number of weekly flights to New Delhi, said pilot Yubaraj Bhattarai. "Before bringing the jet, RNAC was operating weekly 18 flights to Delhi at maximum, but now it has been decreased to hardly 11 flights a week," he said. "The Corporation, when it had only three jets, used to operate more flights than what it is operating now."

Currently, RNAC is operating international flights in 11 sectors including London (twice a week), Osaka (thrice a week), Shanghai (thrice), Paris (once), Dubai and Frankfurt (once).

The RNAC employees have been giving pressure to the management to immediately utilize the Corporation’s own aircraft and increase the number of international flights. The workers even gheraoed the Executive Chairman Rajesh Raj Dali in his office till mid-night on Friday.

Subash Ghising's attacker arrested

BHADRAPUR, Jhapa, April 16 (PR) - The District Police Office in Jhapa on Sunday arrested Chandra Dewan (Rai), 32, from Dhulabari on charges of attacking Subash Ghising, leader of Gorkhaland Rastriya Mukti Morcha in the Indian hill station of Kurseong, about two months ago.

Although Dewan is a Nepali national, he has been living in Siliguri, India for the last couple of years. The Indian police have already arrested Dewan’s wife from Siliguri in connection with the attempted murder of GNLF leader Ghising. It is speculated that Nepali police arrested Dewan on the request of Indian counterpart.

Asked if Dewan can be extradited to India, lawyer Ashok Pokharel said that he should be prosecuted in Nepal because of his being a Nepali national. Earlier, Nepali authorities had handed over Indian national Chhatre Subba to Indian authorities who was alleged of being one of the prime accused in attacking Ghising.

The GNLF called last week for an indefinite general strike in the Hill Council until all the accused responsible for the attack on Ghising were apprehended.

Spy Vs Spy: Kathmandu turning into an intelligence hub

By Suman Pradhan

KATHMANDU, April 16 - Just a day before Muhammad Arshad Cheema, the erstwhile First Secretary at the Pakistan Embassy in Kathmandu, was scheduled to depart for home last week, he got into trouble. Big trouble.

A large cache of high energy RDX explosive was found in the Baneshwar apartment where Cheema was staying with his wife. Police, as a result, detained the Pakistani diplomat for over 24 hours before the government finally expelled him - for conduct unbecoming a diplomat - in the face of strenuous Pakistani protestations.

The episode may have been one more diplomatic flap in Nepal-Pakistan relations, but knowledgeable sources in government say, it also underscored once again just how far Kathmandu has gone into being a playground for regional intelligence agencies.

This city of 1.3 million today is a fertile ground for spies and counter-spies, informers and recruiters. Most are from neighbouring countries, notably from India and Pakistan whose RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) and ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) agencies respectively are engaged in a perennial game of one-upmanship.

But the Chinese too have a keen interest in the happenings here as do the Bhutanese, whose officials are currently sparring with Nepali counterparts over the fate of the 100,000 Lhotsampa refugees stranded in camps down in Jhapa and Morang. And if world events are any indication, the recent spy plane row between the USA and China is only likely to increase the Americans’ interest in Kathmandu, given its physical proximity to China, as it did during the Cold War.

Security officials, requesting customary anonymity, point out that the situation of Kathmandu today is not unlike, say, Cold War-era Vienna or Berlin where East and West bloc spies vied to outmaneuver one another. Only in this case, the most active intelligence operatives have come from within the region.

"If anyone thought that Cheema was arrested purely through efforts of the Nepal police, then he is mistaken," acknowledges a security official. "The Nepal police was assisted all the way by foreign intelligence."

In fact, the officer who raided the Pakistani diplomat’s apartment, District Superintendent of Police Madhav Thapa, also pointed to a "special source" when asked from where the tip had come from about the explosives.

These "special sources" also aided the police sting operation in late 1999 when another Pakistani diplomat was caught red-handed in Kathmandu with counterfeit Indian banknotes. No prizes for guessing who these "special sources" are.

What attracts the rival intelligence agencies to Kathmandu is Nepal’s unique position in South Asia. This Hindu Kingdom has friendly relations with both the neighbours, has a comparatively open and liberal society (at least in Kathmandu), and direct air links to both India and Pakistan. Nepal also shares a long open border with India.

But perhaps most important of all is that, Kathmandu is crawling with locals, both government officials and private citizens, who are only too eager to assist or provide information to anyone for a price. Foreign intelligence agencies thrive in such a cash-first environment.

Case in point: the 16 kgs of RDX that was seized last week. How is it possible to smuggle such a large amount of the deadly explosives - by some estimates, enough to blow up an entire neighbourhood - without some sort of complicity somewhere?

"It’s difficult to understand," says a police officer. "Such a large cache of explosives sitting around in an apartment is difficult to understand. It raises several serious questions about our monitoring capabilities."

Coming back to Cheema again, it is ironic that the man should have found himself in trouble just a day before leaving Nepal for good. He may well have been a diplomat, but he had been accused by Indian intelligence of being the ISI’s point man in Nepal. Indeed, during the Indian Airlines hijacking episode of December 1999, the Indian press, quoting unnamed Indian officials, fingered Cheema as the person who had aided the hijackers in Kathmandu.

But Pakistan vigorously denied the charges then, and did so again after the latest episode. The Pakistani Embassy here last week came out with a scathing statement charging that Cheema had been "framed on false and fabricated charges."

The tit-for-tat intelligence game played here has often put the Nepal government in a difficult position. It values its relationship with all the neighbours, but does not relish its territory being used as an intelligence playground.

"Our position is that we will not allow Nepali soil to be used against any of our neighbours," Foreign Minister Chakra Prasad Bastola has reiterated several times in the past. But that is unlikely to deter rival agencies. Just like Cheema’s case is not the first such incident, it won’t be the last either.

Nepali Siamese twins back in operating room

By Heather Paterson

SINGAPORE, April 16 (AP) - Eleven-month-old Siamese twin girls who went through a dangerous 96-hour separation surgery in Singapore were playing with rattles Monday, but had to go back to the operating room.

Ganga and Jamuna Shrestha both have fevers and high white blood cell counts, which indicate that infections discovered in their blood last week are still present, said Dr. Vincent Yeow, the twins’ plastic surgeon.

The girls were born joined at the tops of their heads in a remote village in Nepal. Doctors in Singapore separated them last week in a rare and extremely difficult surgery.

"Jamuna started with a chest infection, and that is resolving. In Ganga we suspect there may be a collection (of fluid) under the skin," Yeow told The Associated Press in an interview.

The twins spent five hours back in the operating room on Monday so that doctors could inspect the post-surgery wounds and skin grafts on their heads, and to remove any buildup of fluid under the skin.

"It’s just for comfort and sterility that we take off the bandages in the sterile environment of the operating room, have the twins well-anesthetized so they don’t feel pain, and just clean up the wounds," Dr. Keith Goh, the neurosurgeon who directed the girls’ marathon surgery, told the AP Monday.

Ganga had her wounds inspected on Thursday when bacteria was detected in her blood stream and had a tube inserted into her head to drain a discharge of fluid from the infection.

On Monday, Dr. Goh told the AP that the wounds were healing at a satisfactory pace.

"Ganga’s skin infection is getting better. We had to re-do the dressing and replace the tube to drain out the fluid," said Goh, adding that her brain was not swollen.

"Jamuna’s wounds are much better. She’s coming around," he said.

The dressings on both babies’ heads were replaced to cover the wounds and raw skin grafts.

Goh said he believes the girls have a high chance of a full recovery as they have made it through the crucial first week after the operation without any major brain swelling. However, he said there is still a possibility of brain damage but that it is too early to tell.

"The big ‘if’ is whether the skin heals and whether the infection overcomes them. We’ve crossed the period of brain swelling I think. That’s not going to be a big issue now," said Goh.

The risky operation to separate Siamese twins joined at the tops of their heads has only been attempted three times _ and only once successfully _ Goh said.

Experts say infection is the greatest threat facing the infants after the traumatic operation.

"The fluid comes not just from the swelling, but also from the brain itself," he said. "The covering of the brain is not completely waterproof so it will be expected to leak a bit."

The medical team is pleased with the twins’ recovery six days after surgery ended. Both babies are opening their eyes spontaneously despite being heavily sedated, said Goh.

He said they both moved the right sides of their bodies on Sunday. Doctors were worried they may not have full movement in their right sides as the left sides of both babies’ brains were abnormal before the surgery.

The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and vice versa.

"Yesterday Ganga actually lifted her (right) arm off the bed and her leg as well, which was really a thrill for me," said Goh, who is a neurosurgeon. "Jamuna continues to move the (right) fingers and the toes, so I think there’s a high chance that this will get better."

Goh said Jamuna showed even better progress on Monday morning.

"Jamuna was playing with her rattle and opening her eyes wide when I called her name," he said.

The twins are the only children of a poor couple in their early 20s. Their home is the small Nepalese town of Khalanga, a 24-hour bus ride on bad roads from the capital, Katmandu.

A neurosurgeon in Nepal referred the Shrestha family to doctors in Singapore, which is known in the region for its high standard of medical care.

Doctors performed the surgery for free, and Singapore General Hospital waived many of its charges. People in Singapore have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to help with medical bills and other expenses.

The girls will have to undergo extensive plastic surgery in the future to cover their wounds and to reconstruct their skulls. Ganga also will be treated for a cleft palate.

Maoist rebels continue minor looting spree

Post Report

KATHMANDU, April 16 - As the Maoist rebels continue to loot arms and ammunition in various places of the country, some government aided development projects have also been hit by the growing sense of insecurity in the insurgency hit districts.

Underground Maoist rebels, on Saturday night, looted guns and several rounds of bullets from three houses in remote Mugu district, according to police.

The rebels looted guns and cartridges from the houses of Charesh Bahadur Bham, Prabesh Bahadur Bham and Prem Bahadur Malla at Shri Nagar and Karki Wada VDCs. They also fired seven rounds at the district headquarters, Gamgadhi.

Security guards at the district headquarters also returned fire in response to the Maoist attack. The police firing caused minor damages to the District Forest Office, police said.

The local administration has been put on high alert in Gamgadhi following the incident and police have imposed undeclared curfew at the district headquarters from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Another report from Banke stated that the Maoist rebels have started expanding their organisational base in the eastern VDCs of the district following the removal of several police outposts a few days ago. The report states that the rebels were seen openly soliciting locals to participate in their gatherings.

Meanwhile, a helicopter that flew from Ranjha airport to Jumla with police personnel a couple of days ago, reportedly landed at the Shumshergunj-based riot police station following the policemen’s refusal of being deployed at Jumla. The Maoist guerrillas have reportedly warned of dire consequence if the riot policemen were not removed from Shumshergunj.

Our correspondent from Maoist-affected Rukum district reports that none of the contractors filed tender bids for the construction of a suspension bridge that was to be built under the Integrated Development Programme, also known as Basket Fund, in the district.

The government has decided to use funds under the Basket Fund programme in five Maoist-hit districts - Rukum, Rolpa, Salyan, Jajarkot and - in the mid-western region.

The deadline to bid for the tender to construct the suspension bridge estimated to cost Rs 600,000 over the Bahule Khola at Jang VDC, was fixed for April 10. But all eligible contractors showed no interest in competing for the government-funded project, according to Shyam Sunder Mishra, officiating local development officer in Rukum.

The suspension bridge was scheduled to be completed within this fiscal year which will lapse within the next three months. It is speculated that contractors refrained from bidding for security reasons.

Likewise, a report from Bhadrapur said that Maoist rebels took off with two guns from the security guards of the Sanischare-based branch of Nepal Bank Limited, today. The guards were returning to the office on a rickshaw after depositing cash at the Birtamod branch office of the bank.

The bank guards said the rebels on a taxi looted their guns at Kaptanbari, which is about four km north of Birtamod. The rebels robbed about Rs 9 million from the branch office of the Rastriya Banijya Bank at Ghailaduba about 7km west of Birtamod, on Sunday.

GAESO raises racial discrimination claim

Post Report

KATHMANDU, April 16 - President of the Gorkha Army Ex-Servicemen’s Organization (GAESO) today said that they had raised the issue of racial discrimination and Human Rights violation by the United Kingdom in Geneva.

GAESO President Padam Bahadur Gurung said that seven-member team participated the UN 57th Session of the Commission on Human Rights last week and just returned today to capital. "We went there as a campaign to protest the unequal treatment, exploitation and injustice committed by the United Kingdom against us," said Gurung at a press conference.

Speaking on the occasion, advocate Bishwo Kant Mainali said that the government should itself move ahead to negotiate with the British counterpart for the justifiable treatment of ex-Gurkha soldiers. "We could make aware many of the international communities about the discrimination by participating in the convention," said Mainali.

Advocate Gopal Sivakoti Chintan said that there is a way for GAESO as a trade union to file a case against UK. "We will also take up this issue at the World Racial Conference of the UN to be held at Durban, South Africa from August 31 to September 7," said Chintan.

CPN-ML leader Hiranya Lal Shrestha said that the convention also enabled them to seek help from international civil societies. "We could explain the British people about their government’s discriminative policy," said Shrestha. "These British people were even willing to help us," he added.

Thousands of ex-Gurkha soldiers have been demanding their pension parity vis-a-vis the British retired soldiers. They say that they have been discriminated against based on nationality, race and origin.

Ethnic groups for equal opportunity

Post Report

KATHMANDU, April 16- Marking its 14th anniversary, All Nepal Conference For Ethnic People today at the press conference accused the government of ignoring their demand for equal opportunities in different significant sectors of the country.

The ethnic people have raised this issue time and again but they claim that their demands have always gone unheeded. They have been accusing the people belonging to upper class for oppressing and exploiting them.

As census 2001 is nearing, different ethnic groups have been demanding the government to involve them in the process of population count. They claim that involving them in census 2001 would definitely help in acquiring authentic data on population. They have also been frequently urging all the ethnic people living in the country to mention their mother tongue in the process of population count.

Nepal is deemed as multi-religious, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-cultural country. There are diverse ethnic and multi racial communities with their own identities, cultures and creeds . The constitution of Nepal, which was promulgated in 1990, launched the national process of enshrining these diverse communities into the national mainstream of the country.

"Despite the Constitution describing our country as multi-ethnic, we have been publicly oppressed and subjugated by so-called upper class people. We have not been given equal opportunity in many quarters of the country," said the president of All Nepal Conference For Ethnic People, K.B. Gurung while addressing the press meet.

He also slammed the government for being undemocratic and biased. "The appropriate and scientific solution for this particular problem is to give the ‘local autonomy’ to the ethnic-people, this will help in uplifting their existing status," said K.B. Gurung.

They have also announced their second three-day national meet, which will begin from April 27. The meet will basically focus on increasing awareness among the ethnic people, organization building and development of ethnic people in the country.