Army chief calls for ‘national consensus’ Puts onus on Govt, political parties

By Utpal Raj Misra

KATHMANDU, April 20 - Chief of the Army Staff General Prajwalla Shumsher Rana today categorically said that the Royal Nepal Army was willing to be deployed in strife-torn districts to maintain peace but only if there was "national consensus" on the matter.

Addressing senior army officers and others present at a ceremony marking the convocation day of the Eight Command and Staff Course, at the Royal Nepal Army (RNA)Command and Staff College at Sivapuri on Friday, Gen. Rana said, "If the army is to be used in maintaining peace and order, then there must be national consensus."

The comments come at a time when the government has already announced plans to send the army in Maoist-affected western districts to ensure peace during the soon-to-be implemented Integrated Security and Defense Package (ISDP).

The army is an important part of the package, but Gen. Rana’s comments raise questions whether the army would be deployed in the districts without firm commitments and support from all political parties. At the moment only the Nepali Congress government is in support of sending the army in strife-torn districts. The main opposition CPN(UML) is against, as is a host of other smaller parties.

"It cannot be denied that the army can be mobilized to ensure peace, security and development programmes in the country to strengthen the national interest," Gen. Rana said. "...But we must not forget that without clear policy goals and directions from His Majesty’s Government, and without strong support from all political parties, it is difficult to ensure the success of any national security or development programme. Therefore, if the army is to be used in internal security and development programmes, then there must be strong and long-term support from the common people and all political parties."

Rana also raised concerns over the different comments raised over the role of RNA in this time of crisis in the country and said that it was necessary for the RNA officials to be fully aware of RNA’s stand in the matter.

"Primarily it is the moral responsibility of the political parties to strive for political stability and good governance in the country," Rana said. "RNA is not a party device but a national institution. It is an apolitical institution which has a glorious history...therefore the army should be used only for national interest. It is imperative that the national interest be identified urgently."

The army chief also quoted His Majesty the King’s address to the nation made during the Nepali New Year, which said, " Development is not possible without peace and security and without development the society cannot progress. Since it is the responsibility of a nation to institutionalize lawful system and to ensure security and freedom of the people, it is today’s need to make a strong foundation for better future by removing social and economic anomalies by ensuring political stability and good governance."

Rana said: I understand that it is the duty of all the Nepalis including all the political parties to put into practice the spirit of the message.

During the ceremony Rana also presented certificates to the 35 officers who successfully completed their Command and Staff Training from the staff college.

Earlier addressing the ceremony Commandant of the Staff College Kiran Shumsher Thapa explained the objective of Command and Staff Course and the facilities of the college, which completed its eight years this year.

HMG appoints senior level officers

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KATHMANDU, April 20 - The government today appointed 17 special class officers that include secretaries, regional administrators and chief officials.

Those appointed in the post of Secretaries includes Bhanu Prasad Acharya at Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply; Khem Raj Nepal at Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA); Shashi Kant Mainali at Cabinet Secretariat; Dinesh Chandra Pyakurel at Ministry of Physical Planning and Works; Lokman Singh Karki at Ministry of Water Resources; Damodar Dhakal at Public Service Commission (PSC); Mahesh Man Shrestha at Ministry of Science and Technology; Lav Kumar Devkota at Ministry of Education and Sports; Ratneshwor Lal Kayastha at Ministry of Agriculture; Mahendra Nath Aryal at Ministry of Health.

Those appointed as Regional Administrators include Chandi Prasad Shrestha in eastern region; Dhruvaji Adhikari in western region; Prem Nidhi Sharma Gyawali in mid-western region; Ananta Raj Sharma Pandey in central region and Sushil Prasad Bhattarai in far western region.

Other appointed as Special Class Officer includes Bansi Dhar Ghimire as Auditor General and Mohan Bahadur Karki as Chief Officer of the Special Police Department.

Meanwhile, His Majesty’s Government (Council of Ministers) has, in a decision taken on Thursday, transferred Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives Mukti Narayan Shrestha to the post of Secretary at the Ministry of Population and Environment and Secretary at the Ministry of Science and Technology Poshannath Nepal as Secretary at the Ministry of Labour and Transport Management.

Nepal's first lady SC justice

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KATHMANDU, April 20 - For the first time in the judicial history of Nepal, a woman has been recommended to take the coveted post of the Supreme Court Justice.

The Judicial Council today forwarded four names including that of Sushila Singh "Shilu" to His Majesty the King for the post of Supreme Court justice.

Singh has already set a number of records as a prominent woman personality in Nepali judicial system. She is also the first women Advocate and the first Senior Advocate from among the women legal practitioners.

Singh had obtained her Advocate license in the year 2020 BS (Nepali Calendar) and had obtained the Senior Advocate license in 2033 BS.

Currently Appellate Court Judges Sharda Shrestha and Gauri Dhakal are the other prominent women personalities in the judiciary.

As per the 1990 Constitution of the Kingdom, it is the Judicial Council chaired by the Chief Justice that recommends the appointment of the Supreme Court judges to His Majesty the King.

Ram Nagina Singh, a law practitioner from Janakpur, Min Bahadur Rayamajhi Chief Judge of Patan Appellate Court and Chief Judge of Biratnagar Appellate Court Chandra Prasad Parajuli have also been recommended to the King.

US Acting Asst Secretary defends envoy’s statement

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KATHMANDU, April 20 - The US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Alan W Eastham today defended US ambassador Ralph Frank’s recent statement on government change that had created furore and was criticized by the opposition as an interference in the country’s internal affairs.

"The opposition is at liberty to interpret American policy in any way it wishes," said Eastham. He added that the statement was an expression of US global policy in support of democracy as the best system of government.

Ambassador Frank also tried to remove the confusion surrounding his statement by saying that he had not intended to dictate terms to the Nepalese people. "If you read the statement very carefully, I think the very last line says that it is for the Nepalis to decide what the Nepali solution is."

On the occasion Eastham criticized the Maoists for large-scale killing of policemen and added that democracy in Nepal was resilient enough to take care of the Maoist situation in Nepal.

"I think if one has political grievances and wishes a change in government … then murdering policemen is not the way to go about it," said Eastham at a press conference today in the capital.

He also expressed the hope that the width of democracy in Nepal was capable enough to accommodate wide variety of views, ranging from Maoists to others. He denied the US was in touch with the Maoists.

The Assistant Secretary of State also denied that his visit had anything to do with the recent development in the country, including the opposition campaign to oust Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala.

Significantly, Eastham met with the army general and the police chief. He also had an audience with His Majesty the King and called on PM Koirala, the Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Foreign Secretary and Human Rights Commission and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Replying to a question on the Bhutanese refugees’ verification process, Eastham lauded the two governments for putting together a joint verification team. He also expressed the hope that the team would expedite verification process. Assistant Secretary Eastham also added that there was no change in the US policy vis-à-vis Nepal. "You might see some adjustments in future, but it will be positive and not negative."

Chakka jam passes off peacefully

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KATHMANDU, April 20 - The one hour chakka jam organized by the main opposition CPN-UML and other six supporting left parties demanding resignation of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala went off peacefully without any major incidents of violence, today.

The police arrested different leaders and the party cadre while trying to stop the vehicles plying in the streets today. The police arrested several leaders from major junctions in the capital including Ratna Park, Chabahil, Bhotahiti and Baneshwore. At some places police resorted to firing teargas shells and lathi charge to prevent the mass from trying to obstruct vehicle movement.

In a press release issued by the CPN-UML undersigned by KP Oli, Coordinator of the UML’s Central People’s Movement Coordination Committee, the party has condemned the police intervention of "peaceful bandh program".

According to reports similar programs were also organised in Pokhara, Nawalparasi, Butwal, Tanahu, Baglung, Morang, Sindhupalchowk, Bhadrapur, Bardiya, Mahendranagar, Surkhet and Gulmi. There were some reports of minor vandalisms from Pokhara and clash between the police and UML cadre was reported from Dharan.

Accham mired in HIV/AIDS

By Bijay Ghimire

ACCHAM, April 20- A total of 154 people have succumbed to HIV/AIDS in Accham, remote mountainous district in the far-western region of the country. Estimated 10 thousand people in this district are believed to be infected with HIV/AIDS.

According to the latest figures published jointly by the Reproductive Health Centre, German Development Organisation (GTZ) and Save the Children U.K, 154 people have died of the disease and about 28 more are full-blown HIV/AIDS patients.

However, according to the K.K.P. Singh, a worker at the Reproductive Health Centre says that the figure obtained is far less than the actual. "We discussed with the local representatives and they said that there are more people who have succumbed to death than the figures mentioned in the report," said Singh.

Blood test done at the Medical hall in Sanfe revealed that out of 10 suspected people infected with HIV/AIDS, 6 of them were full-blown cases.

The revealed figure is believed to be higher than the national HIV/AIDS death rate.

The latest figures published by the World Health Organisation shows that more than 36 million people worldwide suffer from HIV/AIDS or related diseases.

Youths of this district normally move to India in search of work. It is believed that the wide spread of the disease in the district is linked to these mobile job seekers.

According the an officer with CARE Nepal, Dhruba Karki, people don’t have the knowledge on safe sex which aids in the spread of the illness." People hesitate to say that they are infected. And, this makes it impossible to acquire authentic data," said Karki.

More people from Payal VDC have died than in any other VDCs of the district. A local from Toshi VDC, Prem Bahadur Chalauni says, "All youths from this village who worked in one of the company in Mumbai have died."

According to some locals, youths who return from India tend to hide their illness making it very difficult to obtain the real figure.

Lots of signboards have come up in many parts of the district. There are also many NGOs working in the district trying to help curb the illness. But the locals say that numbers of HIV infected people have continued to rise without any sign of abatement.

Vita-A given to 3m children

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KATHMANDU, April 20 - Wailing babies in arm, sniffing toddlers by hand, the mothers waited in orderly queue for their turn to have the vitamin A capsule squeezed into the puckered mouth of their wards during the two-day National Vitamin A Program, which ended today.

Nearly three million children in 72 districts across the country have been administered vitamin A during the two day National Vitamin A Program jointly organised by the Health Ministry, Department of Health Service, Child Health Division and Nutrition Unit.

Shalini Sharma, a mother waiting in line at the Baneshwore centre said, "When I was pregnant, I couldn’t afford to eat green vegetables, fruits and eggs. I feared that my children could fall prey to malnutrition. But this program has saved me and my children from any future ailments."

Vitamin A capsule is given to children above six months and under five years old, during the months of Baisakh and Kartik every year, under the management of Nepal Technical Assistance Group (NTAG).

The program is part of a government strategy to reduce child mortality, night blindness, measles, chronic diarrhoea and severe malnutrition in children.

Chandra Sharma, Office Manager of NTAG, says, "This program which began in 1993 has helped to reduce nearly 30 percent child mortality and has vastly improved the health of our children."

About 40,240 women volunteers of "Female Community Health Volunteers" group are helping to administer the capsules in every ward of VDCs and municipalities of the 72 districts this year except in Rolpa, Rukum and Jajarkot districts. They hope to implement the program in all the 75 districts by next year.

According to the data maintained by NTAG, areas like Sorhakhutte and Tikapur have the most number of children (800 to 2000) seeking vitamin A drops. "According to the records received till date, the program has been 94 per cent successful," says Sharma.

He further adds, children in the age group of six months to one year are given half the capsule (100,000 I.U) and children above one year are given the full capsule (200,000 I.U) which has to be taken at the centre itself.

Under the program, the vitamin A supplement of two capsules (400,000 I.U) can also be given to nursing mothers, three weeks after the delivery of a baby.

All the women of FCHV, are given the training and orientation programs at various health posts, community and district level of the 72 districts. "The vitamin A immunisation is highly supervised at all the centres as an overdose can cause vomiting and diarrhoea in the children" says Krishna Prasad Acharya, Training Manager of NTAG.

Well to do Rana Tharus need light of education

By Manamohan Swar

DHANGADHI, Kailali, April 20- One of the tragedies of  Nepali society is that majority of parents cannot afford to send their children to school. And, at times society faces even bigger misfortune: even those who can afford do not want to educate their children.

Traditionally rich but socially backward Tharu community residing mainly in the Western Terai districts of Kailali and Kanchanpur is one of the Nepali communities afflicted by the latter misfortune.

Overwhelming majority of Tharus think that investing in education is a waste. If a child is educated "he" (not she) leaves home for good in search of job and if he attains only modest education he will stop doing minor domestic works.

Worse, sometimes even the well-educated ones are left unemployed, says Sahajade Rana, a member of the local Tharu Community.

Compared to the Dagaura Tharus, who are mainly migrant Tharus from Dang district, the Rana Tharus are a better lot, socially and economically. However, even they have miserable economic records.

The 1991 census showed that there were only six Rana Tharu graduates out of the total estimated population of around 125,000.

To date only 100 have passed School Leaving Certificate, which includes 25 girls. Sugrib Rana from Dhagadhi-8, who passed SLC examinations nearly 23 years ago, is the first in his community to do so.

The overall social backwardness of women is also reflected in case of Rana Tharus. Majority of them vehemently oppose sending girls to school.

"What is the use of educating my daughter?" said Chandra Maya pointing at her 16-year old daughter, "After all, she has go to her husband’s house."

Statistics show that out of the total educated Rana Tharu people, 15 of them are employed in civil service, 20 in police, about two dozen in teaching profession and one in the Royal Nepal Army.

The only Rana Tharu to reach a higher public post was Labaru Rana Tharu, who became a minister during the then Panchyati era.

According to historians the Rana Tharus migrated from India during the 12th century, after the Muslim conquerors over-ran most of the Hindu states in the Gangetic plain. Mostly the womenfolk and their servants fled and took shelter along the foothills of Nepal. The historian claim, in due course of time, the women married the helpers and settled in the fertile Terai plains.

However, the Rana Tharus disagrees on this theory and voice it as a classic case of distorted history. "This is absolutely false. The truth is that Rana women respect their husbands," says Sarala Rana.

Besides the low education, various deep-rooted traditions and social practices also continue to blight the Rana Tharu community. One of such practices, according to some of the educated Rana Tharus is magani: the practice of settling the marriage of Rana Tharu children by the parents even before they are born.

"We as parents decide to whom the yet-be-born baby is to get married," said Judha Lal Rana Tharu, Deputy-Mayor of the Dhangadhi Municipality.

If a girl refuses to go to the house of the man she is engaged to, the bride side has to compensate the groom’s side according to the traditional dictum. Whenever there is a breach of contract, if often leads to clash between the two families.

Though of late, some educated youths have started questioning the traditional magani practice. But, their voices has so far remained lost in the community cacophony.

But it is not that every body is in deep slumber. Some of the conscious youths from the same community have been campaigning for education and calling on the people to send their children to school.

Nepal Maha Rana Tharu Council and Tharu Conservation Forum, the grass roots level NGOs working for the well-being of their community, are moving ahead with the slogan: Let’s have the light of education and enlighten ourselves. They have been spreading message among 15,000 Rana Tharus, who recently gathered at Shankarpur, Kanchanpur to hold their regional conference.

Lal Bahadur Rana Tharu, 72, a renowned champion for reforms in magani system, said that the system was introduced into the community to ensure their identity during the Mugal conquest. "But time has changed now and the tradition should also change," he said.

Opposition demand explanation from DPM

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KATHMANDU, April 20 – Furious opposition lawmakers today demanded explanation from Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Ram Chandra Poudel on alleged police brutality and high-handedness on Monday and Tuesday in the course of their demonstration against the Prime Minister.

The Left parties’ lawmakers accused the Home Ministry of issuing instructions to the police to single out the Left MPs and detain, beat and insult them and also brutally attack their party supporters. When the DPM denied giving any such instruction, the agitated lawmakers wanted to know who controlled the police force.

The members, who had asked the DPM to give an explanation expressed their dissatisfaction on his reply, terming it too shallow, failing to address the seriousness of the incidents and their implication.

The discussions were taking place at the parliamentary Human Rights and Foreign Relations Committee (HRFRC) that had summoned DPM Poudel to demand explanation on "police’s violation of human rights".

Subhas Nembang of the main opposition charged that the government disruption of their peaceful protest "has given the message to the whole nation that peaceful demonstration cannot be held in this country, just like in Panchayati era." Even as Nembang was asking the HRFRC Chairman to suggest measures to prevent such a message being conveyed, the DPM disagreed that the government was giving such a message to the people.

The members sought clarification on the government’s intention in "disrupting their peaceful protest programme and to explain how and why police beat up the lawmakers if there was no instruction to do so.

"If the police had acted independently, then you must order probe into their terror-tactics and suspend the guilty," demanded Lilamani Pokhrel and Navraj Subedi.

Madhav Kumar Nepal, leader of the opposition accused the government of indulging in uncultured behavior. He said no arrest warrant was issued while taking the opposition leaders into custody.

The lawmakers also accused the DPM of lying about their release from Mahendra Police Club on Monday. "You claimed on BBC that we were released at 7 pm whereas we were let off only at 9.35 p.m.," said Pokhrel.

However, DPM replied that he had ordered the police to release them at 5.30 p.m. It was then the opposition members demanded to know who controlled the police.

The Committee today decided to form a five-member sub-committee on the recommendation of the Chairman, Som Prasad Pandey himself to probe the incidents on April 16 and 17, despite DPM Poudel’s assurance that he would look into police high-handedness.

Nepal signs Cartahena protocol

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KATHMANDU, April 20 - His Majesty’s Government has recently signed Cartahena Protocol on Bio-safety, which has been on display at the UN Headquarters, New York.

According to a press release issued by Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation today, Nepal’s Permanent Representative to the UN Murari Raj Sharma signed the Protocol on behalf of Nepal on March 2. "The Protocol is hoped to be fruitful especially for the developing countries," the release said.

The Protocol, which was ratified by UN Convention on Bio-diversity is kept on a display at the UN Headquarters from June 5, 2000 to June 4, 2001, so that the countries willing to sign it can do that. The Protocol aims at checking smuggling of Living Modified Organisms (LMO) and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO), among others, according to the release.

RPP to hold dialogue with all parties

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KATHMANDU, April 20 - The Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) today decided to go ahead with dialogue with various political parties to end the current political turmoil in the country.

During the meeting, Party’s spokesperson Kamal Thapa presented a concept paper to build national consensus among various political parties to prevent the country from the present crisis.

Talking to The Kathmandu Post, Thapa said that, to overcome the present crisis a minimum understanding among the various political forces has to be reached.

"We will have informal consultation with all the major political forces for a national convention of all political parties who abide by the present constitution," said Thapa.

"If these political forces agree for such national convention then there could be consultation with other political forces including the Maoist as well. The NC alone cannot solve the present crisis" Thapa added.

A press release issued today, condemns the government’s recent move to arrest the leaders of CPN-UML and other five left parties stating that the Prime Minister could have made a detour to avoid the Putali Sadak route on April 16, where the oppositions had been holding their protest program. "The act of Prime Minister was not called for, and it only helped to make the situation more tense," stated the release.