Nepal, India vow to maintain ‘basic spirit’ of Trade Treaty

By Damakant Jayshi

KATHMANDU, Aug 19 – Nepal and India have both vowed to maintain the "basic spirit" of the bilateral Trade Treaty which is set to expire in December, and which, in recent days, has strained bilateral ties.

Foreign Ministry officials said today that both Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and visiting Indian External Affairs and Defense Minister Jaswant Singh agreed to maintain the basic spirit of the Treaty.

Singh left for New Delhi today after completing his three-day goodwill visit to Nepal which he termed "fruitful and productive". During his stay, the Indian Minister had an audience with King Gyanendra, held meeting with Prime Minister Deuba and also met former Prime Ministers and leaders of the major political parties.

The looming expiry of the Treaty, and India’s demands for a revision of certain provisions, has stired up concern in Nepal. Officials and industrialists here feel that India is taking a tough stance on some Nepalese goods which have recorded remarkable growth in Indian markets due to tariff concessions provided as per the Treaty.

Officials point out that whatever the gains in export of these so-called five "surge" items, India still enjoys a lopsided trade surplus vis a vis Nepal. According to Royal Nepali Ambassador to New Delhi, Dr Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, Nepal suffers "Rs 20 billion worth trade deficit with India." But he hoped that the current issue of "surge" in certain exports from Nepal to India would be amicably settled between the two close neighbours.

Indian dignitary Singh himself explained that the issue would be dealt with amicably. He also pointed out that India was not "unfavourable" to the Treaty. , "It is being presumed that India does not want the continuation of the treaty. This is factually incorrect", Singh told reporters just before departing.

Aside from trade, the two sides also discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations. Among others, the discussions dwelt on the government’s attempt at peace talks with Maoist rebels, the controversial India-constructed embankment at Marchabar, and India’s perennial "security" concerns.

According to an Indian Embassy press statement issued later today, "India has expressed its appreciation for the move of the Nepal government to negotiate with the Maoists aiming at reconciliation."

Besides, the Maoist question, the two sides discussed the trade, "India’s concern with regard to the use of Nepalese territory for anti-Indian activities by elements maneuvered by third countries" and the Rassiyal Khurda Lautan bund.

Nepal has always said that it will not allow anyone to use its territory against a neighbour. The same policy was reiterated again by Prime Minister Deuba during his meeting with Singh.

Earlier, while summing up his visit to Nepal at the time of his departure today, Singh said that he felt rewarded by his visit which he said was also undertaken to pay his personal condolence on the massacre of royal family members in June. The high point of this visit, said Singh, was his audience with His Majesty King Gyanendra today.

"Nepal has displayed exemplary resilience during one of the grievous tragedies in its history by moving ahead with its operation," said the Foreign Minister, adding, "I have internationally conveyed this to the world outside." He further remarked that this was good for the Nepali people, the democratic system and the government.

Singh was seen off at the Tribhuvan International Airport by Mahesh Acharya, the Minister for Agriculture and high-ranking Foreign Ministry officials.

FM Mahat heads for Bhutan today

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KATHMANDU, Aug 19 - Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat is leaving for Bhutan Monday to hold talk to his counterpart in hopes of speeding up the process of verification of Bhutanese refugees who have been living in UN-run camps in south-eastern Nepal.

"Basically our main agenda will be to expedite the process of verification of the Bhutanese refugees," Minister Mahat told The Kathmandu Post. "We have many programs on our agenda."

The former Foreign Affairs Minister refused to elaborate the agenda of his visit, which will be the 11th ministerial meeting but this would be the first ministerial meeting since the much awaited verification process began in March this year.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Gyan Chandra Acharya, who is also accompanying the team of Minister Mahat, also said that high on Nepal’s agenda will be to expedite the verification process of the tens of thousands of Bhutanese languishing in eastern Nepal.

Besides Minister Mahat and Spokesperson Acharya, Under Secretary at the Home Ministry Netra Bahadur Karki, Law Ministry official Kedar Poudel and Joint Verification team leader from the Nepal side Sushil Sumsere Rana will be part of the entourage.

With the verification of 5,557 refugees carried out so far in Khudunabari camp (one of the seven camps) in the past 88 days, the leaders of the seven refugee camps have complained that it will take from five to 10 years to complete the entire verification process.

The heads of these seven refugee camps have urged both Nepal and Bhutan to verify 50-100 families a day.

Experts point out that the five member from each Joint Verification Team (JVT) team could be broken down into smaller groups or more of such JVTs could be constituted. They say it is important that the verification of the first camp (Khudunabari) be completed as soon as possible since it will be crucial for the whole repatriation process. The repatriation from any camp is possible only after verification is completed in that camp.

The JVT started the verification works on March 26 with the target of verifying 10 families per day.

The JVT team had agreed to start the verification of the refugees with family as its basic unit in a significant breakthrough in the 10th Joint Ministerial Level Committee (JMLC) held in December last year.

If the JVT was to break down into smaller teams with members from both countries, more refugee families could be verified every day.

Another possibility, according to experts, is to have the refugees complete filing out the forms and documents prior to coming to the JVT office to save time.

In the interests of accountability and in order to ensure that nothing occurs to slow down verification, many refugees say that a third party such as UNHCR or the International Migration Organisation should also oversee the process.

While verification may be the beginning of the end of the Bhutanese refugee problem in Nepal, that end is still not in sight, observers say.

There are estimated over 100,000 Bhutanese refugees living in the seven camps being run by UNHCR since they were forced to leave their homeland in the early 1990s.

Govt-ANWA (R) talks inconclusive

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KATHMANDU, Aug 19 - Once again the talks between the government and Maoist-aligned Nepal Women’s Association remained inconclusive as both sides have yet to arrive at an agreement necessitating further talks set for Wednesday ( 22 August) at Home Ministry.

"Eventhough the negotiations which lasted for two and half hours were conducted in cordial atmosphere, we could not reach an agreement on the issue of liquor ban," said Kalpana Dhamala, Central secretary of ANWA-Revolutionary.

She further added, " Since the talks remained inconclusive, we have decided to sit for yet another dialogue on Wednesday at Home Ministry."

Shah distillery of Banke district was set ablaze allegedly by the ANWA despite the call to extend the date which they had threatened a nation-wide liquor ban. Reportedly, property worth Rs. 200 million was destroyed as thousands of people put the distillery on fire around noon yesterday by hurling petrol bombs.

When asked regarding the destruction that could have negative impact over the on-going dialogue, Dhamala replied, "We have yet to investigate the real reason of this incident. So We can’t answer you until there is a proper investigation," said Dhamala

Businessmen concerned about security

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KATHMANDU, Aug 19 – The business community has strongly flayed the Saturday’s attack on the Nepalgunj-based Shah Distillery Pvt. Ltd. in which property worth around Rs 30 million was gutted allegedly at the initiatives of CPN-Maoist affiliated All Nepal Women’s Association (ANWA-Revolutionary).

The attack comes at a time when the ANWA-Revolutionary and the government are currently engaged in talks over the former’s demand to ban liquor sale and consumption throughout the country. The ANWA-Revolutionary had initially announced to ban liquor from Saturday, but later postponed the ban.

"Despite repeated pleas to the government for providing security to domestic industries, such an incident has taken place. If such condition and threats prevail, there is no way in which industries can operate in Nepal," said Rabi Bhakta Shrestha, President of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI).

"The government should take serious steps to restore confidence of the business community in general and foreign investors in particular if Nepal wants to retain the existing joint ventures in Nepal," he said.

Investors have raised serious concern over the deteriorating security situation in the country. "Industrialists want commitment and guarantee from the government that such attacks on business establishments are not repeated. The authorities must take proper action," said Surendra Bir Malakar, Vice President of Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC).

He also said that such activities will deteriorate the present environment for talks between the government and the Maoists. "Such activities may derail the government-Maoist talks," he said.

This is not the first time that the business establishment have come under attack. Maoist activists allegedly had attacked Colgate Palmolive (Nepal) Pvt. Ltd. in June 2000 causing total damages of Rs 80 million.

Similarly, during the same period, two main godowns of Surya Tobacco Company, one of the major multinational companies working in Nepal, was also attacked causing losses worth over 10 million rupees.

Earlier, a few months before the attack on Colgate Palmolive, minor bombs had been exploded in the factory premises of Nepal Lever Limited, a subsidiary of Hindustan Lever Limited, and Asian Paints another Indian joint-venture.

Meanwhile, reports from Nepalgunj say that over 125 employees of the distillery are in a dilemma. According to our Nepalgunj-based reporter, the employees have nothing with them except the clothes they are wearing.

Moreover, the workers have not been paid for the last month. "Over Rs 1.7 million in cash was burnt to ashes in the distillery. The workers have not been paid," said managing director of the distillery, Kedarlal Shrestha, to The Kathmandu Post.

Kedarlal Shrestha expressed his astonishment over the latest incident. The distillery had stopped all production for one week and had even paid Rs 25 thousand to the Maoist in financial aid. He informed that the Maoist have asked for Rs 50 thousand in financial aid.

Meanwhile, Nepalgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) informed that authorities knew about the Saturday’s attack beforehand. Factory officials had informed the local administration and police well in advance about the attack, NCCI officials said.

"However, the police stayed as a mute spectator to the whole incident and the local administration failed to take any action," an official of NCCI told The Kathmandu Post over the phone on conditions of anonymity.

Meanwhile, Nepali Congress Central Office, issuing a press release, has condemned the attack as terrorist. Various business associations, including FNCCI, has also sent press releases criticizing the attack.

The FNCCI also formed a fourteen-member high level committee Sunday under the chairmanship of the FNCCI president to make recommendations and suggestions to the government over the current business environment of the country.

"The committee will study in detail the current security situation in the country and will submit a report to the government. It will seek the necessary commitment and assurance from the government regarding protection of industries against attacks," said Rabi Bhakta Shrestha.

UML-CC meet today

KATHMANDU, Aug 19 (PR)– The emergency Central Committee meeting of the main opposition CPN-UML is being held in the Party’s Central office Monday.

According to the party sources the meeting is likely to begin with the General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal briefing the members with the details of his meeting with Prachanda, the supreme leader of CPN-Maoist.

Nepal, along with other leaders of some left parties, had met with the Maoist leader last Wednesday in Siliguri, an Indian town in Nepal’s eastern border.

Among the other issues to be raised in the meeting are likely to be the eight-point reform agenda presented by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in the Parliament and the party’s role in the upcoming government-Maoists talks. The meeting is also likely to decide weather or not to participate in the all-party talks about the Maoist issue and about the ongoing left parties’ unification process.

Meanwhile, a statement undersigned by UML party secretary Yubaraj Karki, states that the main opposition party and CPN-Marxist, a lesser left party held a meeting Sunday and discussed about probable unification of the left parties. The main opposition party was represented by party leaders Bharat Mohan Adhikari and Amrit Bohara while CPN-Marxist chairman Prabhu Narayan Chaudhari and its members Lok Narayan Subedi and Mukunda Acharya represented the party.

RPP, NSP protest land sales freeze

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KATHMANDU, Aug 19 – The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) joined Nepal Sadbhawana Party (NSP) in disrupting the House of Representatives today demanding immediate withdrawal of the government’s proposed land reforms.

NSP, which began protests on Friday against the freeze in land transactions announced by the government last week, led the protest. The lawmakers of NSP and RPP joined together in the noisy protest in the House.

All these lawmakers of NSP are from the Terai regions where land issues have been the main focus since the land freeze and proposed reforms were announced.

The House was stalled following the protests in the assembly hall by NSP and RPP lawmakers. Speaker Taranath Ranabhat called the adjournment till Monday afternoon.

As soon as today’s proceedings had begun and the Speaker was about to call for the scheduled business of Zero Hour, RPP’s Renu Yadav demanded that the government withdraw its decision and "instead make public the property amassed by some people through corruption in the past 10-12 years."

Yadav’s sharp remarks were followed by NSP’s Badri Narayan’s comments who reiterated the party’s demand for lifting the ban on land transaction and the proposed ceiling on land ownership.

Earlier a meeting between NSP representatives and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba today failed to yield any result as the Prime Minister asked for co-operation, NSP lawmakers refused to budge from the demand.

NSP members later accused Deuba of failing to show any commitment towards solving the deadlock.

Just minutes before the stalled meeting of the House began around the scheduled 1 p.m., Speaker Ranabhat also met NSP members in his chamber but no agreement was reached.

On Friday, Prime Minister Deuba had announced suspension of all land sales throughout the country by announcing a freeze in land transactions until the government introduces new land reform laws.

After Deuba’s announcement, all land transactions in the country came to a halt, and will continue to remain so until the promised legislation becomes law, which could take place any time from a couple of months to a year.

The prevailing land ceiling in the Kingdom for agricultural and household purposes respectively are 50 ropanis and eight ropanis in Kathmandu Valley, 80 ropanis and 16 ropanis in the hills and 25 bighas and 3 bighas in the Terai (the plains), according to the officials of the Ministry of Land Reforms.

Meanwhile, RPP’s Central Working Committee met today and criticized the ceiling on land ownership. The meeting also called the freeze an unconstitutional and an undemocratic which would hit the economy and agricultural sector of the nation and has created a economic terror.

"Our party strongly condemns the ban imposed on the transaction of property by the government," said a statement issued by the party.

US rule leads Nepali clinics to closure

By Surendra Phuyal

KATHMANDU, Aug 19 – If the Family Planning Association of Nepal (FPAN) fails to bring in new foreign donors soon, their model clinics will be forced to shut down.

FPAN has already started to downsize the staff force employed at its three model clinics.

This will affect thousands of married couples who throng these clinics for free reproductive health counseling. The central clinic is based in the capital city while two other clinics are based in Chitwan and Sunsari districts.

A total of 4,341 couples benefited free family planning services from these clinics in 2000, while thousands of others received free counseling and contraceptives.

But, thousands of Nepalese would be debarred from these services, if the American government implements the Mexico City Policy, which is popularly known as the Global Gag Rule.

US President George W Bush resurrected the Mexico City Policy of 1984 soon after he came to power. President Bush’s first executive decision bars foreign organisations from using their US aid to advocate abortion law reforms.

FPAN is the biggest non-governmental organisation of Nepal, which has been providing reproductive health and family planning services for more than 42 years. Its partnership with the US government’s Engender Health, which provides the fund, started more than 27 years ago.

FPAN is getting 10 to 14 percent of its annual fund from the US government, which is spent on providing reproductive health counseling, contraceptives and sterilization services to thousands of fertile couples across the country. FPAN is active in 34 districts at present.

Experts say the Global Gag Rule has imposed "onerous restrictions on free speech, advocacy and health care." While its programmes in the remaining districts may not be affected, the three model clinics are on the verge of closing down. The US government has already "de-obligated its promised financial assistance" totaling $ 132,000 for this year to FPAN, according to Dr Nirmal Bista, the FPAN Director General.

On July 19, Dr Bista addressed the US Senate Foreign Relation Committee, in which he spoke at length on how the Rule affects women in countries like Nepal whose maternal mortality rate of 539 women in 100,000 live births, 50 percent of which due to unsafe abortion, is alarmingly high. His emotional address even "prompted Senator Barbara Boxer, who was chairing the meet to seek apology" on behalf of the US government.

The US government had committed an aid of $ 90,000 plus additional $ 42,000 to FPAN for 2001, according to Dr. Bista. "Like in the past, we would have spent that money on the three model clinics," he told The Kathmandu Post, "But since they have already refused us the funding, the fate of these clinics is uncertain. That is why we have already started to downsize the staff." He said that the US decision came after Nepal’s refusal to comply with the Gag Rule.

Despite this, the model clinics might not close down soon. Dr Bista says his organisation has started contacting other foreign agencies to run these clinics. "We are trying to get the funding from other private foundations in the US and the London-based International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)."

The re-imposition of the Gag Rule has drawn widespread criticism in Nepal, especially in the reproductive health and pro-abortion circle. "It is ridiculous, unfair," says public health expert Dr Aruna Upreti. "The new US administration took this decision due to some religious pressure. It has hit the poor and needy people, mainly women in the third world."

The new policy may have brought uncertainty in the reproductive health circle, but a recent development in the US has rekindled hopes. On August 1, the US Senate Foreign Relation Committee passed the Global Democracy Promotion Act. Experts say the law could end the "onerous restrictions" on free speech, advocacy and health care, blocking the US government from implementing the Gag Rule.

The US-based Center for Reproductive Law and Policy (CRLP) filed a lawsuit against the US President on June 7, seeking dismissal of the Gag Rule. It has now reached the US Court of Appeals for consideration.

Dr Bista welcomes the Senate Committee’s green signal to the new law but expresses his doubt that the Bush Administration will eliminate the Gag Rule so easily.

"But we are not very hopeful that the Bush administration will eliminate the Gag Rule," says Dr Bista. "Re-imposition of the Gag Rule is President Bush’s first executive decision and it is only him to decide what to do next."

Lawmakers work for women, children

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KATHMANDU, Aug 19 – Various Members of Parliament (MPs) today expressed their commitment to work for rights of women, children, suppressed class and ethnic groups. At the end of a two-day seminar held in the capital on " Role of MPs on Preservation and Improvement of Rights of Women and Children" jointly organized by Parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Human Rights Committee and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), more than 30 MPs of both the Upper and the Lower House of Parliament signed a declaration promising to keep the various Rights intact starting from their own homes.

The MPs signed a document of resolution promising not to employ children at their homes as domestic helpers, to treat suppressed as well as ethnic people with respect and to treat sons and daughters equally.

At the seminar various experts presented working papers in their field of specialization. Among the presenters were Professor Kapil Shrestha, Krishna Bhattachan and Gauri Pradhan.

The participating MPs were divided into three working groups, working on Women’s Rights, working on Human Rights and the Rights of Ethnic Groups and working on the Rights of Children.

The group working on the rights of women, co-ordinated by Urmila Aryal, took responsibility of initiating awareness programs in their constituencies and to work for endorsement of various women rights related bills in the next session of the Parliament.

The second group, working on Human Rights and the rights of ethnic people under the co-ordination of Bijay Subba, took inter alia, responsibility of initiating works in order to endorse ILO Convention No 169 and UN Draft Declaration Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The third group, working on Children’s Rights promised to initiate works in order to form National Commission for Children’s Rights and to push the government for making laws to stop exploitation of children.

At the closing ceremony Bharati Silwal, Assistant Residential Representative at UNDP, stressed on equality of the sexes and said that women should have equal rights to their parental property as the men.

Dr Mohammad Mohasin, Chairman of the Upper House of Parliament said that the major challenge of the country right now is to balance liberty and equality. Mohasin added that MP’s should be more attentive for the implementation of the things they decide at various seminars.

The participating MPs decided to meet after a year as follow up and to monitor the works they have committed upon.