Verification of one camp over, question is what next?

By Damakant Jayshi

KATHMANDU, Dec 20 – With the verification of over 12,000 Bhutanese refugees in Jhapa’s Khudunabari camp concluding last Friday, all eyes are now on the 12th Ministerial Joint Committee (MJC) meeting slated for Kathmandu "some time in the future" to deliberate on the next phase of refugee repatriation.

However, the next phase hangs in the balance with intractable positions of Nepal and Bhutan on harmonising their positions on the categorisation of the refugees. There is also the question of simultaneously beginning verification in other camps while the repatriation of Khudunabari would be discussed. Both the countries have "principally agreed" to do that.

The verification of the Bhutanese refugees, which began on March 26, lasted 153 days. Refugees in six more camps, five in Jhapa and one in Morang, are still left to be verified.

Both the Nepalese and Bhutanese members of the JVT would now report back to their respective governments about the verification process. This would be followed by harmonisation and categorisation of the refugees, said a Nepalese official.

Nepalese officials seemed resigned to what they call stubborn insistence of Bhutan not to see beyond some documents whose very nature is being questioned by the refugees. Much to the relief of the 100,000-odd Bhutanese refugees of Nepali origin languishing in the seven camps in Jhapa and Morang districts, Nepal has been emphasising on narrowing down the two categories – Bhutanese who were evicted forcefully and non-Bhutanese.

However, the Dragon Kingdom insists on the agreement 1994 between the two countries that has agreed on two other categories as well – Bhutanese who emigrated willingly and Bhutanese with criminal records.

The documents cited by Bhutan government on the status of the refugees is also "dubious". They have harped on the documents "willingly signed by former Bhutanese while leaving Bhutan". Most refugees, however, maintain that these documents were signed under duress. They allege that the Bhutanese locals, with the active connivance of Bhutanese local officials in southern Bhutan, harassed the Lhotsampas to drive them out of their homeland.

As far the "criminal records" are concerned, refugee leaders claim they were the tools used by the Dzonkhas to quell pro-democracy movement in Royal Bhutan. The leaders leading the movement have been singled out and branded criminals on fabricated charges, say the Bhutanese leaders, now staying in Kathmandu.

"All charges have been cooked by the Bhutanese government," said R Basnet, President of Bhutan National Democratic Party (BNDP). Rakesh Chhetri, Executive Director of CEMARD, a human rights organisation for Bhutanese refugees agreed, adding that he too would be arrested the moment he entered Bhutan, "though there are no official charges against me".

Both Basnet and Chhetri accuse Bhutan of deliberately delaying the lasting solution to the problem. The Bhutanese refugee leaders also emphatically said that categorisation was not necessary at all. "Once the verification is over, why go for categorisation," questioned Basnet. Even those Bhutanese who might be termed non-Bhutanese must have the right to appeal to an international and impartial tribunal, he added. "No one can be left stateless; either Bhutan or Nepal will have to do something about those who are dubbed non-Bhutanese."

Basnet further said that Bhutan was using the delay to consolidate its resettlement plan in the lands vacated by the Bhutanese citizens-now-turned-refugees.

Foreign Ministry officials said that the focus will now be on harmonisation of differences in the position of the two countries on the categorisation of the refugees. However, there are strong differences in the position of the two governments on the harmonisation of the refugees. Under the present dispensation, refugees fear that most of them would not be able to go back to their homeland.

The foreign ministers of the two countries will, once again, try to solve this seemingly vexed problem, say the Ministry officials. Though the dates are yet to be finalised, the two ministers would meet for the 12th Ministerial Joint Committee meeting "sometime after the SAARC Summit (January 4-6) in Kathmandu".

Even on the sidelines of the regional meeting in early January, Nepal and Bhutan are expected to take up the decade-long festering refugee impasse. But not much is expected as the focus will still be on the fate of the over 12,000 verified refugees of the Khudunabari camp.

As of now, all eyes are on the 12th MJC meet in Kathmandu next year.

Central bank lowers interest rates, CRR

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KATHMANDU, Dec 20 – Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank, today lowered Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) of commercial banks by one percentage point on an average, and bank rates and refinancing rates by one to two percentage points, with a view to enhance investment and economic activities by reducing cost of capital.

The CRR is the amount that has to be compulsorily deposited out of the total deposit made by a commercial bank with the NRB.

The CRR for current account in Nepalese currency has been reduced from 8 to 7 per cent, saving account in Nepalese currency from 8 to 7 per cent and fixed account from 6 to 4.5 per cent with effect from December 20, 2001.

However, no change has been made in cash-in-vault provision for the commercial banks, which stands at three per cent.

Similarly, refinancing rate for the foreign currency for export purpose has been brought down to 2 per cent from 4, and the rate of refinancing loan to sick industries has been scaled down to 3 from 4.5 per cent.

The rate of refinancing through rural development banks for export in Nepalese currency has also been lowered by one per cent from 5.5 to 4.5 per cent, and the rate of all other refinancing has been cut by one per cent from 6.5 to 5.5 per cent.

The measures have been announced at a time when the economy is passing through a slowdown. The announcement of flexible monetary policy is expected to release about 2 billion rupees into the market, as the excess liquidity has come down to Rs 2.8 billion from Rs 5 billion last year.

Announcing the changes at a press meet on Thursday, Governor Dr Tilak Rawal said, "The measurers are expected to increase the flow of fund to the market and enhance investment. But let the depositors be assured that the new measures would not affect them."

"We cannot dictate the commercial banks on maintaining the existing interest rates on deposits, but hope that they would not put depositors at a disadvantage," said Governor Rawal. If the present policy does not affect the economic fundamentals, the central bank will introduce more flexible monetary policies to prop up the weakening economy, he added.

Replaying to a query, Governor Rawal said that the central bank is cautious of capital flight, and has introduced the new measures after closely watching the neighbouring countries, especially India’s current monetary policy.

SAARC summit to go ahead despite Indo-Pak tensions

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KATHMANDU, Dec 20 – The bilateral tensions of India and Pakistan would not have an effect on the forthcoming 11th SAARC Summit which is due for Kathmandu early next months, a high-level official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said today.

Gyan Chandra Acharya, the Spokesperson at the MoFA was reacting to some agency reports that quoted India Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee saying that he would not meet Pakistan’s President Gen Pervez Musharraf. "The SAARC has its own agenda to deliberate upon," said Acharya.

The leaders at the Summit are expected to discuss poverty alleviation, SAFTA, terrorism, among other regional issues. Customarily, the leaders meet each other on the sidelines of the Summit and discuss bilateral issue as well.

An AFP report Thursday said that India ruled out the possibility its Prime Minister meeting Pakistani President Musharraf next month on the sidelines of a regional summit in Nepal because of Islamabad’s "unresponsiveness" on fighting terrorism.

"The question of talking to Pakistan given its attitude and unresponsiveness in taking action against terrorist groups operating from its soil against India really doesn’t arise," foreign ministry spokeswoman Nirupama Rao told reporters.

Rao said Vajpayee still planned to travel to Kathmandu but would focus on "SAARC-related matters only."

India has demanded that Islamabad take action against two Pakistan-based Islamic militant groups it says were behind a deadly December 13 attack on the parliament in New Delhi.

Rao said incidents such as the parliament attack "are not propitious to create the right climate for dialogue."

There had been hopes that Vajpayee and Musharraf might meet on the margins of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) summit being held in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu from January 4 to 6.

The two leaders have not met since a July summit in the Indian city of Agra that ended in deadlock largely due to the countries’ dispute over Kashmir.

The Indian premier had declined Musharraf’s invitation to hold talks last month on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Rebels bomb state minister’s house

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CHITWAN, Dec 20 - A group of Maoist "terrorists" on Wednesday night bombed and completely destroyed the house of Minister of State for Water Resources, Narayan Sharma Poudel, at Gunjanagar-4 in Chitwan, according to Chief District Officer (CDO), Durga Prasad Bhandari.

CDO Bhandari said that around 40 quintals of rice and three quintals of maize were also gutted in the switch bomb explosion. But nobody was hurt in the blast, he added.

Meanwhile, policemen stationed at a an outpost in Chanauli Bazaar successfully repulsed a Maoist attack at the post yesterday. The rebels had also hurled a powerful bomb some 50 metres south of the post, but it caused no harm to the policemen and the post, Bhandari said.

Since the declaration of the state of emergency, the district administration office has sent 22 Maoists to jail under the recently promulgated ordinance against terrorism and destructive acts.

Secure housing for parliamentarians

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KATHMANDU, Dec 20 - The government has finally decided to build a government housing for the members of parliament in view of the growing security concerns.

The Cabinet in today’s meeting decided in principle that the government would spend Rs. 860 million to build the housing complex.

The final decision is expected to be taken during next week’s Cabinet meeting. The money would be borrowed from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).

A minister said the EPF has already agreed to sanction the loan and only formality remains. Though details like the form of repayment and the interest rates needs to be worked out between EPF and the government.

The housing would bring all or at least most of the Members of Parliament under an area which would make it easier for the authorities to provide security for the people’s representatives.

The House of Representatives, the Lower House, has 205 members while the National Assembly or the Upper House has 60 members.

Until now, only some ministers have been lucky enough to get space at the minister’s quarters at Pulchowk that is fortified by police and the military.

Parliamentarians have been complaining that they have to pay hefty amount to rent a house in the capital city that takes away a chunk of their allowance and the lack of security make them easy target for possible attacks.

Add to that the frequent flow of their constituents makes it worse and sometimes even unaffordable. A secured area would cut down the number of visitors who tend to extend their visit to the capital city, say parliamentarians.

The project has long been delayed despite pressure from the parliament members and even recommendations by the parliamentary committee. The project had begun about 15 years ago during the Panchayat time but never saw any progress.

The proposal has been pending in the Cabinet since the past few months. The area totalling about 123 ropanies is situated at Bhaisepati on the southern tip of the Kathmandu Valley with scenic view of Patan and Kirtipur.

BPEP mid-term review ends

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KATHMANDU, Dec 20 - Several donors, including Denmark, the World Bank, Norway, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), concluded here today a joint mid-term review with the government, of the $ 119.10 million education programme, intended to help some three million children in their basic and primary education.

Outlining the results of the Basic and Primary Education Programme (BPEP), Chuman Singh Basnet, Director General of the Department of Education (DoE), said there has been remarkable achievements after the launching of the programme. He said that the Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) has improved from 70.5 per cent in 1998 to 80.4 per cent in 2001 while the "cycle-completion" rate jumped from 42 per cent to 54.6 per cent during the same period.

"The project will now be taken upon a decentralised basis with a major chunk of the budget being utilised for physical infrastructural planning in the district level keeping with the recently approved Bill on education," Director General Basnet added.

Spokesperson at the MoE, Yubaraj Pandey, said that the programme is being implemented in all the districts. "The ADB has also shown interest in upgrading secondary education and we are working closely." He was speaking at a press conference organised by the Ministry of Education and Sports today.

The full and complete review of the programme will be done during the second phase of the review slated from March 14-22 when a joint agreement will be signed between the government and the donor countries.

In the western battle zone, no sign yet of local resentment

By Tilak Pokharel & Sudarshan Rijal

KAPURKOT (Salyan), Dec 20 – If there is one area of the country where the emergency rule imposed on November 26 has had a dramatic effect, then it is here, in the hinterland of the western hills where Maoist rebels once operated freely. But since the emergency, security has been considerably tightened as army men patrol the streets and villages to ferret out rebel elements.

In many ways, say local villagers, it is a throwback to the times a few years ago when policemen ruled the streets during the "Kilo Sera Two" operation. That operation at the time was judged a success by the top brass. But over time, the alleged high-handedness of the policemen towards villagers ultimately pushed more rural peasantry into the waiting arms of the rebels, helping their recruitment drive.

Could something similar happen this time round when the security forces, including the Royal Nepal Army (RNA), have been given wide leeway in their operation against the rebels in these times of emergency rule?

Such chances are slim, say villagers here, at least in the early days of the emergency when many are still loathe to speak their minds. Nevertheless, those who did speak up said the army men had so far been very disciplined and polite in their dealings with the local population.

"They have never treated us rudely, though they come here often to buy goods from the shops" says Min Bahadur Budha, chairman of, Dhanwan VDC-3.

One day after an RNA contingent clashed with rebels who attacked a telephone repeater station on December 9, a group of soldiers went around the villages enquiring whether the Maoists had demanded food and shelter from the locals. "They were very polite in their questioning. Not at all rude," said the garment seller.

Dhanwan VDC chairman Pitambar Oli said the RNA personnel had launched house-to-house search operations in Ward No 4 that is bit closer to the repeater tower. "But we have not had any complaints from the villagers about high-handedness from the army," said Oli.

Tika Ram Thapa, a 65 year-old from the nearby village of Ramri has similar things to say. "The army has not done anything evil to us. For us, the army has behaved comparatively better than the Maoists," said the father of five. He, however, declined to say how badly the Maoists had behaved.

Some locals, however, said that in the December 9 incident when more than 1600 Maoists were reportedly involved in the attack, the rebels did not use local villagers as human shields. As a result, no innocent civilians were killed when the army contingent fought back.

The villagers’ remarks about the soldiers, muted as they were, illustrate the positive image thus far of the nation’s fighting forces in the Maoist-affected districts. But they were not so sympathetic to the police who for years had initially fought the rebels, often in the same areas where the army is now operating.

A local man who requested anonymity said the policemen used to operate "in a very offensive way against the innocent people".

That is largely true. But to be fair to the policemen, they were never given adequate training and arms to fight a vicious insurgency. Besides, leadership problems at the top percolated down to the rank and file policemen.

The army doesn’t have to operate under such constraints, well trained and equipped with modern arms as they are. And the state has declared an emergency to back them up in their operations.

Two soldiers killed in rebel ambush, three Maoists shot dead

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KATHMANDU, Dec 20 - At least three Maoist "terrorists" and two soldiers of the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) were killed in separate incidents on Wednesday in Gorkha, Palpa and Doti districts, a Defence Ministry press statement said here today.

The statement says that one RNA soldier died instantly in a Maoist ambush in Deurali area of Gorkha district, and the other succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at the Kathmandu-based Military Hospital after being airlifted from the ambush site. Another soldier, who survived the Maoist assault, is receiving treatment at the Military hospital.

The RNA personnel are carrying out massive aerial offensive against the rebels in the area, the statement added.

Two Maoists were killed on Wednesday in an encounter with the government security forces in the Gairagaon area of the far-flung district of Doti, the Defence Ministry press release said. Three other Maoists were taken into custody along with guns, socket bombs and Maoist documents. The Defence Ministry further added that the locals had assisted the security forces in capturing the "terrorists".

The release also said that a Maoist "terrorist", identified as Kewal Gaha Magar, was shot dead instantly by the RNA forces when he tried to break the army cordon and search operation at Koldanada village of Darlam Danda VDC in Palpa district yesterday.

The slain Maoist, Gaha Magar, is believed to be the chief of the rebel organisation in the district. During the search, the security forces arrested four rebels along with combat dresses and Maoist literature.

Meanwhile, the RNA personnel arrested seven Maoists along with hand-made bombs, some cartridges, explosive detonators and Maoist documents from Kumari Gaon in Nuwakot district Wednesday.

Likewise, altogether 20 suspected Maoists were taken into custody in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Kaski, Jumla, Syangja, Parbat, Dadeldhura and Kanchanpur districts over the last 24 hours, the Defence Ministry release added.

Meanwhile, our reporter from the far-eastern district of Panchthar said a police team, led by Inspector Ramesh Ghising, confiscated 10 country-made guns from a cave in Khumpang Kholsi area, about 20 kilometres from Phidim, the district headquarters. Chief District Officer, Jeevan Prasad Oli, said that 15 Maoists were sent to jail and 25 others set free after investigation. Oli further added that 84 Maoists had already surrendered before him by Wednesday.

In another dispatch from Kapilvastu, it is said the security forces on Thursday arrested five Maoists along with five country-made guns, some socket bombs and Maoist literature while searching the suspected houses in Shivagadhi VDC.

Our Dang-based reporter quoted the security officials as saying that an RNA bomb-disposal squad defused two socket bombs left behind by the rebels while attacking the government facilities in the district headquarters of Ghorahi on November 23. The rebels had then plundered millions of rupees from three state-owned banks, killing at least a dozen soldiers in the Dang-based army barracks.

Meanwhile, the district administration office in Ramechhap confirmed that around 600 Maoists, including 17 chiefs of the so-called Village People’s Government formed by the rebels, from various villages have given themselves up to the local authorities.

Likewise, reports from Kanchanpur and Parbat districts say that around 450 Maoists supporters—250 from Kanchanpur and 200 from Parbat—have surrendered to the authorities by Wednesday.

In the meantime, a press statement issued today by the central office of the main opposition in Parliament—CPN-UML—condemned the brutal attacks on Chuda Bahadur Gharti, the Chairman of Jaisithok VDC, and Jaya Prasad Aryal, the Chairman of Simikot VDC, in Gulmi district on Wednesday night. Both the chairmen are undergoing treatment in Tamgash, the district headquarters of Gulmi. The UML has demanded that the government take strong actions against the culprits and provide security to the people.

Our correspondent from Pokhara adds that the rebels on Tuesday attacked two teachers and an ex-Indian Army man in Gaon Sahar VDC in Lamjung district. The three injured were identified as Shanti Bohara, 54, the Headmaster of a local high school, Ratna Bahadur Thapa, 36, a teacher of the same school, and Singh Bahadur Thapa. All three have been airlifted to the capital for treatment. During the incident, the rebels also made off with a gold locket, a wrist-watch and a video deck from the headmaster’s house.

Trolley buses off the road, staff to be laid off

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KATHMANDU, Dec 20 - The 28-year-old trolley bus service in the capital did not ply today following last month’s Cabinet decision to dissolve the operator, Nepal Transportation Corporation (NTC), from December 15.

The decision of November 30 was made public in the government-run newspapers on Tuesday.

Along with the NTC, its four sections—Nepal Ropeway Service, Janakpur Jaynagar Railways, Birgunj Truck and Container Service Branch and Nepal Trolley Bus Service (NTBS)—were also terminated.

But the government employees are yet to receive any formal letter on the decision.

"Each staff has a family depending on him. The government’s decision has shocked us. We are not even sure whether we will be compensated when we are sacked," said an employee on Thursday.

He claimed that the government has taken advantage of the emergency situation to push through with the announcement. "This is much more autocratic a decision than any during the Panchayati days," said the embittered employee who like the

He said they are waiting for the emergency to end to take the matter to the court.

The employee also said that the 250-strong staff at the NTC have not received their salaries for the last six months.

The NTBS, the only electricity bus service in the country, started operations with much fanfare receiving 22 trolley buses from China.

The buses used to carry over 10,000 passengers on a 13 kilometre route from 7 every morning till 9 in the night. Even during days of general strike, the buses were plying. The trolleys were also seen as the cheapest mode of transportation.

But lately, the service had run into rough weather due to a financial crunch, and there remained only three-four vehicles fit for the road.

The NTBS employees lay the blame on the government for "ruining" a service which used to collect over Rs 50,000 everyday a decade back.

"After the restoration of democracy, the political leaders took the NTBS as a recruiting ground for their cadres and unskilled relatives," said an employee requesting anonymity. "The Executive Committee members fell on each other for mutual benefit at the expense of the employees," he added.

The spokesperson of the Ministry for Labour and Transport Management, Dhruba Kumar Sharma, said that dissolving the Corporation was a government decision and the employees would be granted due compensation for their untimely retirement.

On Thursday, passengers could be seen stranded waiting for their bus to arrive. They were unaware of the decision to terminate the service. The decision has particularly affected the hundreds of commuters plying to and fro Bhaktapur.

Govt warned against PCT

KATHMANDU, Dec 20 (PR) - Government officials here today said that they are in a mood to enter into Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in future while researchers and representatives from private sector warned that the entry could open a new avenue for the piracy of the huge bio-diversity of the kingdom.

However, the officials were adamant that such entry would not be harmful though some pre-cautionary measures were to be adopted before entering into the global patent filing system PCT.

The officials and private sector representatives were speaking at a talk programme on PCT organised by the Department of Industries (DoI). Delivering a welcome speech Director General of DoI Bharat Bahadur Thapa said that there are few patents registered in the country, though the first patent law of Nepal was made some 65 years ago. Director of DoI Madhu Soodan Poudel said, "We could tap the big multi-national companies into the country if only the intellectual properties are better protected here."

Jong An Kim, Senior Programme Officer at the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation), PCT Division said Patent filing cost such as translations and other duties could be reduced once a country enters into the PCT. He also said that the PCT increases export too as it provides better excess to the domestic products protected by the patent regimes.