ML raises concern over ‘prejudiced’ arrests

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KATHMANDU, Dec 29 - The CPN-ML has expressed its concern over prejudiced arrests of its cadres during the one-month long state of emergency. According to the party, the government has arrested 91 of its cadres since the declaration of the emergency on November 26.

"Among the detained, 62 party workers are still in the custody of the government," said Yogesh Bhattarai, member secretary of the party’s Emergency Evaluation Committee. The government has already released 29 of the party workers after interrogation, Bhattarai said.

Speaking at a discussion programme on CPN-ML and the State of Emergency, CPN-ML politburo member Radha Krishna Mainali underlined the need for political parties to arrive at concensus on certain topics to
pull the country out of the present crisis.

We must now introduce a thorough amendment in the Constitution instead of little amendment, as it is the need of the country, said ML activist Ramman Shrestha.

Head of the party’s Foreign Department Hiranya Lal Shrestha drew the attention of the government and urged to take seriously the ‘economic emergency’ that is "lurking within the state emergency."

Koirala laments country's situation

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KATHMANDU, Dec 29 - The government has been obliged to divert a large amount of development fund towards the development of armory to save democracy from the scourge of terrorists activities in the country, which has brought about bleeding impact on the national economy.

"Foreign investors are fleeing from the country, revenue has plunged to its lowest rock-bottom level, tourism has altogether collapsed. All this has seriously impaired the overall economic growth of the country," Nepali Congress President and former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala said today citing a very gloomy future of Nepal in the days ahead.

"Terrorists have severely battered the reputation of the country in the eyes of international communities and seriously impeded the growth of economy," Koirala said in the inaugural session of an interaction programme organized by B.P. Chintan Pratisthan in the capital today.

"On the one hand terrorists have terrorized the citizens and on the other, they have ruined national economy," he said.

To save democracy and to attract foreign investors to bolster-up the already sinking economy, it is imperative that all democratic-minded parties unite under a common umbrella. "There is a need to follow one and the same guideline - political, economic and social at this critical hour to formulate common programme and to undertake the responsibility of rebuilding the ruinous state of the country," Koirala told the gathering of prominent NC leaders. He also urged them to visualize BP Koirala’s concept of "national reconciliation" and adopt Gandhian model of peace and non-violence.

Koirala said that there can be no progress without unity at a time when the country is undergoing a horrendous problem from the terrorists. He suggested that only a common bond of unity among all the countrymen could help pass a good message to the world. "Let’s follow this path of unity with commitment and show ourselves at the SAARC meet so that the member states take a good message from us," he said adding, "It will also boost the morale of the army fighting against terrorists in some bleak and terrain villages. We must also be able to bring King on our side."

Speaking on the same occasion, Haribol Bhattarai, Chairman of the National Committee, BP Chintan Pratisthan said that his organization was committed to take BP Koirala’s ideals and philosophy from the grass-root level to the policy-making level.

"This we hope, would help in national reconstruction, building a corruption-free society achieving a good governance," he added.

KMC demands action against guilty cops

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KATHMANDU, Dec 29 - The Security Department of Kathmandu Metropolitan City has demanded strong action against police personnel of Janasewa Police Station for manhandling and misbehaving the city security personnel.

Chief of Security Department Bishnu Singh Basnet said today that the Department wrote a letter to the Police Headquarters Thursday, demanding strong action against eight policemen at Janasewa Police Station.

"The policemen of Jansewa arrested our security persons disgracefully, insulted them and beat them seriously. It was an incident that raised question over a local government’s office itself," Basnet said.

He said police Sub-Inspector Rajendra Thapa manhandled city Sub-Inspector Bishnu Prasad Joshi while he visited Janasewa Police Station to release the colleagues, who were taken to the police office on Tuesday while the city policemen were on duty at Bhotahity.

Earlier, in December 25, police jawans Usha Khanal, Karna Bahadur Thapa, Ram Krishna Bhattarai, Gopal Upreti and Gobinda Pokharel were "arrested" by Rajendra Thapa from Bhotahity and beat them badly in Janasewa Police Station.

The city police also took one of the policemen to the Teku Central Office, which, according to the police source was illegal.

The city policemen said that their co-workers were arrested out of prejudice of the event that took place a day before. A policeman of Jansewa Surya KC had a minor discussion with city policemen while they were trying to cross the road under the overhead bridge on a December 24 morning.

Superintendent of Police Sagar Thapaliya, of District Police Office said investigation from both the sides was going on in this case.

"We would take action against the guilty and maintain the friendly relations existing between police and city police," said Thapaliya.

Ananta Yatra, a music album on royal deaths

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KATHMANDU, Dec 29 - " The day, which was not expected to come - it came, the song, which was not desired to sing - it was sung, " said Madhav Ghimire, a reputed poet of Nepal, making public a music album entitled Ananta Yatra, here today.

All songs recorded in Ananta Yatra cassette and CD are songs prepared for homage to dearly loved late King and Queen and other Royal Family members. The songs relate to their heart-breaking demise in the tragic incident. The cassette and CD have been produced by Music Nepal.

There are twelve songs in the cassette comprising huna samma bhayo, lekhera shanti, nisthuri niyatile, mero raja, Raja Birendra, and so on. Senior lyricists - Kali Prasad Risal, Madhav Ghimire, Ratna Samsher Thapa, Kshetra Pratap Adhikari and many others contributed their songs to the cassette.

The programme was organised on the occasion of the 57th birth anniversary of His Late Majesty King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev.

The children have better dreams

A few weeks back, I along with other journalists attended a seminar on child rights in Hetauda, a small town, seven-hour drive from capital, Kathmandu. When we got some time out, I started chatting with some of the children studying in government schools.

The students must have been the best in their class and were really smart. The way they expressed their thoughts and future plans gave me the impression that they were better than most politicians or government officials that we usually run into.

The children were refreshing and honest in their answers. The interviews touched me profoundly and I could not help the tears. As they spoke about their concerns, their dreams and aspirations, I thought to myself, thank God ... they were
the future.

"I hope you will become Prime Minister one day," I told one of them at the end of the interview. When asked what concerned them most, their answers were: financial problems, difficulty in understanding their lessons, stiff competition, lack of concern shown by the Prime Minister for his country, lack of books and reference materials, leaking school roofs, and garbage.

Most of the children, who had only a pair of old slippers to protect their soft feet from the dust and stony roads, said they were worried about the Maoist insurgency. But still their aims are high.

On matters of child abuse, rape and other forms of abuse, they said that children were indeed sometimes abused by their parents and relatives. They said physical punishment was all too common.

Emotionally too violations take place, they told me. Sometimes children are assigned tasks far too difficult for them to carry out. One of them mentioned an incident where the parent drank up his child’s earnings. They also talked about babies burnt with cigarette buts, beaten to death...

I asked them if they knew of their rights. They said they have a right to be born, to have a name, to be part of family, to study, to be loved and to have their own opinions.

On their role in their community, they said that they could contribute by planting trees, keeping their surroundings clean, and by not fighting with each other. They thought child clubs were a good idea to pursue projects, such as maintaining the "garden for heroes" at the Martyr’s Memorial Park in Hetauda, and in combating drugs. They also said that through prayers they could seek peace and unity in the country.

Among the six I had a chance to chat with, two said they wanted to be Prime Minister in future. And they are not going to the ones we see every evening in the television screen. They will have promises to keep.

One of them said that if he becomes Prime Minister, he would fulfill promises, address the problem of unemployment and housing, and would maintain peace.

Having uncombed hair and uncleaned nose, two other kids wanted to be social workers in their own locality helping all those who are in need.

One of them said he would get the national government to pay attention to the problems of children. An eight-year-old girl said she wanted to be a judge to bring about fairness in the country. Another said she wants to be the Deputy Prime Minister to help the Prime Minister in making Nepal a better place to live in.

Lastly the journalists, participating in the seminar came up with this question: What will you do if you had one million rupees? They said they would help the poor and the orphans, donate to a childcare centre, help those in refugee camps with food and medicine, share the money with their family and save the rest for the future.

And their wishes? Among their answers were to have peace in the family as well as in the country, promoting children’s activities in their town, improvement of their school building, resolution of conflicts in the country and smooth supply of water.

I came back an optimistic soul.

Late King's birth anniversary observed nationwide

KATHMANDU, Dec. 29(RSS) - Reports of the 57th auspicious birth anniversary of His Late Majesty King Birendra Birbikram Shah being celebrated with great enthusiasm are pouring in from various parts of the country.

pokhara: Minister for Population and Environment P. L. Singh hoisted the national flag amid a function held to pay tributes to His Late Majesty King Birendra on His Majesty’s 57th birth anniversary here today.

Minister Singh, Assistant Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Prakash Bahadur Gurung, lawmakers Shukra Raj Sharma and Mahadev Gurung and member of Rajparisad Ganesh Bahadur Gurung paid rich tributes to His Late Majesty by offering garlands to portrait of His Late Majesty.

Also paying tributes to His Late Majesty were Kaski DDC chairman Punya Prasad Poudel, ex-lawmakers, the representatives of various political parties, the members of National Planning Commission, the chiefs of the government offices, the Royal Nepalese Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force, businessmen and social workers.

Earlier, contingents of the Royal Nepalese Army and police presented royal salute as a tribute to His Late Majesty the king and chanted the national anthem.

One minute’s silence was also observed in memory of His Late Majesty.

baglung: Similarly, a meeting was held at King Birendra-Queen Aishwarya Park at the district headquarters in Baglung to mark the 57th birth anniversary of His Late Majesty.

Ex-minister of state Tejendra Bahadur Khadka, mayor of Baglung Rishiram Sharma, litterateur Kaji Roshan and CDO Shiva Prasad Nepal paid tributes to their Late Majesty King and Queen.

On the same occasion, Baglung district Red Cross Society distributed fruits to the patients of the local hospital.

nuwakot: Nuwakot DDC organised a function to mark the 57th birth anniversary of His Late Majesty King Birendra at Bidur today.

Officiating chairman of Nuwakot DDC Narayan Prasad Khatiwada, from the chair, said His Late Majesty King Birendra was a staunch supporter of democracy.

The trail of peace and co-existence blazed by His Late Majesty is still relevant in the present context, he added.

Nuwakot CDO Modraj Adhikari said the contribution made by institution of monarchy for the sake of the country and its people is unforgettable in the present situation coupled by unanticipated upheaval.

Panchakanya VDC chairman Ram Thapa remarked that the contribution of monarchy for preserving national integrity and sovereignty is incomparable.

mahottari: Mahottari DDC held a function to mark the 57th birth anniversary of His Late Majesty the king.

On the occasion distinguished persons from different walks of life offered garlands to the portrait of his Late Majesty King Birendra.

Mahottari CDO Mahesh Parajuli, CPN-ML district secretary Suresh Prasad Singh, Nepal Sadbhawana Party district president Kedarnath Pathak, Jaya Kishore Jha of CPN-UML, Nagendra Yadav of RPP and District Child Welfare Committee chairman Dr. Bhola Misra also spoke about the commendable role of His Late Majesty on restoring peace, safeguarding nationality and consolidating democracy.

nepalgunj: On the same occasion, Banke District Administration Office organised a function at Dhamboji and paid rich tributes to His Late Majesty King Birendra.

One minute’s silence was also observed for eternal peace to the departed soul of His Late Majesty at the function held in front of His Late Majesty’s statue at Dhamboji.

Banke DDC chairman Om Prakash Jung Rana, CDO Bal Krishna Prasai and the representatives from various political parties and government employees paid tributes to His Late Majesty by offering garlands to His Majesty’s statue.

birgunj: The people from different walks of life paid tributes by garlanding the statue of His Late Majesty King Birendra at Kalaiya Chowk today.

The personalities paying tributes to His Late Majesty were Parsa CDO, Parsa DDC chairman, office bearers of Birgunj municipality, civil servants, industrialists and businessmen.

dailekh: On the occasion of the 57th auspicious birth anniversary of His Late Majesty King Birendra, Dailekh DDC organised a function at the district headquarters to pay tributes to His Late Majesty.

At the function, Dailekh DDC chairman Tek Bahadur Khan highlighted the contributions made by His Late Majesty for consolidating democracy and national unity.

DDC vice-chairman Surya Bahadur Shahi, Chief District Officer Shankar Koirala and Deputy-superintendent of Police Birendra Shrestha and chiefs of various government offices also paid tributes to His Late Majesty.

kapilvastu: A meeting was held at the hall of Kapilvastu DDC under the aegis of Kapilvastu DDC in commemoration of His Late Majesty’s 57th birth anniversary.

On the occasion, lawmaker Dan Bahadur Shahi noted that His Late Majesty King Birendra had succeeded in maintaining his identity in the world by strictly adhering to the constitution of the kingdom of Nepal.

Another lawmaker Brijesh Kumar Gupta remarked that His Late Majesty King Birendra was able to win the confidence of all the Nepalese people because of his liberal attitude.

Kapilvastu DDC chairman Ramesh Sharma was on the chair.