CJ survives Maoist attack, 5 killed

By Ameet Dhakal, Moti Poudel & J. Pandey

SURKHET, Feb 3 - Five people, including a Registrar of the Surkhet Appellate Court, Bal Dev Dhittal died in a lethal attack, reportedly by Maoist rebels, while the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Keshav Prasad Upadhayay and others narrowly escaped the fatal bid on their lives.

The others killed in this first-ever-deadly attack against the judges include police constable and Upadhayay’s bodyguard Ram Bahadur Basnet, and police personnel Birendra Khadaka, Kaushal Budha and Khagendra Magar. Two security personnel are reported missing.

Judges of the Appellate Court, Surkhet, Purushottam Parajuli and Chandra Bahadur Karki and the security personals Ganesh Tharu, Bhola B.K and a driver Tek Nath Poudel, who were seriously injured in the incident, have been rushed to Nepalgunj Hospital for treatment. Parajuli, who was shot in his neck, is said to be out of danger. Deputy Superintendents of Police Tirang Rai and Ghana Shyam Bhatta are said to have sustained minor injuries.

The Maoists have neither claimed nor denied the attack yet.

The lives-claiming attack took place on 4:45 p.m at Sixty-six, some 20 Kilometres east of Birendranagar, the district headquarters of Surkhet. Chief Justice and his team were heading towards Surkhet to inspect the Surkhet Appellate Court.

Suspected Maoist rebels had ambushed a section (about 150 metres) of Kohalpur-Surkhet road. The first ambush exploded when the escorting vehicle led by DSP Bhatta entered the ambushed area. The vehicle stopped for minutes, while the remaining ambushes exploded one after another. In the meantime, the suspected Maoists rebels started firing from the side-by hills on all the five vehicles that were carrying the Chief Justice and his team. The escorting vehicle and the second vehicle carrying the Chief Justice escaped the indiscriminate firing after the ambushes had completely exploded.

It was the driver of the third vehicle, who did a blunder by fleeing the vehicle that led to the killing of five people in the incidence. Late Registrar Dhittal, who was on the third vehicle, was shot dead while trying to run to the fourth vehicle.

However, the fourth and fifth vehicles couldn’t escape as the narrow road, damaged by landslide, was completely blocked by the third vehicle. The lethal attack has come just ten days before the sixth anniversary of the Maoist People’s War. The Maoists were feared to escalate violence on the eve of the anniversary of their violence. Over 1600 people have already been killed during the last five years.

Why was CJ targeted

KATHMANDU, Feb 3 (PR)- The attack on the Chief Justice is being construed by many as a "symbolic expression" of the Maoist’s warning against the formation of the Special Court, especially aimed at taking the Maoists to book.

Chief Justice Keshab Prasad Upadhayay had personally expressed opinion in favour of establishing the Special Court to take on the special cases related to drug trafficking and crime against the State, including the violent activities ignited by the rebels. It was the annual conference of the judges held in July last year in Kathmandu that had passed a resolution demanding the formation of the Special Court.

The Government has already formed the Special Court, which has begun its operation since January 9.

However, the Chief Justice doesn’t have any constitutional say over the establishment of the Court. According to Article 3 and 4 of the Special Court Act 1974, it is the government that decides formation of such courts.

The only involvement of the Chief Justice and other judges of the Supreme Court are in the selection of judges for the Special Court.

According to the Judicial Council Act, it is the five-member Judicial Council that picks up the judges for the Special Court. The Council is currently led by Chief Justice Upadhayay and the other members include Laxman Prasad Aryal and Kedar Upadhayay, both judges at the Supreme Court, Mahanta Thakur, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and Hiranayeshwore Man, a law expert.

Others interpret the rebels’ act as a pressure upon the Supreme Court to dismiss the formation of the Special Court.

A case has already been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the legality of the formation of the Special Court. The case filed by Jyoti Baniya, a lawyer, has demanded that both the Special Court Act and Special Court be declared null and void since it is in contradiction to the present Constitution.

LDC for separate master plan

Post Report

LUMBINI, Feb 3 – The Lumbini Development Council today decided that the Nepal government should request the government of Japan to devise a separate master plan to conserve the archaeological and historical sites of Kapilvastu and Nawalparasi districts.

The council’s decision comes one day after the Second World Buddhist Conference concluded here on Friday. The conference had passed a 14-point agenda deciding to devise a separate master plan within six months for the preservation of the archaeological and historical sites of places like Kapilbastu, Dev Daha, and Ramgram.

The Lumbini Development Council (LDC) met after a period of two years. Their earlier meeting was held after the first Buddhist conference concluded two years ago. However the LDC statute states that the council should meet once every six months.

The "Lumbini Master Plan" was devised two decades ago by Japanese archaeologist, Professor Kenzo Tange, which did not include the preservation of such sites on its agenda.

There are 56 archaeological sites at Kapilvastu, however no research or excavation has so far been carried out here. The "Tilorakot Durbar" situated in Kapilbastu where Buddha spent 29 years, is devoid of preservation and proper excavation.

The conference had decided to establish a training centre for young people and had stressed the need to include "Buddhist education" in school and college curricula.

The conference declaration had stated that the construction of the Maya Devi temple would start within two months, however this was stalled, as UNESCO didn’t give the go ahead.

The conference was inaugurated by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala on Thursday and participated in by representatives from l4 countries.

The theme of the conference was "Lumbini in the New Millennium: Youth and Community" aimed at mobilizing youth participation in the overall development of Lumbini.

Police evict ex-Kamaiyas from CDC land

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KUMBHAR, Bardiya, Feb 3 - Police used force to evacuate at least 7,000 ex-Kamaiyas (bonded labourers) from Cotton Development Committee (CDC) land Saturday. The ex-Kamaiyas had been living on the 40 bighas of land in makeshift shelters for the last three weeks.

A large number of ex-Kamaiyas left the occupied land for their old shelters and other homeless people thronged to the District Office of the main opposition party Communist Party of Nepal United Marxist and Leninist (CPN-UML) in Gulariya, the district headquarters, after they were forcibly evacuated from here.

Police cordoned off the area and prohibited outsiders from entering the CDC premises before the ex-Kamaiyas were forced to leave. Soon after the ex-Kamaiyas were chased away from the land, riot police set fire to their shelters and the CDC tractors ploughed the land. The local administration deployed more than 300 riot police to evacuate the people.

A UML source said that police also arrested the party District Secretary, Shyam Prasad Dhakal, Deputy Mayor of the Gulariya Municipality, Hari Prasad Gyawali and party worker, Bhojraj Tripathi from the site.

The displaced ex-Kamaiyas said that some of them were injured in police beating. Deputy superintendent of Police, Prakash Ojha, however, claimed that police evacuated them peacefully. But no reporters were allowed to approach the site, nor did the District Police Office furnish any details of those arrested.

UML Central Committee member, Govinda Koirala, accused the administration of violating the all-party agreement, reached on 24 January. Koirala said that the agreement had decided not to evacuate people until an alternative arrangement was made available to them. No other party representatives could be reached for comments on the issue.

The administration’s move to evacuate the people from the land came the day after a team from the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Human Rights Committee, led by Chairman Som Prasad Pandey, consulted with the locals about the problem.

Asked to comment on his move, Chief District Officer, Dilli Raj Joshi, said that the ex-Kamaiyas were informed to vacate the land over loudspeakers and a notice to that effect was also pasted up Friday morning.

Meanwhile, Coordinator of the Kamaiya Concern Committee and Central Committee member of the CPN-UML, Keshav Badal, issuing a press statement today, condemned the government’s move of forcibly evicting the people from the "unused government land". Badal also demanded the government provide compensation to the ex-Kamaiyas whose property was lost during the police raid.

Deuba camp not to back oppn move

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KATHMANDU, Feb 3 - The opposition parties are unlikely to be successful in removing Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala from office with the minority group of the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) firm to stand by Koirala.

"It is their (opposition’s) job to demand resignation," said Chiranjivi Wagle, newly elected member of NC Central Working Committee (CWC) and an influential leader of the Deuba-camp. "We are not taking sides with the opposition parties in their any moves.

"Our struggle is within the party," added Wagle. "We will fight within the party for different causes but not go beyond it."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Koirala today told 32 NC district chairmen that he is not going to resign from his position despite the call for the same.

Koirala had issued a circular and called the district chairmen to the capital. According to a district chairman, Koirala met them this morning at his official residence in Baluwatar.

"I want to assure you that I am not going to resign just because somebody demands it from the streets," Koirala is reported to have told his partymen.

The opposition parties have stated that they will launch a "powerful" campaign to remove Koirala from power for his alleged involvement in the controversial Lauda Air deal.

"The PM is involved in the lease deal; he is not above board," leader of the main opposition Madhav Kumar Nepal said on Friday.

Although the minority group has decided not to join hands with the opposition, it has refused to join the Cabinet. "We are not joining the Cabinet, at least for now," Wagle told The Kathmandu Post.

Wagle himself had earlier said that the Deuba camp will not join the Cabinet until the Lauda Air controversy was resolved.

The Deuba-camp had last week declined to furnish names of the people from the group to be inducted to the Cabinet that Prime Minister Koirala had asked for.

There are rumours that PM Koirala is wooing lawmakers supporting the Deuba camp to induct them to the Cabinet. "He (Koirala) is trying to lure lawmakers, but he will not be successful," said Wagle.

According to the district chairman, Koirala said that he is not going to induct new members to the Cabinet from the "dissent group" by removing any of the present members of the Cabinet.

"I cannot replace the present ministers by new members from the discontent group," the district chairman quoted Koirala as saying.

Koirala has assigned Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel to hold discussion with the minority camp to reach an agreement by Sunday. Koirala is expected to reshuffle the Cabinet only after watching the result of Poudel’s attempt