Koirala supporters elected in 12 CWC slots

By Binaj Gurubacharya

KATHMANDU, Jan 23 - Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala managed to get two-third of 18 elected members into the Central Working Committee, the apex body of the ruling Nepali Congress (NC).

However, the number of votes secured by winning members of the anti-Koirala camp has further jolted the position of the prime minister who has been re-elected to the post of the party president.

The unexpected surprise comes with Prakash Man Singh, the son of Late Ganesh Man Singh, who managed to secure 850 votes positioning himself in the third spot. Singh is one of the six members elected from the anti-Koirala camp.

"In a reply to the undemocratic and unjust manner that I was removed by the party president, the party workers have decided and justice has been served," Singh said after being declared winner.

Singh who was the president of NC’s Kathmandu District Committee was removed after it was hastily dissolved and replaced by an ad-hoc committee headed by a supporter of Koirala.

Despite protests and demonstrations from NC workers and even an attempt of self immolation by an activist, the move initiated by the prime minister’s closest aide Sushil Koirala was endorsed by the CWC.

Sushil Koirala, despite having blessings from the party president, managed to get only 776 votes getting placed at a disappointing seventh position.

In the last couple of days prior to the party election, he had busied himself promoting the people in the panel of Koirala’s candidates.

Though success came in getting 12 of their people elected to CWC, he did not fare too well quashing his hopes of getting himself lined up as the next possible leader of NC after the prime minister steps down from active politics in the next few years.

"I am only the leaders of the transition phase that leads to the younger generation taking over the party leadership," said Prime Minister Koirala, who is already 78.

Koirala was also declared the party president and won a second term despite tough challenge by Deuba. He will now appoint the remaining members in the 37-member CWC.

"I will not discriminate in the party between who voted for me and who didn’t. I will move ahead taking everyone in confidence," Koirala said.

The results also fail to balance between the regions and the communities of people.

There is no one from the Far Western Development Region while there are eight from the Eastern Development Region, home of Prime Minister Koirala’s Sunsari District. Singh is also the only one to be elected from the Newar community and Bal Bahadur Rai from the Rai community while there are at least 10 from the Brahmin community.

Khum Bahadur Khadka, who in the recent months turned into an anti-Koirala activist was placed fourth securing 812 votes. Others in the anti-Koirala camp led by Sher Bahadur Deuba were Pradeep Giri, Bijaya Gachchedar, Bimalendra Nidhi and Chirajivi Wagle.

On the brighter side for Koirala, who still holds much influence in the party and has held the reigns of both the government and the party most of the post democratic years, the top two names are from his side.

Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel secured 1,015 votes while Shailaja Acharya managed to squeeze 892 votes. Prakash Koirala, father of famed Indian film star Manisha Koirala, received 794 votes and Finance Minister Mahesh Acharya secured 781 votes.

Major disappointments include Speaker of the House of Representatives Taranath Ranabhat and Former Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat.

During voting on Monday, 1,468 Convention members cast their votes to elect the party president and CWC members at the party’s 10th General Convention that concluded in Pokhara Tuesday.

Newly elected Nepali Congress central committee members are as follows:

Candidate                             Votes

Ramchandra Poudel                      (1015)

Shailaja Acharya                               (898)

Prakash Man Singh                        (850)

Khum Bahadur Khadka               (812)

Prakash Koirala                               (794)

Mahesh Acharya                        (781)

Sushil Koirala                                 (776)

Pradip Giri                                        (662)

Narahari Acharya                        (653)

Arjun Narsingh KC                          (652)

Baldev Sharma Majgainya                  (593)

Krishna Prasad Sitaula                  (586)

Mahantha Thakur                          (583)

Bal Bahadur Rai                                  (580)

Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar                    (575)

Govinda Raj Joshi                            (569)

Bimalendra Nidhi                           (566)

Chiranjibi Wagle                            (540)

APF to be implemented soon

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Jan 23 - One day after King Birendra promulgated the Armed Police Force (APF) Ordinance 2057 BS, officials at the Home Ministry said the government is going to implement it within the next few days.

"We are going to materialize the ordinance within a week or so. We have yet to decide on the number of the police personnel to be deployed in this regard," Secretary at the Home Ministry Shree Kant Regmi told The Kathmandu Post.

Regmi said that there were no limits on the number. "The police will be mobilized according to necessity," added Regmi. "The APF was not needed in the past, but now it is essential".

Talking to reporters a few days ago, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala had said that APF mobilization was just one step away from Army mobilization, in the fight against the almost five-year-old insurgency initiated by the underground Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).

The proposed APF had been shrouded in mystery, especially after the Council of Ministers, on December 14, sought informal advice from the Royal Palace. Government sources said that the "go-ahead" on the ordinance came only on January 8.

The need for the APF was underscored by a government commission last year, which argued for such a force to combat the Maoist rebels. In recent years, the regular police force has faced major setbacks in rural districts, putting more pressure on the government to establish the APF.

Police Headquarters, on October 13, had published a notice for the open competition of police Inspectors and Assistant Sub-Inspectors for the APF. However, the number was not published. The last date for submitting the application forms was extended to November 6 from 16 October 2000.

Meanwhile, the contact date was also changed from November 29, 2000 to an indefinite period, because the authorities were on the way to enact the move of establishing the police force.

Previously, government sources had estimated the initial number of the police force at 15,000. The force will be armed with modern weaponry and provided training in anti-insurgency operations.

Sources say that the number and other aspects of the force will be decided by the Ministers, most of whom are heading back to the capital from Pokhara, after conclusion of the ruling party’s National Convention, today.

Though the government can raise and use the APF through the Royal ordinance, according to Nepal’s Constitution, the ordinance must win parliamentary approval within three months of being promulgated.

Nepal expresses reservations, admires core values

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Jan 23 - Nepali water resource experts and officials have expressed serious reservations over some of the guidelines in the report of the World Commission on Dams, which was released here recently.

According to Water Resources Ministry Spokesman Maheshman Shrestha, members of a government committee and Nepali experts voiced concerns over some of the guidelines at a stakeholder meeting held here Monday.

Organized by the World Bank country office, Nepal, the meeting brought together officials from the World Bank headquarters, Washington D.C. who were assigned to get feedback on the guidelines from the Nepali authorities or stakeholder.

Prepared by an independent panel of experts, the report - Dams and Development: A New Framework for Decision-making - was released in London on November 16 and was being debated in Nepal since last week.

The report was jointly commissioned by the World Bank, IUCN (The World Conservation Union) and a number of other international organizations.

"While appreciating the core values of the `guidelines for good practise’, Nepali officials stated loud and clear that the report should in no way be made mandatory or obligatory," Spokesman Shrestha, who was also present at the day-long meeting told The Kathmandu Post Tuesday.

Added Bidhya Nath Nepal, Executive Secretary of the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS): "We have conveyed our concerns that some of the guidelines--such as increased participation of stakeholder in the decision-making processes of future projects, and prior notification to other riparian states--could very well serve to drive away investors from a country like Nepal, which is heavily dependent on multilateral and bilateral donors."

Shrestha, who is also Joint Secretary of the Ministry, said that the Nepali officials have also made it clear to the World Bank officials that "Nepal will not follow the guidelines verbatim as our water resources and hydro power policies have already incorporated most of the Commission’s guidelines."

The officials also raised objections over a guideline suggestion that demands a country like Nepal to frequently consult or notify its lower riparian state, India in this case, while constructing a dam, according to the officials. Categorised into seven strategic priorities, as the report puts it, the 26 guidelines are advisory tools to support decision making and they need to be considered within the framework of existing international guidance and current good practice.

When the report was first presented for discussion earlier this month, Nepali officials expressed fears that the guidelines could translate into added costs on future hydel projects if the donors were to adopt the strict guidelines.

Writ against dumping along Bagmati banks

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Jan 23 - Demanding that the court stop the government dumping waste along the banks of Bagmati river from Balkhu to Chovar illegally, a writ petition has been filed at the Supreme Court as a public interest litigation.

Advocates Prakash Mani Sharma, Bhoj Raj Aiyar and Lal Bahadur Thapa of pro-public today filed the writ petition stating that the disposal of garbage along the banks of Bagmati violated the Environment Protection Act - 2053 (BS) and the Environment Protection Regulations - 2054 (BS).

"Such dumping along the river banks will pollute the ground water which will have more hazardous impact upon human lives, as more than 50 per cent of the water supply in the Kathmandu Valley is from such ground water," the writ stated.

The writ also argues that the government constructing road over the dumped Bagmati banks from Balkhu to Chovar is very irresponsible activity which will deteriorate both the environment and the public health.

Citing a report on ‘Hydrological Conditions and Potential Barrier Sediments in Kathmandu Valley’ prepared by the Department of Mines and Archaeology of the government and the Federal Institute for Geoscience and Natural Resources of Hannover Germany, the petition stated, "The landfill sites located near the riverbed impose high risk to the ground water as well as surface water pollution. High permeable areas such as unconsolidated loose river beds and flood plains along the Bishnumati, Bagmati and other rivers are not suitable for disposal of solid and industrial wastes."

The writ also stated that it is the duty of Waste Management and Resource Mobilisation Centre to take proper initiatives to curb such pollution as manifested in the Waste Management and Resource Mobilisation Act - 2044 (BS). "There is a clause in Self Governance Act that requires the concerned municipality to take relevant measures to curb water, air and sound pollution," stated the writ. "The involvement of both the Kathmandu Metropolitan City and the Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City in the decision to dump waste along the banks of Bagmati river is against the legal provisions," the writ added.

The filed petition was filed seeking that the court issue injunction to annul all decisions and its implementation regarding the dumping of waste along the Bagmati banks. The writ has also demanded that the court issue mandamus to such act and for the scientific and permanent management of the waste within a specified period.

The writ has named cabinet secretariat, local development ministry, population and environment ministry, waste management and resource mobilisation centre, Kathmandu metropolitan city and Lalitpur sub-metropolitan city as respondents.

It was triumph in Pokhara, there is challenge ahead

By Ameet Dhakal

POKHARA, Jan 23 - Sometimes when you climb a mountain, the first thing that you see from the summit is a bigger mountain beyond it.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, faces a similar situation after vanquishing his followers-turned-challengers in a run to the coveted post of party president at the 10th party general convention.

At 78, Koirala’s future challenge is not to transform the party into a vibrant political force but to transfer the leadership to his legitimate successor. And with the issue of leadership hand-over, there is the tricky question of keeping the party "united."

If history is anything to go by, things don’t look good for Koirala. Historically, it is disunity (but not split) that has characterized the country’s largest party, which was ironically formed six decades ago by uniting the then Nepali Democratic Congress and Nepali National Congress.

Matrika Prasad Koirala in the 1950s, Surya Prasad Upadhaya in the 1960s, Parsu Narayan Choudhary in 1970s and Ganesh Man Singh in the 1990s (despite his towering personality and unparalleled role in the 1990 janandolan) represented the dissents against the party establishment. It is because of the interest (ego) of these respected (or influential) personalities that the line of divide has always remained apparent in the Nepali Congress.

This history of dissent has found its successor in party General Secretary and PM Koirala’s cousin, Sushil Koirala, but in a different posture. He is at the helm of affairs of the party establishment (unlike the former dissents), however, as the future unfolds, Sushil is likely to stand in the way of any genuine attempt to "unite" the party.

PM Koirala’s problem with the succession issue is two-way: He probably wishes to see his cousin succeed him (his family coterie wants it to happen at any cost). But he is not confident of Sushil’s ability to keep the party humming in Nepal’s increasingly complicated political landscape (Party insiders say, PM Koirala seldom turns to Sushil for suggestions on crucial issues). A senior minister and Koirala’s confidant says Sushil lacks the managerial dexterity and intellectual range to lead the party into the future. "And he is too introverted for anybody to know who he is or what he thinks about."

Notwithstanding all his weaknesses, if the results of the Pokhara election are any indication, Sushil has a strong following in the NC. This further complicates the leadership transfer. Establishing him on the leadership reign is difficult but deposing him completely will be impossible.

The rise of "moderates" (Ram Chandra Poudel, Sailaja Acharya, Prakash Koirala, Mahesh Acharya, and others) in the Pokhara elections indicates a third force in the making. But whether these people will enter into an alliance in the long run to consolidate this force will again depend upon PM Koirala’s patronage. It will not be an easy decision for Koirala to patron these people at the cost of Sushil and his inner family circle. But in all probability, he is likely to do so. In fact, if Koirala wants to shun Deuba (so far, he seems determined to do so), who has already established himself in national politics and is presenting himself as the legitimate successor, he has no other option.

PM Koirala will have real trouble if he chooses, as per his public assertions, to relinquish both of his positions within three years. In such a case, his caretaker successor will have to be chosen by the Central Working Committee (CWC), which will largely reflect his choice.

Will it be possible for Koirala to ignore Deuba and go for someone else?

Though over 64 per cent of the convention representatives voted Koirala, they have not given a clean-cheat to only his supporters in the Central Working Committee. By electing six leading anti Koirlala figures to the CWC, the Pokhara convention has clearly endorsed the dissent camp.

Furthermore, it is not only the inner-party equation that Koirala can take into consideration while expressing his choice of heir. The exogenous factors -increasingly assertive civil society, and aggressive press – will also condition Koirala’s choice. He might comfortably ignore his challengers within the party, but he is compelled to take them together in the parliament.

Koirala might hate his challengers but he cannot reject them.