Monitor properly

The promulgation of an ordinance to establish an armed police force to contain and control the Maoist insurgency and the ordinance to amend the local administration act pave the way for the Koirala government to raise the 3-billion rupee paramilitary force. One cannot be certain whether or not the dubious decision to spend such a huge amount on a virtual gamble has been a wise one. About 1,520 persons have been killed in five years of what the Maoists call "Peoples War" and the raising of a whole new armed force to combat the Maoist insurgency can only result in further loss of human life. That much is predictable. What is unpredictable is whether guns - whether they belong to the government or to the Maoists - can win political and ideological battles. Talks and negotiations would have been a far better way of dealing with the situation, and that would have saved the taxpayer money which could have been re-directed into productive and development areas. Above all they would have saved human lives which are invaluable assets of the nation. However, the government has been of the view that only force can get rid of the insurgency. Now, with the promulgation of the two ordinances, there are several points that the people need to keep abreast of.

A very important thing about the raising of the new force is the scarcity of resources and how taxpayers’ money will be spent. The raising of the new force means that the government will be on a spending spree. Barracks will have to be constructed - renovated if old buildings are used - uniforms will have to be procured, rations for the men and women in uniform provided for and arms purchased. It can be safely assumed that the ordinance has no provisions for making any of these procurements transparent. Even with the best of laws, any provision for transparency is a bit on the opaque side. And in this instance of a "security law", one can well imagine how woefully inadequate such provisions are likely to be. We have to be on guard as corruption has cost this country dear and the common man has become its victim. For it is the people who ultimately pay for corruption. Since the new armed force will come at great expense to the people, all concerned agencies including the CIAA must ensure that there is no hanky panky in any dealings and that all deals relating to the new force are closely monitored from start to finish. While this may not completely eliminate corruption, it will certainly bring it down.

Censorship and mass media

By Sanjay Prakash

The government’s recent directives requiring FM (Frequency Modulation) stations to refrain from collecting and broadcasting national and international news based on their own sources of information has been taken as a regressive step in this era of democracy. Some opine that at a time when the government should allow more leeway for communications media under its own control, it is proceeding in the opposite direction in seeking to restrict private sector media as well. As the anti-Maoist campaign escalates, further restrictions on the fourth estate can be expected.

A staunch supporter of FM broadcasting says that FM Stations were helping create a free, independent and pluralistic media, and promoting public debate in our democracy. Some are of the extreme view that gagging FM is exactly how zonal commissioners used to behave to control the press during the Panchayat days.

Nepal is a public radio pioneer in South Asia and the SAARC region. This was the first country to allow a community radio station, in 1997 when Radio Sagarmatha went on air in Kathmandu. There are now eleven FM stations operating in Nepal including six stations in Kathmandu Valley and five outside the valley.

An FM station has certain functions. These are to inform, to instruct, to comment and to entertain. Considering the people’s long tradition of political struggle, newspapers in Nepal devote considerable space to political developments, at home and abroad. The entertainment role is of minor importance. Sex crime, malicious gossip, slander and the like are to be found in new periodicals which seek to create a large readership through cheap sensationalism.

A clause in the FM license disallows news broadcasts, but the government claims private FM station are circumventing this by reading from a selection of daily newspapers without checking the facts. "Never argue with a man who buys ink by the barrel" goes an old piece of humour about the press. But argument nevertheless persists as to whether the news media handles its stories fairly.

The question is often raised whether many journalists do not need a bigger dose of objectivity and professionalism. Bringing water supply from Melamchi will not be news to a Western journalist, but a flood in a far away country and death of people through AIDS will be flashed all over the world. And, conversely, do political leaders, executives and public servants not need to be more honest in their dealings with the press?

Napoleon Bonapart aptly described the functions as well as the power of the press. "A journalist is a grumbler, a giver of advice, a regent of sovereigns and a tutor of nations. Four hostile newspapers are to be feared more than a thousand bayonets." This is as true today as it was in early nineteenth century France.

With the emergence of cyberspace, we are not landlocked in the communications sector, but are LAN licked in the computer sector. The need for more government help has come up with the advent of the concept of information technology.

The world is suddenly waking up to the mind boggling potential of cyberspace. Computer experts feel that the applications are going to be so varied that they are going to affect and change our very outlook towards life. The West is already witnessing this phenomenon via the Internet, whereby a person can have access to practically anything or anyone via computer satellite line up.

Electronic mail is so fast that a lengthy document can go from Kathmandu to New York in just a few seconds, depending on the system used. Cyber enthusiasts describe conventional postal services as snail mail. E-mail is in fact cheaper than international phone calls.

UNESCO has adopted a standard for assessing media development under which a country is classified as insufficiently provided with information media if it has less than 10 copies of a daily newspaper, less than two radio receivers and less than two cinema seats for every 1,000 people.

Despite the many handicaps and restraints imposed from time to time during the Panchayat regime, journalists in Nepal have, by and large, shown a commendable sense of responsibility towards confronting the task of helping the development of the country through thick and thin.

The danger is that journalists themselves may develop double standards in ethics. In their eagerness to be on the right side of discretion, they are prone to adopt a kind of self censorship that acquiesces in the abuse of power and forgoes their right to find and tell the truth.

Wide open eyes

By Hitesh Karki

Just when people were beginning to talk about 2046: Revisted everything seems to be back to normal. Well just seems but thankfully things did not go that far, to the extent that we all feared. So at least for the time being the inundation of BANDHS has subsided.

Now the question is when will be the next one?

If not most, some of you, I’m completely sure, must be angered by this question. Am I out of my senses that I eagerly await another Nepal bandh? Well I don’t think so.

There are so many reasons I can think of as to why bandhs don’t do us any harm (provided that YOUR OWN window panes are smashed or a bullet comes hurling through the same window pane right across your chest!). There’s no denying that we people are nothing but hypocrites. When people were killed, quite expectedly there was a lot of hue and cry raised. Isn’t that hypocrisy? These days when it almost requires at least a dozen deaths to make HEADLINE news why were we so much worried. Or is it that Kathmandu is Nepal and everything that happens outside of this valley does not bother any one of us inside of this valley?

Next, it brought us some relief regarding pollution, the oxides and all. Finally there was breathing air. Never mind the burning tyres!. The rickshawallahs earned what they have been always yearning for. And how can we forget the print media .....god they had a blast. When one window pane was stoned the headlines went "certain hotel down in shambles...!" When a car was burnt, the tailored news went "Kathmandu up in flames....!". Ironically when all of Dunai was bombed down to ashes, no reaction. Neither from the public...nor from the government. Full stop. We all witnessed the events labelled as ‘movement against anti-nationalism’ and as a counter action what we did was destroy whatever little beautification was done...a la my pride, my strength!

A bandh causes Nepal to lose around 60 crore rupees daily, there came the statisticians. And how badly will that affect our national economy. Well I disagree. The price of paddy is at its lowest and the price of rice is at level high. We just don’t seem (we meaning the inside people) to feel concerned about the plight of the farmers. We freed the bonded labours only to leave them on the streets. And if we don’t react in time I’m sure one by one they will have to either force themselves back to the landlords or god prohibit join hands with the ‘anti-government’ forces. Any way when were we better off that we will be affected by a dip in the GDP growth rate! We are the poorest and at the most that can happen is we will move one rung down the ladder.....in the list of poorest nations.

I’m not a preacher. I don’t want people to share my sentiments. These are just the things that make me ponder time and time again as to what’s going on. We have our eyes wide open but sadly our conscience completely SHUT.

We have been just a spectator and we know that we will remain that way. Sad but true, we agitate against "things" without having a single evidence as to where and when a certain person made "completely unjustifiable remarks hurting the sentiments of 2 crores Nepalese" but remain silent spectators while the inside forces, of which we have concrete evidences.... we don’t even blink our eyes. Our eyes remain wide open and I guess they will forever remain open....watching the events unfold!

Juvenile delinquency and child abuse

By Niranjan Prasad Upadhyay

Juvenile delinquency is one of the serious problems in society. Delinquency refers to behaviour of youths under 18 years which is not acceptable to society and is generally regarded as in need for some kind of admonishment or corrective action.

Nepal has a very small scale juvenile delinquency problem among the SAARC region. In rural areas children indulge in minor delinquencies like stealing, kleptomania and sexual abuse. But in urban areas children are involved in various types of major crime like robbery, pick pocketing, child prostitution, drug abuse, arson and public offence.

The NGO CWIN (1999) has highlighted that about 40 percent of the total number of girl children suffer from regular sexual harassment. Also, child rape is only a part of the overall sexual exploitation of girl children in Nepal. Exploitation has many faces, like trafficking, child marriage and abuse and harassment of working children.

Child trafficking and sexual exploitation involve a notorious chain of criminals, backed by powerful, corrupt individuals from political and business circles (A Quarterly Newsletter of Maiti Nepal, 2000 Vol, 2 No 1).

M K Nepal and M P Shrestha (1999) have conducted a retrospective study on child abuse. They collected data from various campuses in Kathmandu. Their research findings led to various conclusions related to juvenile delinquency. In Nepal, child victims of sexual abuses are both male and female. Child sexual abuse is prevalent among all ethnic groups. Most child sexual abuse occurs between the ages of 11 and 15 years. The perpetrators are especially family members, relatives, neighbours and teachers. Though clinical experience indicates that child physical and sexual abuse are common in Nepal, people do not take sexual abuse as a topic for discussion in public. It is suggested to victims, or they are even threatened, to keep their mouths shut, and as a result they become anxious and desperate.

There is no law in Nepal for convicting sexual abusers. The investigation conducted by CWIN (1999) has identified some foreign workers here as paedophiles. In certain schools, children are abused by their teachers, while street children are sexually exploited by cart wheelers and rickshaw pullers for five or ten rupees. There is no law in Nepal for convicting sexual abusers. Rape of girl children is becoming a dangerous trend. Social research in Kathmandu highlights the fact that about 40 percent of all girl children suffer regular sexual harassment.

Every day, more and more children around the world are subjected to sexual exploitation. Concerted action is needed at the local, national, regional and international level to bring an end to this phenomena.

Along with improving health care and literacy for women, education for girls is the single greatest initiator of human development. It equips girls with the knowledge, skills and confidence needed by them to make the most of their abilities, to lead healthier lives and to protect themselves from discrimination and violence (UNICEF Annual Report, 2000). In an Indian study (RAHI, 1998) conducted among English speaking middle and upper class women living in the metropolitan cities of Indian, 76 percent of the women responded that they were sexually abused in their childhood.

Studies have brought to the fore the fact that delinquency is the consequence of economic, social, cultural, educational and psychological problems in society. Sociologists, psychologists, criminologists and experts in juvenile justice remark that delinquency is also a by product of psycho-social problems. In Nepal, young people are often exposed to many unfavourable situations, and this adversely affects their personality development (Upadhyay, N 2000, Young Herald). Moral immaturity is also evident in juvenile delinquents from affluent families, as contrasted with the many adolescents who grow up in unfavourable environments such as might normally produce anti-social attitudes.

An estimated 70 to 90 percent of juvenile crime is committed in groups. Research has pointed out that delinquent gangs typically feel inadequate and rejected by the larger society.

Among delinquent and non-delinquent boys, psychologist found that the great majority of delinquents felt rejected by their fathers but loved by their mothers, while non-delinquents felt loved equally by both parents.

Several psychological investigators have found a high incidence of socio-pathic traits in the fathers of delinquent boys. These include alcoholism, brutality, anti-social attitudes, frequent and unnecessary absences from home and other characteristics that make the father an inadequate and unacceptable model.

The actual incidence of juvenile delinquency is difficult to determine, since many delinquent acts are not reported. In general, it appears that the incidence and types of delinquent behaviour very between lower and middle class youths.

Physiological and clinical psychologists have reported a higher incidence of individuals with muscular physiques among juvenile delinquents and adult criminals, perhaps indicating simply that such individuals are more vigorous and aggressive than the average.

In a distinct minority of cases - probably less than one percent - brain pathology may result in lowered inhibitory control and a tendency toward episodes of violent behaviour. These youths are often hyperactive, impulsive, emotionally unstable, and unable to inhibit themselves when strongly stimulated. But their inner control appears to improve with age.

Children in general still live and work in difficult circumstances in Nepal. UNICEF statistical figures shows that of every one thousand children born in Nepal, seven die on their first day of life, an additional sixteen die by the end of the first week, another thirty by the end of the first month and another fifty four by the end of the first year. About one hundred ninety two deaths occur every day, predominantly of causes that are preventable or mainly manageable. In brief, children in Nepal are facing a serious problem when it comes to preserving and protecting their right to survival, their development and participation in everyday life.

A lack of enforcement and monitoring of legislation in the work place can be seen to legitimise child labour. With regard to the Labour Act 1992 and the Children’s Act 1992, neither are effectively implemented nor has any plan of action been formulated for children’s welfare (ILO vol II, 1995). Regarding treatment by police, CWIN (1996) found that during detention children were maltreated and tortured. The Children Act, 1992 is the first extensive children’s law in Nepal. However, the effectiveness of its enforcement is questionable. The Children’s Act prohibits illegal detention, torture and any form of inhuman treatment, which degrades a child’s development.

The juvenile justice system is an essential mechanism for ensuring the rights of children. However, there is not only a lack of vision but also lack of political commitment in action.

J Victoria et al (1997) have focused on the fact that children have to be treated as active participants in the whole development process. Children must be treated as beings in their own right and new ways must be found for examining the psychological, as well as material and physical aspects of the quality of life for children. Juvenile institutions and training schools especially can be of great help to youths who need to be removed from aversive environments and given a chance to learn about themselves and their world.