Oppn back to anti-PM sloganeering in House

Post Report

KATHMANDU, July 18 – The specter of the 19th Session of Parliament returned today to haunt the current session with the opposition shouting slogans against Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and demanding his resignation for his alleged involvement in the controversial Lauda jet deal and for his failure to contain the escalating Maoists’ insurgency.

Later speaking to The Kathmandu Post, K P Sharma Oli, the Standing Committee member and an influential main opposition leader, said "The House would not be able to conduct any business unless PM Koirala resigns", replying to a question whether the opposition would repeat today’s sloganeering.

Oli added that the discussion about the passage of the fiscal Budget and conducting other business of the Parliament were meaningless "when the whole country is burning". He also exuded the confidence that Koirala would soon step down. "There is no alternative to his resignation now."

The scene in the House of Representatives today resembled the days of the Winter Session when the opposition lawmakers, except the Nepal Sadbhawana Party (NSP), shouted slogans against the PM and boycotted the House in the beginning. However, today even the NSP rushed to the Well of the House, demanding that Koirala step down "to make a way for national consensus in this hour of crisis".

During the 19th Session, the NSP, though demanding the resignation of the PM, had not gone to the Well and also refrained from shouting slogans.

Speaker Taranath Ranabhat urged the shouting members to go back to their seats but when the sloganeering nearly continued for 15 minutes, the Speaker adjourned the House until 3 p.m. However, when the House reconvened, it lasted only two minutes with the Speaker saying an all-party meet would be held on Thursday again to help break the House deadlock. The House has been adjourned until 1 p.m. Friday.

In today’s all-party meet called by the Speaker, the opposition leaders reiterated that the House cannot function until Koirala resigns, according to Lilamani Pokharel, the opposition lawmaker.

In the earlier session today, the entire opposition lambasted Prime Minister Koirala for "threatening to seek foreign help to save his chair". They were referring to the PM’s remarks made at the 35th Annual General Meeting of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Tuesday in which, the opposition lawmakers alleged, Koirala had said he would seek "outside" help to bring normalcy in the country. The Prime Minister was not present at the time when the members lebelled allegations against him.

Lilamani Pokharel accused the PM of being a traitor. "If the PM had indeed made the remark (seeking foreign help), then he is a traitor." Similarly, in the Upper House, Royal nominee Ramesh Nath Pandey criticized the PM for the remarks.

All the opposition lawmakers who spoke before the Zero Hour, reiterated their demand for PM Koirala’s resignation. They also referred to Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Ram Chandra Poudel’s statement in the House last Friday when Poudel accused Koirala of being the stumbling block to national consensus. Poudel had also charged the PM for his greed of power and indulging in tricks to save his chair.

During his speech in the House, Oli accused Koirala breaching a "secret" understanding with his party vis-à-vis his resignation. "We had suspended our protest against the PM to give him an honourable exit, but he went back on his words," charged Oli.

Oli also said that Nepali Congress lawmaker Chiranjivi Wagle, who was the convenor to seek dialogue with the UML on the PM’s 14-point agenda, was the witness to the secret pact.

Wagle wanted to speak but by that time the Speaker had already declared his intention to begin the Zero Hour. It was then the entire opposition rushed to the Well of the House shouting slogans. While demanding the PM’s resignation, the opposition used epithets like "corrupt", "incompetent", "treacherous", "traitor", and "immoral" among others. There was a quadruplet too: "Nepali citizens’ united voice/Corrupt PM resign/Leave now, leave now/Now, now, now, now".

Speaking about the army-Maoists standoff in Rolpa district, Oli disputed the government claim that the army had surrounded the rebels who have abducted over 70 policemen and were zeroing in on the Maoists.

Similarly, in the National Assembly, Bala Ram Gharti Magar refuted the statements of the Home and Defence Ministries about the army cornering the rebels. He added that there was no place for the helicopter to land in Nuwa gaon, "so how can the Home Ministry say that the army personnel have been dropped there?" The Maoists were supposed to have sheltered here initially alongwith the policemen they kidnapped from Holeri police post in Rolpa district.

Maoists ignore army mobilisation

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KATHMANDU, July 18 - Despite the government’s decision to mobilise the Royal Nepal Army to quell Maoist insurgency in several districts, Maoist militia continued their attacks at a number of police posts, killing at least three policemen and injuring five others in Arghakhanchi and Tanahun districts on Tuesday night.

Our correspondent from Arghakhanchi said three policemen were killed and two others seriously injured when armed Maoists attacked a police post in Pokharathok VDC, about 25 km south of Sandhikharka, the district headquarters.

The two injured policemen were airlifted to Bhairahawa for treatment in critical condition. A police source also said that four policemen including in-charge of the post were abducted by the rebels after the attack.

Those killed in the Maoist attacks have been identified as head constables Krishna Bohara from Palpa and Krishna Bahadur Shrestha from Tanahun and constable Hari Narayan Chaudhary from Nawalparasi.

Police source claimed that four rebels were also shot dead during the five hour long gun fight.

The bodies of the policemen were taken by helicopter today handed over to their respective relatives, police said.

Police said that hundreds of armed rebels opened fire and hurled homemade socket bombs at the post around midnight and looted all fire-arm after the policemen ran out of ammunition. Other policemen who survived the attack have returned to the district headquarters.

Although the district Police Office in Sandhikharka declined to provide details of the incident, it is reported that there were around 30 policemen on duty at the post during the attack. Locals refused to talk to the press about the incident for fear of their lives.

Meanwhile, our Chitwan based correspondent said underground Maoist guerrillas hacked a Nepali Congress active member to death at Pithuwa VDC-3 on Tuesday evening, locals said.

Some two dozens Maoist militants dragged Krishna Bahadur Kunwar, 60, from his home and hacked him to death. The rebels also wounded his son, Surendra, before fleeing the scene. Surendra was rushed to Kathmandu for treatment as referred by the Bharatpur hospital.

Kunwar was watching television with his family when the rebels broke into his home and assaulted him with khukuris and axes. He is the first Nepali Congress cadre in the district to be killed in cold blood by the rebels since the beginning of the Maoist insurgency six years ago.

Kunwar’s last rites were performed at Devghat, a Hindu holy site on the banks of the Narayani River, after the funeral procession made a round of the Bharatpur municipality today.

Likewise, report from Tanahun said a dozen policemen in Bandipur, the old district headquarters of Tanahun, escaped major casualties when a powerful handmade bomb reportedly planted by the rebels went off early Wednesday morning. The rebels, however, could not loot any fire arm as the army barracks was close to the post.

However three security personnel including one Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of Police sustained serious injuries when the bomb exploded inside the police post, according to the District Police Office in Damauli, the district headquarters.

Seriously injured ASI Bishnu Dhakal and constable Raj Kumar Prja have been rushed to Kathmandu while another constable Prem Magar is undergoing treatment in Pokhara.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Ghanashyam Bhatta, suspects that the rebels planted the explosives in the absence of the policemen, who used to take refuge in army barracks for fear of their safety during the night.

In Palpa, a powerful socket bomb exploded in the premises of the District Police Office. But nobody was injured in the blast. Polcie suspect that the bomb was planted by the Maoist rebels.

Similarly, the rebels on Wednesday looted about Rs 250,000 in cash from the branch office of the state-owned Rastriya Banijya Bank and one shot-gun from the security guard at Kharanitar, located about 15 km east of Bidur, the district headquarters of Nuwakot.

Bank employee Rupa Shrestha said half a dozen Maoist rebels on plain clothes dashed to the bank office and looted the cash within 10 minutes. Meanwhile, the rebels also looted 15 guns from various villages of Morang district, police sources said.

Police said around 300 rebels attacked ward no. 5, 6 and 7 of Takuwa VDC and looted arms Tuesday night.

And, in Ratamchha VDC of Khotang, the Maoists bombed burned down a vacant police post Tuesday night.

‘Security forces strategically located’

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KATHMANDU, July 18 - The government today said security forces were "strategically located" around Linlung of Buda village in Rolpa district, in their continuing efforts to rescue the 69 abducted policemen taken hostage by the Maoist rebels a week ago.

Through a press release issued by the Defence Ministry, the government has denied media reports that the security forces had been withdrawn. "The security forces are presently alert and they are all in high morale," the release stated.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala while briefing his lawmakers this morning said that the army was only repositioning to safer locations and they have not withdrawn or moved back.

Our correspondent from Rolpa quotes locals as saying that a large contingent of rebel fighters are moving north from Ghansi Khola, near the district headquarters. Many locals also fear that an Army-Maoist encounter could take place anytime soon.

Locals said that the abducted policemen were seen taken barefoot in small groups near the location from where they were abducted.

Meanwhile, parents of the 22 policemen whom the Maoist rebels claimed to have released from captivity as a "goodwill gesture" last Friday today requested the rebels to make public the conditions of these abducted policemen who are still listed as missing.

The policemen were abducted from a police post in Rukumkot of Rukum district few months back. The rebels later claimed of having released them immediately the day the army went into action. However, the government maintains that they still have no information on the whereabouts of those policemen.

"Though all of the policemen are said to have been released, they still have not come in contact with us," states a press release signed by the fathers of Sub-Inspector Tarkeshwore Yadav and police constable Sudesh Malla, two of the abducted. "Even the police organization has not given us any information about them."

"Hence, we request the CPN (Maoist) to make public true information on where they were released or on whose responsibility were they set free," the release adds.

Refugees appeal to Bhutan King

By Chintamani Dahal

BHADRAPUR, July 18 - The Bhutanese refugees living in the seven different camps of Jhapa and Morang districts in eastern Nepal have sent an appeal to the King of Bhutan, Jigme Singhe Wangchuk, requesting him to meet their seven-point demands.

S.B. Subba, president of Bhutanese Refugee Repatriation Committee which is one of the representative organisation of the Bhutanese refugees here, and secretaries in the seven camps have jointly sent the appeal to the King.

In the appeal, they have once again requested the King to take steps for resolving the refugee problem for the well-being of the Bhutanese people and country in view of the dangerous consequences and the adverse regional political problem it may have in future.

In the appeal they have regretted at the negative attitude shown towards the refugees in the recent session of the parliament of Bhutan and the allegation made by Home Minister Lyanpo Thinley Gyamtsho in his statement that the Bhutanese refugees had migrated from Bhutan voluntarily, that they had fled the country after misappropriating the country’s property as such and that they could not be taken back.

The refugees have urged the King to repatriate them to their homeland and resolve the decade-long problem as Head of the State.

The seven points mentioned in the appeal include : Arrangement should be made for additional team for speedy joint verification work; the King should hold talks with Bhutanese Human Rights activist Tek Nath Rijal and find a durable peace to the problems of southern Bhutan; and Refugees should support the agreement between the King and Rijal.

The other demands include need to stop the rehabilitation in the land vacated by the refugees and need for general amnesty and repatriation of the refugees to their homeland with dignity.

The appeal welcomes the order given to Indian extremist groups, United Liberation Front Assam (ULFA) and National Defence Front of Bodoland (NDFB), to leave Bhutan and says that these extremists should be expelled as quickly as possible. Expressing regret over the reduction in the representation of southern Bhutan in the parliament they demanded that their proper representation in the parliament should be ensured.

At the end of the appeal, they have requested the King of Bhutan to take the initiative himself warning him that the more time Bhutan takes to resolve the problem, the greater will be the national crisis and security threat in Bhutan from the extremists infiltrating from the Indian border.

Koirala seeks MPs support

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KATHMANDU, July 18 - Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala today urged lawmakers from his Nepali Congress (NC) for renewed support as the opposition and the rebels within NC continue to pressure for his resignation.

At the meeting, attended by about 40 NC lawmakers still loyal to Koirala, he said that there are no plans of him calling for mid-term polls as feared by many.

Earlier reports had said that Koirala could opt for dissolution of Parliament and fresh elections as the opposition continue to disrupt Parliament and protest in the streets seeking his resignation and the rebels in the party are refusing to stand by him.

The number of lawmakers does not even make half of the 113 NC members in the House of Representatives. Support for Koirala has been decreasing over the past few weeks and his close aides like Jaya Prakash Gupta have distanced themselves from the Prime Minister.

Later in the day, Koirala once again met Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is leading the rebel camp. Deuba reportedly told Koirala that the only way out of the mess was his resignation at a time when opposition parties are stalling Parliament.

RNAC-Lauda accord terminated

KATHMANDU, July 18 (PR) - The Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC) and Lauda Air (Autria) today terminated the controversial B-767 jet deal six months before the agreement was supposed to expire, states a release issued today by the Corporation.

The agreement was terminated with retrospective effect from May 26 this year. The agreement was signed on September 27 last year and the wide-body jet joined the RNAC’’s international fleet on December 1, 2000, the day agreement came into effect.

Both sides, according to RNAC officials were negotiating with each other through correspondence to terminate the agreement without claiming any legal damages.

The Boeing jet was taken to Bangkok for repairing its pressurization system on May 29. Giving reasons for terminating the deal, RNAC cited the reduced tourist inflow into the country and the unprecedented situation in the country for "various reasons".

The infamous deal was the chief cause of the disruption of the Winter Session of parliament which was completely blacked out by the opposition parties demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala who, the opposition allege, is involved in complicity in the deal.

The call for the PM’s resignation was raised again by the entire opposition bench in the House today.

Both the Public Accounts Committee and the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) termed the deal corrupt and full of irregularities. The CIAA has filed a case against 10 individuals, including a minister and two Lauda Air executives.

Is Nepal going to be a dollar-strapped country?

By Bhaskar Sharma

KATHMANDU, July 18 Is Nepal heading towards becoming a dollar scant country?

Consider these facts: Tourism industry is plunging, export is waning, foreign aid inflow is becoming more dubious and a major portion of the remittance gets converted into Indian currency before they hit the Nepali shores.

And, if the foreign currency inflow record at the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) is any indication, the dollar-problem is already beginning to show. During the first six months of the fiscal year 2000/2001, the foreign currency build-up plunged by 37 per cent compared to the figures of the corresponding period of the previous year. Net half-year foreign currency build-up fell from Rs 5.57 billion in 1999/2000 to Rs 3.51 billion the last fiscal year.

Experts say, the changing statistics is a testimony to the impending threat.

Even the officials concede that, in the light of the current performance of the foreign exchange earnings sectors, there is a risk of rapidly depleting foreign currency reserves. "The convertible reserves did not improve in the last fiscal year, which is a worrying fact. Given the current trend, threat of the country going dollar-scant exists," says Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada, Executive Director at the Research Department of NRB. He also calls for corrective actions to address the problem.

One of the causes of the negative growth of dollar reserves is the problem faced by the tourism sector. The sector’s contribution to the total foreign currency earnings, including the Indian currency, in 1999/2000 stood at 12.9 per cent. However, the sector’s contribution to the forex reserve in the first six months of the fiscal year 2000/01 is only 5.1 per cent.

"The tourism industry is going through bad times. The earnings by the sector has dipped severely," says Narendra Bajracharya, president of Hotel Association Nepal.

Another setback to the hard currency earnings is likely to come from dwindling exports. The top three largest exports – readymade garment, woolen carpet and pashmina shawl – are already facing heat in the international market. And there are strong indications that the exports of these three items, which earn about 50 per cent of the foreign currency reserves, are heading for a slump.

The government must immediately carry out corrective measures to lift exports. The budgetary plans to expand the markets and control quality of the major foreign currency earners such as garments, carpets and pashmina need immediate attention, he says.

"Implementation on the government’s budgetary plans to promote exports and to observe year 2003 as "export year" must immediately begin to mitigate the problem," says Dr Khatiwada.

Despite the worry on the export front, the trade observers take solace on the fact that import has declined even more sharply. Subsequently, the draining away of the hard-earned foreign currency to finance the imports has slowed down – thanks to plunging demands for industrial raw material and consumer goods. All these worries would dry away had the remittance been transferred through legal channel and in hard currency. But remittance is increasingly transferred through the hundi system (practice of converting the foreign currency into Indian currency before transferring it to Nepal through illegal channel) has compounded the problem.

Delay in transferring the management of the two largest commercial banks to the private sector is also likely to hit the dollar reserves in days to come, albeit indirectly. Both the Bretton Woods Institutions - International Monetary Fund and the World Bank - have hinted to withhold financial assistance till the management-hand-over of Rastriya Banijya Bank and Nepal Bank Ltd. The two messy banks have been billed as "technically insolvent" last year by the KPMG Barnet group’s diagnostic report on the financial status of the banks.

Besides clearing away the banking sector mess, there is a need to expedite the implementation of the development projects for ensuring smooth flow of foreign aid, Dr Khatiwada says. "The utilization of grants, which usually stands at around two-thirds of the total sanctioned foreign assistance, should also be improved."

The crash in the American stock market bubble and subsequent interest rates cut by the US Federal Reserves has also affected, though nominally, the dollar inflow to the country. It has directly affected the returns in the investment of NRB in the US treasury bills.

New ‘Kumari’ begins formal education

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KATHMANDU, July 18 - The newly appointed living goddess "Kumari" the 4-year-old girl from the Shakya family, formerly known by her personal name Priti Shakya, is to continue her formal education while she lives in her religious residence at Hanumandhoka Durbar premise, her caretaker said.

She had replaced the former Kumari on July 10, who retired on attaining puberty.

"A teacher from her school, Rakta Kali Higher Secondary School, came this afternoon and took elementary classes for her for a couple of hours," said Juju Bhai Shakya, her caretaker .

The "Kumari" was admitted in Nursery class just last session.

Special tutors are provided for the girl as she is not supposed to leave her religious residence except during festivals. The government has provided a monthly grant of Rs 1,000 for her education, excluding other allowance of around Rs 9,000.

After she retires from the position of Kumari, she gets Rs 3,000 as monthly pension. Besides the people, the King himself also pays respect to the deified girl during the annual Kumari jatra chariot procession that falls during August every year.

The tradition of establishing a girl from the Buddhist Shakya family and worshipping her as an incarnation of Hindu Goddess Taleju in the Kathmandu Valley is more than 300 years old. A girl can remain as a goddess until she sustains no physical injury, reaches puberty or denies herself being one, the caretaker said.