PM again hints at stepping down

Post Report

KATHMANDU, June 24 - Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has hinted what most of his opponents, both within the party and outside, want to hear ... a possible resignation from the coveted office he has held for the past 15 months.

"To boost the morale of the party activists I might need to move ahead taking only the responsibility of the party," Koirala told the Parliamentary Party (PP) meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence today.

He however did not specifically say he was quitting or plans to step down anytime soon.

Koirala, who currently holds both the positions as the prime minister and the president of the Nepali Congress (NC), is being pressured by the dissidents within the party to let go of one position, preferably premiership.

And the opposition parties in parliament have teamed up to pressure him to quit from the job he so far has managed to cling on to.

"The prime minister hinted that if there was another leadership from within the party then he would not be an obstruction to the change," said Hom Nath Dahal, a NC rebel member.

During the PP meet today called to prepare for the parliamentary session to begin on Monday, Koirala said the nation, the constitutional monarchy and democracy were all in a critical state and it was upto the party to strengthen it.

The prime minister also proposed a package program to be implemented in the next five-10 years, which he said would discuss with all the parties. He did not elaborate or give details of the program.

According to secretary of the PP Benup Raj Prasai, the committee comprising of Chakra Prasad Bastola, Chiranjivi Wagle and Ram Sharan Mahat will be holding separate talks with the opposition parties to be followed by an all-party meet.

Former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba told the meet the situation was difficult at the moment.

Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel, who is also the Home Minister, defended the enforcement of the Public Safety Regulations 2001 and reiterated claims that it does not give the chief district officers unlimited authorities to detain people and restrict organizations.

Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat said that the revenue has plunged and it has even become difficult to run the administration. He said the budget would not be bringing in any new programs but rather concentrate on giving continuation to existing programs of the government.

Only top leaders of the party were allowed to speak during the meet today. Party lawmakers will speak during Wednesday’s PP meet.

20th Parliamentary Session commences today
Palace massacre, Lauda issue high on agenda

Post Report

KATHMANDU, June 24 – The question as to whether the ghost of the last "working" session could cast its shadow on the ensuing Budget session that convenes on Monday is uppermost in the minds of the general public, economists, the government and a section of the opposition.

This anxiety is not at all unfounded since the entire duration, 57 days in all, was engulfed by the unprecedented disruption of the parliament with not a single minute of parliamentary business conducted as the opposition stalled the House, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala accusing him of corruption in the infamous Lauda jet deal.

The controversial deal and the Prime Minister’s alleged complicity in it is, once again, going to dominate this budget session. The opposition, chiefly the main opposition Communist Party of Nepal (UML), has already stated so without mincing any words.

Besides the Lauda Air, the government is going to face the opposition heat on the June 1 Narayanhiti Royal Palace massacre. Prime Minister Koirala, by virtue of being Minister for Royal Palace Affairs, is expected to face a tough time in the House. UML has already asked for his resignation, asking him to own moral responsibility for the shootout in the palace that took the lives of 10 royal family members, including King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya.

However, Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel has already disagreed with the opposition on the government’s responsibility in the massacre.

Another turf on which both the warring sides are expected to lock their horns is the recently enforced Public Security Regulations-2001. The opposition parties have already termed the regulations "undemocratic" and against the spirit of the Constitution. The opposition parties and human rights organizations have demanded immediate withdrawal of the regulations.

The Valley Coordination Committee of the UML today announced a rally from Ratna Park to Singha Durbar on Monday, demanding the PM’s resignation and protesting the new security regulations.

One of the hottest topics in the last session, the Armed Police Force Ordinance-2001 and Local Administration (4th Amendment)-2001, the latter dealing with the appointment of the five regional administrators, is expected to dominate the session again with the government planning to get them passed while the opposition is equally determined to kill them. Both these ordinances, along with the one on health had to be re-promulgated after they had lapsed.

The issue of the freedom of press in the backdrop of the arrests of Managing Director, Director and the Editor of the Kantipur daily could also figure in the coming session.

However, the biggest fear about the session is whether it would be able to get the fiscal budget or if the House is going to be stalled yet again.

Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, a Standing Committee member of the UML, said on Sunday that his party would act responsibly. "We are of the view that the session should run smoothly." However, he added that the party would raise the issues of corruption and the PM’s resignation, the palace massacre and the security regulations.

Speaking to The Kathmandu Post, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Kamal Thapa spokesperson said that his party would decide on the basis of issues "instead of resorting to blanket disruption". However, he added that the government too had contributed in the last session’s disruption. "PM Koirala left us with no option; neither did he presented any alternative to our demand of his resignation."

Over two dozen Bills pending

Post Report

KATHMANDU, June 24 – If going by the fate of the last Parliamentary Session which ended without conducting business for its entire 57 days tenure, the 20th Session convening on Monday will really be worth watching.

Already there are at least 26 pending Bills presented during the previous sessions, which the lawmakers were suppose to discuss, debate and endorse before they are forwarded as laws of the land.

But, if going by what the opposition parties are saying, this session too might turn futile as it could once again revolve around the demand for Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s resignation over his involvement in the infamous Lauda Air deal.

On the other hand, though officials at the Parliament Secretariat today said that no new Bills have been registered so far for the coming session, some of the pending Bills are likely to draw enough controversies and debate within the political parties. This session is expected to run for around a month and a half where the government’s future program and policies are to be adopted.

One of the major Bills that is likely to draw much attention is no other than the Armed Police Force Ordinance-2057, which the government introduced to counter the Maoist insurgency that has claimed over 1600 lives so far.

Though the Ordinance received another life after Late King Birendra promulgated the Ordinance after it failed to get through the stalled Parliament, it now has to be passed within 60 days from the date of commencement of the House on Monday.

Likewise, the Local Administration (fourth amendment) Ordinance –2057, that emphasizes better coordination on security between the security agencies and the local government, is also of major concern in the coming session.

However, Kamal Thapa, spokesperson of Rastriya Prajatantra Party told The Kathmandu Post that things look even more shakier for the Koirala government to pass both the Ordinances. "The government hasn’t taken the opposition parties into confidence before introducing such important laws…We even had no information," said Thapa.

Both the Ordinances are somewhat related to the much publicized Integrated Security and Development Package (ISDP) introduced by the government to be implemented in Maoist affected districts. The Armed Police Force has already been formed and the Army has already been deployed to Maoist affected districts.

Another Bill that is likely to draw much attention is the Citizenship Bill that was passed by the Lower House of Parliament as a Finance Bill but was rejected by the Upper House. Though the Lower House later forwarded the Bill to His Majesty, its fate is still undecided after the Supreme Court termed some of its provisions as "against the Constitution." However, the Supreme Court is still silent on weather the Bill can be termed as a Finance Bill or not.

Furthermore, the main agenda of the 20th Session will be His Majesty King Gyanendra’s first ever address to the joint session of the Parliament, likely on Friday, outlining the government’s programs and policies and the presentation of the fiscal budget.

Among the other pending Bills include ones to amend Income Tax laws and another proposing to amend the Seeds Act of 1988. There are two more Bills in the National Assembly currently under discussion.

The more important Bills like the Muluki Ain (11th Amendment) and the Bill to govern Political Parties presented during the 16th Session right after the General Elections are also expected to come for endorsement.

Cyber-savvy Shivapuri school sets new trend

By Seema A. Adhikari

KATHMANDU, June 24 - Pradeep Parajuli, a 14- year-old student at Shivapuri Secondary Public School brazenly declares himself as a class eight computer student, but shies away moments later when asked to expand the abbreviation of DOS.

Started in 2013 BS, Shivapuri Secondary School is one of the few from amongst 25,000 government schools in Nepal that boasts of introducing computer courses for the first time. Another unique aspect of the school is that almost all the students here are from the lowest economic strata of the society. There are erstwhile street-children too.

"This is the first government school to introduce computer education for its students," said Prakash S. Adhikari, former president of Innovative Forum for Community Development and currently working at Basic and Primary Education Program under the Danish Aid Agency, DANIDA.

Voluntary organizations like DANIDA and Canadian Co-operation Office, which sponsored computer courses at the school, have yielded results that may well be called spectacular, he added.

These agencies have spearheaded a literacy movement to bridge the disparity between the government and the private schools. "The Shivapuri School is a classic example of how quality of education in public schools can be raised to the expectations of excellence," Adhikari adds.

The school began providing computer education to its students in the ninth and tenth standards way back in 1993, when even the private schools hardly had computers in their classes.

Today, the school has 33 computer students in classes nine and ten. The school introduced the computer courses in the Eighth standard also since the last academic session. The primary level students too have computer-aided teaching and learning process, which, according to many educationists, is a dream for most government schools in the country.

Long before His Royal Highness the then late Crown Prince Dipendra inaugurated the new massive school building in 1998, the school already had a full-fledged computer lab. "We are working hard for a cent percent success record in SLC at our school," says Principal Reena Pradhan.

"This probably will be the best homage to the Late Crown Prince," she says, recalling vividly the late Crown Prince’s inspiring visit to the school three years back. Not surprisingly, the school today possesses one of the finest computer labs equipped with slim and sleek computers from Denmark and Canada.

Ever since the introduction of the computer classes and other modern teaching techniques, the enrolment rates has steadily.

Thanks largely to the wonders of welfare organizations and children homes, these erstwhile street children not only get food, clothing and lodge, but also money for paying their tuition fees. Not strangely, the children here beam with happy smiles probably assured of a secure future.

The rate of success recorded at SLC exams at this school situated in the heart of the capital city has jumped to 70 per cent, up from 43 per cent in 1995. Rejina Chaulagain, a class two schoolgirl walks about an hour from Chandol to her school at Maharajgunj. Her father is a tempo driver and mother- a sweeper at Bhanubhakta School. When she reads from the text, she sounds like any private school counterpart.

Shivapuri school unravels an example how immensely vulnerable homeless young street kids and children who face cumulative effects of poverty, hunger, family breakdowns, social exclusion and violence could be educated through communities shared commitments and love towards the children, the building blocs of the nation.

Given the fast-paced development of this school, the goal of "education for all" endorsed by the Dakar Conference seems no more for a distant possibility.

Rights activists seek greater
transparency on the probe report

Post Report

KATHMANDU, June 24 - Human rights activists, most of them said to be left-oriented, called for greater transparency on the June 1 Royal Palace massacre, on the eve of the commencement of the 20th session of parliament here Sunday.

Sushil Pyakurel, member of the National Human Rights Commission, said "Let the parliament be strong and parliamentarians bold to bring out the truth surrounding the massacre that saw the death of ten Royalties," he said.

Pyakurel was addressing an interaction programme on the report on Narayanhiti palace massacre, organised by Alliance-Nepal, 14 days after the probe report was made public by the two-member high-level committee.

Human Rights activist Padma Ratna Tuladhar said that the political leaders reacted in an inappropriate manner. "We talk a lot about the democracy and democratic practise in the country," he complained. "Never before had we realised that when there is crisis, the people of Nepal are so weak to exercise our democratic rights, secured 12 years ago."

Former speaker Damannath Dhungana said that the uncertainty that prevailed after the June 1 massacre is "a result of constitutional shortcomings because the constitution allows the palace to settle its internal issues."

Dhungana was one of the member of a high-level body that drafted the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990.

"It is time to think about constitutional amendment—we allowed the palace to settle its affairs, which resulted in the uncertainty among the people concerning the massacre," he said.

Advocate Shambhu Thapa said that the move to appoint the Chief Justice as a member of the Committee itself was unconstitutional.

He also expressed concerns that "no criminal investigation was executed over the massacre that rocked the whole world."

Dr Sanu Bhai Dangol, an expert on Royal Palace politics, said that "the massacre is more complicated than the people think because the root could be the element in the Palace that worked hard to retain power".

He urged added that only an impartial investigation committee with the involvement of foreign forensic and criminal experts could have brought the reality to the fore.

Indian security personnel on high alert

Post Report

BARDIA, June 24 - Weeks after the tragic incident at the Royal Palace, reports here suggested that the Indian government has put its security personnel on high alert along the Nepal-India border.

An Indian security personnel based at the border said on condition of anonymity that the Indian security personnel have been ordered to stay in high alert in Bahraich District, Uttar Pradesh, which lies adjacent to western Nepal.

The Indian paramilitary force at the border has also increased its activities in recent times. They have begun to construct the permanent buildings to replace tented camps.

"This is aimed at curbing the activities of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) reportedly based in Nepal to create trouble in India," he said.

However, he declined to disclose the information on the exact nature of reinforcement of the Indian security personnel along the border. The CDO of Bardia, Dilli Raj Joshi, said that it was their internal matter, which should not be interfered with. "Since it is their internal matter, we have got no other option than to remain silent," he added.