UML gains in NA polls
King nominates 3

By Binaj Gurubacharya 

KATHMANDU, June 27 - The main opposition CPN-UML swept the National Assembly elections today getting eight of their members elected to the Upper House of Parliament against seven by the ruling Nepali Congress.

The victory brings the number of CPN-UML members in the House to 23 while NC’s number has now dropped to 21 in the 60-member House, also called the house of the elites.

All the seven NC members, including the only woman candidate, were elected by the 205 lawmakers of the House of Representatives, the Lower House.

However, CPN-UML winning three seats at the Lower House went on to sweep all the five seats from the five development regions where over 8,000 members from the local bodies voted today to elect these people.

During the voting at parliament, four votes from NC and one from CPN-UML lawmakers were declared invalid that almost ended up costing two NC candidates their seats.

Regulations say that each candidate needs at least 1819 points to get elected. Each vote carries a 100 points. NC’s Bal Bahadur Rai and Ram Jeevan Singh both ended up with 1,700 points but were still elected because all the 17 votes were primary votes.

In this rather difficult voting system used in this election, voters are allowed to cast their votes to a primary candidate and another secondary candidates. If their primary choice is not elected then their points would go to their second choice and if not to the third or the fourth.

Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) got their official candidate Lok Bahadur Thapa elected with 1,882 points with the support from CPN-UML, as the two parties had signed a pact.

CPN-UML could have easily used its surplus 12 votes to support Leftist candidate like Santa Bahadur Nepali from the National People’s Front. Instead the party surprisingly decided to throw its weight behind RPP.

NC’s Ashok Koirala, Akkal Bahadur Bista, Deepak Bahadur Gurung, Bal Bahadur Rai, Radheshyam Adhikari and Ramjeevan Singh were declared winners along with CPN-UML’s Mahesh Mani Acharya, Laxmi Das Manandhar and Mahesh Mani Acharya Dixit.

NC’s Maiya Devi Shrestha, who had made headlines donating her house to the party, was the only woman candidate for the one seat reserved for women and was declared the winner.

Independent candidate Shanker Lal Kedia, RPP’s rebelling member Jog Meher Shrestha and NPF’s Nepali all lost the election today.

On development regional front, CPN-UML won all the five seats. In the Eastern Region Ram Prith Paswan, in the Central Region Lalit Kumar Basnet, in the Western Region Shreemaya Thakali, in the Mid-Western Region Ranganath Joshi and in the Far Western Region Urba Dutta Pant were declared the winners.

King Gyanendra, on the recommendations of the Cabinet, has nominated industrialist Roop Jyoti, Yangkila Sherpa and Dipta Prakash Shah to the House. He still has to nominate one more member.

With only 21 NC members in the 60-seat Upper House, the government remains in a difficult position to get their proposals through and especially at times like now when the opposition parties are totally against the government.

Last year, a Bill proposing to amend the Citizenship Act was rejected by the Upper House and sent back to the Lower House again which was a major humiliation for the government.

The Bill was later forwarded to the King for royal assent again bypassing the Upper House as allowed by the Constitution. However, in the days to follow, the government could still hit similar snags. Every two years, a third of the total 60 members of the National Assembly, retire to be replaced by fresh members. The tenure of each of the members is six years. There are 10 members nominated by the King.

Activists slam PSR-2001

Post Report

KATHMANDU, June 27 - Lawyers and Human Rights activists today slammed the government for formulating the Public Security Regulation-2001, claiming it to be a unconstitutional move.

"The regulation is against the spirit of constitution and democracy," said former speaker and noted human rights activist, Daman Nath Dhungana at a press conference organized by the forum. He further added "Government should immediately scrap the regulations as it tries to infringe upon the fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution."

"It seems that Panchayat regime is back. The regulation will snatch away the freedom of press and is against the Public Security Act-2046," said Vishwo Prakash Bhandari, an advocate. He also said that, government formulated the regulation based on vested interest. "The government did it for ‘subjective satisfaction’ and it is something like declaration of emergency."

However, Government officials claim that it is in accordance with the clause 14 of the Public Security Act- 2046 BS.

The Public Security Regulation- 2001 was formulated on May 21 and published in gazette on June 18. The regulation has empowered the local administrator to detain anybody and keep under solitary confinement or prevent one from travelling abroad if the officials feel convinced that the suspected person are acting detrimental to the country’s integrity and sovereignty.

Lawyers argued that the regulation will give ‘unlimited power’ to the authorities and increase police highhandedness.

Two policemen  killed in Maoist attack 

Post Report

DANG, June 27- At least two policemen were killed on the spot while the remaining two sustained serious injuries on Tuesday night in the exchange of gun fire with Maoist rebels at separate places-Dang, Panchekule VDC-2, Tulsipur and Hekuli, sources at the district said.

Umesh Prasad Singh of Janakpur and Dil Bahadur Budha of Rolpa, both police constables, . were identified as killed during the exchange of gun fire some 12 km west of Panchakule VDC-2, Parmeshower Singh Sijapati, SP of Regional Police Office, Tulsipur, said.

The losses registered on the side of underground Maoist outfit were reported to be 13, locals claimed.

Krishna Chanda, a local resident living near the spot said that at about 11 p.m., Maoist rebels started attacking the Khitalpur police post on Tuesday night. After an hour of exchange of gun fire , Maoists entered the police post and captured all the arms.

Police constables Krishna Neupane and Meg Bahadur Dangi were on critical condition when they were brought to Nepalganj Hospital for treatment.

When the journalists reached the spot , they saw all the burnt furnitures, police motorbikes and two socket bombs scattered near the police post.

Similarly, Maoists also attacked the area police post of Tulsipur and Hekuli on the same night. Dipak Adhikari, DSP said that at about 11:40, Maoists have already started their attacks from northwest.

PM's agenda flawed: ML

Post Report

KATHMANDU, June 27 - Communist Party of Nepal Marxist and Leninist (CPN-ML) today termed Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s 14 point agenda a "flawed one", and asserted that it was just an agenda for discussion.

A press release, issued by the party General Secretary Bamdev Gautam states that the Prime Minister’s agenda has no concrete and work-oriented responses to solve Maoist problem, develop the nation’s economy, control corruption, end of commission tendency and strengthening of democratic foundations.

But at the same time, it accepted the agenda saying the party has "positive attitude" toward the PM’s proposal for national consensus. It urged the government to hold an all-party meeting to reach a concrete decision over the agenda’s policy.

The release further urged other political parties to immediately come up with their opinion about the agenda as a national policy is the only way to save this country from further deteriorations.

Locals bar paramedics from entering gastro-affected villages

By J Pandey

BANKE, June 27 - Believe it or not: Thousands of people living in the remote villages on the foothills of the Himalayas, rather than visiting health posts and hospitals, prefer to consult traditional shamans, and faith healers whenever they catch fever or suffer from diarrhoea.

What is really intrigueing at the dawn of the third millenium is the fact that these impoverished and illiterate masses go on to prevent paramedics and health workers from entering their dwellings even when there is an outbreak of a deadly epidemic—gastroenteritis in this case.

And this is exactly what has happened in a village — Bhamchaur Village Development Committee (VDC), which lies dozens of kilometers away from Chainpur, the district headquarters — in the far-western hill district of Bajhang this week. Thanks largely to superstition and traditional beliefs, which have compounded the problem.

Paramedics and health workers, who were dispatched towards the affected area, said that the locals prevented them from entering the Bhamchaur VDC, where the communicable disease has already claimed the lives of more than two dozen people. In all, more than 50 people, including newl-born infants and elderlies, have died of gastroenteritis in Bajhang and neighboring Doti districts since this year’s monsoon began June 3.

"After we arrived here, we came to know that locals have declared dhacha (band to outsiders), and do not let any outsiders into their villages," said Janak Bahadur Singh, an assistant health worker at the district hospital in Chainpur.

"When there are incidents like this the locals declare dhacha (sanction), and do not let any outsiders in; the sick people too are not allowed to leave their home for treatment, " Singh added. And Bhamchaur is not the only village where Dhacha is practiced. The tradition is also followed in most of the remote villages of the far-western hills. The term, however, varies from one place to another place.

"This sort of ban is imposed in communities so as to remain secured from any natural calamities and to appease the deities," said Bhakta Bahadur Khadka, an employee at the District Development Committee. Some of the locals also believe that the disease was spread due to outraged deities rather than the consumption of contaminated water and poor sanitation.

Khadka said that many people largely depend on local shaman and they have no faith in the modern medicine.

"In the beginning, they did not let our team enter the village even in this pitiable condition," he said, adding, "But we risked our lives and entered the villages aided by some local youth."

The medical team entered Bhatsain VDC, where several people had died following the onset of this year’s monsoon. A large number of people are still struggling against the disease, Singh said.

Chief at the district hospital, Dr. Pitamber Subedi, said that the people at ward No-3 and 6 of the Bhatsain VDC did not in any way allow the medics to entre their villages.

He said that they warned him not to send health workers to Thapa Gaon, where more than a dozen people succumbed to the communicable disease.

Having visited the area, the medical team has formed a committee under the chairmanship of ward member of the Bhatsain VDC to generate awareness among the general folks. Singh said the committee would convince locals about the basic cause of spreading diarrhoea and its possible cure.

The medics also found that the people from the Bhamchaur VDC, where 26 people had died, remained reluctant to attend the health centre located in their own locality because of the superstition.

The medical team also tried in vain to contact those persons who had imposed such restrictions.

The district hospital claimed that the disease has now been brought under control and people are cooperating with the medical team despite threats from certain conservative quarters.

Education reforms report submitted

Post Report

KATHMANDU, June 27 - The High Level Committee formed to study problems in the education sector presented a report to Minister for Education and Sports, Amod Prasad Upadhyaya Wednesday.

The 75-page report was presented to the government by the five-member Committee (Task Force) after nearly 45 days of study carried out in the education sector. The report has 17 points under which the Committee has categorized the recommendations to the government.

Presenting the report to the government today, Dr Nimble Prasad Pandey, Chairman of the Task Force said a working committee has been formed to make the school level education more organized, effective and transparent.

"This report is important for the government," said Minister Upadhyaya talking to the reporters after receiving the reports. He also added saying that nearly 30 per cent of the children cannot attend school at present and that it’s not only the state’s responsibility but also the responsibility of civil society to ensure that each of these children attend school.

Upadhyaya said neither the government’s efforts nor increased amount of money alone will enhance the quality of education unless the civil society takes to its shoulder the responsibility towards improving quality in education.

The Committee recommended that 17 per cent of the total government investment be made in education sector up from the previous 14 per cent. At least 10 per cent of the total students in the Community Schools at the lower primary and primary be granted scholarships while the private schools provide scholarships to 5 per cent of the total students. A total of 46,000 kindergartens be built all over the country for children below five years of age.

The Committee recommended that the school level education should be categorized into Community and Institutional Schools. The Community Schools are again categorized under two heads — government funded and self funded schools. Those schools receiving aid from the government will be categorized under government-run schools.

The report recommended that the Community Schools provide free and compulsory education up to the primary level and these schools refrain from charging any kind of fees, security deposit and exams fees whatsoever, while fee may vary in private schools keeping with the status of the school.

All schools, both private and public will compulsorily follow the same course and syllabus as prescribed by the government while Sanskrit be made an optional subject.

The Committee suggested the introduction of "Teachers’ Licensing" system under which each teacher is required to produce licence in order to enroll themselves as a teacher in a school. National Teachers’ Service Commission will issue such licences.

Speaking to the reporters at the closing session, the Minister affirmed that the government would, with whatever resources available at its disposal, will implement the recommendations.

The recommendations will be implemented in three phases depending on the short-term, medium term and long-term solutions.

Oppn's objection to ordinances registered

Post Report

KATHMANDU, June 27 – The Armed Police Force (APF) Ordinance-2001 and Local Administration (Fourth Amendment) Ordinance -2001, which the government re-tabled in the 20th Session of the Parliament that began last Monday is facing strong protests from the opposition members.

According to officials at the Parliamentary Secretariat, already eight opposition lawmakers have registered their protest against the APF Ordinance and seven against the Local Administration Ordinance as the last day to lodge their protests expired today.

Among the lawmakers who have protested the APF Ordinance include Subash Nemwang and Surendra Pandey of CPN-UML, Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani of RPP, Chitra Bahadur KC of National People’s Front, Hridyesh Tripati of Nepal Sadhbhawana Party, Narayan Man Bijukche of Nepal Workers and Peasants’ Party and Lila Mani Pokharel of United Peoples’ Front. Ram Man Shrestha, an Upper House MP from CPN-ML, has also protested the Ordinance.

Likewise, the same lawmakers excluding Prakash Chandra Lohani of RPP have protested against the Local Administration Ordinance. However, no protests have been lodged against the third ordinance, re-tabled to amend some provisions in the Health Act.

All three ordinances received another lease of life after Late King Birendra promulgated them when all failed to get through the stalled 19th Session of the parliament. They will now have to be passed by the parliament within 60 days from the date of commencement of the House.

On the other hand, two of the ordinances, against which the protests have been lodged, are likely to create more furore during the current session as formal protest have been lodged by representatives of all opposition parties. During the last session, only Dr Lohani of RPP and Nemwang of CPN-UML had lodged their protests against the APF and Local Administration ordinances respectively.

Observers believe that it was also a blow to the plans of the government to implement its much publicized Integrated Security and Development Package (ISDP), to which both the ordinances are somewhat related, to counter Maoist insurgency in the affected districts.