Nepali arrested at Chicago airport

By Akhilesh Upadhyay

NEW YORK, Nov 5 – A Nepali man was arrested by authorities at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport late Saturday for attempting to carry knives and a stun gun on a United Airlines flight to Omaha, Nebraska.

Twenty-seven year old Subash Gurung was arrested by security officers at the airport when they found nine knives in his possession. Gurung, who says he is from Nepal, was charged with possession of weapon and attempting to board an aircraft with weapon – both misdemeanour charges - but was freed on bond pending a court appearance. He is slated to appear in court on December 19.

Meanwhile, CNN, which first reported the news, reported that Gurung was re-arrested by the FBI, after being released earlier by local authorities, officials said Monday.

It said FBI spokesman Ross Rice declined comment on why Gurung had been released and then re-arrested.

According to CNN, Gurung could have some connection with two men detained on September 12 in Texas as "material witnesses in the investigation into the September 11 terrorist attacks."

Published reports stated that a security guard at O’Hare International Airport found two knives in Gurung’s pocket and removed those before allowing him to pass. But further checks revealed other seven knives and the stun gun in his carry-on bag.

CNN reported that United Airlines immediately fired at least two security screeners and a supervisor after the weapons’ discovery. The cable channel also reported that, Gurung, in an interview to a local television station in Chicago, said he was in a hurry and had carried the weapon in his bag by accident. "He said he was on his way to Omaha to visit friends and that he had bought the weapons in Chicago to protect himself," according to CNN.

Many Nepali students and families live in Omaha, Nebraska. Though facing only misdemeanour charges, Gurung’s link with "material witnesses" are also being explored by the media. They have set their sights on the address Gurung gave authorities – an apartment in West Hollywood Avenue in Chicago – which also happens to be the address listed by Ayub Ali Khan, a material witness to the September 11 terrorist incidents currently being held by the FBI.

Meanwhile in Kathmandu, US Embassy officials refused to provide details about Gurung’s arrest, saying only that they too were aware of his arrest.

Robert C. Kerr, Director, American Center Public Affairs Officer, told The Kathmandu Post that since law enforcement agencies in the US were working on the case, the Embassy in Kathmandu would refrain from making any comments. Another embassy official, who declined to be identified, when asked also refused to provide Gurung’s visa details and his address in Nepal. "US laws bar disclosing the address and other details," the official said. Officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could not be reached for their reaction.

HIV/AIDS situation alarming: UNAIDS

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KATHMANDU, Nov 5 – Every day an average of 14 people in Nepal are infected with HIV and AIDS and the number of AIDS and HIV patients in the country could reach an alarming 38,000 by the end of this year, according to a report by UNAIDS.

The report conducted by Dr Hari Krishna Baskota, a participant in the Sixth International Congress on AIDS in the Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) held in Australia, said that Nepal is in the area considered to be high risk in Asian region.

Health Minister Sharad Singh Bhandari said the government is concerned about the fast spreading of HIV and AIDS in the country and is planning to constitute a special committee in the Parliament in the campaign against AIDS. He was speaking at the post-Melbourne seminar held here in the capital today.

Minister Singh said that the year 2002 would be marked as the year to campaign against HIV/AIDS and also stressed the need for a strong and effective center for HIV/AIDS in Nepal.

According to a report prepared by Dr B.B. Karki, Chief of the Policy, Planning and Foreign Aid Division at the Ministry of Health, intravenous drug users make up half the people in the country who are infected with HIV/AIDS while commercial sex workers make up only 17 per cent of this population. In the past sex workers made up the chunk of the HIV/AIDS infected population.

Dr Baskota said that trafficking, poverty and gender disparities are the vulnerable areas in Nepal that cause the fast spread of this infection.

National Planning Commission member Dr Nirmal Kumar Panday said that an integrated approach to the address the issue was necessary "Today the problem of HIV/AIDS is not just for the government but a national issue to which each of us should be sensitive," he said.

The participants from both the government and the non-governmental organizations who took part in the ICAAP merged at the seminar today which was organized by the National Center for AIDS and STD Control (NCASC) to "share their experiences, exchange their lessons learnt and to suggest how they can help in controlling the grim situation of the AIDS and HIV in Nepal."

Minister Singh said the government would develop a multi sector approach coordinating between the local, district and central level strategy in the fight against this deadly disease.

He said the government would also try to manoeuvre the AIDS pandemic in the upcoming SAARC summit next year and include a special plan of action in the 10th five-year development plan.

Over 50,000 citizenship certificates to be re-issued

KATHMANDU, Nov 5 (PR) – The Home Ministry is close to re-issuing citizenship certificates to over 50,000 people whose certificates were annulled by a Supreme Court verdict on July 23, said an official in the Home Ministry today.

The Ministry has given directives to the District Administration Offices of 20 districts of the Terai belt to re-issue the citizenship certificates after seizing the previous ones that were issued by special teams formed by the UML-led minority government to solve the citizenship problems in the Terai belt five years ago, said Janardan Sharma Poudel, Under Secretary at the Home Ministry.

"Now the Chief District Officer of the respective district, after properly reviewing citizenship seeker’s status, will issue the certificates to those who hand over the previous ones," Poudel told The Kathmandu Post. "But all of them should produce enough evidences before acquiring the certificates."

Nepal Sadbhavana Party has been protesting the Supreme Court verdict. The court came to the decision after Advocate Bal Krishna Neupane registered a writ challenging the legality of the government decision. But, the court had given legal recognition to the certificates of almost 4,000 people that were issued by the civil servants under the CDO.

Though the official figure at the time of registering writ was 34,090, Poudel claimed the figure could have climbed as much as 50,000 during the time of four year before the court made the verdict.

"After seizing the certificates, the seekers should reapply as per the existing laws to acquire another certificate," said Poudel.

According to the government directive, dated October 19, officers of the District Administration Office, Area Administration Office, Border Administration Office and Prison Section can issue the certificates.

Breaking ice in trade negotiations

By Bhaskar Sharma

KATHMANDU, Nov 5 – The crackling, rippling sound you heard on Sunday could have been the sound of ice finally cracking after two days of intense negotiations between Nepali and Indian trade officials. But for the ice to break for good, both sides need to work considerably in the weeks to come, especially if they are to save the 1996 Nepal-India Trade Treaty.

The ice-cracker, if it can be called that, came in the form of "value addition" – the percentage of local material and labour input a product must have before it can enter the Indian market on favourable duty concessions. For the first time since the dispute erupted months ago, Indian officials softened their stance yesterday, and in principle agreed that value addition could pave the way for a comprehensive deal that would save the Treaty which otherwise expires exactly in a month’s time.

Considering the tough, hard-line approach of Indian negotiators over past several rounds, this is being taken here as a positive achievement.

Though India held all the negotiating cards right up to the end, and will continue to hold so in soon-to-be-held discussions, political considerations at the highest levels of Indian government seemed to have played a role nudging the bureaucrats towards a settlement.

Clearly, Indian negotiating officials felt the heat from within their own External Affairs Ministry which mildly rebuffed the stance of the Commerce Ministry citing the possibility of a closer Nepal-China economic ties should the trade talks fail.

The possibility of such a Nepal-China tie-up was referred to explicitly by the Economic Times, the premier Indian business publication, which has noted growing moves towards convertibility of the Chinese currency Yuan with the Nepali rupee, and the impending listing of Nepal as the ninth tourist outbound destination for China.

But despite the new-found conciliatory stand of Indian trade officials, the complexities involved in settling the current trade squabbles are yet to be unscrambled. Foremost is finding some kind of modality to implement value addition norm, and that is where the next problem lies.

It is no secret that India wants the value addition norm to be implemented in line with various international conventions such as the Kyoto Protocol or regional and bilateral trading arrangements such as North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA). However, the Nepali side has proposed something very much different, with thrust to protect its domestic industries. Agreeing on this would be the first hurdle.

The second issue is that developing the value addition norm as the means to curtail Nepali exports to India may not work as per Indian expectations. Indian businesses are pressuring for 85 per cent value addition while Nepal is arguing for 30 per cent. The two sides could agree for something in between, but if that between is 50 per cent or over, then it would defeat the Trade Treaty since 50 per cent local content had been the benchmark for three years prior to the signing of the Trade Treaty in 1996.

This is exactly why despite a relatively euphoric outcome, so as to say, Nepali experts and entrepreneurs are still not at ease. "Low level of value addition would not solve the Indian problem, and high percentage of it will force the closure of Nepali industries. The situation is tricky," says an analyst.

All these have brought in another set of complexities, and Nepal and India have hardly a month to sort them out. The 1996 Treaty expires this December last unless the two countries ratify it before December 5. Though time is running short, it can be hoped that the two sides would come to amicable terms, with a modality that would ensure fair-trading on both sides.

Nepal, in the latest round of trade negotiation, showed a considerable degree of flexibility by accepting the value addition norm. India too buckled down from its earlier demands that included putting the five items of contention into the negative list and including provisions relating to the rules of origin, among others.

The slow convergence of the two sides makes it likely that a settlement can be reached before December 5, and the Trade Treaty renewed again. And despite its complexities, the principle of value addition was the best option available.

Dozens of rebels quit party in Nuwakot, Tehrathum

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KATHMANDU, Nov 5 - At a time when the main opposition CPN-UML has termed the CPN Maoist as fascist in the wake of their renewed attacks in several districts, around four dozen Maoist rebels have deserted their party ranks from Nuwakot and Tehrathum districts.

According to the reports reaching here Monday, 39 Maoist cadres, including the vice-chairman of the Maoist-declared Village People’s Government (VPG), deserted their party ranks and files in Nuwakot while 10 other rebels surrendered to the local administration in Tehrathum, denouncing the party’s extortion spree and intimidation to the locals.

They said that the party was concentrated more on looting and intimidation to the people rather than on its declared political ideology.

All the local Maoist cadres of Bageshwori VDC of Nuwakot gave up the party after a group of Maoist militia manhandled Jeet Bahadur Ghale, a local of the same VDC-5, on October 21.

The deserters on Monday collectively organised a press conference at the VDC office and announced that they would no longer remain loyal to the party. Most of the people deserting the party hail from the Tamang community.

"We all decided to quit the party as the party leadership indulged in extortion and intimidation and they lack political ideology to guide their cadres," said Sukalal Tamang, who was the vice-chairman of the VPG. Tamang said that they would opt for independent views on politics.

Others who deserted the underground party said that the Maoist leaders were only misusing the local cadres to "shield their wrong doing".

After the Maoists beat up a UML cadre, Jeet Bahadur Tamang, the villagers have not even allowed the rebels to enter into the village. Locals said they were on high alert at night time after the rebels threatened to blow up Fallante bazaar of the VDC with bombs after they were barred by the villagers.

Meanwhile, our reporter from Biratnagar stated that 10 people, including the VGP chief Man Bahadur Shrestha from remote Simle VDC of the eastern hill district of Tehrathum, surrendered to the district administration office on Monday, denouncing the six-year-old Maoist insurgency that has claimed around 2,000 people, including the civilians.

"The deserters will spend normal and independent life in the days ahead and abide by the present constitution," Chief District Officer Ram Prasad Ghimire quoted them as saying. A Maoist source, however, told The Kathmandu Post over telephone that all of the people were arrested by police and forced to sign a paper condemning the party. CDO Ghimire said that this is the first incident in the district where such a large number of Maoists gave in to the administration.

Ambitious education scheme gets a mid-term rap

By Utpal Raj Misra

KATHMANDU, Nov 5 – Two and half years after the implementation of the second phase of Basic and Primary Education Programme (BPEP), a programme aimed at providing quality primary education to all primary school age children, a third party review report shows that it has been a disappointment.

The programme, worth an astronomical sum of US $226 million is supported by hoards of Donors including the European Union, Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA), Norwegian Agency for Development (NORAD) and Finnish International Development Assistance (FINIDA) through financial grants and loan provided by the World Bank. The responsibility of implementation of the programme is taken by the Department of Education (DoE) of the Ministry of Education and Sports. DoE was formed following the directives of the donor countries some two and a half year ago.

But a report on the phase two implementation of BPEP paints a dismal picture and provides a damning indictment of authorities. Prepared by a private consulting firm, the report has already been presented to the DoE.

The document has criticised authorities for its slow pace and lack of focus. It also puts the spotlight on rapid leadership changes at the Centre and the frequent changes of the District Education Officers (DEOs), together with the staff-orientation on the BPEP-II, which the report says are factors for the low budgetary performance.

However, Chuman Singh Basnet, Director General of the DoE, says that the report is still in its drafting stage and cannot be deemed as final. He also said the government cannot express its views until the report’s authors presented it to the steering committee headed by the Education Secretary. "A Third party evaluation is only a resource material for mid-term evaluation therefore what ever points it has given is not final until the party which has conducted the research clarify it and is endorsed by the steering committee," Basnet said.

But the report also states that at the implementation level, the people don’t even know what BPEP is and further adds that no responsibilities have been given to the education authorities at the local level. "Most schools don’t even have a management committee and no involvement of Village Development Committee or the District Development Committee is seen. Whereas it is clearly mentioned that since BPEP-II is in line with the decentralisation framework of the Ninth Plan, primary school development activities have to begin at the grassroots level by involving the local community and school teachers," the report says.

The 156 page report goes on to give a damning indictment of the ambitious project, saying that BPEP-II is least focused and that the implementation mechanism is confusing.

Compared to BPEP II, the first phase programme which was implemented in Nepal in mid July 1992 and completed in mid July 1999; was successful in relative terms though the first phase too had its own ills. But it was more or less successful in achieving its objectives, say experts. One of the reasons why BPEP II is less successful because it is being looked after by a government body, these same experts say. Education experts point out that Nepali bureaucracy is only fit for maintaining the status quo but managing change is beyond its capacity. However, managing change in the educational structure is what the Programme requires.

In the report, it is also mentioned that increasing high bureaucratic structures, as anywhere else in Nepal; is hurting the project. The report mentions that the Director General of the Department is heavily loaded with a number of educational responsibilities along with BPEP-II implementation. "The hierarchical bureaucratic structure with view to retaining power is creating confusion among the implementing units," it states.

But Basnet refutes the charges. "These charges are without basis. I have in fact delegated more than 80 percent of the work to the local level."

But the report continues with the perceived short-comings in BPEP II, adding that the planning process is not functioning at the moment and that there is an intense conflict between the Department of Education and the District Education Offices in budget ceiling and programme formulation.

The report also states that the programme is not able to utilise the budget allocated to it. According to rules of Basket Funding of programmes, the amount that has not been spent by the end of the allocated project time returns to the "basket". Data show that in the last fiscal year only 62 per cent of the allocated budget had been spent. Last year a total sum of Rs 1,350,000,000 was allocated to BPEP. The BPEP II is to be implemented in three phases from 1999 to 2009.

Pokhara bridge on verge of collapse

By Birodh Pandey

POKHARA, Nov 5 – The bridge over the white water Seti river, which has become a landmark of Pokhara and a gateway to this popular resort valley, is once again on the threat of collapsing just three years after it was rebuilt.

The bridge was rebuilt in 1998 with the financial assistance of the Chinese government after the earlier bridge collapsed in 1991 succumbing to series of cracks on the concrete structure and "land subsidence" around the bridge.

Less than three years after the reconstructed bridge was opened for traffic, the new bridge is also on the verge of collapsing and for the same reasons. Cracks have once again begun to develop on the base holding the weight of the bridge on both edges which experts say could give away in the near future.

According to geologists and engineers, most of the Pokhara valley is based on debris bind by calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate acts like the cementing material but dissolves easily in water releasing the debris and consequently the cracks develop in landmasses leading to the formation of crevasses. This phenomenon termed as "Ghachok formation" by the geologist is responsible for the present cracks leading to subsistence of landmass around the periphery of the bridge.

Experts say that enough attention had not been given while building the drainage system adjacent to the bridge. According to them, the water that flows down from the drains into the river hit the walls craving away much of the soil before it hits the river below.

"The municipality drain is the major factor that is threatening the structure," says Arjun Thapa, Engineer at Kaski District Roads Department.

Though precautionary measures had been taken by anchoring the pillar system 20–30 meters underneath, engineers are not very optimistic that it will hold too long as "land subsidence" is accelerating at an unprecedented rate.

"The signs of the drainage system sinking along the edge of the bridge is evidence that pillars of the bridge are at risk," says Narendra Shrestha at the department.

Apart from that, engineers at the department say that the heavy lumps of municipal waste are dumped near the bridge that obstructs normal flow of the river. The river then starts to flow back and forth and penetrates inside the vertical cliffs on both the sides of the river causing the decomposition of the calcium carbonate.

However, Deputy Mayor of Pokhara Sub Metropolis Man Bahadur Gurung denies that garbage is thrown directly into the river blocking the flow of the river. He further adds that some money had been allocated for the diversion of the drains from the bridge on to a safer place but the money had been blocked following prolonged dispute in the municipality board. "We have in fact stabilized the cracks by filling the waste," said Gurung.

Bharat Gyawali, Geologist at Department of Mines and Geologist, says that the whole drainage system is responsible for the deterioration. "A drainage system should be immediately built to drain away the rain water infiltrating in the surrounding," says Gyawali. He further adds that crevasses should be filled with cement sludge to stop the further growth of the cracks. "If no immediate steps are taken, the crevasses would soon widen damaging the bridge in the very near future", says Gyawali.

Judiciary open to healthy criticism: CJ

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KATHMANDU, Nov 5 - Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya today said that the judiciary was open to healthy criticism and that there is the Judicial Council to take care of any wrong happenings in the judiciary.

Chief Justice Upadhyaya while inaugurating the Ninth General Convention of the Supreme Court and Appellate Court judges said that no one in the judiciary is immune from investigation in the name of independence of the judiciary as the Judicial Council is there for the purpose.

"The Constitution has envisaged an independent judiciary, and all the judicial problems are solved within the judiciary itself," said Upadhyaya. He said that the problems faced by the judiciary could be solved following the recommendations of the Court Management Committee which was presented to the government just few months back.

"We, in the judiciary, are trying our best to make the working of the Judicial Council transparent and responsible," said Upadhyaya. "We, judges should even self-assess ourselves so as to deliver justice in an impartial manner."

As per the provisions in the Constitution, the Judicial Council is entitled to the appointment, transfer and any other disciplinary actions against those in the judiciary that includes judges as well. But after the promulgation of the new Constitution in 1991 the working of the Judicial Council is not seen as transparent and in these period only it has taken actions against three judges. However it is said that hundreds of complaints are currently looked after by the Judicial Council.

Speaking on the occasion, Supreme Court Justice Laxman Prasad Aryal said that the Judges should pass their decisions without being motivated from any external influences. "The wrong attitude of the judges should be checked from within the judiciary itself," said Aryal.

Twenty Supreme Court justices, 16 Appellate Court judges and other participants as observers were present in the convention.

Seven donor agencies for Taplejung’s development

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KATHMANDU, Nov 5 - For the constructional development of the Taplejung District a negotiation between the officials of Taplejung District Development Committee and Seven Donor Agencies consultant meeting was held here today.

The Donor Agencies like Agriculture Development Bank(ADB), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), United Nation Development Fund(UNDF), Mechi Hill Development Project(MHDV), United Nation’s International Education Children Fund(UNICEF), World Conversation Fund(WCF) participated the meeting.

The discussion was based on the proposal of six year long term development project which basically focuses on the Health and Education of Women, Children, Forest, Land Use, Animal Farming and Tourism.

Uday Raj Soti, Secretary of Ministry of Local Development, says, although Taplejung being a remote area, it is a very beautiful place, so by mobilising the local resources the place can be promoted as the tourist destination place.

The sum of Rs 2.6 billion has been allocated for the coming 6-year plan. And the participants said out of it, Rs 1.5 billion has been approved.

World famous Kanchanjungha series is located in Taplejung District which lies South of China and East of Sikkim. The district has one hospital, Two Primary Health Post, Eight Health Post and Fourty Three Sub Health Post and twenty eight secondary schools including one campus.

Taplejung has potential of producing cardamom and medicinal herb. Kanchanjunga conservation area project is in implementation for the past four years. Pathivara temple in the district is renowned for which a proposal of operating cable car has been made public.

Similarly, Bijay Raj Thebe, Chairman of District Development Committee, said, To flourish the tourism sector in the district road construction and transportation should be enlisted in first priority.

Nepal-Bhutan talks begin today

KATHMANDU, Nov 5 (RSS) - The Nepal-Bhutan secretary level meeting is to begin at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here tomorrow.

The meeting will focus on building an environment congenial to the dignified repatriation of about 100,000 Bhutanese refugees sheltering in various camps in Nepal for the past 10 years.

The secretary level meeting is a follow up on the 11th Nepal-Bhutan ministerial level meeting in Thimpu, which had agreed on matters concerning verification of refugees and better coordination and cooperation in the task ahead. The meeting will also review the progress made since the Thimpu meeting.

Once the verification is completed, categorization of the refugees will begin, it is stated.

At the talks which begin tomorrow, both sides are supposed to put across their views on refugee categorization. At present the Nepal-Bhutan joint verification team is verifying the refugees at Khudunabari camp in Jhapa.

The Nepalese delegation to the meeting will be led by Foreign Secretary Narayan Shumsher Thapa and the Bhutanese side by Bhutan’s Foreign Secretary Ugyen Tshering.