Government withdraws ‘controversial’ regulation, decides to release 68 Maoists

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KATHMANDU, Nov 9 – The emergency cabinet meeting today decided to withdraw the "controversial" Public Security Regulation 2001, paving the way to the much-awaited third round of dialogue between the government and the Maoists.

The warring Maoists have been demanding the withdrawal of the regulation, which gives extra authority to the district administration to take action against anyone.

"The government has decided to completely scrap the regulation," Minister for Information and Communication Jaya Prakash Anand told The Kathmandu Post.

The cabinet meeting also decided to "begin the process of releasing 68 Maoist cadres who are in government custody at present," Minister Anand said. "The government has decided to withdraw cases against these people. But it would take some time before the release materializes."

According to Minister Anand, the government also decided to make public the whereabouts of Maoists leaders and cadres who are in the police custody. "The Home Ministry will soon say whether it has any record of the people whom the Maoists have been terming as missing," he said.

This decision has been taken in view of the demand put forward by the Maoists who had earlier presented a list of their members whom they claim have been "missing" since they waged the "People’s War" in 1995.

The government has released 67 Maoist cadres, some of them central leaders, since the peace talks with the Maoists began on August 30. The talks were held for the second time on September 14.

And this major decision of the government has now paved the way for the third round of talks between the two sides, which sources say would be held next week, before the Tihar festival. The government took the decision in haste as its chief negotiator for the talks, Minister for Physical Planning and Works Chiranjibi Wagle, is leaving for South Korea during Tihar, which begins next Wednesday.

"Now that the government has decided to fulfil all the demands put forward by the Maoists, there is no hurdle whatsoever in holding the third round of talks," a source close to the Prime Minister’s office said.

The government had been lingering its decision to scrap the regulation, which they had agreed with the Maoists during the beginning of the talks in Godavari more than two months ago.

It’s not only the government, which has come out with this decision to ease the environment for the talks with the Maoists. The Maoists too showed their commitment on holding the talks when they decided to back down from their earlier demand of a republican state. Establishment of a republican state was one of the three political demands put forward by the Maoists during the talks with the government with other two being the formation of an interim government and the Constituent Assembly.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka has welcomed the Maoists move not to raise the issue of a republican state during the talks. Addressing a programme in Rautahat today, Khadka hoped that this change in their stand would bring a positive result in the third round of talks.

Vigilante eyes keep watch over TIA

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KATHMANDU, Nov 9 – Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) officials and airlines serving Kathmandu continued tightening security at the nation’s only international airport in view of the security alert which was reported yesterday by this paper.

Policemen and other security personnel kept a watchful eye on everyone arriving or departing the airport today. The security presence is markedly more than on other normal days.

Deb Chandra Prasad Saha, chief officer at the security wing at the TIA told The Kathmandu Post that security staff was alert to prevent any untoward incident. "We are contemplating all possible steps to foil any hijack plan," he said adding that the airport security has been tightened after the hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane, IC 814, in December 1999. "We have been continuously upgrading our security," said Saha. He also said that the security staff was prepared for any contingency, should that happen.

Meanwhile, Police Headquarters has issued orders for additional reinforcements at TIA. A police official at the headquarters admitted that extra police personnel would be deployed at the country’s only international airport in view of the perceived security threat of hijacking.

On Wednesday, TIA had received a letter from Chennai, a southern city in India, alerting the officials of a hijack plot allegedly hatched by suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden’s men. The letter also stated that bin Laden’s men are already in Kathmandu with the hijack plan.

Their plan, according to the letter, is to hijack an aircraft and ram it either into one of three targets in New Delhi: the US Embassy, there, the Indian Prime Minister’s residence or the Indian Prime Minister’s office.

The TIA security wing wrote to Board of Airlines Representative in Nepal (BARN) asking it to take appropriate measures. However, some officials said it could be a hoax as the letter is hand-written and also not on an official letter pad.

The Kathmandu Post today spoke to a number of security personnel stationed at several points at the TIA and all of them admitted of receiving instructions from higher-ups to be more vigilant and alert. Another tightening of the security was felt at the visitors’ pass section. Not only the staff refused to issue passes, they also revealed that they have been issuing passes to visitors very sparingly and only when absolutely necessary. At the international departure lounge, the police personnel barred a known porter from entering inner section which, on other days, was something not seen. Similarly, the policemen also did not allow a lady to see off her husband and her baby as she lacked a pass despite several pleas by the couple. "We are not allowing anyone without ticket or valid pass," said a head constable, manning the point. Singapore Airlines flew down two personnel from Singapore to man the ladder point from the aircraft itself and to provide security. "From today, we have added two more security men," admitted an official from the Kathmandu office of the airlines.

A security personnel at the TIA said that security at airports and on airliners has become a top priority not only in Nepal but also all around the world since the September 11 terrorists strikes in the US.

Four Nepalese youths arrested in Manila

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KATHMANDU, Nov 9 – The Philippines police have arrested four Nepalese men in Manila for allegedly spying on the tightly guarded US Embassy there, German news agency DPA reported on Thursday from the Philippine capital.

One of the Nepalese men was freed later but three others face deportation because their tourist visas had expired in August, the DPA quoted Immigration Chief Commissioner Andrea Domingo as saying.

The four men were arrested on November 5 after the security personnel at the US Embassy along Roxas Boulevard complained to the police, according to the report. But two other Nepalese men fled away from the scene.

"Security personnel at the embassy noticed that the suspects had been taking pictures of the embassy’s main building and its premises for several days," said Police Superintendent Miguel Laurel.

The report said that no criminal charges have been filed against these Nepalese, as the Philippines police did not recover the long-range camera with zoom lens, which they were allegedly using.

The men were, however, turned over to the Immigration Bureau on Tuesday to check their travel documents, it is stated in the report. But one of them was released later as his visa was still valid up to November 24. "The three others are now detained at an immigration jail and facing deportation charges," said the Immigration Chief Commissioner.

Security at the US Embassy in Manila has been tightened since the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, the report said. Additional security measures were put in place at the embassy last week amid warnings that terrorists would again launch attacks against US targets.

Gurung’s arrest intensifies debate over airport security

By Akhilesh Upadhyay

NEW YORK, Nov 9 – Subash Gurung’s arrest for trying to sneak weapons through Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport last week has had one positive outcome: the November 3 incident has sharply focused the spotlight on America’s airport security, particularly the practice of "sourcing out" security to private contractors.

Influential voices across this vast country, from newspaper editorialists to powerful politicians are all calling for strengthening security measures at airports, particularly carrying out security checks by federal government employees. But the governing Republican party is dead set against the idea fearing that it would swell the ranks of federal employees, who often vote for the Democratic Party.

Gurung, 27, a Nepali national, was arrested for trying to carry nine knives, a can of pepper spray and a stun gun through the Chicago airport on a United Airlines flight to Omaha, Nebraska. United’s security screeners, who belong to a private contractor, found two knives in his pocket but allowed him to proceed. Five other knives were found later in his carry-on bag, and two in his checked-in luggage.

The incident led the private security contractor to fire more than half dozen of its employees. But that hasn’t quelled the debate. If anything, a nation already jittery after the September 11 terrorist attacks and the ensuing war in Afghanistan, is taking a hard look at its airport security. The incident is forcing officials to propose strong measures to avoid a repetition of the October 3 incident.

The New York Times editorialized the lapse, blasting a recent decision by the House of Representatives (controlled by the Republicans) to continue to allow private hands to screen the baggage. It called the arrangement "a flawed security plan."

Republicans are against the idea of allowing federal employees at checkpoints, fearing the arrangement will swell the ranks of unionized workers who tend to be Democrats.

Illinois State Attorney Richard Devine has termed the existing laws "woefully weak." Police said that under existing state laws, they could file only misdemeanor charges against Gurung, allowing him to be released on a signature bond.
The FBI, which initially decided not to pursue the case, later re-arrested Gurung and charged him under federal statutes with attempting to carry a weapon aboard an aircraft, a felony, authorities told The Chicago Tribune. Gurung remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing.

Nepalis following the case in Chicago said Thursday they would not like to make comments. "It is wiser to see how things go in the court," said one of them, adding Gurung’s first court appearance was slated for Friday.

The laws provide for a maximum penalty of less than one year in jail for trying to sneak onto a plane weapons similar to the box cutters used in the Sept. 11 terrorist hijackings, The Tribune quoted Devine as saying. Devine proposed the state legislature make it a felony to try to board an aircraft with knives or other tools, including metal scissors, straight razors or box cutters, punishable upon conviction by a prison term of up to seven years, according to The Tribune. Firearms could bring a sentence of up to 15 years and explosives, poison gas or biological, chemical or radioactive substances, up to 30 years.

"It is hard to believe that Mr.(Tom) DeLay, the House Republican whip, is still trying to sell the idea that passenger and baggage screening should be left in private hands," The Times said. "Unfortunately, he has the support of President Bush. The sorry result is that nearly two months after the Sept. 11 attacks, Congress is still stewing over aviation security legislation."

Teachers launch nationwide protests against Education Bill

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KATHMANDU, Nov 9 - School teachers on Friday launched a nation-wide protest against the seventh amendment of Education Bill passed by the 20th session of Parliament, stating that the amendment adversely affected their professional interest.

In several districts, the teachers, loyal to the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) and affiliated with the Nepal Teachers’ Association (NTA), were on the forefront by resigning from their general and active membership of the NC.

The amendment, which is yet to receive a Royal assent, requires even the permanent teachers to appear for performance test within five years before receiving a teaching license. In addition, the Bill has proposed that no teachers would be allowed to be the members any political parties.

District committees of almost all the teachers’ organisations handed their separate memoranda to the district education offices against the amendment. In Bardiya, Dang and Morang districts, the NC-leaning teachers even went to the extend of tendering their resignations from general and active membership of the party.

Our reporter from Morang said that the teachers issued a public appeal pointing out the negative impact on the education sector due to the seventh amendment. NTA’s Morang district chairman, Taranath Bhattarai, said they would launch further protests if the government did not withdraw the amendment.

In Chautara, the teachers affiliated with the NTA handed over a 10-point memorandum to the education office led by District Chairman Yam Bahadur Basnet.

In Dang, the teachers took out a rally before submitting their collective resignations from the party membership to the district leaders. NTA’s District Chairman Kumud Pokharel said the protest was organised to show their solidarity to the nation-wide movement against the amendment.

It is learned that the teachers affiliated with Nepal National Teachers’ Organisation, a teachers’ wing of the leftist parties, and Rastriya Prajatantra Party leaning Nepal National Teachers’ Council also extended their moral support to the Friday’s nation-wide protest.

Meanwhile, a press statement issued by the central committee of the Nepal National Teachers’ Council, stated that the seventh amendment has tried to relieve the government from its responsibility towards education sector.

The press release further added that the amendment, which proposes to hand over public schools’ management to civil society, would further politicise the education sector already mired by filthy politics.

Koirala labels Maoists as terrorists

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BIDUR, Nuwakot, Nov 9 – Former Prime Minister and President of the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) Girija Prasad Koirala today branded the Maoist party to be a terrorist group and demanded with the government to immediately deploy army to halt "Maoist violence".

Speaking at a face-to-face programme organised here, Koirala also revealed that the central committee meeting of the ruling party has already declared the Maoists to be terrorists.

"The Maoists in the name of dialogue should be spared free even after committing serious crimes such as murder, violence, abduction and extortion," said Koirala. He further urged the government to immediately deploy army to liberate the people from the politics of uncivilized acts.

Former Prime Minister Koirala who stepped down after differences with the King on deploying the army to quell the nearly six-year old insurgency also claimed that "the King now is ready to co-operate in deploying the army to down the Maoists".

"In my recent visit to the King, he said he will not oppose if the army deployment is decided according to the constitution," Koirala said, adding, "If the National Defence Council recommends to deploy the army, the plan will be materialise."

Koirala also urged the government to set the time frame to conclude the ongoing talks with the Maoists. "At this critical condition, there is no significance of stretching out the time frame for the talks. More the government extends the time, more the Maoists will get chance for such barbaric acts," said Koirala.

At the programme, Koirala also informed that he is going to call for NC Central Working Committee meeting after Tihar to decide the time bound of the government-Maoist talks.

Other NC leaders Govinda Raj Joshi, Arjun Nar Singh KC, Dr. Ram Baran Yadav and KB Gurung also addressed the programme.