TI calls for urgent attention on military corruption

By Kosmos Biswokarma

KATHMANDU, Oct 10 - Whenever the Royal Nepal Army proposes to buy a howitzer or a RJ-100 aircraft, not only does it create hue and cry from the press but it also reaches the parliamentary committee for investigation.

This is because, says an analyst, the Nepalese Army has always been looked upon as "one of the most corrupt institutions" among the government offices.

Not only do the Nepalese analysts say this, an international anti-corruption watchdog like Transparency International also thinks the same.

The need for greater transparency in military expenditures and arms deals calls for urgent attention since these offer the widest scope for corruption, says a Global Corruption Report 2001, which will be launched in London on October 15. "This is because the governments in South Asia (including Nepal) invoke national security considerations to avoid scrutiny," the report says.

This Global Corruption Report echoes "a clarion call for a world wide coalition that will tolerate no safe haven for corruption and money-laundering."

According to the report acquired by The Kathmandu Post, the global report contains a separate chapter on the situation of corruption in South Asia, which is authored by Aqil Shah, a Pakistani political analyst.

The report clearly states that "there is a rampant corruption in arms deals and the ubiquitous role of foreign armament manufacturers in siphoning off billions of dollars from the world’s poorest region."

The report has also mentioned about the sharp increase in military expenditures due to intra-state and inter-state conflicts in the region. Scarce government resources that ought to be financing basic health, nutrition and education programmes are often allocated to huge arms deals and infrastructure projects that offer officials and politicians prospects of lucrative kickbacks, the report said.

This is even more relevant in Nepal’s context, as the six-year-old Maoist insurgency has forced the government to increase its security budget this year. The total expenditure of Royal Nepal Army has gone up by 16 percent this year from Rs. 3.897 billion to Rs. 4.521 billion. Similarly, the annual budget for the police department increased by 10 percent from Rs. 5.271 billion to Rs. 5.795 billion.

Though the report simply mentioned about the military expenditures and corruption involved in this particular sector, analysts here agree that military in the South Asian countries has always remained aloof from the government, thereby increasing the possibilities of more corruption.

The report has suggested various measures to check the corruption and make the arms deals more transparent. Some of its suggestions include regulating the role of middlemen, reducing discretion and secrecy, ensuring the participation of all civilian and military actors in the decision-making process and parliamentary oversight.

Though the performance of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) here has not been appreciative, the TI report has painted a brighter picture.

"It is too early to judge its impact on corruption, but the actions of the CIAA in Nepal in the period 2000-01 show encouraging signs," the report said.

The report has also praised the role of the press and influential public figures like the PAC chairman. "They offer the faint hope that all might not be lost in the fight against corruption," it said.

But the region’s political, bureaucratic and military elite is rarely held accountable for corruption, the report said.

The report has also mentioned the name of former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, giving his example in the Lauda Air case. After months of investigation, the CIAA filed corruption cases against officials accused in the case, including the civil aviation minister at the time, the report said. "Stopping short of prosecuting the Prime Minister, the CIAA strongly rebuked him for his cabinet’s role in approving foreign exchange for the deal."

The report also praises the Nepalese press saying, "A vibrant press, with a healthy tradition of exposing corruption in high places, is emerging. Corruption exposés are turning the heat on governments and providing an impetus for reform."

US keen on aviation fuel supply from NOC

Prem Khanal

KATHMANDU, Oct 10 – The United States government has inquired with the state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) whether it is in a position to supply aviation fuel to US aircraft flying on war missions to Afghanistan. The inquiry was made last week.

According to NOC officials, the US Embassy in Kathmandu contacted the NOC last Thursday and asked about available aviation fuel stock and whether it could be supplied to US aircraft if the necessity arose.

Executive Director of NOC Madan Raj Sharma today confirmed the information that the US Embassy indeed had made such inquiries. He said they also asked if the Corporation had enough oil stock to supply US aircraft. "We told them that the NOC has enough stock of the fuel and we are in position to meet their demand," he said.

However, Sharma added that the NOC had asked the US to come through proper channel – that is, through His Majesty’s Government – since several procedural requirements need to be fulfilled before such a request could be met. "Without prior government approval, the corporation can’t make such decision and such request should come through the proper channel," Sharma told The Kathmandu Post.

According to NOC, the Corporation has 4000 kilolitre of aviation fuel on stock at present, which is enough to meet normal demand for about 25 days.

"Since the present demand has plunged to 125 kiloliter per day from the normal demand of around 200 kiloliter due to the ongoing slowdown in the aviation sector, we will not face any problem to supply fuel to the American air forces," Sharma said.

When asked about the government version, he said that the corporation has not received any direction from the government on the matter so far. But before US led air strikes in Afghanistan began this week, senior government ministers had publicly stated that Nepal was prepared to open its air space for US military aircraft in their war against terrorism.

Some experts here wonder why the US is keen to buy aviation fuel from Nepal when neighbouring India had already offered its airspace and facilities to US forces. Part of the answer, according to analysts, could lie with the fact that any such move in India would be heavily criticized by the opposition parties, as they already have done, putting the Atal Behari Vajpayee government in peril.

Govt forces Land Bill through House Committee

By Binaj Gurubacharya

KATHMANDU, Oct 10 – The ceiling on owning Terai land is certain to be set at 11 bigas or 143 ropanis despite heavy protests from parties and lawmakers representing the southern plains known as the granary of the country.

The continued protests by Nepal Sadbhawana Party (NSP) and some members of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) did not deter the government from pushing through its controversial Land Reforms (Fifth Amendment) Bill at the parliamentary Natural Resources and Means Committee today ignoring calls from the opposition for changes in the Bill.

The Committee approved the government’s proposal for setting land ownership ceiling at 30 ropanies in the Kathmandu Valley, 11 bigas or 143 ropanis of land in the Terai region and 75 ropanies in the remaining hilly region, which covers most of the country.

The Bill will be presented at the House of Representatives on Thursday and put on vote on Friday, said Chief Whip of the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) Tek Bahadur Chokhyal. With NC holding majority in the House, the Bill is expected to surge through despite warnings by opposition to protest the government’s handling of the Bill.

Chokhyal declared at the committee that the government would not compromise on its proposal on the land ownership ceiling or agree to the CPN-UML proposal for fixing the number of members in a family. He said the issue of Guthi or trust and on the Mohi, tillers or farmers who work in the land owned by landlords would not be changed in the government proposal.

During the meeting that began at 8 a.m. and concluded at 6 p.m., with a break in-between for the regular Parliament session, lawmakers from the opposition parties presented their proposals seeking changes in the Bill, mainly reducing the ceiling set on land ownership set by the government.

However, all the amendments sought by the opposition parties were rejected with the exception of a couple of insignificant changes. The Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Nepal Sadbhawana Party boycotted the meeting while other smaller parties remained absent despite filing the amendment proposals.

Opposition parties even accused the government of bullying through with their proposal refusing to even discuss and consider their voices and concerns.

"Our party strongly denounces the government’s approach on the issue. We will campaign against it both in the Parliament and in the streets," warned Anand Prasad Pokhrel of the main opposition CPN-UML.

CPN-UML had sought that the ceiling on land ownership should be set at 58.5 ropanies in the Terai region, 20 ropanis in the hilly region including the Kathmandu Valley and 80 ropanis in the Himalayan region.

"The Bill would not be able to address the problem of the landless, increase land productivity or help in industrialisation at all," Pokhrel said.

The government also rejected a proposal by the opposition seeking complete ban on sale of land that is received by the landless from the government as part of the land reforms program. Chokhyal and government officials said this would be against the Constitution that clearly states that citizens would have the full rights to buy, own and sell property at their will.

Minister for Agriculture and Co-operative Mahesh Acharya and Minister for Water Resources Bijaya Gachchedar were also present in the meeting.

CPN-UML had also suggested that the number in a family be set at five so that there is consistency while determining the land ceiling. This proposal too was rejected by the government.

Oppositions back govt on talks with Maoists

KATHMANDU, Oct 10 (PR) – The all party meeting today endorsed the government’s stand on its dialogue with the warring Maoists.

A member of the government-negotiating team with the Maoists hinted that the government-Maoist talks would be held within this week.

"All party meet has agreed with the government’s preliminary opinion on the Maoists’ agenda and now the government is waiting for the Maoists response," said Narahari Acharya, member of the government negotiating team.

The government has clearly refused to accept the Maoists demands, including the formation of a new Constitution through a constituent assembly, an interim government and establish a republican state.

CPN-UML leader Rajendra Pandey, who took part in today’s all party meet, reiterated his party’s stand against the Maoists’ demands.

"There is no need of an interim government now," said Pandey. He however blamed the government for not doing proper homework before sitting on the table for the dialogue. Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat said that it was premature of the Maoists to demand an interim government.

Coming out of the all party meet, former Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel said that the present Constitution is very appropriate to solve the people’s problems. "If the Maoists want amendment in the present Constitution, they must explicitly mention which part of the Constitution requires amendment and why," said Poudel.

"We have not asked the Maoists to leave their principle… the talks would be a success if they come out into competitive politics, leaving violence," Poudel added. However Rastriya Prajatantra Party’s leader Prakash Chandra Lohani pointed out the need for government to have its clear view regarding the amendment in the Constitution.

Two parties - CPN-ML and Rastriya Jana Morcha (RJM) presented its written view on how the government should go with the Maoists." As the government is asking for a written response, we will also present our view in written form within two days," said UML’s Pandey.

Clash between civilizations?

By George Gedda

WASHINGTON, Oct 10 (AP) - Osama bin Laden was just a small speck on the international horizon eight years ago when Harvard University professor Samuel P. Huntington wrote that global politics will be dominated by "the clash of civilizations."

International conflicts will be less likely to be based on ideology and economics, Huntington wrote in Foreign Affairs magazine. A more likely source are differences among civilizations - differences that, he said, "have generated the most prolonged and the most violent conflicts" over the centuries.

It’s too early to say whether the West, in particular the United States, and the radical Islam embodied by bin Laden, are condemned to the type of conflict of which Huntington wrote.

But there is no doubt bin Laden and his allies have the will and even the means to carry out killing on a mass scale - as the events of Sept. 11 at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon made clear.

"The jihad (holy war) is today the duty of every Muslim," said Sleiman Abou-Gheith, a spokesman for bin Laden’s al-Qaida organization. "America must know that the storm of airplanes will not stop and there are thousands of young people who look forward to death like the Americans look forward to living."

By Huntington’s count, there are seven or eight major civilizations. Between the West and Islamic cultures, the differences appear to be accelerating, partly because of conflicting world views.

There is little resonance among Islamic countries for Western ideas of individualism, constitutionalism, human rights, equality, liberty, the rule of law, democracy, free markets and the separation of church and state, Huntington noted.

Governments in Islamic countries generally condemned the Sept. 11 attacks. But there has been tepid support at best for the U.S. air strikes on targets in Afghanistan that began on Sunday. Western European countries and other U.S. allies have, in contrast, been highly supportive of President George W. Bush’s response.

To the extent that there have been street protests in Muslim countries, virtually all appear to oppose the bombardment of Afghanistan. In Pakistan, thousands of supporters of the ruling Taliban regime in Afghanistan burned buildings and demanded holy war against America.

The administration has warned that it intends to root out terrorism wherever it may exist. Afghanistan is just a beginning.

But the secretary-general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, warned Monday that "any military strike on any Arab country will lead to serious consequences and will be considered an aggression against Arab states."

Islamic radicals pay no heed to Bush’s insistence that he is waging a war not on Islam but on terrorism. Bush could face an uphill climb in his attempt to forge an anti-terror coalition.

Huntington, writing in 1993, noted that the Gulf War coalition against Iraq started disintegrating not long after the Iraqi surrender in February 1991.

Subsequent American attempts to demonize Saddam Hussein were largely ignored by what Huntington called "substantial sections of Arab elites and publics." As a result, Arab governments opposed or distanced themselves from Western efforts to apply pressure on Iraq, he said.

"The Western-Soviet-Turkish-Arab anti-Iraq coalition of 1990 had by 1993 become a coalition of almost only the West and Kuwait against Iraq," he said.

It is one thing to rehabilitate Saddam Hussein; it is quite another to declare war on America. Bin Laden said on a videotape broadcast on Sunday: "America will not live in peace."

In a tamer time, terrorists used to avoid harming their victims lest they erode popular support. Casualties were rare.

"Terrorists want a lot of people watching, not a lot of people dead," terrorism expert Brian Jenkins said 15 years ago.

Times have changed.

EDITOR’S NOTE - George Gedda has covered foreign affairs for The Associated Press since 1968.

AP-TK-10-10-01 0617GMT<

Youth Asia Cup declared open

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Oct 10 - The third Youth Asia Cup Cricket tournament was declared open by the Minister for Education and Sports Amod Prasad Upadhyay, lighting the traditional lamp amid a ceremony held at the tournament’s official hotel Soaltee Crown Plaza on Wednesday.

Upadhyay, addressing the participating teams, officials, said that tournament would help further promotion of the game of cricket in Nepal.

"We are looking into the ways in developing cricket facilities in the country, which is due to promote the popularity of the game and develop Nepal as an important venue," said Upadhyay, who is also the chairman of the tournament’s main organising committee.

On the occasion, member-secretary of National Sports Council (NSC) and tournament organising committee, Binod Shankar Palikhe, underscoring the importance of the tournament, requested the officials of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) to give a serious consideration on Nepal’s candidacy for the establishment of ACC’s headquarters and cricket training academy.

He also delivered encouraging words to the participating team, especially to the home side. " I will be with you all the way to New Zealand for the coming World Cup.

"For this you have to play and labour hard," he added. " Keep in mind you are not playing only to improve your result in this tournament but you are playing to make the nation’s flag fly high."

Earlier, Jay Kumar Nath Shah, the president of the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) had revealed that Nepal is one of the three countries considered for the establishment of ACC headquarters and cricket training centre in Pokhara.

The tournament director, Sultan Rana, expressing satisfaction over the tournament’s preparation, said that cricket is one of the rapidly growing sports in Nepal and that it would not be too long before they follow suit of Bangladesh.

President of Nepal Olympic Committee Rukma Shamsher Rana, joint secretary at the Ministry of Sports Lava Devkota were among the dignitaries present on the occasion.

The tournament, which will be played on league cum knockout basis will see all eight teams in action Thursday with the hosts playing with Oman at the Tribhuvan University ground, Kirtipur in Pool B.

Likewise in the other matches, Singapore and Maldives meet at the St Xavier’s School ground in Pool B, United Arab Emirates (UAE) play Qatar at the Engineering Institute ground A while their Pool A compatriots Malaysia and Kuwait fight it out at the ground B of the same venue. The winner will qualify for the Youth World Cup due to be held in New Zealand in February 2002.

Oppositions criticise govt over property rights Bill

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Oct 10 – The opposition lawmakers criticised the "half baked effort" of the government in granting women rights to parental property, terming the just-passed Muluki Ain (11th Amendment) Bill "inadequate."

The Bill, that also grants women conditional abortion rights and popularly referred to as Women’s Bill, was passed by the government amidst the boycott of opposition parties in the House of Representatives Tuesday.

Tarasama Yangya of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) called for the re-christening of Bill from "Women’s Bill" to "Virgins’ Bill" as it grants property rights only to the unmarried daughters. The Bill has a controversial clause that says a daughter has to return the property upon her marriage.

The opposition lawmakers also came down heavily on the ruling Nepali Congress lawmakers for "their penchant to skip the House proceedings almost regularly". Sohan Prasad Chaudhary of the UML also had a complaint against the press.

He said that the statements and speeches of the lawmakers have been reduced to mere gossip with the press not giving due coverage to what they spoke in the House.

Bharat Mohan Adhikary, also of the UML, called for a "remedy package" to revive the sick economy. Adhikary criticised the government for a significant increase in the overdraft. "The expenditure is rising when the government is yet to dole out the Dashain festival expenses."

Navaraj Subedi of United People’s Front criticised the government’s statement of lending full support to the US air strikes in Afghanistan. He also called upon the government to immediately withdraw its offer of refuelling facilities to American war planes and its air corridor.

However, Rajendra Kharel of NC supported the US strikes and the government’s offer of help. He also alleged a nexus between the Palace and the top rung Maoist leadership – Chairman Prachanda and Dr Baburam Bhattarai. "Right in the heart of the capital we have demonstrators calling for an active role of the Monarchy. Is there any government or not?"

Meanwhile, the House today unanimously sent the Copyright Bill, 2001 and National Education Bill to the concerned committee for clause-wise discussions.

Similarly, the Secretary at the House tabled the messages of the National Assembly regarding Value Added Tax (First Amendment) Bill, Insurance (Second Amendment) Bill and Income Tax Bill that were returned by the National Assembly without any recommendations.

Ministers vow fight against AIDS

By Emma Tinkler

MELBOURNE, Australia, Oct 10 (AP) - Ministers from more than 30 nations in the Asia Pacific region committed themselves Wednesday to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic, as a major regional conference wound up in Melbourne.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the 33 ministers who attended the Asia Pacific Ministerial Meeting - held alongside the 6th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific - would encourage the further development of national action plans on prevention, care and treatment for HIV/AIDS in their countries.

"We all have a common goal: to address the threat of HIV/AIDS, the shadow of which is lengthening over our region," Downer said in a joint session of the two summits.

"No country can claim to be safe from the reach of this epidemic. Every single day of last year saw about 3,000 (people) newly infected with HIV in our region," he added.

Downer said the Australian government would pledge 50 million Australian dollars of a 200 million Australian dollars (dlrs) global initiative on HIV/AIDS announced last year directly to major projects in Asia and the Pacific.

Australia would also, if asked, "provide support to Asia-Pacific governments to draft legislation to facilitate cost-effective access to essential HIV/AIDS drugs," he said.

However, Downer repeated Australia’s determination that international trade agreements be adhered to on patents for HIV/AIDS treatment drugs.

Developing countries have called on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to overrule pharmaceutical patent rights on drugs in circumstances that constitute a health emergency.

"Obviously we would like to feel these (HIV/AIDS) drugs can be made available at the lowest possible price, but that has to be done in a way that is consistent with international law and it has to be an appropriate regime to make it possible," Downer said.

Some 36 million people around the world are living with HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS, according to the United Nations AIDS agency, UNAIDS. In Asia, about 6.4 million people carry the virus.

The five-day congress saw 3,500 lawmakers, health professionals and AIDS workers discussing ways to combat the spread of the disease through Asia, and better ways to provide care and treatment to those already affected.

In a manifesto also delivered Wednesday, the Congress called on drug companies to put people before "patent rights and private profits," and for communities to oppose all forms of discrimination of those infected with HIV/AIDS.