Thailand jails hold 39 Nepali prisoners

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KATHMANDU, Dec 25 : At least 39 Nepalis are languishing in three different jails of Thailand. This is the finding of a survey conducted by Victim Support and Rehabilitation Programme (VSRP), a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

The survey has found that the Nepali nationals have been convicted on charges of drug trafficking. Among the 39 Nepali prisoners in Thailand, six of them are women.

The convicted have lamented non-existent efforts from Nepal’s side to secure their repatriation, "although all the inmates are ready to serve the rest of the term in Nepali prisons".

While women convicts have been detained at Lard Yao-based correctional centre, there are 13 men at Bangkwang Prison and 20 at Klong Prem Prison. Again, while 11 are serving life terms, the rest have been sentenced for periods ranging between six to 50 years.

Although until this May, there were nine women, two of them were released in September while another prisoner managed to secure extradition to Germany. Another woman, identified as Dawki Devi, is too old, yet still continues to serve life imprisonment.

However, all the men prisoners have been found guilty of drug trafficking with the exception of Sanu Kaji Maharjan, who has been convicted on theft charges.

"Nepalis serving jail sentences in Bangkok are heavily discriminated against. Inmates are entitled to receive US$ three per day, but jail authorities pay far less," said Dinesh Neupane, Executive Director of VSRP, the agency which conducted the survey. Neupane had visited Thailand between December 12-18 in this connection.

As Neupane told The Kathmandu Post, the pleas from the Nepali convicts for fair treatment or individual requests for extradition have fallen on deaf ears. In fact, the concerned officials based in Bangkok have not taken up the issue of extraditing them in a serious manner.

Neupane recalled an instance of Thai authorities seeking the extradition of two Thai girls from Nepal some years ago, after their conviction on drug-trafficking charges by a Nepali court.

While Samtu Gurung, who was convicted and given a 34-year sentence, has served 18 years, Wangale Ghale, who has been given a life sentence, has served 17 years. Others have served sentences ranging from one to 12 years.

Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Gyan Chandra Acharya said the government and Nepal’s mission in Bangkok were aware of the matter. "Something is happening to secure their repatriation but can’t tell when," he said.

He however pointed out at the cost involved and ensuing legal battle. "We will first have to see to it that the convicts get the same amount as stipend as they are getting now. Additional problem is that we do not have much space in our jails," he further said.

Acharya, however, ruled out Nepal making a plea to the Thai authorities for the release of the convicts, since Thai laws are extremely stringent when it comes to drug related offences. He also debunked claims that the government was silent on this "humanitarian issue."

Interestingly, the families of the convicts in Kathmandu have denied any knowledge about the whereabouts of their family members, with some of them saying "wrong number" when contacted for comments.

Bandh halts life in western region; cop shot dead

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KATHMANDU, Dec 25 : The Maoist called one-day bandh (general strike) in the western region paralysed normal life in major cities but passed off peacefully without any major incidents of violence today, according to reports. However, rebels in Kapilvastu killed a policeman on duty.

Amidst fear of life and property, major business centres, industries and educational institutions remained closed while most of the private and public vehicles stayed off the major highways - Prithvi and East-West Highways - throughout the day.

Quoting the regional police unit, our Bhairahawa-based reporter said a group of armed-rebels shot dead policeman Narayan Bahadur Khatri, deputed in Bahadurgunj area police station, in Kapilvastu today. Police said the rebels opened fire at him when he was checking passengers on the highway.

A report from Syangja stated that two policemen of the Armed Police Force were seriously injured in a landmine explosion, planted by the rebels in Waling this morning. The injured policemen, Tilak Thapa and Bishwa Sigdel, are receiving treatment at a local hospital.

Life in the Putalibazaar Municipality and Waling Municipality was affected due to the strike.

Our reporter in Gorkha said that long distance transportation and Manakamana Cable Car Service were closed and some of the schools postponed scheduled examinations, keeping security situation in mind. However, bazaars in the district headquarters remain opened because of heavy presence of security forces. Impact of the bandh in rural areas of the district could not be obtained due to lack of communication.

Likewise, the bandh also severely affected daily life in Baglung, Rupandehi, Nawalparasi and Kapilvastu districts. Our reporter in Nawalparasi said that almost all towns, schools and industries remained closed, while no vehicles plied on the East-West Highway. The neighbouring regions were also partially affected by the bandh in Gandaki, Lumbini and Dhaulagiri zones.

Wagle released on bail

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KATHMANDU, Dec 25 : Chiranjivi Wagle, former minister and Nepali Congress (Democratic) leader who was facing charge of corruption, has been released on bail following the order of the Special Court today.

The Court ordered Wagle’s release at the end of hearing that took four days, rejecting the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA)’s demand that he be put in jail pending trial.

Wagle was released in the evening after he furnished the bail amount of Rs. 33 million as asked by the three-member bench. The amount is equivalent to the amount that the CIAA claims he has amassed by misusing his ministerial power.

Excluding the value of Wagle’s family assets that have been put at Rs 6.7 million, the Court had asked Wagle to furnish Rs 26.29 million to remain out of the custody.

Wagle collected the amount from about a dozen of his party cadres and relatives in the form of documents of immovable property. Then, he was released at around 7:50 pm.

The CIAA had filed charge-sheet against Wagle, the second powerful minister in the deposed Sher Bahadur Deuba-led government, on December 18, demanding a fine amount equivalent to ‘the total amount he had amassed’ along with up to five years imprisonment.

After his release, Wagle appreciated the ‘justice’ of the Court while talking with the reporters in the Court premises. However, he flayed CIAA for being prejudicial against him. "The CIAA’s action against me is full of prejudices."

He claimed that the CIAA is trying to link his son’s ‘profitable’ business to his political power ‘forcefully.’ "My son’s business firm has earned Rs 130 million in the last three years and all the supporting documents along with evidences have been submitted," said Wagle. "But the CIAA is turning blind eyes to the documents and repeatedly trying to prove it illegal."

"I believe that the autonomous Court has given justice to me," said the mentally disturbed Wagle. "The CIAA has gone beyond its jurisdiction."

Wagle said the Kantipur Television has been the latest victim of the CIAA’s prejudicial act.

The Court also started hearing on engineer duo Amodananda Mishra and Narayan Bahadur Thapa who along with the then Water Resource Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka have been charged of embezzling Rs 40.5 million while awarding the construction work of the Bakraha River Control Project to the China Henan Company. However, the court is yet to start hearing on Khadka.

Pakistani envoy outlines pitfalls of SAARC

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KATHMANDU, Dec 25 : The Pakistani ambassador to Nepal, Jamid Akram, said that South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) should have been evolved as a forum, which could sort out even bilateral contentious issues, in the interest of regional understanding and peace.

"Had SAARC been evolved as a forum which could debate even bilateral issues, the region would be better off than now," he said, and explained the reason why SAARC is so weak when it comes to sorting out burning bilateral issues.

He said this while speaking at a talk programme organised by the Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies (CNAS) in the capital today.

Commenting on the element of unpredictability associated with SAARC summits, Akram said that India was whipping up bilateral issues by adopting stalling tactics like not agreeing to the initially announced schedule for the upcoming summit.

He said this while referring to the disagreements expressed by India over the conduct of the XII SAARC summit in Pakistan in January.

Shedding light on the security perception of Pakistan, Akram said that the nuclearisation of the nation was the best way out of a possible war with India. "Having bombs is a big deterrent to war. Had Pakistan not had one, it would have faced series of wars since 1971," he said.

He, however, said that both the sides would do better if they de-weaponise their nuclear arsenal, so that the region is free from accidental nuclear attacks. Hotlines, too, help rule out any misunderstanding at crucial juncture.

"Pakistan’s security policy is shaped by its history right from the beginning. Pakistan is located strategically between Central Asia and South Asia, something which has a telling impact on its security policy," he said.

He also highlighted the importance of the latest visit of the Iranian President to Pakistan and later to India in connection with the gas pipeline from Turkmenistan.

Debunking the claim that the world is facing threat from Islamic terrorism, Akram denied there is any brand of terrorism like Islamic terrorism and cited examples of people taking to terror tactics from Sri Lanka to Middle East. "In fact, people take to terror tactics if they feel their grievances have not been addressed."

Akram blasted claims that the world was in for a clash of civilisations but said that the repercussions of the US attack on Iraq would be unpredictable "since outfits like al-Qaeda, for example, may not take it as a complement and retaliate."

Envoys appointed

KATHMANDU, Dec 25 (RSS)- His Majesty the King has, in accordance with the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990, appointed Gyan Chandra Acharya as Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Nepal to the United Nations and other international organisations based at Geneva in Switzerland. This is stated in a notice published today by the Press Secretariat of His Majesty the King. His Majesty has also appointed Pushkar Man Rajbhandari as Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, according to the notice.

Task force meet

KATHMANDU, Dec 25 (RSS)- The task force constituted by HMG under the chairmanship of Press Council chairman Harihar Birahi to provide suggestions for the development of periodicals has called upon everyone and all institutions and organisations concerned to send within a week their views and suggestions on the prevailing problems in journalism, its institutional development, ownership, investment, compliance with the code of conduct and the policy on working journalists.

A meeting of the task force held here today took the decision to this effect, it is learnt. the secretariat of the task force is at the Press Council building.

CIAA lambasted for Sirohiya’s arbitrary arrest

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KATHMANDU, Dec 25 : Various business organisations and civil society throughout the country have condemned the detention of Kailash Sirohiya, Managing Director of Kantipur Publications as well as Director of Kantipur Television (KTV) by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), saying it smacked of a highhanded and vindictive behaviour.

According to reports from Nepalgunj, Satish Agrawal, secretary of Nepalgunj Traders Association, said that the detention of Sirohiya has greatly discouraged the private entrepreneurs to make new investments in the sluggish economy.

"The charges filed against the KTV, which has brought modern technology in the media sector, doesn’t match with the government policy of attracting modern technologies," he said. "If the withdrawal of the bid bond was illegal, why did the government allow the KTV to do so?"

The CIAA on Monday had arrested Sirohiya charging the KTV of ‘impropriety while withdrawing the bid bond amount that was submitted to the government while applying for the licence for the operation of KTV.

Likewise, according to reports from Pokhara, politicians and businesspersons in this western business hub have flayed the charges filed against the KTV and have pointed out that such baseless charge is an attack on the free media. They have also pointed out that the baseless charge has eroded the credibility of CIAA.

Ananda Raj Mulmi, Former President of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), said that the detention of Sirohiya is a sign of bad intention of the CIAA. "The detention of Sirohiya despite his total cooperation in investigation has showed that the CIAA was vindictive and authoritarian in its attitude," he said.

The CIAA was acting like a dirty arm of the government. In fact, the government, specially the communication ministry, has a role to state in public whether the bid bond withdrawal was legal or not.

A senior bureaucrat who has held diplomatic assignments in the past said the detention of Sirohiya shows how the CIAA that is supposed to be a ‘watchdog’ has suddenly turned into a ‘mad dog’. "If the withdrawal of bid bond like in the case of KTV licence episode can be considered illegal, then most of the practices followed in government tenders in the past have to be cancelled on similar grounds. Can Surya Nath Upadhyay who himself has held senior level positions in various ministries of government before he became the CIAA chief dare say publicly that he has not honoured the prevailing bid bond practice?" asked the official on condition of anonymity at present, adding, "I would however be willing to give specific examples of violation by Upadhyaya if he doesn’t accept this challenge."

Similarly, Shom Nath Pyashi, a leader of CPN-UML, said that the latest attack on the press is unfortunate, particularly at a time when democracy is in trouble. Sushil Dhanawat, President of Morang Chamber of Commerce and Industry, flayed the action and claimed that the return of the bid bond remains no longer illegal after signing the final agreement.

Similarly, Chuna Mani Acharya, Central Vice President of Nepal Bar Association, has said that the detention of Sirohiya indicates nothing but negative approach of the government towards the progressive private sector.

A dash of Nepali adds colour to X-mas festivities

By Perina Pathak

KATHMANDU, Dec 25 : For all those interested in viewing the Nepali influence during Christmas festivities, a trip to Assumption Church at Dhobighat, Lalitpur would be worth the effort.

As one enters the church periphery, the statue of Joseph and Mother Mary, attired in typical Nepali dresses, highlights just one aspect of the deep pan-Nepali influence in celebrating this yearly festival by the Christian community here today.

The statue of Joseph in daura suruwal and Mother Mary in yellow sari taking care of the newly born infant Jesus, is the first thing that greets the faithful on his way inside the Church.

The twin statues were installed in the cow-shed on December 24, to celebrate the birth of Lord Jesus.

The attire worn by Joseph and Mother Mary shows that God is everywhere. Apart from this feature, Nepali Christians offer their prayers to Lord Jesus in typical Nepali style, by burning oil lamps and offering marigold as part of their celebrations

"Also we sang X-mas carols in the Nepali language on Christmas Eve. Though we perform our celebrations in traditional Catholic style, but since we are Nepali, a Nepali touch gets added to the event, " said Father Silas Bogoti of the Assumption Church.

Exchanging Christmas greetings and gifts with one another, thousands of Nepali Christians celebrated their most important festival today. "We put on colourful new dresses and ate delicious food and celebrated our festival in memory of Lord Jesus" said Gabriel Besra.

On the eve and on X-Mas day today, hundreds of Christians were seen moving towards the nearby churches within the Kathmandu Valley to participate in carol, prayers and mass. "While participating in the mass we remember Jesus and his participation in the Last Supper," said Besra.

Besra, who originally hails from Jhapa, Damak used to go to India every year to celebrate the yearly festival. But from now on he is very pleased to celebrate the occasion among the Nepali Christian community here.

"There was no Church in Jhapa and every year we used to go to India," said Besra, who has been living in the Kathmandu Valley since the past two years. "Being a Nepali I am very pleased to celebrate among my Nepali brothers and sisters."

According to him, last year a small church was constructed in Damak with the help of some Christians. "Before the formation of churches within and outside the Kathmandu Valley, most of the Christians living in the borders used to go to India. But ever since the proliferation of Churches within the valley, people prefer to come here," he said.

When asked how he celebrated this year’s Christmas, Besra said, "Together we lit candles on Christmas Eve and today we had delicious food and cakes. Also the enthusiastic part of the festival was that I received many beautiful Christmas gifts from my elders."

To mark the birthday of Lord Jesus, Christian children were seen singing carols, the memorable among these songs being Long time ago in Bethlehem, so the Holy Bible say, Mary’s boychild Jesus Christ, was born on Christmas Day..........."

According to Father Bogati, the Catholic population in Nepal is estimated to be around 5,000, of whom around 2,500 are living in the valley.

Officials lock horns with organisers of film fests

By Bikash Sangraula

KATHMANDU, Dec 25 : The controversy surrounding the new censorship requirements announced by the Film Development Board (FDB) on December 11 escalated, as officials at the Central Film Censorship Committee (CFCC) stated that film festivals would not take place in the country without censorship.

"Aspiring individuals and institutions should give up the idea of organizing film festivals if they are not in a position to go through censorship," CFCC official Pashupati Poudel told The Kathmandu Post. The censorship fee in Nepal is Rs 10,000 per film.

"This is the official position of CFCC. The rules clearly specify this requirement. Film festivals were organized illegally in the past. Any further breach of the Film Production, Screening and Distribution Regulations, 2000 will be duly punished," added a vindictive Poudel.

According to Poudel, regulations make censorship mandatory for public screening of films, regardless of whether they are screened for educational or promotional purpose. "Since film festivals are attended by the public, they are also categorized under public screening and hence require censorship," he added.

This standpoint of CFCC puts the already jeopardized future of film festivals in the country into a serious quagmire. The problem blew up during the last two weeks when the French Feature Film Festival (FFFF) and the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF) faced resistance from the authorities, on grounds that the films screened had not been censored.

According to a reliable source, the organizers of FFFF were forced to give a verbal assurance to the authorities that minors would not be allowed to attend the festival. The source also disclosed that the organizers actually ended up paying censorship fees to the CFCC.

International film experts aver that film festivals are exempted from censorship in most of the countries. "That is the case in India as well," said director Tapan Bose during an interaction programme, organized on Sunday at Martin Chautari.

Censorship in Nepal is an accepted norm in the commercial film sector. Organizers say that film festivals were so far organized without official censorship. However, it is reported that the organizers have been censoring movies before screening them in film festivals.

"It is not that movies are selected for film festivals randomly. They are censored by the organizers," says Basanta Thapa of Himal Association.

However, Poudel maintains that official censorship of films screened during film festivals is not new in Nepal. "The British film festival organized this year fulfilled all the legal requirements. They got approval from the FDB and got the movies censored by CFCC. The controversy is unfounded and unnecessary. Everyone should follow the law," he said earlier this week, during the interaction at Martin Chautari.

According to Ashok Raj Pokhrel of FDB, censorship rules do not clearly lay down the guidelines to be adhered to, before the staging of film festivals. "It is true that censorship is mandatory for screening of movies for public consumption. But the law is ambiguous on what the term ‘public screening’ means. It has no reservations for film festivals and documentaries, which are essentially educational in nature," Pokhrel told The Kathmandu Post.

He opined that film festivals also should go through censorship, but they should be exempted from paying the fees. "The CFCC collects enough revenue to arrange free censoring of the movies screened during film festivals," he added.

With the controversy simmering to boiling point, the organizers are displaying cold feet, as far as organizing future film festivals are concerned. Sources say that most of the embassies and private organizers are postponing scheduled film festivals, and waiting for the issue to get sorted out.

NC to send central observers for mass awakening

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KATHMANDU, Dec 25 : The Nepali Congress (NC) today decided to send central observers for mass awakening against the October 4 royal move. They will be joined by local leaders.

"The observers will travel to all the districts of the respective zones they are deputed to and ensure enough preparedness among the party rank and file as soon as possible," a statement issued by the party said.

The central observers announced by the party are Ram Chandra Poudel (Narayani), Chakra Prasad Bastola (Sagarmatha), Dr Ram Sharan Mahat (Janakpur) and Arjun Narsingh KC (Gandaki).

Similarly, while Dr Ram Baran Yadav is observer for Bagmati zone, Dil Bahadur Gharti, Ram Krishna Tamrakar, Bal Dev Sharma Majgaiya have been appointed observers for Karnali, Lumbini, Rapti zones, respectively.

However, the move has been flayed as guided along by ulterior motives on the part of the leaders who have absolute control over party President Girija Prasad Koirala and enjoy the luxury of announcing programmes without convening the apex body meeting.

"The party should not have announced yet another series of programme without conducting the review of the first at the party’s central committee meeting," said a source. He billed the move as a smart ploy on the part of those who planned the first phase of protest but failed to create the desired atmosphere.