Nepal trounce India to lift title

By Purushottam Kattel

KATHMANDU, Dec 28 : Nepal claimed the AFC Under-14 Football Festival title after accumulating 13 points from five league matches played at the Dashrath Stadium. Nepal beat India 3-0 on today’s crucial league match, to clinch the champions trophy pushing India to second place by a point.

Nirajan Khadka, Shishir Adhikari and Yubic Shrestha were the goal scorers for Nepal, all of which were scored in the first half.

India, which needed just a draw to bag the title, were totally baffled by the improved Nepali performance, in front of an over 12,000 strong home crowd. "The huge crowd and the grand ceremony affected the performance of our boys, who are not used to playing in this condition," said Indian coach Jahar Das to The Sunday Post.

Nepal made a promising start as right-winger Nirajan Khadka headed home an early 1-0 lead in the second minute of the match. Khadka, who was used as a substitute player in all the four previous matches Nepal played, demonstrated brilliant skills to outwit the Indian goalkeeper Krishna Das, after Bishal Shrestha supplied a well executed cross from the left flank.

"Our boys played superbly in the first half but failed to maintain the tempo in the second half because of poor diet," said Nepal’s South Korean coach Yoo Kee Heung after the match.

"If they had kept up the first half tempo, the victory margin would have doubled. The wonderful crowd at the stadium also proved to be a motivating factor for them today," he added.

Nepal doubled the lead in the 11th minute, thanks to Suraj Kharbuja, who brilliantly dragged a Sandip Rai free kick to the centre, leaving it open for Shishir Adhikari, Nepal’s most successful striker of the championship, to make the score 2-0.

Nepal went on attacking India as Khadka created several perfect crosses from the right and Kharbuja from the left flank. Adhikari failed twice, while Shrestha also stumbled two times, before Nepal almost confirmed their win a minute before half-time.

Full back Sandip Rai again was the provider. Indian goalie Das, who faced a terrible time under the bar, fumbled while collecting Rai’s powerful shot and an agile Shrestha did not make any mistake in converting the chance, putting Nepal on the driver’s seat before the break.

The Indian team played a more attacking game after the lemon break, but all their efforts were thwarted as Nepali defender Rai, Durga Lawat and Santosh Gurung showed outstanding skills, to keep them at bay.

Nepali goalkeeper Sandeep Shrestha effected a couple of saves in the second half, to deprive India of any outside chance to come back in the match.

Earlier, Bangladesh demolished Bhutan 13-0 to claim the third position with a tally of 10 points. Zahid Hossain fired six goals while Mithun Chaudhary posted a hat-trick. Hossain’s six goals came in the second half in the 32nd, 33rd, 35th, 44th, 48th and 51st minutes.

Sri Lanka’s misery continued in the championship after Maldives handed them a 6-0 drubbing in the first match of the last day. Maldives were placed fourth, while Sri Lanka earned the dubious distinction of failing to score a single goal in the tournament.

Crown Prince Paras Bir Bikram Shah Dev, who is also the patron of Nepal Olympic Committee, gave away the shield, medals and certificates to the winners and all the participants. Six SAARC countries participated in the 10-day tournament.

India to install Gorkha fighter’s statue

By Sanjay Pradhan

DARJEELING, India, Dec 28 : As an acknowledgement of the sacrifices of the Nepali-speaking Indians in the freedom struggle, the government of India has decided to install the statue of a Gorkha freedom fighter in the parliament complex in New Delhi. This will be the first-ever statue of an Indian ethnic Nepali to decorate the premises of Indian parliament.

The Indian Parliament recently passed a resolution seeking to set up the statue of Major Durga Malla, an officer of Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army (INA). The British had hanged the valiant soldier at Red Fort in 1945 when he was just 31 years old.

Hundreds of Indian Nepalis had switched over to the INA from the British Army. One of them was Capt. Ram Singh Thakuri who gave music to INA songs, including the immortal Kadam kadam badaay ja.

The Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh, an apex body of organizations of Indian Nepalis headed by former Sikkim MP Dil Kumari Bhandari, has taken up the responsibility of building the statue. Bhandari said sculptors from Kolkota would build the 12-foot bronze statue that would show Major Malla riding a horse with a khukri. She added, " The statue will stand as testimony to the sacrifices of Indian Nepalis in the freedom struggle." (There is a hospital and a road in Darjeeling named after Major Malla).

Race against time to ready EFA action plan

By Nitya Nanda Timsina

KATHMANDU, Dec 28 : With rosy hopes of providing Education for All (EFA) by year 2015, the government is busy putting finishing touches to the final draft on national EFA plan of action. This goal to implement EFA by 2015 is likely to receive Cabinet endorsement in January.

The Council of Ministers is likely to endorse the draft in the next two weeks, ministry sources said.

The technical committee has completed the final draft. It is now awaiting the approval of the core committee before it is to be sent to the Cabinet, Ministry spokesperson Yuba Raj Pandey told The Sunday Post.

One of the objectives of EFA national plan of action is to achieve 100 per cent literacy rate by 2015 and achieving the international goal of a 50 per cent improvement in adult literacy levels by then, especially for women and backward sections.

Through this action plan, Nepal has the responsibility for fulfilling the version of Education for All it promised during the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal on April 26-28, 2000.

"It implies that education reaches every single household," said Khagendra Basnyat, general secretary of Nepal National Commission for UNESCO, which is among the three parties to commission the national EFA plan of action. Other two being Ministry of Education and Sports and UNESCO Kathmandu.

Nepal is under obligation to eliminate gender disparity by 2005 but still the gap between male and female literacy rate is high, officials said.

If the latest statistics on adult literacy is anything to go by, it is intolerant that women fall behind their male counterparts by almost 23 per cent.

Nepal has promised to fulfill six goals during the EFA meet in Dakar. They include:

1. Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children;

2. Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality;

3. Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programmes;

4. Achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults;

5. Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality;

6. Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognised and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills.

In 2049, Nepal had average literacy rate of 39.6 per cent, with 55 per cent for men and 25 per cent for women. Ten years later, now, literacy rate in Nepal increased marginally to 53.74 per cent, out of which only 42.49 per cent are women and 65.8 per cent men. The male-female literacy rate still varies by 23 per cent.

While 80 per cent of the boys of school going age are enrolled in schools, only about 40 per cent of the girls are enrolled so far.

The government was supposed to provide basic and primary education to all its school-going age children by 2005. But there are still around 20 per cent (approximately 200,000) children under this category who are unable to receive the benefits of a basic education. If one goes by the data, only a miracle can shoot up Nepal’s literacy rate by that year.

By the Ninth Plan, Nepal was supposed to increase the national literacy by over 70 per cent but with the completion of the plan, and the beginning of the Tenth Plan, Nepal could achieve only about 54 per cent of national literacy rate.

"We are strong in planning but the implementation remains a serious bottleneck," Baikuntha Das Shrestha, joint-secretary, Ministry of Education and Sports, told The Sunday Post.

"There is no guarantee for total success, unless civil society comes to play a dominant role," said Shrestha, who is also a member of the EFA ‘core team’, preparing the EFA draft. He added that the lack of awareness among a large segment of society is posing a great challenge in improving girls’ education and removing gender disparity, one of the six measurable goals of EFA.

Poverty, underdeveloped school infrastructure and high gender disparity remain some of greatest challenges before Nepal to ensure EFA by 2015, officials say. Added to this is a challenge to make primary education free and compulsory.

11 rebels shot dead

KATHMANDU, Dec. 28 (RSS) - Eleven Maoists were gunned down in the action of the security forces while retaliating the assault of the terrorists at Surkhet, Dailekh and Rasuwa.

The security forces has made a haul of various bores of guns, socket bombs, pressure cooker bombs, combat dresses, logistic materials, equipment used in electrical ambushes and Rs 71,189 in cash.

Mist imapct

NEPALGUNG, Dec. 28 (RSS)- The dense mist and cold that has appeared in the central and far western Terai has thrown normal life out of gear there.

The air services from Nepalgunj to Kathmandu and other hilly destinations were not operated because of thick mist.

People were seen sitting and basking around bonfire at the chowks and streets while they rarely moved out in the shivering cold.

Novelist Daulat Bikram Bista passes away

By Perina Pathak

KATHMANDU, Dec 28 : Senior novelist Daulat Bikram Bista, who wrote more than a dozen novels and became the first recipient of the prestigious Mahendra Pragya Literary Award, passed away this morning at his Kathmandu residence. He was 77.

Bista was suffering from diabetes and a kidney-related disease. He breathed his last at 9.15 am. His last rites were performed Saturday afternoon according to Hindu traditions at the Pashupati Aryaghat.

Late Bista’s family members said that the late literatteur was not writing anything for the past four years due to the paralysis but he was free from the disease before the death. He has written more than a dozen novels whose themes revolve around social and cultural issues, said Prof. Ghatta Raj Bhattarai, a literary critic.

Late literatteur Bista has authored more than dozen novels that include Chapaieka Anuharharu, Bhok Ra Bhittaharu, Jyoti Jyoti Mahajyoti, Himal Ra Manchhe. He was also awarded Madan Puraskar for his novel Jyoti Jyoti Mahajyoti, which was based on the Nepali culture.

Apart from novel writing he has also authored many storybooks like Rateli, Ek Sanjha, Uphan and Aandhikhola and many more. Among his collection of stories for the ‘Aashu Tesai Chhachal Kinchha’, late Bista was awarded with Sajha Puraskar.

Renowned for his novels late Bista was honoured with various awards like Bhupalman Singh Karki Puraskar, Mahendra Pragya Puraskar, Madan Puraskar, Basundharashree Puraskar, among others.

"The award has been presented to Bista in recognition of his contribution for making Nepali literatture known to the rest of the world through his unique style of writing," said Bhattarai. "The sweetness and simplicity are the special features of his writing."

Novels of Bista have commanded high respect not only in the field of Nepali literature but also in international field. "His most popular novel ‘Chapaieka Anuharharu’ based on the distortion and disaster of the World War II had also got international recognition," said Bhattarai.

Begin from the first publication of Manjari in 1958, late Bista during his lifetime published various novels, stories and dramas. His Jyoti Jyoti Mahajyoti and Himal Ra Manchhe published in the year 1988 were the last novels. And his collection of stories Aashu Tesai Chhachal Kinchha was the last publication in the year 1993.

Contemporary of literatteur Ramesh Bikal, Poshan Pandey, Bijaya Malla and Bhupi Sherchan, Bista had also launched the bi-monthly magazine Sarada, which was closed in later years.

The popular film ‘Sindur’ of 70s from the novel ‘Manjari’ of late Bista were appraised and were successful among the Nepalese viewers. Born in Bhojpur in the year 1926, Bista was survived with four sons and a daughter. One of his sons is renowned pop singer, Om Bikram Bista. His wife passed away five years ago.

Maoists apologise

KATHMANDU, Dec 28 (PR)- The Valley Bureau of the Maoists Liberation Army today owned responsibility over the bombing of East Pole Secondary School in Boudha and promised to ‘compensate’ the losses incurred in the explosion in ‘due time’, which they claimed was an ‘accident’.

In a press statement issued here, the undergrund outfit has sought apology from the concerned authorities and the pained at having injured the innocent students. They have also promised to observe more caution in their future activities.

About two dozens students were injured in the Friday evening explosion.

However, they owned responsibility over the bombing of Putalisadak’s Batuleghar on Friday and the death of police inspector Pradeep Thapa on Christmas Eve. They also owned responsibility for physically assaulting police head constables Rakesh Mahato and Durga Devi.

Asylum seeking elders on the rise

By Bikash Sangraula

KATHMANDU, Dec 28 : With violence and natural disasters plaguing the nation, an increasing number of the aged are facing forced or voluntary expulsion from their homes, thus increasing pressure on the limited number of old age homes in the country.

During the last six years, a new factor has come to the fore, adding to the myriad list of factors causing abandonment of elders. An increasing number of the elderly have left their homes following their children’s enlistment in Maoist militant groups.

Seventy-nine-year old Kirtiman Thami left his home in Dolakha district a month ago, after his only surviving son joined the Maoists. "Before his enlistment, the Maoists harassed us. After his enlistment, the security forces harassed us. I had no other choice but to leave," says Thami.

Famished and penniless, he arrived in Kathmandu a month ago, with no roof over his head. After wandering and begging around Pashupatinath Temple premises for weeks, Thami finally got admission to the Social Welfare Centre, Briddhashram, an old age home near Pashupatinath Temple. Briddhashram is the only government-owned old age home in the country.

According to Thami, many families have disintegrated and several thousand displaced due to the conflicting demands of both the security forces and the Maoists. "Most people of my generation have left the village. There is no work and no safety there," added a tearful Thami.

Painful though his story is, Thami can still count himself lucky to get admitted in the old age home. In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people swarming around Briddhashram to get admission, which is bursting at the seams.

According to data availed by Central Bureau of Statistics, there are around 1.5 million senior citizens in Nepal, as per the 2001 Census. This group is most vulnerable to deprivation - financial, social and political.

Prahlad Giri of Briddhashram opines that this section constitutes one of the most neglected blocks in the society, though their plight is glaringly obvious.

"With increasing economic pressure, the expulsion of elders from their families is on the rise. Ours is the only government institution that provides them asylum," Giri told The Sunday Post. Many private old age asylums are also operating in the country. However, their accommodation capacity is also very limited. The Briddhashram has a capacity of accommodating 205 elders.

According to Giri, there are many waiting for admission. There chance may come only after the demise of the existing inmates. At Briddhashram, the rules disallow elders with children from being admitted. They also need recommendations from the Village Development Committee and the Women, Children and Social Welfare Ministry.

"The documents say that all our inmates don’t have children. The reality is otherwise," said Giri.

Among women, the main reasons for old age expulsion are child marriage and polygamy, prohibited by the law but actively practised in the country. Buddha Laxmi Thakuri got married, at an early age, to an old man. When the husband died, she was still young. Instead of getting rehabilitation assistance, she was victimised by her in-laws, who held her responsible for the husband’s death.

Among men, many left homes because their son stopped caring and even listening to them after getting married. When the wife died, the old men ceased to see any reason why they should still continue living with the family. "How can you live in a place where no one loves you," questions Bharat Pandey, who has lost count of the number of years that he has spent here. "Here, no one expects love. Therefore, we don’t feel pained," he remarks.

Very few people visit Briddhashram. If the old men or women still own some property, their family members visit them. Once the ownership is transferred such visits abruptly stop.

The inmates here are busy these days tending a garden behind the makeshift dining hall. The garden is a miniature form of Pashupatinath Temple. They have built a Shiva temple in the middle of the garden, and have planted bel and dhaturo around it. Monkeys are a regular threat to the carefully tended garden, that boast of flowers much fresher and beautiful than those sold at Pashupatinath.

Old age has not drained the inmates of their creativity. However, they do not call themselves happy. They are disillusioned and have stopped waiting for their families to take them back. Yes, they wait for death.

Discussion on SAFTA treaty framework continues

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 28 : Despite the failure in concurring on whether to finalise the South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA) draft treaty framework in the current meeting, joint secretaries from seven South Asian countries discussed on preliminary draft during the second day of the Committee of Experts (CoE) meeting today.

The meeting continued its discussion on remaining 15 articles of the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Secretariat-prepared preliminary draft framework of SAFTA treaty, said a highly placed source.

"But, prevailing differences has not been resolved yet and the representatives from the member states are still to concur on key issues related to trade facilitation measures," he said.

Also, the issues like reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers and providing facilities to the least developed countries could not be addressed resolutely during the day, according to the source.

The source also expressed doubt over the talks ending conclusively on the third day. "The SAARC Secretariat is most likely to extend the talks for the fourth day," he said, adding that the Secretariat has already informed of the possible extension of the meeting for the fourth day, if required.

The SAARC Secretariat, endowed with the responsibility to finalise the SAFTA draft treaty framework, pressed the joint-secretary level body to thrash out consensus on preliminary draft, so that it could meet the deadline it has been provided with for the purpose. The deadline, as per the directives of the 11th SAARC Summit held in Kathmandu earlier this year, matures on December 31 2002.

During the first day, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Pakistan opposed the finalising of the draft treaty in the current CoE meeting, while India pressed for the otherwise.

The smaller and least developed members stressed that the draft should be finalised only after the primary data based final report on possible implications if SAFTA on member states is submitted and discussed upon.

Although the Sri Lankan consultancy Institute for Policy Studies, appointed to study the implications to transition to free trade area, submitted the preliminary report, the member countries did not buy implications that it suggested citing that the report was based on secondary data. The institute has been asked to submit the report next March.

The three-day meet is being held to score down the differences amongst the member states on key issues, including that on the reduction and revocation of tariff and non-tariff barriers and adoption of trade facilitation measures.

The issues, though already discussed in the preliminary draft twice during its second and third meeting, are yet to be settled.

During the first day, the member states agreed to adopt similar provisions on Rules of Origin as contained in the South Asian Preferential Trade Arrangement (SAPTA), the predecessor of the proposed SAFTA.

Deuba Congress’ peace rally

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 28 : President of Nepali Congress (Democratic) Sher Bahadur Deuba has appealed to different political parties and people from all walks of life to participate in peace rallies that the party is planning to hold in nine different towns around the country on Tuesday.

"I humbly request everybody to participate in the rallies and pressurize rebel Maoists to give up arms and come back to the negotiating table, and at the same time encourage the king to uphold the democratic constitution," Deuba, whose government was unceremoniously removed by the king on October 4, said in a press statement issued here Saturday.

Foolproof solution must to rule out future political crisis

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Dec 28 : Even as political parties remain divided on the way out of the current political and constitutional turmoil, members of the civic society have stressed the imperative to work out sustainable and foolproof solution to rule out repeated crisis in future.

"It is high time when the nation should be seeking a number of things including secularity of the constitution. If the need is to go for big changes in the constitutional set up, then the only way out is new constitution," said Hiranya Lal Shrestha, a leftist politician, while speaking at an interaction programme organised by Foundation for Parliamentary Studies and Development (FPSD) today.

Shrestha flayed bigger parties for surrendering to the regressive forces a view he shared with noted jurist and former speaker of the House of Representatives, Daman Nath Dhungana.

Chastising the government for remaining silent on the peace offer from the Maoists, Shrestha said that the best way out was to strike a balance of power between all the political forces as a sustainable effort.

Malla K Sundar, journalist-turned-human rights campaigner, argued that the entire crisis was part of the problem thrown up by stampede for understandable power sharing among political forces. He also said that demand for election to the constituent assembly could throw up still bigger crisis since there is no authority, which can implement the result thrown up by it.

He was referring to a possible scenario if the rebels or for that matter the apologists of active monarchy decline to go by the outcome just in the event the same is not to their liking. "All are fearing worst including the Maoist and herein lies the problem," he said, adding that much of the problems emanate from crisis of confidence among all the political forces. He also suggested that consensus must be thrashed up to bring rebels into the mainstream.

Debunking claims that the constitutional process could be brought back to normalcy by reinstating the dissolved House of Representatives, another noted jurist and member of the team which drafted the current constitution, Nilambar Acharya, said that settling for compromise could mean that there was nothing with the royal announcement of October 4.

"Constitutionalism has come to an end. The nation can be expected to come back on the right course only if there an pre-interim and all-party outfit. That outfit could form an interim government which in turn would attend the outstanding issues," he said. He also suggested that provision must be made in the new constitution, which rule out royal intervention in future. Acharya also suggested that the policy of displacing the constitution would not serve much purpose. "We must build up on the system in hand."

However, Radheshyam Adhikari, a member of the National Assembly, said that the only way out was reinstatement of the House of Representatives or conduct of elections. He also lamented the current differences among political parties on the issue of resolution of the constitutional crisis.

Mukti Pradhan, a Maoist leader- turned- leftist lawyer, said, "What is true is status quo is not going to work now anymore. It is also true that election to the constituent assembly, too, is not going to serve much purpose until and unless parties decide what is it that they want."

Pradhan also made it clear that the demand for election to the constituent assembly put up by the Maoists was only a strategic ploy rather than it being an end in itself. "Problem has both internal and external dimension. It has nationalist agenda attached to it," he said, adding that it would be misnomer to believe that the leaders who were at the helm of affairs since 1990 could bail the country out of the crisis. "A new constitution with all the desired changes.

TADA cases fall flat due to improper application

By Ghanashyam Ojha

KATHMANDU, Dec 28 : Ever since the promulgation of the Terrorist Activities and Destructive (prevention and punishment) Act (TADA) in 2001, over 2000 people across the country have been taken under detention.

However, the Act has raised heckles of the legal experts and the government, after many of the arrested were released by the Supreme Court.

Krishna Jung Rayamajhi, former justice at the apex court who also dealt with the cases filed under TADA, told The Sunday Post that the government lacked enough evidence against the accused while filing a charge sheet against them.

"The court doesn’t know who is innocent and who is guilty, it’s the government which has to prove in the court," Rayamajhi said. "The Chief District Officer (CDO) in the arrest warrant only mentions that the accused is a terrorist but that is not the proof for the court to put them into prison."

He stressed that the accused would be released by the apex court until and unless the government does not come up with documents against them.

The Act clearly mentions that anyone who is arrested under TADA cannot be detained for more than 90 days.

But Tika Ram Bhattarai, an advocate who knocked the doors of the apex court with the case of Jagat Krishna Pokharel, associate professor of Dhankuta Multiple Campus, for the first time in last April, says that the government has violated the Act.

Bhattarai claimed that the government extends the detention of the accused after every three months and puts the accused into further detention illegally.

Pokharel was arrested under the TADA and put into detention for more than 90 days. The case was presented at the division-bench of justices Top Bahadur Singh and Sushila Singh Silu. The justices later, taking note of the serious constitutional error committed by the government in the case of Pokharel, sent it to the full bench.

Although the court has not yet given its final verdict on the case of Pokharel, he was later released after he surrendered at the Chief District Office.

But later after the nationwide emergency was lifted, Parsu Ram Bhandari from Tehrathum who was also arrested under the TADA, was released by a joint bench of justices Gopal Khatry and Kedar Giri.

With the release of Bhandari, many of the people who were arrested under TADA have also been freed.

Although the Supreme Court’s decision was quite positive while dealing with the cases filed under TADA, Bhattarai agrees that many of the guilty also have got easy escape, due to lack of improper application of the Act.

The court in its verdict has mentioned that terming somebody as terrorist was itself not sufficient to put the accused under further detention, but it also should be clearly mentioned where, when and how he was involved in terrorist activities.

The security personnel, on the other hand, usually mentions in the arrest warrant given to the accused that he/she was arrested because it was necessary to stop his terrorist activities.

Bhattarai also agreed that the charges made out by the security personnel against the accused by itself are insufficient for the apex court. "Until and unless it is clearly mentioned where, when and how the person was involved in terrorist activities, TADA cannot put any one into prison," Bhattarai said. "TADA itself has been ineffective with the inefficiency of the security personnel and the government attorneys."

The Act was promulgated under Article 15 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal. Article 15 of the Constitution clearly mentions that "No person shall be held under preventive detention unless there is a sufficient ground of existence of an immediate threat to the sovereignty, integrity or law and order situation of the Kingdom of Nepal."

Bhattarai stressed that the security personnel should be able to prove the arrested one was trying to pose immediate threat to the sovereignty, integrity or law and order situation of the country, if the government wants to make TADA effective. There are still 50 cases lying in the apex court filed under TADA.

A chief district officer, on condition of anonymity said that they order the detention of an accused, as per the report submitted by the security personnel.

"We read the report where it is clearly mentioned that the accused was involved in terrorist activities," he said

However, he also agreed that many of the terrorists have also been released from the Supreme Court.

He further said that they were not provided the copy of the court verdict. "We have not yet received the court verdict and think that the court released the accused under its own norms," he said.