SAARC misses yet another deadline to finalise SAFTA draft treaty framework

By Milan Mani Sharma

KATHMANDU, Dec 30 The South Asian countries have missed yet another deadline to finalise the South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA) draft treaty framework after the Committee of Experts (CoE) meeting ended yesterday in the capital inconclusively.

The joint secretaries level body of CoE, that had tough negotiations till late on the final day of the meeting, ended with general concensus to finalise the SAFTA draft treaty framework only after conducting an in-depth evaluation on implications of transition to free trade area from preferential trading arrangement on member countries.

"Although the joint secretaries had the option of extending the meeting for a day, they decided to end the meeting after all concurred on the point that the detailed study on implications of free trade area was necessary for settling the existing differences," said a highly placed source.

From the very onset, the member countries had debated on whether to finalise the draft in the latest meeting. "The latest outcome of the meeting has pushed the finalisation of the SAFTA draft treaty framework impossible within the deadline," he said.

The deadline to frame the draft treaty ends on Tuesday, as per the directives issued by the 11th the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit held in the capital early this year. This is the second time the SAARC Secretariat, endowed with the responsibility to finalise the SAFTA draft treaty framework has failed to meet the deadline. Earlier deadline matured in December 31, 2001.

The latest development, meanwhile, has left the finalisation of the draft treaty impossible for the next six months, as a SAARC Secretariat-appointed Sri Lanka-based consultant, Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), has been asked to submit the final report by March-end, 2003.

"And, the member countries have sought additional two/three months for studying the report and agreeing to it," said the source. "As a result, the next meeting of the CoE is not possible at least within the next six months," he said, adding that it was a major jolt to the economic cooperation front in the slackened SAARC process.

During the three-day meeting, the commerce joint secretaries discussed all 25 articles of the SAARC Secretariat-prepared preliminary draft framework of SAFTA treaty. "But, existing differences has not been narrowed 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 meeting, according to the source. The meeting also failed to thrash out possible approaches and time frame of tariff reduction. Even the issue of rules of origin, in which the least developed members have sought for certain facilities, could not be settled, he said.

Revenue compensatory mechanism, the issue that Bangladesh raised and other least developed countries of the region supported, too was not addressed during the meeting. Thrashing out certain mechanism for compensating the revenue loss from the tariff reduction is billed as an important factor to determine the success of the free trade area, added the source.

"Even when the member states failed to agree on existing trade related matters, Sri Lanka and Maldives added another complication by raising the issue of endorsing the categorisation of ‘smaller countries’ within the SAARC group and providing facilities to them," said the source. The three-day meet was 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.

While critics are raising questions if the next CoE meeting can be held within the next six to seven months, the SAARC Secretariat, issuing a press release, has said that the fifth CoE meet would be held at the earliest for finalising the draft treaty.

4 killed in road accident in Parbat

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PARBAT, Dec 30 Four people, including three children, died instantly and four others sustained serious injuries when a jeep laden with timber met with an accident on the border of the Saligram and Bahaki Thanti Village Development Committees (VDCs) of Parbat district this morning. The jeep, registered Lu 1 Ja 1050, was heading toward Uram Pokhara VDC from Ranipani VDC.

Locals said that the vehicle fell off the rural road due to heavy load.

Those killed in the road accident have been identified as Rajiv Bhattarai, 12 of Thati VDC, Suraj Shrestha, 10, and Bharat Bishwokarma, 10, both from Saligram VDC and another adult who is yet to be identified. The injured people have been rushed to a local hospital.

A police team from Syangja has been sent to the site of the accident, which is located at about 15 kilometres away from Parbat district headquarters, Kushma.

New Delhi processing plea to overfly arms from US, Belgium

By Surendra Phuyal

KATHMANDU, Dec 30 Another cargo plane carrying a consignment of sophisticated arms from the United States will show up in the South Asian sky this week as officialdom in New Delhi prepares to grant official permission to an European airliner carrying a shipment of Belgian-make automatic rifles to the Royal Nepal Army (RNA).

An East European Airline cargo carrier with some 500 Minimi machine guns was forced to divert to Kazakhstan from the South Asian sky in mid-December after authorities in New Delhi denied "overflying" permission to it due to "strategic reasons". The plane has remained grounded in the central Asian nation ever since, awaiting permission from authorities in India, which encircles Nepal from east, south and west.

"The Royal Nepalese Embassy in New Delhi applied for an overflying permission to fly arms from the U.S. last Friday" Sanjay Verma, First Secretary, Press, Information and Culture, at the Indian Embassy here told The Kathmandu Post today. "And that’s currently being processed."

Sources in the RNA, meanwhile, confirmed that the consignment of arms from the United States includes 5,000 m-16 A2 assault rifles. The arms are purchased by HMG. The army is also expecting delivery of 45,000 more similar rifles from the US government as part of its military hardware support to Nepal. For 2002, the U.S. has pledged military assistance worth $ 17 million.

Also being processed in the New Delhi officialdom, according to him, is another application from the Nepalese Embassy there, which has requested the friendly neighbour to grant overflying permission to the East European Airliner got stuck in Kazakhstan for more than two weeks.

"It might take us sometime to process the application seeking permission to fly the consignment of arms from America, but the application to fly the arms from Belgian can be processed any moment, any day," Verma said. "So, the plane can land in Kathmandu anytime soon."

He added that the Nepalese Embassy in Delhi had to re-apply on behalf of the arms carrier, because procedures were incomplete in the first application submitted last week. This is in stark contrast to claims made by a senior government minister, who last week heaped the blame on the European airline and the Belgian government, and said that it was "their responsibility."

The Belgian government announced earlier this month that it was making the first delivery of 500 Minimis, manufactured by the Belgian government-owned arms manufacturer, Fabrique Nationale Herstal, to the Royal Nepal Army as part of a bilateral deal hammered out by the Sher Bahadur Deuba government.

The south Belgium (Wallon)-based company is to deliver a total of 5,500 Minimis to the RNA as per the Euro 25 million deal. The arms delivery was made after two groups of Belgian observers that visited Nepal recently submitted their reports about the overall situation in Nepal.

"Now that the application processes are underway and the arms carriers on their way to Nepal, we don’t think there will be similar problems while bringing in arms from Belgium or USA in future," said Colonel Deepak Gurung, the RNA spokesman.

The army, RNA officials say, plans to fully equip its 55,000-strong force with M-16 rifles by mid-2003, and pass on its 30-plus-year-old SLRs (self loading rifles) to the civilian police, who are currently being trained to operate SLRs and other arms. The Minimi machine guns from Belgium, too, will be "strategically distributed" among the forces. "This will boost confidence and efficiency of the army," one officer said.

Developed for use in Vietnam, the M-16 A2, according to a report available in the Internet, is now the primary combat rifle with the U.S. military and many of our allies around the world. "This weapon is seen everywhere in Operation Desert Shield/Storm as all U.S. Troops in the Saudi Arabia are under standing orders to carry their weapons at all times. Saudi and Kuwaiti forces are also armed with M-16s."

CIAA chief’s ‘pro-insult’ remarks flayed; hearing to continue

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KATHMANDU, Dec 30 The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) was out to destroy the reputation of an individual and institution in the name of investigation, the Special Court was told today.

Pleading on behalf of former Minister for Information and Communications Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta in the case related to the grant of licence and alleged irregularity in returning ‘security bond’ to Kantipur Television (KTV), senior advocate Harihar Dahal said that CIAA chief believed that insulting individual was his motto and measure of success in the drive against corruption. He submitted to the Court an audio cassette and a text of the interview given by CIAA chief Surya Nath Upadhyaya to a radio service to drive home his point.

In the radio interview last month, Upadhyaya had said the people holding high positions or possessing huge money are in jail for six months or so, is it not their insult? Upadhyaya further claimed that now people know more about CIAA and this is a good sign.

Dahal took objection against Upadhyaya’s remarks saying that it was out to play with people’s reputation.

Delving into the case, he said that the withdrawal of bid bond has not incurred any loss to the government and public property. "Since it has incurred no loss to the government, it should not be the case what the CIAA has claimed," Dahal said.

He also said that the licence does not mention the term of "security bond" and it is a bid bond so Gupta committed no crime in giving the bond back to the KTV," Dahal said.

However, Chief Judge Top Bahadur Magar asked Dahal whether the licence holds its validity when it does not mention the condition, which was required before receiving it.

Dahal replied, "The government might have trusted KTV and it mentioned only bid bond in the licence," Dahal said. The hearing is to continue tomorrow.

Earlier, Yuba Raj Subedi, a prosecutor from CIAA, repeatedly said that there was malafide intention while granting licence to KTV. "Even the government agents have been involved in this organised crime," Subedi argued.

He also said that the government might have committed a mistake by writing security bid bond instead of bid bond for which the government has to correct it.

However, Subedi could not categorically explain when Chief Judge Magar asked him whether or not the contract with KTV would be invalid with the expiry of the stipulated date of the bid bond.

Judge Damodar Prasad Sharma also asked Subedi whether the CIAA was still confused with the terms - security bond and bid bond. "Shouldn’t the government has asked KTV for security bond after the expiry of the security bid bond?" Sharma asked. The judge also questioned Subedi how the CIAA intended to establish malafide intention on the part of both Gupta and KTV as other defendants accused in the case were still at large?

For his part, Subedi maintained that it was a "security bond" whatever name it was given to. He claimed that the entire process was pre-planned and motivated, therefore was done with malafide intention.

At one point, the courtroom burst with laughter when Subedi asked the court to put both Gupta and KTV Director Kailash Sirohiya into further detention ‘for their own security’. "Since it is a corruption case, the accused should continuously be in custody pending the trial so that they may not face public anger," Subedi said.

Another CIAA prosecutor Prem Raj Karki argued that the Commission intended to show that crime occurred not only when the Rs 25 million security bid bond was withdrawn by KTV but also on the activities carried out before awarding the licence to KTV.

To this claim, chief judge Magar asked Karki whether the Commission could claim great loss when the time-period to complete the works by KTV has not been over yet. "As the committed term is still left, is it right for the Commission to claim great loss to the government due to the withdrawal of the amount put as security bond," he asked.

Increasing HIV +ve blood pints call for Govt-Red Cross coordination

By Tashi Dolma Thinley

KATHMANDU, Dec 28 At a blood donation camp held at Thimi municipality commemorating the World AIDS Day earlier this month, 60 percent of the donors were found to be HIV positive.

This was a shock not just for the Nepal Red Cross Society officials, but also others working to contain HIV/AIDS in Nepal.

"Our records at the centre in Thimi says that 60 percent of the total donors were HIV positives," said the director of the centre, Ramesh Ukah Shrestha. "We don’t come across so many HIV positive cases in a single camp."

Strangely, the total percentage of blood samples tested HIV positive this year stands at 0.37 percent, according to the Nepal Red Cross Society’s (NRCS) blood transfusion centre records.

Though such a result has come for the first time, it cannot be overlooked, say specialists. While this clearly shows how rapidly HIV is spreading in Nepal, some experts say this should not be a subject of panic and neither a base to make any conclusion on the HIV/AIDS scenario in Nepal.

And with the large number of blood donations made each day all over the country, such results - though low in percent do occur - normally, say experts at the NRCS Blood Bank. Yearly in Kathmandu alone, more than 500 organisations are known to be "committed donors", which totals to about 30,000 donors.

But Dr Manita Rajkarnikar, director of the NRCS Blood Bank adds that factors such as ‘window period’ could play foul in determining the right estimate of the HIV positive people - that is currently very low. At the same time, experts at the NRCS say that they have not been informed of such results.

The irony is that when such cases occur, the centre just disposes the blood collected, and this, the experts at the society say, is per the mandate set by the government.

Meanwhile, a look at the national cumulative estimates of people living with HIV and AIDS shows a figure of mere 2000, while the UN estimates it to be as high as 58,000.

The search to find the one of those 58,000, that should have begun, ends with discarding the infected blood samples, informs Dr Manita. "In such cases, the blood is discarded and we don’t really slog to inform the person".

She is of the view that those living with HIV/AIDS should be informed to ensure that the particular person takes all the preventive measures to control the spread. However, that does not fall in the mandate of the Red Cross.

Experts at the NRCS suggest that the National Centre for AIDS and STD Control (NCASC) should coordinate with the NRCS by incorporating the HIV/AIDS awareness programme with the Society’s blood programme. But that seems hardly happening. Those at NRCS are not happy with the way national AIDS programme is being handled by NCASC.

An expert from the NRCS, on condition of anonymity, says, "The National AIDS programme is a money making scheme, they have a repetitive data and in the name of advocacy spends hundreds of thousands of rupees in their trip aboard".

"With the number of blood donors we have, we can help a great deal in finding out the transparent HIV positive people, randomly," he said. "But of course, that is successful only if the reference laboratory is strengthened."

NCASC has often defended themselves saying that despite the establishment of test centres, people hardly come to take the test, due to stigma attached with the infection resulting in improper data of the HIV positives.

Bushan Kanta, a 26-year-old, went to a private hospital for a general check-up, citing that he needed a medical report to go abroad. He had no such plans but he says it was the only way he could get to know his HIV status.

He says, "I wanted to know if I have HIV, but going to a centre that loudly reads on the signboard ‘National AIDS Control, Central Lab’ wouldn’t everyone think that I’m an AIDS patient?"

Elders want budget under constituency development fund

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KATHMANDU, Dec 30 Members of the National Assembly have demanded the resumption of the practice of budget allocation to respective constituencies which passes through the hands of the members of parliament.

The erstwhile government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba had discontinued the tradition when it presented the budget at the beginning of the current fiscal year through the royal ordinance.

Since the government is coming up with supplementary budget through a royal ordinance soon, the elders have suggested the resumption of the tradition whereby the members of parliament got to spend the budget on their pet projects in the constituencies of their choices.

Since the incumbent interim regime is bracing up to promulgate a supplementary budget on January 7, the members of the National Assembly made a representation to Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand and Finance Minister Dr. Badri Prasad Shrestha on Monday in this connection.

"We have demanded that the government must restore the rights of the people’s representative to go to the people with at least some budget which has been found going a long way in meeting the local demands," Gaura Koirala told The Kathmandu Post.

According to her, the members of the Upper House of parliament have reiterated the demand that earmarking budget under the constituency development fund could go a long way in sustaining the strength of the multiparty parliamentary system in the wake of the National Assembly being the sole institution which is still in place.

The government has been earmarking Rs.1 million under constituency development fund since last few years and has been found quite efficacious when it comes to meet the local needs.

However Prime Minister Chand has been claimed to have told that the government may not be able to earmark the amount in the wake of the resource crunch and growing need for security expenditures. He has been, however, claimed to have assured the elders that the government would consider their pleas in the right light.

Prime Minister Chand also told the elders that it was the outgoing regime which had cut off the budget. Elders, however, argued that if the government which was dismissed on "incompetence" ground cuts the budget why can’t the competent government resume the tradition. Elders have however issued the threat that they would boycott the amount if the amount is less than initially fixed.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Dr. Shrestha has made it clear that the government may not be able to earmark any budget whatsoever, notwithstanding the assurances coming from Prime Minister Chand.

"Economy is in doldrum and so is the revenue mobilisation. Let us see how much loan can we garner before I can pledge any budget under the constituency development fund," Dr. Badri has been claimed to have told the visiting lawmakers, ruling out claims that the government may earmark any budget.

Lawmakers have however cried foul over budgetary policy whereby the budget earmarked for the Royal Palace stands at over Rs. 610 million while the government is expressing inability to earmark far less under the constituency development fund which adds up to merely Rs.110 million.

Bandh affects day-to-day life

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KATHMANDU, Dec 30 The second day of the two-day bandh called by the Maoists in Bagmati and Narayani zones passed off peacefully today with no untoward incident.

However, the two-day general strike hit the day-to-day life with people left to walk to workplaces in both the capital and elsewhere, as most vehicles stayed off the roads. Educational institutions too remained closed on the second consecutive day.

According to report from Narayangadh, effect of the bandh was highly mixed on the second day. No untoward incident was reported. While schools and colleges remained closed, light vehicles remained partially on the road. Long distance buses, however, did not hit the road on Monday too.

Report from Birgunj, which falls in the Narayani zone, said Monday saw far less impact on day-to-day life. Shops and business establishment in Adarshanagar and Maisthan remained open even as the town witnessed resumption of private vehicular traffic. Manufacturing establishments ran half their capacity fearing reprisal even as long distance buses kept off the road.

The bandh did not have much impact on retail business since shops usually remain closed in the town. However, business establishment and manufacturing units elsewhere in the district remained open.

Two arrested with stolen idol

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KATHMANDU, Dec 31 A team of police from the Valley Crime Investigation Branch (VCIB) today cracked down a group of thieves involved in the trade of idols and images of historic and archeological importance in the capital, with an age-old idol of God Bishnu worth around Rs 14 millions.

The police team after a month-long pursuit of the thieves became successful to arrest 42-year-olds Prem Babu Patel and Satrughna Prasad Upadhyay, who hail from Parsa district, at Dhunge Adda, Kalanki with the idol, said Mahesh Bikram Shah, Deputy Superintendent of Police at the VCIB.

The accused told the police that they received the idol from Prabhat, an Indian national from Mujaffur, to sell it on commission. They also told the police that the idol was stolen from Mujaffur.

DSP Shah said that the police team approached the thieves in pretext of purchasing the idol, following tip-off that the duo were visiting Five Star hotels and curio shops in the capital.

They first offered to sell the idol at nearly Rs 2,000,000 and as one foreign national agreed to pay US dollar 75,000 but they declined to sell, he said.

The police team too approached the perpetrators as businessmen and offered Rs 14,000,000 for the idol, the DSP told The Kathmandu Post, adding that an agreement was also reached for the deal before the police finally nabbed them.

The VCIB chief, Binod Singh said that the accused have been handed over to Hanuman Dhoka Police Office for necessary legal actions. "It is a great achievement of the VCIB police’s efforts to nab idol thieves", he said.