Donors pledge $ 500m annual aid to Nepal

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KATHMANDU, Feb 7: The Nepal Development Forum (NDF) meet concluded here today with the 23 donor agencies and countries pledging strong commitment to support the government’s poverty-reduction programme, and assuring financial assistance worth 500 million US dollars annually to aid the programmes of the Tenth Plan and Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).

Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, briefing pressmen in the capital on the outcomes of the meet, said that the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), the MTEF and the Tenth Plan put forward by the government as key agendas, received warm response from the donors.

"The donors committed to provide financial assistance worth US $ 500 million annually to support the anti-poverty and other reform programmes, which is at par with the government’s expectation," said Dr Mahat. The government needs foreign assistance worth US $ 2.5 billion for carrying out development activities during the five-year period of the forthcoming Tenth Plan.

The donors assured the financial support in a joint press release issued after the conference. "The development partners expressed their support to bridge the resource gap, which is around US $ 500 million annually, to implement the poverty-reduction plan," stated the joint communiqué. However, they also stressed that the government has to speed up reforms in the various sectors.

They also raised strong concern over weak governance and inefficient implementation of development-related projects, particularly those funded by the donors. The donors even suggested downsizing the cabinet in a bid to reduce the soaring government expenditure.

The development partners also urged the government to show a sense of urgency in improving delivery of the basics to the poor and marginalised groups. "Implementation should be focused on producing visible results on the ground and scaling up successful initiatives," says the release.

The Finance Minister admitted that the implementation mechanism has been weak, and assured to initiate necessary measures for effective implementation of the development projects to secure the desired results. "The demand for effective implementation is very genuine. If we can’t implement what we promise, then we have no moral right to ask for additional external assistance," said Mahat.

The donors also expressed their full support to the newly-released Foreign Aid Policy of the government. The four-day meeting has decided to finalise the Policy within a month by incorporating some of the suggestions of the donor community.

Earlier, in Pokhara today, Mieko Nishimizu, Vice President of South Asia Region- World Bank, delivering the concluding remarks, stated that the donors would provide continuous support to Nepal if the government can speed up its financial reform activities. "As long as the process of change called the ‘economic revival programme’ keeps moving forward, our assistance to the nation-building of Nepal can be much, much, bigger than any amount," she said.

Dr Mahat also addressing the concluding session at Pokhara, asserted that the government is ready to fulfill all its commitments. "I would like to reiterate that the government is unequivocally committed to pursue the reforms that are in the boarder interest of the economy by addressing the concerns and suggestions from donors," he said.

The Finance Minister also admitted that corruption has been one of the major problems faced by the country. "Realising that corruption involves big economic costs, a number of preventive and curative measures will be taken to combat it," he said. He also said that the CIAA’s (Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority) hands will be strengthened to combat corruption.

The NDF meet was held for the first time in Nepal.

Nepal brushes aside Bangladesh to enter Plate final

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KATHMANDU, Feb 7: Nepal once more proved its ability to defend low score in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup whipping Bangladesh by 23 runs on Thursday to set up a Plate final clash against Zimbabwe at Lincoln, New Zealand.

Bangladesh, as reported by news agency, failed to reach the victory target of 181 runs as Nepali batsmen Basudev Thapa (41*) and Manjit Shrestha (27*), resuming from the overnight score of 136-6, added 44 more runs in the remaining five overs to close at 180. The match was extended to the second day after the poor weather prevented it to be completed on Wednesday.

With the win in the Plate Championship semis, Nepal has now racked up six consecutive victories, including two against the Test-playing nations Pakistan and Bangladesh, out of a total seven matches they have played in the tournament. The lone loss that Nepal suffered so far was against England on January 19.

Bangladesh started the run chase convincingly, hitting two boundaries to Manjit Shrestha. But it lost three wickets in the space of 11 deliveries adding just four runs. From 28 without any loss, they were reduced to three for 32, thanks to skipper Binod Das’ spell, which got Nepal two wickets.

That left Bangladesh middle order exposed to Nepali spinners, who with their tight confounding spell, made life difficult for the batsmen.

Left-arm spinner Shakti Gauchan and off-spinner Sanjam Regmi were at their economic best conceding just 18 and 14 runs respectively in their 8-over spell. Regmi scalped a prized wicket of Bangladesh captain Nafis Iqbal (17), just when the fourth wicket partnership (25 runs) between him and Shariful Islam (22) looked threatening.

Nepali vice-captain Bardan Chalise, who would be declared man of the match later, ran through the bottom half of the side taking four for 38 runs. Chalise had contributed 27 runs to the Nepali innings batting at number three.

Chalise’s efforts overshadowed Bangladesh’s Wassel Uddin who scored 37 runs off 67 deliveries. Uddin, along with Islam, looked like taking Bangladesh to a victory as he put on 47 runs for the sixth wicket. However, their efforts was cut short by a brilliant piece of ground fielding as Islam was run out with the score at 106.

Earlier, Nepal started the day on a positive note as Thapa added 22 off 24 balls to his overnight score of 19 while Shrestha doing better than a run-a-ball added 19 more off just 13 deliveries he faced on the day. The two were particularly severe on Bangladesh opening bowler SK Ressel, who gave away 20 runs in his last two overs. Earlier his figures looked impressive two for 21 runs off eight overs.

Thapa, who hurt his knee during the match, is doubtful unlikely to play in the Plate final, said assistant coach for Nepali team, Samson Jung Thapa. However, he expressed his confidence over the outcome of the match against Zimbabwe. "We are confident of a good performance and hopefully also win the final," said jubilant Thapa. Team coach Roy Dias, shared Thapa’s confidence saying that he was ‘looking forward’ to the clash for the Plate championship.

"They’re a good side, but we’ll take it as just another match," said Dias. "We’ll take it as just another match, because every game has been like final to us."

PM says it again: No need for Constituent Assembly
King to be consulted on constitutional amendments

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KATHMANDU, Feb 7: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Thursday stressed that he would first consult with His Majesty the King on the need for constitutional amendments, while reiterating that there was no need for a Constituent Assembly, as demanded by the now-outlawed Maoists before they broke off the four-month old truce in November last year.

He was speaking to members of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Human Rights Committee (FAHRC) who had summoned him today to the Parliament premises to get details of incidents since the imposition of emergency in the country.

When the Committee members pointed out that the Constitution has no provision for mandatory consultation with the King, Deuba emphasised that there was "no harm" in consulting the Monarch. "It’s a matter of feelings," he said, adding that His Majesty too was part of the Constitution, "an institution in itself".

While speaking about the emergency, the Prime Minister reiterated that it needed to be prolonged as it was having a positive impact. He pointed out the many "advantages" that came with emergency such as procuring private helicopters, trucks and buses easily for the use of security forces. He added that even the Maoists’ threat on the country’s judiciary has been removed after the imposition of emergency.

He sought the opposition’s co-operation in endorsing the emergency in the Parliament. The emergency has to be passed by a two-thirds majority by (Falgun 10) February 22. Speaking about the directives to be issued under Article 115 (7) of the Constitution on the "dos and don’ts", he said it would be done the very next day of the emergency proposal being endorsed.

Replying on the possibility of the security forces’ carrying out anti-Maoist operations even without the emergency cover, Deuba said that he would "hold in camera discussions with all the party leaders" on the issue. He declined to elaborate.

On the members’ concern over the violation of human rights, the PM assured that the government was alert so as not to let any misuse of emergency powers by the security forces. Earlier, while reading out his statement, he had made the same observation.

He also denied any "deliberate disappearance" of arrested individuals and stressed that innocents are being released after due investigation.

Some members of the FAHRC pointed out to the PM that his ministers were indulging in corruption, and asked him to take action against them. In reply, Deuba said that he could not act merely on the basis of rumours. Instead, he revealed that the government was introducing a very strong Bill to combat corruption, and asked the opposition to help pass the Bill in the forthcoming session of Parliament beginning Sunday.

Throughout his grilling by the members, the PM kept repeating that the Maoists had betrayed his faith that a solution can be arrived at only through dialogue. Deuba insisted that the rebels ought to lay down their arms before the government could hold talks with them again. He also ignored some members’ observation that as head of the high-level committee to resolve the Maoist problem, he had suggested continuing with the talks even after initial failure.

He also refuted any "foreign hand" behind the Maoists.

Deuba refutes Koirala’s charges

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KATHMANDU, Feb 7: On the second day of the Nepali Congress Central Working Committee meet, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba refuted party General Secretary Sushil Koirala’s report that the country was on the brink of collapse.

Koirala, head of the party monitoring committee on assessing emergency, had presented a damning report on the functioning of the government at Wednesday’s CWC meet at the party central office.

"We can correct the wrong-doings if they are pointed out by the party and others," Deuba is reported to have said, Thursday.

"We can agree on most of the issues raised by the report of the General Secretary. However, we cannot agree to the allegations that no efforts were made to improve the situation," a CWC member quotes Deuba.

The PM also asked the number two man in his Cabinet, Chiranjivi Wagle, to present a brief report to Koirala, detailing the efforts of the government to bring the situation under control and provide immediate relief to the people.

On her part, CWC member Shailaja Acharya questioned the rationale behind the imposition of emergency in the country. She accused Deuba of leading the country towards regression and bringing gradual harm to the democratic system. She claimed that there was no just cause for continuing with the emergency as the law and order situation has been deteriorating even during the emergency.

When Acharya lashed out at Deuba’s "irresponsible" statement of "inviting foreign troops to quell the Maoists", Deuba retorted, "I am no less patriotic than you are." Acharya had also harsh words for General Secretary Koirala, saying that he helped Deuba lead the country towards the anti-democratic path. "Both of you are two sides of the same coin," she said.

Acharya also urged NC President, Girija Prasad Koirala, and former party president, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, to take initiatives immediately to stop the country from courting disaster.

CWC member Ram Chandra Poudel presented a report on the emergency situation based on his visit to more than 12 Maoist-hit districts.

Poudel said his report was not meant to support prolonging the state of emergency, but was meant to retain the present security arrangement for a year to get the situation under control.

In a short briefing to the press, party spokesperson, Arjun Narsingh KC, said that today’s meeting ratified the statute of the party’s Nepal Indigenous Ethnic Group Association and the Central Department for Discipline.

Nepal-India secy level talks wind up

RSS

KATHMANDU, Feb 7: The talks between the Nepalese and Indian delegations led by the home secretaries of the two countries on the concluding day today discussed ways and means of strengthening bilateral co-operation in curbing terrorism and cross-border crime, according to the Royal Nepalese Embassy in New Delhi.

The Nepalese delegation was led by Home Secretary Keshav Raj Rajbhandari and that of Indian delegation was led by Indian Home Secretary Kamal Pande.

The two sides discussed reviewing the progress made after the third home secretary level talks held in Kathmandu in July 2000, the two countries agreed to hold more regular consultations between the officials of the border districts.

The two sides agreed to facilitate the air travel of school children accompanying their parents with the identity cards of their parents.

It was also agreed to constitute a group to review details of the working of the present modalities of air travel between Nepal and India and come up with a suitable solution in this regard by the end of march 2002.

The two secretaries agreed to hold the 5th home secretary level talks in Kathmandu within six months.

New York cops and lip service ruled the WEF roost

By Akhilesh Upadhyay

NEW YORK, Feb 7: The annual conference of World Economic Forum concluded here peacefully early this week. So much attention was focused on policing at WEF that the fixation with the law and order and profits from the free-spending visitors masked the core issue: the widening gap between the rich and poor.

It was the first time since 1972 that the get-together of world’s leading business executives and leaders had been moved out from the Swiss resort of Davos, a gesture of solidarity for New York after the Sept 11 attacks.

The New York gala had a talk on, but little pledge for, actions to redress problems of developing economies, many of whom have come to a grinding halt due to dictates from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Some corporate giants said they wanted to make amends—Microsoft’s Bill Gates announced a multi-billion dollar fund to fight AIDS in Africa—but they came nowhere near committing themselves to rules for transparency, and applying the same yardstick on human rights, environment and labor to developing countries as they do to developed countries.

"The World Economic Forum (WEF) was nothing but window-dressing," said Eric Laursen of Another World Is Possible, umbrella group of student, left, peace and direct-action groups formed to mobilise protestors. "If your hear more noises with social messages from business executives, it’s just a public relations stunt. They are aware of the changing public mood."

It was Sept 11 that set the mood of the five-day annual jamboree of world leaders and business executives. Well before the protests got under way, activists had been careful to emphasise that their demonstrations would be peaceful, and that many of their fellow activists had chosen to keep away from New York by attending a parallel World Social Summit in Allegre, Brazil.

Indeed, while the tone of the protests outside WEF was more subdued compared to other recent economic forums, the texture of the debate inside remained essentially unchanged: government control over private enterprises is bad.

Activists argue the sound bytes with social messages are, if anything, results of protests outside Waldorf-Astoria, the venue of the WEF, and that the messages fall well short of any specific policy commitments.

The media were only too happy to hail WEF a success. New York Times declared that the event made at least 200 million dollars in revenue for the city, while just 201 people were arrested, and all but one was charged with disorderly conduct. It stressed that fewer than 10,000 demonstrators came to New York, compared to 50,000 to Seattle and 100,000 to Genoa.

The demonstrators say the 4,000 officials of New York Police Department, many in plainclothes, overwhelmed them leading to violations of their right to peaceful assembly.

In its first major test since taking office early this year, the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent millions on police overtime as law enforcement officials turned mid-town Manhattan into a fortress to protect the 3,000 powerful world leaders and business executives.

"Praise for the police is unwarranted," Laursen said. "Police did things that were very dangerous." One was closing down the largest protest rally two hours before they were finished on Saturday, he said.

Some demonstrators found the police tactics intimidating. "There were so many policemen surrounding us," said Sushma Joshi, a Nepali student at New York City’s New School. She said the police followed the protestors in their motorbikes every single feet of the march trying to intimidate them into submission. "This after all is not a fascist state."

But the protestors found few sympathisers in a city that seemed desperate to revamp its image, and business, after Sept 11 attacks. "In the end," said the Times, "the elite conference and the various street protests it spawned went off so smoothly that … the lives of most city residents were unaffected. Over five days, the event created tens of millions of dollars for the city while just 201 people were arrested…"

The Jan 31-Feb 4 event stood out in sharp relief to recent economic forums, starting from Seattle in 1999, which had been marred by violent street demonstrations and clashes between anti-globalisation protestors and police. In Genoa last year, one protestor was killed.

New York’s newly elected Mayor Mike Bloomberg has been quick to pat his own back. "In terms of sending a message in helping us in soliciting other events going into the future," he says, "all you have go to do is look at what happened when World Economic Forum was held elsewhere, compare it what happened in New York."

Not everyone has been as impressed. Both governments and terrorists are ultimately playing the same game, said Anti-Capitalist Coalition. "The manipulation of people’s sense of fear and insecurity for political gains."

No society which measures its success by the total amount of merchandise it manages to produce could ever lead to human happiness, it said. "Therefore we ask nothing more of the junketeers in this Waldorf than we would of anyone else."

Independent analysts have called on world leaders to listen to the protestors. A BBC commentator asked the WEF organizers not to view anti-globalization lobby "as just those who take to the streets, smash up McDonald’s or confront riot police. But the events—business failures of the past year—have shown that their concerns deserve hearing equal to those of the 1,000 most powerful corporations."

Maoist rebel killed in Myagdi
Army launches aerial offensive in Kavre

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KATHMANDU, Feb 7: Security forces conducting search operation in Myagdi district gunned down an unidentified Maoist in an encounter in Tharkhani area on Wednesday, the Defence Ministry said here today.

The Royal Nepal Army (RNA) have also been launching aerial offensives on the neighbouring VDCs of Khanalthok VDC of Kavre district after the outlawed Maoists killed 16 policemen at the Bhakundebeshi police station on Monday night, our reporter quoted security officials as saying.

Dozens of Maoist suspects have also been arrested from Phulbari, Katunje, Patlekhet, Baluwa and other VDCs of Kavre. An undeclared curfew is in place in the neighbouring VDCs of Khanalthok, locals said.

Kavre Chief District Officer, Himnath Dawadi, however, expressed his ignorance about the arrests made by the security forces. "I am not aware of the arrests because the army has taken the situation under their control," he said. Following the Maoist attack at Bhakundebeshi, construction work in the Japanese-funded Banepa-Sindhuli-Bardibash highway has come to a standstill because the labourers have not been turning for security reasons.

Another press statement issued today by the Defence Ministry said that a six-year-old girl, who was injured in Monday’s crossfire between the army and the Maoists in Chhang village of Tanahun district, was airlifted today to the capital for treatment.

Meanwhile, a report from Dhading states that the rebels had last week blown up another repeater tower of the Nepal Telecommunication Corporation located on a hilltop of Kampur VDC. The rebels had earlier destroyed another tower at Sunaula Bazaar VDC. About 60 telephone lines have gone dead due to the destruction of the towers, according to Nepal Telecommunication Corporation.

In Kailali, the militants on Wednesday evening blew up a two-storey house of Dev Raj Pathak, Nepali Congress Convention member, with a powerful ‘pressure cooker’ bomb in Dhangadhi Municipality-5. No injuries were reported in the incident. The victims said property worth about two million rupees was damaged in the explosion.

Our reporter from Nawalparasi said that a joint force of the army and the police has been mobilised in the 17 hill VDCs of the district bordering Palpa and Tanahun after receiving information about Maoists conducting guerrilla warfare training there. The VDCs are believed to be a Maoist bastion in the district.

The Home Ministry today said that locals in Dolpa district handed 85 country-made guns to the security forces on their own. The Ministry also said that 65 Maoists have surrendered to authorities across the country in the last two days.

Meanwhile, inaugurating the quarters of Deputy Inspector General of Police in Pokhara today, IGP Pradeep Shumsher Rana said all the security wings have been mobilised in a co-ordinated manner against the rebels. Rana informed that 538 policemen have lost their lives since the Maoist violence broke out six years ago.

Education Bill won’t stop mercenary practices’

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LALITPUR, Feb 7: The Seventh Amendment to the Education Bill would not eliminate commercialisation and politicisation of the education sector, said a former education secretary here Thursday.

The government had passed the amendment to the existing Education Bill in the last summer session of Parliament with a view to wipe out weaknesses and to introduce reforms in the country’s "ailing" education system.

However, Khem Raj Regmi, former education secretary, today claimed that the amendment had many loopholes, and would not stop commercialisation of the education sector.

"The amendment is incomplete as it fails to address the commercialisation and politicisation of education in the country," said Regmi addressing a gathering at a workshop organised here by the Education Journalists’ Group to outline a proposed education regulation.

Among other things, the Education Bill, now with the royal palace for assent to become an Act, proposes local participation in the management of education. But, in Regmi’s opinion, this is not practical as no provision has been for providing funds to the local bodies for the purpose.

"If the government wants to encourage community role in the management of education, the local bodies should be provided necessary budget for the same," Regmi told a gathering consisting mostly of education experts.

He also appealed to the education officials to stop unqualified hands from getting into the teaching profession.

Devi Prasad Ojha, former education minister, asked the government and education experts to formulate a clear-cut education policy to clear up the "confusion" in the education sector.

"The need of the hour is forming an education policy that will be unanimously approved," said Ojha.

Local body representatives at the workshop also lambasted the Education Bill (Seventh Amendment), saying that the amendment did not respect the spirit of the Local Self-Governance Act.

"Some provisions in the Bill contradict the (Local Self-Governance) Act," he said drawing the attention of officials at the Ministry of Education and Sports (MES).

Lawmaker Dr. Mangal Siddhi Manandhar was of the opinion that there should be equal access to education for all. "For that to materialise, the education sector ought to be decentralised," said the former vice chairman of the National Planning Commission.

Narayan Prasad Saud, Minister of State for Education and Sports, in his remarks, however, expressed optimism that the amendment would give a new direction to the present education system. "The government will set up a mechanism whereby education will be managed at the local level," he said.

Rajbiraj airport open, but where are the flights?

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RAJBIRAJ, Feb 7: Although Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Bal Bahadur KC, reopened the Rajbiraj airport on Tuesday, airport officials are not convinced that air service will take off soon.

Locals say the Minister went ahead with the inauguration of the airport despite lack of enough manpower—staff as well as security personnel—and despite no electricity and communication network.

Flights to and from Kathmandu to the Rajbiraj airport were cancelled six years ago due to lack of adequate number of passengers.

Airport Chief Saroj Kumar Singh says that he has not received any flight schedules of the Royal Nepal Airlines.

Some of the passengers could be seen returning from the airport on Wednesday as no flight landed.

Established about four decades ago, the airport runway can accommodate an aircraft as big as Avro. Until three decades ago, the airport was quite busy, and RNAC used to operate flights to and from Lamidanda and Kathmandu. Rajbiraj was the headquarters of Sagarmatha zone and a major business hub until the partyless Panchayat system was overthrown in 1990.

Despite the reopening of the airport, Mayor of Rajbiraj Municipality, Jagarnath Das, is ignorant about when the flights would actually start. He also informed that earlier a feasibility study had been carried out to upgrade the airport into the country’s second international airport. "Forget about the international airport, there is a problem of domestic flights," says Das.

‘59 journos arrested since emergency’

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KATHMANDU, Feb 7: After the state of emergency was declared on November 26 last year, 59 journalists have been arrested, out of whom, 29 are still in jail, custody or missing, journalists’ association here said today.Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) Thursday expressed its concern over the government misusing the state of emergency and harassing the journalists despite the federation’s repeated requests to the government on this issue.

According to a press release issued today by FNJ, Nawaraj Pahadi, a correspondent of Kantiupr Daily and the chairman of FNJ Lamjung district, was arrested by Royal Nepal Army persons Wednesday.

The whereabouts of the journalist was kept secret by the soldiers.Similarly, a journalist of the Chitwan based newspaper Chure Sandhesh, Suresh Chandra Adhikari, arrested 14 days ago, is still missing.

And it has urged the government to release Bijay Raj Acharya Dhundi and to make Chandra Man Shrestha public.It also has requested Human Rights associations to force the government to make missing journalist appear public.

FNJ has urged the government to stop randomly arresting, taking in custody and make the journalists disappear and discourage them from performing their professional duty.

"We alter the government not to deprive the journalists from utilising the limited press freedom, who are assisting the government’s request and directions on the seriousness of the security issues," states the press release.