Procedure at final stage to sign landmine treaty

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KATHMANDU, Feb 7: State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Arjun Jung Bahadur Singh, said here today that the process to sign the Mine Ban Treaty 1997 is at the final stage.

"The process to sign the Landmine Ban Treaty 1997 is at the final stage," State Minister Singh said while addressing a seminar in the capital. "I hope the government will sign the treaty very soon."

Speaking at the seminar on Emergency and Landmines organised by the Ban Landmines Campaign Nepal (NCBL), State Minister Singh said the government now is assessing the potential impacts after signing it. "We are accumulating inputs from the experts," he said.

He also said he was personally very positive about signing it and said he would do his best in convincing the government to sign it.

Till now, the 1997 treaty banning the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of antipersonnel landmines has been ratified by 122 countries and signed by 142. Only Bangladesh and the Maldives from the South Asian Region have signed the Landmine Ban Treaty 1997. Still some 50 countries including United States of America and China have not signed the Landmine Ban Treaty.

Speaking on the occasion, chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives, Som Prasad Pandey, urged the Maoists to stop planting the landmines targeting the individuals. "That group (Maoists) should think and become serious about this," he said.

Pandey also asked the government to sign the Landmine Ban Treaty as soon as possible.

Deputy Inspector General of the Armed Police Force, Rabi Jung Thapa, addressing the function said the Maoists have not only claimed personal lives but have also created a psychological terror by planting the landmines. DIG Thapa also said the police have not been using the landmines and booby traps.

Addressing the seminar, lawmaker Chitra Bahadur KC, leader of Rastriya Prajatantra Party Jog Mehar Shrestha, former speaker Daman Nath Dhungana and president of NCBL Purna Shova Chitrakar urged the government to sign the treaty and the Maoists stop using the landmines.

Muslim pilgrims stranded in capital

By Ujir Magar

KATHMANDU, Feb 7: Nepali Muslims who came to the capital to set out for a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, have been stranded, with the Home Ministry failing to fly them to the Gulf state on time.

They were originally scheduled to set out for the holy pilgrimage on coming Saturday. But they have been forced to spend their time before fireplaces due mainly to the "weaknesses in management".

One hundred and fifty Nepali Muslims (haji) came to the capital from different parts of the country last Tuesday after receiving letters from the local District Administration Offices.

Every year the government makes necessary arrangement for the people.

They said that they have been forced to remain in the capital as the Central Haj Committee, the official body responsible for the pilgrimage, delayed their air tickets.

However, Meharaj Mahamud Shah, the Chairman of the Central Haj Committee, accepting the mismanagement said that they would fly on 12 February. "No airline gave us tickets, so the tour has been delayed," he said justifying the delay.

They, who are now taking shelter at Kashmiree and Nepali Jamme mosque at the downtown capital, hinted a corruption in the Haj management. They said that the management this year charged them Rs 21 thousand more for the religious tour. The government has also allocated 1.1 million rupees for the purpose.

Asked about the corruption charge, Chairman Shah said that he spent a large chunk of the government allocation in meetings. "The committee has spent the money in preparations of the tour," Shah told The Kathmandu Post.

Now the hajis have been demanding their money back as their tour is scheduled for February 14. They have also demanded the extra Rs 21 thousand they paid this year to be returned. "Government should return the money and send us on the earlier fixed date," said 65-year old Bashir Ahimad.

The hajis have been accommodating on their own. According to Abdul Ajij Khan, 20 percent of the hajis are sick due to cold.

They submitted letters with their signatures to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister respectively asking them to solve their problems on Thursday.

"There should not be any corruption in the name of religion and if our money,including passport, is returned, we are ready to manage the tour on our own," they said.

Awareness programme for hearing impaired

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BHAKTAPUR, Feb 7: The Bhaktapur Association of the Deaf held an awareness programme on "Prevention of Deafness, Educating the Deaf, Employment and Importance of Sign Language" here on Tuesday.

At the programme, chairman of Nepal National Federation of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Raghav Bir Joshi said that as the deaf are also a part of the society, there is a need for providing special education and employment opportunity for the deaf.

At the programme presided over by chairman of the Bhaktapur Association of the Deaf Nakul Prasad Adhikari, Federation’s advisor Basanta Bhattachan, social worker Ram Prasad Dawadi, Headmaster of the Mahendra Shanti Secondary School Taraman Joshi, chairman of local Balkot VDC Shyam Bahadur K.C. and others stressed the protection of the rights and welfare of the deaf.

Meanwhile, the community-based trainers’ training on Disaster Preparedness conducted by Nepal Red Cross Society Central Office, Department of Disaster Management, concluded here recently.

Giving away certificates to the participants of the training, central chairman of Nepal Red Cross Society Ramesh Kumar Sharma called on the participants to adopt the skills learned in course of the training at the community level and dedicate themselves to humanitarian service.

Red Cross General Secretary Devratna Dhakhwa, participant Ishwari Prasad Joshi, Goma Devi Timilsina and others underlined the need for raising public awareness on disaster preparedness.

Thirty-five persons including five women from Dadeldhura, Kanchanpur, Makwanpur, Sindhuli and Kavre districts had taken part in the training.

‘Malaysia satisfied with Nepali workers’

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KATHMANDU, Feb 7: Minister for Labour and Transport Management Palten Gurung had a meeting with Dr Fong Chang Onn, Minister for Human Resources of Malaysia at the latter’s office this morning.

Welcoming the visiting Minister for Labour and Transport Management and the other members of the Nepalese delegation, Malaysian Minister for Human Resources Dr. Fong Chang Onn expressed his satisfaction over the state of bilateral relations between the two countries.

He said that the Malaysia government and the employers are very much satisfied with the level of performance of the Nepalese workers in Malaysia.

Dr. Fong said that the cooperation between Nepal and Malaysia would further continue in the days to come in the field of labour relations.

Minister Gurung said that the purpose of this visit to Malaysia is to further cement the age-old ties subsisting between the two countries.

Expressing gratitude to His Majesty’s Government of Nepal for recognising Nepal as one of the source countries, Minister Gurung requested his counterpart to open an embassy or a consulate or to make other necessary arrangements to facilitate, among other things, the issuance of visas to Nepalese workers to be employed by the Malaysian employers.

Dr. Fong indicated that for the moment the Malaysian government would send visa officials to Kathmandu to issue the visas.

In response to the request of Gurung to increase the number of Nepalise workers, Dr. Fong said that the Malaysian government would give consideration to this proposal.

He proposed that a memorandum of understanding between the two governments be concluded on this matter.

Dr. Fong also apprised Gurung of Malaysian government’s decision to invite foreign workers to Malaysia on the basis of government-to-government agreement.

Minister Gurung expressed sincere appreciation of HMG Nepal to the Malaysian government of the positive response on the above matters.

On the occasion, Poshan Nath Nepal, secretary at the Ministry of Labour and Transport Management, Minod Kumar Bhattarai, member-secretary of the Employment Promotion Commission and other members of the Nepalese delegation were also present.

Flaws in Drugs (Control Act) amendment discussed

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KATHMANDU, Feb 7: With just two days left for the 21st Parliamentary session, the Youth Power Nepal, a non-governmental organisation, urged the members of the Parliament to take up the growing inter-related problem of AIDS and Drugs in the country.

Amidst the participation of few members of the Parliament, advocates and journalists, the programme discussed the flaws in the amendment of the Drugs (Control) Act, 2033 and presented the proposed 4th Amendment Draft. Advocate Pawan Kumar Ojha said, "The Act needs a major revamp when the Act 2033 was enacted. AIDS and HIV were yet to affect Nepal then."

At the same time, Ojha criticised the Drugs Act 2033 citing it was outdated and incomplete. "The Act focused only on supply reduction and kept aside the demand and the harm reduction aspects of the drugs," he said.

Kirant preacher faces death threat from Maoists

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DHARAN, Feb 7: Over 400 Kirant youths are keeping vigil at the Mangshebung pilgrimage site in Ilam district after death threats to their preacher Atmananda Lingden. In the last three months, the Maoists have been threatening the preacher with death if he does not leave one of the holiest places of Kirant religion.

Lingden’s disciples say the Maoists want to convert the pilgrimage site into a training centre and shelter home for the rebels.

"But our preacher has no intention to leave the place and let the Maoists occupy it," says a disciple. "He told me he would rather die than leave the place."

The Kirant youngsters keeping guard are not carrying any weapons. "We are unarmed but will not let the Maoists use our holy place to conduct the bloodiest of wars," says a youngster who had just arrived at the site. "Sin can never defeat virtue."

Twice in the last three months, armed rebels also tried to storm the place. "They tried to disrupt the Mangena Puja on December 3," says a disciple. "Later on January 18, they came here to kill our preacher but they could not meet him."

The disciple says the rebels have been announcing over loudspeakers from the "next hill" that the preacher will be killed within this month.

These days, during night time, the preacher is kept in a secret hiding place by the Mangena Service Committee, which looks after the pilgrimage site. "We believe they cannot kill him but we should make sure they cannot do anything wrong here," says a member of the Committee.

The pilgrimage site is located in the remote Banjho Village Development Committee (VDC) of the district. The village, lacking communication and transport facilities, is a four-hour walk north from Beldangi of Jhapa district. The pilgrimage was founded 80 years ago by Falgunanda Lingden.

Smugglers make hay in Bardiya forests

By Kamal Panthi

GULARIYA, Feb 7: Logging and smuggling of wood has become rampant in the forests of Bardiya district after the calling off of night patrolling due to the fear of Maoist attacks, according to the District Forest Office here.

The fear of Maoists is also compelling the employees of the different range posts and area forest offices to stay away from their offices.

Recently, the office took into custody 11 smugglers after seizing eight truckloads of wood from them. But the office believes that’s only a small part of what is being smuggled. "We cannot stop the illegal activities if there is no night patrolling," says Ganga Prasad Mahato, the ranger of Magaragadi range post.

"The unarmed employees cannot patrol at night," says Ganga Prasad Mahato, the ranger of Magaragadi range post. Two years back, the forest guards decided not to carry guns so as to avoid spiting the Maoists.

As for employees not reporting for duty fearing Maoist ire, Dhananjaya Poudel, an assistant forest officer, says the situation is not conducive for work. However, he denies that logging and smuggling have increased in the last two months.

Plea to control HIV/AIDS

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BIRATNAGAR, Feb 7: The village level seminar on formulation of HIV/AIDS and venereal disease control plan organised by Morang District Development Committee began at Banigama Village Development Committee.

The seminar was participated in by the representatives of Hoklabari, Bahuni, Kesani, Haraicha, Motipur, Shisawani Badhara, Tetariya, Dangraha, Mirgauliya and Banigama Village Development Committees.

Speaking on the occasion Morang DDC chairman Khadga Bahadur Basnet expressed confidence that HIV/AIDS and venereal diseases could be controlled if the local bodies carried out works actively.

Mrs Usha (Bhurtel) Koirala of the DDC HIV/AIDS and venereal disease programme stressed the need for the local bodies to extensively launch people awareness programme in order to check HIV/AIDS and veneral diseases.

The function was chaired by chairman of Banigama VDC, Rajeswore Majhi. A sum of Rs 68,350 has been set aside for organising HIV/AIDS and venereal disease awareness programmes in the district.

Meanwhile about 1,000 patients have received consultative services from the HIV/AIDS and venereal disease consultative service centres opened by Morang District Development Committee at two places of the district.