Foreign secys back UN resolution on terrorism

By Damakant Jayshi

KATHMANDU, Jan 1 :Concluding its three-day meeting in the capital, the Standing Committee comprising the Foreign Secretaries of the SAARC countries on Tuesday recommended that the United Nations Resolution 1373 (on terrorism) be implemented in its totality in the region.

The anti-terrorism resolution was unanimously passed by the UN Security Council on September 28 after the terrorist strikes in the USA more than two weeks before.

Besides condemning the September 11 attacks in the US, the Council had asked all States to prevent and suppress the financing of terrorism, as well as criminalise the wilful provision or collection of funds for such acts. It asked for the freezing of all terrorists’ accounts without delay. The Council also decided that States should refrain from providing any form of support to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts and deny safe haven to those who finance, plan, support, commit terrorist acts and provide safe havens to the terrorists, among others.

Today, the Standing Committee agreed that the member states need to speed up the enabling legislation on the SAARC convention on terrorism, said Nepal’s Acting Foreign Secretary and Chairperson of the Committee, Madhu Raman Acharya.

When asked to comment on the atmosphere during the talks, Acharya said the "bilateral atmosphere was very nice". Acharya revealed that Nepal’s proposal to make SAARC more business-like has now been in-built in the SAARC agenda.

While some countries have enacted national legislations to implement the terms of the Regional Convention on Suppression Terrorism, signed in the 3rd Kathmandu Summit in 1987. A Foreign Ministry official said that the remaining countries are in different stages of preparing the required legislations.

Acharya revealed that the Standing Committee adopted a comprehensive agenda for the consideration of the SAARC Council of (Foreign) Ministers which is beginning its two-day meet tomorrow. All the foreign ministers except India’s Jaswant Singh are in Kathmandu. Singh is arriving tomorrow by a special flight. Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat will represent Nepal in the meeting.

The Standing Committee, said Acharya, decided to recommend that the treaty framework for the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) be concluded by 2002. The committee also recommended acceleration of the South Asian Preferential Trade Arrangement (SAPTA). In this regard, Nepal is scheduled to host the fourth round of negotiations in the last week of January. At present there are over 5500 goods enjoying the preferential trade status. Some more goods are to be included soon, said an official.

Foreign Ministry officials attach considerable importance to this development. They expressed the hope that by 2008, almost all the trade barriers would be dismantled to make SAFTA fully operational.

Besides closer regional economic co-operation, the Acting Foreign Secretary also said that the Standing Committee discussed poverty alleviation, social issues and institutional matter.

Nepal is also holding a meeting of Committee of Economic Co-operation (CEC) this year. However, the dates are yet to be finalised. The first CEC was also held in Kathmandu in September 1991. The CEC, comprising commerce/trade secretaries of the region, has the mandate to formulate and oversee implementation of policies and programmes to strengthen intra-regional trade and economic relations.

In addition to the CEC meet, a number of ministerial meetings are on the anvil this year. Pakistan is hosting a meeting of Finance and Planning ministers on poverty alleviation, Bhutan on environment, India on science and technology, and Sri Lanka on culture.

Nepal is also hosting the Fourth SAARC Trade Fair this year.

The Group of Eminent Persons (GEP) vision of creating South Asian Economic Union (SAEU) turning the region into an economic union was also adopted. The GEP was also formed at the Male Summit. The GEP has recommended that the SAARC region be converted into an economic union by 2020. The Foreign Secretaries accepted the validity of the growth quadrangle that was proposed by the GEP as a step to expand economic co-operation.

Besides discussing the analytical report of the Secretary General, the Standing Committee adopted the recommendations of the Programming Committee on seven technical committees and five regional centres, among others.

The Committee has decided to recognise a number of institutions – on insurance, environment, engineering and radiology – as SAARC regional bodies.

PIA forced to suspend flights to Nepal

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KATHMANDU, Jan 1:The already-weakened tourism industry received a further jolt Tuesday when the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) decided to suspend all its flights to Nepal for an indefinite period.

PIA has been forced to suspend its flights following the ban on its flights using the Indian airspace. Airline officials claim that the suspension of PIA flights will have a critical impact on the tourism sector of Nepal, as there will be a further decline in tourist inflow.

PIA has been ferrying travelers to and from Nepal for the last two decades.

"The tourism sector here will definitely be affected with the suspension of PIA flights," said Joy Dewan, General Secretary of Board of Airlines Representatives in Nepal. "PIA used to carry many international tourists to Nepal," said Dewan. "The suspension of flights will further drop the tourist inflow." In a peak tourist season, PIA used to fly five times a week, according to Dewan.

However, PIA officials remain optimistic regarding the resumption of flights after the SAARC Summit. "Hopefully, the flights will be resumed after the SAARC Summit," said Asad Ullah Khan, station manager of PIA in Kathmandu.

India has banned PIA planes from flying through its airspace, after the December 13 attacks in the Indian Parliament intensified tensions between India and Pakistan.

Year 2001: Violence, peace, violence

By Tilak Pokharel

KATHMANDU, Jan 1: The year 2001 will go down in Nepal’s history as one of the most violent ones. From the June 1 Royal massacre to the flaring Maoist insurgency, the year had more than its share of bloodshed. But it was the Maoist rebellion, whether during a ceasefire period of peace talks, or in the slaying of policemen, that held centrestage throughout.

On the last count of December 29, 2001, it has been recorded that 1,045 people lost their lives in the year to the "People’s War"; the state killed 657 alleged rebels, while the rebels accounted for 388 lives, according to the NGO, Informal Sector Workers-Nepal (INSEC).

The year embarked with the aftermath of the Hrithik riots, which the Maoists too tried exploiting. On the first day of the year, a group of nine left parties called for a two-day nation-wide bandh. This inauspicious beginning was to reflect in all that the nation saw in the next 364 days.

The real crisis began in February, also the month when the Maoist insurgency took birth in 1996. Ten days before the sixth anniversary of their war on February 13, the Maoists ambushed the vehicle of the Supreme Court Chief Justice on February 3. Five people including a judge of the Surkhet Appellate Court and policemen were killed in the incident. This was to trigger heavy criticism against the rebels.

The government and the Maoists then began the cat-and-mouse game. The government tabled ordinances for the setting up of an Armed Police Force (APF) and a Regional Administration (Fourth Amendment), while the Maoists stepped up their attacks against the establishment.

Things cooled down for a while, with the government trying to prepare a ground for peace by making public on March 6 the names of the 282 rebels under its custody. But the rebel leadership was not convinced by the move, alleging that this was a ploy to break their movement.

The real bloodshed began in April. The Maoists massacred at least 35 policemen on April 1 in Rukumkot of Rukum district and Mainapokhari of Dolakha district. On the same day, they also attacked the Kathmandu house of former Inspector General of Police Achyut Krishna Kharel.

Before the nation could recover, the Maoists again struck a week later. This time the toll was 29 policemen in Naumule of Dailekh district. This was seen as the rebels’ way of retaliating against the government ordinances.

Meanwhile on April 9, INSEC, an NGO working for the protection of human rights, released a report saying that the Maoists in their five-year war had outdone the government in human rights violations.

Though the period of the ordinances on APF and Regional Administration expired on April 8, four days later, His Late Majesty King Birendra on recommendation of then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala re-promulgated them.

The government also hardened its stance by deciding to indirectly deploy the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) against the rebels under the Integrated Security and Development Plan (ISDP) in seven rebel stronghold districts—Gorkha, Rukum, Rolpa, Jajarkot, Salyan, Kalikot and Pyuthan.

By the end of April, various Maoist-aligned organisations, particularly All Nepal National Independent Students’ Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R) and All Nepal Women’s Organisation-Revolutionary (ANWO-R), started to escalate their activities and forced the government to look into their demands. The ANNISU-R threatened the owners of private boarding schools, and at the same time started a prohibition campaign.

The rebel students closed down various educational institutions many times and also vandalised many well-known private schools. The cadres of ANWO-R turned violent for the first time, destroying property worth almost Rs 30 million at Shah Distillery in Banke district.

The Maoists then shifted their attention to the capital. They repeatedly placed bombs, sometimes real ones and at some other times hoax ones, in the capital’s streets and alleys. The city cops now began feeling the pressure of the insurgency.

The June 1 royal massacre brought a temporary halt to the Maoist activities, but a month later, on July 5, they resumed hostilities by killing 41 policemen in Lamjung and Nuwakot districts.

The Maoists also raided the Area Police Office at Holeri of Rolpa district killing two policemen and abducting over 70 others. This incident later forced the government to deploy the army to bring back the abducted, and also hastened the exit of Prime Minister Koirala.

The new incumbent, Sher Bahadur Deuba, even before swearing in to office, made the unprecedented offer of ceasefire to the rebels. The rebels reciprocated positively, and the country was seemingly calm for the next four months, something that had not happened ever since the insurgency began six years ago. The peace talks between the government and the Maoists also were underway.

But nothing came of the talks, and the frustrated Maoist leadership broke the ceasefire on November 23, by carrying out an attack on the army for the first time. Meanwhile, there was talk of dissent in the rebel camp, with a tussle between the political and the militia factions. The militiamen prevailed, and the country was subjected to full-fledged violence.

As the Maoists went on a rampage, the government finally decided to declare a state of emergency in the country. The emergency was imposed on November 26, and the joint forces of the police, the paramilitary and the army began cracking down on the rebels. The month of December saw casualties increasing by the day. And as the new year dawns, there is still no sign of relent in the State vs Maoist war.

People killed after cease-fire was broken

(November 23 – December 29)

By Maoists 150

Police 64 Army 33 Political worker 17 Other 36 By State 595 "Maoist" 556 Other 39 Grand Total 745 Source: INSEC

South Asian journalists plan peace march in Kathmandu

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KATHMANDU, January 1 :On the eve of the 11th SAARC Summit, media experts and journalists from South Asian region urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and uphold peace while voicing the need for co-operation and interaction among journalists in the region.

At the start of the two-day conference on Media and Peace organised by South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) here Tuesday, the journalists also urged the region’s governments to facilitate the cross-border movements of journalists to enhance regional co-operation and peace.

The Summit of the seven-nation grouping is due for January 4-6, and SAFMA officials are planning to get a proposed protocol - entitled Free Movement of Media-persons and Media-products Across the South Asian Region - endorsed by the heads of state or government of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka during the Summit.

"By preceding the SAARC Summit we actually want to exert maximum pressure on the heads of the government and state to place our proposed protocol," said Imtiaz Alam, who presented SAFMA report today. He informed that a representative delegation of senior media persons would "stay back for lobbying and try to meet the heads of government and state to seek their consent".

Over 150 leading media persons, including editors, columnists, broadcasters and reporters from the region have converged for the conference, which is focussing mainly on the decades old Indo-Pak conflict that has taken a serious turn after the December 13 terrorist attack in the Indian parliament.

Addressing the conference, Mujib-ur-Rehman Shami, the President the Council of Pakistan Newspapers Editors and Chief Editor of Daily Pakistan, made it clear that "no person in Pakistan has supported this act of aggression on Indian parliament". "I want to spell out clearly that this is a terrorist activity and must be strongly condemned," he added.

Backing the organizer’s plan to carry out a procession of South Asian journalists in Kathmandu coinciding with the landmark Summit, he said, "I would like to suggest that to make this historic occasion more significant and meaningful a peace march should be carried out in Kathmandu. I am sure a few yards covered here will push us miles forward on our aspired road to peace."

SAFMA officials on Tuesday were seeking approval from the government to carry out the procession.

A letter issued by His Majesty King Gyanendra congratulating the delegates and wishing best wishes for the success of the conference was also read out at the conference, which was also addressed by the main opposition CPN-UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal.

Nepal called on media persons to act in a socially responsible manner saying that "nothing would be more poisonous to democracy then an irresponsible media with a wide audience."

Other senior media persons presenting their papers Tuesday included, the SAFMA Nepal President, Gopal Thapaliya, and journalists Rita Manchanda, Ennayetullah Khan, John Dayal, Lakshman Gunasekara and Gokul Pokharel.

Highest botanical garden in Daman

By Kiran Chapagain

DAMAN (MAKAWANPUR), Jan 1:Hundreds of people from Daman and adjoining villages looked on happily as the highest botanical garden in the country was inaugurated here today to mark the beginning of the International Year of Mountains (IYM) 2002.

Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation, Gopal Man Shrestha, formally ushered in the Mountain Year by opening the Daman Mountainous Botanical Garden (DMBG), 75 kilometres southwest from Kathmandu.

This would-be tourist spot is a vantagepoint for viewing the country’s eight 8000+ peaks, including the Mount Everest. In all, there are 14 8000+ plus peaks in the world. Nepal is an important player in this Year of the Mountains, since 86 percent of the country’s terrain is occupied by mountains.

One of the key agendas of IYM concerns sustainable mountain development. The 53rd United Nations’ General Assembly in November 1998, had declared the year 2002 as the International Year of Mountains, with the goals of promoting conservation and sustainable development in the mountain regions.

After the garden at Daman, the government is planning to establish more botanical gardens in the country. "We are going to set up such gardens very soon in other parts of the country like Ilam, Dhanusadham, Hetauda, Lumbini, Salyan, Banke Jumla and two in Kailali," informed Madhu Sudan Bista, Director of the Department of Plant Resources.

Bista said that for these gardens, his Department has already acquired land and is now waiting for the government’s formal declaration. "The government is working to setting up at least 15 such gardens, three in each development region, with five years to conserve the bio-diversity of the regions in the local agro-climate," Bista added.

The garden at Daman is the second botanical garden in the country, the first being the Godavari Botanical Garden in Lalitpur.

The DMBG has a spread of 40 hectares, sixty percent of which is covered by forest. Situated at a height of 2320 metres, the Daman botanical garden is home to more than 30 species of trees, 19 species of herbs and shrubs, 28 species of medical plants, 10 orchids species, 12 types of flower and 6 horticultural species.

The Daman plan intends to set up separate gardens for orchid, primrose, lilly and special herbs. "We are going to develop the garden as a venue to conserve the plants and herbs that are on the verge of extinction. The garden will also serve well for research," said Bista. He also said that there are plans to uplift the local economic situation.

The government has been conserving the bio-diversity of Daman since 1962.

A happy Daman local, Lamman Bala Lama, arriving at the inauguration function said, "We have been demanding this for long, now it has been fulfilled. This will surely speed up economic activities here." He says now Daman can hope for more tourists.

The area MP, Bir Bahadur Lama, from constituency 3 of Makawanpur, where the garden lies, too is a happy man that his election promise has come true. "I have been raising this agenda during my election campaigns for more than 7-8 years," said MP Bir Bahadur Lama.

Hunt on for fake certificates

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KATHMANDU, Jan 1:A day after the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) filed petitions against five government officials for submitting fake certificates in their respective offices in order to gain promotions, "the certificate verification process" has been accelerated by various other government bodies as well.

Tribhuvan University today issuing a press release declared that the high level commission formed by the University to verify certificates of its employees has started its work. The press release states that during first phase of its work the commission will verify the educational certificates of the members of the commission itself and in second phase start with the verification of certificates submitted by all the employees of all the departments affiliated to the University.

Similarly, National Sports Council also issuing a press statement declared that it has also formed a three-member committee under the coordination of Ramesh Khanal, head of the Sports Development Department, to verify the certificates of its employees.

Meanwhile, the CIAA as mentioned on Monday filed petition against three government officials at the Appellate Court Patan for submitting fake certificates.

The petition was filed against Chandra Bahadur Karki, Chief District Officer of Jhapa, Fhatte Bahadur Batuwa, Under Secretary at the Ministry of Land Reforms and Sanat Kumar Regmi, Section Officer at the Ministry of Finance.

All the three are said to be absconding at the moment. According to Clause 17 of CIAA Act- 2048, all the accused officials will be suspended from their respective posts till the cases against them have settled.

Two Maoists killed, 26 arrested: Defence Ministry

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KATHMANDU, Jan 1: Security forces on Monday shot dead a Maoist rebel in an encounter in Gadara area of the far-flung hill district of Bajhang, said the Defence Ministry here today. The Ministry also said that 26 rebels were arrested from several parts of the country yesterday.

Meanwhile, our reporter in the frontier district of Baitadi said a rebel identified as Mohan Dev Joshi, 40, was killed in police firing at Gwallek VDC-6 this morning. The local administration said the slain rebel was active in Maoist organisation for the last four years and was earlier imprisoned for three months. The police also recovered a gun from the clash site, located about six kilometers east of the district headquarters.

The soldiers of the Royal Nepal Army also confiscated six guns, bullets and explosives from Gadara, and Jubing of Solukhumbhu district, said the Ministry.

The security forces also recovered a large stock of combat suits, militant equipment and Maoist literature from the Kurintar area of Gorkha district.

The Ministry further added that the rebels have also been brandishing fake weapons to terrorise the public. During a search operation, the army personnel confiscated five toy guns from the Tauthale area of Sindhupalchowk district on Monday.

The security forces yesterday also arrested 26 suspected Maoists across the country—seven rebels from Arghakhanchi, four from Lamjung, three from Makawanpur, five from Lalitpur, two from Rolpa, three from Dadeldhura, one each from Chitwan and Sarlahi districts, the Ministry added.

Meanwhile, our reporter from Syangja said the security forces have recovered seven home-made guns from the Magyam-Chisapani area over the last five days. The local administration said the RNA forces have been mobilised in the south-eastern part of Syangja district in order to disarm the rebels and destroy their hide-outs.

Sources said the RNA forces have started a massive "Cordon and Search Operation" in Kichnas, Saldanda, Raipur, Chinne Bhanjyang, Biruwa Archale, Bhanumati and Kinhu areas. These areas are believed to be Maoist strongholds.

A Magyam local told our correspondent that the people of his area are now feeling secure in the presence of the army and because a number of Maoists have fled the area. Requesting anonymity, he said the locals have appealed for a permanent RNA post in the area.

Koirala camp flays govt

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KATHMANDU, Jan 1 :Members of the anti-prime minister camp within the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) today heavily came down against the government blaming the latter of housing irregularities and corruption in the name of emergency.

"I have formally acquired information that some of the cabinet ministers have been indulged in corruption," said Sushil Koirala, General Secretary of NC, while addressing the first NC District Convention in Rupandehi today.

According to our Bhairahawa-based correspondent, General Secretary Koirala who is also regarded as the closest aide of NC President Girija Prasad Koirala said the present state of emergency should be terminated as soon as possible.

Speaking on the same occasion, NC lawmaker Ramchandra Tiwari said if the government fails to take action against the corrupt lawmakers, the party will initiate such actions. He also blamed the government of prolonging the peace talks with the Maoists, finally leading to the state of emergency. "To prevent any more untoward, the emergency should be terminated soon," he said.

Addressing the function, central member of NC and former minister, Ram Krishna Tamrakar, said the party cadres should crosscheck the activities of the ministers.

Meanwhile, our Pokhara-based correspondent reported that central member of NC and former minister, Chakra Prasad Bastola, today said the Prime Minister should not be scared of President Girija’s proposal of broad democratic alliance.

"The PM is scared of the President’s proposal because the government has failed to solve the Maoist problem," Bastola said.

He also said there is no ploy underway within the ruling party to bring down the present government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba. "But the government might fall because of its own weaknesses," he added while speaking at a programme organised by the Gurkha Ex-Army Soldiers’ Organisation in Pokhara.