Summit rescheduled for today

By Damakant Jayshi

KATHMANDU, Jan 4 : Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf arrived in Kathmandu more than three hours late today, dealing a minor jolt to the 11th SAARC Summit that was scheduled to open at 2.30 p.m. today. As a result of the delay, host Nepal was compelled to put off the inauguration of the much-delayed summit till 10 a.m. tomorrow.

Initially however, Nepali Foreign Ministry officials cited "special reason" for the postponement of the Summit. But later, Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, who is officiating as Foreign Minister, said that Nepal took the decision to postpone the meeting of the seven heads of state and government as it could not see the possibility of the Summit being held today after Pakistani President Musharraf’s flight from China was delayed due to bad weather over Chengdu.

The official explanation has failed to cut ice with many foreign journalists who have converged in Kathmandu to cover the Summit as well as the on-going tension between India and Pakistan.

President Musharraf arrived on a Chinese aircraft via Beijing, taking a long detour to come to Kathmandu as India had banned all Pakistani aircraft from entering its airspace. The action was prompted by Indian accusations that Pakistan is harbouring terrorist groups linked to the attack on the Indian Parliament on December 13. Pakistan, which denies the charges, has also slapped a ban on Indian aircraft in its airspace.

In Kathmandu today, Dr Mahat quickly pointed out that all the formal programmes were on schedule despite the postponement of the inauguration. However, the retreat of the seven leaders that was to take place tomorrow at a private resort in Nagarkot has been pulled out of the schedule.

The retreat had been a source of much speculation since many thought that both Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and the Pakistani President Musharraf would be compelled to meet at Nagarkot in an informal setting.

Despite the official explanation as to what exactly led to the postponement, many here have failed to buy that argument. Especially, Pakistani journalists who feel that India arm-twisted Nepal into postponing the summit so that Saturday’s retreat could be cancelled, thus snuffing out the Vajpayee-Musharraf meeting.

"Of course, it is India which is behind the postponement. I have no doubts about it," said M. Saleh Zaafir, an editor with the Jang Group in Pakistan.

However, a reporter with a well-known Indian TV news channel dismissed the charge. "It is puerile and childish imagination which deserves no reaction," he said, declining to be identified. Yet another journalist with an English daily from India reasoned that since both India and Pakistan did not want their top leaders meeting during the retreat, the inaugural session was postponed today, ruling out the retreat.

Nirupama Rao, the Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson while declining to attach any motive to Gen. Musharraf’s delayed flight, said that she was given to understand that since a delayed inaugural was too close to the banquet to be hosted by His Majesty the King in the evening, the summit was put off until tomorrow.

Rao also said that the shortened period of the Summit from three to two days would not have any adverse impact on its agenda. She also revealed that the draft declaration for the Summit was almost ready and there was near unanimity on the draft among all the seven-nation delegates. Speaking about the draft, the spokesperson said that it basically addressed three core issues, namely poverty alleviation, regional economic integration and terrorism.

Their Majesties host banquet

RSS, KATHMANDU, Jan 4 :Their Majesties the King and Queen hosted a banquet in honour of the SAARC heads of state and government currently here to participate in the 11th SAARC Summit, at the Narayanhity Royal Palace this evening.

Receiving the distinguished guests, His Majesty the King expressed confidence that this Summit will deepen friendship, enhance mutual trust and further infuse harmony amongst the nations of South Asia.

This alone, His Majesty said, will help SAARC to evolve itself as an organization founded for and by the peoples of South Asia to voice their common concerns and aspirations.

"May SAARC therefore once again be imbued with its founding spirit and work with added zeal and urgency to uplift the dignity and pride of South Asia among the comity of nations", His Majesty said.

His Majesty proposed a toast wishing for the continued success of SAARC in the coming years Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

Gen. Musharraf arrives, hopes to meet ‘most if not all’ leaders

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Jan 4 :A day after India denied receiving any requests from Pakistan for a bilateral meeting between leaders of the two countries, Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said today that invitations for talks is not the issue.

Soon after arriving today at the Tribhuvan International Airport, the Pakistani President told newsmen, "Invitations doesn’t matter. Both sides should be willing to talk. If there is willingness on both sides, then there can be talks. It can’t be a one-sided effort."

Gen. Musharraf’s remarks came a day after the Indian Minister for External Affairs Jaswant Singh categorically denied that India had received a formal request from Pakistan for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the SAARC summit in Kathmandu.

The Pakistani leader today, however, made it clear that he still hoped to meet all the leaders of the SAARC nations. "I would be meeting most if not all the leaders," he said in reply to a query.

Gen. Musharraf also dwelt briefly on SAARC and its future. "One hopes that SAARC remains bright irrespective of disputes between any two countries. This is an organization of a number of countries, therefore disputes between any two countries should not matter. Pakistan-India tensions would not have an affect on SAARC," he said.

Meanwhile, India continued to stick to its position of not holding bilateral talks with Pakistan until a conducive environment for talks had been built. Spokeswoman of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Ms. Nirupama Rao said at today’s press briefing that there had been no change in India’s position.

"It’s not that we have shut the doors to a dialogue. In fact we have sought a dialogue. But under present circumstances…we believe that certain requirements are to be met…The atmosphere for talks is not conducive now," she said.

Over 130 Islamic militants held
5 rebels killed in encounters

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Jan 4: Five Maoist rebels were gunned down today in encounters with the security forces in Myagdi, Rukum and Okhaldhunga districts, the Defence Ministry said here Friday.

The Ministry said three militants were killed and a number of others injured in Singa VDC of Myagdi district. This is the same place where two army men were killed and 12 others injured in a landmine explosion on Thursday. The security sources confirmed that the blast was the handiwork of the slain rebels.

In other army operations today, two rebels were shot dead in Okhaldhunga and Rukum districts.

The security forces also rounded up 19 suspected rebels from different parts of the country today—four from Kathmandu, three rebels each from Lalitpur, Sarlahi and Rolpa districts, and two rebels each from Baglung and Solukhumbu, and one rebel each from Sindhupalchowk and Jhapa districts.

In Sankhuwasabha, a local surrendered to the security forces along with five country-made guns, said the Defence Ministry.

Meanwhile, Home Ministry Spokesman, in a press release today, said around 75 Maoists have surrendered to the local authorities in several districts.

The release further added that a local teacher, Chet Bahadur Thapa, who was attacked by the "terrorists" in Dailekh district, has been airlifted in an army chopper to Nepalgunj for treatment.

Bhutanese refugees pin their hopes on Deuba

By Kosmos Biswokarma

KATHMANDU, Jan. 4: Bhutanese children in the seven refugee camps in Jhapa and Morang districts shiver in the chilly winter days, as the donated clothes they receive once a year last only for six months.

Even the food ration they have been getting from various international donor agencies is not enough for them to live a proper life.

The refugees living in thatched huts in these eastern districts have, time and again, complained about this scarcity too.

But dozens of these refugees, whom this reporter met during the tour of those camps last week, seem to have a more genuine concern—going back home in Bhutan.

There is an air of déjà vu prevailing among the refugees after the verification of around 10,600 people living in Khudunabari camp concluded more than a month ago. Those in the Khudunabari camp are anxious about returning home, as the verification process has already been completed. But those living in six other camps have still not been able to think what would happen next.

This uncertainty has even started to shatter the hopes of these refugees who had begun to expect much in the beginning of the verification process. But with the date of the Joint Verification Team members resuming their next round of works yet to be announced, the refugees’ hopes of returning back to their homeland is thinning.

But Dikuri Dhakal, 70, of Khudunabari camp has high hopes of going back home because she thinks that her son and daughter, who are in Samrang, Bhutan, are desperately waiting to see her.

Dhakal had taken a 30-kilometre bus ride to Damak, where the JVT office is situated, along with others on October 8. "If we get to live at the same land back home, we can do something to live," Dhakal expressed her optimism.

But 74-year-old Narapati Gurung of the same camp is not very hopeful about the whole process. "I do not think they will take everyone from here," Gurung said. "Nothing has happened after the verification, that is why I do not have a very high hope." One can see his wrinkled face turn grim when talking about his chances of the repatriation. "It might take another 10 years to materialise everything," said Gurung.

Man Bahadur Tamang, 50, of Beldangi camp, Hasta Bahadur Gurung, 70, of Timai camp and Padam Rizal of Goldhap camp have also pinned their hopes on the verification process. But the slow pace of the process has created an environment of suspicion among them, as well as nearly 100,000 refugees.

"Now that the Bhutan government has not done anything with the people in Khudunabari camp, I feel that it is just pretending to show the outside world," says Rizal.

With the JVT members yet to take further action, the refugee leaders have once again decided to protest the whole process and put pressure on the Nepal government to further activate the process.

‘The present trend shows that the verification process alone would take a long, long time," says Menuka Nepal, central co-ordinator of Refugee Women Forum, which has its headquarters in Pathari camp. "We have nowhere to complain, we want to put our points too," Nepal said.

The refugee leaders living in the camps are now demanding for an inclusion of their representative in the Joint Verification Team, which presently includes government officials of Nepal and Bhutan. And a team of seven Camp Technical Supervisors is planning to come to Kathmandu to meet the Prime Minister.

These refugees want Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to use his good offices to force Bhutanese government to resume the verification process, that too in a swifter manner.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Deuba is discussing the issue with his Bhutanese counterpart on the sidelines of the ongoing SAARC Summit, a source close to Shital Niwas told The Kathmandu Post on Friday.

But the result of the talks is yet to reach the refugees living in the camps. If the fate of the people in Khudunabari camp, who have gone through the verification process, is not decided soon, the refugees from other camps would take any steps necessary to put pressure on the Bhutanese government. One of the refugee leaders, requesting anonymity, had told this scribe, "We would definitely not attend the further verification process until the JVT decides the fate of those living in Khudunabari."

No gain without pain: moral of the SAARC story

By Ghanashyam Ojha

KATHMANDU, Jan 4:With unprecedented fanfare, the capital of this small Himalayan Kingdom is playing host to the Eleventh SAARC Summit.

Kathmandu wears an altogether new face these days. The roads that were a pain not so long ago now have a sheen to them. Incredibly, the street lights have begun working. And gardens have cropped up overnight on what used to be garbage dumps. Banners are all around welcoming the Summit and its dignitaries.

This mega transformation has been done at a speed that’s unknown to Kathmandu residents. Workers have been working round-the-clock finishing off all the nitty-gritty of staging such a large-scale meet.

These are also heydays for the VVIP-addicts as dignitary vehicles fly past wailing their sirens, people can be seen craning their necks and jostling to catch a glimpse of who’s inside. The vicinity of the Star hotel—Soaltee Crowne Plaza—where the leaders and the diplomats are put up, is a security haven, and the movement of the general public highly curtailed.

The government had already declared 4th of January, the scheduled opening day of the Summit, as a public holiday, although Pakistan President Musharraf’s flight delayed by weather has delayed the Summit.

In the days of the Summit, about 1.5 million people who live in Kathmandu will have a tough time moving around, as over 180,000 of the capital’s vehicles have been asked to stay off the road to make it easy and safe for the VIP motorcades.

The city’s traffic authorities are on their toes and whistle-happy like never before. They have been devising and revising plans to make it a smooth ride for the guests. They have even come up with the rare ‘odd-even’

rule—vehicles with odd numbers can ply on odd number dates and those with even numbers on even dates.

An officer at the Valley Traffic Police Office (VTPO) seems to be happy with the preparations. He says, "We have made the traffic system very organised for the Summit. We have cut down the vehicles almost by half."

He says during the Summit, buses—mini and big—trucks and three-wheelers cannot ply inside the Ring Road. "Only micro buses and taxies are allowed, and that too on the odd and even number system," he says. Even private vehicles are not allowed free movement without the necessary passes.

The much talked about ‘odd-even’ rule, the traffic officer says, has had a great response, and might come to stay even after the Summit.

But there are many among the general public who are fretting and fuming about the traffic restrictions. Forced to wait or walk because the vehicles they usually ply in take a long time coming or are not available at all, this lot, mostly low-wage earning office-goers, think that SAARC is a trouble maker.

"It was just 20 minutes ride for me to get to Kathmandu from Bhaktapur, but today I had to walk for about two hours," says commuter Manohar Maharjan. "The SAARC conference, although a matter of great pride for us, has given us much trouble."

These are certainly unusual times. Many of the government workers who have been forced to walk would not have once really cared about getting to office late, but now with an emergency in place, they have been "harassed" into being punctual.

"It’s really frustrating, we must reach our office on time during the emergency period," says Yub Raj Prasain, an official with the Nepal Agricultural Research Council in Lalitpur. "I have to walk all the way from Kirtipur to Patan to reach my office on time."

And as always, in unusual times, the taxi drivers become a burden. "A taxi guy asked me Rs 200 for Gaushala from Baneshwor whereas it is only 20-30 rupees’ distance," says Mamata Dhakal, a housewife from Baneshwor. She says angrily that the government should have allowed the public vehicles to ply and put a ban on taxis.

But hardships aside, the overwhelming mood in the capital is one of great enthusiasm over the Summit.

"We are really happy that Nepal is the host country of this 11th SAARC Summit. This is a moment to cherish for all Nepalis," says Agni Adhikari, a college lecturer, who is only worried that the tension between India and Pakistan doesn’t spoil it all.

But even as the city is in the grand throes of a jamboree, there are many who miss someone’s presence—that of late King Birendra’s. King Birendra was one of the founder members of SAARC which was established in 1985.

"I can never forget our late King Birendra, we miss him so much," says 65-year-old Subarna Devi Fanju breaking into tears. "Had he been here now, he would have been so happy."

Indeed, his city never looked better.