Govt probing reports of ‘innocents’ deaths
PM pledges new directives on emergency

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KATHMANDU, Jan 24: The government today gave a slight hint that some innocents might have been killed in the security operations against Maoist rebels since the emergency was declared two months ago.

Home Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka, speaking to reporters today, said the government was investigating whether innocents had been killed as is being reported from various quarters, mainly by human rights groups and leftist political parties.

On a related front, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has also pledged to a parliamentary committee that the government would soon issue new directives under Article 115(7) of the constitution on the "do’s and don’ts" to the public for the duration of the emergency.

Home Minister Khadka, meanwhile, said that the government was probing reports of innocent deaths. "We are trying to find out if the reported deaths occurred during skirmishes or cross-firing. We are taking corrective measures," said the Home Minister. However, he added that in the absence of any concrete information, "it was but natural to be suspicious" about innocents being killed.

Khadka was speaking after emerging from over two hours of grilling in the parliamentary State Affairs Committee (SAC). This is the first time a senior Cabinet minister has hinted that innocents might have been killed. The government so far had refuted such claims, a point driven home again today by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba who also appeared before the committee today to testify.

According to SAC members, PM Deuba assured the committee that the government would ensure that no human rights violations occur during the emergency and that no innocent people killed. Reacting to the members concerns about the reports of custodial deaths, Deuba said that the government had issued "strict orders not to kill those who have been held".

He stressed that the civil administration was "still alive" as it was only an emergency and not martial law, committee member Pradip Gyawali of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) quoted the PM as saying.

During the course of deliberations, the Prime Minister revealed that the government had already allowed the Red Cross to inspect the jails throughout the country.

Meanwhile, PM Deuba also announced to SAC today that the government would "soon" issue directives under Article 115 (7) of the Constitution, detailing the "do’s and don’ts" for the public for the duration of the emergency. Committee members told The Kathmandu Post that Deuba also vowed that directives would not bar political activities like gatherings and public meetings.

While testifying before the SAC, Home Minister Khadka revealed that altogether 10,312 people have surrendered since the imposition of the emergency, 5,136 were arrested out of which 2,834 were released after investigation, 1,039 were being prosecuted and 1,263 were in custody and nine were under house arrest. As far as deaths were concerned, 200 Maoists, besides 14 army men and 17 policemen have lost lives since the declaration of emergency, with losses touching Rs 80 million.

5 cops, dozen Maoists killed 
RNA guns down 7 in operation

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KATHMANDU, Jan. 24: Five policemen and at least a dozen Maoists were killed in a six-hour long battle at Gopetar Area Police Station in Panchthar district in east Nepal on Wednesday night, the local administration said today.

Our Panchthar reporter Prem Ojha said that the site of the incident is located about 35 kilometers from Phidim, the district headquarters. Three other injured policemen have been flown to Dharan for treatment.

In other incidents, security forces gunned down seven Maoist "terrorists" in Gorkha, Taplejung, Panchthar, Khotang, Nuwakot and Myagdi districts in the last 12 hours, according to a press release issued today by the Defence Ministry.

The release said that two rebels were killed in Swara VDC of Gorkha, one in Pungling of Taplejung, one in Kalapani jungle of Gopetar in Panchthar, one in Lek Kharka of Khotang, one in Arthunge of Myagdi and the other in Beltar VDC of Nuwakot district. The security forces also seized a large number of arms, ammunition and combat dresses while conducting operation in these districts.

The forces also arrested 17 Maoists and 10 suspects from different parts of the country.

In Gopetar Area Police Station, four policemen were killed on the spot and one head constable succumbed to the bullet injuries while undergoing treatment at the B. P. Koirala Memorial Hospital in Dharan, our reporter said.

Durga Mani Sapkota, Assistant Chief District Officer, said that bodies of two Maoists were found in the police station premises while some villagers claimed that they saw about 10 bodies scattered in the nearby jungle.

There were around 35 policemen guarding the police outpost when the Maoists, hundreds in number, made a surprise attack. It is suspected that the rebels attacked the post when other policemen had gone to a border check post at Chyangthapu.

The policemen who died in the encounter with the rebels have been identified as head constable Bhim Bhujel, constables Govinda Thapaliya from Iwa VDC-4 in Tehrathum, Jayaram Ghimire from Dharampur VDC-4 in Jhapa, Deepak Pokharel from Bandipur VDC-1 in Siraha, and Yam Kumar Tumbapo from Chokmagu VDC-6 in Panchthar districts.

Eyewitnesses said that the police station has been destroyed due to the bomb explosion. The attackers later fled the scene in the wee hours of Thursday, leaving several rebels dead or wounded. The police have recovered five 303 rifles, one twelve-bored gun, one country-made gun, some explosives and combat dresses from the site.

12 killed in Palpa bus accident

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TANSEN, Palpa, Jan 24: At least 12 were killed and 47 others injured when a passenger bus on its way to Butwal from Balkot of Arghakhanchi district fell about 100 metres off the country road at Batsedanda on Thursday, according to the District Police Office.

Eight people, including the bus driver, died instantly and four others succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment at the Tansen Mission Hospital.

All the 47 injured are undergoing treatment at the hospital. The condition of eight others is reported to be critical, according to the hospital source.

By the time the report was filed, the bodies of six passengers had already been identified and the rest were yet to be known.

The preliminary investigation suggested that the tragic accident took place due to the mechanical defects of the bus (Lu 1 Kha 2236). One of the survivors said that about 60 people were travelling in the bus.

Entrepreneurs urged to invest in IT

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KATHMANDU, Jan 24: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba inaugurated the Eighth CAN Info-Tech and Nepal Information Technology Show and Conference 2002 amid a function at the Birendra International Convention Centre (BICC) today.

In his inaugural speech, PM Deuba urged the both national and foreign investors to invest in the information technology (IT) sector stating that Nepal has investment-friendly policies.

"Nepal has investment-friendly policies and I would like to urge both national and foreign investors to invest in IT sector", he said.

"The government is working to expand the IT education and IT-related activities to the rural areas as well, but I also urge the IT entrepreneurs to start IT-related activities in the rural areas where minimum required infrastructure exist", he said.

IT helps to overcome the limitations of landlockedness and through the Internet, we can disseminate more information on Nepal at a very nominal cost, which will help in attracting more visitors to Nepal, he said.

Pledging his support to Computer Association of Nepal (CAN)’s slogan of putting Nepal in the global IT map, the premier urged to use maximum possible efforts and resources to adopt IT in government offices, educational institutions, industries and businesses to achieve the goal.

Minister of State for Science and Technology Bhakta Bahadur Balayar said that the government would table the bill of information technology Act in the upcoming session of the parliament. He also said that CAN Info-Techs have been raising awareness among the people and the government is ready to support CAN.

Rameshananda Vaidya, member of National Planning Commission stressed on the need to expand IT activities to the rural areas so that it could be helpful in reducing poverty.

The government has begun homework to lay optical fibre in the East-West Highway and priority is given to IT in the Tenth Plan also, he added.

Lochan Lal Amatya, CAN President, speaking on the occasion urged the government to establish the National Information Technology Development Council (NITDC), as envisaged in the IT Policy 2000, as soon as possible. He also said that CAN has been striving to promote IT and to creating public awareness right from its inception.

Ravi Bhakta Shrestha, President of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry expressed the views that instead of blaming the geography, we should concentrate on producing required manpower for IT industry.

Lucas Lim, Secretary General of Asia-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO), reading out the message of its president, said that ASOCIO is proud to have CAN as its member. He also said that digital divide is the problem of Nepal, but the efforts put by the government and the private sector would overcome the problem. He also said that ASOCIO could help Nepal in accelerating the development of information and communication technology (ICT).

Atma Ram Ghimire, General Secretary of CAN, said that the show, which will be open to the public from tomorrow, would showcase latest products and services in the IT sector. And a two-day international IT conference would provide an opportunity to Nepali IT professionals and experts to share knowledge with international IT experts. CAN, has been organizing CAN Info-Tech since 1995, with a view to promote IT industry and building public awareness. A total of 62 exhibitors are participating in the IT fair and 150,000 visitors are expected during the five-day event.

SAARC for economic cooperation: Rahim

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KATHMANDU, Jan 24: Newly appointed secretary general of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC), Q.A.M.A. Rahim, today said the regional bloc now would work towards improving the quality of life of the people of the region through economic co-operation in the region.

"Now there will be SAARC process towards achieving the quality of life of the people in the region through the economic, social and cultural growth," said Rahim while speaking at a press meet organised in the capital by Reporter’s Club, Nepal. "Establishment of a South Asian Economic Union is the final goal of SAARC."

Prior to the establishment of the Union, Rahim said the SAARC Secretariat now would concentrate more on the South Asian Preferential Trade Arrangement (SAPTA). "Then the next focus will be given to South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA)," he told the pressmen.

Speaking on the occasion, Rahim also said the final goal of the SAARC now is establishing an economic union by forming a regional customs union.

He also said he is going to draft a SAARC charter on social affairs in the future. "I have already started work for this," he said.

Hailing the recently concluded eleventh SAARC Summit in Kathmandu, Rahim who took charge of the office on January 11, said the summit has brought back the SAARC process on track. "Momentum has been revived," he added.

Rahim also remarked that the recent Indo-Pak conflict was a bilateral matter and the regional bloc will work more on the overall regional issues rather than bilateral ones.

Gajendra N Singh’s last rites today

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RAJBIRAJ, Jan 24: The scheduled last rites of late Gajendra Narayan Singh, the President of Nepal Sadbhawana Party (NSP), couldn’t be held here today because of the overwhelming crowd of people to see his body for the last time.

The last rites will be performed Friday morning, according to Muktinath Mandal, the spokesperson of NSP.

The funeral procession which was held in and around the city for about 3 hours today was accompanied by Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta, the Information and Communications Minister. The body of late leader was brought in a special helicopter from Kathmandu this afternoon.

NSP Vice President Badri Mandal, Member of Parliament Mregendra Kumar Singh, leader Hridayesh Tripathi and thousands of people participated in the procession.

The body will be kept in his house Saptari Sewa Asram’s Kranti Nivas overnight.

The markets and educational institutions in the district were closed to express their grief at his untimely death.

No hellos and byes at TIA

By Tashi Dolma Thinley

KATHMANDU, Jan 24: The tightened security at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), is proving to be a nightmare for everyone concerned—especially those receiving and seeing off passengers.

While there are some who are happy about the security arrangements, there are many who think the airport security officials have gone too far with "this security thing".

For those waiting to receive visitors, it’s a test of patience. Since the declaration of emergency, they have had to wait outside the airport premises, and because there is no announcement board at the main gate, they don’t even know when their expected flight arrives. As for the passengers expecting their person at the exit, they only get to see more security officials. If in a vehicle, only the driver and the passenger is allowed entry.

Mainat Limbu, a carpet exporter, is fretting and fuming while waiting outside the TIA for his business client. Every now and then, he calls home on his mobile to know if the flight has landed. He is also making calls to the airport. But neither he nor the people at home, can get the information because of the busy line. Fumes Limbu, "We understand the situation but then they should make the necessary arrangements too. What if my client just takes a taxi and goes to a hotel?"

Then there’s Rukmani Bista who has come to see off her son who is going to London to study for three years. People are watching her as she bids her son a tearful goodbye outside the airport premises. Later she tells this reporter, "I am sad I didn’t get to talk and see off my son properly. God knows when this airport will reach international standards."

In the early days of the emergency, the travel agents too had a tough time with the new security arrangements. But now they have been given an ID card by Nepal Association of Travel Agents (NATA), which allows them entry inside the airport premises to pick and drop their clients.

Bharat Dhakal, Security Chief at the TIA, says this security beef-up will continue indefinitely. But it took some 34 calls to get him to explain the situation. But the officials at the Civil Aviation Authority were worse, and did not explain matters citing protocol reasons. So no one’s officially telling who are allowed entry and who barred from it.

When those waiting outside the airport see some non-passengers gaining entry, they are all the more confused. "If security is the reason, why should there be compromises?" asks Ramesh Verma, who has come to receive his sister. "Why are certain people allowed entry while we have to wait outside? It is harassment if rules are not uniform for all."

That’s a point the men in uniform ought to take note of.