Chill may make room for sunshine

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KATHMANDU, Dec 28 - A sudden increase in precipitation around the country witnessed rain and snowfall around the country today. According to weathermen, the clouds and rains would gradually give way to sunshine in many areas from Monday.

Most parts of the country including Birendranagar, Jumla, Dang, Pokhara, Kathmandu, Janakpur and Taplejung witnessed increased rainfall and snowfall in the hilly region during the last 24 hours. That also brought chilly weather conditions in many areas, and temperatures are expected to drop further tonight.

According to the meteorological forecasting division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, while the eastern regions will see some cloudy conditions and rainfall, weather will be mainly fair in the rest of the country.

Keshav Bam Malla, forecaster at the forecasting division, said the weather conditions would begin to improve from Monday, paving the way for sunshine in western and central parts of the country.

"The cloud trough from the west will move towards the eastern region tomorrow," he said. The southern Terai belt was already clear by Sunday afternoon, according to him, and the cloud trough would not be seen any more in the region by late Monday.

Like many hilly areas – from Jumla and Parbat in the west to Panchthar and Taplejung in the east – the surrounding hills of the Kathmandu Valley were covered with snow today. Upon hearing the news of snowfall in areas like Nagarkot, hordes of people, mainly youth, climbed up the Nagarkot hill to play with snow.At 7,200 feet, Nagarkot was covered with upto one-foot thick snow, and the delighted holidaymakers were seen walking, running and crawling, cherishing the Nagarkot snowfall, which is not very common even during winter. The last time a similar snowfall occurred there was in 1986, one local said.

Gopal Lamichhane, 26, a physically challenged boy was wrestling hard with his crutches to reach at the top of the resort village, which was covered with snow on Sunday afternoon. "I am enjoying the walk (on this snowy trail), although it is difficult for me." Lamichhane said.

Parties’ ultimatum to king: Rescind order or face the worst

KATHMANDU, Dec 28 - Braving rains and cold, thousands of protesters representing the five agitating political parties took to the streets today chanting anti-monarchy slogans and demanding restoration of democracy.

The protesters, flanked by political stalwarts, barricaded the street at Ratna Park for nearly two hours and chanted slogans against the monarch.

Later, addressing a mass meeting at Ratna Park, senior leaders of the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, People’s Front Nepal, Nepal Workers and Peasants’ Party and Nepal Sadbhavana Party warned that they may consider a republican move, if the king continued undermining the parties."The people have flooded in the streets, if the king fails to take appropriate measure soon, he will be swept away," said CPN-UML leader Siddhi Lal Singh.

General Secretary of the Nepali Congress Sushil Koirala said that the parties would be forced to take a harder line under growing pressures from the cadres if the king makes further delay in correcting his "regressive move" of October 4, 2002 – when he sacked a democratically elected government headed by Sher Bahadur Deuba.Koirala said the parties were still in favour of constitutional form of monarchy, but they would never accept an autocratic king. He claimed that the people were not ready even to limit themselves to the achievements of 1990 movement.

General Secretary of the Nepal Sadbhavana Party, Rajendra Mahato said that prolonging of current turmoil would be harmful not only to the king but also to the monarchy as an institution. "The whole Terai region is militarised and separatist movement is going on, any unwise step by the king can lead to worst consequences," he added.

General Secretary of the People’s Front Nepal Navaraj Subedi said that the new round of movement would be different in terms of its slogans, as the country was gradually moving towards a republican state.Central Committee Member of the Nepal Workers and Peasants’ Party Prem Suwal said the political scenario of the country has rapidly changed in the past one decade, leading to a marked rise in the people’s expectations. "They could not just limit themselves to the demand for restoration of the 1990 constitution," he added.The protesters also burnt several effigies of regression near the Bir Hospital, Ratna Park and Bhotahiti. Certain political cadres also took out a torch rally, and burnt tyres.

According to our district correspondents, Amod Prasad Upadhyay of the NC and Devraj Ghimire of the CPN-UML addressed a rally in Chandragadhi, Jhapa, and NC leader Mahantha Thakur addressed a rally in Bara. Similarly, about three thousand protesters took to the street in Gaighat, the district headquarters of Udayapur. The protest rallies were also organised in Bhojpur and Rajbiraj.

‘Society should rise against terror’

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KATHMANDU, Dec 28 - People tend to take much of the hardship in their stride over time and space. More especially so through conflict, which might have simply refused to be resolved.

According to Sri Lankan political scientist, Arjuna Parakrama, people increasingly tend to accept increased militarisation and even brutalisation.

"The uproar caused by a death of a solitary student in 1976 in Sri Lanka created a huge furore. But the furore may not have the same intensity if security personnel shot dead many in contemporary Sri Lanka," said Parakrama, reinforcing the need to keep the citizenry talking and asking questions. However, as he hastened on to add, this is what which does not happen.

Chances are, even the most upright and cut and dry type of city dwellers end up as meek and submissive since they are invariably bludgeoned into submission by the brutal force. "You cow down no matter how upright and cut and dry you may be," Parakrama further said.

Meanwhile, as he further said, militarisation comes with enough dose of hoax, with one and all at the helms promising resolution of the crisis at hand. There are all the chances of a wrong person being shot dead. "While the death of a crème de la crème may mean some furore, it is not necessarily the case when it is someone insignificant," he said, adding that sense of fear of the military is all-pervasive.

In fact, it is this sense of the fear of the military which Parakrama billed as the most dangerous thing about conflict. He suggested that members of the civil society could help improve the scenario by raising voice against instances of intimidation and horror.

He was of the view that a period comes when people start debating horror and intimidation rather than democracy and civil liberty for understandable reasons. In fact, their debate is restricted to a particular gory incident with enough "ah" and "oh" while the greater issue of civil liberty gets blurred. So much so that even donor agencies which usually fund organisations working to keep the morale high think twice before funding them.

Media, like any other agencies and organisations, can contribute to the cause of conflict resolution if the point is made to refrain from axe grinding, he said.