UML stalwarts divided on constituent assembly

By Ghanashyam Ojha & Shyam Sundar Sashi

Janakpur, Feb 2 : Top brass and the delegates for the seventh party congress of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) were divided on the issue of having an elected constituent assembly as demanded by the Maoists.

Till late night Sunday, party’s close-door meeting was clearly divided on the diametrically opposite sides but the majority was clearly in favour of such a body if that is the way to end the seven-year-long violence in which many CPN-UML workers or leaders have lost their lives.

According to the insiders, while influential leader KP Sharma Oli was among those who favoured the constituent assembly while general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal and some of those closely identified with him were opposed to the demand.

Oli said that the party now should get ready to go for constituent assembly. "The idea of referendum for either constituent assembly or constitutional amendment is wrong," a party leader quoted Oli as having told during the session. He also criticised the party leadership, regarding the decisions taken by the party in the past.

Oli categorically mentioned that the party committed a serious mistake while endorsing the emergency rule in the past. He opined that the party should have immediately resorted to street in protest of the royal move. "But it was always in confusion whether going to struggle or reconciliation," Oli fumed.

While general secretary Nepal and leaders like Mukunda Neupane, Ishwor Pokharel and Raghuji Pant are against the constituent assembly, other stalwarts like Oli, Bam Dev Gautam, Shankar Pokharel, Rajendra Shrestha and Pradip Gyawali are in favour of it.

General secretary Nepal has already made it clear that constituent assembly could be one of the options to resolve the current crisis.

Besides round table conference and interim government that the rebel Maoists are pushing for ahead of the peace talks, election for constituent assembly has figured as an issue of heated discussion among the CPN-UML stalwarts and representatives here.

Preliminary indications suggested that the party could agree to go for an election for the constituent assembly. If the party cannot make unanimous decision on the election for the constituent assembly by late Sunday, then an extended meeting could make a decision early on Monday. The CPN-UML leaders, however, were conspicuously divided into two schools of thought regarding the election for the constituent assembly.

With the beginning of a close-door session of the party today, general secretary Nepal declared the dissolution of the existing central committee and proposed for a general convention committee, Ishwor Pokharel told journalists at a press briefing organised after the session. He also presented the party organisational and political papers for a discussion.

Nepal in his political paper has mentioned that the party should stick to referendum for either constituent assembly or constitutional amendment. It further mentions that the Maoists should be brought to a peaceful dialogue with a bigger unity among all the political parties.

Reiterating that the current critical situation could never be resolved by ignoring UML, Nepal said that the party should feel glorified with the achievements it has garnered for the past 12 years.

Shankar Pokharel, a member of the dissolved central committee formally, put the proposal of the constituent assembly in the session. He claimed that the political situation developed after the royal move on October 4 would in no way be rectified without constituent assembly. Pokharel urged that the role of political parties would further be strengthened with the formation of a new constitution after constituent assembly.

Claiming that the constituent assembly would bring back the disrupted tri-partite agreement reached between the king, Nepali Congress and the left fronts to a balance, he said that it would also strengthen parliamentary democracy.

"Even the Maoists and the king are not in a state of going back in the developing political situation and constituent assembly only will bring about a progressive reforms," he added.

Shrestha, another member of the dissolved standing committee, also expressed his opinion, supporting the proposal of constituent assembly.

However, Neupane, a member of the dissolved central committee denied the idea of constituent assembly and said that the idea is an ‘Indian grand design’. He opined that the Maoists should be brought back to the political mainstream and the country should go for fresh polls which, he claimed could only give a better outlet to the various contentious issues emerged after the royal move.

"Since the preamble of the present constitution preserves the constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy, the constituent assembly held from within this constitution would not be a different in its spirit," Neupane told the journalists emerging out of the close session.

He also stressed that the proposal of the constituent assembly does not speak about the republic. "If the constituent assembly does not plead for republic, what is the use of holding it," Neupane said. Pant, another member of the dissolved central committee, told the journalists that the demand of the constituent assembly was the demand of the Maoists. "If UML goes for constituent assembly, it seems like UML going the Maoists’ way," Pant said.

Claiming that the party should rather go for referendum, Pant said the constitution prepared even after the constituent assembly would have no any difference to the present constitution.

Dr Bhattarai to head 5-member Maoist dialogue team, bandh withdrawn

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KATHMANDU, Feb 2 : Dr Baburam Bhattarai, principal ideologue of the underground Maoists, will be heading a five-member team to negotiate with the government. The team members announced today by party supremo Pushpa Kamal Dahal a.k.a. Prachanda includes Ram Bahadur Thapa a.k.a. Badal, Dev Gurung, Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Matrika Prasad Yadav.

Significantly, the present negotiating team does not include Agni Prasad Sapkota and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, who were part of the previous team that held talks with Sher Bahadur Deuba government in 2001. But more significantly, Badal who commands formidable reputation and position in the outfit’s military structure has been included in the team, signalling that both the political and guerrilla wings are party to the negotiation. Dr Bhattarai is also the central chairman of Revolutionary People’s Council, a "parallel government" formed last year

The Maoists have also announced withdrawal of the two-day nation-wide general strikes (Nepal bandh) scheduled for Feb 13 and 14 in order to create a conducive atmosphere for dialogue.

Minister for Physical Planning and Works, Narayan Singh Pun, who has been designated convenor for the dialogue by the government has welcomed formation of the negotiation team by the Maoists. "I am happy over the announcement and the government will try its best to create a positive atmosphere for dialogue, indicating that the efforts to rope in political parties in the process is on." The Maoists have also indicated that they are not going to do anything that discourages or devaluates the role of political parties in the peace process.

Central committee member Dev Gurung was the person released by the government nearly two years ago in order to create an atmosphere for talks with the rebels, while Yadav was released during last year’s peace talks.

Though the Maoists have called off the nation-wide strikes, the party has asked all its units to mark pre-scheduled programmes including martyrs’ week and anniversary of "people’s war" which falls on February 13, in a peaceful manner.

The decision was made after a comprehensive meeting of the party’s central committee that took place after the declaration of cease-fire on Wednesday. The place and date of the meeting, however, has been kept secret.

Party has expressed grave concerns over the latest comments coming from different corners of the society that the Maoists had close contacts with the palace from the very beginning.

"We have not met any authorities of the palace and we do not have any secret relations with them," the statement said, adding that there was no relation of the party leaders with the palace except contacts with some of the human rights activists and politicians during the process of creating an atmosphere for talks.

"The cease-fire agreement was a result of efforts made by various sectors of the society and the willingness of the government to fulfil certain conditions," said the statement.

Prachanda, in his statement, has warned everyone, but not aiming at anyone in particular, not to make any attempts to devaluate the role and importance of the political parties during the peace process.

"Party’s stance for a round table conference of all the political parties and intellectual personalities, an interim government and constituent assembly election is aimed at resisting all sorts of regressive moves and for a progressive outlet of the present turmoil," the statement said.

"The party’s effort to bring the present political turmoil to an end was made without any prejudice," the press statement said. "We want seriousness of all the political parties and intellectuals on the gravity of the problem."

Chief admits to chinks in CIAA armour

By Suvecha Pant

KATHMANDU, Feb 2 : Surya Nath Upadhyay, the chief of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) today admitted having overstepped its jurisdiction in course of certain investigations. He also conceded that the CIAA made some inherent flaws.

During an interaction programmes organised by the Transparency International and the Judicial Council, Upadhyay said in some cases the commission produced some defendants whose presence were not required. "The CIAA has produced defendants whose presence were not required and at times have over stepped its jurisdiction in some corruption related cases," an advocate attending the programmes told The Kathmandu Post, quoting the CIAA chief.

CIAA chief reportedly expressed these views yesterday, during the start of a two-day interaction programme.

"We will also improve situations where cases have been filed on people unnecessarily," said the CIAA chief. He further claimed that the CIAA has committed mistakes on some issues, which did not explicitly cause financial loss to the government.

"It is also found that the CIAA has issued orders through the writ of mandamus," added the chief. He said that these were reasons that have led to CIAA being ineffective in dealing with some cases relating to abuse of authority.

Justices present replied to the claims by the CIAA chief with scepticism. "How would CIAA be successful, after such cases containing such flaws enter the court? Firstly, the CIAA needs to improve this," they said.

They demanded a thorough probe into the entire episode, to be later backed by solid proof of it outcome.

Meanwhile, former Chief Justice Bishwo Nath Upadhyay said that merely establishing laws was not enough.

He also blamed the social structure which created obstacles in the path of justice. "No matter how many laws we make, until society changes it will be useless," said the ex-CJ.

Yesterday, CIAA chief Upadhyay had alleged that courts had failed to give importance to cases coming up for trial from the commission. "This is ruling out co-operation between the two institutions," he had said.

Replying to this, justices had said that these allegations would affect the outcome of dozens of cases related to abuse of authority. "We do not give our verdicts based on the language used in the charge sheets. We go by facts and evidence," said justices attending the programme. .

Similarly, during the interaction programme, justices have alleged that the Judicial Council, established to monitor judicial corruption amongst others, has been ineffective in its job.

Justice Govinda Bahadur Shrestha, a council member, admitted that despite the establishment of a judicial council, corruption has increased. He further said that the council has not been able to do a good job.

"We will try to improve," added other members of the judicial council. However, justices said that just accepting mistakes would not solve the problem. "It needs to be carried out in practise," was the joint view of the justices.

The interaction programme, organised by Transparency International and Judicial Council, which brought together the judicial council, CIAA, Nepal Bar Association, Justices and lawyers under one roof for the first time, concluded today. Earlier, a Transparency International’s survey had identified judiciary as the second most corrupt institution in South Asia. It further specified that in Nepal, 42 percent of the judiciary was corrupt.

Thirty cases of HIV infection detected daily in Nepal: UNAIDS

By Perina Pathak & Manish Gautam

KATHMANDU, Feb 2 : It is estimated that 42 million around the world are living with HIV/AIDS, of which Nepal alone has 60,000 of them. Whereas in South and South-East Asia (excluding China) six million people are infected with HIV/AIDS, which is second highest than sub-Sahara region, where 29.4 million are living with the disease.

According to UNAIDS, it is estimated that 14000 new cases of HIV infection are detected every day . Of this 95 per cent are seen in developing countries. In Nepal, 30 new cases of AIDS infection are detected every day.

With the increase in numbers, UNAIDS has declared Nepal as the ‘concentrated epidemic’ region. And it is said that if the number increases at this rate, HIV/AIDS will be the major cause of death by 2010.

Concerned over the rising epidemic of HIV/AIDS in South Asia, delegates and experts from various countries have congregated here in the capital.

Accelerating the Momentum in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS in South Asia (AMFAHA), a two-day high level conference on HIV/AIDS, is going to start here from tomorrow, it was disclosed at a press conference held here today, by Dr Benu Bahadur Karki, spokesperson of the Health Ministry.

The main objective of the conference, to be hosted by the government of Nepal and sponsored by the UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia and UNAIDS, is to review the commitments made in the Special Session of UN on HIV/AIDS in June 2001, Special Session of UN on children in May 2002, and SAARC Summit held in Kathmandu in January 2002.

Addressing the national press meet, Dr Karki said that among the three-point agenda of the SAARC Summit, prevention and cure of HIV/AIDS is the major challenge. "Among all factors in Nepal, highest rate of HIV/AIDS is identified among the injecting drug users (IDU)," he said.

To combat the menace, the government has also formed a high level National HIV/AIDS Council, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister. The council also constitutes representatives from major national level political parties, different key ministries, private sector and NGOs.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the formation of the council, Rajiv Kafle, HIV infected activist told The Kathmandu Post that the council is formed for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) but not a single PLWHA representative is in the council.

Kafle who is also the co-ordinator of Navakiran, an organisation working towards counselling, rehabilitation and treatment of PLWHA, further added that this is state discrimination toward us.

Apart from Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), others expected to participate at the conference include Dr Peter Piot, UNAIDS Executive Director, and Dr Nafis Sadik, special envoy of UN Secretary General, for HIV/AIDS in Asia. Delegates from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will also attend the conference. Senior ministers, parliamentarians, civil society leaders, people living with AIDS, religious leaders and civil society organisations, NGOs, Young People and Multilateral partners will also participate in the conference.

Minister in Charge of Presidency from Uganda, and senior public heath officials from Thailand will also share their experiences gained in HIV/AIDS prevention and care in their respective countries. Meanwhile, Bellamy inaugurated a photo exhibition of the people infected with HIV/AIDS, gender, violence and exploitation at a function today evening. Addressing the function, Bellamy said that a photo can speak a thousands words.

In the exhibition photos related to sex workers, street life, brothels, people infected with HIV/AIDS and victims of domestic violence in the SAARC region are displayed.

A photo title displayed at the exhibition states that ‘gender norms and gender inequality play a critical role in spread of HIV/AIDS,’, highlighting the root cause of the spreading of the disease.

It is stated that 40 to 70 percent of girls and women in South Asia experience some form of physical and emotional abuse.

Conflict taking heavy toll on children: CWIN

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KATHMANDU, Feb 2 : The seven-year-old Maoist conflict has cost the lives of at least 186 children while another 4000 have been displaced, Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Centre (CWIN), an NGO working for children’s welfare, said here today.

Unveiling its annual "State of the Rights of the Child in Nepal - 2003" report here during a press conference, CWIN president Gauri Pradhan presented a worsening scenario for children, in large measure due to the Maoist conflict.

The conflict has victimised the children the most in one way or another, exposing them to many risks including mental and physical torture, displacement, disruption in their education etc, according to the report

At least 322 children were directly victimised by the conflict. Of this 146 were killed while 95 of them were severely injured, the reports says. This year alone, 146 children were victimised in one way or another, out of whom 64 were killed and 49 injured. Fifteen were kidnapped and one child was sexually abused, according to the report.

While hundreds of children were reportedly kidnapped by Maoist rebels, 100 have been arrested by police.

Likewise, while hundreds of them fled their homes fearing for their safety, many other displaced children got themselves involved in dangerous works for a living. Highlighting all kinds of abuses against the children, the report underlines the fact that abuses against them have actually increased rather than showing signs of decrease.

CWIN recorded five cases of sexual abuse of girls, who were forcibly recruited by Maoist rebels and one case of sexual harassment by security personnel.

It strongly accuses Maoist rebels and security personnel of gross violation of children’s rights. While five youth in Nuwakot were gunned down by security personnel, one 14-year-old Raju Tharu was murdered in cold blood in Bhimapur VDC, by the rebels on charges of spying.

The political conflict has also left a majority of the children psychologically scarred or impaired. While some children showed inclination towards violence, reflecting in their violent behaviour, while others remained traumatized and locked up in fear and depression.

On the child labour front, the report paints an equally grim picture. CWIN chief Pradhan noted that the actual statistics for child labour could be much higher than what the report recorded, as most cases go unreported.

Despite the government’s commitment to child rights at international forums, especially its ratification of UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), there has not been significant improvement in protecting the fundamental rights of the children, says the report. "The current political instability has further dealt a blow to all the programmes aimed at mitigating child labour in the country, " noted the CWIN chairman.

With a view to mitigate the impact of conflict on children, CWIN is set to launch a campaign in 22 districts under the slogan "Children as Zone of Peace", seeking growing participation of children in their own movement, he informed the press.

Highlights of the Report 

Childhood mired in abuses

CWIN reports record a sharp increase in sexual abuses of children in the overall situations .

According to the report, 159 sexual cases were reported this year alone, a rise from 148 last year. Out of 159, 91 cases involved children under the age of 16 and 33 cases involved children below 10 years of age.

A joint survey of Save the Children - Norway and CWIN reveals that about 20 per cent children in Kathmandu have been subjected to sexual abuse.

Commercial sexual exploitation

One of the grim facts is that some children in the city are being sexually exploited for commercial purposes. While at least five per cent of children in the streets are reported to be commercially exploited by local and foreign pedophiles for sex, more such cases have been detected in the large number of dance and cabin restaurants, located at every nook and corner of the city.

Citing a ILO study in 2002, the report highlights the fact that 30 per cent of the city’s sex workers account for minors below the age group of 18 . Half of them work in such restaurants.

Victims of trafficking

Similarly,137 cases of trafficking of minors has been reported this year. Forty-nine of those trafficked to India were below the age of 16 years. These minors were reportedly forced to work for 14 hours a day. Some of them were rescued by the Indian NGO, Initiative for Social Change in 2002.

Children who went missing

The CWIN Helpline recorded 1089 cases of children who went missing. Of them 463 were recovered with the efforts of CWIN’s Helpline. However, hundreds of children have still gone missing every year despite such services, according to the report.

Ended their lives

A total of 46 children committed suicide this year for various reasons ranging from poverty, family tension, frustration in love affairs, failure in exams etc.

Addicted to drugs

Sixteen per cent of street children in Kathmandu get addicted to drugs, most of whom flee homes for the dazzling city. A UNICEF report , 2002 says that one out of 10 are vulnerable to drug addiction in one way or other. Fifty-sixty per cent of them smoke, 26 per cent sniff while 54 per cent inject drugs into their bodies. Over the past some time, glue sniffing is becoming popular with teenage drug addicts. Over fifty per cent of street children in Kathmandu has been found addicted to glue sniffing.

Contracted HIV/ AIDS

As the high segment of the country’s population is being infected with AIDS/HIV, more and more minors are vulnerable to the deadly disease. Drug addiction and unsafe sexual contact is exposing more and more street children to AIDS infections, says the report.

RPP leaders accuse PM of hiding truce details

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KATHMANDU, Feb 2 : Some central committee members of the Rastriya Prajatantra party today criticised Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand "for keeping the party in dark" about the truce and talks of dialogue with Maoists.

In the about one and half hour long meeting at the Prime Minister’s official residence at Baluwatar today evening, the RPP central committee members accused the PM of trying to conceal government activities from the party. A source at Baluwatar told The Kathmandu Post that central committee members Balaram Ghartimagar, Surya Bahadur KC and Buddhiman Tamang among others asked the PM Chand to suggest the party whether it to go for constituent assembly or not.

"Why did you decline to inform us about the progress in peace talks with the Maoists?" Ghartimagar, KC and Tamang have been reported to asked the PM. PM Chand just replied that he was unaware about some of the developments, so he couldn’t inform the party.

Samaritan comes to Adhikaris’ aid

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KATHMANDU, Feb 2 : Moved by the plight of the children of Ganeshman Adhikari, the teacher of Raja-Rani Primary School, Pathivara, Sankhuwasava, who was killed by Maoist rebels nearly a month ago, Rishi Bhakta Shrestha, the proprietor of South Asian Trading Company in the capital, has expressed his profound desire to extend his generous help to the family.

The bereaved Adhikaris’ plight was brought to the fore by The Kathmandu Post and Kantipur dailies that ran front-page stories today.

Shrestha, 49, who lives in the capital’s Ravibhawan suburb, reacted to the news-report and said that he would be glad to extend his generous help to the family, especially late Adhikari’s two sons, 15-year-old Mohan and 13-year-old Manoj.

While the elder brother, Mohan, studies in grade eight in Himalaya Secondary School, the younger one, Manoj, studies in grade seven in Surya Boarding School. Both schools are located in Khandbari, headquarters of the eastern Sankhuwasava district. Late Adhikari also has a daughter. Mandira, the eldest daughter studies in grade nine in Himalaya Secondary School.

"I would be glad to help bear the school fees of the two boys," Shrestha told The Kathmandu Post today. "The boys can continue with their schooling in their town (Khandbari)." He has also expressed his readiness to bear the medical expenses of Manoj, the younger brother, who "occasionally falls unconscious", according to his mother, Khineshwori.

Mini round-table meet in Palpa

By Madhav Aryal

TANSEN, Palpa, Feb 2 : With the government and Maoist outfit announcing the mutual cease-fire, Maoist cadres have begun round-table conferences regarding future course of political actions at local-level.

Maoist rebels yesterday organised a four-hour long round-table conference in the rebel-controlled Rampur Valley, located about 50-km east of here, the district headquarters, amidst the presence of local representatives of major political parties, businessmen, teachers, intellectuals and locals.

The valley borders Syangja, Tanahun and Nawalparasi districts. Local rebel leaders invited them for the conference two days after the cease-fire announcement on January 29.

"We called for the roundtable conference to set an example at local-level keeping in mind the current political situation of the country," a local who participated in the meeting quoted a district-level Maoist leader as saying. He said that about dozen rebel-leaders commanding the three districts were present at the conference. "But they were unarmed unlike in the past".

"We will stop all military actions in accordance with party’s central policy. But we will raise arms again if the government betrays us," the local quoted the rebels as saying.

During the conference, local people asked the rebel leaders to allow the displaced people to return to their homes, and demanded that they should immediately stop extortion and physical action against the people opposed to the Maoist ideology.

A participant who arrived here after taking part in the conference said that the rebels also stressed that the purposed government-Maoist peace talks should be able to bring peace with political settlement. He added that the participants agreed to work together on the issues related with local development. This is the first time that such a roundtable conference has been held at local-level shortly after the cease-fire.

Deterioration of wetlands, a threat to human existence

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KATHMANDU, Feb 2 : Wetlands cannot survive without organised conservation efforts. These reservoirs of drinkable water have significant roles in conserving bio-diversity, regulating water cycle and purifying water for human consumption. Though tremendously important, wetlands are vulnerable to dumping, unplanned constructions, encroachment from human settlements, deforestation, pollution and the growth of obstructive plant species like water hyacinth.

These and other threats faced by wetlands and the pressing need to take serious steps towards their conservation was highlighted today by experts in a national level interaction programme organised in the capital to mark the World Wetlands Day, 2003. The programme was jointly organised by The World Conservation Union (IUCN) and Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC).

Bringing out the existential threat faced by humans due to increasingly scarce drinking water, Narayan Prasad Poudel, deputy director general of DNPWC said that per capita water has decreased considerably in the past few years, due to mounting development pressure.

"The population in the twentieth century was three times than in the nineteenth century. However, water consumption was up by six times, because higher living standards imply higher consumption of water. That is all the more reason to become serious about conserving wetlands, which are the important stores and regulators of drinkable water, which is becoming increasingly scarce" said Poudel.

Realising the grave threat faced by wetlands throughout the world, an international conference was held in February 2, 1971 in Ramsar city of Iran. Nepal became signatory to Ramsar Convention on 17, April, 1988. Koshi Tappu area of eastern Terai in Nepal has been declared Ramsar site.

Presently, the government has proposed Ghodaghodi lake area of Kailali, Bis Hazaar lake area of Chitwan and Jagadishpur lake area of Kapilvastu for enlistment as Ramsar site. As signatory of the convention, Nepal is required to identify, declare and properly manage its wetlands. Currently, 131 countries are signatory to the convention.

Wetlands are semi-aquatic lands such as marshes and swamps that have an important role in maintaining the level, quality and quantity of underground water. According to international definition, rivers, lakes and other perennially wet areas are also considered as wetlands. Since only one percent of the total water on earth is in drinkable from, wetlands are additionally significant in terms of keeping that water drinkable.

Further highlighting the importance of wetlands, Poudel said, "More than three million people die every year due to drinking contaminated water. Fifty percent of world’s wetlands have already been destroyed. More than 60 percent of rivers have been obstructed due to improper construction of dams." In Kathmandu itself, almost all the rivers are as good as dead due to indiscriminate dumping of waste.

Also speaking on the occasion, Swayambhu Man Amatya, director general of DNPWC, said, "Five percent of Nepal’s surface is covered by wetlands. Among 7000 plant species in Nepal, about 25 percent thrive in wetland areas. And 21 of 60 communities in Nepal depend on wetlands for earning a livelihood."

According to experts, there is a serious need to spread awareness regarding the importance of wetlands in maintaining ecological balance. "We are confident that celebrating the World Wetlands Day will help in spreading awareness and creating pressure in the direction of conserving wetlands," said Chandi Prasad Shrestha, chief secretary of Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation.