Pacifists light lamps for peace

By Surendra Phuyal

KATHMANDU, Feb 23 : They originally hail from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and other European countries. But hundreds of expatriates living in the Kathmandu Valley gathered at the centuries-old stupa of Bouddhanath this evening, the all-seeing eyes of Buddha vigilant as ever.

They had gathered there for a genuine cause: observe a silent, lamp-lighting vigil for world peace. All this, just when the United States and the allied forces that have gathered in the Gulf prepare for a war in Iraq. Coincidentally, it is also a time when there is truce in Nepal, and the rebel Maoists are aboveground, vowing to establish lasting peace in the country.

"War is not the answer, war just fills hatred - that’s not the world we want for us and our children," said Steven Honeyman, a Canadian national, as he stood with his wife, Tory Clawson, and their five-month-old son, ‘Tika’, on the 1500-year-old stupa.

The rows of the butter-fed lamps in front of them were placed in such a way as to carve out a sketch of Mandala - an image symbolising the graphic symbol of the universe. (From the sky above, the huge stupa also looks like a huge Mandala). The lamps were glowing bright - even as the hard wind blowing from the south threatened to blow them out.

As the sun prepared to sink behind the Chandragiri hill at the western end of the Valley, the expats - who were aided by the Tibetan monks and their local friends - began circumambulating the big, white-painted mound. In no time, they finished placing earthen lamps on the edges, upon which the big white mound stands tall. The monks in maroon robes and the locals helped them light up the lamps.

By 6 p.m., altogether 50,000 lamps had been lit up, and the beautiful stupa was glowing, the many prayer flags bearing holy Buddhist mantras fluttering in the wind, and dozens of pigeons flying over the stupa. And in a corner an expat couple was chitchatting peace and non-violence - and, of course, love.

The husband, who did not want to be identified by name, said, "It’s time for everyone of us to speak out for peace."

A statement issued by the expat community, the organiser of the event said that through the butter-lamp vigil they wished to register their "profound misgivings" about the course "that our home governments have taken with regard to Iraq". But it added that they were expressing their feelings solely in their individual capacities.

"We believe that the notion of preventive strike against Iraq - and especially the threat to use nuclear weapons - without proof of an imminent threat to any of our countries and without the backing of the United Nations Security Council would be immoral and in contravention of international law and the UN Charter," the statement said.

It added that war with Iraq would lead to deaths of many innocent Iraqis...(and) "that such preventive war would exacerbate, rather than effectively address, the threat of terrorism, making it much more difficult for the international community to deal with other global threats, such as nuclear proliferation and climate change".

Lisa Choegyal, an eco-tourism specialist who has been staying in Nepal since early 1970s, said that the silent lamp-lighting vigil was aimed at urging "our home governments to reconsider their policies" with regard to Iraq.

"We are making silent visual praying for the world, because we understand how much damage a war could cause in the world," she added.

It was a moonless evening, black clouds hovering in the sky. And alone in a corner, an Australian monk in maroon was trying to light up the lamps that were blown out by the hard, spring wind. He lit up one or two lamps, and did not seem very much optimistic about world peace at this point.

"We are lighting up the lamps here, but I wonder the world leaders will listen to us," the monk in maroon robes, who identified himself as Rinchen Tsephel, said.

"Last week, there were (anti-war) demonstrations every where, even in my home city (of Sydney)." His forecast was that "eventually there is going to be some fighting in Iraq before we have lasting peace on earth."

Like the expats and their local friends, Thupden Chhodar, and his fellow monk, Kelsang Hima, both 15, were lighting up the butter-fed lamps at the stupa. When quizzed whether they like fighting, Thupden insisted that there has to be peace, and that everybody should be allowed to live in peace and harmony.

And a prominent expat lady, who also did not want to be identified by name, summed up the sentiments of the shy boy-monks thus: "If Nepal can go for peace, so can Washington and the world. After all, peace is too infectious...Go for butter lamps not bombs."

Maoist leaders meet former PM Bista

From Our Special Correspondent

KATHMANDU, Feb 23 : The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) politburo members Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Dinanath Sharma today met former prime minister Kirti Nidhi Bista and told him that they were very positive in bringing about a logical conclusion to the current cease-fire.

Meeting with former PM Bista was a part of the process of their interaction with senior leaders, political parties and representatives of various spheres of the society. Mahara, who is also one of the members of the Maoist negotiating team, and Sharma met Bista at his residence in Gyaneshwor.

Mahara and Sharma told Bista that the security forces were still arresting people at different places and said that such actions could jeopardise the peace process but the former prime minister urged them not to take the alleged sporadic arrests seriously. "If both the sides show positive attitude and have an effective monitoring mechanism in place, then the peace talks could be decisive," he said.

The duo said the Maoists expected support from all sections of the society to establish peace and also reiterated that they had no intention to bypass the political parties.

Bista pointed out that since democracy and nationalism were everyone’s concern, unity among all was the need of the hour. "I found them positive about finding a solution to the current crisis," the former prime minister told The Kathmandu Post. "However, the Maoist leaders expressed their displeasure on the lack of seriousness exhibited by the government which has not even formed the negotiating team. The government was also found wanting in creating conducive atmosphere for talks."

The government is yet to announce the full team for the talks. Only Minister for Physical Planning and Works, Narayan Singh Pun, has been appointed as the co-ordinator for the dialogue. The two Maoists also informed Bista that they were about to conclude their discussions with Minister Pun on finalising the code of conduct for the talks.

All-party Govt only after House revival: Koirala

Post Report

BIRATNAGAR, Feb 23 : Nepali Congress (NC) president Girija Prasad Koirala today publicly ventilated his differences with CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal on the question of his party joining an all-party government as demanded by Nepal to reserve the current political impasse. "NC will join such an all-party government only if the dissolved House of Representatives (HoR) was revived," Koirala said.

UML leader Nepal has been insisting for an all-party government under Article 128 of the constitution and revival of the House is not a pre-condition for the formation of such a government. Inaugurating the third national conference of the Nepal Trade Union Congress here, Koirala said that he has agreed with Nepal about the all-party government if it is formed only after the revival of the Lower House.

"I do not agree with what Madhav Kumar Nepal proposed about an irrelevant all-party government to be formed by the king," he said, adding, "Only an all-party government to be formed by the HoR is acceptable to us. But we do not accept a government handpicked by the king without having popular mandate." Koirala welcomed the cease-fire between the government and the Maoists but expressed his suspicion over the delay in making public the code of conduct, in spite of one month of the cease-fire announcement.

"Although the cease-fire has been declared, Maoists are freely moving in villages carrying arms. Maoists’ armed activities even after the cease-fire have made all parliamentary forces suspicious." Referring to a recent meeting with Maoist leaders Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Dinanath Sharma, Koirala said that even the Maoists are confused regarding the round-table conference and constituent assembly.

"When I asked them about the agenda of round-table conference and constituent assembly and an authentic body to call it, they could not make it clear," he said. "They simply said they would make their point clear in the next meet." He claimed that the Maoist leaders seemed to be discouraged.

Addressing the same function, NC leader Shailaja Acharya said that international forces were working behind the scene to resolve the Maoist insurgency. She pointed out the need for national reconciliation among the parties involved along with peace. But she warned that king, Maoists and international forces could not resolve the national problems, keeping political forces at bay.

COPE schools for a better future, happier village

By Raghu Nath Lamichhane

SISWA, Kapilvastu, Feb 23 : Jaggu Prasad Yadav, a local of Jitpur village and Chairman of Ram Janaki Primary School management committee, relaxes at a corner of the school ground with a sense of contentment. He is filled with great joy as he sees children around him, busy with pens and pencils and books in their hands.

The sight of so many children in their neat uniforms, as they fill the area with laughter, makes Yadav realise that his long-cherished dream is being fulfilled. What was once a ramshackle school, with dust everywhere, now has students happily engrossed in their books.

The school is a realisation of the dream and devotion of Yadav, who had to save every penny of his hard-earned money. In the end he donated his life-long savings of Rs 20,000 for the development of the Ram Janaki School. As this was not enough he even took a trip to Kathmandu to meet Birendra Kanoudia, a former MP from his constituency, to collect Rs 10,000.

He also knocked on the doors of every villager to collect little amounts for the construction of the school building. With the effort of Jaggu Yadav and his energetic friends, the school now has a new look. It has been transformed from straw-roofed huts to a cemented building.

The involvement of the villagers is such that all are interested in the management of the school. Even when one of the lady teachers is absent it becomes a subject of concern for the whole village. The villagers even conduct inspections to ensure that teachers are doing their job well in the classrooms.

Of course, there are reasons for their intense affection for the school. Mumtaj Begum, who has two daughters and a son studying in the school, says, "There was no school in our village earlier, therefore we constructed the school with a lot of sacrifice," adding, "If we do not love our school who else will?"

The school, constructed with the grant assistance of United Nations Development Programme under the Community Owned Primary Education Programme (COPE) is entirely run by the local community.

Laxmi Shrestha, chief of COPE in Kapilbastu said that the locals have great love for this school as they handle all the school activities including the building construction to operation and regular monitoring.

About 82 per cent of the population in this backward village of Jitpur are Muslims, Pashi, Raidas etc. There are no other schools in this village, located far south of the district headquarters. The nearest school lies at a distance of over seven kilometres.

The children who used to spend time playing in the dust are now busy in class with pens and books; and the parents and the villagers are happy.

Ghanashyam Raidas, a guardian says, "My heart is filled with happiness when I notice the neat and tidy little children running to school every morning."

Schools similar to the Ram Janaki School, operated under the supervision of COPE, the District Development Committee and Village Development Committee, are managed by the local people.

The local group and the school management committee selected from among the villagers are responsible for collecting fund, generating money and lending it on interest.

Jaggu, chairman of the school management committee says, "We have lent about Rs 5,50,000 at 11 percent interest."

Another important aspect of the Ram Janaki School is the high attendance of girl students and children of the backward communities. Six girl students from the Chamar caste and seven out of nine from Pashi caste also study in this school.

According to Shrestha, in the 20 schools operated by COPE in the district, 57 percent of the students are girls.

Despite the backdrop of a village atmosphere, the schools employ well-qualified and dedicated lady-teachers. Teachers like Sita Ghimire and Shanti Yadav move round the village every morning and evening urging the parents to send their children to school.

All in all, a school in an area where there is intense poverty is always a sign of great hope and aspiration; more so it is a guarantee of a better life for all.

Madheshis strengthen case for federal governance

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Feb 23 : Activists of the Madesh Jagran Manch (MJM) at a half-day seminar in the capital today catalogued various reasons why they should step up their demand for a federal system of governance.

The need to perpetuate distinct culture, distinct linguistic identity and the yawning socio-economic disparities were presented as the cornerstone of the movement in favour of federal system. The seminar was held following a conference on Saturday, which saw terai people and human rights activists fortifying case for federal structure of governance.

Presenting a paper on Economic Status of Rural Nepal, Dr RD Singh claimed that international agencies like the World Bank, have said with finality that ‘inaction on the part of successive regimes have ruled out socio-economic development of the rural areas’. He also claimed development activities were restricted to urban areas, leaving nearly 86 percent of the population out in the cold.

He also said that relatively low economic activities and lack of suitable institutional mechanism to implement, monitor and evaluate the programmes and policies drawn up as part of the poverty alleviation efforts further compounded problems. "Elements of indifference and irresponsibility on the part of successive regimes has culminated in the entire nation facing the consequences," Singh said.

He also presented a case whereby internal migration has resulted in 23 percent of the land ending up with rise in population from 36 percent in 1991 to 49 percent in 2001.

Referring to data released by Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Singh further said that there has been decline in the population of the hills from 63.6 percent in 1961 to 45.5 percent in 2001. Similarly there has been a fall in the population of the alpine region from 9.9 percent in 1971 to 7 percent in 2001. Citing data on arable land use, he said that while the terai has 1.6 million hectares of land, the arable land in the hills was 1.5 million hectares.

Citing yet another report drawn up as part of the Agriculture Perspective Plan (APP) Singh said that terai has failed to keep pace with areas in other countries with similar resources. He lamented that irrigation facility is restricted to a mere 18 percent of the arable land and that there were very few villages with all-weather roads.

Citing a report by Mahhub Ul Haq Center of Pakistan, he added that the nation has been relegated to the position of net importer of food from net exporter of the same largely because agriculture development has not taken place. He also pointed accusing fingers at both donors and ruling establishment, which failed to gauge the scenario early on.

Words: 576 file: mad23 reporter:dl //-ngk/564