US arms arrive, wait on for Belgian Minimis

By Surendra Phuyal 

KATHMANDU, Jan 5:After days of wait, a special cargo plane from the United States carrying a consignment of modern M-16 rifles finally landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport today.

The consignment consists of 3,000 M-16 A2 rifles manufactured in the United States. The delivery was made as part of a bilateral deal hammered out between the Sher Bahadur Deuba government and the US government last year. As part of the deal, the US is to supply 5,000 M-16 rifles. The
plane arrived in Kathmandu via Hong Kong.

The Royal Nepal Army (RNA), which is currently engaged in combating Maoists who have been declared terrorists by the government, is in the process of being equipped with modern and sophisticated weapons. Arrival of the latest cache of arms is beginning of the process.

First delivery of 5,500 Minimi machine guns from Belgium is also arriving Nepal soon. The shipment sent sometime in mid-December contains 500 Minimis, but the arms have not yet arrived in Nepal. An East European airliner making the delivery had got stuck in Kazakhstan due to a lack of overflying permission from India. India has already given permission to the flight.

RNA, which joined the civilian and the armed police forces in taking on the Maoist rebels little more than a year ago, plans to fully equip its 55,000-strong forces with M-16 rifles soon.

Currently, the soldiers are using India-made self-loaded rifles (SLRs), light machine guns (LMGs) and other arms, which reportedly have started creating problems like stoppage and overheating.

Unlike SLRs, soldiers armed with M-16s - which are generally attached to ammunition belts - can fire up to 30 rounds with little or no stoppage in the battlefield. "With M-16s, we can easily shoot within the range of 300 or 350 metres," one army officer said.

First developed during Vietnam war, M-16s have been known for their lightness, and accuracy while shooting at targets. The US forces and many other elite forces around the world carry them.

HM back to capital

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KATHMANDU, Jan 5:His Majesty King Gyanendra returned to the capital today at the end of four-day visit to the eastern region.

The main highlight of the visit was civic reception of January 3 in which king expressed commitment to democracy while addressing a huge gathering of people in Biratnagar. King had also visited Myanglung in Terhathum district where fire had raged the whole settlement last month.

According to reports from Dhankuta, King Gyanendra today inspected army barracks in Hile and was welcomed by regional administrator and army officers.

The barrack is involved in providing security in 16 districts of the region.

Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand, Chief of Army Staff Gen Pyara Jung Thapa and Defence Secretary, among others, accompanied the king during the visit, which lasted just over two hours. King granted audience to selected government officials.

Similarly, report from Rajbiraj said the king conducted rituals at the Chinnamasta temple which is 10 kilometres south of the town. Chief District Officer said HM King also was apprised of various difficulties faced by the local people. Locals have been reported to be enthusiastic at getting the chance to welcome the king.

Royal speech evokes response

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KATHMANDU, Jan 5 :Political parties today responded more or less on their known and expected way to the public speech made by His Majesty King Gyanendra on Friday in Biratnagar.

While Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) chief Pashupati Shumsher Rana saw enough scope for a conciliation between the king and the political parties, especially after the Biratnagar speech. Leaders of Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and People’s Front Nepal felt that much depended on how he acted instead of on what he said.

Speaking during a face-to-face programme organised by the Reporters’ Club in the capital, RPP leader Rana said, "We must not be pessimistic just yet, if we expect to avert the worst."

Rana also said that the speech came at a time when there are specific developments in the backdrop. Speaking in an emotional tone, Rana put up a query as to why the parties were not ready to give benefit of doubt to the king, just as they are giving the benefit of doubt to the rebels.

Rana, however, conceded that some unexpected developments had overtaken the nation on October 4 and that the parties must co-operate in a positive manner to avert the crisis which could threaten nationalism.

The king had dismissed an elected government on October 4 last year and assumed all executive powers. Last Friday, in his speech in Biratnagar, the monarch had re-affirmed his commitment to constitutional monarchy and democracy.

Meanwhile, leaders of other political parties were scathingly critical of the king’s speech.

Nepali Congress (NC) central leader, Narahari Acharya, billed the speech as "interesting since it was the first speech of a king who wields executive powers. "However, positive note lies in the fact that he has not added to the bitterness generated by the October 4 royal move," Acharya added sarcastically. "It would have been better had the king announced possible measures to resolve the crisis dogging the nation."

Acharya further said that although the executive monarch has expressed commitment to democracy, three months after taking over the executive rights, the same however does not gel with the turn of events over the same time period. "Expressing commitment without any cogent proof is useless," he emphatically said.

The Nepali Congress leaders also chastised the monarchy for trying to retain political power, even after constitutional monarchy was enshrined by the constitution. "Yes, monarchy was a power at the end of the (1990) Movement for the restoration of democracy, but not after the promulgation of the constitution which has rendered the king as an institution."

Similar views were expressed by Homnath Dahal, spokesperson of the Nepali Congress (Democratic), the party which held power when it was dismissed by the monarch on October 4. But Dahal reiterated his party’s demand to restore the ousted government as a way out of the present crisis.

People’s Front Nepal (PFN) leader Amik Sherchan was of the view that the royal address at the civic reception was stale and, as always, the value of same would be decided on the basis of whether political and constitutional course take the desired direction.

He also said that the speech contained all the tenets of a garbled speech of an executive authority. "The need of the time is to speak in clear terms rather than in ambiguous terms," he further said. Sherchan also attacked the government for failing to either announce poll dates or hold talks with Maoist rebels..

CPN-UML leader, Modnath Prasrit, billed the speech as "formulaic" and said that what matters most is the ultimate motive. He went back to the year 1959 when "King Mahendra, too, had promised much the similar things but the elected government was dismissed in the following year."

The late King Mahendra, the present king’s father, had dismissed Nepal’s first elected government in December 1960, slightly a year after the first general elections.

"The time has come when our relations with monarch ought to be weighed on the constitutional scales," Prasrit further said, saying that the monarch would have done well had he announced return of the executive power on the government. He also expressed the view that the king ought to have dropped the idea of competing with political parties in a public place.

Meanwhile, Minister of Education and Sports, Devi Prasad Ojha, representing the government side, assured the political parties of an all-party meeting soon "which the government thinks can go a long way in garnering due support to resolve the Maoist insurgency." He said the government was working on the agenda and would soon seek the reaction and suggestion of all the major political parties.

Red Corner Notice against 5 more Maoist leaders

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KATHMNANDU, Jan 5:Interpol has issued Red Corner Notices against five more central level Maoists leaders, taking the number of rebel leaders in the Interpol warrant list to 16.

The leaders listed in the fresh Interpol warrant this time include central members of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) Mumaram Khanal, Hitraj Pandey, Khadka Bahadur Bishwokarma, Lekraj Bhatta and party’s central advisor, Ishwori Prasad Dahal. However, security forces have already arrested Khanal.

The leaders have been charged of terrorism, murder and armed robbery.

Earlier, similar notices had been issued against 11 Maoists leaders, including the outlawed party’s chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda, number 2 leader Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai on August 14, and three more leaders including Krishna Bahadur Mahara were listed in the Interpol warrant on November 17.

Bam Dev pens his ire against leadership

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KATHMANDU, Jan 5:Bam Dev Gautam, senior leader of Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist and Leninist (CPN-UML), today came down heavily on the party leadership by putting a separate written opinion in the party central committee meeting, called to discuss on the Organisational and Political Report, presented by party general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal at the party office.

Gautam, in the opinion paper has reiterated that the party committed a serious mistake in the Mahakali Treaty. He has urged the party leadership to review the treaty.

Gautam had quit UML, as the sixth general convention disagreed to realise the ‘mistake’ committed by the party, in the much controversial Mahakali Treaty in 1996. He was in the minority during that time.

The paper also criticised the party leadership for keeping biased thoughts upon the leaders even after the reunification. "Unity could not be emotional and respectful," the paper says.

He stressed that the concept of democratisation within the party was floated by the late leader Madan Kumar Bhandari. However, the party leadership has been ignoring it, which has caused serious crisis in the party.

He pointed out the need of a ‘centralised leadership and decentralised responsibility’ in the party.

Reiterating the need of presidential system in the party, the paper also states that the selection of the party leadership should be on the basis of the popular vote. The president should not remain in the position for more than two consecutive periods and it should be put in the party statute, the paper states.

He has also charged the party leadership of handing over responsibility among the party leaders under personal influence.

In a totally contrasting opinion to the general secretary Nepal, Gautam has demanded that the current working strategy of the party should be changed as ‘protest against the regressive forces and preservation of democracy’.

Indicating at the latest activities of the king following the royal move, he has also stressed that UML should be ready to go for a constituent assembly, if the regressive forces keep on moving ahead.

Highlighting the decisions taken by the party leadership in the past, he has mentioned that the leadership took immature decision at the time of royal massacre and at many more significant events.

Pradip Gyawali, a UML central committee member opined that the party should resort to the streets by changing the current working strategy.

All the central committee members except Bhim Acharya and Asta Laxmi Shaky today pointed out that the suggestions put forward by K P Oli, should be included in the paper presented by Nepal.

Sixteen of the central committee members put their own opinions on the report presented by Nepal. Besides Gautam, the members Pradip Gyawali, Kashi Nath Adhikari, Asta Laxmi Shakya, Gopal Shakya, Nara Bahadur Khand, Rajendra Shrestha and others put their suggestions on the report.

The meeting will resume tomorrow at 10 am at the party central office.

Rare herbs smuggling, loss to exchequer

By Jaya Bahadur Rakaya 

SIMIKOT, (Humla) Jan 5 : Valuable rare herbs from many districts of far-western Nepal are being smuggled out to India and China due to government failure in checking illegal trade. While bulk export of the herbs should have boosted the national revenue, depletion of natural resources has only benefited the smugglers.

Jatamasi, Yarchagumba, Silajeet, Sugandhawal and Kutik, plus other valuable herbs found in many districts of remote Karnali zone are being smuggled out an a large scale.

With the security forces concentrated in tackling the Maoist rebels, the weakened security system has proved to be a boon for the smugglers. Interestingly, the illegal trade is carried out with the involvement of security personnel at entry points along the border and the Maoists rebels, where they are in control, say concerned sources

The government has banned the export of non-processed herbs. However, with the lack of proper processing equipment, the herbs processed in the country do not meet international standards, and the smuggling of rare herbs is rampant, according to a concerned source.

Indian brokers hire local merchants to collect Jatamasi from the remote mountainous regions, which are brought to Nepalgunj of Banke district. The herb is then smuggled out through Rupandiya border point with the collusion of the security personnel.

Where brokers do not have contact with the security personnel, they smuggle the herbs from Sunauli exit point of Rupandehi district, said a concerned source.

"India imports only the raw Jatamasi from Nepal as the processed liquid of the herb is of low standard," said an ex-employee at Herbs Processing Centre at Koteshwor, Kathmandu.

Beside the illegally exported herbs, the District Forest Office (DFO) states that around 1,000 quintals of various types of herbs were exported during the last fiscal year. Of the total export, Jatamasi alone was 840 quintals.

Yarchagumba is another important herb that is smuggled to Tibet. Since, the royalty for the legal export of the herb is high, merchants and smugglers export the herb illegally to Tibet. The Maoist rebels also support the smuggling and merchants have to pay them, according to a merchant involved in the illegal trade.

Yarchagumba is expensive even at the local level. In areas like Jumla, Dolpa and Bhajang, where it grows wild, Yarchagumba costs Rs 80,000 per kg.

$414,666 McConnell aid for Nepal

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KATHMANDU, Jan 5:More than a year after handing out its initial foreign grant, the Redding-based (UK) McConnell Foundation has pledged sum of US$ 414,666 to Nepal, as stated in the website newslookmag.com.

Overall, the non-profit foundation awarded 13 grants that totalled $2.6 million in its final round of contributions in 2002. All told, the McConnell Foundation approved $2.9 million in new grants last year.

The largest contribution to Nepal is a sum of $214,666 to Mountain Resources Management Group, for a sustainable villages and rural income generation project and disaster relief assistance in the Arghakhanchi district. The rest of the contributions to Nepal will be shared by three other projects.

In July 2001, McConnell had approved $121,000 in grants to enhance villages in Nepal. Other recipients in the latest round of grants included the University of California office of the president, which will receive $1.7 million to be distributed over five years.

The money will be used to establish an outreach programme and two outreach centres in the north state.

Other recipients included Adopt-A-Watershed ($132,000), Cascade Theatre Restoration Committee/Jefferson Public Radio ($100,000) and the Shasta Union High School District, which will get $90,000 to put lights at one of two baseball fields at Foothill High School in Palo Cedro.

The website also states that Shannon Phillips, McConnell’s director of communications, said that while stock market losses have reduced the foundation’s assets, it remains committed to funding projects in Nepal and education. "We had already planned to spend the money; we just didn’t know what the dollar amounts would be and who the recipients would be," she said.

The foundation’s assets, which include stock and real estate, were reported at just over $338 million in an income tax return filed for the year 2000, the most recent return available.

McConnell donates approximately $15 million a year. Its biggest project continues to be the Turtle Bay Exploration Park expansion and the construction of the Sundial Bridge, both in Redding. McConnell has committed nearly $40 million to both projects.  

CIAA probe on to detect corrupt officials

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KATHMANDU, Jan 5:Close on the heels of unprecedented poaching of one-horned rhinos in the Royal Chitwan National Park, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has begun an investigation over possible involvement of government officials in the offences.

CIAA has issued three letters to the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, demanding to furnish details by Monday over poaching in the park, according to sources at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC).

In the CIAA-issued letters, the ministry has been demanded to make available of a complete map showing locations of the poaching incidents in the park, home to 529 one-horned rhinos. The ministry will also have to provide data on poaching of endangered species in the park over the past five years.

The source told The Kathmandu Post that the ministry has sent Surya Bahadur Pandey, a conservation officer at DNPWC to the park, following letters from the CIAA for needed preparations at the time when ministry officials will present themselves before the CIAA.

An internal report prepared by the DNPWC in December had shown the figure of the death of 34 one-horned rhinos over a period of eight months beginning mid-April, 2002. With more than 50 percent of them being victims of poaching, the report triggered an outcry from conservationists, who demanded for prompt action to check the offences.

The CIAA has also shown interest over the implementation of the report prepared by Damodar Dhakal, the then joint secretary at the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation five years ago, over smuggling of horns of rhinos in the Royal Chitwan National Park and Parsa Wildlife Reserve. The government had constituted a three-member committee in 1998 under the chairmanship of Dhakal.

Sources said that the ministry has not taken any action on its officials found guilty in the Dhakal report.