Nation heading towards worst crisis, warn experts

By Damaru Lal Bhandari

KATHMANDU, Jan 19 : Speakers representing civic society, press and political parties today on Sunday pointed out at the threats issuing out of Maoist insurgency, if the same is not attended in right earnest. They also said that the existing crises were fast deteriorating in the absence of holistic intervention.

"Complications are fast multiplying. Worse, some elements are trying to further aggravate the crises so that the peace talks are ruled out," Shyam Shrestha, editor of Mulyankan, said at an interactive session, organised by Foundation for Parliamentary Studies and Development. He flayed the arms mafia and foreign powers for fuelling the crisis.

Shrestha also flayed the political parties for stalling the demand for progressive reforms pressed by the Maoists, even as he came down heavily on Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-UML, for questioning the motive behind demand for election to the constituent assembly.

"Take it from me status quoist mentality is not going to produce any result," he said, adding that, all future efforts at resolving the Maoist insurgency should address issues ranging from ethnic to constitutional, for a sustainable peace.

Significantly, he also said that the issue of holding peace talks does not figure in the royal agenda, in view of the political moves which have come to the fore after the October 4 royal intervention. "The issue is how can we get the agenda on the royal priority list," he queried, flaying the NC and the CPN-UML for not prioritising the resolution of the Maoist insurgency either.

Malla K Sundar, former lawmaker, journalist and facilitator of the talks, warned of a worst scenario in the very near future, if the situation is not attended in right earnest.

Referring to the current Nepal mission of two Kofi Annan envoys in connection with crisis here, Sundar said, "If suitable efforts are not initiated now and here, the country could be facing worst of times from April. In fact the year 2060 BS could be a fateful one," he warned, citing the UN report.

He also claimed Maoists have not yet made it clear as to what they are fighting for, since the demand concerning round table conference, interim government and election to the constituent assembly are merely part of the process.

Speaking on external intervention in peace process, Sundar said, "Since India and the US are major stakeholders, point shall have to be made to ensure that they have room in the future arrangement. We must address their concerns."

He also said that US would be insisting on having its military presence in the country, in keeping with its military presence from Japan to Diego Garcia to Pakistan and countries of the former Soviet Republics for strategic reasons.

Padma Ratna Tuladhar said the Maoists could not be expected to talk with the incumbent government since it does not have constitutional legitimacy. "If any they could be expected to talk with the king, which too stands ruled out since there has been no response from the king to a call issued by the rebel leadership after the October 4 royal intervention," he said, adding Prachanda was surprised to find no reply coming from the king.

Radheshyam Adhikari, a NC member of the National Assembly, suggested formation of a government which should have the backing of the parliament to rule out influence from unwanted quarters. He flayed the rebels for laying down more conditions for talks for understandable reasons. Like others, he, too, conceded that India should have a say in future development to restore peace.

Jhala Nath Khanal of the CPN-UML said the current political crises was the outcome of the conspiracy hatched by rightist elements, even as he also said that blame also falls on political parties for inaction. "They are after the NC and the CPN-UML," he said, adding that the current policies coming from king were not part of the democratic exercise.

Senior journalists Gokul Pokharel and Dhruv Adhikari opined that political parties have committed a mistake and that the nation is currently under the direct rule of the king for all practical purposes.

Children of ex-kamaiyas dying of freezing cold

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KATHMANDU, Jan 19 : With no signs of improvement, the cold wave sweeping through some districts in the plain belt of the country for the past couple of weeks, has claimed four more lives. As a result of the severe cold, a majority of the children of ex-kamaiya families in Bardiya district, are down with pneumonia, according to sources.

Due to excessive cold, two infants of ex-kamaiyas died at Srilanka camp of Geta VDC in Kailali dsitrict, according to a source at Backward Education Society (BASE).

According to reports from Mahottari district, an infant and an elderly died of severe cold in separate places. The infant of Hari Yadav at Sripur VDC died of cold. Sixty-year-old Raudiya Minya of Khayarmara VDC also succumbed to cold, according to sources.

Some of the children have died because they could not be taken to hospital for treatment and the ill are also not being taken to hospital, as the parents do not have money, according to sources.

Around 25 to 30 ex-kamaiya children have already died of cold, claimed sources. However, sources at the district hospital said it has no records as such. "My one-year-old son died of cold," said Thakur Prasad Chaudhari, an ex-kamaiya at Magaragahdi camp.

"The kamaiyas do not have enough clothes to warm themselves. The death of their children due to cold is a sordid fact," said Dinesh Prasad Shrestha, chairman of Radha Krishna Jana Sewa Kendra.

‘Business rivalry’ motive behind disco killing

By Pragya Koirala

KATHMANDU, Jan 19 : The brother of deceased Rakesh Limbu, owner of Babylon Disco, claimed today that business rivalry was the cause of his brother’s death last Friday.

According to the statement given to the police by the brother of Limbu, Gorkhali’s Royal Disco had a tough time competing with the Babylon Disco so he was frequently disturbing the environment at Babylon. On the day of the incident, Gorkhali allegedly sent a man to "create some disturbance" at Babylon. So Limbu called up his rival to stop whatever he was doing and sort out this matter. The latter called the former for a meeting in his office, claimed Limbu’s brother.

The meeting soon broke out into a fight, with Gorkhali allegedly slashing Limbu with a sword, several times, killing the latter on the spot.

Preliminary investigation shows that the incident had taken place inside Gorkhali’s office and not at the discotheque. According to the post-mortem report, Limbu’s forehead had five wounds and his middle and index finger had also been cut.

Although Gorkhali is still at large, the police investigating the incident, claim he is still in the valley.

"We have been giving priority to this case and have been trying to gather enough information and have blocked several ways in search of Gorkhali. So we aim to trace him as soon as possible," says Binod Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police at the Valley Crime Investigation Branch. Singh further states that Gorkhali had already been in police custody before, so the police can easily identify him. The staff at the Royal say that on the day of incident, they were asked to close the disco at about 10:30 p.m. and when they went outside they saw a man in a pool of blood. At the same instance they also saw Gorkhali and his friends - Dhana Bahadur Gurung and Umesh Gurung - leaving in a taxi.

UML convention: Glory for cadres, opportunity for Janakpur dwellers

By Shyam Sundar Shashi

JANAKPUR, Jan 19 : While cadres of the Communist Party of Nepal - Unified Marxist and Leninist (CPN-UML) take the party’s seventh national convention, scheduled to be held in this religious city from February 1 to 5 as a "glory," local businessmen and leaders of other political parties view it as an "opportunity" even for ordinary people.

The seventh convention of the country’s powerful political force is glory and opportunity for the locals in terms of gathering of the people from across the country and abroad. The main organising committee said that over 1,300 party delegates and a large number of invitees and observers, including foreign guests and reporters, will gather in this border city, which is also famous as the birthplace of Goddess Sita. "The party convention is not only significant from political standpoint, it is also equally important from religious and cultural viewpoint," said artiste Ramesh Ranjan Jha.

Local leader of the Nepali Congress and erstwhile Mayor of the Janakpur Municipality, Brishesh Chandra Lal, also has a similar view to share. He said that the UML’s decision to select the city as the venue for the convention at the juncture of political instability is to give due recognition to its long political history. "The upcoming national convention will be instrumental to safeguard the democracy which is in danger," added the former Mayor.

Likewise, leader of the Nepali Congress (Democratic) and erstwhile Deputy-Mayor, Kishori Sah, opined that world leaders are now watching the UML’s general convention closely, as it is being held at a time when the country is facing unprecedented political crisis. "This convention will give way to the current political dilemma," Sah said.

This mega political event has also been viewed as a boon for the local hoteliers because of the large number of people coming from far and wide parts of the country over the last few days. The hotel owners said that they are extremely busy these days and all of their rooms have already been packed before the beginning of the convention. The erstwhile Mayor said that businessmen and even the working class people would be able to cash in this convention.

Cultural experts say that the convention will also help make the glorious Mithila arts, culture and language known to the rest of the world. General secretary of the Mithila Drama and Arts Council, Sunil Mallik, said that the artistes are now busy for the rehearsal of a play called Sita Janma (Sita’s birth), which will be staged during the convention. "The rich Mithila culture and the hospitality of the local people will leave an eternal memory to the people participating in the historic convention," added Mallik.

It maybe recalled that this is the city where the late B. P. Koirala was also elected the president of the Nepali Congress in 2007 Bikram era.

Wild boar takes army, cops on merry chase

KATHMANDU, Jan 19 (PR) - A wild boar terrorised the entire atmosphere near the northern gate of the royal palace for about two hours, when it escaped from the hands of a butcher early morning today.

The butcher had to seek help from the nearby royal guards to bring the boar under control. Sharpshooters from the army later shot dead the boar at Shangrila Holidays, after it passed through Saraswatisthan, Dhobichour and Lazimpat.

The boar had earlier escaped from a meat shop of Rajendra Shahi, after breaking free from the rope tied around its neck. It entered the canteen of Shangrila Holidays, where the Shahi family hurled spears in a bid to it. It was locked inside the canteen before the police was informed about the incident. An assistant sub-inspector of police arrived at the spot but wanted to seek permission from the Chief District Officer, whose order was obligatory for the police to shoot in a public place. Help from nearby Royal Nepal Army stationed at the Royal Palace was sought, after the police delayed its action.

The butcher’s family members were seen running after the boar with axes, spears and knives on their hands, along the busy road, situated at the heart of Kathmandu.

It is learnt that the boar was brought from Chitwan recently, in order to meet growing demands of the customers.

When citizens without citizenship certificate speak out...

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KATHMANDU, Jan 19 : Tulasa Lata Tuladhar is making up her mind to leave Nepal forever for the Netherlands, her husband’s home country. But, the 43-year old would not be bidding adieu to her native land, if the authorities had granted Nepali citizenship to her 18-year old daughter.

She has been frequently knocking the doors of home and the foreign ministries and the district administration office for the last few years. But in vain. Every time she approaches the government offices she receives a cold answer.

"They have been rejecting our pleas to grant citizenship to our three offspring (whose husbands are foreign nationals)," she said at a national workshop on citizenship in the capital today.

"If a Nepali man marries foreign woman, his wife is eligible for Nepali citizenship. But why can’t my daughters, who are living in Nepal for more than 20 years?"

Ever since she got married with a Netherlands national 20 years ago, she claims she has been living in Nepal along with her husband. He has been staying in Nepal after acquiring – frequently renewing - residential visa. Tuladhar’s daughters’ is not the only case. There are many like the Tuladhars in the capital city, who have not been able to get Nepali citizenship certificate, despite the fact that they are staying in Nepal and want to remain Nepali citizens for good.

Legal experts present at the meet blamed what they described as biased constitutional provision relating to citizenship that "allows a Nepali to obtain citizenship only if s/he shows a ‘paternal relationship’, and does not recognise ‘maternal relationship’."

"The constitution should be immediately amended if the existing problems relating citizenship have to resolved once and for all," remarked Nain Bahadur Khatri, Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission.

In addition to this problem relating to citizenship in the country, many women, though they have Nepali husbands, are being deprived of citizenship. The reason is simple: they could not produce their father’s or husband’s recommendation, as required by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990.

Such an "erroneous provision" has also pained Sanu Maiya Shrestha from Dadhikot village development committee, Bhaktapur. She eloped with a man from Thimi 21 years ago. But then the man left some years later. The reason was not known.

Now living with her parents, Shrestha has no idea about his whereabouts. "Now a days, I am not worried about my husband, who betrayed me," she said. "Rather, I am concerned more about my citizenship."

In Shrestha’s case, the law mandatorily requires the husband’s recommendation, and a recommendation from her father is not going to help. But had Shrestha been able fish her ‘insane’ husband out and divorced him, her father’s recommendation would have worked.

"We have complications like this, so what to do?" was what many experts echoed during the meet today. "This is how existing legal provisions discriminate against women.

Human rights activists, advocates, political leaders and constitution experts present at the meet concluded that the constitution indeed needs be amended in order to iron out complications like these.

Nelambar Acharya, one of the members of the present constitution drafting committee conceded that the present constitution discriminates between male and female while awarding of citizenship certificates.

"We had to institutionalise things like constitutional monarchy, multiparty democracy and people’s sovereignty while drafting the constitution," he remarked. "So we could not look into such minute but important issues."

The NHRC Chairman Khatri said that since the existing legal provision relating to citizenship contradicts with the spirit of the constitution, amendment to the 12-year-old document was the need of the hour. "Amendment to the constitution alone is the solution to the citizenship problems in the country," he said. "If necessary a high-level commission has to be formed."

Nepali part of syllabii in Indian academies

By Shyam Bhatta

DEHRADUN, India, Jan 19 : Dehradun, which is known largely for educational institutions of repute and where Nepali language was never part of the syllabi ten years ago, has seen introduction of Nepali as the second language. Thank the members of the Nepalis diaspora since this would not have been possible without their incessant lobbying.

However, Nepali was one of the 13 languages taught at the Indian Languages Centre in this scenic town since the last seven years. But the introduction of the Nepali language paper at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy in Mussorie is a major breakthrough for the language activists. The academy trains personnel of the Indian Police Service and Indian Administrative Service.

In fact, the language is also part of the syllabus at the Indian Forest Research Institute. The institute which trains forest officers and rangers as well as those studying forestry as academic pursuit too are availing the opportunity. The institute attracts professionals from around the world.

"I am delighted to teach my own language," said Bhupendra Adhikari, who teaches Nepali at the Camarin Hall Academy. It may be said here that the academy is housed in the building erected by Juddha Shumsher, the Rana prime minister. However the educational institution was founded by Shashi Shumsher.

The introduction of Nepali as one of the optional languages comes as a welcome relief at at time when the young population of the Nepalis diaspora were found speaking the language far removed from than the way it is spoken back at home.

"Let me tell you the language was suffering since Daura Suruwal had become Daura Suruwal for Nepalis youth born and brought up here, " said Adhikari, adding that such anomalies could be ruled out in due course.

However, although Nepali was not part of the syllabi, members of the Nepalis diaspora were publishing a Nepalis language monthly newspaper in the city since the last ten years. "In fact it was Gorkhali Samaj Sudhar which had contributed a lot in popularising the Nepali language in the north Indian region, " said J B Thakuri, a literary activist.

He also pointed out at the "Hamro Ekta" which is coming out once in two months, he also referred to the efforts whereby the campaigning is on to realise the dream of publishing a fortnightly publication. They have moved Academy of Letters in New Delhi in this connection.

Meanwhile, Nepalis language activists are optimistic that the language would continue to spread in the region something which is likely to materialise given the degree of commitment.

NC, RPP central committee meeting today

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KATHMANDU, Jan 19 : Nepali Congress Central Working Committee (CWC) is holding its meeting tomorrow today to discuss among others, the modalities of its movement against the October 4 royal proclamation. Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) is also holding its meeting on the same day.

According to a CWC member, the meeting will make a formal decision to launch a movement against the royal move, that was previously announced by party president and some of the CWC members individually.

Party president Girija Prasad Koirala had informed The Kathmandu Post last week that the party would officially take the decision, if all the members were convinced of the same.

Since the meeting is going to be held after a three-month gap, it will comprehensively discuss political developments that took place during the period.

"The meeting will discuss the recent developments including the Biratnagar felicitation of the king, failure of government to initiate negotiations with the Maoists and its failure to announce the election date," said a member.

According to an RPP party source, there will be three separate reports on Secretarial Management, Organisation Consolidation and Office Building, submitted by respective sub-committees, that will be discussed at the meeting.

A motion for requesting Rabindra Nath Sharma and Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani, both the defeated presidential candidates, to actively cooperate the party by holding posts on parliamentary committee, central works performance committee and central committee is also expected to be tabled.

According to the source, some of the members in this incomplete central committee, are expected to suggest the party leadership to create pressures on the government to announce the date for elections and take initiatives for arriving at an all-party consensus.