Transparency Int'l calls for commitment against corruption

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KATHMANDU, July 17 ; Transparency International, a London-based anti-corruption watchdog has urged all the United Nations members to prove their commitment in the fight against corruption by signing a strong global anti-corruption instrument.

In a press release issued ahead of the final drafting session of United Nations Anti-Corruption Convention, in Berlin on Wednesday, the TI said it was a historic opportunity to secure a UN Convention with teeth and global reach by signing the Convention. The Convention is taking place in Vienna from July 21 - August 1.

The TI International Secretariat said in its statement that the final stage of drafting session would be a crucial one in determining whether the Convention is merely a marginal improvement in international co-operation, or represents a real breakthrough in harmonising anti-corruption laws and practices worldwide.

TI, an active participant during the entire drafting process has also urged the governments to ensure that the Convention significantly enhances levels of international legal assistance in order to facilitate the recovery and repatriation of stolen assets and the extradition of public officials who face corruption charges.

TI stresses that the Convention must address private sector bribery as well as political corruption. "The governments should support and strengthen Article 10 of the Convention that requires declarations of all significant financial donations to political parties," said a TI release, adding the article should be extended to include candidates as well as parties.

TI also pointed out the need for Convention to recognise the role of civil society in fighting corruption - both in the preamble and the chapter on preventative measures.

TI has stressed the need for the inclusion of mandatory prevention measures in the Convention to reduce the levels of corruption and to address independent anti-corruption bodies, recruitment, hiring and the promotion of civil servants, codes of conduct for public officials, public procurement and public financial management, and funding of political parties. TI has also urged for effective monitoring mechanisms, including monitoring by the civil society to be included in the Convention in order to ensure the implementation of the Convention’s legally-binding provisions.

Govt urged to ratify Rome Statute of Int’l Criminal Court

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KATHMANDU, July 17 : Amidst furore of international and national human rights organisations over deteriorating human rights situations triggered by internal conflict in the recent years, human rights activists and legal experts have urged the government to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to uphold its commitment to human rights.

Speaking at an interaction programme here today on International Criminal Court and Human Rights, they expressed serious concern over the situation of ‘impunity’ that, in their words, is ‘reigning the country’ in the recent years of domestic unrest.

"The cases of human rights violations must not go unpunished if the country respects human rights. However, there is the situation of impunity in the country and to eliminate it Nepal should ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as soon as possible," said Laxman Prasad Aryal, former justice of the Supreme Court.

If Nepal did not respect the ICC, there would be no meaning of the country being a party of international treaties and its commitments to human rights, the former Supreme Court justice said.

He said there was also the lack of criminal laws to bring the perpetrators of human rights in the country and even the enforcement aspect of whatsoever laws we have was weak, triggering to the growing cases of impunity. "Even to address this situation, we need to ratify the ICC, which bears more special importance than other international human rights treaties," Aryal remarked at the interaction programme organised by the Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC), a local human rights non-governmental oraganisation.

Krishna Jung Rayamajhi, another former Supreme Court justice, raised concern over Nepal’s failure to uphold its commitment to international humanitarian laws in which it is a party in the recent years. "Human rights is being grossly ignored in the recent years and laws that ensure remedies to the victims of human rights violations are being ineffective," he said.

"We need to ratify the Statute of the International Criminal Court to make state and non-state parties accountable to violations of human rights on their part," said Shusil Pyakurel, member of the National Human Rights Commission. He was of the opinion that ICC was the most powerful instrument to ensure human rights and to punish crime against humanity, war crimes and genocide.

Young economic achievers felicitated

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KATHMANDU, July 17 : Junior Achievement (JA) Nepal, a non-governmental organisation felicitated young achievers in the field of economics today.

"Ethic management in business is necessary," said Constance Jones, of the American Centre. "One should not use ethics as a misuse of power."

She added that implying proper ethic management brought transparent actions. "I hope Junior Achievement teaches young people how to run business for profit, well and ethically for contribution to the economy of Nepal." Similarly, Sunil Sakya, Board Member of Junior Achievement said that the spirit of entrepreneurship was visible in Nepal but in the past few years small and big businesses had been failing.

"The government has done very little to ensure political stability and lacks any sustainable solutions to the present problem," he added.

Similarly, Bijay Shree Shah, who had represented Nepal at the Global Trade Initiative in Chicago in June, was felicitated. Shah had won the Global Business Award at the seminar. Other speakers on the occasion were Ram Mani Acharya, President and CEO of JA, Sanjay Upreti, General Secretary of JA, Hari Sharan Lamichhane, Vice-President of JA and Saroj Basnet, Board Member of JA.

JA was established last year and helps promote economic education amongst the youth. The organisation is a part of the Junior Achievers International, which has 112 member countries around the world.

Children for peace to come alive through art

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KATHMANDU, July 17-Children from ten different clubs are now fully prepared to express their desire for peace through their creations on the road. This was revealed at a press meet organised here today.

Their creations include mainly essays, stories, poems, songs, artworks and satirical verses that will be pasted on the western wall of Birendra International Convention Centre (BICC) on 19th July.

Informing about the programme Sunil Rai, president of Hawker Bal Club said the concept of such an activity came as a result of their sufferings they underwent during the conflict between the government and Maoists.

Recalling all victimised children, he also said that they want to put an end to all forms of violence. "All our children participants are to sensitise the concerned sectors," he said.

Children from Nepal Bal Sangathan, Bal Bikash Club, Hatemalo Bal Club, Jagriti Bal Club, Concern Nepal, CBC (Gharelu Bal Shramik Manch), Patan CBR (Helping Organisation for Disabled Children), Gillette Bal Srijana Club, Chetana Bidyashram, Ujwal Sisu Niketan, and Bal Samrakchan Griha are to participate in the programme.

Model courts begin hearings

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KATHMANDU, July 17 : With a view to bring about reforms in the country’s judiciary system, the district courts in Chitwan, Kaski, Siraha and Kapilvastu districts today formally began hearing criminal and civil cases at separate benches as ‘model courts’ under the first phase of ‘pilot court project’.

The two separate benches were set up in the model courts with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as per the suggestions of the 1998 report of the Court Management Committee.

According to the new provision, there will be two separate judges specialised in their respective fields to handle the criminal and civil cases in each of the model courts, which will help deliver justice without any delays.

On the opening day of the model court today, a case each was presented before the criminal and civil benches of the Chitwan district court for hearing.

Paramananda Jha, the Chief Judge at the Appellate Court in Hetauda, formally initiated beginning of the model court amidst a function. Addressing the function, Jha said that concept of model court was developed in order to deliver prompt justice and gain specialisation in the related field.

Judge Ishwori Prasad Khatiwada has been appointed to the civil bench and Judge Bhola Prasad Kharel to the criminal bench.

Likewise, another report from Kapilvastu stated that Rajendra Kumar Bhandari, Chief Judge of the Appellate Court in Butwal, initiated the beginning of the model court amidst a function today. The UNDP has supported the specialised courts within the district court system.

GPS technology for border demarcation

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BHAIRAHAWA, July 17 : Nepal- India joint border survey team has for the first time marked the border with the help of new technology, Global Positioning System (GPS) in the international border between Nepal and India.

Global Positioning System is a technology which determines the latitude and longitude with the help of satellite. The latitude and longitude of the pillar can be traced easily after placing the machine made of the technology in the border pillar.

The developed countries including the USA, Japan, United Kingdom and Korea have used the technology for border demarcation.

This is the first time that the system has been used in the border between Nepal and India.

The system has been used from Tribenighat of Nawalparasi to pillar No 33 of Bardia district in western Nepal, chief of the Nepali side of the joint border survey team Govind Baral said.

The Nepal-India high level technical team had authorised the joint border survey team for mapping, preparing the detail study of the encroached area and renovation of the border pillar in the border from Tribenighat to Bardia.

However, the team could not complete other works due to the rainy season, Baral said.

Nepal-India high level team on border management had targeted to complete the border demarcation with the help of Global Positioning System in 2003, however, it could not complete the whole work, therefore, the remaining will be completed next year, he said.

The joint team has for the first time constructed 214 border pillars on the Arra river bordering between Kapilvastu of Nepal and Balrampur of India, Baral said.

There were no any pillars in the river areas in the past, he said.

Local people have been protesting that the pillars were erected encroaching the Nepali land. They are saying that Nepali land is in Indian side while establishing pillars in the border.

Indian side has encroached Nepali land and constructed two houses between border pillar No 31 to 32 in Bardia-Rupaidia area.

The joint team has so far not been able to remove those houses.

The team will present the report of such encroachment to the high level team and the dispute will be resolved, he said.

The Indian side is led by TS Negi of survey of India.

Maoist leaders ‘holding’ meet in mid-west

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NEPALGUNJ, July 17 : Senior Maoist leaders are believed to have gathered in the mid-western region to draw a future strategy after they received a formal letter from the government to hold the third round of peace talks a few days ago.

It is expected that the Maoist ‘high-command’ would officially respond to the government only after holding their crucial meeting. A source close to the Maoist outfit said that the high profile leaders have recently gathered at a village in Bardiya district.

Locals said that Maoist negotiating team members Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Ram Bahadur Thapa alias Badal held a secret meeting at Dhadhabar village today.

Mahara had arrived in Nepalgunj to inaugurate the first national conference of the Tharuwan Liberation Front, a Maoist-aligned ethnic organisation, and Badal flew in here from the capital.

Although Maoist cadres said the close-door session of the front was being held in Bardiya, security officials suspect that it was actually the meeting of the Maoist high-command in which party’s chairman Prachanda and Dr. Baburam Bhattarai were also present. District-level cadres, however, expressed their ignorance about the arrival of Prachanda and Bhattarai.

"The inaugural function was held in Nepalgunj but they chose to hold the close-door session in Bardiya.

ADO official arrested with embezzled money

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DOLAKHA, July 17 : Local people of Dolakha made a citizens arrest of Dinesh Prasad Raya, chief of the Agriculture Development Office (ADO) of Dolakha, along with Rs. 118,000 contained in his brief-case and handed him over to the District Administrative Office.

Reports indicate that the locals had nabbed Raya for his alleged involvement in corrupt practices and inconsistencies while dealing with the ongoing small irrigation programmes in the region.

Raya had been waylaid by the locals as he was about to leave for Kathmandu in a bus, early this morning, and was handed over to the police. The money confiscated from Raya’s briefcase is said to be part of the grant assistance of Rs. 1.2 million received for the KR-2 project. After complaints of embezzlement had been lodged against Raya at the administration office, he had been put under custody.

According to the irrigation programme, the technical work was to be handled by the Divisional Irrigation Office while the administrative part by the Agriculture Department.

According to the Chief District Officer (CDO), Chandeshwor Acharya, as per the complaint filed against Raya, necessary action will be taken against him if proven guilty after necessary investigation.

According to the agenda of the programme, though Rs. 800,000 had been disbursed out on May 6, it is learnt that only Rs. 4,00,000 had been spent on pipes which were purchased on June 20 and July 6. Raya had been posted to the Dolakha office only four months earlier.

Under the small irrigation programme, 25 projects are underway along with the formation of consumers committee. However, the district member of CPN-UML, Ishwor Chandra Pokhrel says that majority of these projects are stagnant.

Irate consumers damage power-supply lines

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TEHRATHUM, July 17 : Irate consumers of Myanglung of Tehrathum district have damaged electrical supply lines in the jungles between Myanglung and Jirikhimti, as part of their protest against the leasing, by the government, of the Small Hydroelectric Project to a private party.

The Khorunga River Small Hydro-electrical Project had been set up with funding from the Government 15 years ago, however, for the past three years the Singhabahini Electricity Private Limited (SEPL), which has leased the station from the government, has been running operations and distributing electricity to the consumers around Myanglung.

Consumers around this region have been protesting since the last three months saying that SEPL had been collecting the fees but not supplying adequate electricity. Locals contend that they should be provided electricity throughout the day. The consumers have stopped paying their electricity bills.

The small hydroelectric project with a capacity of producing 80 Kilowatts of power has been supplying electricity to the consumers beyond its carrying capacity, to more than 850 consumers. At the cost of including maximum number of consumers to their list, this private company has been supplying electricity to these consumers on alternate days, that too for a short period of the day only. Some consumers have to do without electricity for two to three days.

The consumers have been protesting with the slogan like, "Do not cheat the consumers; we don’t want electricity from this private company any more".

Alleging that this company has been biased in allocating electrical supply to only those who are in the good books of the company and leaving those who protested, literally in the dark. The Consumers Struggle Committee had damaged the grid at the powerhouse of this hydro project, thus disrupting electricity supply.

It is learnt that the struggle committee had sent a delegation to Kathmandu prior to this incident to talk about the problem and present their demand before the Electricity Authority as well as the Government.