Party committee grills Gautam

By Ghanashyam Ojha

KATHMANDU, March 4 : The Communist Party of Nepal - Unified Marxist & Leninist (CPN-UML) has initiated disciplinary action against Bam Dev Gautam, the party Standing Committee member, for supporting the demand for a constituent assembly put forth by the Maoists.

Gautam was today summoned by the party Disciplinary Inspection Committee to question him regarding his recent remarks supporting constituent assembly, a high level party source told The Kathmandu Post.

The source said chairman and secretary of the committee, Bedu Ram Bhusal and Ganga Lal Tuladhar, respectively asked Gautam why he spoke for constituent assembly and gave legitimacy to the present Lokendra Bahadur Chand government, which is against the "party line".

Gautam defended himself saying that he spoke as per the spirit of the party line, the source said.

However, the source also said that the party Disciplinary Inspection Committee was not competent enough to question or initiate action against any member of the party standing committee. This is a new tradition in the UML. "Gautam has taken this action with great concern," added the source.

But there are fears that the disciplinary committee might even recommend expulsion of Gautam from party.

However, Madhav Kumar Nepal, general secretary of the UML expressed ignorance of any such action. "I have no idea of it, I will speak only in the party meeting," Nepal said.

A few days ago, Gautam had supported the Maoists’ demand for formation of an interim government, round-table meeting and constituent assembly speaking during a programme held in the capital. He had said that the UML should be ready to go to constituent assembly at such situation when even the ‘head of the state had violated the current constitution’.

"UML should be ready for constituent assembly, provided it resolves the current political stand-off," Gautam had said.

Gautam had urged that all political parties, including the UML, should cooperate with the government with the current peace process. Gautam’s remarks have come against the lines of party general secretary Nepal who has been demanding the immediate dissolution of the present Chand-government.

Nepal last week had said that the present Chand-government had no any legal right to initiate peace talks with the Maoists. "Only the all-party government will initiate peace process with the Maoists," Nepal had said. He had even ruled out role of the king in the peace process.

Aviation Authority’s lax heightens air travel risk

By Satyendra Timilsina

KATHMANDU, March 4 : The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has recently found out that one of its divisions has illegitimately extended landing license to an airplane of Necon Air Limited. Experts claim that such tendency increase the risk of domestic air travel in Nepal.

CAAN came to the conclusion of ‘mal-intended’ extension of landing permits to one of the ATR aircrafts of Necon Air, a leading private sector airlines company, after an internal investigation.

The secret report has mentioned that the ATR aircraft was provided with an extension of 1,000 landings, going against the norms of international civil aviation, a highly placed official source disclosed to The Kathmandu Post.

"Following the request of the Necon Air, the then in-charge of the permission department granted 1,000 additional landings without conducting required inspection as recommended by the manufacturer," the source said.

According to the report, the French manufacturer Air Transport De Regime had issued ‘No Technical Objection’ certificate to extend the landings under the condition that the ribs 13 to 16 would go through non-destructive testing.

Ribs are the components on the wings of the ATR aircraft. The manufacturer had recommended general inspections of these parts. However, the permission was provided without the checking of the said parts. "The lax was proved because the checking had to acquire permission from the CAAN," said the official.

Experts say that the ATR engine rests on its wings and parts recommended for inspection are close to the engines. "As the aircraft has been permitted for additional landings without necessary inspections, a security concern has been raised," said the official adding that there can be a threat to air security.

The CAAN can permit concession only on the recommendation of the manufacturer. In the absence of such a recommendation, the CAAN provides concession of 10 to 20 landings, and not more.

According to the CAAN official, the then chief of permission department Binod Gautam did not even inform the extension to his immediate senior officials. "Upon inspection it was found that the official had violated the service norms and airworthiness directives while granted permission," said the source.

While the CAAN undergoes aircraft audit of all the domestic airlines operating inside the country every year, the regular monitoring is carried out at any time and upon the requirements.

At the moment the CAAN is in a great dilemma. It has officially provided the extension so can’t ground the particular ATR aircraft, and on the other hand the issue is so serious that it can’t afford to keep quiet.

Meanwhile, the Necon Air has claimed that they had undergone all required procedures before submitting the request for the extension permits. "We furnished all required legal documents, and have gone through all necessary technical steps before seeking the permission for additional landings," said Deepmani Rajbhandari, the managing director of the Necon Air.

According to CAAN the accused official Gautam has been transferred from the concerned department as a penalty. However, Gautam denies any charges. "I obtained all the required documents from Necon Air before taking any decision," he said.

When asked why he concealed the fact from his superiors, Gautam said it was a common procedure happening in daily basis. "I was not intentionally trying to conceal any information," he said. However, the CAAN claimed that all such decisions have to get permission from the director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.

Individual agendas of parties stalling peace bid: Oli

Post Report

JANAKPUR, March 4 : Leader of the Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist & Leninist (CPN-UML) KP Sharma Oli today said that the country could not emerge from the status quo due to partisan views of major political parties.

"Girijababu wants to see reinstatement of dissolved House of Representatives; Sher Bahadur Deuba wants to revive his government sacked by the king; Maoists are campaigning for roundtable conference and our party is in favour of an all-party government," Oli voiced. He further added that it was not good to put the country on uncertainty simply because of party interests.

Addressing the fifth national council meeting of Agricultural Development Bank, he said, "Political demand should be abandoned in the changed political context."

Referring to the recently concluded seventh national convention of the UML, Oli said his party kept all political options open, including a referendum for election of the constituent assembly, as demanded by the Maoists.

He said the cease-fire reached between the government and Maoists was announced on an ad-hoc basis and claimed that it would not help bring lasting peace, as the handpicked government was not accountable to the people. "Peace talks with the Maoists will not succeed without the involvement of mainstream political parties," he said.

SC orders release of seven detainees

Post Report

KATHMANDU, March 4 : The Supreme Court today issued a habeas corpus order to release seven detainees taken into custody under Terrorist and Destructive Activities (Prevention and Control) Act (TADA).

The detainees to be released following the court order are Khil Bahadur Bhandari, acting editor of Janadesh weekly, Krishna Prasad Timilsina of Lalitpur Bhattedanda, Dinesh Nepali of Rolpa Jhwang Village Development Committee (VDC) ward no 9, Shiva Prasad Adhikari of Bhaktapur Sudal VDC-4, Sabitri Acharya, wife of Govinda Acharya, editor of Janadesh weekly, Dev Shrestha of Dhading Salyantar VDC-9 and Rajan Poudel of Bara Simara-5

Similarly the Court has issued an order in the name of the defendants to furnish written explanation within 24 hours of the court order, regarding 15 other habeas corpus writs.

We may backtrack from peace talks, warn Maoists

Post Report

KATHMANDU, March 4 : The CPN-Maoist leadership has cautioned the government negotiator in peace talks that the rebel outfit could drop the idea of attending the peace talks before they could get underway if the government refused to call off the army from current locations.

According to a source close to Maoists, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, member of Maoist talk team today complained the government negotiator Narayan Singh Pun that the ‘baseless’ speculations made by Pun about the date of the talks might derail the peace process. Mahara is reported to have said Pun that the chief Maoist negotiator Dr. Baburam Bhattarai and other members would sit on the table for talks within an hour of the agreement on the code of conduct.

Mahara and his colleague Dinanath Sharma, during their meeting with the leader of United Left Front (ULF) at the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) party office today, hinted that talks with the government was not possible until the government’s consent on the code of conduct would come.

The Maoists are reported to be stuck to their stance for demobilisation of armed forces and release of Maoists in jail. The refusal of the government to these three points of the code of conduct was sent to Maoists’ high command but decision of the party high command is yet to come.

Pun had informed the Maoists on Thursday that the king was positive towards army demobilisation and freeing jailed Maoists, two major concerns raised by the Maoists in the proposed code of conduct. "However, the government side added one additional point of disagreement in the existing two," said the source. Pun had on Saturday informed Maoists about the government’s disagreement to invite international humanitarian agencies for monitoring of the peace talks and truce.

According to the sources, the Maoists have linked arrival of Dr. Bhattarai to the issue of demobilisation of armed forces. "The peace process has hit a snag. It is a deadlock sort of scenario."

Maoist leaders - Mahara and Sharma - today held meeting with a group of five fringe leftist parties, the ULF. During the meeting the ULF leaders suggested the Maoists to be confined on bringing the army under the purview of the popularly elected government and the need to have a provision for referendum in the new constitution.

They suggested restructuring of administrative divisions of the country and ensuring equality among languages, religious and gender as the main agendas for future dialogue. Additional conditions include declaring education and health as the fundamental rights of the people.

A press release issued by the UPF said here today that Maoists and the ULF have agreed to stop all sorts of regression and join hands for progressive reforms.

The ULF supported the Maoist demand for a constituent assembly but urged the Maoists not to legitimise Chand government.

King can call round-table meet: Dhungana

Post Report

HETAUDA, March 4 : Former speaker of the House of Representatives, Daman Nath Dhungana, today said it is well within the right of the king to call a round-table conference, as the executive powers at the moment rest on him.

Speaking at an interaction programme organised by the Human Rights Protection Forum, Dhungana said in case the king calls such a conference the political parties should join it. "The political should not boycott it the way they boycotted the all-party conference called by the prime minister," said Dhungana.

He insisted that elections to the constituent assembly alone could enhance the rights of the people even as the same can limit the rights of the king.

However, he said the political parties don’t have enough self-confidence, as they are still hesitating to go for constituent assembly.

Dhungana, who is currently known more as human rights activists than politician associated with any political party, also said that since constitution of any country is a document which is the equation of powers lying on different institutions and political parties, no one can deny the need to change the same over time.

Human rights activist Padma Ratna Tuladhar expressed pessimism when referring to the peace process.

"It is nearly a month since the Maoists have announced the talks team but there has been no such move from the government," he said, expressing surprise as to why both the sides have failed to agree to the code of conduct governing the cease-fire.

Tuladhar also said that there were efforts afoot to derail the peace process "if we are not alert." He also said that the entire process has started smacking of foul smell of conspiracy to derail the talks, adding that no peace process could be expected to succeed while a particular side is adamant on its stance.

Cease-fire for lasting peace or bigger war?

By Surendra Phuyal

KATHMANDU, March 4 : The truce between the government and the Maoists declared more than a month go and series of meetings Maoist leaders Dina Nath Sharma and Krishna Bahadur Mahara with political parties and peacemakers may have raised hope for lasting peace but the other extreme possibility cannot be altogether ruled out. If the peace fails, it could well be the preparation for a much bigger war, feel experts.

Military experts say cease-fire is a time to cease hostilities, hold negotiations and find ways to restore peace and stability. And it is also the time for both parties to regroup and prepare for a bigger war. But the bigger war is something neither side seems to want to fight at this point, given the socio-economic realities of the country and the geo-politics sweeping Asia.

"Considering the parleys the Maoist leaders are holding with political party leaders, they seem to be quite sincere and serious this time around," said military analyst Dr Indra Jit Rai. "But the problem is that the Maoist cadres are not paying heed to their leaders’ orders."

While the rebels are regrouping and consolidating their organisation in the west, east, centre - and even across the border in India - the security forces are closely monitoring the rebels’ movements. And they seem mentally prepared for a bigger war if and when the cease-fire breaks.

Security officials say that they are particularly alert this time around. And there is reason to be so: the rebels took everyone by surprise when they launched a series of sudden attacks, chiefly the daring raid in Dang, in late November 2001.

"We welcome the cease-fire, and we want lasting peace in the country," Royal Nepal Army spokesman Colonel Deepak Gurung said in a press conference February 25. "But if they (the rebels) betray us. We have every right to fight back...And if there is going to be the decisive war (as warned by Dr Babu Ram Bhattarai), we are ready for that."

Reports trickling in from far-flung areas and intelligence sources say that the rebels are fast regrouping and strengthening their positions in the western regions - far- and mid-west and west - where their communication channels had been badly cut off by security forces last year. That is happening in the east, too.

Besides holding roundtable conferences at the district level to discuss their agendas - of roundtable conference, interim government and constituent assembly - the rebels are also regrouping and recruiting new cadres and militia members around the country, according to reports.

"They are back in their respective positions and are maintaining communication channels mainly in the west and east," said a top army official. "But we can do nothing but watch them moving and regrouping. The government has not ordered us to return to our barracks either."

Just a few days ago, Indian security forces in the bordering state of Bihar bumped into a group of Maoists, who were preparing to transport a large cache of ammunition to Nepal. The ammunition was later seized.

Security officials express fear that there could be more cross-border movements of the Maoists going on.

"We are trying our best to monitor cross-border movements of the rebels, but the problem is that not all the units of security forces are as competent as the army," another army official said, without pinpointing the security units that, he asserts, "may not be as sincere and vigilant".

In recent public statements, Maoist supremo Prachanda, whose real name is Puspa Kamal Dahal, urged his party cadres to stop indulging in extortion. But the cadres have not heeded Comrade Prachanda’s orders, claim army sources.

So much so that the army was forced to open fire at a group of rebels in an incident in the far west recently.

"The Maoist leadership should be able to convince its cadres, and the cadres need to be disciplined, too," emphasises Dr Rai. "Or else the fighting could restart and intensify. Cease-fire may give opportunities to prepare for a bigger war. But here in Nepal, it should pave the way for a lasting peace."

Survival of mothers, infants, still bleak in Nepal

Post Report

KATHMANDU, March 4 : Though seven years have passed since the launch in 1996 of Safe Motherhood Programme in Nepal, a big question mark has arisen over the survival of a majority of mothers and their children in most rural areas of Nepal.

The bitter reality is that even today, 12 women die every day in Nepal due to complications relating to pregnancy. Most of these deaths occur due to lack of access to basic care during pregnancy, child-birth and post-natal care.

This bleak fact came up at an interaction programme today organised by Safe Motherhood Network to mark the 93rd International Women’s Day.

Although Nepal has made some headway in reducing infant mortality rate, there has not been any significant decline in neo-natal mortality rate. Experts are concerned that this is likely to lead to further increase in infant mortality rates in the future.

According to the a study titled "The World’s Newborn" unveiled here today, every two hours a mother dies in Nepal while three to four newborns die every sixty minutes, Of every 1000 births, 39 die within the first months of their birth.

Among newborns, low birth weight alone accounts for 64-84 per cent of deaths, followed by many other complications such as birth asphyxia, birth injury, infections, neo-natal tetanus, hypothermia and congenital malformations, according to experts.

"The time has come to address these issues seriously if we are to avoid socio-economic cost of such deaths," said Dr Madhuri Dixit Devkota while stressing the need for investment in upgrading the health needs of newborns.

Nepal’s commitment to achieve the millennium development goals, to reduce child mortality significantly by 2015 cannot be achieved unless rapid actions are taken to reduce neonatal mortality, she added.

Another speaker, Dr Laxmi Raj Pathak, director general of health in the department of Health Services highlighted the HMG’s perspectives on reducing maternal and neo-natal mortality in Nepal and said the Saving Newborn Lives Initiative, SCF, US started in 2001 under the Safe motherhood programme will be dealt with in an integrated manner.

The Ministry of Health has now set targets to reduce neo-natal mortality to 34 per 1000 live births by end of the tenth five-year plan.

Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Speaker Chitra Lekha Yadav while stressing on the need for addressing the issue of safe motherhood urgently voiced, "We should all work wholeheartedly to help make a difference to the lives of women in rural Nepal".

Government appointments

RSS

KATHMANDU, March 4 : His Majesty’s Government has appointed legal expert Niranjan Thapa chairman of the Law Reforms Commission.

Likewise, Binod Kumar Devkota has been appointed a member of the same commission, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs stated here today.

Similarly, His Majesty’s Government has appointed Mohan Prasad Khanal as acting general manager of Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC).

Khanal, who has been serving at RNAC for quite a long time, has already shouldered the responsibilities of the corporate department and marketing management department, among others.

Five armed Maoists arrested

Post Report

CHAUTARA, Sindhupalchowk, March 4 : Royal Nepal Army in Bahrabise arrested five Maoist rebels along with arms and explosives after raiding Maoist shelters in Piskar and Karthali villages. They have been brought to here, the district headquarters, for legal action, sources said.

However, Krishna Prasad Sapkota, eastern regional bureau member of Maoist organisation, claimed that the army arrested his 15 cadres.

The arrested Maoists have been identified as company member Dil Bahadur Thapa Magar, Ram Bahadur Thapa, Durga Bahadur Shrestha, Dinesh Gautam and Nakkali Shrestha. However, local security officials expressed their ignorance about their arrests.

Locals in Piskar claimed that the army rounded up their shelters and arrested them a week ago. The army also confiscated three-naught-three rifles, country-made guns, grenades and logistical supports from the rebels, according to the villagers.

The army is preparing to hand over them to police for legal action. Police said the arrested persons would be prosecuted according to the existing law.