Release five central leaders for immediate dialogue: Mahara

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KATHMANDU, March 21 : The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has urged the government to release at least five central level leaders as a precondition for immediate talks They also want that the government immediately withdraw cases filed against many Maoists leaders including top leaders Prachanda and Dr Baburam Bhattarai at the Patan Appellate Court.

"The talks would commence immediately once the government fulfils these demands," said Krishna Bahadur Mahara, a member of Maoist negotiation team, during a meeting with the journalists. Those demanded to be released are central level Maoist leaders Krishna Dhoj Khadka, Rekha Sharma, Mumaram Khanal, Rabindra Shrestha and Bam Dev Chhettri. The government has indicated that these leaders would soon be released. But today, the government released senior Maoist activists Ram Karki and Maehshwar Dahal on the orders of the Supreme Court.

During his interaction with journalists today, Mahara said there were less possibility now of anti-talks conspiracy compared to last time, but said the state still lacked sincerity for the talks.

Mahara said there were two evidences to show the state’s indifferent attitude towards the talks. "State’s effort to maintain the split among the political parties and its attitude to prolong the talk process for months have created some suspicions that the state may betray us," he said.

The rebel leader said the Maoists were sincere this time and did not want to return to war again but they were waiting for similar response from the government.

He informed that during his meetings with various political parties recently, he did not see outright opposition to the Maoist idea of a constituent assembly election. As such, Mahara added, "the proposed round-table meeting may be of less importance if there is a consensus during bilateral talks with all the political forces."

Mahara indicated that it wasn’t necessary for the Maoists to join a new interim government if the consensus on constituent assembly is reached soon.

As for the demand by the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML to return to the pre-October 4 situation, Mahara ruled that out saying, "We want to add to the achievements of 1990 movement but the UML and NC’s demand are status-quoist."

He said the Maoists did not like to reactivate the 1990 constitution as it would reverse the state of last 12 years and would not help to pave way for further reforms. "We want forward-looking reforms in the political system so constitution reforms can not be the right way."

Justifying the party’s advocacy for the constituent assembly elections, Mahara said it would at least establish a tradition of making the constitution by the people whatever the result of the elections would be.

"All the parties should be ready to compromise to arrive at a conclusion," he said. "The Maoists have become maximum flexible for the success of talks."

He also said that the Maoists preferred to address the political problems first though the Maoist problem was begun on the grounds of socio-economic disparity. "The socio-economic issues have been superceded by the political issues as all the socio-economic system come under the political system," he said.

Govt curbs on vehicular movement; rations petro-sale

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KATHMANDU, March 21 : Fearing the possibility of a serious crunch in the supply of petroleum products into the country following the United States-led strikes against Iraq, the government today decided to clamp quotas on the sale and distribution of petro-products and restrict the movement of vehicles from tomorrow.

Government sources said that the latest decision has been taken as a pre-emptive measure to discourage any unnecessary hoarding of petro-products in households and by potential black marketers, that could jeopardize fuel supply in the longer run, as the Iraq war progresses.

As per the quotas fixed by the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) Board today, each motorcycle would be entitled to two litres of petrol a day. Likewise, light motor vehicles, including cars and jeeps, would receive 10 litres each day, while three-wheelers would be entitled to five litres of petrol every day.

Besides, it was decided to provide 15 litres of diesel to mini and micro buses and 20 litres of diesel to local buses and trucks. Vehicles plying on long routes would be provided with the minimum fuel required to cover the distance. In the case of kerosene, the per day sale quota has been fixed at five litres.

In the same vein, government authorities also decided to limit the plying of vehicles on roads, based on the license plates and Nepali dates. Both decisions on quotas and vehicular movement restrictions, that were taken following hours of meeting today, will remain into effect until further notice.

As per the decision taken by the Department of Labour and Transport, all public and private vehicles, barring a few exceptions, would be allowed to operate only on alternate days. While even number plated vehicles would be allowed on roads on even Nepali dates, odd number plated vehicles would be allowed to ply only on the odd dates.

The latest restrictions come despite the assertion by the government authorities that there exists no shortage of petroleum products as of yet. Officials said that the measures are preventive. "There is no shortage of fuel as of yet, but shortage may occur if war in the Gulf prolongs," a high level government source told The Kathmandu Post.

NOC, the monopolist importer and distributor of petro-products in the country, has asserted that it has enough buffer stock to meet national demand for a month. According to an official, NOC presently has 60,000 kilolitres of petroleum stock. "Petroleum inflow is normal so far," he said.

Nepal does not directly import finished petro-products from the Gulf. Instead it relies on India for fuel supply. However, since India itself has to import around two-thirds of its total petro-demand, mostly from the Gulf, any fuel shortage in India will certainly propagate to Nepal.

Scores of motorcycles, scooters and light and heavy motor vehicles, in response to the US -led war in the Gulf, could be seen lined up in different gas stations in the capital yesterday and today. Meanwhile, to ensure that traders do not involve in hoarding and black marketing, Department of Commerce has intensified monitoring and supervision activities.

Army in scribes’ clothing attend ANNISU-R meet

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KATHMANDU, March 21 : The All Nepal National Independent Students’Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R), a pro-Maoist student wing, has accused the government of breaching the code of conduct on cease-fire by sending an army and two policemen in civil dress today to "spy" the proceedings of their "peaceful" programme in Patan Campus here today.

The army and the policemen were caught on the spot while trying to capture video images of the programme organised by the student wing to welcome and felicitate the recently-freed 21 Maoist students.

"This incident on the part of the government at a time when efforts are going on for a peace talks is condemnable," Devendra Parajuli, chairman of the ANNISU-R, said adding, "This is a breach of the recently agreed code of conduct on cease-fire".

Both the government and the Maoists had agreed on the code of conduct that allows peaceful programmes.

Similarly, a statement here today from the ANNISU-R said that the intervention of the security personnel into a "peaceful programme" has raised question on government’s sincere motives on cease-fire and the negotiation.

The convicted security personnel were later identified as Dil Bahadur Thing, Pushpa Bahadur Dahal and Yub Raj Tamang. The students also confiscated a digital camera and their identity cards, which were later handed over to Krishna Bahadur Mahara, a member of the Maoist negotiating team.

The trio entered the programme posing themselves as journalists but the students sought their identity cards to produce doubting their motives. The students rounded them as they failed to produce their press cards.

The problem was solved as the Vice chancellor of Tribhuvan University Dr. Govinda Prasad Sharma and Rector Gita Bhakta Joshi visited the venue and assured the students that no security personnel will be allowed inside the educational institutions in the future.

Left parties lash out at US led war

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KATHMANDU, March 21 : On the second day of the US war against Iraq, a meeting of seven left-wing political parties today flayed the US-led attacks on Iraq and decided to stage an anti-war rally in front of the American embassy at Kathmandu on March 24.

The meeting of CPN-Masal, CPN-Marxist, CPN-ML, Nepal Workers’ and Peasants’ Party (NWPP), CPN (United), CPN (MLM) and Socialist Movement Nepal (SMN) today lashed out at the attacks as gross violation of international law, and the United Nations Charter.

It is a brutal attack on an independent and sovereign country and launched against the world opinion, states the statement jointly issued by the parties.

In a separate press statement the People’s Front: Nepal (PFN) has condemned the US-led war on Iraq and burnt President Bush’s effigy. All Nepal National Free Students’ Union (ANFSU), the student wing of CPN-UML also organised a corner meeting and burnt the US flag to protest the US attack on Iraq. Police intervened the programme and shot blank fire to disperse the protest rally at Amrit Science Campus.

War giving families of British Gurkhas’ sleepless nights

By Harsa Subba and Pradeep Meyangbo

DHARAN, March 21 : Family members of the British-Gurkhas living in Nepal are worried after the US and British forces began war against Iraq from Thursday since reports poured in that the British government has also mobilised British-Gurkhas in the war. The fearsome British-Gurkhas had been deployed in Kuwait for the last three months.

"There could be a fierce war, Can’t say what will happen," British-Gurkha soldier Ramesh from Sangapur of Tehrathum district had told his relative in Dharan prior to his departure to Kuwait from London three months ago. He has been serving the British army for the last three years.

Relatives of the Gurkhas, world famous for their bravery and loyalty, have become highly anxious shortly after the breaking of the war against Iraq. But they have not been able to make contacts with their kin and kith about their safety except for the news on different television channels. They are now largely depending upon the bbc.uk.com to know about their actual status in the Iraqi deserts.

Kamal Maden of Dharan-15, who earlier had been to Kuwait, said that it was impossible to make a long distance call from the battlefield. "And, they do not tell everything in details even if they have a chance to do so," Maden said. "It makes us more worried."

An estimated 3,500 British-Gurkhas have been employed in the British army. Most of the Gurkhas recruited from the eastern part of Nepal have been accommodated in the Gurkha Battalion-1 while the others from the western parts of the country are in the Battalion-2, according to the retired Gurkha servicemen.

Retired servicemen said that the British government normally gets the Gurkhas involved in transport, signal, engineering sectors and commando forces. But it could not be immediately verified the number of Gurkha infantry pressed into the second Gulf War.

According to the bbc.uk.com, the British government has stationed at least 25,000 soldiers, including the Gurkhas, in Kuwait, which borders with south-eastern Iraq.

A large number of Gurkha soldiers are believed to have been mobilised along with the US forces to capture the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

Relatives here suspect that some Gurkha soldiers could be among the eight British soldiers killed in a helicopter crash on Friday morning. A total of 12 soldiers, including four US marines, were killed in the incident, which, according to the US officials, was an accident.

"Gurkhas are also involved in the British commando forces. Everybody is worried about their safety, as the names of the deceased have not been released yet," said Baudha Man Limbu, a retired British-Gurkha serviceman.

The British government has cancelled regular holidays and has already called back all the Gurkhas spending holidays in Nepal. A British-Gurkha lieutenant, who hails from Danda Bazaar in Dhankuta, has already informed his family members that he would not be able to come back home in May.

Former lawmaker and Gurkha captain Indra Hang Limbu told The Kathmandu Post that his grandson Ananda Limbu, who was on regular holidays for six months, was called back to his duty before he had hardly completed two months. "This is the situation that makes all of us worried," he said.

Family members of the British-Gurkhas said that the UK government has also reduced duration of military training of the new Gurkha recruits. The Gurkha soldiers, who were recruited in the British army just one month ago, informed their relatives back home that they had already completed training on jungle warfare. Around 300 Gurkhas were recruited from Pokhara-based Recruitment Centre. "Duration of the training has been reduced. The jungle warfare should not be so short," said a relative of a new recruit. The relatives are especially worried in the sense that the nine-month long jungle warfare has been reduced only to one month.

However, a retired British-Gurkha serviceman said that the British government used to press its soldiers into war by giving three months’ training in a critical situation like this.

Probe into blast on Nepali paper in Darjeeling sought

KATHMANDU, March 21 (PR) - Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) called on police and West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya on Thursday to step up investigations into a bomb attack on the premises of the Nepalese-language newspaper Sunchari Samachar, in Siliguri on March 4, according to a statement received today from the RSF. Siliguri is in Darjeeling district.

RSF said it feared local journalists would be tempted to censor themselves about sensitive subjects since no clues had been found as to who was responsible for the attack, in which a powerful bomb exploded in front of the newspaper offices without causing injury.

The Siliguri correspondent of The Times of India said the blast may have been linked with Sunchari Samachar’s coverage of the situation in the Darjeeling Gorkha Autonomous Hill Council region.

Nepali women high on Kasautii Zindagii Kay, other Indian soap operas

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KATHMANDU, March 21 : Nepali women are increasingly hooked to Kasautii Zindagii Kay, an Indian soap opera, currently airing on Star Plus channel, according to a report. They have even started discussing among themselves the antics of the main characters in the serial like Prerna, Mr Bajaj, Anurag et al, who have become their much pursued stars and often talk about their marriage mess-ups. All this, thanks to the serious paucity of competitive tele-serials and family movies in Nepali.

"Kasautii Zindagii Kay aired by Star Plus channel is attracting more and more Nepali women. It has found a predominantly large female audience in Nepal," says Anju Chhetri, editor of Asmita Publications, which commissioned the report.

Talking to The Kathmandu Post, she said that media is linked with the women and has a great role to bridge the gender-gap. "Since women spend most of their times at home and watch television, the media has a great role in changing their life style."

However, she said that the Indian tele-serials have only a stereotype role to play for the women. "They need much broader message from television."

Manju Thapa, one of the authors of the report, and a popular feminist writer, said television should give positive message.

"Themes is what it matters after all," she said, referring to the popular Nepali tele-serials-Mukti and Devi.

The report entitled: "Impact of Television on Nepali Women" released here today by Asmita Publications, shows that 46.25 per cent of women in Nepal give priority to news in television and only 16.25 are hooked to tele-serials.

From among 400 women interviewed, at least 64 respondents said they view Kasautii Zindagii Kay regularly. Similarly, 47.25 per cent were found to be regularly viewing Kyon Ki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and another 47 per cent watching Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, according to the just concluded research, made public today. The study was supported by the UNDP.

"Nepali televisions have neither any competent serials nor any message," said Babita Basnet, editor of Ghatana Ra Bichar. "Our children are rather interested in Syakalaka Boom Boom."

"They should re-model and reform Nepali television in order to attract larger audiences," she said.

"Children cling onto the remote control and never give us a chance to change the channel," said one of the women, who took part in a discussion programme on "impact of television on Nepali women". She said her kids are less interested in childrens’ programme and other educational and awareness stuff, aired by Nepal Television.

CIAA detains Gupta

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KATHMANDU, March 21 : Former Minister for Information and Communications Jaya Prakash Gupta has been detained by Commission for the investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on charges of corruption for the second day as his hearing is still undergoing at the Special Court.

Gupta was detained after the CIAA formally lodged a case in the Special Court on Thursday. On the same day, his case began hearings at the Special Court.

The CIAA had filed a case charging Gupta amassing wealth through illegal means. The CIAA in the charge sheet has stated that, of the Rs 24.332 million of Gupta’s income, Rs 3.524 million was legally attained and the source of the rest could not be determined.

A source at the CIAA told The Kathmandu Post that the decision to file the case against former Minister Gupta had been made a week ago. However, Gupta talking to reporters late Thursday afternoon said that he had requested the CIAA to file the case as soon as possible.

Gupta said that he had gone to Delhi in January and March for health check-ups. He alleged that the CIAA had spread false rumours that he had fled the country when in fact he had notified the authorities. "I had written applications to the CIAA stating that I had gone to Delhi for medical check-ups," Gupta said.

"After I came to Kathmandu a few days ago I repeatedly requested the CIAA to file my case as soon as possible," he added. He further said that he himself had approached the CIAA today after it failed to submit his case before the court.

Govt, NGOs urged to help insurgency hit children

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KATHMANDU, March 21 : Karnali Integrated Rural and Research Centre (KIRRC), a non-governmental organisation, has urged the government and non government organisations to launch programmes aimed at rehabilitating children in Karnali region. This follows the findings of a research, which says the minors in the country’s most backward region have been worst-hit by the Maoist insurgency.

The research done recently by the KIRRC in three village development committees in Kalikot district- Syuna, Mumra, Sipkhana and Fukkot VDCs- shows that the children have been deprived of basic rights due to insurgency.

"Children are being deprived of schooling. They are suffering from malnutrition. Most schools do not have books. Many private and public schools are yet to reopen," the research done after the declaration of the cease-fire says. The research, quoting locals says that the locals are angry to the government for not taking any initiation to reopen the closed schools in the village development committees.

The report has said the no government and non-government organisations are working there for the welfare of the children hit by the conflict. "There is lack of government and non-government organisations in the region working to the conflict-affect children in the region," the report adds.