Nepal is newest entrant in WTO fold

By Ameet Dhakal and Bhaskar Sharma

CANCUN, Mexico, Sept 12 : The fifth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) formally approved Nepal’s membership, fulfilling the kingdom’s 14-year long dream to become part of the multilateral trading body. The conference also accepted Cambodia as the 147th member of the WTO.

The two countries have made history by becoming the first two Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to obtain WTO member by virtue of accession. Though 30 LDCs are WTO members, all of them joined the trade body by virtue of their membership in the WTO’s predecessor organisation GATT. The two countries will formally become WTO members thirty days after the ratification of the agreed terms by the respective governments.

From its application at GATT to WTO membership, Nepal has come a long way. It completed five rounds of tough bilateral negotiations with existing WTO members and three rounds of Working Party meetings.

Following the WTO’s approval of Nepal and Cambodia’s accession, leaders from around the globe extended their congratulations. "The completion of Nepal’s accession negotiations is most welcome. Not only does it expand the number of WTO members, it also increases the diversity and depth of the WTO community of members," said WTO Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi, commenting on approval of Nepal’s accession.

Likewise, United States Trade Representative Robert B Zoellick said, "The accessions of Cambodia and Nepal to the WTO represent an important chapter in each country as they strive to more fully realise the promise and opportunity the global marketplace offers."

Leaders of the Indian and Chinese delegations also congratulated Nepal for its accession to the multilateral trading body. The 15-member strong Nepali delegation to the WTO meet organised a press conference late this evening to apprise the media of the accession process and the deliberations made in the conference.

"Nepal’s, including Cambodia’s membership, is a step forward to the globalisation process," said the head of the Nepali delegation, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Hari Bahadur Basnet, talking to The Kathmandu Post.

Nepal’s commitments

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Broad commitments made in 11 service sectors
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Average binding tariff in agriculture 42 per cent
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Average binding tariff in industrial goods 24 per cent
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Nepal should enact legislation on valuation of imports for customs and taxation by July 1, 2004
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Nepal should enact full provisions of Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures by January 1, 2007
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Nepal should enact full provisions of Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade by January 1, 2007
* Adequate enforcement relating to Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights to be made by January 1, 2006

Eighth phase stir announced

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KATHMANDU, SEPT 12 : The five agitating political parties, which have just concluded the seventh phase of protest programmes demanding restoration of political process on October 4, 2002, today announced eighth phase of the stir.

The decision arrived at the end of a meeting of the joint task forces of the parties said there will be demonstrations on September 23 and 24 as part of the eighth phase of the movement against royal intervention in active politics.

The protest programme have been spaced out in view of the ongoing protest programmes of the CPN-Maoist which is likely to come to an end with a general strike on September 17, 18 and 19. It is learnt the party has left out September 4 and 5 fearing a fallout of general strike by the rebels. September 22 is the day when the orders issued banning assembly in public places expires.

Malinowski stresses reconciliation in Nepal

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KATHMANDU, SEPT 12 : The US ambassador to Nepal Michel E Malinowski today said that the US has been consistently encouraging the Nepali political parities to brush aside the differences which have come up in public life and take up a positive role in promoting sincere and serious discussion which alone can be instrumental in paving the way to peace.

"What we have been doing is encouraging the political parties here to brush aside the differences and pave way to peace," Malinowski said while speaking at the function organised by Foundation of Nepalese in America in the capital on Friday.

He, however, did not elaborate the confrontation between king and the political parties.

He also went on to say that violence has threatened not only the people as individuals but also the nation as a whole something which can dampen Nepal’s chances of taking its rightful place among the democratic nations.

Coming around the issue of government-Maoist talks, Malinowski said that the US government has been consistently encouraging and supporting the dialogue even as it has been time and again making its stance clear on the issue of terrorism.

Malinowski also debunked the claims, which came from the CPN-Maoist among others that the agreement signed by Nepal with the US in the recent past was aimed at intervening in the Nepalese internal affairs. "The Anti-Terrorism Program, which was first introduced in the US in 1983 is aimed at deterring terrorism across the globe rather than meddling in any country’s internal affairs," he further said, referring to the signing of the treaty on ant-terrorism by Nepal.

"The only people who should worry are the terrorists," he further said, shedding light on the history of terrorism in the world and how US, among other nations, is coming under increased attacks from terrorists outfit, main event among them being September 11, 2001 attacks in New York.

2 soldiers, 2 shopkeepers killed in Valley

BY BIKASH SANGRAULA

KATHMANDU, Sept 12 : On the first day of the so-called ‘people’s action’ announced by the Maoists for a week, two soldiers patrolling the Shivapuri Watershed Area were killed in a Maoist ambush at 5 p.m. on Friday at Guruju Bhanjyang, Shivapuri. Some soldiers were injured in the confrontation that is believed to have claimed some Maoists as well, according to security sources. The identities of the dead soldiers have not been disclosed.

Similarly, four unidentified gunmen killed two people in Kathmandu Municipality-3, Basundhara, on Friday morning. Similarly, a bomb disposal team of the army defused three bombs planted at the Village Development Committee Office of Matatirtha VDC today, while a house was gutted in Jitpur Phedi VDC, Kathmandu, after a group of Maoists bombed it.

To contain the spiralling security situation in the capital, the local administrations have declared curfews in Kathmandu and Lalitpur cities within the Ring Road and in the areas falling 200 meters outside it from 11 p.m. Friday till 4 a.m. Saturday, according to the Chief District Office, Kathmandu.

At 6:30 am this morning, four gunmen who arrived separately in groups of two at Basundhara, shot Dipendra Thapa, 28, and Ram Shrestha, 35. The former owned a stationary shop and the latter a cold store.

Thapa was a former central member of the National Democratic Students’ Organisation, the students’ wing of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, and was currently a political activist of the party.

"The two had just opened their shops and were having tea when the shootings occurred," Krishna Kumar Shrestha, cousin of the deceased Shrestha, said. Shrestha received three bullet injuries in his head and died on the spot while Thapa received four bullet injuries in his chest and head, and breathed his last while locals rushed him to the Teaching Hospital.

Shrestha has left behind a four-year-old son and his wife who live in Dhapasi-1.

On the other hand, the killing of Dipendra Thapa, an MA first year student at the Tri-Chandra College, has been linked with his affiliation with the RPP.

Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa, Ministers Prakash Chandra Lohani and Kamal Thapa and RPP members attended the cremation of Thapa at the Pashupatinath crematorium later today.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Ganesh KC of the District Police Office, Hanuman Dhoka, 28 people have been apprehended in connection with the murders. Chinese pistols of 7.62 calibre were used in both the murders, according to Police Inspector Yagya Raj Pokhrel, who had arrived at the site of the crime. Similarly, police have raided 18 houses in the capital suspected of harbouring Maoists.

The Home Ministry issued a statement today requesting citizens to carry identity cards with them while going out, to refrain from leaving the house after 10 p.m., and not to carry packets or bags while entering government offices.

The statement has also urged the citizens to contact the Police Control Room (100), Home Ministry (4-226044), Police Headquarters (4-412780), Valley Police Office (4-225771), and Valley Command Office (4-242769, 4-229993) in case of observing unclaimed objects or occurrence of unpleasant incidents.

Pak FM meets Thapa

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KATHMANDU, Sept 12 : Khursid Mia Mahmood Kasuri, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan called on Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa at the Prime Minister’s Office today. According to a press statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kasuri delivered an invitation letter from Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali of Pakistan for attending the 12th SAARC summit to be held in the country from January 4 to 6, 2004.

Earlier, the Pakistani Foreign Minister arrived in Kathmandu on a two-day visit. Dr Bekh Bahadur Thapa, Special Emissary for Foreign Affairs welcomed him at Tribhuvan International Airport.

MOLD report card shows mixed results

By Damaru Lal Bhandari

KATHMANDU, SEPT 12 : The annual review of the projects under the Ministry of Local Development (MOLD) suggests nearly 80 per cent progress in the case of selected projects during the last year despite "not so amenable conditions due to Maoist insurgency."

From the viewpoint of the budget allocated and spent, the progress has been put at 62 per cent in the case of projects which received budget allocation from the government. This was revealed in the report prepared last week. The report is compiled annually by the Monitoring and Evaluation Cell under the MOLD.

Compare this with projects, which had received grants from the donor agencies and have recorded a progress to the tune of 80 per cent. "This is satisfactory under the circumstances," said Basanta Gautam, who heads the Evaluation and Monitoring Cell at the Ministry of Local Development.

While the budget allocated under development heads for projects under MOLD was Rs 5.34 billion, the amount of money received as grants from a number of donor agencies during the year was Rs 2.26 billion.

Gautam also said that out of the 10 priority projects, six have done pretty well while the other four recorded poor performance. The number of projects implemented under local development planning is 25.

Moreover, the issue of mounting irregularities in budget disbursement has still not been attended fully with the same standing Rs 2.54 billion at the end of the last fiscal year.

Interestingly, the review further shows that there has not been desired degree of improvement in the area of the execution of the projects identified with the full commitment to implement them.

"The problem is some projects simply fail to go into execution even though all the paper work and logistical tasks, too, are completed in time," Gautam said, conceding that the implementation aspect still needed sprucing up.

Yet another anomaly is that projects implemented at the district and local level are more prone to financial irregularities since local staff do not inform about the status of the project to the authorities at the right time.

"The problem is they do more work than allowed under the budget and hence the irregularities," he further said.

The implementation of the local level projects is also affected at times by the absence of the technical staff since there has not been synchronised function of the local bodies and the central authorities. Transfer of technical staff is not effected on time.

"The problem has been thrown up by the failure to internalise the arrangement thrashed up to ensure the presence of the staff at the right place without fail, "Gautam said, adding that the authorities have also failed to fill up the 88 vacant positions of Village Development Committee (VDC) secretaries. Add to it the missing 25 Executive Officers at the District Development Committees (DDCs).

This is not all. The development efforts have been hindered in the absence of Local Development Officers (LDOs). Although the positions have been filled up in all the districts, the problems lie in the fact that they are either on the move or preoccupied with something elsewhere whenever it comes to taking up development related issues with them from the central level.

"They are untraceable for some reasons or the other," Gautam said, lamenting the poor performance on their part whenever it comes to report to the ministry at the right time. In fact, 10 to 15 districts fail to report to the centre every year. He also said that most of the time the LDOs have failed to secure data from remote areas over the period under review.

Meanwhile, projects, which did very well are Rural Community Infrastructure Work (RCIW) (achievement 85 per cent), Western Terai Poverty Alleviation Project (WTPAP) (achievement 77 per cent) and two other projects concerning rehabilitation at the district level.

On the hand, projects which fared worst are Western High Hill Poverty Alleviation (WHHPA) (achievement 23 pc ), District Drinking Water and Sanitary Projects (DDWSP) (achievement 41 pc) and project related to interaction among ethnic minorities (achievement 30pc).

Free schools from politics, guns: UNICEF chief

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KATHMANDU, Sept 12 : Suomi Sakai, Representative of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said on Friday that schools should be freed from all political activities and there should be no place for violence there.

Speaking at an interaction organised by the Education Journalists’ Group (EJG) in the capital, Sakai said, "Schools must be zones of peace."

"This means that there should be no weapons in schools, no recruitment of children, no political activities, no harassment of teachers or students, and no disruption of school operations," she said.

Presenting her papers on "UNICEF’s Support for Accelerating Girls’ Education in Nepal," Dr Suman Tuladhar, a research official at the UNICEF, said unfriendly classrooms and detachment from families vis-à-vis psychosocial issues act as throttling obstacles to girls’ education in Nepal.

"Girls’ education is the mother of UNICEF’s priorities in Nepal," she said, highlighting the UNICEF’s programmes in the country.

She said that UNICEF has come up with a new programme called "Back to School" in conflict-hit areas of Nepal. But she said that the Maoist insurgency had put the UNICEF in a difficult position to launch the programme since it had to be carried along with the government programme.

The "Back to School" programme was expected to help children who had left their schools during the course of the government-Maoist conflict in Nepal, but the scheme has had been affected by the recent break up of ceasefire, peace dialogue and the ensuing escalation of violence.

She said that a "contract" has been concluded with the government to mainstream the large gender gap in education.

Representatives from scores of organisations related to children and education held group discussions during the programme and briefed on their plans and programmes to provide education to girls. Their focus was on how to meet the Education for All (EFA) goals, particularly eliminating the gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005.

The participants expressed an urgent need to set up a networking among all the line organisations to speed up the education campaign for girls.

Govt seeks co-operation from all in ‘fragile’ political situation

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KATHMANDU, Sep 12 : Kamal Thapa, government spokesperson and the minister for Information and Communication, appealed to civil society, journalists and all political parties to co-operate with the government at such ‘fragile’ political situation.

Speaking at the Kathmandu district-general convention of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) in the capital today, Thapa said that it was an abnormal situation and everybody should cautiously move at such situation. "I urge everybody including the political parties that the government alone can not give security to all. So everybody must take care of themselves," Thapa said.

He also made it clear that the government could not move ahead without support from all political parties.

Accusing the political parties of running for power, Thapa said that the political parties scaled down their so-called ‘decisive’ agitation immediately after they sensed a green signal from the palace.

He charged the Maoists for not being honest to their commitment. "The Maoists got many of their demands fulfilled during the seven-month peace negotiation and finally withdrew from the dialogue unilaterally," Thapa said.

He said that the Maoists were trying to create terror with such indiscriminate firing and extortion across the country. "All constitutional forces including the king should get united to resolve the Maoist-created crisis," Thapa said.

‘SGHC was first to conduct Beating Heart Surgery in Nepal’

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KATHMANDU, Sept 12 : Despite claims by the Cardiothorasic and Vascular Surgery Unit at Bir Hospital yesterday on successfully performing a Beating Heart Bypass Surgery for the first time in the country, Shahid Gangalal Heart Centre (SGHC) said today that the centre conducted the same operation two months ago.

According to Dr Bhagwan Koirala, Director of SGHC, the operation was performed on a police officer on July 9. Furthermore, of the 50 bypass surgeries performed by the centre this year, two have already been successfully conducted without stopping the heart during surgery. The operations were performed on the police officer and a Nepali from Dubai. Both have recovered well and have returned back to work, said Dr Koirala. The surgery, also known as off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting, was performed by a team lead by Dr Koirala.

Off pump coronary artery grafting is an operation that treats blocked coronary arteries. These arteries supply the heart with oxygen-rich blood. The surgeon performs the operation without stopping the heart, eliminating the risks associated with stopping it.

Experts brainstorm on issues over building of dams

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KATHMANDU, Sept 12 : A special task force of Nepal Water Conservation Foundation (NWCF) today presented a draft report on ‘Dams and Developments’ in Nepal, which experts believe will help Nepal prepare a policy on the issue along the guidelines published by World Commission on Dams in November 2001.

The programme, organised by IUCN – the World Conservation Union, was inaugurated by member of the National Planning Commission Dr Yuvaraj Khatiwada. It brought participants from governments, private sector, international multilateral agencies, civil society organisations and affected people who engage in debate over different aspects of the issue.

Delivering the keynote address, former minister for Water Resources Deepak Gyawali said that a clear policy on dams would be critical for Nepal as an agricultural, hydropower economy and one prone to destructive floods and storms year after year.

Stressing the need to look at the issue in broader context, he said, "We should take the challenges of water and energy development from a perspective of ‘nation building’ and resource allocation.

"Rejection of WCD guidelines will be against the interest of Nepal," he added.

On the occasion, water resources experts made presentations on different aspects of the issue at the programme, including institutional aspects of dams and water management, assessing options, decision making and planning processes. The task force, headed by water resources expert Ajaya Dixit presented a report on the state of existing dams in Nepal for decision-making based on five core values – equity, sustainability, efficiency, participatory decision-making and accountability.

According to Ajaya Dixit, three case studies on Kali Gandaki ‘A’, Khimti and Indrawati hydropower projects were established to assist in developing the guidelines. These case studies include examples of where flood releases have been made from existing dams and some where a dam is being designed to permit future releases.

The study has found out that although Nepal has legal provisions for majority of the seven strategic priorities and corresponding policy principles for water and energy resources development as set out by WCD, there are problems in their implementation.

WDC in its report published in November 2001 has set gaining public acceptance, comprehensive options assessment, addressing existing dams, sustaining rivers and livelihoods, recognising entitlements and sharing benefits, ensuring compliance, and sharing rivers for peace, development and security as key strategic priorities. Other debate over the financial, social and environmental impacts of dams got a prime focus at a daylong workshop. The participant shed lights on the prospects of building big dams, the loss of aquatic bio-diversity, of upstream and downstream fisheries, and of the services of downstream floodplains, wetlands, and riverine, estuarine and adjacent marine ecosystems.

Raising concern over adverse impacts of dams, legal expert on water resources Gopal Siwakoti ‘Chintan’ said, "We’ve got to explore other options that could offer better solutions, they should be favoured over large dams."

He also demanded that development needs and objectives should be clearly formulated through an open and participatory process before the identification and assessment of options for water and energy resource development.

Speaking on the occasion Dr Swoyambhu Man Amatya, the executive secretary at the Water, Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS) stressed the need to look at proposed water and energy development projects in a much wider setting that reflects full knowledge and understanding of the benefits and impacts of large dam projects and alternative options for all parties.

Managing director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Janak Lal Karmachary, P P Adhikari from Nepal Hydropower Association and Hari Roka passed comments on the report.

RNA forms ‘Court of Inquiry’ to investigate Doramba killings

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KATHMANDU, Sept 12 : The Royal Nepal Army (RNA) has formed a ‘Court of Inquiry’ today to investigate into the Doramba incident, in which 19 persons, including two civilians, were killed in cold blood by the army.

Contrary to the army’s claim that the incident took place during a two-way gun battle, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) reported that the army killed the Maoists after them in custody in the Ramechhap district.

"We have already formed a ‘Court of Inquiry’," Major General Bijay Kumar Sharma, the chief of human rights department at RNA, told The Kathmandu Post. "The inquiry has been launched a detailed investigation into the incident."

He also revealed that a high level team, formed earlier under a colonel, had only made the preliminary inquiry. The team had reported that the Maoists were killed during a gun battle. The district chief of Maoists people’s government, Babu Ram Tamang, was among the dead in the incident which took place on August 17, the day when the government and the Maoists were holding third round of peace talks in Nepalgunj.

"Anyone found guilty will be put on ‘Court Martial’if the ‘Court of Inquiry’ deems it necessary," he said. Meanwhile the Amnesty International, issuing a press release today, has demanded NHRC to publish the findings in the incident.