Inner party democracy should be strengthened: DPM

Biratnagar, Aug. 5 (RSS): Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Paudel, who is also looking after the Prime Minister’s portfolios, has underlined the need of an open debate among the party workers to transfer Nepali Congress into a well-disciplined and dignified party by putting an end to personal enmity and differences that is taking roots within the party itself.

Mr Paudel made this remark while addressing a two-day workshop seminar on policy draft held to hold open discussions at the workers level for the preparation of the policy paper to be presented by the party at the forthcoming 10th general convention of the Nepali Congress.

Observing that the villainy role likely to endanger democracy and the party will in no way help the country move ahead, the Deputy PM said following the district level discussion, the programme is being organised at regional level to hammer out concrete conclusions to remove all the existing anomalies and develop leadership on the basis of transparency and full allegiance to the party and ideology while at the same time fixing up party workers’ problems.

Full democratization is possible only when democracy within the party and the democracy recently restored become strong and dignified, said Mr Paudel adding, it is only through the democratic system that the country can be turned into a socially and economically strong one.

NC general secretary Sushil Koirala, while inaugurating the programme, laid stress on the need to give up all personal interests and establish the Nepali Congress, which has a long history of democratic social movement, among the people as a trustworthy one for their upliftment.

Stating that unless we make a thorough soul-searching on what we fought for and we have achieved, corruption, distortions and the hollow-pride will break us, Mr Koirala observed that on the one hand, the country is at labour pain to get freed from the maelstrom of poverty and unemployment, while on the other some of the Nepalis are reclining in Pajero and have reached a state allowing them to spend millions of rupees on education of their children.

NC women’s leader Ms Shailaja Acharya said those who do not want to see institutionalized democracy in place are now talking of constitutional changes and pointing finger at the judiciary.

The liberal economic policy and privatization brought up by the Nepali Congress government have caught a wrong direction resulting in the sale of many factories and industries at throw-away prices and she does not agree with this, Ms Acharya said and spoke of the need of stability in policies which characteristically change at the whims of ministers.

NC central member and chief of the Women’s Department Mrs Nona Koirala underlined the need to represent women in every participatory initiative.

Another central party member Bal Bahadur Rai said the congress party which staked its life for the sake of the nation has now got to correct itself to preserve its historical image.

NC central member Arjun Nar Singh KC called on the party workers to be wary of those who are indulged in spreading violence and terror.

Minister of State for Land Reforms and Management Gopal Rai demanded strict discipline within the party to discourage the attempts at the party leaders’ character assassination.

Minister of State for Population and Environment Shivraj Joshi laid stress on the need of population control in order to lighten the economic burden of the country.

NC central members Gopalraj Pahadi, K. B. Gurung and Krishna Prasad Sitaula, MPs and many others also spoke at the function chaired by NC Morang President Ashok Koirala.

A total of 80 persons including presidents, secretaries and members of 16 NC district committees of the eastern region are taking part in the workshop.

Also today in Biratnagar Deputy Prime Minister and Local Development Minister Ramchandra Poudel, who is currently handling the prime minister’s portfolios also, has stressed the need for government employees to exercise their rights properly and efficiently in deference to larger interest of the country and the people.

Mr Poudel, who was issuing directives to Morang district-based office chiefs here today, said as the government has guaranteed adequate facilities and powers of the government employees, they should work honestly and efficiently for the progress and prosperity of the people.

With the objective of streamlining the administrative machinery and boosting the morale of the bureaucrats the government has reduced the number of ministries, scrapped unnecessary posts and discouraged political appointments, mr poudel said.

On behalf of the employees, Morang CDO Binod Gyawali pledged full cooperation in establishing good governance.

Wildlife conservation stressed

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Aug 5: His Royal Highness Prince Paras Bir Bikram Shah inaugurated the Conservation Breeding SpecialistGroup (CBSG) South Asia meeting and the Zoo Director’s Workshop at the central zoo here today.

The Prince also gave away certificates to the winners of Friends of the Zoo (FOZ) annual educational activities. Students evaluated as the best in different educational activities related with wildlife conservation were given certificates and plaque.

Nearly six thousand students from seventy different schools have been participating in the conservation education programmes being organised by the Central Zoo.

The meeting being hosted at the Central Zoo by the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC) aims at discussing the ways to protect threatened wildlife and promoting scientific techniques to protect some endangered species.

Other two programmes being hosted by KMTNC are the South Asia Zoo Director’s Workshop and South Asia Zoo Education Workshop.

The CBSG, South Asia is organising different events from August 3 to 12 at the Central Zoo under the sponsorship of several zoos, conservation organisations and animal welfare organisations of USA, Europe including International Rhino Foundation, Columbus Zoo, Cologne Zoo and KMTNC. KMTNC, Member Secretary Jay Pratap Rana said the meeting would go a long way in promoting the cause of wildlife conservation in the SAARC region.

He said conservation breeding is a specialised area, which has a prominent role to protect the animals and birds facing the threat of extinction.

Rana said the natural as well as the induced causes have been putting pressure on Nepal’s forests and have been fragmenting the natural habitat threatening the extinction of different wildlife species.

He said the government had formed the KMTNC through a special Legislative Act as a non-profit making organisation, which would take ahead the conservation campaign in the country.

Rana said that Nepal was lagging behind in conservation programmes and looked forward to learn a lot from other countries in the specialised area of captive breeding.

R.K. Shrestha, Director of the Central Zoo said that the meeting would provide a forum to the participants to share the research findings from their respective countries and also exchange knowledge about the evolving conservation techniques.

Shrestha said the Central Zoo established by Rana Prime Minister Juddha Shumsher Rana in 1932 had been continuously contributing to the cause of conservation.

The Central Zoo was handed over to the KMTNC in December 1995 and it has been committed to convert the zoo into a center for conservation education and make it financially independent, Shrestha said. Chairman of CBSG International, Dr. U.S. Seal said the rapid population growth would put a lot of pressure in the natural habitat and resources in the next fifty years.

The CBSG has been assisting the local institutions in individual countries to assess their bio-diversities and work out an action plan to minimise the impacts on them, Dr. Seal said.

Seal said that the process of assessing the world’s bio-diversity had not still been done completly. He viewed that the process must be intensified in order to strike a balance in the use of the resources and the conservation of the flora and fauna.

The CBSG meeting is being participated in by experts from five countries-Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Political initiatives can reduce Asian poverty

Hon. Jose de Venecia Jr., former Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, has a grand vision of political and economic integration of Asia. He is organising a conference of the leaders of the political parties of Asia in Manila in September to push ahead with the idea. De Venecia is also the Vice President of Christian Democrat & People’s Parties International (CDI), composed of more than 100 political parties in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. Called by the former Philippine President Fidel Ramos as the best Speaker the Philippines has ever had, de Venecia has designed and authored a number of creative and even ground breaking laws, which have made deep impacts on economic, financial and social sectors of his country. De Venecia, who was recently in Nepal to invite the political leaders of the country for the Manila Conference, talked to Lok Deep Thapa and Sunil K.C. of The Rising Nepal about his vision. Excerpts:

TRN: What is the purpose of your visit to Nepal?

De Venecia:I came to invite the senior political leaders of Nepal to come to Manila to attend the conference of the political parties of Asia. I wanted to extend an invitation to the Prime Minister of Nepal, but he is out of the country at this moment. (But) I met with the Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Upper House and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. I also met with Madhav Kumar Nepal, leader of the main opposition party in the parliament and Surya Bahadur Thapa, President of the National Democratic Party. So far, the response has been very enthusiastic. Many of them are coming for the Manila Conference. Around Asia, more than 80 per cent of the political parties have responded positively to the conference.

TRN: What are the objectives of the conference?

De Venecia: We want to forge a culture of co-operation among the political parties of Asia in the 21st century so that we can win the battle against poverty. The other objectives are, to create and give due fillip to the Asian middle-class, to modernise our agriculture, to achieve peace in our continent and to bring political and economic integration in Asia, just like the Europeans and the North Americans have done and the South Americans are doing. I think the key to peace and development in Asia is through political and economic integration. For this, we should create and sustain the balance of power in Asia such as between India and Pakistan, India and China, ASEAN and China, China and Japan, Japan and Russia and China and Russia. The meeting in Manila will be a start of this process.

TRN: How did you get the idea of this conference?

De Venecia: I created the ‘rainbow coalition’ in the Philippines and that was extremely successful. That coalition enabled us to start the Philippines’ economic miracle. I thought we should multiply it at the regional and at the continental level. When I was elected vice president of the Christian Democrat and People’s Parties International, which is composed of more than 100 political parties from 80 countries, I proposed this idea at its meeting in Bonn, Germany, last year. Many liked this idea. Then we decided to move forward and scheduled this conference in Manila from September 17 to 20 to discuss political and economic strategy for Asia in the first 25 years of the 21st century.

To achieve this goal, there should be a strong political will and only the political parties can provide such a will. Governments may come and go, but political parties stay. That is why, I proposed the conference of the political parties and the Philippines government is supporting me.

TRN: Talking about political reforms in Asia, how can this be done?

De Venecia: To introduce political reform in Asia, my first proposal is that the State should subsidise the political parties. Right now, candidates are involved in corruption to finance and win elections from municipalities to parliament and to governorships. Therefore, poor people in Asia have no chance over the candidates of gambling lords or drug lords to become senators or members of parliament because of money politics. That is why I have proposed the State to subsidise the political parties like in Germany, America, Canada, Mexico and Australia. I am not saying it will eliminate political corruption in Asia, but it will substantially reduce corruption.

TRN: You talked about propagating co-operation among countries in Asia, but we see much less co-operation between political parties even within the countries. In that context how to do expect the conference will help to achieve cooperation throughout the continent?

De Venecia: My vision is to expand ASEAN, which is also the vision of other leaders of South East Asia, to include China, Japan and Korea. I would like to expand further on that vision and to make it ASEAN plus five with the inclusion of Australia and New Zealand. The third step, or even the second one, is to link ASEAN with SAARC. However, this will be delayed with the problem over Kashmir. We also have similar problem in the South China Sea over Spratlays. So, I would like to propose that we should shelve the issue of sovereignty of, for example, Kashmir or Spratlays for 75 years. One way of doing it is to put these places under joint rotating leadership. If you shelve the issue of sovereignty of these places for a while, then we can immediately discuss about economic and political co-operation and social development. I am not taking a simplistic view of these problems. They are very complex and complicated issues.

TRN: In many countries of Asia, people are disappointed with the political parties for not fulfilling the promises they make, what could be the reason for that?

De Venecia: There should be new politics for the new economy. For this, we need leaders with visions - leaders with purpose, dynamism and who can act. The reason why so many promises are not fulfilled is because we have populist leaders, who play up to the masses and who have no strong visionary economic and social programmes. So, if we can get the State subsidise the political parties the political parties, candidates and leaders will be very ashamed if they do not comply with their promises. I was asked by an economist in the Philippines as to from where will the State get money to finance the political parties? I said, according to the World Bank, 20 per cent of the Philippines’ total budget goes to corruption. It is probably similar in many countries in Asia. If we can use one per cent of the 20 per cent that is lost through corruption that will be more than enough to subsidise the political parties.

TRN: Do you mean to say that the present electoral system is to be blamed for not producing leaders with visions?

De Venecia: The election (in Asia) is so expensive that the children of the poor have no chance to become leaders of the country.

TRN: You have been described, by the former Philippine President Fidel Ramos, as the best Speaker of the parliament the Philippines ever had. What do you think are the qualities that a good Speaker should have?

De Venecia: The quality is to be able to unite the House. I created a ‘rainbow coalition’ of seven political parties so they will be working unitedly for common purpose. Then you make some visionary legislation. You must try to design an achievable and dynamic, economic and social programme for the country and support them with powerful legislation and adequate mentioning.

TRN:Do you have anything more to say?

De Venecia: In Asia, we must launch three revolutions. One is agricultural revolution and we are already very late. The second is the industrial revolution and we are also very late in this. The third is the information technology revolution. In the case of countries like Nepal and the Philippines, we must launch all these three at the same time, and not one after the other. For that, we need leaders who are capable, hard working and who can bring the political parties together. We also have to activate the private sector and the civil society because the political parties cannot do it alone.

Formation of Dalit Commission demanded

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, August 5: Dalit (downtrodden) leaders and the NDO’s (Nepal Dalit Organisation) newly formed central ad-hoc committee members today said that they would pressure the government to fulfil its commitments made for the uplift of four million Dalits nation-wide.

Headed by Padam Bahadur Bishwakarma, the 22-member ad-hoc committee succeeds Man Bahadur Bishwakarma-led central committee that was dissolved amid controversies a week ago on charge of irregularities. NDO general secretary Min Bishwakarma said that the previous committee was dissolved with the accord of the majority.

"The new committee will demand the government that it constitute the National Dalit Commission as soon as possible," general secretary Bishwakarma said.

"The special meeting of the central members held last week has decided to press the government to bring the Dalit Bill during the ongoing session," the press release read.

The meeting also decided to ask the government to recommend the Dalits for political appointments and implement the Dalit targeted programmes, it said.

The Ninth Five-Year Plan (1997-2002) aims at training the Dalits to enhance their traditional skills, running Dalit-targeted social welfare programmes, providing scholarships to Dalit students and extending loans to Dalits through the Rural Development Banks.

The Dalits, however, have yet to avail of these programmes, National Assembly member Bijul Bishwakarma said.

Bhadrapur Airport lacks necessary equipment

Bhadrapur, Aug. 5 (RSS): With the upgrading of Bhadrapur Airport, a total of 15,620 passengers travelled here by air last fiscal year.

According to the airport office, Bhadrapur airfield came into operation since 2055 BS though work on the black-tapping started in 2053 BS.

The airport office has collected revenue of Rs. 1,751,822 through airport tax, renting of rooms, parking facilities and entrance fees.

With the start of air services by Necon Air and Budhha Air since April this year, five airliners are operating from the airport daily.

Private airliners can expand their service to the hilly region as well if aviation fuel is made available at the airport, local representative of Buddha Air Rajesh Regmee says.

It is said that though the government has upgraded the runway and added facilities at the airport, it lacks necessary equipment for air traffic control and because of the lack of a power generator contact between the airport and aircraft is disrupted from time to time during mid-day when power supply is out.