UN should be restructured and expanded: PM

The following are the excerpts of the interview of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala during his recent visit to New York to take part in the UN Millennium Summit. The interview was taken by Girish Pokharel for this daily’s sister publication, the Gorkhapatra.

Q. Was the issue of the Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal raised at the United Nations?

PM: I found that the Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has shown big concern and that the Indian attitude very positive towards the problem. But during my talks with the Chairman of the Bhutanese Cabinet, I found his attitude not positive at all. Now, I will again request the Indian Prime Minister for the resolution of the problem.

Q. Was there any specific agenda from Nepal at the UN Millennium Summit?

PM: The world has grown narrower because of the development of communication. The United Nations was established after the Second World War to prevent another such war. That time there were two superpowers. Now, it is not so. Therefore, we put our view that the United Nations should be restructured and it should be expanded and its area of activity should be broadened.

The biggest concern before the world at present is the widening of the gap between the rich and poor and if we can not narrow down the gap, it will create new situations, which could be more difficult than the World War. So, the United Nations should be directed towards that direction. We put our view that the United Nations should change its earlier concept and move forward with new thinking and ideas.

The concept given by the Secretary General of the United Nations is very timely. And Nepal thinks if both the developed and the developing countries work according to that concept, the developed countries can play a much bigger role in the United Nations and the gap between the rich and the poor can be filled up.

Q. When you became Prime Minister you had pledged to maintain the law and order situation in the country. But the Maoists problem has remained the same. What efforts have you made to solve this problem?

PM: After I became Prime Minister, I had stressed on three things. They are maintaining law and order, abolition of corruption and the establishment of good governance. Abolition of corruption and establishing good governance are the foundations for maintaining law and order. I have four approaches to resolve the Maoist problem. First, to separate them from the general populace. Secondly, take economic package to the Maoist-affected areas with the consensus of all political parties. Thirdly, make the administration strong. And the fourth is keeping the door of negotiation open. We are trying to resolve the problem through these four strategies.

In Nepal, there are some elements that are hell-bend on showing that democracy does not suit Nepal. They blow up even minor thing to create negative feeling about democracy in the people’s mind. The result is those who live outside the country have assumptions that the Maoists’ problem is becoming gigantic. But it is not so. It has been controlled to a large extent. Such as, the attack on the police force and the police posts have stopped almost completely. The Maoists are now indulged in killing the innocent people. So, I call them terrorists. If they have been politically motivated they would not have killed the innocent and defenceless people including women, children and the old ones. Also, they would not have recruited school children as their cadres.

The Maoists themselves do not believe that they will succeed in their activities. So, theirs is not a political movement at all. But their activities are only helping those who say democracy does not suit Nepal and giving support to those elements that say the previous political set up should be brought back.

Q. Why does the internal conflict within the Nepali Congress frequently cause the change in the government?

PM: If you look at the history of Nepali Congress, you will always find this practice. Differences of opinion in the party are not a big thing.

Having different views is not a conflict. This is possible in a democratic process but this does not mean that the Nepali Congress will break up or even disintegrate.

This has definitely given rise to instability in the government. What one has to understand is that I have dual responsibility, one as the country’s Prime Minister and the other as the Nepali Congress party’s President. On the one hand, I am accountable to the government, and on the other, to the party.

I have to be able to simultaneously carry out both the responsibilities towards the government as well as the party. When an issue of national importance arises, I have to rise above the party and act as a Prime Minister. At that time, I will be the Prime Minister not only of the Nepali Congress, but also of all parties and the people. Therefore, when I discharge this role, this creates confusion in the party. I have not been able to make my partymen understand this fact. The day they will understand this, the existing crisis will come to an end. Now a few friends have just started to understand this fact.

Q. Why one person in two posts? Can’t one of the posts be given to others?

PM: This has not been seen anywhere in the world. But in a least developed country like ours, it is possible for one person to hold both the posts of Prime Minister and party President. Otherwise, there will be strife again. And, in my view, only one person should hold both the positions.

Q. Is or isn’t it a time that NC’s leadership be handed over to the new generation?

PM: I cannot assign anybody the responsibility of the Prime Minister or the party President on my own. I want to end the practice. If we move towards the democratic process, this trend will come to an end. I want to have the process by which people choose their leaders. The party’s upcoming general convention scheduled to be held within a few months’ time will decide this. We two (Girija Prasad Koirala himself and former Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai) have aged. This is our retiring age. Following the general convention, everything will move smoothly.

Q. The Nepalese people living in foreign countries have been raising the issue of dual citizenship. What is the government’s view on this?

PM: I have been informed about this. But, this could not happen due to some constitutional constraints.

We are thinking about allowing the non-resident Nepalese to return to the country if they want to come back with their property. We will decide it later with consultations with the opposition.

Q. Finally, do you have any message for the Nepalese living in foreign countries?

PM: I want to congratulate all the Nepalese living in America. You have been uplifting Nepal’s image and prestige from here. Since you have been establishing friendly relations between the Nepalese and the American citizens, you are acting like (Nepal’s) ambassadors. I sometimes fear as to whether a small country like ours could preserve its identity. But, I strongly believe that the Nepalese living in the foreign lands will play their role to safeguard it. Similarly, I wish for the progress of Sagarmatha Television (station) established in Washington that has been working to make Nepal known in the United States of America.

Bastola calls on SC to act

Kathmandu, Sept. 24 (RSS): Minister for Foreign Affairs Chakra Prasad Bastola met with secretary general of the United Nations Kofi Annan in New York September 12.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, permanent representative of Nepal to the United Nations Murari Raj Sharma and MPs Chiranjibi Rijal, Khadga Prasad Oli, Tek Bahadur Chyokhal, Krishna Pratap Malla, Dilli Bahadur Gharti and senior officials of the United Nations were present on the occasion.

Mr Bastola also met Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, Italian foreign minister Lambario Dini and Spanish deputy foreign minister Miguel Nadal seperately at the UN headquarters.

During the meeting, matters of bilateral interests and multilateral interests and the candidature of Nepal to the ECOSOC membership, whose election is due this fall, were discussed.

Mr Sharma and other senior officials of both sides were present on the occasion.

The Foreign Minister also met with secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs of the UK Robin Cook and Chinese foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan last Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Minister Bastola has said that if lasting peace had to be achieved, poverty must be reduced and peace build up from there.

addressing the 55th General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) at the UN headquarters on September 12, Minister Bastola said that science and technology had made unprecedented advances but the world still had numerous civil wars and disease like AIDS still defy treatment.

Mr Bastola said that lasting peace cannot be secured until nuclear weapons which constitute a major threat to global security were eliminated.

Stating that South Asia was in a perennial pain of low intensity war and terrorists were on prowl in many places exploiting fragility of states, Mr Bastola said that the Security Council, which is the world’s sentry, has acted too little too late in many situations and Nepal urges the Security Council to act timely, promptly, decisively and adequately to prevent conflagration.

Nepal has always been an active participant in the United Nations peace operations, he said, adding that Nepalese peacekeepers had served with impeccable professionalism and dedication, and many among them had laid down their lives in the service of the world peace.

Poverty, illiteracy, and diseases were rife in poor countries, Minister Bastola said that conflicts today had poverty and exclusion at their root, he added.

Stating that as a functioning democracy, Nepal was committed to human rights and good governance and the government was accountable to the people, he said that as democracy, development and human rights reinforce each other, the country strives to promote them together.

Referring to the ratification of most of the human rights instruments by Nepal, Mr Bastola said that the country holds the view that civil and political rights are equally important as the economic, social and cultural rights including the right to development for the healthy progress of the society.

Stating that Nepal had recently freed the remaining of the few thousands bonded labourers and established the National Human Rights Commission, he said that the country had signed the optional protocols to the convention of the rights of the child, on the sale of children and on children in armed conflicts during the UN millennium summit.

He further said that over 22 million people today had taken refugee outside their country of origin and Nepal itself had nearly one hundred thousand refugees from Bhutan and their presence had created economic, social and environment problem to the country.

He said Nepal believed that both state and non-state actors must respect the human rights of the weak, and vulnerable including that of women and children.

At the beginning of the meeting, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan presented the progress report of the United Nations Organisation.

Last week, a UN millennium summit declaration had been endorsed after the three-day millennium summit.

The regular session of the United Nations had commenced on September 6.

Meanwhile, Minister Bastola had a bilateral meeting with Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, foreign minister of Malaysia, at the United Nations on September 13.

Matters of bilateral interest were discussed on the occasion, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Permanent representative of Nepal to the United Nations Murari Raj Sharma and other senior officials from both sides were also present on the occasion.

Also yesterday, the Foreign Minister had a bilateral meeting with foreign minister of Bhutan Jigmi Y. Thinley at the permanent mission of Nepal to the UN.

Matters of bilateral interest, including the issue of Bhutanese refugees in Nepal were discussed during the meeting.

Nepal’s permanent UN representative Sharma and other senior officials from both sides were also present.

Environment, industries now coming together

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Sept. 14: Environment and industrial development that once thought to contradict each other are gradually coming together. Countries and consumers alike all over the world now aspire for products which are either environmentally friendly or are made through environmentally friendly procedures. The buzzword today is economic development through environment-friendly path.

A two-day workshop on ‘Enhancing Export Opportunities through Environmentally Sound Business Development’, which began today stressed on seeking ways to promote business development through environmentally sound practices. The objectives of the workshop are to consider the role of the private sector in promoting environmentally sound production for increased competitiveness and improved access to international markets and to draw lessons from the experiences of the more industrially advanced ASEAN countries.

Speaking as the chief guest, Shiv Raj Joshi, Minister of State for Population and Environment, said time has come for all of us to consider the environmental issue in our development endeavours. He said the government was also willing to work together with the private sector to make the industries environment-friendly.

Chairing the workshop Rajesh Kazi Shrestha, President of the Nepal Chamber of Commerce, said Nepal holds a big potential in producing exportable goods such as leather, textiles, carpet, garments, herbal tea, paper and even organic, fruits and vegetables through environmentally-sound practices.

The demand for such produces is also growing in the global market, he said and added that to enhance our exports there is a need of adequate homework on growing, processing and marketing these items.

Giving his keynote speech, Dr. Ravi Ratnayake, Chief of the Trade Policy Section of the International Trade and Industry Division of UN/ESCAP, said if human progress is the ultimate goal of development, more attention needs to be given to the quality rather than quantity of economic growth.

He said the private sector now accepts responsibility for part of the environmental degradation and is committed investing in sustainable development.

Saying the transfer of environmentally sound technologies holds promise for further improvement, he added that the commitments of financial assistance and technology transfer made by the developed countries under various international agreements including the WTO TRIPs Agreement need to be accelerated."

Several papers regarding linkage between environment, industrialisation and export competitiveness, application of environmentally sound technologies and services, export opportunities of organic agricultural products for developing countries are being presented at the workshop. Similarly, case studies on textile and clothing sector and leather sector were also discussed at the workshop. The workshop concludes tomorrow.

TRN’s Khadka wins travel Writer Awards

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Sept 14:Nepal Tourism Board has declared the results of the "Travel Writer of the Year 2000" contest and the nationwide high school and higher secondary level "Essay Contest" organised by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) on the occasion of World Tourism day 2000.

NTB had announced the award in seven categories last September to encourage travel writers and honour their contribution in tourism promotion and creating awareness on tourism in general.

Navin Singh Khadka, Assistant Editor of ‘The Rising Nepal" has been entitled for the "Travel Trade Award" in two categories.

Khadka’s article on ‘High Altitude Porters’ Plight May Distract Trekkers’ submitted for the Conservation/Eco Tourism category and his write up entitled ‘Shopping Tourism’ submitted for the "Write-ups on Tourism in General’ category has earned him two awards, a press release of NTB said.

Similarly, Ballav Mani Dahal, Sub-Editor of the ‘Sunday Despatch’, TRN’s sister publication has been entitled for the "Travel Trade Award" for his article ‘Political Will Power Essential For Strong RNAC’ submitted for the ‘Tourism Awareness/Education’ category.

The award for the ‘Destination Promotion’ category is to be conferred upon Miss Valerie Parkinson for her article ‘Island Peak’ while the award for the ‘Highlighting Nepalese Art & Culture’ category will go to Dhruba K. Deep for his article ‘Makara Motif in Nepalese Art’.

Ramesh C. Arya has been entitled for the award in recognition of his article ‘Village Tourism-The Sirubari Experience’ submitted for the ‘Village Tourism’ category and Rudra Prasad Sharma has received the award for his article ‘SAF Games & Mice Tourism’ submitted for the ‘Tourism Entrepreneurship Development’ category.

The winner of each category will be awarded a certificate and a cash prize of RS 20,000 each on World Tourism Day (September 27, 2000).

In the nationwide high school and higher secondary level "Essay Contest" Gyanesh Buda of the Hermann Gmeiner HS School (Bhaktapur) has been entitled for the first prize.

Similarly, Dilli Raj Poudel of Budhanilkantha School and Bishal Pahadi of Ratna Rajaya School (Baneswore) have been entitled for the second and third prize.

Five others have been entitled for consolation prizes. Likewise in the Higher Secondary Level Competition, Reshma Shrestha of Hermann Gmeiner School has been declared first prize winner.

The second and third prize winners are Utkal Chalise of Nicholson School of H. Education (Bhaktapur) and Rameswore Adhikari of the Nuwakot Adharsha Bah.Campus (Nuwakot).

Five others have been entitled for consolation prizes.

The winners of the first, second, third and consolation prizes will be awarded cash prizes of RS12,500, RS 10,500, RS 8,500 and RS 5,000 respectively, the NTB press release said.

The winners were decided by a panel of judges consisting of tourism experts. To ensure fairness and impartiality, the writers’ names were erased and replaced with code numbers from the copies of the articles sent to the judges.

NTB kept a copy each with the numbers as well as the names of the writers so that the result could be tallied and the winners disclosed.

Articles were evaluated on the basis of content, authenticity, research, information, standard, style and comprehension. The judges’ decision was final.

The members of the panel of judges for the Travel Writer of the Year 2000 contest were: Mr. Dipendra Purush Dhakal, Mr. Shankhar Koirala, Mr. Prachanda Man Shrestha, Dr. Ramesh Kunwar, Mr. Ukesh Bhuju and Mr. Dilli Raj Sharma, the NTB press release said.

Govt mulling amending Children Act

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Sept 14: The ratification of International Conventions on Child Rights has put Nepal at a better stance to address the issues of nearly 2.6 million children at risk, Minister of State for Women, Children and Social Welfare Kamala Panta said.

"We now need to strengthen the implementation aspect of programmes directed towards ensuring the welfare of children and see that their rights are not violated," Panta said.

She said though many non-government organisations were at work to free children from servitude and give them their fundamental rights, the lack of co-ordination among the government and the NGOs had not yielded the desired results.

"We need to develop a mechanism whereby the works of the NGOs are assessed and co-ordination is established to expedite the campaign of promoting child rights," Panta told the eighth anniversary of the Children at Risk Network Group (CAR-NWG).

She said that the government was mulling over the amendment of the Children Act 2048 B.S. and had established Children Welfare Committees in all the districts.

The government has only been able to provide a meager sum of twenty thousand rupees to the committees owing to the constraint of resources and the challenge of the day is to provide them with additional resources, Panta said.

She called for a strong commitment to control the trafficking of children and said that the government was preparing to sign the optional protocol of the UN Child Rights Convention.

Panta said that the government was also contemplating over the establishment of a rehabilitation for children.

"It cannot be denied that the NGOs are making a significant contribution to address the issues of children excluding a few exceptions," Panta said.

She said that the system of renewing the registration of the NGOs merely on the basis of the reports they submit needs to be discouraged.

Panta also gave away prizes to children who participated in different competitions on the occasion of the eighth anniversary of CAR-NWG

General Secretary of CAR-NWG, Sharmila Karki said the CAR-NWG is a coalition of 26 NGOs working in the sector of child rights.

The 26 NGOs have been addressing child rights issues related to domestic child labour, the issues of children of jailed parents and child trafficking.

Karki lauded the assistance extended by DANIDA to step up the activities related to the establishment of child rights.

She said that the advocacy part needs to be promoted to establish the rights of the children.

Development Co-ordinator of CAR-NWG Rekha Shrestha said the coalition had already given relief to forty thousand children in Nepal through its various programmes directed towards protecting child rights.

Representative of the Royal Danish Embassy, Sharad Neupane said the Danish government had been assisting the CAR-NWG through the funds raised by Danish children who had collected the donation by selling Christmas cards.

The Danish Government had added the same amount of money to that raised by the Danish children to assist the NGOs working in the areas of child rights.

Now that the contract for financial assistance was about to expire, the NGOs must work towards becoming self-reliant, Niraula said.

Children being looked after by NGOs like PIN-Nepal and PAM-Nepal had staged cultural programmes to mark the eighth anniversary of CAR-NWG.

Bankers slam ‘defects’

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Sept 14: Bankers from the government as well as the private sector today blamed ‘defective’ policy, political interference and excess union activities for the crisis facing the country’s two major commercial banks but denied the reports that they were collapsing.

They stressed on immediate measures to address the problems facing Nepal Bank Ltd. (NBL) and Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB) and improve their managerial efficiency.

"It is not logical that NBL and RBB are collapsing but immediate measures are necessary to make them more competitive and to address the problems facing them," Nepal Bangladesh Bank’s General Manager Narendra Kumar Bhattarai said.

Showing concern over the declining rate of interest on bank deposits, Bhattarai appealed to the government and Nepal Rastra Bank to take a lead to correct the situation.

Himalayan Bank’s Chairman Himalayan Shumsher Rana said that excessive politicisation and inefficient management were the causes that led the NBL and the RBB to troubles.

NBL’s General Manager Bhawani Devi Sharma denied the reports that the bank she headed would turn bankrupt. She maintained that the KPMG Barnet report (prepared by an international consultancy) failed to reflect the exact financial situation the bank was in. The report submitted to the government a few months ago said that a considerable sum of NBL and RBB’s property had turned into negative net worth.

RBB’s Executive Chairman Punya Prasad Dahal conceded that all was not well with his office but denied that the bank was in a situation to close down. Dahal however declined to support his stance with the statistics of profit and loss situation.

Dahal said that RBB had already started working to strengthen marketing, improve management, push ahead research and development and adopt transparent working model.

Bank of Kathmandu’s General Manager Dr. Thakur Nath Pant said that auditor’s report alone would not serve as the final basis to declare the banks bankrupt. Pant said that low pay was a barrier to efficiency adding union activities disrupted the banks’ plans.

Agriculture Development Bank’s General Manager Devendra Pratap Shah said that false policy, excess of politicisation and union activities, and legal constrains were the causes that brought the banks to the present situation. He stressed on stringent laws that would assist the banks to recover the loans.

The speakers expressed mixed responses to the news about the army opening a bank. Pant said ‘there is no harm provided it is run professionally’ while Shah and Rana did not buy the idea. "If I were an army officer to take a decision, I would not go for operating a bank," said Rana in the press meet organised by the Reporters’ Club.

Door open for debate: Acharya

Biratnagar, Sept. 14 (RSS): Minister for Finance Mahesh Acharya has said that the present government of the Nepali Congress has kept the doors open for a national debate with all political parties working in the interest of the nation and its populace and for protecting constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy and human rights in the country.

Speaking at a meet the press organised by the Nepal Press Union (NPU) Morang unit here today, Mr Acharya made it clear that the gates of Singh Durbar will remain open at all times if the Maoists who indulge in violence and terorism come within the constitutional process and put forth a clear political concept.

What can the Nepalese people expect from such a party which has been terrorising and killing their own kith and kin, he asked.

Referring to the adverse impact of murderous activities unleashed to destabilise the multi party system, he said the government is determined to improve the national economy by maintaining transparancy and a sound administrative mechanism along with ensuring good governance.

Employment cannot be generated as long as the finanical resources of the country are not consolidated, he said adding, the government has devoted serious attention to ways in which the financial institutions of the country can be made strong.

The government has already introduced a policy regarding seizure of property for which the source cannot be shown in order to end the financial irregularities prevalent in the country, he said.

He also alluded to various constructive programmes launched at the village level to bring about improvements in deteriorating economic conditions.

The question of assuming party leadership depends not upon generational considerations but ability and support from the people, he said and pointed out that party cadres of the younger generation are at present in fact in a majority in parliament as well as in responsible positions within the party organisation.

Stating that it is a leader who is loyal and responsible towards the people who can lead the nation, he said differences in party rank and file for momentary political advantage will no longer harm the party and there is no conflict within the party at present.

NPU Morang unit president Hem Raj Regmee was on the chair.

Development should target the deprived, says Poudel

Kathmandu, Sept. 14 (RSS): Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Development Ram Chandra Poudel, who is also looking after the portfolios handled by the Prime Minister, inaugurated the mid-term review workshop seminar of the rural infrastructure development programme being run by the Local Infrastructure Development and Agricultural Road Department.

On the occasion, Deputy Prime Minister Poudel remarked that development programmes should be implemented with the main objective of bringing about the maximum welfare of the deprived classes, alleviating poverty and unemployment and uplifting the living standards of rural farmers.

Construction of roads is the basis of development in a country like ours which is predominantly rural, the Deputy Prime Minister said, pointing out the need for implementing income-generating programmes on a campaign footing so that farmers with access to roads are encouraged towards increasing commercial production and can derive multi-sectoral benefits.

Facilities should be provided for the marketing of agriculture produce, he added.

Over-politicisation, misuse of funds and lack of public participation are hampering development and construction work, he said and stressed that development should not be for development’s sake but for the sake of the people.

Michael Dembinsky of the Asian Development Bank disclosed that employment equivalent to around 1.7 million working days was being generated from the rural infrastructure development programme and the people of the districts where the programme has been implemented were making income to the tune of nearly Rs 180 million thus contributing to the national poverty alleviation drive.

Speaking from the chair, chairman of the Federation of District Development Committees Nepal Krishna Prasad Sapkota spoke of the need to implement agriculture productivity programmes on an extensive scale in order to improve the economic condition of the people and reduce poverty and unemployment.

On the occasion, Dr. Durga Prasad Poudyal, Dr. Madhuwan Lal Maskey, Govinda Gajurel and Kumar Keshar Bista presented a review of the institutional, social and technical aspect of the programme, training and public awareness and financial aspects respectively.

Chief of the project Bhupendra Bahadur Basnet shed light on the objective of the seminar.

Taking part in the day-long seminar were representatives of consumers’ committees and local bodies from districts where the programme has been implemented.

A total 126 kilometres of rural roads and six community buildings have been constructed in the three hill districts of Kavre, Tanahu and Baglung under the rural infrastructure development programme being run with the joint cooperation of His Majesty’s Government and the Asian Development Bank. Thirteen other community buildings are also under construction as part of the programme, it is learnt.

A rural development and social awareness campaign to construct and maintain 250-kilometres of motorable road and 90 multi-purpose community buildings has been initiated under the programme to help in the marketing of agriculture produce and in environmental protection through public participation.

The Asian Development Bank has committed 12.2 million US dollars, His Majesty’s Government 3.9 million and local consumers groups around 800,000 for the programme.

It is learnt that so far Rs 39.69 million has been spent under the programme. Out of the total spending, the Asian Development Bank met Rs 28.21 million and His Majesty’s Government Rs11.48 million.