Premier Deuba meets Bhattarai, Pandey

Kathmandu, Aug. 2 (RSS): Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba went to the residence of ex-Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai at Bhaisepati, yesterday and apprised him of the efforts made by the government in connection with the resolution of the Maoist problem.

On the occasion, discussions were held between the two leaders on resolving the Maoist problem.

During the talks, NC founding leader and ex-Pm Bhattarai recalled that attempts were made during his tenure as Prime Minister by constituting a high level committee for the resolution of the Maoist problem and assured help to the government on his own behalf as well as from the party.

Present on the occasion were Minister for Physical Planning and Works Chiranjibi Wagle, Minister for Water Resources Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar and Dr. Narayan Khadka.

Prime Minister Deuba also yesterday met with ex-Prime Minister Kirtinidhi Bista at the Prime Minister’s office, Singhadurbar.

During the meeting, Bista assured cooperation for the resolution of the Maoist problem.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Deuba had a meeting with MP at the National Assembly Ramesh Nath Pandey in connection with the Maoist problem at the former’s residence in Baluwatar this evening.

During the meeting, MP Pandey assured the Prime Minister he would provide utmost help in resolving the problem.

House of Representatives
MPs call upon Maoists to stop violent activities

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Aug. 2: Majority of lawmakers at the House of Representatives today asked the government for adequate preparation before sitting down for talks with the Maoists. They also strongly called upon the Maoists to stop their violent activities to create congenial atmosphere to hold dialogue for ending five-year-old insurgency in the country.

Some MPs from ruling as well as other opposition parties even doubted the sincerity of Maoists as they are continuing their offensive activities after the announcement to halt action against them from the government side.

The other issue that dominated today’s meet was the citizenship certificate with MPs of the Nepal Sadhvabana Party (NSP) walking out of the chamber objecting against the Supreme Court’s decision to cancel about 30,000 citizenship certificates issued by the Citizenship Certificate Distribution Committee in 2053 B. S.

Some opposition MPs, who strongly voiced for solving the problem of citizenship certificates of the country, demanded that the government should take immediate steps to provide citizenship papers to the Nepalese people who have not yet received the citizenship.

Before leaving the House, the NSP members protested against the Court’s decision and demanded strong initiatives from the government for instantly providing the certificates to those who are deprived of citizenship. The NSP the fourth largest political party in the Parliament had obstructed the zero hour shouting objections at the outset of today’s proceeding.

Before exiting themselves, NSP leader Badri Prasad Mandal asked why the decision of one government to distribute the citizenship certificates was cancelled by another government.

This is the second time the 20th session of the House of Representatives was boycotted by a smaller opposition group. The session was expected to run smoothly after the resignation of former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. The ongoing session had faced its business hampered once earlier in the initial day when all the opposition parties walked out of the session demanding the resignation of former Prime Minister Koirala.

Pari Thapa, MP from the Rastriya Janmorcha Nepal, said that the Maoists are still launching their violent activities that have badly affected the government’s functioning.

Thapa said that the government shifted three Area offices in the western part of Baglung due to the lack of security.

He blamed the government for failing to provide security to the people in Baglung district among other places of the country.

Khem Raj Bhatta Mayalu from the Nepali Congress asked for the government to develop the Royal Bardiya National Park as the tourist destination.

Astalaxmi Shakya of CPN-UML accused the government for abusing the Economic Assistance Fund under the Home Ministry. "Only the disclosure of the names of those involved in the abuse of the government’s vehicles is not enough," she said and demanded that the government should take action against them.

Gopal Prasad Koirala from the NC drew the attention on the writ to the Special Election Court demanding the recount of the votes in the Constituencies of Jhapa and Rupandehi. Koirala voiced that the court should make the decision soon.

Gokarna Bista of UML said that the governments of Nepal and India should immediately solved the controversy over the Rassiyal-Khurd-Lautan dam constructed in Rupandehi. "Otherwise, the issue should be internationalised."

Brajesh Kumar Gupta of RPP and Lalbabu Pandit of UML called for an instant solution to the problem of the citizenship certificates problems.

Saying that the issue of the citizenship paper should not be politicized, Pandit added the government had distributed the citizenship certificates in 2053 B. S. through the right procedures.

Arjun Prasad Joshi of NC and Raghuji Pant of UML urged the Maoists to immediately stop their violent activities, which they are pursuing even after the announcement to halt action against them by the government.

They said that such activities would only spoil the environment for dialogue between the government and the Maoists.

"If Maoists believe in the guns as the only means for the social and economic changes in the country, then the issue of talks may only be their strategy to accumulate strength," Panta claimed. In this context, the talks can be irrelevant, Panta said.

He even blamed the government of going to the talks with defeated mood. "The government should do enough homework to have an hand upper in the dialogue."

House passes proposal unanimously

Kathmandu, Aug. 2 (RSS): The House of Representatives at its meeting today unanimously passed the proposal tabled by Prime Minister and Minister for Law and Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Sher Bahadur Deuba seeking consideration of the special Court Bill-2057 B.S.

Replying questions concerning the bill, Prime Minister Deuba said that the special court bill had been introduced to speed up the processing of dispensing justice.

Stressing the need to end the system of having to spend money worth five ropanis of land to fight a case for half a ropani of land, Mr Deuba said that special court bill still needs to be refined.

Taking part in the discussions on the bill, Netralal Shrestha of the RPP said that the special courts should set up at suitable places for speeding up the process of dispensing justice.

Mahendra Bahadur Pandey of the CPN-UML said that some of the provision being made in the bill were contrary to the constitution.

Subas Chandra Nemwang of the CPN-UML said that the provisions being made in the bill for disolving the special court without any reason and constituting a three member special court under the chairmanship of appellate court judge with two other representatives nominated by His Majesty’s Government would weaken the position of the chairman.

Ramesh Lekhak of the NC suggested that the cases to be handled by the special court should be made clear.

Likewise, the proposal made by the Prime Minister to send the Parliament Secretariat bill-2057 B.S. to the committee concerned for clausewise discussions was unanimously passed by the House of Representatives.

Nepal - India talks
Implementation of Trade Treaty 1996 assessed

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Aug 2: Nepalese and Indian officials met today in Kathmandu to assess the implementation of Nepal-India Trade Treaty 1996.

Commerce Secretary Bhanu Prasad Acharya led the Nepalese side while the Indian side was led by Indian Commerce Secretary Prabir Sengupta who flew into Kathmandu this afternoon.

Sources at Industry, Commerce and Supplies Ministry said today’s meeting began with the statements of the Secretaries from both the sides.

"In today’s meeting both the sides put forward their agenda and the discussion got started," Commerce Joint Secretary Purushottam Ojha said. "The talks were held in a cordial atmosphere."

Ojha said both the sides agreed to discuss issues relating to Trade Treaty, Transit Treaty and the ways to control unauthorised trade between the two countries. The meeting will continue on Friday.

Nepal’s main agenda, according to Ojha, include agreement on the extension of railway services to Birgunj, recognition of NS standard mark in India, improvement of physical infrastructure at land-border customs points and co-operation between the two countries to establish export processing zones in Nepal. Nepal has prepared a 17-point agenda to discuss with the Indian officials.

The regular meeting that is taking place five months before Nepal-India Trade Treaty completes its five years of enforcement is seen with special importance by both the countries although the bilateral accord has a provision of an automatic renewal in every five years unless one of the parties gives a three-month advance notice seeking amendments in the Treaty.

Ojha said the meeting was being held in Kathmandu according to the provision of regular bilateral meetings in the Treaty to solve the problems that surface in the process of its implementation. The last regular meeting was held in 1999 in New Delhi, India.

Nepalese officials are hopeful that the meeting would be fruitful for both the countries to identify problems and review the past experiences related to trade and commerce sector.

In the preparatory meeting Wednesday Indian side had showed concern over what they called excessive export of some Nepali goods to India that posed a threat to Indian industries. Such Nepali items, according to them, include vegetable ghee, copper wire, zinc oxide, acrylic yarn, iron and zinc pipes.

Ojha said this issue was not discussed in today’s meeting. "But from tomorrow, there will be a detailed discussion on the agenda put forward by both the sides," Ojha told The Rising Nepal.

Long-term reform in education emphasised

Kathmandu, Aug. 2 (RSS): CPN-UML’s Shankernath Sharma Adhikari, taking part in the second day of discussions at the Lower House meeting today on the appropriations head pertaining to the Ministry of Education and Sports in the current fiscal year budget, said the allocation of only 14 per cent of the budget for education, the backbone of national development, shows that the government does not have any long-term thinking about reforming the education sector, there is an irregular supply of teachers in public schools and the government’s target of fully replacing certificate level with ten plus two by this year has failed.

NC’s Lekhnath Neupane said the state of education in the country has been improving but emphasis should still be given to the development of quality education, the secondary education project and curriculum development program are laudable and public school teachers should be properly trained in order to bridge the gap between public and private schools.

RPP’s Buddhi Man Tamang said budgetary allocation for education and sports is insufficient, the education policy is unclear, there is a lack of criteria, the monitoring and evaluation of private schools, the education sector and the sports council have been fully politicised and no attention has been paid towards the college admission of students even before announcement of the S.L.C. results and the charging of exorbitant fees.

Nawaraj Subedi of Rastriya Janamorcha also said that budgetary appropriation for the education sector, which is responsible for the production of skilled manpower and a disciplined citizenry, is low, management has not been scientific, educational services are going out of the reach of the general public, emphasis has not been given to the concept of balanced development and manpower produced by the technical education system has also become unemployed.

CPN-UML’s Narbahadur Hamal and Chandramani Kharal were of the view that special effort should be made to make the education sector more standard and systemic, education has been politicised and commercialised, special emphasis should be given to the development of easily-accessible and balanced education and the sports council should be more practical and effective.

MPs Tanka Prasad Rai and Ajaya Kumar Chaurasiya of Nepali Congress said that our efforts should be concentrated towards the promotion of scientific and practical education through formulation of integrated projects, monitoring and evaluation mechanism should be more effective and education policy suitable to the country should be enforced.

Likewise, CPN-UML’s Shiva Bahadur Deuja and Jagannath Khatiwada complained that efforts are being made to politicise and commercialise education, the main problem of educational administration is the failure of honest enforcement of existing policy and regulations and recommended that appointment of teachers should be impartial, designated posts for teachers in public schools should be filled and the sports council should be run in a more practical and effective manner.

NC’s Binayadwaj Chand and Ram Bahadur Gurung welcomed the allocation of 14 per cent of budget for the education sector and introduction of many new programmes in spite of minimum means and resources, and recommended that management of schools should be gradually handed over to the local bodies, special emphasis should be given to agriculture education and consensus should be reached among all political parties in order to wipe out anomalies and aberrations from the education sector.

Jagdish Prasad Shaha of CPN-UML pointed out the need to designate sufficient teachers for public schools, approve primary level education in the madrasas, make arrangements for education facilities for the disabled and mentally retarded and carry out special programs for the indegenious, the various nationalities, the underprivileged and oppressed communities.

CPN-UML’s Sherdhan Rai and Bir Bahadur spoke of the need to bring about radical change in education, provide vocational education an education in one’s own mother tongues, cancel the exams taken in 2052 BS, stop recruiting political party workers in the field of sports, and pay attention to appoint teachers in schools as per quota.

NC’s Krishna Kishore Ghimire an Kailashnath Kashohan opined that different educational programs have been brought with a focus on poverty alleviation, quality changes in education are necessary, sports stadiums in the district need repair an teacher’s quota in Banke district is very low.

Tukraj Sigdel and Devilal Thapa of the CPN (UML) remarked that despite the rhetoric of the education for all slogan, we have still 43 percent of people illiterate people, politicisation has cost education, no efforts have been made to narrow the gap between the private and public school education and attention should be given to provide job-oriented education.

Mohan Bahadur Thapa and Mahendra Yadav Madhukar of the Nepali Congress complained that commercialisation is rampant in education, minimum budget has been allocated for sports development, teachers are in short supply in dozens of schools and there is no monitoring of school education.

NC’s Ram Chandra Tiwari and Damodar Bastakoti observe that the government should be serious in view of the recent dismal SLC results, a medical college should be established in Mahottari soon, investment should be increased in education and attention given to provide quality education.

CPN-UML’s Kunta Sharma and Gorakh Bahadur Bogati noted that the 14 per cent of budget allocated for the education sector is not enough, the government has no clear vision for education development, there is no provision for special education for the helpless and the disabled in remote areas.

NC’s Keshav Thapa and Narendra Bahadur Bam spoke of the need to make the monitoring and evaluation system more effective, grant recognition to proposed secondary schools established after 2050 BS, pay attention to provide quality education and emphasise vocational education.

CPN (UML)’s Bhadra Bahadur Thapa and Damber Singh Sambahangfe argued that the amount allocated for education is not in accordance with the goals an objectives of education, the amount allocated for the Forest University and preservation of language is abysmally low, the education is witnessing deterioration and slc results point to our faulty policy.

Tirtha Gautam and Suresh Kumar Karki of the same party expressed the view that education has been affected by politicisation, teachers are reluctant to work in remote regions and those who grease the palms call shots in this sector.

NC’s Ramesh Lekhak opined that more and more children are being attracted towards education and attention should be given to providing education scientifically and infrastructural development of public schools is taking place.

Experts for raising dam issue

Kathmandu, August 2 (RSS): Concerned experts have underlined the need of raising the issue of Rasiawal Khurd Lotan dam which is now under construction by India unilaterally by violating the international laws and traditions.

Speakers, at a seminar on "Rasiawal Khurd Lotan Dam and Indo-Nepal Border Water Relations" organised by the ANNFSU here today, said the dam will not only submerge the region, but will also inundate Lumbini, the Birthplace of Lord Buddha, and border waters relations should be guided as per the international laws and norms.

CPN-ML General Secretary Bam Dev Gautam spoke of the need of policy on border water resources , while Dr Mangal Siddhi Manandhar noted that india is taking advantage of government’s weaknesses.

CPN (ML)’s Hiranyalal Shrestha spoke of the need to initiate diplomatic moves.

Work seriously to solve Maoist problem: Nepal

Kathmandu, Aug. 2 (RSS): CPN-UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal has stressed the need for the Maoists and the government to work seriously so that the people’s hopes about resolution of the Maoist problem through dialogue will come true.

CPN-UML General Secretary Nepal, who was speaking at a seminar on the topic "Government-Maoist Talks: Problem and Possible Solution" organised by the United Marxists front here today, said all the economic, social and political dimensions of the problem should be addressed properly if the problem is to be resolved.

The government should, therefore, announce special policy for alleviating poverty, resolving the problem of unemployment, ensuring balanced development and women’s empowerment and doing away with social malpractices like untouchability, he said.

NC central member Chakra Prasad Bastola said as parliamentary democracy provides for the resolution of all national problems through dialogue, the government has given top priority to resolving the Maoist problem through talks.

CPN-ML central member Radhakrishna Mainali was of the view that since the existing constitution provides ample scope for social and economic reform, the Maoists should take part in negotiations while remaining within the framework of the constitution.

President of Samyukta Janamorcha Nepal Amik Sherchan said there is no alternative to dialogue for the resolution of the Maoist problem.

Ex-Minister Nilambar Acharya said the government and the Maoists should utilise the present atmosphere which seems quite favourable for peace talks for the resolution of the problem.

Vice president of the United Marxists Front Ganesh Shaha, Hariyali Party president Kuber Sharma, Him Lal Puri of Rastriya Janamorcha, Sunil Prajapati of Nepal Workers-Peasants Party and president of National People’s Movement Coordination Committee Bhakta Bahadur Shrestha called for the cooperation of all sectors to make the talks a reality.

Front president Prabhu Narayan Chaudhari presided.

Meanwhile, CPN-UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal has lauded the initiative of the government towards holding talks with the Maoist in order to give the country a way out from the existing critical situation.

Describing it as important and commendable, Mr Nepal said everyone should assist the government in this regard.

The Main Opposition Party leader was speaking at an essay competition entitled "challenges facing the communist movement and possibilities" and Jeevraj Ashrit memorial meeting organised by CPN-UML Gulmi-Kathmandu liaison forum here today.

Stating that the late Jeevraj Ashrit was a personality of strong views for efficient organisation, discipline and principles, Mr Nepal emphasised the need for all CPN-UML workers to follow the guidelines of late Ashrit in the present serious situation of the country.

On the occasion General Secretary Nepal gave away prizes and certificates to the winners of the essay competition.

Narendra Aryal, Ram Krishna Kharel, Gunakar Neupane and Geetan Anjaan came out first, second and third respectively in the competition.

Mr Nepal also presented a letter of appreciation to sculptor of Gulmi district Bhuvan Thapa who built a statue of the late Jeevraj Ashrit.

CPN-UML central committee member Astalaxmi Shakya, MP Pradip Gyawali and other speakers shed light on the personality and contribution of Mr Ashrit at the programme chaired by president of the forum P.L. Mani.

Appeal made by govt, Maoists for talks hailed

Kathmandu, Aug. 2 (RSS): At the beginning of the meeting of the National Assembly today, MPs from the CPN-UML Kedar Prasad Neupane, Bachaspati Devkota and Mahesh Mani Dixit drew the attention of the government to relevant issues taking place in the country.

Thereafter, speaking at the special hour of the National Assembly, Bir Bahadur Singh of the CPN-UML hailed the appeal made by both the government and the Maoists for dialogue.

The Maoists should publicly apologize for the public action being taken in the districts including Salyan, Rukum and Pyuthan, he added.

Referring to reports published in various newspapers that RNAC has decided to halt its flight to Europe from September at a time when tourism industry, a main foreign currency earning source of the country, is witnessing a downward trend, MP Yankila Sherpa demanded clarifications from the Minister concerned in this regard.

Jagannath Poudel of NC said the statement of the government and the Maoists to end the insurgency is a laudable step and emphasised on the need for all political parties to move forward honestly to seek a solution to the Maoist problem.

Mohan Bahadur Basnet of the CPN-UML asked the government to send doctors and medicines to Doti district where more than 100 persons have been killed by gastro-enteritis recently.

Ganga Datta Joshi of NC drew the attention of the government towards the damage caused by the swollen Mahakali river in and around Kanchanpur district.

Lal Bahadur Bishwakarma of CPN-UML asked the government to provide land to families who have been displaced from the Royal Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve.

The National Assembly meeting approved a proposal seeking consideration on the dill designed to amend some acts concerning health presented by Health Minister Sharat Singh Bhandari.

Replying to questions raised during the discussion, Mr Bhandari said as the present government is committed to enhancing the prestige of parliament and MPs, all MPs should see to the dignity of Parliament.

Stating that shortcomings, if any, can be removed in consultation with all parties, the Health Minister noted that as the bill has been brought in accordance with the constitutional procedures and is awaiting the approval of the respected Parliament, it cannot be said that Parliament has been ignored.

A provision has been made allowing the Health Minister to appoint the chairman of the medical council as the latter has to work with the former, he said.

CPN (UML)’s Surendra Prasad Pandey, taking part in the discussions earlier, accused the government of bypassing Parliament.

MPs Rameshnath Pandey, CPN-UML’s Bachaspati Devkota and NC’s Jagannath Paudel also accused the government of bringing about the bill by passing the Parliament.

After that, Dr Mohassin announced the postponement of the meeting till 1 pm tomorrow.

SAF Games
Participation posing a Gordon Knot for NSC

BY NARAYAN UPADHYAY

Kathmandu, Aug. 2: With the 9th South Asian Federation Games just round the corner and selection games for it almost over, the country’s sports governing body finds itself still in the woods due to the paucity of budget to run training camps for selected players. And the final participation in South Asia’s sporting extravaganza poses a Gordian Knot for the National Sports Council (NSC).

However, NSC is hopeful that the government will have positive gestures in allocating enough budget for the preparation and then the participation in the SAF Games. The Games are to be held in Islamabad of Pakistan from October 6 this year.

NSC has planned to submit a proposal of about 40.24 million rupees (20.2 million for preparation and 20.04 for participation) for the preparation and participation of Nepalese squad in the 9th SAF Games. However, the government is yet to release the budget, which is making NSC task "more difficult."

According to NSC Member-Secretary Binod Shankar Palikhe, who is gearing up to send the proposal to Ministry of Education and Sports, Ministry of Finance and discuss the matter with the Prime Minister, said that if government slashes the budget, NSC would revise its plan to take its squad to SAF Games.

If the government approves our proposal, then Nepal will have 235-member team that includes players for 14 different disciplines, coaches, referees, doctors, officials and journalists, said Palikhe.

"If the proposed budget is slashed, we will also downsize our team members to about 150-165," he added.

Palikhe further said that since the nation is passing through a difficult time and the newly installed government has to take up many tasks, NSC is ready to co-operate with government and is set to take a small squad to Pakistan.

"We have been instructed to do the same by the Minister for Education and Sports and we are mentally prepared for it,’’ Palikhe said.

While budget can be one of the reasons for Nepal’s poor performance in the SAF Games, scarcity of sufficient time for the preparation can be another reason for Nepal’s failure in its repeat in the performance it did during the 8th SAF Games.

Then Nepal had grabbed overall second position in the medal table claiming 33 gold medals. Nepal could perform better because it ran close camps for 9 months then. Now it has no more than two months for the preparation after the selection competitions for the SAF Games are over by early next week.

These, coupled with the exclusion of some martial arts events in which Nepal has pinned its hope to claim medals, have compelled many to believe that Nepal’s medal haul will be much less in Islamabad. And all these have forced NSC to prepare itself for a small contingent to Pakistan. "Why must we take a bigger team if we are not going to win more medals?" questions Palikhe.

Paucity of budget has not only hampered the participation prospect of Nepalese team in SAF Games, it has also thrown cold waters in the working of NSC, which needs about 240 million rupees annually for both its general expenditure and sports development activities. Moreover, the government is yet to release about 10.8 million rupees and delay in its release has put its 1,226 staff member in wait till now to receive their monthly salaries of last two months.

It needs about 120 million rupees for the expenditure on its staff salaries, perks and allowances for the players who had won medals for the nations. Ironically, the government has released only 40.27 million rupees for the 2058/59 B.S. fiscal year, a deficit to about 70.51 million rupees.

As a result, NSC has not been able to distribute salaries and allowances on time. Likewise, for NSC’s sports development programmes, the government has provided just about 60 million rupees out of its annual 120 million rupees.

There is no doubt that NSC is facing acute problem of sufficient budget because the government thinks it is overstaffed. The amount of budget it released for Regular Expenditure (40.27 million) for the current fiscal year is barely enough to provide salaries and allowances for only 370 employees.

In fact, the government is suggesting the NSC to trim down the size of its staff to around 370 but due to lack of effective directives, the NSC boss is unable to take stern step in reducing the number of its staffs. Currently, NSC has 655 as permanent employees and 388 on contract. Likewise, 183 additional employees are recruited on contract with no liability to the regular expenditure of the Council.

"We are ready to act on government’s instructions. Apart from formulating sports policies our job is also to cooperate with government by executing its orders," said Palikhe. "And if the government continues to overlook the supply of essential budget, we are forced to relieve about 700 employees of NSC."

Notwithstanding the problems that plagues the government’s apex sports governing body, Member-Secretary Palikhe, who still rues that much of his time is wasted in preparing the salaries and allowances documents for the approval of the Ministries, said that investment in NSC would certainly assist the government at last.

NSC provides a platform for youths of the nation from where they can launch their career in sports which ultimately saves them from going out of the track, frustrations culminating in criminal acts, and abuse of drugs, Palikhe said.

Moreover, if the government invests in sports, it will certainly bring good results to the nation." You do not need different Visit Nepal Year to popularise the country, a single Olympic medal will do it."