Dr. Mahat to lead team for UN General Assembly
UN keeps key role for peace

BY KRISHNA SHARMA

Kathmandu, Nov. 5:Leading the Nepalese delegation for the delayed General Assembly of the United Nations, Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat is heading for New York, USA, this Friday (November 9). The UN’s 56th General Assembly is beginning from November 14.

Finance Minister Dr. Mahat will be addressing the world’s largest gathering on the opening day at the UN Hall, New York.

Meanwhile, the Finance Minister will be paying a short visit to Norway and Finland at the call of his counterparts after attending the UN gathering.

According to Ministry of Finance, during his visit to the two European countries, Dr. Mahat will discuss on the areas of cooperation and economic activities between Nepal and Norway and also with Finland.

The General Assembly of the United Nations was scheduled to start from September 18, had that not been postponed following the September 11 attack at the twin tower of World Trade Center at New York and Pentagon, USA’s Defense establishment. The General Assembly of the world's apex body for maintaining peace and development usually begins from the third Tuesday of September every year where the delegates from all the member countries take part and put forth their opinions on global agenda.

According to Foreign Ministry officials, the visit was earlier set for Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba but because the premier decided to stay at home for resolving the Maoist problem, Finance Minister Dr. Mahat was chosen for representing Nepal in the Assembly.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Arjun Junga Bahadur Singh is also accompanying Dr. Mahat. The Finance Minister will be leading a 14-member delegation that comprises seven lawmakers, one university professor, one woman representative, one journalist and two officials from the Foreign Ministry.

The visiting MPs are Ishwor Pokharel and Mahendra Raya Yadav of the CPN-UML, Umakant Chaudhari, Shiv Kumar Basnet, Krishna Kishor Ghimire and Jagannath Poudel of the ruling Nepali Congress and Ajay Pratap Shah of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party. Foreign Secretary Narayan Shumsher Thapa and joint secretary Pushkar Raj Bhandari are also included in the entourage.

The Foreign Ministry sources say that Professor Surya Prasad Subedi has been named for a university professor's quota. Professor Surendra Bahadur Shrestha is also one of the members of the team. Prof. Shrestha was the former ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

The reason behind selecting Professor Subedi from among the university Professors is his candidacy for the membership on behalf of the Himalayan Kingdom in the UN's International Law Commission. Professor Subedi is contesting for Nepal's membership. Similarly, journalist Asha Shah is also included in the delegation as an woemen representative.

At a time when most of the western world is under the threat of terrorist attack, the upcoming General Assembly of the UN has been considered as one of the most awaited meetings needed for getting a mandate from the governments of the member countries of the UN for finding ways to fight terrorism.

XIth SAARC Summit in Kathmandu
Preparations being expedited

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Nov 5: In order to expedite the preparatory works for the XIth SAARC summit to be held in Kathmandu in the first week of January 2002, the first meeting of the National Main Committee held under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba at Singhdurbar today.

According to the SAARC Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the meeting of the National Main Committee (NMC) gave directives to various committees to set a time-bound schedule for the success of the summit.

At the meeting the Prime Minister gave directives to various Ministries and concerned government offices to fulfill the given tasks within the stipulated time.

The government had formed the National Main Committee under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister in September. Under the main committee ten various as committees have been formed under the chairmanship of the ministers of respective ministries.

Ten various committees include Committee of Foreign Affairs, Committee of Security and Transportation, Committee for Roads maintenance, and Committee of Publicity and Coordination.

Under the committees, various sub-committees have been formed to smoothen the process of preparations.

According to sources at the SAARC Division, at MOFA preparations will be made on war footing so as to make the summit a great success.

Though the date for the summit is yet to be fixed at official level, the sources said ' Most probably it would take place in the first week of January.'

However, it is learnt that Sri Lanka, the present chairman of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has already confirmed that the XIth SAARC summit would be held in Nepal on January 4-6.

Though the relevance of the SAARC seems to be flickering owing to various reasons, Nepal has still accorded top priority.

The Summit that was scheduled to be held in 1999 in Kathmandu was postponed owing to India's refusal to share the platform with Pakistan where General Pervez Musharaf had taken reins after Military coup in October 1999.

The SAARC a regional forum was established in 1985 December 8, with the objective of regional cooperation and economic development.

Int'l Youth Congrass
Cease terror tactics Khadka urges Maoists

Chitwan, Nov 5 (RSS): Minister for Home and Local Development Khum Bahadur Khadka has stressed the need to resolve the Maoist problem through talks.

Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of the International Youth Congress here on Sunday, Minister Khadka said the date and the venue for the next round of government-Maoist dialogue will be fixed by the government-Maoist dialogue team convenor since it is exclusively his prerogative to fix the date and the venue for the talks.

Alleging that the Maoists were still carrying on with such activities as looting, violence, murder and terrorising the people even at the threshold of the third round of talks between the Maoists and the government, Home Minister Khadka urged the Maoists to immediately cease such activities and prepare for a meaningful dialogue.

Stating that while in the beginning the Maoists terrorised and killed the Nepali Congress workers, he said they were now turning their guns towards the CPN-UML.

The Maoists are bent on finishing off the party workers of all the other political parties except for themselves, he added.

Meanwhile, speaking at a face-to-face programme organised by the Reporters’ Club at Meghauli here on Sunday, Home Minister Khadka reiterated that talks cannot be held with the Maoists on the condition of establishing a republic in the country.

Stating the government has released most of the Maoist workers in its custody and was in the process of releasing more as demanded by the Maoists, he underlined the need for the Maoist side to also reciprocate by releasing all the persons abducted by it and make public the names of those killed and those who have gone missing.

Club president Rishi Dhamala presided over the programme.

Auspicious day for Bhai Tika

Kathmandu, Nov 5 (RSS): November 16 is the auspicious day for this year's Bhai Tika, according to chairman of Panchanga Nirnayak Samiti Dr Mangal Raj Joshi.

With reference to the confusion created by some calenders, which say Mha Puja falls on Nov. 16 and Bhai Tika on nov. 17, Dr Joshi said it is not auspicious to observe Bhai Tika on Nov. 17.

Refuting rumour that brothers should not receive Bhai Tika from younger sisters this year, he said the rumour is not based on relevant religious scripture. He also referred to the mythology according to which Yamaraj, god of death, received Bhai Tika from his younger sister.

Nepal-Bhutan meet on refugees today

Kathmandu, Nov 5 (RSS): The Nepal-Bhutan secretary level meeting is to begin at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here tomorrow.

The meeting will focus on building an environment congenial to the dignified repatriation of about 100,000 Bhutanese refugees sheltering in various camps in Nepal for the past 10 years.

The secretary level meeting is a follow up on the 11th Nepal-Bhutan ministerial level meeting in Thimpu, which had agreed on matters concerning verification of refugees and better coordination and cooperation in the task ahead. the meeting will also review the progress made since the Thimpu meeting.

Once the verification is completed, categorisation of the refugees will begin, it is stated.

At the talks which begin tomorrow, both sides are supposed to put across their views on refugee categorisation.

At present the Nepal-Bhutan joint verification team is verifying the refugees at Khudunabari camp in Jhapa.

The Nepalese delegation to the meeting will be led by foreign secretary Narayan Shumsher Thapa and the Bhutanese side by Bhutan’s foreign secretary Ugyen Tshering.

No anthrax case in Nepal: Dr Bista

Kathmandu, Nov 5 (RSS): If treatment is provided right at the initial stage, one can survive anthrax infection, according to the epidemiology and disease prevention division of the Health Ministry.

Anthrax is found mostly in sheep, hill goats, dogs, cats and wild animals and these animals infect human beings, says director of the division Dr. Mahendra Bahadur Bista.

Anthrax, which was widespread in Southern Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries affected l00 people world-wide in 1958. Two thousand cases were found at Midanpur of Mysore in 1999 and it has claimed some lives recently also.

Anthrax germs enter the human body through respiration or any skin injury and infection could prove fatal if not treated in time. Anthrax is of three types and can infect the skin, the respiratory system and the stomach.

After the germs enter the human body from contaminated raw meat, wool, skin or hair through the skin, injuries or respiration, the person suffers from fever, pus accumulates in the skin and tissues get swollen. Symptoms like that of cold and cough appear, it becomes difficult to breath, and there is vomiting, stomach pain, blood vomiting, thorax pain, traces of blood in excreta, neck pain and difficulty in swallowing.

Animals in Nepal are vaccinated against the disease, and the vaccines are available. People working in animal husbandry, at laboratories and at wool and leather industries are vulnerable and are vaccinated. Though the risk of natural infection is low, there have been anthrax cases all around the world. It has become necessary for Nepal also to take preventive measures, according to Dr. Bista.

Against the background of anthrax spores being misused as a biological weapon through letters in the mail and considering the possibility of this happening in Nepal also, HMG has already issued circulars on treatment and for publicity. But nowhere in Nepal has an anthrax case been seen, he made it clear.

The disease is completely curable if treatment in time and the drugs are available. Therefore there is no need for apprehension, it is learnt.

Conference of Judges
Healthy criticism of judiciary natural: CJ

Kathmandu Nov 5 (RSS): The three-day Conference-2001 for judges of the Supreme Court and Chief Judges of Appellate Courts got under way at the Supreme Court here today.

The theme of the conference is "issues and challenges in the judiciary in the present situation."

The main participants of the conference are the 21 Supreme Court justices and 16 Chief Judges of Appellate Courts while the Attorney General, the secretary and members of the Judicial Council, the Supreme Court registrar, the secretary at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, the chairman of the administrative tribunal and the dean of Tribhuvan University’s Institute of Law are participating as observers.

Inaugurating the conference, Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya said that the faith of the people in the court system can be maintained if the judges are dedicated towards justice, and there is proper interpretation of the law.

The Chief Justice said, "it is natural in an open, democratic society for there to be healthy criticism and comments on the activities of the courts. If our work and endeavours are right and motivated by judicial discipline, no comment or criticism can undermine or distract our efforts. We might have to undertake introspection to see whether the issues and challenges in the judiciary are the results of our own activities."

Stating that the Judicial Council is effortful to make its activities transparent and objective, he pointed out the need for HMG to extend cooperation in providing necessary physical facilities for the Council Secretariat including the creation of posts.

Speaking from the chair, Supreme Court judge Laxman Prasad Aryal said that the comments on and criticism of the judiciary have provided inspiration to those dispensing justice to seek improvements, remain alert and work in a united manner.

He also stated that the judges were not avoiding dealing with cases of corruption and crime but have only raised questions about the apparatus and style of undertaking investigations into such activities.

Attorney General Badri Bahadur Karki said that it is natural to have criticism of the judiciary in a democratic and open society and stressed that the problems at hand should be resolved not by making allegations and counter allegations but with wisdom and patience.

President of Nepal Bar Association Sindhu Nath Pyakurel suggested the Judicial Council should be active, the judges should comply with their code of conduct and make their personal assets public, and allegations against the judiciary should be negated through the way justice is dispensed.

Judicial Council member Hiranyeshwar Man Pradhan, Supreme Court Registrar Sri Prasad Pandit, Chief Judge of the Appellate Court, Patan, Khilraj Regmi and president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Prem Bahadur Khadka also spoke at the inaugural function.

The conference of judges of the Supreme Court and Appellate Court has been held every year since 2050 Bikram era.

Hold third round talks immediately, Sushil tells Govt, Maoists

Bhadrapur, Nov 5 (RSS): Nepali Congress general secretary Sushil Koirala has said the third round of talks to be held between His Majesty's Government and the Maoists should be held immediately and if the talks derail then the Maoists would be responsible for that.

Addressing a gathering of party workers at the NC Bhadrapur town committee office here today, general secretary Koirala accused the Maoists of carrying out violent activities in the country in order to disturb the on going negotiations between government and Maoists.

The Maoists have carried out violent activities against the agreement reached for the talks and if such acts are not checked it would give rise to negative public sentiment towards the government, he added.

Stating that the party should support and encourage the public rising up in resistance against Maoist violence, Mr Koirala also directed all NC party workers to provide assistance towards that end.

As murder, violence and terror have been increasing the government should mobilise the army effectively in order to provide security to the general public, Mr Koirala said adding that there is no reason not to mobilise the Royal Nepal Army, which has been playing an important role in maintaining peace across the world, in order to check the growing rate of terrorism within the country itself.

Chief of the NC Organisation Department Krishna Prasad Sitoula and local workers of the party were present at the programme chaired by NC Bhadrapur town committee chairman Rajendra Ghimire.

UML-Maoists relations
No deal possible with Maoists: Nepal

Kavrepalanchok, Nov 5 (RSS): CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal has described as cowardice Maoist activities like abduction, extortion and attempts to forcibly impose their policy and principles on others.

CPN-UML general secretary Nepal, who was addressing a function organised here today to pay tributes to Panchkhal VDC vice chairman the late Balaram Sapkota, who was abducted and later killed by the Maoists, said any alliance with the CPN-Maoists is not possible unless the latter give up their republican slogan and take part in elections within the framework of the constitution.

He also made it clear that the CPN-UML and the CPN-Maoists had not reached any agreement at the meeting in Siliguri, India.

Central member of All Nepal Farmers Association and CPN-UML central member Keshav Prasad Badal said it is nothing more than a day dream for the Maoists to think of establishing a republic through violence and terror.

Likewise, MP Shiva Bahadur Deuja described the late Sapkota as a promising elected representative of Kavrepalanchok.

President of the association of district development committees, Nepal Krishna Prasad Sapkota urged the Maoists to renounce their criminal activities and join multi-party democracy in deference to public wishes.

Participants at the function organised on the 18th day after the killing of Balaram Sapkota were deeply moved by heart rending statements made by his father Chhabi Lal Sapkota and widow Sita Sapkota.

CPN-UML district secretary Bidur Sapkota also condemned the criminal activities of the Maoists.

CPN-UML district secretary Shila Katila presided.