It's too early to evaluate Constitution, says Kisunji

BY SRIACHARYA / JUNARBABU BASNET

Kathmandu, Nov. 7: Time has still not come to evaluate whether the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 2047 B.S. has succeeded or not and one has to wait for 30 more years to start any discussion to make any amendment in the Constitution, said Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Prime Minister during the interim government formed to formulate the Constitution. He said the Constitution has passed several tests in the last 11 years.

Bhattarai was talking to Gorkhapatra at his residence at Bhainsepati Tuesday on the completion of 11 years of the promulgation of the present Constitution. During the talks he put forth his views clearly on the exercise of the Constitution in the last eleven years and also on other issues including the Maoist issue.

"The Constitution may not be infallible like the Vedas and the Constitution may have some insignificant and unimportant lapses, but no mistakes, on democracy and constitutional monarchy and on human rights have been seen in the Constitution," said Bhattarai.

Thus, he said that he firmly believes that the Constitution must not be amended just to please somebody when the trial period is not over and added that he looks for at least 30 years before any discussion is started on whether the Constitution has failed.

Talking about the rights enshrined in the Constitution and their exercises by the people, Bhattarai said the people have been enjoying the rights provided by the Constitution irrespective of their social and economic status.

Bhattarai also maintained a differing opinion on the pace of economic development as compared to the Western countries. He said, "A poor country cannot become rich overnight. Such a magicwand had not been with Manmohan Adhikary nor is it with Sher Bahadur Deuba."

He said it takes a long time to attain the level of development and Western countries too took a long time to achieve the present state of prosperity. Citing the example of countries like Britain and America, he said it took them hundreds of years even by exploiting their colonies and by forcing those colonies to enter into trade with them. "We don't have such resources and means, so we cannot develop our country by haste only."

On the government-Maoist talks, Bhattarai said the government's stance that any change in the Constitution was uncalled for to solve the issue was correct.

Mentioning about the Maoists' discourse with him, Bhattarai said that the Maoists also want to solve the issue peacefully. He said that although he did not know at what level the government-Maoist talks has reached, but he pointed that the Maoists have also told him that they have also been tired of the battle and wanted to resolve the problem through dialogue.

When his attention was drawn about the Maoists' demand of the abolition of the Constitution, he said he did not know about their demands, but stressed that the Maoists also want the problem to be solved through dialogue.

Coming back to the Constitution, Bhattarai said that the exercise of the present Constitution could lead to the prosperity of the people and denied that there has been an increase in corruption and nepotism after the present Constitution came into being.

"During the Panchayat days things were not open, but now everything is open and people are enjoying freedom so everything comes out," he said and added rather corruption has decreased but it has appeared to have increased because everything is overt.

11th SAARC Summit to be held on Jan 4-6
Preparation in full swing: Singh

Kathmandu, Nov. 7 (RSS): Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Arjun Jung Bahadur Singh has said it is certain that the llth SAARC summit will be held at the Birendra International Conference Centre from January 4 to 6, 2002.

Talking to RSS here today, Minister of State Singh said that necessary preparations for the summit are in full swing.

Stating that all the member countries have agreed in principle to take part in the llth summit to be hosted here, he said that various committees and sub-committees have already been constituted in this regard.

Disclosing that HMG had set aside Rs 70 million for the Summit, he said that provision has been made for the ministry concerned to meet necessary expenditures by transferring amounts from the budget allocated for the current fiscal year.

A national main committee and topic-wise committees and sub-committees have been constituted under the concerned minister and secretary.

Among the nine committees constituted for the Summit preparations are the Foreign Affairs, coordination, implementation and supervision committees with the Minister for Foreign Affairs as convenor, the Finance Committee with the Finance Minister as convenor, the security, conveyance and transport committee with the Minister for Home as convenor, the repair and roads maintenance and Summit site committee with Minister for Physical Planning and Construction as convenor, and the publicity committee with the Minister for Information and Communications as convenor.

Likewise, a tourism, airport management and culture sub-committee has been constituted with the Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation as convenor, a city clean up and decoration sub-committee with the Secretary at the Ministry of Local Development as convenor and a health sub-committee with the Health Secretary as convenor.

The committees and sub-committees should prepare time-bound schedules for the activities to be carried out by them and submit these to the Minister for Foreign Affairs within a week, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs said.

He emphasised the need for constructive cooperation from every segment of society to hold the llth SAARC Summit, which is linked to the prestige of the country, in a grand manner.

A Staff Reporter adds: The 11th summit meeting of the Heads of State or Governments of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation will take place in Kathmandu on January 4-6, 2002.

According to a press release of the Foreign Ministry the 11th SAARC Summit will review the progress made so far in the regional cooperation and will give impetus to further strengthening regional cooperation among the memberstates through active collaboration in the economic, cultural, technical and scientific fields.

The Summit Meeting will be preceded by the 22nd session of SAARC Council of Ministers will be convened from January 2-3. Likewise, the 27th Session of the Standing Committee will take place from 30 December 2001 to January 1, 2002. Similarly, the 22nd Session of the Programme Committee will be held from December 28-29.

NC working for broader democratic unity: Koirala

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT

Jhapa, Nov. 7: Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala said that as the Nepali Congress is passing through a difficult phase and it is a testing time for every member of the party.

Inaugurating a discussion programme of the party’s Mechi zone’s regional heads and secretaries in Birtamod today, Koirala said about the increase in the individualistic tendencies in the party.

He also urged the party workers to work sensibly and judiciously to find a way out to the problems besetting the country and the party. The programme was organised by the Nepali Congress Organisation Department.

Saying that the Nepali Congress is only organisation with the longest history after the Royal Insitution, he said there are elements that are active to destroy democracy and the Nepali Congres. So, he said, the workers of the party must unite to foil such attempts.

He said unlike other parties the Nepali Congress has no fixed code for discipline and conduct, so the workers of the Nepali Congress should voluntarily abide by the party statute and regulations of the party organisation.

He also said the party workers to work from today for the general election which will take place in two or three years after the local elections.

Talking about the Maoists, he said the Maoists’ sole political aim is to destroy democracy and the Nepali Congress. So, he said, he as president of the Nepali Congress is making efforts to bring all the political parties, who believe in democracy and constitutional monarchy and to forge a grand democratic alliance with them.

Also today, party President Koirala also laid the foundation stone of a modern stadium to be built at Anarmani of Birtabazar.

Chief of the Nepali Congress organisation department Krishna Prasad Sitaula had highlighted about the objective of the programme.

At the programme chaired by the party’s central committee member and coordinator of the eastern coordination council Kul Bahadur Gurung, various other speakers, including MPs, party’s district presidents and others had also spoken at the programme.

UNFPA REPORT
Lack of education cited for rising population

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Nov. 7: The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has put Nepal’s current population at 23,214,681 and has stated that it is increasing at an annual growth rate of 2.27 per cent.

The UN agency, which has been looking after the population activities of the world for the past 30 years, has also pointed that while it took more than 60 years for Nepal’s population to double from 5.5 million to 11.6 million in 1911–1971 period, it took only about 30 years to increase from 11.6 million to 24 million in the 1971–2001 period. However, the report said that the country’s adult literacy rate has increased from 39.6 in 1991 to 57.6 in 2001 with the literacy rate of women increasing from 25 per cent to 44.9 per cent during the period.

The UNFPA has cited lack of education and primary health care, including reproductive health, as the reasons behind such a growth in population.

Launching the State of World Population Report 2001, today Minister of Health Sharat Singh Bhandari said that serious and strong political commitment was needed for addressing the issue of population growth and environment.

Meanwhile, the annual report of the UNFPA has indicated that if women do not gain better access to education and health care, the world’s population could reach as high as 10.9 billion by 2050.

The world’s population has doubled since 1960 to 6.1 billion, with higher growth rate being seen in the developing world, states the report.

The UNFPA was supposed to release its annual report on population activities worldwide on September 26 but it was delayed due to the September 11 terrorist attack in America.

The report has pointed out that women must receive equal status as men, adequate facility towards reproductive health and the right to plan the size of their families if the earth is to clamp on population growth, which is expected to grow by 50 per cent over the next half century.

With the theme "Footprints and Milestones: Population and Environmental Change", this year’s report has raised serious concerns regarding the degrading environment and its negative impact to the world.

The major findings of this year’s Population Report are:

• World population has doubled since 1960 and now stands at 6.1 billion. It is projected to grow by 50 per cent, to 9.3 billion, by 2050. All of the projected growth will take place in today’s developing countries.
• The 49 least developed countries will nearly triple in size, from 668 million to 1.86 billion people.
• Along with the escalating growth in population water use has grown six-fold over the past 70 years.
• In developing countries, 90-95 per cent of sewage and 70 per cent of industrial wastes are dumped untreated into surface waters.
• An estimated 2 billion people in developing countries already lack food security. The world’s richest countries, with 20 per cent of the global population, account for 86 per cent of total private consumption, whereas the poorest 20 per cent account for just 1.3 per cent. A child born today in an industrialised country will add to more consumption and pollution over his or her lifetime than 30 to 50 children born in developing countries.
• Nearly 60 per cent of the people in developing countries lack basic sanitation.
• Everyday about 160,000 people move from rural to urban areas. From 20 to 25 per cent of deaths worldwide are caused due to environmental conditions, which contribute significantly to communicable diseases.
• Unclean water and associated poor sanitation kill over 12 million people each year while air pollution kills nearly 3 million people a year.

• It took more than 60 years to double Nepal’s population from 5.5 million to 11.6 (from 1911 to 1971), only about 30 years from 11.6 to 24 million in 2001.
• Nepal was once a net exporter of food grains. Today it is a net importer.
• Out of the 75 districts in the country, 45 are believed to be food-deficits.
• More than 80 per cent of the population still depends on agriculture and without any appreciable change in the structure of economy.
• Despite all effort, the absolute number of people living under poverty is increasing.
• Due to increased population pressure, marginal lands have been brought into cultivation, the fragile eco-system is being disturbed and there are signs of desertification while the mid-hills and the Terai are prone to landslides, floods and a host of other man-made disasters.
• During the past 50 years it not only lost the forest coverage but also lots of plants and animal species that are globally endangered.
• Unplanned and rampant urbanisation in Kathmandu valley and other parts of the Kingdom have caused a major environmental degradation

Interaction programme
Measures to promote tourism discussed

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Nov.7: Keeping in mind the decrease in the number of tourists coming to the Himalayan Kingdom, Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) organised an interaction programme to discuss and find ways for the promotion of the industry here this afternoon.

The one-day function decided to open a fund for promoting tourism industry in the country, start campaigning for creating awareness among people about the importance of tourism industry for the sustainable economic development and launch an extensive drive in introducing and recognising the religious and historical tourist sites in the country.

Rajesh Kaji Shrestha, President of NCC, said that Nepal did not need to go anywhere for bringing the tourists. "What we need the most is introduce new sites for the tourists and make them rich and attractive in every aspect," President Shrestha said.

He said that along with the old ones, if new cultural and religious sites are introduced and promoted, millions of tourists from India will come to Nepal like the Nepalese go to Indian religious sites like Badri, Kedar, Bodh Gaya and so on.

Shrestha also emphasised on the touting scheme of the sites Nepal introduces for the tourists.

Second vice president of the NCC Surendra Bir Malakar said that co-ordination among the government, NGOs and travel and tourism related institutions was necessary for promoting tourism industry in the country.

NCC's former President Banbari Lal Mittal said that since Nepal and India shared similar religious faith and culture, there could be a flow of Indian tourists to Nepal if only Nepal advertises the religious sites here and makes them attractive. "We have Pashupati nath's temple, Swoyambhunath's Stupa, Lumbini and so many other places which are famous worldwide," he remarked.

Other speakers also highlighted similar possibilities from which Nepal could benefit.

Chandra Shekar Gyanwali, chairman of Hotel Narayani, said that tourism was the mother industry of the nation and stressed for the infrastructure of railways. He also asked the government to allow private sector airlines of India to operate air services in Nepal as well. "This will automatically help promote Nepal's tourism industry in India.

Government officials, people representing travel and tourism industry , businessmen and others attended the programme.

Refugee talks conclude
Nepal, Bhutan agree to maintain momentum

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Nov. 7: Differences persisted over the harmonisation of the four categories of Bhutanese refugee during the two-day Nepal-Bhutan Secretary Level Harmonization Meeting which concluded at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Shital Niwas, this evening.

The two-day talks between Nepalese and Bhutanese delegations led respectively by Nepalese Foreign Secretary Narayan Shumsher Thapa and his Bhutanese counterpart Ugyen Tsering, however, agreed to maintain the momentum of the ongoing process of refugee verification so as to prepare the ground for the early repatriation of the verified refugees.

"Naturally, I think there are some certain differences that we are not able to resolve," said Secretary Thapa after emerging from the harmonization meeting.

"Nepalese delegation suggested that since the process of harmonization has already begun so that there should be a next ministerial level meeting to sort out whatever little differences have cropped up in the present talks," said Thapa.

On the verification of refugees, Thapa said that verification of refugees in Khudnabari camp would be over by the second week of December. Immediately after that the categorization process of the refugees will start, he added.

Bhutanese Foreign Secretary Tsering viewed that the discussion on the harmonization processes after an interlude of about a year was an important achievement in itself.

"We had a very useful exchange of views on the works on harmonization models and we have started discussion on harmonization after it was kept pending for nearly 12 months," Tsering said.

" We will continue the discussion perhaps in the second week of December," he said.

The harmonization process of the categorization of about 100,000 Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal’s eastern district of Jhapa and Morang is aimed at finding a common ground for the peaceful repatriation of these refugees.

Differences over the four categories of the refugees (genuine Bhutanese refugees, those refugees who left Bhutan voluntarily, those who have criminal background and non-Bhutanese) have always shadowed the Nepal-Bhutan ministerial or secretary level meetings. Nepal and Bhutan have completed 11th round of ministerial level talks to resolve the ten-year old Bhutanese refugee problem.

Nepal is contending that Bhutan should accept refugees who fall into first three categories, which Bhutan is not ready to accept and hence all the differences. The 11th round of meeting of ministers suggested that there should be meeting, which must find the harmonization on four agreed categories. The suggestion paved the way for the present harmonization meet.

After the one and half-hour long meeting at MoFa, Bhutanese Secretary was very straight and clear on the Bhutan's position on categorization, a basis for the repatriation of refugees. "There will be four categories and four positions, we will have to work that out together," he said replying Bhutan’s position in the harmonization of the refugee categories.

Meanwhile, Secretary Thapa said that the meeting mainly focussed on harmonization position of the four categories of refugees, which for now has failed to bring in fruition regarding the problem of the repatriation of refugees.

Tsering said that the repatriation of refugees back to Bhutan is the part and parcel of the whole process of verification, categorization and harmonization and further discussion on them will take place "perhaps in the second week of December."

IT opens new opportunities for landlocked nations: PM

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Nov. 7: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba today said the emerging information and communication technology has opened tremendous opportunities for a landlocked country like ours.

"Even the remotest of our villages have now the potentials of tapping the global store of knowledge, enhancing their production and productivity, promoting their trade in goods and services and thus bringing improvements in the quality of life," Premier Deuba told the inaugural ceremony of the 15th Asian Forum for the Standardisation of Information Technology (AFSIT) here this morning.

"To bring these potentials closer to reality, the implications of the IT revolution are being studied with care and IT is now being made a part of our development agenda," said Deuba. "Although the earlier industrial revolution may have passed us by, we are determined not to miss the opportunities IT revolution is providing us at this moment."

"But we do realise that we still have some distance to cover to meet the technology gap and to expand geographical coverage," he said "To this end, we have developed necessary legal and regulatory frameworks for encouraging private investments to supplement the public."

Deuba said the question of providing the services in the scripts a common man can read and the language he can understand is highly important and applauded AFSIT’s work in this direction. He said e-governance could help provide a just and efficient administrative services and good governance to the people at large in the whole region.

"We are all working to utilise IT effectively for our economic and social development," State Minister for Science and Technology Bhakta Bahadur Balayar said.

Balayar said IT would provide a valuable opportunity to bridge the existing gap between the rich and the poor, between the rural and urban areas, and between the developed and the developing nations. "So we feel that by working together through IT, it is now possible to realise the shared vision of a new world of prosperous nations all living in the new millennium."

Science and Technology Secretary Mahesh Man Shrestha said IT had become a great unifying tool in the emerging global community amidst the prevailing cultural and linguistic diversities. He said the government had recognised the tremendous potentials of IT and accorded high priority to its development. "We are now in the process of formulating and promulgating the Information Technology Act that would safeguard the interest of the IT entrepreneurs as well as the clients and also help in promoting e-business and e-commerce in the country."

National Planning Commission member Dr. Ramesh Ananda Vaidya said it was necessary to develop simultaneously the access to IT infrastructure, IT-related education and training, and IT applications in business, government agencies and communities to reap benefit out of it.

Executive Director of the Centre of the International Co-operation for Computerisation (CICC) Akio Kanaya said establishing information infrastructure holds the key for future development of every country.

Organised jointly by CICC, Ministry of Science and Technology, Computer Association of Nepal and Unlimited, the five-day event has brought about 40 experts from China, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. They have been discussing the standardisation of characters and document to pave ways for a better flow of communication in the Asian countries. The representatives from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos and Pakistan are taking part as observers.

AFSIT is an annual forum of government representatives who are in charge of IT standardisation in each country. AFSIT was established in 1987 in Japan to promote information exchange among various countries and the first forum was held in Tokyo. The 13th AFSIT was held in Myanmar and the 14th AFSIT took place in Malaysia.

Constitution Day today
All our actions must conform to constitution: HM

Kathmandu, Nov. 8 (RSS): His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev has said that the behaviour and actions of every citizen, as well institutions, must conform to constitutional norms and values if democracy is to prosper.

In a message to the nation on the occasion of Constitution Day today, His Majesty the King said there is no denying that multiparty democracy will be further consolidated if we are mindful of the spirit and supremacy of the Constitution and strive towards creating an environment wherein every citizen is able to exercise without fear or hindrance, the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

His Majesty also wished that this day would inspire all Nepalese to dedicate themselves to the nation’s unity and sustainable development.

The full text of the message from His Majesty the King is as follows:

Beloved Countrymen,

It is now eleven years since the promulgation of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal-1990. We take this occasion to extend our best wishes to all the Nepalese people.

Our revered brother His late Majesty King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah, inspired by the objective of securing for the Nepalese people social, political and economic justice long into the furture, promulgated the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal-1990 to promote the spirit of fraternity and unity amongst them on the basis of liberty and equality through the guarantee of basic human rights for all. Our benevolent brother's steadfast commitment to the Constitution is there for all to see and remains an example for us all.

The behaviour and actions of every citizen, as well as institutions, must conform to constitutional norms and values if democracy is to prosper. There is no denying that multiparty democracy will be further consolidated if we are mindful of the spirit and supremacy of the Constitution and strive towards creating an environment wherein every citizen is able to exercise, without fear or hindrance, the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

May this day inspire all Nepalese to dedicate themselves to the nation's unity and sustainable development.

May Lord Pashupatinath bless us all !

Jaya Nepal !