HM appoints Her Majesty to High Office of Prithuladhish

Kathmandu, Oct. 17 (RSS): His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev appointed Her Majesty Queen Komal Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah to the high office of Prithuladhish, the grand master of all orders of the Kingdom of Nepal, and conferred on Her Majesty the order of "Nepal Pratap Bhashkar" amidst an investiture at the Gorkha Baithak of Narayanhity Royal Palace today.

A 31-gun salute and a Royal salute were presented on the occasion.

At the investiture, His Majesty the King was in military uniform and Her Majesty the Queen was in a Nepali "Teen Khap Ko Cholo" (blouse) and gold-threaded sari.

Her Majesty the Queen was escorted to Gorkha Baithak for the investiture by Field Marshall Neer Shumsher J.B. Rana, Chief of the Army Staff General Prajwalla Shumsher J.B. Rana, Her Royal Highness Princess Himani Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah, Her Royal Highness Princess Prerana Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and the Chief of the Royal Household.

After the special function, Her Royal Highness Shobha Rajya Laxmi Devi Shahi, His Royal Highness Prince Paras Bir Bikram Shah and other members of the Royal Family paid obeisance to Her Majesty by offering gold coins.

Likewise, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice, the Chairman of the Raj Parishad Standing Committee, the Speaker, the Chairman of the National Assembly, heads of constitutional bodies, special class office bearers of the Royal Palace service and other dignitaries also paid obeisance to Her Majesty.

The principal functions of the grand master are to issue directives to the Vibhooshana Committee from time to time, scrutinise the recommendations made by the Vibhooshana Committee, submit to the sovereign the names of the persons deemed fit for awards, and to lay before the sovereign one’s considered views on matters relating to orders, decorations and medals.

There is a Vibhooshana Kosha under the grand master at the Royal Palace, which forms part of the treasury of crown properties.

Recipients of orders are given Royal warrants specifying among other things, the title pertaining to the particular order printed on Nepalese paper. The Royal warrant bears on the left side top corner the Royal coat-of-arms and the sign manual of the grand master on the right hand side bottom corner.

Also today, His Majesty the King presented the red seal of life long service to Chief of the Royal Household Sardar Sharada Prasad Pradhan amidst a special function at the Kaski Baithak of Narayanhity Royal Palace.

Likewise, His Majesty presented the red seal of life long service to private secretary to Her Majesty the Queen Mother, Kaji Madhusudan Rajbhandari.

Their Majesties the King and Queen graced a reception hosted at Narayanhity Royal Palace in celebration of Her Majesty’s appointment to the high office of Prithuladhis and conferment on Her Majesty of the Nepal Pratap Bhaskar.

NA returns three bills

Kathmandu, Oct.17 (RSS): A meeting of the National Assembly today approved a proposal seeking to return the Land (fifth amendment) Bill, 2058 without suggestions to the House of Representatives presented by Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives Mahesh Acharya on behalf of Prime Minister and Minister for Land Reforms and Management Sher Bahadur Deuba.

Similarly, the meeting also approved a proposal seeking to return the Kamaiya Labour (prohibitory) Bill, 2058 without suggestions to the House of Representatives presented by Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives Mahesh Acharya on behalf of Prime Minister and Minister for Local Development Sher Bahadur Deuba.

The meeting also approved a proposal seeking to return the Education (seventh amendment) Bill, 2058 without suggestions to the House of Representatives presented by Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives who is also looking after the portfolio of Education and Sports.

MP Dr Rupjyoti had presented an amendment proposal to the bill.

Private airlines dilly-dally to raise insurance charge

By KRISHNA SHARMA

Kathmandu, Oct. 17: Even after getting a green signal for raising the insurance surcharge from the government last week, private airline operators have not included the increased amount in their insurance charge as yet.

Following the instability in the international aviation due to the September 11 terrorist attack in the USA, the government had allowed airline operators here to increase the insurance surcharge by three US dollars per passenger for international flights, two US dollars for foreigners travelling by air within the country and Rs. 150 for Nepalese air travellers. Likewise, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) has fixed 0.7 US dollars per kg. for international air cargo while for domestic air service the cargo rate has been fixed at 0.5 US dollars.

Due to an unexpected upheaval in the world economy followed by the terrorist attacks on US, the international insurance companies have increased the air insurance charge under war insurance surcharge.

So far, in Nepal, the Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC) has abided by the government instruction and has increased its insurance charge as prescribed. But the private airlines have not increased the insurance amount stating that it is a peanut. "We want an increase of 4 dollars from each foreign passenger travelling within the country while Rs. 300 from a Nepali national travelling by air," Managing Director of Mountain Air Sibendra Bahadur Basnet told The Rising Nepal.

However, Rupesh Joshi, marketing manager of Buddha Air, says otherwise. "Since our air tariff is already higher than those of other airlines, we have not yet decided whether to impose the additional insurance charge." He said that they would not impose the charge at least until Tihar, the second biggest festival of the Hindus which comes three weeks after Dashain.

But according to chairman of Private Airlines Operators Association (PAOA) Bikash Rana, almost all the private airliners will be united in this regard. "And we want to increase not only the insurance surcharge but the air tariff as well," he said.

"We want at least 25 per cent increase in the existing air tariff," he maintained adding that there was no increase in the ticketing charge for the past seven years. "At a time when the cost of everything - from fuel, landing and parking charge to tax - has skyrocketed during all those years there is an urgent need to increase the air fare to meet those costs," Rana said.

He even said that unless the airfare is increased and the existing slack in the air services continue due to the down slide of the country’s tourism industry, it would not be surprising if a majority of the private airlines remain grounded from next year," he hinted at the tough time faced by the private airlines.

But general people say that it would be unjust if the airlines raise their airfare. "It is already very high looking at the distance and the service they provide, if you ask me," said Durga Dhungana of Jhapa.

Acting secretary at the MoCTCA Nagendra Prasad Ghimire, meanwhile, says that the government was forced to increase the insurance surcharge due to instability in the international insurance market. "When the international insurance market becomes stable the increased surcharge will automatically come down to the previous rate," he said.

Meanwhile, responding about private airlines operators’ demand for the increase in the ticket fare, Ghimire said that Nepal Civil Aviation Authority had some eight months back recommended for the increase in the ticketing tariff. "And the Ministry is working on it," he added.

Nepal stresses amendment in constitution

Pokhara, Oct.17 (RSS): CPN (UML) General Secretary and Main Opposition Party leader Madhav Kumar Nepal has said the pen is a thousand times mightier than the sword and good write-ups published in newspapers would help improve man’s character.

Nepal, who was inaugurating the "Machhapuchhre" edition of the Navayug fortnightly published by the party here today, noted that violence, killings and similar activities now seen on the Marxist front are a distortion.

Stating that the 22-point proposal presented by the party is aimed at solving the problems facing the country, the UML leader observed that unless the Constitution is amended, the country’s development is not possible.

Various other speakers also spoke at the function chaired by the party’s alternate central member Prithvi Subba Gurung.

Humanitarian aid and battle against terrorism go hand in hand

BY PAULA J. DOBRIANSKY

This week’s military action against terrorist bases in Afghanistan is part of an overall U.S.-led strategy to eradicate global terrorism. The media coverage of the military response to the terrible attacks of September 11 has tended to overlook another crucial aspect of the Bush Administration’s strategy — addressing both immediate and long-term problems plaguing the people of Afghanistan.

Compassion is an integral component of President Bush’s foreign policy, and it motivates America, even in these trying times, to continue to lead the international effort to provide humanitarian relief to those most vulnerable. As the President has asserted, "We have no compassion for terrorists, or for any state that sponsors them. But we do have great compassion for the millions around the world who are victims of hate and oppression - including those in Afghanistan. We are friends of the Afghan people. We have an opportunity to make sure the world is a better place for generations to come."

Afghanistan has suffered 22 yeas of war, three years of severe drought, and five years of the brutal, repressive Taliban regime. As a result, more than half the Afghan population is malnourished and millions are at risk of starvation. More than three million Afghans have fled their homes and escaped to neighbouring states.

Over the past two decades, the United States has consistently been the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. During the fiscal year ending September 30, the U.S. provided more than $185 million in food, health care, water and sanitation services, and shelter to vulnerable Afghans. That amounts to roughly two-thirds of the total aid to Afghanistan from all international donors.

On October 4, the President announced an additional $320 million in aid, which includes $25 million in immediate assistance for those Afghans who have escaped the Taliban into the neighbouring countries in South and Central Asia. Our key goal is to reduce the numbers of deaths of innocent Afghan civilians and to help those Afghans who have already fled. Other countries are stepping up to the plate as well, pledging nearly $400 million to bolster our efforts.

By confronting the growing famine in Afghanistan, we will greatly increase the Afghans’ chances of survival this winter. We will also discourage Afghans from fleeing in the first place and offer incentive for those who have fled to return. We provide food and other essentials to vulnerable Afghans in ways that ensure that the assistance reaches those in need and is not diverted or stolen by the Taliban. We have a range of options to accomplish both goals: avoiding large-scale storage of food within Afghanistan, opening food pipelines into the country from every direction, and supplying the markets with an abundance of food to depress inflated prices.

Recent airdrops of food to hard-to-reach areas are a temporary measures and comprise less than one per cent of the total food aid going into Afghanistan, 99 per cent of which is transported overland into the country by the World Food Programme and distributed locally by non-governmental orgnisations. The United States currently provides 80 per cent of all food contributions to the World Food Programme that benefit the Afghan people.

The people of Afghanistan know that their plight is being addressed not by the brutal, unpopular Taliban dictatorship but by the international community, led by the United States. We already have underway an active information campaign through such means as the Voice of America to describe to the Afghan people our efforts to help. Our goal is to make clear to them and everyone that our conflict is not with the Afghan people or with Islam, but with the terrorists hiding in Afghanistan and with those who harbour them.

Humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people responds not only to the immediate crisis on the ground, but also lays the groundwork for Afghanistan’s development in the months and years to follow the current crisis. The provision of food and medical supplies will reduce illness and mortality. Stabilizing the situation in Afghanistan and facilitating a return to normal life will create the conditions under which longer-term development problems in that country can at last be addressed. That process will remove openings that extremist groups otherwise would exploit. Hence, humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan also serves as a vital tool in our overall fight against terrorism.

The tragedy of September 11 was an attack not only against Americans, but against humanity and the civilised world. The terrorism perpetrated that day left thousands dead and injured, including nationals from roughly 80 countries, and represented an assault on freedom throughout the world.

The United Statets government has forged an international coalition to defeat the terrorists and those who give them safe harbour.

The United States was certainly not the first to fall victim to terrorism’s ravages. The 23 million people of Afghanistan also have suffered enormously because of the Taliban regime’s repression and its willingness to harbour Osama bin Laden and his network of terrorists. America has always understood that we can never rid the world of evil unless we also do our part to fill the world with good. That is precisely the path that the President has chosen to pursue.

(Ms Paula is US Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs)

New airport in Khotang opened

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Oct. 17: Keeping in mind the problem faced by the locals of Khotang district due to lack of road and air services facility, the government has added one more airport at Thamkharka of the district. So far, there is only one airport at Lamidanda that has been linking Khotang with the other parts of the Kingdom for about two decades ago.

According to the Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation, the construction work of the airport has already completed and the national flag carrier is having a test flight to the new airport on Friday (October 19).

However, the RNAC may not be including Thamkharka in its schedule flights. According to an RNAC official, some private sector airlines may be interested to start air service to the new destination. But he declined to comment on why the national flag carrier would not include the new location in its flight itinerary.

"Once the test flight becomes successful, the airport will be fully operational for any airline to start air services there," acting secretary at the MoCTCA Nagendra Prasad Ghimire said.

Koirala indicts attempts to denigrate basic structures of the constitution

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Oct. 17: President of the Nepali Congress and former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has pointed out the necessity of all the political forces to unite and cooperate to stop the games of different elements in a small country like Nepal.

Speaking at a tea-reception on the occasion of Bada Dashain for Nepalese and foreign journalists, Koirala said that he has started a campaign for reconciliation and national unity to stop unscrupulous activities of unwanted elements in the country. He hoped that this message of call for unity against evil would reach to all.

President Koirala asked the media to play effective role for the protection of the country, Royal Institution, democracy and the present constitution and added, "The present constitution is a result of a great struggle and is achieved after the sacrifice of a lot of people." So, he said,
the present Constitution encompasses the feeling of all.

He questioned why there have been repeated strikes on the Constitution and remarked that any strike against the Constitution was the strike against the peoples’ feelings, on the blood sacrificed by the martyrs and on the peoples’ aspiration for freedom and democracy.

He also told the media that a person might have weaknesses. "If I have any weaknesses, you can criticize me. But don’t strike on the constitution, democracy and constitutional monarchy just because of some persons’ weaknesses, he said.

"Any strike against the constitution is a strike against people’s freedom and democracy and also against the freedom enjoyed by the people."

He said the Maoists are not clear about their direction and objective. This is all the more clear if one looks at their activities and what they have said in the past and present.

He also blamed the Maoists for trying to destroy the social structure by creating divisions among the races, castes, religion, culture and languages.

He also pointed out that the present condition of the country could pose a danger to democracy and in such a situation the role and responsibility of the media has become more important.

Therefore, he said, the media should work in a sensitive manner in order to thwart any attempt against the constitutional monarchy and democracy.

Finally, he wished the media best wishes on the occasion of Dashain and said Dashain was a festival of cooperation and fraternity. He also said he was concerned about those who have not been able to go to their homes and families because of the Maoists terror and violence. "This is the reason why I started a campaign against violence, anarchy and poverty," he said.

Earlier, Narahari Acharya, one of the NC Central Committee members and chief of the party’s publicity department, had shed light on the aim and issues of the meeting with the press.

Elders oppose Bureau’s decision on Dashain allowance

Kathmandu, Oct. 17 (RSS): Chairman of the National Assembly Dr. Mohammad Mohsin said that the meeting of the Parliamentary Coordination Bureau had decided that the Parliamentarians should not be provided the Dashain allowance as the Auditor General’s report had declared the this allowance as irregularities and decided that such allowances could be provided to the Parliamentarian only by passing an Act.

Dr. Mohsin made this remark at the meeting of the National Assembly today after the majority of the legislators raised the question as to how such a decision had been taken all of a sudden when the legislators had been receiving the Dashain allowance in accordance with the decision of the Cabinet.

Dr. Mohsin said that the decision of the Parliamentary Coordination Bureau would be null and void once an Act relating to the Dashain allowance is formulated.

The legislators alleged that the decision taken to return the Dashain allowance being received by the Parliamentarians for the past two-three years would denigrate the Parliamentary system.

Stressing the need to formulate laws to check the corruption that has taken place from 2017 B.S to 2058 B.S., the legislators said that the Parliament should be informed about the irregularities that have taken place in other sectors also.

The meeting of the Parliamentary Coordination Bureau decided yesterday that the Parliamentarians and officials of the Parliament should not be provided Dashain allowance and the Dashain allowance taken by the Paliamentarians in the past three years should be returned within six months by deducting it from the monthly allowances being received by the Parliamentarians.

Some of the legislators had said that the price of daily essential commodities should not be raised on the eve of the Bada Dashain festival, the represntatives of the national parties should be included in the commission to be formed by the government, and the former ministers using government houses and vehicles should be deprived of such facilities immediately.

The MPs Bijul Kumar Biswokarma, Shukraraj Sharma, Ramchandra Bhattarai, Surendra Prasad Pandey, Mohan Raj Chapagain, Lal Bahadur Biswokarma, Tilak Prasad Neupane, Devraj Ghimire, Urbadatta Joshi, Maheshmani Dixit and Basudev Risal had expressed these views at the National Assembly.

Lok Bahadur Thapa of the RPP demanded a ceiling on all property and boycotted the meeting.