Chinese Cooperation hailed
NTV made important inroads in 18 yrs of its journey: Gupta

Kathmandu, Apr. 11 (RSS): Minister for Information and Communications Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta laid the foundation stone of Nepal Television Metro Channel studio building and transmission tower to be constructed with cooperation of the government of the people’s Republic of China here today.

An agreement was reached between His Majesty’s Government and the Government of China in 1998 for expansion and development of Nepal Television in lieu of which an understanding was reached between Nepal Television and the transtech engineering corporation of China in January 2000 for implementation of the project.

The project with an estimated cost of about Rs. 520 million is to be executed as a turn-key project and it is expected to be completed within a year. The entire construction works of the project will be undertaken by Chinese technicians.

Transmission of Nepal Television Metro Channel will commence upon completion of the infrastructure project to be constructed on an area of 3,800 square metres.

The Metro Channel, which in the initial phase will only cover the Kathmandu Valley, will be transmitted through satellite after some period, it is learnt.

On the occasion, Minister Gupta remarked that Nepal Television has made some important in-roads in the 18 years of its journey and the cooperation of the government of China has provided further support in the consolidation and expansion of Nepal Television.

Noting that a lot more progress had been made in the development of the communications sector than the target set in the past two five-year plans, he referred to Nepal Television’s satellite up-link, development of Radio Nepal, development and extension of mobile telephone, opening of F.M. Radio stations as some of the important achievements during the period.

It is the obligation of the state to provide National Transmission Service to each and every household of the citizens free of cost, he said, adding that His Majesty’s Government has the objective of extending Nepal Television’s services at each and every house throughout the Kingdom within the coming fiscal year. He said Nepal Television will soon be enhancing its accessibility through its own satellite.

He opined that setting up of two or three more strong broadcasting institutions in the country would be more fruitful rather than formulating many acts and regulations for corruption control.

But he stressed that the private sector communications media should operate within the parameters of the existing laws of the land.

Minister Gupta expressed gratitude to the government of the People’s Republic of China for its continued support in Nepal’s development efforts and hoped that this cooperation will continue in the future also.

Ambassador of China to Nepal Wu Congyong, noting that the Government of China has been providing assistance to Nepal in various sectors, expressed the hope that the assistance to Nepal Television will help promote the Nepali people’s cultural ethos as well as play an important role in the development of Nepal’s socio-economic development.

General Manager of Nepal Television Durganath Sharma said the long felt need for starting a second channel of the Nepal Television has been materialized with the cooperation of the Government of China.

Describing Nepal Television as an important part of the national life, he said the main objective of Nepal Television is to provide free television broadcasting service at each and every household in the country.

Chairman of Nepal Television Suresh Kumar Pudasaini and engineer Pukar Joshi also expressed their views at the programme presided over by acting secretary at the Ministry of Information and Communications Prabhakar Adhikari.

12 terrorists gunned down in army operations

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Apr. 11: Twelve active Maoist terrorists were killed in encounters with security forces on Wednesday.

Four were killed in Banbir and three in Rambapur of Bardia, three died in Amuwa of Gorkha and one each in Thankot of Kathmandu and Nalinchowk of Bhaktapur.

Those killed in Bardia include one involved in laying ambushes on the Gulariya-Rajapur of Bardia, one involved in attacking the Agriculture Development Bank in Bardia, deputy ward chief of the so-called people’s government and one who provided shelter to the terrorists.

The others were active members of the terrorist group.

Two of the three killed in Gorkha were members of the area committee and the third was platoon commander, who was involved in attack on police post in Lamjung.

Security forces recovered guns, weapons, explosives and equipment used to lay ambush.

In Mugu, security forces recovered a huge quantity of food and clothes hidden by the terrorists, and distributed them among the locals.

The food and clothes were looted by the terrorists from the people.

Seven more terrorists surrendered to the security forces in Rolpa on Wednesday.

Maoists have no love for nation, its people: Speaker

Kathmandu, Apr. 11 (RSS): Speaker at the House of Representatives Taranath Ranabhat laid foundation stone of the building of Amnesty International Nepal National Secretariat at Basantnagar, Balaju today.

The proposed-three-storey building will be completed at a cost of Rs. 3 million within next three months.

On the occasion, Speaker Ranabhat said the Maoists had clearly indicated by their action of destroying physical infrastructures such as bridge, power houses and drinking water project constructed with the financial assistance from donor countries or agencies in a poor country like Nepal that they (the Maoists) had no love for the nation and its people.

If the Maoists are wholeheartedly patriots and friends of the people, they should not push the country towards its destruction, he said, adding that they should realise the mistake they have committed and come to a negotiating table by handing over their arms.

At present moment the international watchdog like Amnesty International has a great role to play in safeguarding human rights, pre-requisite of democracy which are at the gun points, he added.

Out-going president of Amnesty International (AI) Nepal Krishna Kandel said that as the Nepalese people are getting entangled in the myriad of cases of human rights violations, there is a need for initiating peace process with rationality.

AI ex-president Krishna Pahadi remarked that no genuine human activist would oppose any legal action against the terrorists and corrupt persons who are responsible for plunging the country into a grave crisis.

At the inaugural function chaired by its president Pradip Pokharel, ai general secretary Hikmat Thapa informed the gathering that about 50 per cent of Amnesty International fund had been received from its members and the sympathizers.

Meanwhile, Speaker Ranabhat has said that literature, songs, music and culture depicting civilisation should be developed and promoted not only within the country but also overseas.

Inaugurating a social service organisation called "Samarpan Samaj Sewa" here today, Speaker Ranabhat called upon one and all to make contributions for the protection and promotion of democracy under which the creators and their works are duly honoured.

On the occasion, senior musician Natikaji Shrestha, senior singer Tara Devi, poet Madhav Prasad Ghimire and senior litterateur Dr. Dhruva Chandra Gautam were felicitated for their uninterrupted contributions to the field of song, music and literature.

A collection of poems "Astha Khojirahechhu" and an album of modern songs of president of the organisation Dilip Yonzan were also released on the occasion.

Felicitated personalities poet Madhav Prasad Ghimire, senior litterateur Dr. Dhruva Chandra Gautam and others also expressed their views at the programme.

‘Ministry alone cannot address women’s issues’

Kathmandu, Apr. 11 (RSS): The rationale behind the formation of the National Women’s Commission and the National Dalit Commission has been more explicit from the fact that women and the people of the oppressed and downtrodden sections of the society had always been kept in the back-burner.

This view was expressed by the participants at a talk programme on ‘rationale of the National Women’s Commission and the National Dalit Commission constituted by His Majesty’s Government and challenges’ organised by the Human Rights Organisation of Nepal (HURON ) here today.

Addressing the talk programme, Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Rajendra Kharel explained that the National Women’s Commission and the National Dalit Commission were instituted by the government despite reservations expressed by some quarters because the government felt the need for such commissions where the people of the sectors concerned could work collectively for resolving their common problems.

He pointed out that both the National Women’s Commission and the National Dalit Commission should overcome challenges on their way and work towards resolving the problems faced by the women and the dalits, adding that the civil society and the government would cooperate with the commission in achieving their objectives.

Chairperson of the National Women’s Commission Dr. Durga Pokharel spelled out the rationale of the National Women’s Commission, saying that the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare alone could not address all the problems faced by the women.

She said securing equal rights to all women and drafting a bill in that regard were main challenges before the National Women’s Commission.

The Commission is working on short and long term policies for implementation at the national level and in various districts, zones and regions, she said, pointing out that the government should place at least one woman at the national policy-making level.

Chairman of the National Dalit Commission Padam Singh Bishwakarma said that the Dalits were facing economic, political and cultural oppression and it is the sufferers who know their pain from such kinds of oppression.

Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches, he remarked and added that it was with this realisation that the government had constituted the National Dalit Commission.

Equipping the Commission with adequate physical and infrastructure facilities and empowering it as per the spirit of the Constitution are the two major challenges before the Commission, he said and added that the Commission will carry out its functions on the basis of appropriate policy and needs. HURON President Sudip Pathak called upon the civil society, Human Rights organisations and the government to provide cooperation to the commissions towards attainment of their goals of social transformation and empowerment of the oppressed section of the society.

Koirala urged to rescind NC disciplinary committee’s decision

Kathmandu, Apr. 11 (RSS): Thirty-three members of the Council of Ministers including Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba have written a joint letter to president of the Nepali Congress Girija Prasad Koirala requesting him take initiative to rescind the decision of the disciplinary committee of the party to expel Minister for Information and Communications Jayaprakash Prasad Gupta from the primary membership of the party for one year.

A meeting of the members of the Council of Ministers present in Kathmandu held discussions today in this regard and wrote jointly to the party president as per the decision, it is learnt.

In the letter, they have stated, "all the controversy regarding the views expressed by the Chief of the Army Staff has been put to an end after the reply of the Prime Minister in the Parliament and therefore, this action is not only irrelevant but also improper."

"We feel that taking harsh action all of a sudden against a responsible member of the cabinet without even consulting the Prime Minister has hurt the parliamentary spirit and system," it has been stated in the letter.

In the letter, request has been made to take immediate steps to rescind the unjust decision taken by the disciplinary committee of the Nepali Congress that had been continuously fighting for freedom of expression, political tolerance, and reconciliation.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, Ministers Chiranjivi Wagle, Hum Bahadur Khadka, Bijaya Kumar Gachhedar, Rishikesh Gautam, Narendra Bikram Nembang, Purna Bahadur Khadka, Jayaprakash Prasad Gupta, Palten Gurung, Amod Prasad Upadhyaya, Khemraj Bhatta Mayalu, Mahesh Acharya, P. L. Singh and Rajendra Kharel have signed the joint letter.

Also signing the letter are Ministers of State Arjunjung Bahadur Singh, Narayan Sharma, Sarbadhan Rai, Hari Narayan Chaudhari, Bharat Kumar Shah, Devendra Raj Kadel, Mohan Bahadur Busnet, Laxman Prasad Mehata, Shiva Raj Joshi, Narayan Prakash Saud, Ram Janam Chaudhari and Keshav Thapa and Assistant Ministers Dil Bahadur Lama, Dilli Raj Sharma, Savitri Bogati, Ajaya Kumar Chaurasiya, Birendra Kumar Kanaudiya, Prakash Bahadur Gurung and Nagendra Kumar Raya.

Fix criteria to minimise HR violations, urges NHRC

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Apr. 11: National Human Right Commission (NHRC) has called for fixing criteria to minimise human right violations during the state of emergency in the country.

NHRC members, government official and lawmakers shared a forum today at the Commission’s office giving emphasis on minimising breaches in human right and sharing information to protect human rights.

NHRC Chairman Nayan Bahadur Khatri stressed on clear criteria for monitoring and protecting the human rights.

Sushil Pyakurel, member of the Commission, said that it had received complaints regarding human right violations. "The concerned bodies should be watchful to minimise the rights violations."

Chairman of Foreign Affairs and Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives Som Prasad Pandey, Deputy of Attorney General Narendra Kumar Shrestha, Secretary at the Defense Ministry Padam Kumar Acharya, acting Secretary at the Home Ministry Bijayraj Sharma and President of the NGO Federation Gauri Pradhan participated in the programme.

In its second programme today, NHRC secretary, Dr. Shankar Kumar Shrestha made a brief presentation of NHRC annual report and highlighted on the activities of the Commission for the promotion of the human rights.

Lawmaker Chakra Prasad Bastola said that the Commission should set up a separate unit at the related ministries to look into the human right issues while MP Jagannath Khatiwada and Suresh Karki emphasised on the Commission’s right to obtain information should not be curtailed by anyone.

Khatiwada urged the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Human Rights Committee to consider the problems of the Commission seriously. CPN-UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal also attended the meeting.

Paper on Kusunda language to be presented

Kathmandu, Apr. 11 (RSS): A working paper on "Kusunda Language" of Nepal will be presented at the 4th Harward round table on ethnogenesis of south and central Asia to be convened at Harward University from May 11-13.

The working paper on "Kusunda Language" will be presented by Mr. B. K. Rana who is involved in research of ethnic languages in Nepal.

Of the total seven persons of the Kusunda ethnic community, only five of them can speak the language while three of them can speak the language very fluently, according to Rana.

This ethnic community lives near the jungle far away from the villages.

The ethnic community which uses the surnames-Shahi, Sen and Shaha- prefers to the known as the "Mehak" community.

They are found scattered in Rolpa, Pyuthan, Tanahu and Surkhet districts.

According to President of the Linguistics Society of Nepal Dr. Madhav Prasad Pokharel, anthropolists Reinhart of Germany and Sueyoshi Toba of Japan had prepared a scientific report on Kusunda ethnic tribe of Nepal during the decade of the 70s.

Sangini Rana Magar of the Rastriya Janajati Bikash Committee had also conducted a research on the ethnic tribe and provided information about them in Saun, 2057 B.S.

Dr. Pokharel has stressed the need to safeguard and promote Kusunda Language which is about to get extinct.

Life-member of the Society Rana believes that the mystery behind origin of mankind can be unfolded as many words of the Kusunda Languages resembles with the words of other ethnic tribes in the world.

Ministers furnish replies

Kathmandu, Apr. 11 (RSS): During the question hour at the House of Representatives today, Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives Mahesh Acharya, Minister for Information and Communications Hari Narayan Chaudhari and Assistant Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Prakash Bahadur Gurung furnished replies to the questions of their concerned ministries asked by the MPs.

Replying to a question asked by Tanka Prasad Sharma Kadel of the Nepali Congress, Assistant Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Prakash Bahadur Gurung said that HMG had pursued the policy of promoting Cottage and Small Industries to resolve the problem of unemployment.

Stating that provision for skill oriented training had been made in various districts and there had been positive thinking on generating opportunities of self-employment, he said that there was a provision of loan up to Rs. 10 thousand to those who have received training through Agriculture Development Bank without collateral on the recommendation of the Department of Cottage and Small Industries .

Minister of State for Information and Communications Hari Narayan Chaudhari, replying to a question asked by Bijaya Subba of the CPN-UML, said that pursuant to the policy of providing telephone services as demanded in the commercial centre of the rural areas, telephone services of appropriate with technology will be set up at the suitable places.

Then, Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives Mahesh Acharya, responding a question asked by Ratna Prasad Neupanay of the CPN-UML, said that though sericulture has been found to be feasible in 42 districts, it has been undertaken with top priority in 11 districts. Growing of mulberry and production of cocoon has also been emphasised, he added.

Replying to a question asked by Gorakh Bahadur Bogati of the CPN-UML, Minister Acharya said that though the yield from local variety of seeds was less, it had certain special advantages and seed protection programme was being conducted at Jumla, Bara and Kaski districts.

He informed that Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC) has been undertaking research on various types of seeds in line with the needs of the farmers.

Crown Prince returns home

Kathmandu, Apr. 11 (RSS): His Royal Highness Crown Prince Paras Bir Bikram Shah Dev returned home from London today after representing His Majesty the King at the funeral service of Her Majesty Queen Mother Elizabeth of the United Kingdom.

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba welcomed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince at the VIP Lounge at Tribhuvan International Airport.

Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya, Speaker Taranath Ranabhat, National Assembly Chairman Dr. Mohammad Mohsin, Rajparishad Standing Committee Chairman Dr. Keshar Jung Rayamajhi, leader of the main opposition Madhav Kumar Nepal, Ministers, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Nepal Ronald P. Nash and high ranking government officials were also present on the occasion.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had left for London on April 7.

Earlier, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Paras Bir Bikram Shah Dev arrived in Doha this morning from London enroute to Kathmandu after attending the funeral ceremony of Her late Majesty the Queen Mother of Great Britain.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince spent some hours at the VVIP Lounge and left for Kathmandu this morning, according to the Royal Nepalese Embassy in Qatar.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was received and seen off by Shyamananda Suman, Royal Nepalese Ambassador to the State of Qatar, official of the protocol department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the government of Qatar and Royal Nepalese Embassy officials at the airport.