PM offers consultation with parties for polls

RSS

KATHMANDU, Dec. 10: Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand has said he is ready to sit together with all the political parties to fix the date for the next general elections.

Talking to newsmen at the Prime Minister's residence at Baluwatar on the occasion of the 54th World Human Rights Day today, Chand said, 'Let's sit together and I will apprise you of everything about the present situation, and I am ready to hold elections soon'.

Disclosing that a human rights group has been engaged in holding government-Maoists talks, Chand made it clear that the efforts were headed in a positive direction and he had been following the developments.

'It takes time for talks', the Prime Minister said added 'let's not lose patience and let's not start rumours'.

PM Chand said whether it is a good deed or not to close down schools will be judged by the people themselves.

The Prime Minister said he has good rapport with all the political parties and their leaders and RPP leader Surya Bahadur Thapa has a perfectly appropriate attitude towards him.

At the same programme, Deputy Prime Minister Badri Prasad Mandal said the Maoists should come forward for talks with a formal letter and not through the newspapers.

Present at the programme were Ministers, MPs, high ranking officials of the government, human rights leaders, judges, journalists, industrialists and representatives of the diplomatic corps.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Chand has said the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal-1990 guarantees the human rights of the people and His Majesty's Government is committed to ensuring free exercise of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

Speaking at a workshop on "collective effort for peace" organised by the Human Rights Organisation of Nepal (HURON) on the occasion of the 24th International Human Rights Day, Prime Minister Chand said the arrangement that discourages enactment of laws advocating the death penalty constitutes an outstanding human rights document.

"It is one's civil right to be entitled to exercise the fundamental rights envisaged in the Constitution but free exercise of human rights is possible only in peace", the Prime Minister noted.

Stating that it is the responsibility of the government to maintain law and order in the country, Chand said the wishes of the government alone cannot lead to peace in the present unnatural circumstances in the country.

Prime Minister Chand said the government is resolved that the current problem of the nation can be resolved only through dialogue and that the role of human rights organisations, all the political parties and civil society would be important in creating a conducive atmosphere for it.

"The government is ever ready for talks, the door for dialogue is always open", the Prime Minister said.

On the occasion Prime Minister Chand released the annual publication of the organisation.

Sunil Kumar Bhandari of Nepali Congress, Radha Krishna Mainali of CPN-UML, president of NWPP Narayanman Bijukche and member of the peace talks facilitating committee Malla K. Sundar also expressed their views at the programme chaired by HURON president Sudip Pathak.

ADB loan assistance for road network

RSS

KATHAMNDU, Dec. 10: Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide a loan assistance of SDR 35.686 million for the road network.

According to the Finance Ministry, major components of the project consist of strengthening of about 140 km of East-West Highway, improvement of approximately 165 km of feeder roads and important district roads in the hill and Terai regions, development of a three year programme of performance based maintenance of roads and improvement of an access road to the border crossing at Kakarvita.

The government of the United Kingdom is co-financing the project with a grant assistance of Pounds Sterling 7,064,000 to meet part of the cost of this project.

The grant assistance will cover the cost of construction of about 26 kilometre Hile-Basantapur road out of the planned 165 km roads improvement component and construction of about 96 kilometres of feeder road connecting Basantapur and Khandbari, under the Feeder Road Construction (FRC) component of the project.

Overall objective of the project is to improve transport efficiency thereby enabling the country to stimulate economic growth and create jobs by maintaining, improving and developing the road network within the country.

Such an improvement is aimed to induce more effecient movement of goods and passengers and to provide better access to income and employment opportunities to rural people.

It is also expected to improve public sector implementation and maintenance capacity in the road sector.

The ultimate objective of the project is to reduce poverty by providing access and complementary facilities to the rural communities through a participatory approach.

Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Bhanu Prasad Acharya signed the agreement on behalf of His Majesty's Government while Dr. Richard Vokes, country director, Asian Development Bank, signed on behalf of the Bank.

His Majesty's Government has expressed its sincere appreciation to the Asian Development Bank for the continued support in development endearours particularly in the infrastructure development of Nepal.

Nothing done against constitution: PM

RSS

KATHMANDU, Dec. 10: Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand has said the government has been giving importance to dialogue as it is the sole method for resolving all the existing problems.

Speaking at an interaction on 'The Role of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in the Restoration of Peace' organised to mark the 54 th International Human Rights Day at Lalitpur today, Prime Minister Chand said the government is ready to hold talks with the Maoists for the restoration of peace.

The Prime Minister said for this common efforts by all including human rights workers and civic society are needed.

Talking of the on going murder, violence and terror, he said we want peace but fate has turned a peaceful land into a battleground, and added that it is not acceptable for a civilised society to see attempts made for fulfulling political vested interests through terrorism.

On the rumours about the mobile inspection task force, the Prime Minister said the team will take stock of the grievances, delays and corruption in the districts and submit a report, and added that it was not meant for taking action abruptly in contravention of the Constitution.

He also made it clear that the government has not done anything against the Constitution.

Talking to journalists, Chand said provisions of the Royal Palace Expenditure Management Act that were prevalent in Panchayat times were removed but the right of the Cabinet to formlate the budget and that of the parliament to pass it have not been touched.

The previous government had decided on issuing the ordinance making amendments to the act and this was necessary, he added.

To another query, he said the executive powers of the Kingdom of Nepal lie with His Majesty and the Cabinet, the work execution regulations were in step with the Constitution and were amended time to time on the recommendation of the Cabinet. The issues to be submitted to HM were included in the regulations formulated in 2047 BS and the present amendment is as per the letter and spirit of the Constitution, he said.

From the chair, chairman of NHRC Nayan Bahadur Khatri said the commission can take initiative for talks with the Maoists for restoration of peace.

Also speaking on the occasion were UNDP resident representative Dr. Henning Karcher, central committee member of the NC Baladev Sharma Majagaiya, CPN-UML central member Subas Nembang and commission member Dr. Gaurishankar Lal Das.

Ex-ministers' plea for bail refused

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Dec. 10: Much to the distress of the two chargesheeted ex-ministers - Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta and Khum Bahadur Khadka - the Special Court today refused their plea to be released on bail and extended their custody by 10 more days.

The Commission for Investigation of the Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had sought 15 more days from the Court so that it could prepare cases of corruption against them.

This is the third time in a row that the two ex-ministers' pleas were refused by the Court. This means they will be at least 50 days in custody before the country's constitutional anti-corruption body files cases against them.

In today's hearing, advocates Yubraj Subedi and Premraj Karki furnished reasons as to why Khadka and Gupta needed to be kept in custody for 15 more days while a team of advocates led by Sushil Panta discussed bail for the ex-ministers.

"As our investigation regarding the two ministers on different charges has yet to complete and there are chances of evading evidences if they are let free, the CIAA seeks an order for their extension for a period of half a month," advocates Subedi said before the bench.

While furnishing reasons, Subedi explained that ex-minister Khadka was among the prime suspects in the corruption cases over the Bakraha and Chanda Mohana River Control Projects in Morang and in the construction of the bridge over the Rapti River in Rapti district in the west while he was Minister for Water Resources in the government headed by Girija Prasad Koirala in 1999.

Advocate Subedi during the hearing said that former Minister for Information and Communications Gupta was suspected of abusing his authority while licensing terrestrial TV to a private sector, distributing mobile phone sets and in permitting and renewing the licenses of cinema halls.

After the decision of the Court the two were taken into police custody at Singha Durbar.

Meanwhile, the CIAA today filed a case against one of the 22-detained government officials Janardan Sharma on the charge of abusing his authority while he was working in the Department of Finance.

Under secretary Sharma is accused of having amassed millions of rupees through illegal means.

An official at the CIAA told this reporter that the Commission had prepared cases against half a dozen more civil servants detained on corruption charges. "They are in the pipeline," he said. So far, the CIAA has filed nearly half a dozen cases against bureaucrats whose houses were raided some five months back.

Poverty barrieor to human rights: Thapa

RSS

KATHMANDU, Dec. 10: Minister for Home, Law and Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Dharma Bahadur Thapa has said that unless problems such as poverty, backwardness, illiteracy and unemployment could be overcome, human rights could not be fully exercised in the real sense.
In his message on the occasion of the 54th World Human Rights Day, Minister Thapa has said that the first and foremost condition for human rights is for any person to live peacefully lacking which, all the human rights and freedom become subsidiary.

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990 has incorporated the basic freedom and rights propogated at the international level as fundamental rights of the citizens and completely guaranteed the human rights of the Nepalese people, he added.

Stating that the incidents of violation of human rights for the last few years because of the not so encouraging law and order situation in country were regrettable, Minister Thapa has said that the country is common to all the Nepalese and the duty and responsibility of resolving any dispute is also theirs own.

The Minister for Home, Law and Justice and Parliamentary Affairs also expressed the confidence that the day to express commitment for the protection and promotion of human rights would inspire one and all to resolve all the problems of Nepal and the Nepalese through national consensus.

Stating that Nepal had been playing active role in the endeavour of protection and promotion of human rights at the United Nations and the regional level also, he said that HMG was working for the protection of the rights of the children and elderly persons of impoverished class and backward communities and make them capable to live dignified humanitarian life.

The government has set the target of empowering and guaranteeing equality to women without discriminating them, amending the discriminatory provisions of law and enforcing it, eliminating any kind of violence against women, studying the gender perception to formulate the future national plans, and launching suitable programmes for the indigenous, backward and downtrodden people and other classes and communities lagging behind economically, socially and culturally for uplifting them.

Stating that the HMG was committed to the development of matters such as education and health for the promotion of human rights, Minister Thapa said that organisations such as National Human Rights Commission, National Women's Commission, Indigenous People/Nationalities Upliftment National Foundation and National Dalit Commission were active to monitor the implementation of human rights and its protection and promotion in the country.

While exercising human rights, one should be aware of not violating that of the others, he has added in the message.

Parties ask Maoists to fulfil their commitments

RSS

KATHMANDU, Dec. 10: An all party meeting of the major political parties represented in the dissolved House of Representatives held at the initiative of the Nepali Congress at its party central office Teku today decided to safeguard the achievements of the popular movement of 1990 and forward the protest programmes in an effective manner.

The meeting attended by senior leaders of the major political parties decided to cooperate each other's programmes and launch the protest programmes peacefully.

Likewise, the meeting has urged all the concerned to open the schools and continue the studies in the schools of the Kathmandu Valley as the closure of the schools will lead the future of the students towards darkness.

The meeting has also drawn the attention of the Maoists towards the statement made public by them not to attack the party workers and destroy the development infrastructure and urged them to create an environment of trust and fulfill their commitment.

Nepali Congress spokesman Arjun Nar Singh KC said the meeting has also urged the government and all others to cooperate the victims of the fire in Myanglung of the Tehrathum district.

Likewise, the meeting has also stressed the need to respect the human rights from the state and others as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal and the international convention on the human rights, spokesman KC said.

The meeting also stressed the need to establish the norms that the sovereignty rests on the people as people are the source of the state power.

The meeting also decided to hold all party meetings in accordance with the need of the time.

The meeting was attended by president of the Nepali Congress Girija Prasad Koirala, general secretary Sushil Koirala, central members Mahanth Thakur, Govind Raj Joshi, Chakra Prasad Banstola, Ram Sharan Mahat, Arjun Narsingh KC, Bal Dev Sharma Majagaiya and Krishna Prasad Sitaula.

General secretary of the CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal, Ishwor Pokharel and Subhash Nembang, president of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party Surya Bahadur Thapa, Mukti Nath Mandal of the Nepal Sadbhavana Party, Him Lal Puri and Bed Nidhi Adhikari of Peoples Front Nepal, Narayan Man Bijukchhe and Prem Suwal of the Nepal Peasants and Workers Party attended the meeting.

Rights activists stage sit-in to protest colsure

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Dec 10: Human rights activists, academia and the civil society today staged a sit in programme to protest the Bandha (closure) called by the All Nepal Free Students Union- Revolutionary.

As part of the first phase of their protest programme, students, academia and representatives of the civil society today staged a sit in programme for one hour at Tripureshwor.

According to Hiranya Lal Shrestha, the protest programme had been organised to create pressure on the Maoist activists not to impair the academic sector by destroying the education institutions and calling strike for indefinit period.

"We - the civil society demand the Maoists not to politcize the education sector," Shrestha said.
The civil society will continue to put pressure on the Maoists to withdraw thier call for the Band.

RPP convention to elect new leadership

By Ramesh Paudel

POKHARA, Dec. 10: Political fever is up in the Rashtriya Prajatantra Party circles as the party is heading to elect its new leadership soon.

On the eve of the crucial third general convention of the party, RPP stalwarts in the leadership fray have already entered campaign to woo the convention delegates of the party.

All three leaders vying for the party presidency Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani, Pashupati Shumshere JB Rana and Rabindra Nath Sharma are already in a flurry of campaign.

Dr. Lohani and Rana landed here today in the same aircraft.

On arrival, current vice president Lohani said he was not going to withdraw his candidacy. However, he added that he would respect the decision of the current party president Surya Bahadur Thapa and Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand.

Responding to queries of journalists, Lohani confided that elections for leadership will not cause the party to split.

Present party general secretary Rana said, "Should there be an agreement on party chief that must come in my favour."

Rana said that he would not withdraw his nomination as he cannot disobey the wishes of his supporters. He claimed that he had been enjoying close rapport with the party workers.

Another candidate for RPP presidency Rabindra Nath Sharma claimed that he was the sole unanimous candidate of the party.

All three leaders are of the view that elections will make the party even stronger and more democratic.
Another leader Padma Sundar Lawati is also being talked as a prospective contestant for RPP leadership.

More than 1,300 party delegates are trying their best to agree on an unanimous personality to head the party for the next tenure.

Chinese delegation visits RSS

RSS

KATHMANDU, Dec. 10: An eight-member delegation led by the general secretary of the Foreign Cultural Exchange Association of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China Zhang Chongyin paid a courtesy call on officials of Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) this afternoon.
On the occasion, Zhang said the people of both the countries were able to understand the relations between Tibet and Nepal because of the relations between Xinhua and RSS.

He said the exchange of tourists between China and Nepal will strengthen people to relations between the two countries.

Earlier, RSS general manager Jaya Shankar Mahato, RSS chief editor Kamal Pradhan, chief reporter Ram Kumar Koirala and training and planning section chief Sri Ramsingh Basnet, editor Ramesh Tufan spoke on Nepal-China exchange of visits, RSS-Xinhua relations and the co-operation extended by China in Nepal's development efforts.

Present in the Chinese delegation were deputy general secretary of the association Xu Xing Sheng and members Jigmyi Wangtso, Tsedor, Hu Bo, Xie Gang Zheng, Li Jianhua and Chu Maoming.
Also present during the meeting were first secretary of the Chinese Embassy Han Yongzue and general secretary of the Nepal Council of World Affairs (NCWA) Himalaya K. Singh.

The delegation arrived on December 5 for a week-long visit to Nepal at the invitation of NCWA.

Develop jails into correction homes

RSS

DHULIKHEL, Dec. 10: Chief Justice Kedarnath Upadhyaya has stressed the need for judicial reforms as per the changing time and circumstances of the country and said that the proposed penal code and working procedures code would prove a milestone in legal reforms at a time when various concrete steps have to be taken to check regional and multinational crime in view of the internationalisation of crimes.

He was speaking at the 10-day training for district judges on "Criminal Law Administration" organised under the judiciary reform programme of the Apex Court with cooperation from the United Nations Development Programme here today.

Stating that Criminal Law Administration has an important place in the overall legal administration of the country, Chief Justice Upadhyaya emphasised the need to make the criminal law administration more timely and equal and human rights oriented.

Finding the criminals and filling up jails only would not lead to healthy and impartial justice, the Chief Justice said adding that the jails should be developed into correction centres and virtually social organisations.

The Chief Justice also pointed out the need to reform our criminal law administration as per the principles of the constitution and make it human rights oriented and disclosed that the apex court is leading some activities to move ahead from traditional values.

On the occasion, Chief Justice Upadhyaya gave away certificates to the participants of the training programme.

In course of the training programme, the participating judges had pointed out various problems like delay in registration of cases and absence of collection of evidence from the field and made recommendations for improvement in documentation of statements by police, constitutional rights for prisoners, proper coordination between public prosecutor and police, finalising small cases through mediators, modernising courts with computers and audio visual medium and removing the provision of confiscating of property.

Renowned legal experts from the country and abroad trained the participants on various aspects of human rights, foundation of modern civilized society, significance of rights guaranteed by the constitution, issues of public concern and rule of law.