Security forces kill four terrorists, seize 20 guns

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Jan. 26: The security forces killed four terrorists and arrested 49 others from various parts of the country on Friday. They also seized 20 guns and explosives.

Two armed terrorists died in Khajurani area of Dadeldhura district when the security forces took action in response to an attack by the terrorists on them. The terrorists had attacked on a patrolling team secretly from the jungle. The security forces also seized nine socket bombs from the site of the incident, according to the Defence Ministry.

Two other terrorists were killed in Thalairkar area of Jajarkot district in an encounter between the security forces and the terrorists. The security forces arrested seven terrorists along with eight guns and 15 kgs of explosives from the place of encounter and are investigating on them.

In Dang district, a total of 42 individuals affiliated to the terrorist organisation have surrendered to the security forces repenting over their activities in the past and committing to stay away from such activities in the future. Those who surrendered include three teachers who supported the terrorist organization, 19 students affiliated with the students’ wing of the terrorist organisation, 10 ward chairmen and members of the so called village people’s government and 10 others, the Ministry’s press release said.

The security forces recovered 10 guns from Jajarkot’s Dashera, one each from Arghakhanchi’s Dhatiwang and Narethati, and 10 kgs of explosives and 10 sacks of terrorist documents from Butwal, according to the Ministry.

In the process of their investigation, the security forces arrested 19 suspects from various parts of the country: two from Arghakhanchi’s Subarnakhal village development committee in suspicion of passing information to the terrorists, one health worker from Parbat in suspicion of secretly treating the wounded terrorists, four from Lamjung in suspicion of giving shelter to the terrorists, five from Bhaktapur’s Gatthaghar in suspicion of their involvement in planting a banner bomb, one from Jajarkot’s Khumrakharka in suspicion of operating a communication branch of the terrorists, two from Rolpa’s Madhichaur in suspicion of supplying food items to the terrorists, and four from Sunsari’s Shisuwa in suspicion of their involvement in terrorist activities.

Meanwhile, two terrorists died Friday night in an encounter with the security forces at Amariya of Kanchanpur’s Kalika village development committee, according to the Home Ministry.

Similarly, three other terrorists were killed on the same day in the crossfire between the security forces and the terrorists at Pathaghar jungle of Narayanpur village development committee in Kailali district.

The security forces seized two guns from Amariya and three from Pathaghar. They recovered one more gun from Thapapur village development committee of Kailali district.

The Home Ministry said the terrorists killed Dododhara village development committee’s chairman Bisram Chaudhari Friday night adding the security forces were searching the guilty.

The Ministry said the security forces were also searching the terrorists involved in exploding a bomb at the Land Revenue Office in Chainpur of Shankhuwasabha district, which caused a slight damage to the office.

Refugee Dialogue
Nepal Lawaiting Bhutan's nod for talks

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Jan. 26: The government is awaiting Bhutan’s confirmation on dates of next month to hold the 12th round of ministerial level talks between the two Himalayan Kingdoms on the Bhutanese refugee crisis, a senior government official at the Foreign Ministry has said.

After the completion of the verification of around 13,000 refugees in the Khudunabari Camp–late last year, one of the seven camps lodging Bhutanese refugees in eastern Nepal – Nepal and Bhutan have agreed to hold yet another round of ministerial level meet to decide what to do with the verified refugees.

"The proposed dates are between the second and the third week of next month. But we are waiting for Bhutan’s confirmation," said the official. "The meeting would surely be held within the third week of February."

The 12th round of talks would focus on the categorisation of the verified refugees, the official said. Nepal and Bhutan, during their first ministerial level talks in 1993, had agreed to verify the refugee into four groups – Bonafide refugees, Bhutanese who have emigrated, Bhutanese who have committed crimes and Non-Bhutanese.

The categorisation proved to be an ambush for the country as Bhutan insisted it would take back only bonafide refugees. Since most of the refugees claim that they had fled their homeland in southern Bhutan after the Bhutanese authority made them sign voluntary migratory forms at gunpoint, the majority of the Lhotsampas, or Nepali-speaking Bhuatnese now languishing in the UNHCR-maintained camps in Nepal, fall into the second category – Bhutanese who have emigrated.

With Bhutan citing its law and maintaining that it cannot take back any other categories except for the Bonafide type, Nepal’s stand has been it cannot keep refugees from outside the country. With the two sides sticking to their guns, the issue moved nowhere until the 10th round of talks in 2000 when Nepal and Bhutan agreed to verify the refugees in one of the camps even as they still had the difference on the treatment on the refugee-categories.

To narrow down their positions on the contentious issue, the two countries had last year met here in secretary-level but reached no breakthrough.

With around 13,000 refugees having verified, the question now is how they should be treated once they are categorised. And that is where the need of a consensus between the two Himalayan Kingdoms arises.

Who of the verified refugees of the Khudunabari Camp would be repatriated is of paramount importance because this is the camp the two countries have agreed to take as a test case. Based on the experience of this camp, they would further the process in other six camps in Morang and Jhapa Districts where another 90,000 refugees from Bhutan have been lodged for more than 10 years now.

In the meantime, refugees have pressed alarm bell that the Bhutanese Government has been increasingly resettling Northern Bhutanese citizens in the homelands of the exiled southern Bhutanese.

To press their point home, these Bhutanese now in exile cite the finding of a field investigation of Habitat International Coalition (HIC), an International Human Rights Organisation that had late last year deployed two investigators in the southern Druk Yul to find out the truth.

The two independent observers found that the Bhutanese authority had forcefully settled many northern Bhutanese citizens in the land and homes of the southern Bhutanese who had to flee in the early 90’s. "Most of these newcomers in southern Bhutan are unhappy since they were forcefully settled in someone else’ houses and they are apprehensive that one day the real house-owners would be back and there would be tussle on the ownership," Sima Mishra, one of the two investigators for the HIC had told The Rising Nepal earlier this month.

Bhutanese Foreign Minister Jigme Y. Thinley, talking to this daily last month, however, had denied reports of resettlement in refugees’ lands and houses they had left back in Bhutan. "It is the resettlement for agricultural development like it happens in any country. This has nothing to do with the refugee issue."

13 more emergency beds at Bir Hospital

Kathmandu, Jan. 26 (RSS): In view of the increasing pressure of patients at the emergency ward of Bir Hospital, a 25-bed emergency ward is being run there at present, an increase of 13 beds.

According to the director of the hospital and senior consultant surgeon Dr. Manohar Lal Shrestha, the increase was effected in view of the pressure of approximately 70,000 patients coming to the emergency ward annually and the ward has also opened a separate two-bed ICU.

The ward has emergency specialist manpower on standby 24 hours a day.

Dr. Shrestha also said that all procedures have been completed for the kidney transplants to be carried out by the hospital shortly.

Preparations are complete for pre-transplant tissue match and post-transplant cyclo sporing stamition tests within the country for kidney transplant cases.

All the equipment has been installed and transplants will be started in a few weeks with the help of doctors from All India Medical Institute as the necessary regulations have already been finalised following passage of the bill on organ transplant.

At present, there is a queue of 54 patients at Bir Hospital for kidney transplants and 28 kidney patients undergo dialysis at the hospital every day.

The cost of a transplant, which is more than Rs. 1,000,000 if carried out in India, will be drastically reduced to Rs. 200,000, but post transplant patients will have to take medication worth Rs. 10,000 to 15,000 a month for one or two years, said Dr. Shrestha.

Meanwhile, open heart surgery and by-pass surgery will resume in two months or so once a separate cardio thorasic operation theater is built. These operations used to be conducted at the Neuro Operation Theater.

To a query about the damaged new CT scan, Dr. Shrestha said the machine was brought after some two months at Birgunj customs and operated for some time following repairs costing Rs 40,000. It has been out of order for some weeks.

Such machines are handed over usually after operating for 60 days, and as this one gave off an unusual sound at low voltage after only 48 days of running it was closed down.

A new machine will be brought if this one does not operate properly.

The hospital is also to start post-graduate courses in a few months and agreement for the same has been reached with the Finance and Education Ministries and the NPC. A proposal has also been submitted at the Health Ministry.

More than 600 doctors from Russia, Bangladesh, India and China pass the internship examinations at the hospital annually and training is also imparted to FRCS doctors.

The hospital is mulling over providing services from nine to five.

Deliberations are under way to bring the facilities up to par with other teaching hospitals and the working hours will be 9:00 - 5:00 from next month, he said.

World Leprosy Day
Govt effortful to rid country of leprosy, says Deuba

Kathmandu, Jan. 27 (RSS): The 49th World Leprosy Day is being observed by organising various public awareness raising programmes today.

With the participation of HMG offices, various national and international non-governmental organisations, local representatives and the general public, people especially in the villages will be informed of leprosy and its treatment, interactions will be organised and arrangements made for holding essay competitions, rallies, slide shows, etc about leprosy.

In a message on the occasion today, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said leprosy in a country like ours still stands as one of the major health problems for lack of knowledge on the effectiveness of multi-drug therapy and urged all the leprosy patients to make use of free treatment.

Stating that His Majesty's Government has taken a resolve to rid the country of leprosy by the year 2003, Deuba noted that programmes have been launched across the country to meet the goal and also called for people's cooperation.

In a similar message, Health Minister Sharat Singh Bhandari said our society is yet to develop a positive attitude towards the disease and our determination to free the country from the disease will not be fulfilled unless we remove the superstition prevailing in society about the disease.

Minister of State for Health Mohan Bahadur Basnet noted that since leprosy cripples and disfigures patients, His Majesty's Government has accepted the disease as one of the major health problems and therefore taken a resolve to eradicate the disease by the end of the year 2003.

Health secretary Mahendranath Aryal said in 2055/56 BS, there were 9 leprosy patients in every 10,000, while the number has come down to 6 now.

Director of the Leprosy Control Division Dr Jaya Prasad Baral noted that arrangements have been made to provide drugs from sub-health posts to the patients.

Thirteen countries are yet to eradicate the disease. All these countries aim at removing the disease by 2005.

The world has now a total of 570,035 leprosy cases. About 10 million patients have cured of the disease by the multi-drug therapy.

Presently there are a total of 15,056 leprosy patients receiving multi-drug therapy.

The Novartis Pharma has promised to provide drugs to patients in Nepal at their doorsteps.