Eight terrorists killed in encounters

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, May 1: Local people have reported seeing human heads stuffed in sacks in the Bheri River. The Defence Ministry said the heads could be of the terrorists who had died in an ambush aimed at the security forces patrolling Aathbishkot area on the border of Jajarkot and Rukum.

Eight terrorists died in encounters with security forces yesterday.

Two each died in Jamunabode of Bhalwajor in Ramechhap and Ghansikuwa of Tanahu, and one each in Mirgi of Dolakha, Purahari of Dang, Pallesari of Pyuthan, Fetehpur jungle of Saptari.

Among the killed are the so-called area commander of the terrorists in Ramechhap and the so-called deputy area commander called ‘Badal’ in Dolakha.

The forces arrested eight terrorists - three in Jamunabote and five in Jalbire and Phulpingkot of Sindhupalchowk.

Security forces found a huge cache of pressure cooker, pipe and socket bombs, explosives, other weapons, arms and ammunitions, 1200 metres electric cable, combat outfits, terrorist documents, pistols, bullets and cameras.

A terrorist injured during search and patrol operations in Phulbari of Kailali and a man injured in Pallesari of Pyuthan have been admitted at the local hospitals for treatment.

In their search operation in Patlekhet and Hanumankalse areas of Kavre the security forces found large amounts of guns, explosives and other weapons. They include a .303 rifle, 2 pistols, four 9 mm bullets, 37 bullets of 7.62 mm pistols, one multimetre, 700 detonators, 28 time switches, 34 socket bombs, bottle bombs, hand grenades, chemicals used in making bombs, explosives, a roll of safety fuse, camera flashes, 2 emergency lights, iron bullets, nails, 20 bullets, logistics and documents of the terrorists.

All these goods were in a plastic drum buried underground.

Seven terrorists surrendered to the district administration office in Sindhupalchowk on Monday, according to police sources.

They regretted being involved in murder, violence, arson, loot and forceful collection of donations by the Maoists, and vowed to lead a normal life.

Three detainees have been sent to jail in Sindhupalchowk after they were convicted of crimes under the Terrorist and Disruptive (crime and punishment) Act - 2058. The suspects were arrested over the last three weeks.

Bush, Deuba to talk regional security:White House

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, May 1: American President George Bush will hold talks on regional security and bilateral ties when he meets Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in Washing on May 7, the White House announcement on Tuesday.

According to a Xinhua report datelined Washington, President Bush looks forward to discussing regional security matters, economic and educational cooperation, human rights and democracy.

Means to further strengthening the strong bilateral relations between Nepal and the US will also be discussed, says the Xinhua dispatch quoting White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

Deuba is leaving for the US on May 5. He is scheduled also to attend the special summit on children in the United Nations in New York.

FLOOD-PRONE AREA
Nepal, India to jointly inspect Marchawar

By Navin Singh Khadka

Kathmandu, May 1: A Nepal-India joint team would visit the Marchawar area in Rupandehi district this weekend for the field verification of an Indian-built embankment that has allegedly caused floods in the Nepalese land nearby the Nepal-India border, officials have said.

The field visit is a part of a meeting between Nepalese and Indian officials who will discuss inundation problems Nepal faces in Rupandehi and Banke districts due to the Indian-built embankment and bund nearby the Nepal-India border.

A six-member Indian team, led by the Commissioner at the Indian Ministry of Water Resources, is arriving here on May 3 this week for the discussion and site inspection. Officials of the Ministry of Water Resources and Water and Energy Commission Secretariat will participate in the joint-inspection, according to an official.

"The talks will focus on the inundation problems in Nepal nearby the Rasiyawal and Khurdalotan embankment and the Laxamanpur bund in India," an official with the Ministry of Water Resources revealed. "That is the mandate this joint team has."

The joint team may not have adequate time to visit the affected site in Banke district, the official said.

The inundation problem in Banke and Rupandehi is almost identical. The Marchawar area in Banke and different villages nearby Nepalgunj in Banke Districts get submerged as the monsoon water or flash floods do not find natural exit from the Nepalese land as they used to in the past. With the embankment at both the places, water flow gets obstructed, reportedly resulting into the submergence of Nepalese land.

The Marcahwar area to be visited by the joint team is some 30 kilometers south from Bhairahawa, the district headquarters of Rupandehi district. The embankment built by India is some 500 metres away from the no-man’s land between Nepal and India. This is where the border pillar number 32 stands.

Over one metre of the pillar was already below the flood water level last monsoon. Many people had to be evacuated to elevated places as their houses were rocked by the floodwater from the monsoon-swelled Tinau, Danav, Ghongi rivers and rivulets that could not flow down its natural course to the south. The embankment-induced floods also affected around 80 Indian villages located to the north of the bund, according to officials.

Same is the case in Banke district where many villages nearby the Rapti River had to remain in flood waters during the 2000 monsoon while their residents had to be rescued to make-shift camps in the nearby areas. Some of the houses in villages like Danda Santaliya in the district were even demolished by the flash flood since the water did not find the outlet due to the Indian-built bund that stands quite close to the border.

"The two sides (Nepal and India) have different stands on the inundation issue, and we believe this meeting would help us find an amicable solution," a senior official at the Water Resources Ministry said.

The meeting comes as a follow-up of Prime Minster Sher Bahadur Deuba’s discussion on inundation problems with Indian authorities during his India-visit in March earlier this year. "India has said it will collaborate with Nepal in resolving the problems of floods in Nepal-India border," Deuba had said upon his arrival here after completing his six-day goodwill visit to the immediate southern neighbour.

During the visit, it was agreed that a joint team of chief engineers from both the sides would discuss the inundation problems and make site visits. Nepal and India already have a joint body named Standing Committee on Inundation Problems.

South Asian solidarity stressed

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, May 1: South Asian politicians and thinkers today stressed on regional solidarity to meet the development challenges in the region.

"We must come together. Our future depends on togetherness and co-operation," Deputy Speaker Chitralekha Yadav told the inaugural ceremony of a three-day seminar on ‘Partnership to Meet Development Challenges in South Asia’ here this morning. "We cannot move ahead unless we commit ourselves to the betterment of humanity."

Yadav said South Asia was the most overpopulated, the poorest, and the most deprived region in the world and called for joint efforts of all to improve the situation. "Many people in the region are starving despite an increase in food production; thousands die of diarrhoea against great developments in medicine and tens of thousands of school-age children are deprived of education at a time when people can access the world of knowledge just by clicking mouse," said she. "South-South Solidarity should come with solutions to overcome these disparities." The workshop is being organised by the New Delhi based South-South Solidarity.

Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Rajendra Kharel said human poverty was the prime challenge in the region adding that the development efforts should be poor oriented and poor centred. "Terrorism is another common problem in the region. Our development aspirations will not materialise unless the governments and the civil society join hands to overcome this threat."

Minister Kharel also called for regional solidarity to combat women and child trafficking and to protect environment for sustainable development.

Professor Kapil Shrestha said the prevailing development model had failed to change the lives of the poor people and stressed on the need to reorient the strategies to product better results. "We should share knowledge and experience among ourselves to devise an appropriate development model."

President of South-South Solidarity Alok Mukhopadhyay said the development workers in the region should work together for poverty alleviation, empowerment of women, land reform and health and population management.

Masuda Hossain, Chairperson of Bangladesh based Jatio Mohila Sangstha, and Indrani Iriyagolle, Chairperson of Sri-Lanka’s SLSA spoke on the need to empower women as a key to development.

BHERI: Seven terrorists surrendered
Statue of Arniko unveiled in Beijing

Kathmandu, May 1 (RSS): Royal Nepalese Ambassador to China Rajeshwar Acharya, the chief of the Archaeological Department of China and President of the Arniko Society Anup Bhattarai jointly unveiled a life size statue of Arniko amidst a colourful function at the compound of the White Pagoda in Beijing today.

The statue of Arniko was made in Nepal and brought to Beijing by the Arniko Society of Nepal.

Mr. Acharya highlighted the contributions of Arniko in brining Nepalese and Chinese society closer and also helping promote Nepal-China friendship.

He spoke about the Nepalese architectural contribution made by Arniko to China.

The chief of the Archaeological Department and the president of Arniko Society also shed light on Nepal-China relations and the contribution made by Arniko.

The function was well attended by representatives of the municipal government, Chinese academics, media personnel, Nepalese working at the Embassy, their families and also Nepalese students studying in China.

A group of artistes from Nepal has come to Beijing to participate in the function.

The Nepalese group also held a food festival and a cultural show.

They will organise the cultural show and food festival for one week.

It may be recalled that the white pagoda was constructed by Arniko in Beijing in 1278 ad during the Yuan dynasty.

Additional portfolio

Kathmandu, May 1 (RSS): Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Bal Bahadur K.C. will, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, look after the portfolio of the Ministry of Health in absence of Health Minister Sharat Singh Bhandari who left here today for New Delhi to participate in the second meeting of the world alliance against elephantiasis organised by the World Health Organisation.

Similarly, Minister for Law and Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Narendra Bikram Nemwang will, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, look after the portfolio of the Ministry of Science and Technology in absence of Minister of State for Science and Technology Bhakta Bahadur Balayar who left here for a visit to the laboratories and science institutions of Sweden at the invitation of the Royal Science Academy of Sweden.

This is stated in the notice issued today by the press secretariat of his Majesty the King.

Spokesman appointed

Kathmandu, May 1 (RSS): His Majesty’s Government, Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation has designated joint secretary Prof. Damodar Prasad Parajuli to the post of spokesman of the Ministry.

TEAM EFFORT: Young People From Nepal And Europe Work Together

By Christine Hall

Kathmandu, May 1: "Nepali volunteers are so vital to our programme," says Tessa Nicholson, 23, assistant programme coordinator for Students Partnership Worldwide (SPW) in Kathmandu.

The Youth-focused international development charity brings young people from Western countries and from Nepal together to help rural Nepal. Where other development organisations send foreign volunteers, SPW believes in the value of mixed teams.

"The Nepali volunteers are the link, the translators, the ambassadors," explains Tessa, whose connection with SPW started five years ago when she herself was a young volunteer. "It’s wonderful to see British and Nepali young people working together as a team, and also to see the friendships they develop."

Teams of two to six people teach environment and English lessons at state schools in villages. They also involve themselves in community projects.

Every year, 60 to 80 young Nepalese volunteers work in partnership with their international counterparts who come mostly from the UK, but also from other European countries and the USA. British participants are mostly GAP year students who spend six to eight months in the country to widen their horizons, to gain practical work experience, and to help the rural communities.

The first month is spent in training. The young people learn teaching skills, find out about the country, and study as much as possible of the language.

"The language is crucial," says Tessa. "They need to speak Nepali so they can communicate. Some aid organisations give only a one-week induction, and that’s often not enough preparation."

The training helps to alleviate the inevitable culture shock for the foreigners. "But often its the Nepalis who experience most culture shock. If they’ve had a protected life in Kathmandu, growing up in an extended family, volunteering for work in the countryside is a radical idea and drastic experience. Many of them are studying, and hope that volunteering will give them an experience which will prove useful for their careers.

They also hope to make useful contacts with foreigners. They can’t grasp rural reality at first. It’s good to see the how community-minded some of them are becoming over the months."

On the hand, volunteers from the districts see working with SPW as a privilege. They are often extremely enthusiastic, but a step behind their counterparts from the capital as far as education level and knowledge of English are concerned.

Volunteering itself is a concept that’s still virtually unknown in Nepal, so the training for the Nepali volunteers includes what volunteering is about.

As well as working hard and giving several months of their lives, volunteers are expected to contribute financially. Overseas volunteeers have to pay around 2,500 Pound Sterling which covers the airfare and other expenses, while their Nepali counterparts pay 800 rupees. The fee ensures that only committed people sign-up.

"Volunteers do a lot of community work outside the classroom," says Tessa. "They work with partner NGOs. Often our volunteers assess what’s needed at the placement, and then they work with the NGOs to meet the need, whether that’s building latrines or smokeless stoves. NGOs, especially the big organisations, often don’t have the same contact with the locals in the villages. They may ask a committee or officials what they want or need. But the officials may push projects in which they have personal interests, or they may tell the NGO what they think they want to hear. So NGOs are often keen to get the assessment from our volunteers who live in the communities. The young people do their research informally, at the water tap, in the school playground or in the teahouse. They see what possible projects might be needed, and what is needed most."

Another advantage of community-based volunteers is that they can reinforce messages. "The best programme can have little impact if it’s over in two days. If you do things quickly, they don’t last. Our volunteers deliver the message in different ways to different people, reinforcing the message."

Tessa cites the example of UNICEF, who enlisted the help of STW volunteers for their nutrition programme which dealt with iron deficiencies and related problems. "This was a good programme, and we could really help make it work. Big organisations like UNICEF, what they lack is implementers, evaluators. Their proposals often look good on paper, but making the projects work and last is the difficulty. Our volunteers work on the ground, and they stay in the community for long enough to follow up the programmes."

Nepalis aged 18 to 28 with I.A. or an equivalent qualification and good working knowledge of English, as well as young Europeans and other nationals who are interested in volunteering for SPW should initially contact the Kathmandu office for an informal chat on Tel. 429051 or 435107, or e-mail spwnepal@mos.com.np.