PM visits terrorist hit Arghakhanchi, instructs reconstruction of structures

RSS

ARGHAKHANCHI (SANDHI-KHARKA), Sept. 10: Prime Minister and Defence Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba today made an on-the-site inspection of Sandhikharka, the headquarters of Arghakhanchi district devastated in the Sunday night attack of the Maoist terrorists.

Addressing a gathering of the chiefs of security bodies and the civil servants on the occasion, Prime Minister Deuba said the activities of the Maoist terrorists should be addressed as a challenge and they should be defeated.

He also made it clear that the security bodies would be equipped with additional modern weapons.
Paying tributes to the security personnel who laid down their lives for the country and people, Mr. Deuba said the brave heroes would receive high recognition on behalf of the state.

He said that the public office buildings, residential houses and other financial structures destroyed by the terrorists would be reconstructed soon.

Also today, the Prime Minister met the four sons of 72-year-old Rama Devi Bhusal who were mourning their mother's death and extended heartfelt condolences to them.

Bhusal was shot dead by the terrorists on the charge of providing shelter to police and army personnel.

Accompanying the Prime Minister were Home Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka, Chief of General Staff Victory Rana, Defence Secretary Madan Prasad Aryal, Home Secretary Tikadutta Niraula, IGP Pradip Shumshere J. B. Rana, Inspector General of Armed Police Force Krishna Mohan Shrestha, Chief of National Investigation Department Deviram Sharma, Western Regional Administrator Balkrishna Sharma, DIG Kumar Koirala, Armed Police DIG Basudev Oli and other persons.

Prime Minister and Defence Minister Deuba also gave necessary directives to the heads of security bodies in Pokhara today.

Home Minister Khadka and other high ranking officers were present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, seventeen dead bodies of the terrorists killed in the clash between security forces and terrorists at Sandhikharka, the district headquarters of Arghakhanchi on Tuesday were found buried around the site of the clashes, says the Defence Ministry.

It has also been learnt from the local witnesses that an additional 150 bodies have been buried on the bank of nearby river while scores of others were carried away in vehicles and 'dokos' or bamboo basket by their comrades who survived the incident.

Meanwhile, 13 of the terrorists involved in the incident were killed and many others injured at Hansapur area of the district by security forces who went after them and were blocking them.
During the action, one security personnel died while two others were injured.

Praying for eternal peace of the security personnel killed while on duty during the incidents, the Ministry has prayed to almighty to provide the bereaved family members the fortitude to bear the tragic loss and also wished for speedy recovery of the injured personnel.

Meanwhile, on Monday, five terrorists were killed in different districts during the search operation carried out by the security forces.

Three terrorists with titles of "Rabi," "Gambhir" and "Arjun" were killed in Gumda area of Gorkha district, one named Anantaram Bhatta was killed in Deura area of Bhajang and one in Saipu area of Sindhuli district.

A suspicious person who tried to cross the perimeter of the security forces in the Kamaiya area of Makwanpur district was killed by the security forces.

The security forces have recovered guns, socket bombs, materials used for setting up booby traps and explosives from the site of clashes in Gorkha, Bhajang and Sindhuli district.

Also on Monday, the security forces recovered three guns and ammunitions, spare parts of gund, socket bombs, explosives, equipment used for setting up electric traps and explosives from various parts of Jhapa district.

SADF emerging as regional fund

By Rameshwor Yadav

KATHMANDU, Sept.10: A two-day South Asian Development Fund (SADF) governing board meeting started today.

The SADF, set up six years ago, is an investment institution that provides funds to carry out feasibility studies of projects having potential for development in the SAARC region.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Finance Bharat Kumar Shah said that this age is not one of isolation, but of inter-dependence, and that the meeting will rekindle the spirit of regional brotherhood and friendship. "The SADF is an emerging concept and copes with its own challenges to develop as a regional development fund," he said.

He said that the fund activities would depend on country specific realities such as economic development, business objectives and politics. ''Foreign investment is an indispensable element in industrial development, and investment in poverty alleviation programmes contributes to social stability, economic progress and overall prosperity in the region,'' he added.

The Fund was established by merging the SAARC Fund for Regional Projects (SERP) and the SAARC Regional Fund (SRF). The current chairperson of the SADF is Nepal.

The Fund's monitoring body comprises 21 members. Out of them, seven are the chief executive officers of the Nodal-Development Financing Institutions (Nodal-DFIs), seven from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as National Focus Points (NFPs) and others from the SAARC members.
On the occasion, Bhutan's Kesang Bangdi said that the fund intended to conduct feasibility studies by undertaking effective and sustained poverty alleviation programmes through pro-poor growth strategies. ''The SAARC will take immediate steps towards effective implementation of the programmes for social mobilisation, decentralisation and strengthening institution building to ensure participation of the poor," he said.

He added that the SAARC had decided to extend rural micro-credit programmes with focus on women and the disadvantaged sections of society while stressing the need for widening opportunities for gainful employment.

''The social mobilisation strategy envisioned by the Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation (ISACPA) is being implemented in the SAARC region through the UNDP-sponsored South Asian Poverty Alleviation Programme (SAPAP),'' he added.

The secretariat has prepared four regional project proposals - on poverty alleviation in the SAARC region; on poverty alleviation through educating poor children; on community-based maternal and child health care system in the remote villages in the SAARC region; and on poverty alleviation through the promotion of renewable energy.

From the chair, president of the SADF Bhakath Pralhad Pandy said that the SADF was meant to study, prioritise and formulate modalities for the implementation of projects related to poverty alleviation in the SAARC region. Other projects related to tourism, hydropower, cement manufacturing, information technology, establishment of research centers and human resource development training programmes are being formulated.

Probe panel clarifies it is working according to the mandate

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Sept 11: The Commission for Investigation of asset, in a statement today, has expressed regret over a news headline that appeared on Tuesday in a daily that read 'Anti-corruption drive, a conspiracy to finish off democracy.'

"Such baseless and fabricated news has negative impact on the Commission's work," the Commission stated.

The Commission expects cooperation from all concerned so that it can complete its task properly, the statement read. "The Commission has been working according to the mandate provided in the law."
The daily had quoted former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala as saying the anti-corruption drive was a plot against democracy.

Koirala, during a programme in the capital on Monday, had said that the probe into the assets owned by politicians was similar to a move that led to the arrest of then Prime Minister B.P. Koirala in 1960, leading to the overthrow of his democratically elected government.

"If anti-corruption action is carried out as a political vendetta or as a pretext to sabotage democracy, we have to oppose it," the daily quoted Koirala as saying.

The Commission is investigating into the property of politicians, ministers, members of Constitutional bodies and gazetted officials.

The Commission said that it has been active in collecting and investigating into their assets and presenting the report to His Majesty the Government. Among those persons whose property is being probed include Koirala and his daughter, Sujata.

EC gears up for Nov 13 election

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Sept 10: Amidst growing speculations about the fate of the November polls, the Election Commission (EC) today said that close to 15 million people are eligible to cast votes in the forthcoming general elections.

The Election Commission spokesman Tejmuni Brajacharya said that there are 14,800,000 eligible voters for the mid-term polls slated for November 13.

The Commission has already selected polling officials for all the constituencies, he said.

There will be 10,858 polling centres across the country, according to the Commission.

He informed that 118 political parties including 23 new ones had registered with the EC's office.

* About 15 million people eligible to vote
* Polling officials designated
* 10,858 polling centres
* 118 parties registered in EC

The EC will provide voters' identity cards in only 13 constituencies of five districts - Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Sunsari and Baitadi.

Earlier, the EC had planned to provide ID cards in 105 constituencies. It could not do so because works remained incomplete after the elections were announced before the stipulated date, he said.
The Commission has yet to finalise the number of phases in which the election will take place. The EC will organise another all-party meet this week for the purpose, the spokesman said.

The Constitutional body has drawn flak for the delay in announcing which of the Nepali Congress factions is legitimate.

Koirala for unity among democratic forces

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Sept. 10: Former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala Tuesday called upon all the political parties to introduce clear-cut programmes to resolve the Maoist problem in a peaceful manner.

"The forthcoming mid-term polls will have no meaning if the parties fail to convince the Maoists to take part," Koirala said.

Speaking at a programme organised by the Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC) in Lalitpur, Nepali Congress leader Koirala pointed out the need for unity among the democratic forces to safeguard the Constitution and to consolidate democracy.

Hailing the role of labourers in the democratic movement of the country, he said that the NC election manifesto would give due priority to their problems and explicitly present the party's policy on privatisation, education and economy.

NTUC's chairman Laxman Bahadur Basnet said that the NC should bring programmes to solve the workers' problems.

Other speakers at the function said that the government needed to introduce a clear-cut policy on privatisation. They also demanded that labourers have say while making decisions on labour issues.

Energy sector issues being discussed

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Sept. 10: A four-day sub-regional workshop on ways to strengthen the capacity as well as identify key challenges of the energy sector in the South Asian region began here Tuesday.
The workshop entitled 'Strategic Planning and Management of the Energy Sector in South Asia,' will also discuss issues related to enhancing strategic planning and management of natural resources. It will focus on networking of information in the energy sector, with special focus to hydropower development at the national, bilateral and regional level.

About two dozen representatives from all the SAARC member states are participating in the workshop, being organized by the 'Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in joint collaboration with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Concerned regional and international agencies are also taking part in the workshop.

"Energy plays a pivotal role in any economic activity anywhere in the globe," said Minister of Water Resources Bijay Kumar Gachhadar. The region is self-sufficient with its rich reservoir of natural resources if we can harness its tremendous potential, he added.

He stated that collective efforts were essential to maximize the potential of water resources. He also stressed on greater regional and bilateral cooperation for better utilisation and management of natural resources in the region.

South Asia is home to 22 per cent of the global population, but consumes only 4 per cent of commercial energy produced in the world. Approximately, 73 per cent of the population in the region has no access to electricity.

SAARC Secretary General Q.A.M.A. Rahim, said that the region was a net importer of energy despite the vast reservoir of renewable energy. SAARC attaches much importance to cooperation in the energy sector, he added giving special emphasis to exploiting the potential of water resources.
Pranesh Chandra Shah of ESCAP, delivering a message on behalf of Kim Hak-su, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), expressed optimism about the fruitful outcome of the workshop. He also emphasized on the better management and planning of the available natural resources for the benefit of the people in the region.

9/11 after effects: Economy hit hard

By Bhimsen Thapaliya

KATHMANDU, Sept. 10: Under the ripple effects of the 9/11 attack in the USA exactly one year ago, Nepal had to suffer economically, with the tourism sector hit most hard. The impact on tourism was direct with considerable decline in the arrival of US tourists. After the September 11 attacks, prospective American tourists cancelled or postponed their travel plans, especially to the Middle East and South Asia.

"If we compare this year's data with that of 2001, the arrival of American tourists to Nepal declined by more than 50 per cent," says Pradeep Raj Pandey, Chief Executive Officer at Nepal Tourism Board. Pandey does not see the prospect for growth of US visitors to Nepal in the immediate future at least.
The Americans are shirking from traveling abroad as the September 11 incident has left a psychological scar. "You cannot just predict when they will suspend or put off their planned trips. There are so many cancelled trips and curtailed size of groups," says Kedar Bantawa, secretary of Nepal Association of Travel Agents (NATA).

According to Bantawa, agents and operators dealing with the North American visitors have found themselves in a difficult situation in the post-September 11 scenario.

American and European tourists tend to think safety before planning a trip. In their eyes, South Asia does not surface in the list of safe destinations. The Middle East is the region they least like. As for South Asia, the India-Pakistan tension played its role in keeping prospective visitors from Europe and America away. "During April, May and June this year - time when the regional tension was at its peak, tourist arrivals to this region went down by about 40 per cent," said Pradeep Raj Pandey.
According to Pandey, tourists from the West see South Asia as a risk zone, and they are in a wait-and-see mood.

European and American visitors now prefer Vietnam or Thailand to South Asian destinations, says NATA secretary Bantawa.

In Nepal, the Maoist violence has only contributed to declining tourist arrivals. This crisis, combined with external factors, has pushed tourism to a critical slump.

The factors hitting tourism and trade in Nepal have been double. So the impact has been tremendous. "Airlines are collapsing, exports have slumped and investors are shying away due to lack of security and stability," says Padma Jyoti, a prominent businessman and ex-chief of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The only country that has succeeded in evolving growth in tourism is Malaysia, which has tapped Muslim visitors who prefer less of Europe and America, says Jyoti. The Malaysian success hinges on an aggressive government policy on promotion and incentives and relief given to weak tourism industries, especially airlines, adds NTB CEO Pandey.

The 9/11 incident has had direct effect on Nepal exports as the US is a major buyer of Nepal's garment products. After this tragedy, garment exports to the US declined by 40 to 50 per cent, says Pradeep Kumar Shrestha, former president of the FNCCI.

On September 11 a year ago, hijacked planes laden with 91,000 litres of jet fuel slammed into the lofty twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York. The horrifying terrorist attacks reduced the skyscrapers, symbolising the success of capitalist economy, to heaps of rubble. Yet another plane crashed into the Pentagon, the office of the US defence department. The fourth hijacked jet crashed in a Pennsylvania jungle.

Time Magazine dubbed the incident as the "deadliest attack in US history" and commented, "we always thought we were safe, we were wrong".