Announce ceasefire, hold talks, UML tells Maoists

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Sept. 14: The CPN-UML today called the Maoists and the government to start negotiation to clear up the hurdles for the November polls.

"The election and the talks should go side by side. For this, the Maoists should first announce a cease-fire and the government should reciprocate it," the UML Standing Committee member Bharat Mohan Adhikari told The Rising Nepal after the party's Standing Committee meeting here today.
"Talks should be given continuity until the elected government resolves the problem."

In today's meeting, the UML discussed on the current impasse on resolving the Maoist issue, and urged both the government and the Maoists to act to protect the achievements of the Popular Movement. The meeting lashed at the Maoists for continuing their bloody campaign.

The government needs to prove with deeds that it is committed to hold the general elections in the stipulated time, the UML stalwart said.

He demanded that the government immediately call an all-party meeting and brief its problems if it has any regarding the holding of the elections.

"If the government is facing obstacles for holding the polls, we are ready to extend cooperation. This is a time to be cooperative because if the elections are not held in the given timeframe, the country will fall in a constitutional crisis and the multi-party system will come under threat, Adhikari said. All the political parties must immediately arrive at a collective conclusion through an all-party meet to safeguard democracy, the party's statement said.

But Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has not consulted with other political parties in this regard, complained Adhikari.

Adhikari blamed the government for not presenting itself in a responsible manner for the polls slated for November 13.

"It is only about 10 days to jump-start the election process but the government and the Election Commission (EC) are not moving efficiently in the direction of holding the elections on the fixed date," he said. The activities of the government and the EC have rather complicated the situation, he said.
"Although the Maoist leader Prachand, in a statement, declared that they were ready for a peaceful outlet to the imbroglio, they have been mercilessly killing and kidnapping the political workers, including the UML cadres," it stated.

The Maoists have been committing heinous crimes such as looting, threatening, setting fire and destroying public property and the development infrastructure, it said.

The UML said that a group of terrorists had cruelly murdered Tul Bahadur Purga, ex-VDC chairman and UML worker from Dowa VDC of Khotang on Thursday.

"If the Maoists continue these condemnable acts, there could not be a political outlet to the problem," it said.

Five terrorists killed in encounters

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Sept. 14: At least five terrorists were shot dead in the latest security operations carried out in different parts of country on Thursday and Friday, said a Defence Ministry statement today.

The forces killed two terrorists at Dumre Dharapani of Khotang on Thursday, one at Latinath of Darchula and two in Tilpung of Ramechhap on Friday after the forces retaliated to the attacks of the Maoists.

Socket bombs, bags for carrying bullets, explosives and terrorist documents were found from the sites.

The Ministry said that some soldiers, including an army officer, have sustained injuries in ambush planted by the terrorists at Ghiukhola, about10 km east of Kusum of Dang, on Thursday. They are being treated in the Birendra Army Hospital, Kathmandu.

According to our Tanahu correspondent, the Maoist terrorists caused explosions near the Ilaka Police Office, Abukhaireni on Friday night.

"The terrorists hurled three socket bombs at the Ilaka Police Office at 7 p.m. Friday," said police inspector Chandra Bahadur Tamang.

In retaliation, police fired them. The explosions have damaged the shutter of house of a local people.
On Thursday, the District Land Conservation Office (DLCO) was damaged by explosion caused by the terrorists. The blast destroyed the room of the office chief and damaged furniture, papers and television. The blast was caused by four terrorists who had entered into the office.

In Syangja, the branch office of the Nepal Bank Limited at Waling bazaar has begun banking operation. The bank had stopped its operation after the Maoist terrorists attacked the bank and looted more than Rs. 20 million worth of cash and other properties on November 24 last year.

Meanwhile, RSS adds from Chautara, the Maoist terrorists have destroyed the building of Sanosirubari VDC adjoining the headquarters of Sindhupalchowk district last night by setting it on fire.

According to local people, a band of 5 to 7 terrorists who appeared at 9 p. m. burst into the building and set furniture and official documents on fire.

Almost all official documents lying in an annex under the same building which was occupied by additional postal office were gutted in the inferno, VDC secretary Ramesh Ghimire said.

Children give message of peace

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Sept. 14: About 200 school children from 21 schools of the Kathmandu Valley made murals and paintings giving a message of peace at a one-day painting workshop, entitled 'Keep alive the essence of Buddha inherent in you', at the Nepal Art Council Gallery today.

The children, in groups of 4 to 8, worked amid the portraits of Buddha and the hymns to make 21 paintings, each measuring 5x3 square feet, and depicting the on-going violence and strife and their quest for peace.

The murals were magnificent in acrylic colour, and were imposing with realism on the present traumatic situation.

The programme was organised by Zero Century Nepal (ZCN), national solidarity of fine arts. The necessary materials were provided by the ZCN and arty Vicky Stationers supported them with the colours.

Regarding the gruesome scenario of terrorism that has threatened humanity, the schoolchildren denounced those activities through their artworks that aimed at creating awareness for the revival of peace, says ZCN.

Aroja Maskey, a participant from Gautam High School, Lagan, said, "Because of the dehumanising situation, we are bound to work to evoke peace through the paintings. We wish we could revive peace and save all of us from all the devilish acts that are against mankind."

Before the formal inauguration, the paintings, drawn by the tender hands, will be framed and exhibited at the Lalitpur and the Kathmandu Durbar Square for a day. After the inauguration, they will be on a week-long display at the Nepal Art Council Gallery. The date for the exhibition is yet to be fixed. Then after the paintings will be returned to their schools, where they will remain in permanent display, according to ZCN.

Rajan Panta, young artist from ZCN, depicting the value and the importance of art said that we are lagging behind in the development of art due to lack of resources and unity among the artists. He further said that art is a reflection of civilisation that needs to be interpreted by good critics.

Exporters for clean carpets to win trust

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Sept. 14: The Nepalese carpet industry, which is facing an export slump due to a number of reasons, is now focussing its attention on environmental aspect to give a competitive edge to their products.

With buyers in the Western countries increasingly becoming environment conscious, the Nepalese carpet exporters have laid stress on environmental labeling and certification to win the confidence of the buyers.

In Germany, which buys 80 per cent of the Nepalese woolen hand-woven carpets, protection of the environment has emerged as an important political issue. "So, it is important to produce eco-friendly carpets to get a clean chit from the importers," said Pushpa Raj Shrestha of the Environmental Labeling for Export Industries for Nepal, which works under the Nepal Bureau of Standard and Metrology.

"If we fail to give priority to the environment, there are chances that de facto trade barriers will be created making us difficult to find a place in their market," said Shrestha at a workshop aimed at educating the carpet entrepreneurs on environment.

Recently, the German carpet importer's association complained that one out of eight Nepalese carpets tested was found to be contaminated with Azo-dyes. In 1992, the German government listed 59 chemicals and dyestuffs as banned chemicals and textiles and garments containing those chemicals will not be imported into the country. Now the number of such chemicals stands at 79.
Unless effective measures are taken to upgrade the quality through environmental labeling, the carpet export, which is already facing a slump, will decrease further, said A.G. Sherpa, President of Central Carpet Industries Association.

The practice of environmental labeling of carpets began in Nepal three years ago in response to the strict enacting of eco-standard in countries, which buy Nepalese carpets. The Finnish government has been assisting the project, Environmental Labeling of Export Industries in Nepal, which provides labeling on carpet and pashmina products.

However, only a few carpet industries have thus far abided by the standardisation. Out of over 100 industries, only six have adopted the environmental labeling scheme.

The labeling is a kind of stamp of approval on products showing that the minimum environmental criteria and regulation of production are met. The standard is known as Oko-Tex 100 and acts as a brand of quality.

In the fiscal year 2000/2001, Nepal had exported carpets worth US$ 117,466,682, but it went down to US$ 81,655,133 in the fiscal year 2001/2002. The decline is not only in the total amount of export earning but the fall in earning also hinged with the decline of the volume of carpet exported. During the two consecutive FYs mentioned above, the amount of exported carpet fell from 2,242,692 square metres to 1,693,196 square metres.

During the month of Shrawan in FY 2001/2002, Nepal exported 168,558 square metres of carpet valued at US$ 8,815,051. During the month of Shrawan in the current FY 2002/2003, the export stood at 119,602 square metres worth US$ 5,199,428 - a decline of 29 per cent and the fall in dollar earning was 41 per cent.

"The plummeting of carpet export is difficult to recover unless we take timely measures to upgrade competitiveness. Boost of quality through environmental labeling scheme is one," said the CCIA chief.
If we look back to the fiscal year 1993/94, Nepalese carpet export was in its heyday. Nepal was ranked fourth in the band of global carpet exporters. "Now we are down many steps of the ladder from that position," said Pushpa Raj Shakya. He cites factors like international recession, lack of competitiveness and overproduction contributing to the slump.

According to Shrestha, the immediate threat to Nepalese carpet has been India, which exports its carpet called them as Indo-Nepalese. Their products are inferior in quality and also they sell at lower price due to their low cost of production. "We have to show that Nepalese carpet excel in quality and thus deserve higher value," he added.

Changes in the attitude of the carpet buyers in the West have posed new challenges to Nepalese exporters. If the products are to be sold, there is no other way than respecting the concerns of the buyers. The simple and invariable solution is to meet the quality and the standards they demand.
When Nepal's carpet buyers in Germany raised concerns that factories in Nepal were employing child labour in weaving and threatened boycott such products the exporters had felt the jerk. Then Rugmark Foundation was established to certify the products free from child labours. And when the buyers discovered that the harmful Azo dyes were used in colouring, they again complained on quality. The introduction of environmental labeling scheme is the follow up to this complaint.

Over the past two decades, consumers in the developed countries have become increasingly concerned about the environmental impacts of the products they consume. Apart from selecting products from the viewpoint of price and performance, they are also weighing the impact of the manufacturing of the goods on the environment. This phenomenon, known as green consumerism has demanded the environmentally responsible mechanism of manufacturing.