Nine terrorists killed in operations

RSS

KATHMANDU, Jan. 15: Four terrorists were killed when security forces returned fire at terrorists during a search carried out in Doti, Rukum and Banke districts.

Likewise, five terrorists were killed in Rampur Bilaspur area of Kanchanpur in an exchange of fire between security forces and the terrorists who had abducted security personnel on January 9.

According to the Home Ministry, the security forces seized guns, pistols, socket bombs, ammunition, explosives and combat dresses from the sites of the clashes.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, security forces recovered Rs. 85,865, Rs. 4,650 in Indian currency and goods hidden by the terrorists in the Majuwa Dobhan area of Sindhuli district.

Also on Tuesday, two security personnel on special duty at the Jhulneta area of Rukum district were brutally murdered by a large group of terrorists. Security forces have been mobilised in search of the murderers.His Majesty's Government has wished for eternal peace to the departed souls and prayed for fortitude for the bereaved family members to bear their tragic loss.

Meanwhile, on January 9, the security forces successfully rescued a member of the security forces kidnapped by the terrorists from the Sinam area of Taplejung district.

Weather to blame for Skyline's air crash: report

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Jan. 15: Weather has been blamed for the Skyline Airways Twin Otter that crashed at Ratamata at the Surkhet-Dailekh border in mid-west Nepal on July 17. All four people on board, including Captain Bijay Giri, had died in the crash.

The probe committee formed to look into the crash found that the plane, flying from Jumla to Surkhet, had crashed about 8 nautical miles from its destination due to bad weather.

A seven-member investigation committee under deputy attorney general Nanda Bahadur Subedi disclosed its findings today.

"The accident had occurred due to weather conditions, and no human error was involved," said Subedi revealing the findings of the report today while submitting it to the government.

The weather at Jumla was comparatively fair, but there was thick fog above Gadgade hill on the way to Surkhet. "The pilot was getting ready for landing, but the plane hit the hill before he could make the final approach," the report says.

The weather had gone bad in the whole region few days before the crash. "When the plane took off from Jumla, the weather was not completely unsuitable for flying," the report stated.

Officials involved in the investigation said the Canadian-built plane was technically fit for flying.
During its investigation, the team had also evaluated the technical history of the plane. The plane brought to Nepal on March 27, 2002 had flown 14,596 hours.

The report also pointed out that Captain Giri was a veteran of 7,153 flying hours, and had high experience in flying in the hilly region.

The cockpit voice recorder of the plane showed that when the plane reached the Gadgade hills, the captain was instructing his co-pilot through the CFD. "There was no panic as shown by the black box when the crash occurred," Subedi said.

The report has pointed out the exact place of the crash as Ranimatta VDC Ward No. 4 of Dailekh district, instead of Gadgade of Surkhet as was reported.

Chairman of the investigation committee Subedi also handed over the report to Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Kuber Prasad Sharma today.

BRRSG team to visit refugee camps

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Jan.15: A team of the Bhutanese Refugee Repatriation Support Group (BRRSG) will visit the seven refugee camps in eastern Nepal to study the situation of more than 100,000 refugees and to express solidarity with them for their early repatriation. The visit begins on January 22, said a member of the group.

The group will also be meeting with representatives of the Kathmandu-based foreign diplomatic mission from tomorrow.

The BRRSG is adopting the strategy of asking Bhutan's donor community to withdraw aid to Thimpu if it continues to dillydally in resolving the 13-year-old Bhutanese refugee crisis under its first phase of the campaign.

The 11 rounds of bilateral talks between Nepal and Bhutan in the last 12 years have failed to make much headway in resolving the crisis except to agree to verify the refugees in one camp. The verification has stopped since then, and the results, too, have not been made public. The 12th round of talks has been delayed for more than a year.

A three-member delegation of the BRRSG visited India last week to meet the ambassadors of Bhutan's donor countries based in New Delhi demanding that the issue be internationalised and aid to Bhutan be stopped.

Bhutan's donor community is meeting in Geneva this March. They also demanded that talks between the Bhutanese refugees and the King of Bhutan be held during their Delhi visit.

The 11-member BRRSG was constituted on 18 August last year with the aim of resolving the refugee crisis from the people's level.

The refugees who underwent the verification process have been on an indefinite hunger strike in the Khudunabari camp demanding the verification results be made public.

Drive in 140 VDCs to save kids from conflict trauma

By A Staff Reporter

KATHMANDU, Jan. 15: The ongoing armed conflicts are affecting children in their social, physical, mental and emotional development. Keeping this in mind, some organisations are launching programmes jointly at 140 VDCs of the 27 mostly Maoist-affected districts to restore peace and create a favourable environment for children.

It is estimated that more than 4,000 children have been displaced and about 2,000 orphaned because of the violence. At least 146 children, including 40 girls, have lost their lives since the insurgency began in 1996. Out of them, 44 died in landmine and bomb explosions and rest in course of different violent attacks and crossfire. More than 95 other children were seriously injured in crossfire and bomb blasts.

During this period, hundreds of children under 18 were kidnapped by the Maoist rebels to force them in their insurgency and to use them as human shields, while more than 100 were detained by the police in suspicion of their involvement in the terrorist activities. "Moreover, the death of their parents and the violence they witnessed, have left a deep psychological trauma in thousands of children," said Dr. Bidur Osti of CVICT.

According to researches conducted in Surkhet, Banke, Bardia, Tanahu and Lamjung districts, the violence-affected children were found to have developed behavioural disorders such as dropping out of school, showing less enthusiasm to work, eating less, showing irritation, anguish and depression.

Most of them have abstained themselves from creative activities and developed a tendency of revenge, imitating violence and destruction while playing. "These are not the good symptoms. They could bring dreadful consequences in their future," added Dr. Osti.

CWIN has recorded four cases of sexual abuse of young girls by the Maoists. Gauri Pradhan, president of CWIN said, "There have been reports of minors being used by the Maoists as combatants and human shields. However, the senior leaders of the party have been denying it."

All concerned should be equally sensitive and aware of the harm the conflict has done to the children. The state has to take the responsibility for the rehabilitation and treatment of the traumatised and victimised children, said Pradhan.

According to the international human rights agencies, even the non-state party has an obligation of preventing children to involve in the armed conflict. Maoists cannot ignore this fact. There should be concerted efforts from the state, the Maoists and the civil society to minimise and prevent the negative impacts of the armed conflict on children, added Pradhan.

The campaign named 'Children as the Zones of Peace' which aims to urge Maoists to protect the human rights of children is being launched by CWIN, CVICT, IHRICON and Save the Children-Norway, as resource and 14 local NGOs will work as mediator for two years.

Anti-corruption volunteers demand transparent probe

RSS

KATHMANDU, Jan. 15: The Anti-Corruption Nationalist National Movement Committee has alleged that the bodies responsible for controlling corruption and taking action against the corrupt have not proceeded their work in a transparent and efficient manner.

The committee's spokesman, Mohan Niraula, alleged at a press conference organised by the committee here today that the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), the Special Court and the Property Judicial Investigation Commission did not proceed in a satisfactory manner in taking action against the corrupt who had been taken into custody, and in taking them into custody.

He said in a bid to bring pressure on behalf of civic society, the committee would be submitting a memorandum to the Prime Minister and protest letters to those bodies tomorrow.

Likewise, he said the committee would organise sit-in protests, picketings, candle lit processions, transport halts, torch-lit rallies, etc. and would continue with the protest programmes until all the corrupt are taken under control and their illegal property nationalised.

Niraula also said that the committee was ready to make available volunteers if any of the anti-corruption bodies needed such volunteers in their drive against corruption.Professor Komal Nath Subedi presided over the programme.