Koirala to use strong arm tactics against Maoists

By A Staff Reporter

It is virtually a U-turn from the previous government’s policy o find a solution to the Maoist problem through talks.

The preceding government of Krishna Prasad Bhattarai had pursued a policy of talks by hiding weapons. But, the government of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, as was presumed, has taken a policy of brandishing weapon to used against the Maoists. And it looks like any talks with the Maoists will be held with guns by the table.

Prime Minister Koirala has said that he would sternly deal with the Maoists. He also said that the National Security Council would be activated. Prime Minister Koirala was speaking to the conference of the senior police officers in Kathmandu on Monday.

The National Security Council, is the country’s highest body that deals with security-related matters and it is normally activated only in times of grave crisis. The activation of the Council is a clear indication that the government has taken the Maoist insurgency as a grave security issue. This also means the government may be seriously thinking of using the army if needed.

Meanwhile, for the first time in five years the government seems to have realised the importance of intelligence.

The Prime Minister, on Monday, was openly critical of the government’s intelligence wings for failing to inform about the insurgent’s programmes and even for remaining complacent. He also attributed the police’s failure in containing the Maoists to the lack of intelligence back-up.

However, the Prime Minister also openly pointed that there is a nexus between the smugglers and the Maoists, saying the smugglers are assisting the Maoists through both arms and money. He even blamed the police, at the border check-posts, for unwittingly assisting the Maoists by letting arms to slip in.

Meanwhile, Koirala’s pledge to come down heavily on the Maoists has received support from at least one quarter. The task force formed by the previous government to give suggestions on the formation of armed security force has submitted its report.

In the report, the task force, formed under former Home Secretary Khem Raj Regmi, has recommended for the creation of an armed security force to deal with situations like rebellion and ethnic and religious strife.

Immediately after receiving the report, Home Minister Govinda Raj Joshi said the task force’s suggestion will be implemented quickly without waiting till the next parliamentary session.

The task-force has suggested for the formation of an ‘armed security force’ of about 15,000 personnel. And to start with it has suggested to make the  recruitment equally from the army and the police. Such a force would be given special training and would be equipped with modern semi-automatic and automatic weapons. However, the cost of establishing such a force would come to more than a billion rupees.

The leader of the task force has been reported as saying if the recommendations are implemented it would be able to deal with the Maoists successfully.

Meanwhile, Koirala’s plan to use force is certain to invite opposition from the other parties. Furthermore, the use of force alone, without any socio-economic package, may lead to further violence.

So, Koirala may also have to fight a political battle with the opposition parties before he goes ahead with his plans to quell the Maoists by force.

It is also very important for the government to be very cautious about using force in the sense that if it fails it would give the Maoists the impression that it can not be defeated militarily. This might lead the country to the brink of a civil war, which the Maoists have been wanting since they started their insurgency movement five years ago.

Just declaring personal assets not enough

By A Staff Reporter

In the past few days,  the Prime Minister and other ministers in his cabinet have publicly declared the property they own and other monetary assets. This is in accordance with the resolution that the present government will be a clean one and it will also make it a priority to combat corruption.

Not that such asset declarations were not made in the past. Apart from the Nepali Congress governments, the UML and ML leaders had also declared their net assets. However, such a move hardly contributed in any way to curb corruption. If it did anything at all, the people got to know how rich their political leaders were.

It was indeed a revelation that virtually all seem to have massive amounts of gold and silver and also chunks of land in different places. The politicians also showed they had hefty bank balances.

But the most important question of how they have come to own so much property and riches were never answered and the public have been made to believe that hereditarily these leaders were rich people.

The important question here is, what is the use of declaring one’s property, if no follow-up steps are taken to verify how such wealth was earned. Furthermore, what if a bankrupt politician who has become a minister, declares that he or she has millions in the bank and so much other property? Can’t such people just go on and earn that “presumed” property illegally once he or she is in power?

Therefore, if the politicians are to really come clean, then the property of the ministers should be declared, verification must be carried out how the property was earned and then when the person leaves office, once more his or her property be evaluated. Only this way the real truth about a person’s wealth and how it was earned can be truly figured out.

If like in the past the members of the present government also only declare their property and then nothing else is done, then its lofty goal of fighting corruption will be just pulling the wool over the eyes of the ordinary folks.

UML following in Maoist tracks?

By A Staff Reporter

With both the ruling and the main opposition parties pledging campaigns against corruption, it might be expected that the country will get a push to curb this malaise.

Prime Minister Girija prasad Koirala has announced that he would spare no one, not even his nearest ones, in his quest for cleaning up the administration.

However, the CPN-UML, the main opposition party in the parliament, seems to be treading on dangerous grounds by trying to wrest the authority of the government against corruption. In fact, an observer pointed out that seeing the growing popularity of the Maoist, the UML seems to be following its path just to win over popular sentiment.

For example, announcing more than a month-long second phase protest programme, the UML leaders announced Tuesday evening that they would carry out such programmes like checking the customs office, taking actions against the corrupt ones, tearing up the papers at the land-tax offices and not allowing the government to implement programmes like the B.P. with the Poor, Ganesh Man Peace Movement and women’s empowerment movement  and even closing the border among others.

They have also announced a bandh on May 23, in which  they say they will even close down the government offices.

Asta Laxmi Shakya, a UML MP said that her party will push ahead more strongly for the fulfillment of the party’s 10-point programme during the second phase protest programme.

The UML completed its month-long protest programme on Saturday with a massive mass meeting at Tundikhel in Kathmandu.

On Saturday, the UML even made public some names, which it said belonged to some of the most corrupt people in the kingdom. The UML’s list of corrupt ones include top level political leaders like Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka and ML general secretary Bamdev Gautam. The others include former minister Yamlal Kandel, former RNAC chairman Hong Kong Rana, and former member of the RNAC board of director Gajendra Shrestha. Still others include Sitaram Nepal, Dipak Malhotra, Naki Uddin, Prakash Tibedewala, Tek Bahadur Gurung, Jay Prakash Bhattachan, Chabbi Lal Bhusal and Sitaram Giri among others.

Speaking at the mass meeting UML’s Pradeep Nepal said the party has collected 2,788 cases of corruption, and of them 1,488 have already been proved and the remaining are under investigation.

Although the party has said it would gradually disclose other names, but people are sceptical that the names may not include anyone from the UML. UML sources say, the UML will deal with anyone of the party internally, if found involved in corrupt activities. However, they say the party has found no one from the party being involved in any kind of corruption. This is more intriguing because no party, who were in power in the last ten years, has been spared for allegations of corruption.

Even the recent disclosure of names is being seen as the UML being vindicative against its political rivals.

Nevertheless, the UML’s move against corruption is praiseworthy. Because this is the first time, any political party has raised voices against corruption as a campaign. But their movement may succeed only if they don’t go in tandem with the government and not seek overt confrontation with the government 

IGP Kharel to be made CIAA chief?

By A Staff Reporter

Less than a month after it was formed, the present government headed by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala is likely to see some changes in the Cabinet. According to Nepali Congress sources, Prime Minister Koirala has been forced to change the portfolio of some ministers and also bring a few new faces to not see another political coup from within the party. This is against the public commitment made by the Prime Minister that he will keep small the cabinet.

Sources within the party claim that the changes will be announced within the first week of the Nepali New Year 2057 (within April 19) and after that there will be some appointments and transfers in the bureaucracy and the Nepal Police too.

There are reports that PM Koirala is under increasing pressure to remove IGP Achyut Krishna Kharel and appoint another officer in his place. A highly placed source in the government hinted that IGP Kharel may be given the post of the Chief Commissioner of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). Some NC leaders blame Kharel of not being able to tackle the Maoist insurgency problem.

Major changes are also going to take place in the political appointments made by the previous government led by PM Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, the source informed. How good this will do for the nation and for the longevity of the present government, only time will tell.

Two years and a lot of hearts won!

By A Staff Reporter

Come 2057 B.S. Norvic-Escorts Health Care & Research Centre, Thapathali, will have entered its second year of service to Nepalese having heart related disease and lately to patients with Neuro related disease also. In its two years of operation, Norvic has built up steady strength and lived up to its commitment in offering specialty medical care to the ailing Nepalese patients.

To date patients have received the much sought and critical therapy in this super specialty centre, be it in the emergency, OPD visits, heart checkup camps, trauma care or Neuro surgery, or just by getting themselves admitted for continuing patient care. The centre has established itself as the premier private sector hospital in Nepal striving to provide Non-invasive Cardiac Care and as a centre for Neuro and allied sciences, equipped with the most advanced medical equipment and manned by a team of highly renowned cardiologists, Neuro surgeon, orthopedic and ENT specialists.

Unfortunately, the malice of heart disease exists here widely. Lack of dedicated and well equipped cardiac centre in Nepal had forced Nepalese patients to make the ardrous and expensive journey abroad for treatment. Responding to this critical need, the Chaudhary Group, one of the country’s leading business houses, stepped in to establish the most sophisticated and dedicated Cardiac Centre in this country in affiliation with the famous Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, New Delhi.

Norvic today is fully geared to provide Non-invasive Cardiac Care in a most professional manner with the backing from a team of country’s most eminent and experienced consultant cardiologists in addition to a full-time resident consultant cardiologist from Escort Heart Institute and Research Centre.

As the new millennium unfolds, the centre will expand into a 60 bed (now 30) super-specialty Heart Centre with the state-of-the-art Cath-lab and sophisticated operating suites capable of handling critical cases by 2000. Further, Norvic will become 100 bed hospital having the first ever fully equipped Nuclear Medicine Department by the year 2002 a facility that only advanced nation have so far.

Truly, guided by the encouragement and armed with the strength of the Nepalese people Norvic has taken to the road less traveled by others. “We believe that it is possible to achieve this goal with your participation only, to initiate the Millennium Movement for the Cause of the Heart,” feels Norvic’s President & Managing Director Basant K. Chaudhary. He further adds,” there is one person responsible for giving us strength and continuously pushing us forward to attain our goals and that is you. Yes, you are the inspiration behind us.”

To coincide with Norvic’s 2nd Anniversary Dr. Ravi R. Kasliwal, Senior Consultant Cardiologist and Head of Non-invasive Lab and Heart Station at Escorts and who is already a house-hold name here is scheduled to arrive here shortly.

Nepalese to observe "Thingyan"

By A Staff Reporter

The arrival of Spring and also the New Year, is celebrated in Myanmar, almost like they do in Nepal. Like the Hindus here observe Holi to celebrate the arrival of Spring, the people of Myanmar also have a water festival called “Thingyan”.

Hundreds of Nepalese whose forefathers came from Myanmar, are going to celebrate “Thingyan” on April 15 this year.

During this festival, which actually is celebrated for three days in Myanmar, the revelers douse scented water on one another and sing and dance later on. But unlike people here, those who celebrate “Thingyan” do not use colours, they only sprinkle water that has been scented.

Perhaps it is for the first time that this festival of water is being celebrated here by Nepalese. It was informed that such Nepalese will celebrate “Thingyan” at the residence of the Ambassador of Myanmar.

The people of Myanmar believe that water symbolises coolness, cleanliness and cleansing, and they thus use water in plenty on this festival to cleanse the grit and grime of the past year before ushering in the new year. Therefore on this day, people there arrange stages in different parts of the cities and all get involved in dousing one another with water. People also move from one place to another singing songs and dancing and throw water at those who are waiting at the “pandals” to celebrate.

While mostly the younger generation go around town making merry and throwing water at other youngsters from different localities, the older people are more religious and they go to the pagodas and monastries and pray for better times. They also feed the monks who are there.

One unique aspect of this celebration is that revellers in vehicles move around shouting taunts at others to douse them with water and everyone takes such challenges in good humour. They also shout barbs and satire at the ills and other shortcomings of society, thus entertaining everyone and also letting off steam.

"Wrong speculations" on IA security should be dispelled

By A Staff Reporter

Top level Indian officials at an informal interaction with journalists urged to correct the ‘wrong speculations’ which are being made regarding the failure of talks that were held last week between Nepal and India to resume the stalled flights of Indian Airlines.

“We are completely respectful of Nepalese sovereignty and national feeling,” the high level source at the Indian Embassy said. He was referring to the confusion and misunderstanding created by the wrong speculation that India is going to deploy their commandos at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). “It is completely a misunderstanding,” he reiterated.

“There is absolutely no substance in the reports that India wants to take over the security at the TIA or deploy its commandos or security personnel. No such proposal was made at the last round of talks or earlier. Member of the Nepalese delegation have also repeatedly clarified this fact,” he said. “There is a need to inform the general public that reports appearing in certain sectors of the media are biased and incorrect,” he opined. 

“There is also absolutely no truth in the malicious propaganda appearing in a section of the press that Indian Airlines had asked for termination of PIA flights to Kathmandu,” he further added.

The source also informed that the Indian Airlines has proposed additional measures so as to provide safety to its passengers under the present threat perception. He also said those proposals are fully consistent with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) norms and guidelines.

Presently, several foreign airlines have been allowed to install and operate their own X-ray machines at different airports in India. These airlines include United Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Gulf Air, Delta Airlines and El Al Airlines, it is learnt.

India has also been providing ladder-point checking of passengers to several foreign airlines. These include Sri Lanka Airlines, El Al Airlines, Biman Bangladesh, British Airways, Syrian Airlines, Malaysian Airlines, PIA, Kuwait Airlines and Royal Jordan Airlines.

The same facilities would be made available at Indian airports to Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation or any other airlines designated by His Majesty’s Government in a reciprocal basis, the Indian official highlighted.