18th Session begins
Govt. Polices, programmes to be announced Friday

By a staff reporter

The 18th session of the parliament started Monday at the parliamentary building inside Singha Durbar. This Friday, the government will announce its policies and programmes through the Royal Address. After the parliament’s discussion on the government’s policies and programmes and a vote of thanks to the King, the budget for next fiscal year will be presented. The budget will be presented most probably on May 25.

An important feature of the present session is that it has been commenced about one and a half month earlier than the previous budget sessions. The purpose for this is that the budget should be passed well before the beginning of the next fiscal year and the funds for development activities will be disbursed as soon as the fiscal year begins.

In the present session, many bills, some important ones including the anti-corruption bill, pending from the previous parliamentary sessions are also expected to be discussed and passed. Meanwhile, the CPN-UML’s threat to disrupt the session from the very beginning was averted when last week the government and the UML agreed to form a judicial committee to probe into the incident in Rautahat.

The UML had disrupted the last parliamentary session for several days demanding the resignation of State Minister for Forest Mohammad Aftab Alam for his alleged involvement in the abduction of a UML supporter.

If one is to go by the quiet of the first day, then it looks like the session will proceed smoothly. But nothing can be predicted, until the announcement of the budget, over which there could be dissatisfaction among the opposition parties. Ven now the UML has not suspended its street protests, including the nation wide uprising called for this Tuesday.

It may be recalled that parliamentary sessions in the past had seen   some very low attendances, fist-fighting among the MPs, boycott of some meetings, breaking of tables and mikes and disruption of proceedings. While the treasury bench remained complacent, the opposition parties have raised a hue and cry and even resorted to vandalism over even trifle issues. These incidences have diminished the people’s faith in the parliament or its members.

This was the reason why the Speaker of the House of Representatives at the very beginning of the present session, urged the MPs to work to make the proceedings more dignified, constructive and people-oriented and to rise above petty partisan interest.

He also hinted that the government was increasingly becoming indifferent to the parliament and the people’s representatives.

Meanwhile, the UML General Secretary recently said that his party will play the role of a constructive and responsible opposition party. Other parties have also expressed similar views. Their conduct in the coming session will show how true they are to their words.

Some of the major issues the oppositions will raise may be connected with law and order, Maoist insurgency, price rise, corruption and about development programmes.

It might be mentioned that the performances of the political parties and the MPs in the previous sessions have been criticised much. It is time for the parliament, which has the experience of 17 sessions behind it, to show much more maturity in dealing with the country’s and the people’s issues in a more effective manner.

Khadka's support crucial

By a staff reporter

As the Eighteenth Session of the Parliament was about to begin on Monday, rumour spread across Kathmandu that Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka had resigned from his post. A vernacular daily even printed the news quoting “Baluwatar” sources.

Minister Khadka : Will Baluwatar force him to change sides?

If true, this would have been a great blow to the Koirala government, which had depended heavily on Minister Khadka when it came to power some months back.

When asked whether there was any truth behind the news and rumours, Minister Khadka vehemently denied he had anything to do with such talk. “I have just come back after attending a cabinet meeting and all such rumours are false,” he told this reporter.

However, he succinctly said, “Nevertheless, I don’t know if Baluwatar knows more than I do”.

It may be mentioned that, some newspapers have reported that Minister Khadka and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba have made a secret alliance and these two could form the next government. At a time when there are indications that Deuba may be contesting for the party president’s post in the forthcoming general meeting of the Nepali Congress, Khum Bahadur Khadka’s support to any candidate would be crucial.

Banstola's India visit positive

By a staff reporter

This has been the first high level contact between Nepal and India after September last year when the Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh visited Nepal, and specially now after the relations between the two countries chilled because of the hijacking of the Indian Airlines plane on December 24.

Nepalese Foreign Minister Chakra Prasad Banstola completed his four-day visit to India on Thursday and one of the obvious achievements of the visit was both the countries have agreed to resume the Indian Airlines flights to Kathmandu by June 1.

Talking to the press on his arrival in Kathmandu, Minister Banstola said both the countries have agreed to maintain the security at the Tribhuvan International Airport according to international norms and practices and under the ICAO regulations.

With such an understanding there now should be no problem with the resumption of the Indian Airlines flights, the issue
should not also be bloated unnecessarily in both Nepal and India.

Meanwhile, during his visit the Minister had talked with various Indian ministers regarding various aspects of Nepal-India relations.

Some of the outcome of the visit can be called quite positive. According to Minister Banstola, the secretary-level talks on the 1950 Treaty will start soon. This will be the first time in several years, talks on one of the most contentious issue in the relations between Nepal and India will be discussed formally.

Minister Banstola also said he clearly told the Indian side about the implementation of the Mahakali Treaty and that it would be difficult to do this unless the Kalapani dispute is solved.

Similarly, the Indian water resources minister has also said he is ready to come to Nepal to talk about the development of water resources between the two countries.

The raising of the issues, including the most contentious ones, and the understandings and willingness between the two countries to try to solve them through dialogues and negotiations will certainly help in furthering the relations between the two countries.

What will RNAC do now?

By a staff reporter

When the RNAC management decided about two weeks back to lease an aircraft from the lowest bidder in a global tender, it looked like the Airline was going to get the best deal since it began leasing planes about seven years ago.

Moreover, when the lease would expire in 18 months, RNAC would by then have its own wide-bodied Boeing 767 300 ER plane, giving an exit to the practice of leasing planes.

But the cookies crumbled before RNAC could celebrate. Babcock and Brown, an Irish company, which had been chosen to supply the plane said last week that it was backing out off the deal citing reasons of more attractive deals elsewhere.

Corporate blues : RNAC still does not have an aircraft even after the calling of three global tenders.

What will RNAC do now? Although officials of RNAC have not said anything on whether there is any provision for taking action against the company for backing out of the deal, a source within the Corporation said there is nothing the airline can do except forfeit the bid bond of US$ 25,000.

Now, RNAC may not have the option of going through the global tender once again. Thus, it is thinking of giving the contract to the next closest bidder-the Annset Worldwide Aviation Services of Australia. The Australian company has reportedly been called for negotiations. A deal with Annset means RNAC will have to pay about Rs. 200 million more.

Annset had quoted a price of US$ 4100 per flight hour for a 7-year-old plane and 200 dollars more for a 5-year-old plane.

Although some within the RNAC think the price can be lowered through negotiation, others do not think so, saying Annset has the upper hand now.

Coming back to the failed Babcock & Brown agreement, some blame the RNAC management for the loss of the deal. “If the RNAC had made a decision quickly and had signed the contract, the plane may not have slipped away,” said a high ranking official at the Corporation. Then even if the leaser had breached the agreement, then it could be sued, he added.

There are also others who are unwilling to accept B & B’s reason for not supplying the aircraft. They even suspect some kind of secret liaison between Annsett and Babcock & Brown and the latter being portrayed as a dummy company.

With RNAC contemplating leasing a plane from Annset, people are again suspecting mainly Sujata Koirala, the Prime Minister’s daughter, of being involved in the leasing deal, which could bring in millions of rupees in commission.

Ms. Koirala and some others were being taken as acting from behind the curtain for Annset and for trying to give the lease deal to the Australian company. Now, with Babcock & Brown walking away, the path may be clear for Ms. Koirala and others to reap a rich benefit from the deal.

Meanwhile, RNAC’s employees are trying to pressurise their management not to enter into a deal with Annset at its present rate.

One staff also informed that RNAC regulations does not say the management should go for the second best bidder if the deal with the first bidder fails.

“We want the management to either cut down the price or go through the whole process once again,” he said.

But RNAC may not have enough time to repeat the whole process of calling for another global tender. Again, what guarantee is there that it will get a better deal?

Meanwhile, a government decision may also stand in the way of the Corporation calling a fresh tender. The government has recently formed a committee to look into RNAC and the committee has instructed the Airline not to start any steps for leasing or buying planes for one month until it makes a decision on what to do with the national Flag Carrier. That may mean stalling decisions for one month with effects being felt in the future.

Nepal-Bhutan talks begin Monday

By a staff reporter

The ninth ministerial-level meeting between Nepal and Bhutan on the Bhutanese refugee issue will start from May 22 in Thimpu, the Bhutanese capital. The eighth ministerial meeting was held in autumn last year in Kathmandu.

This time the Nepalese side looks a bit optimistic that the talks will find a way towards the categorization of the refugees, which it thinks could lead to the resolution of the problem.

The optimism is mainly based on the recent statements of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Ms. Sadako Ogata, who said that the Bhutanese King and the government had told her that Bhutan was willing to take back its citizens.

Ms. Sadako had visited to both Nepal and Bhutan only a short time ago.

However, there are conflicting reports on how many of the people lodged in the different camps in Eastern Nepal, will be “categorised” as refugees by the Bhutanese authorities. There are over 100,000 refugees, but Bhutanese officials have been quoted as saying only a little over 300 are citizens of Bhutan.

Also, many who have been watching Bhutan’s attitude in the last eight rounds of talks are still sceptical about whether Bhutan really means what it has said to the UN High Commissioner.

Bhutan may be under growing pressure from the international community to show a positive response towards resolving the refugee problem as soon as possible. The visit of the UN High Commissioner and her statements can be taken as an example of this.

Meanwhile, Bhutan may be trying to improve its relations with its other neighbouring countries. Presently, the Bhutanese Foreign Minister Jigme Thinley is in Bangladesh. Nepal was also one of Bhutan’s good friends in the past. There are a lot of areas where the two sides could cooperate, the main sector being tourism. But the once friendly relations have soured because of the refugee problem. It is certain that unless the refugee issue is resolved and Bhutan takes back all its citizens relations with Nepal will not improve, not in the near future.

Spinning a real yarn

By Sushma Amatya

The fifteen years old girl clad in jeans and a loose top is delighted when she is given a pencil that she asked for. A pencil would have hardly been a source of excitement for an average five-year-old in Kathmandu, just half an hour’s drive away. Born and brought up in Khokana,  a tiny village near Bungamati, Tara studies in class seven. Immediately after she comes back from school, she changes into her home dress, eats Makai (pop corns) or Chiura (beaten rice), with pickle when it is available and gets down to work.

Tara says she goes to Kathmandu a couple of times a year with her family to buy their necessities and they get to see Nepali movies sometimes. She would like to finish her schooling and go to college but every year her status of education is uncertain, for she does not know whether her family can afford to pay the admission fee of Rs. 1300 in the beginning of every schooling year.

All the female members of her family are engaged in spinning wool, supplied by carpet manufacturers, into yarn. Seated around in the courtyard in front of their house, they break into frequent laughter in between their chatter. The elderly grandmother rests against a pile of hay watching her brood and the grandfather lies next to her with his legs splayed wide apart. 

The women are paid Rs. 18 for a kilo and the girls say they can spin up to two kilos of wool per day. The entire, not too clean streets of the hamlet is lined with spinning wheels. Girls, young women, middle aged and the old are all busy making bundles of yarn out of the piles of wool.

 The inhabitants of the village are mostly the Newars. Most of the men go to fields and a few are engaged in tea shops or small grocery shops. Only an odd man or two, mostly elderly are seen spinning. Even a toddler struggles to get up on her twos and tries to turn the wheel. The females turn the handles non stop as they keep an eye on the little ones playing nearby. A group of small girls admire the clay pots and pans they created. Tiny pots are ‘cooking’ on a tiny earthen oven, very similar to those their mothers use in the kitchen.

Bhoj or feast are big events in the village and they are a plenty in Newari culture. Tara says they eat a lot during feasts and, “We make Raksi (home made rice wine) too. Would you like to try some?” Thanking profusely her large heartedness, the bunch of  trekkers make their way upwards to see more of life, feel more of life as they exist in the narrow bylanes in the corners of the city that lay hidden between the clefts of the hills, with a nagging thought.  The thought that a casual present of a stuffed toy or other ‘status symbol’ toys that a well-to-do city kid often gets, that the proud parents indulge in buying; could well pay for a year of studying for Tara.

High and dry

By a staff reporter

Water tankers filled up tanks in the homes of those who could afford it.   That was in winter. Now, one has to compete, cajole, bribe and even threaten to get a tank of water delivered on time. Summer puts a greater demand of water in households and this summer looks positively dehydrated going by the pitiable supply of water, soaring temperature and predictions of a weak monsoon in this country known for its rich water resources. If the prediction comes true, we might as well be prepared for a bleak scenario ahead.

Not a drop to drink : People lining up to get a bucket full of water.

Pretty soon, it might become the most precious commodity as it is increasingly just not available. Where it is available, it is highly contaminated by sewage pipelines. This has also attributed to rising incidence of severe stomach problems among the inhabitants of this congested Kathmandu valley.

The middle class and poor households are having a tough time managing with such a meager supply of water. It is no point talking about health, hygiene and sanitation when a basic supply such as clean water is in short supply. Forget about personal hygiene, it will be difficult even to quench ones’ thirst. The water supply cooperation is simply unable to meet the city’s ever rising demands.

Compelled to meet one’s needs, families have had to resort to digging wells and any other means through which they could extract some water. Water shortage has been a constant nagging factor in the lives of Kathmanduites for decades now.

 Had the Nepali government been capable of such a basic foresight, we might have been spared of this suffering that is only increasing by the year. This is the classic result of when self interest takes precedence over common interest. Mired in petty politics, greed and obsession with power, none of our politicians had the guts to stick his neck out and do what really needed to be done. If the government is unable to supply such a basic necessity as water to its people, what more can be expected out of it?

Rotary club of Kantipur celebrates Charter Day

By a staff reporter

The charter presentation ceremony of Rotary Club of Kantipur was organised here Monday amidst a grand function. Addressing the function, chief guest of the programme former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said that the democratic system not only means more freedom to an individual but also means more responsibility for a citizen of the nation. He lauded the role played by Rotary Club internationally and asked Rotarians of Nepal to bring about the changes in the lives of the poor of Nepal.

District Governor Shekhar Mehta, addressing the function, praised the Rotary Club of Kantipur and said there is lots of things to achieve in the years to come as Rotary means service to people. District Governor Elect Ravi Seghal said that Rotarians should help needy citing the example of Alexandra Fleming and father of Winston Churchill saying how they helped each other. District Governor Nominee Siddhartha S Bose said that the real challenge of the club has begun today as it has to move itself without the help of sponsoring club.

Former Prime Minister Sher Bhadur Deuba releasing the magazine of the Rotary Club of Kantipur, Monday.

President of newly chartered club Prabal SJB Rana recalled his father being the first President of first Rotary Club of Nepal way back in 1959. He said that since Rotary Club of Kantipur has already taken some projects, it will take more projects beneficial to poor community at large. Governor’s Special Representative Deepak Chettri shed light on the formation of the club saying that this is the club of younger generation which has an average age group of 36. He also requested all Rotarians to make at least one more member so that Nepal can have its own district. President of Rotary Club of Patan West also addressed the function.

The function was followed by a fashion show choreographed by Ruby Rana Shah and designed by Rajesh Dhakhwa which was managed by Shangri-La Events Management Company.

The Rotary Club of Kantipur was formed in August 1, 1999 with 37 charter members. Foreign Secretary Narayan S Thapa and Arzu Deuba are among its prominent members.

Two Nepalis bag essay competition prize

By a staff reporter

Two Nepali students, Rabindra Baskota and Tsering Shrestha from Kathmandu are the recipients of Special Prize for their essays in English language on ‘The Role of Education and Culture in Development, in the ‘Maulana Azad Essay Competition-1998’. The Special Prize will carry cash prize and citation says an Indian Embassy press release.

The Essay Competition was organized by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi for all the citizens of the SAARC countries below the age of 30 years in three languages viz. Hindi, Urdu and English. The Council has been organizing such essay competition since 1989, in memory of late Maulana Abul Kalam Azad the first Education Minister of Independent India, a prominent leader of India’s freedom struggle.

Both the awardees have been invited to New Delhi by the Council to receive the prize from Shri Krishan Kant, Vice President of India at the Award Presentation Ceremony, at New Delhi on May 20. Their visit to India, including travel cost and local hospitality, is being sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

Let the children play, learn and grow

By a staff reporter

To play, learn and grow in a healthy, loving environment is the basic right of any child. But for the children who are braving the elements, who are at risk of losing their lives at any moment, whose minds are like automatons, whose brains have been washed with ideological hogwash, to play would be just a dream. The children engaged in various activities in conflict areas around the world perhaps do not dream, they only have nightmares.

The first Asia-Pacific Conference on the Use of Children as Soldiers, (May 15 - 18, Kathmandu) is being organised by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers in cooperation with the UNICEF and hosted by HMG of Nepal, Ministry of foreign affairs. With 150 delegates from countries across the region, this forum brings together NGOs, UN child rights experts, ex-child soldiers and senior government and military officials from Asia-Pacific countries.

How many of these would be soldiers are under-age?

In his welcome address, Minister of foreign affairs Chakra Prasad Bastola said that the time has come for the international community to adopt wide ranging measures to stop the use of children as soldiers. He added that Nepal is fully committed to the principles of the United Nations and wants to solve the problems amicably and peacefully.  

This comes as a ray of hope for Nepal where children are being victimised   and exploited in the Maoist war and also pushed to join armies before their age by adults.

Nigel Fisher, regional director, UNICEF, said that protecting children from the impact of armed conflict and from any form of violence for that matter - is so basic, so much a core social and cultural value of each one of our societies, that it is everyone’s responsibility: governments, international partners and every segment of civil society, including community workers, teachers, elders, parents, celebrities, the business community, and children themselves.

"We ourselves responsible for environmental deterioration"

By a staff reporter

A resounding 70.8% of the Nepalese hold nobody but themselves responsible for deterioration in the quality of the nation’s physical environment.

An opinion poll survey conducted by the Media Services International (MSI) from January 20 through 30, 2000, in twelve districts of Nepal encompassing mountain, hill and tarai sectors has found that if the majority blames the people themselves for decline in the quality of environment, 14.4% thought the public could not be held responsible for this negative trend.

While 6.7% of those surveyed said they could not be sure, 8.1% did not respond to the query at all.

Asked if quality decline in physical environment had in any way resulted in disadvantages in personal terms, 57% said ‘yes’, 28% said ‘no’, 8.7% had no idea whatsoever and 6.3% did not answer the question.

Among those who said they had been disadvantaged, 51.1% said they had felt the disadvantage in the area of health, 19.8% in drinking water, 19.1% in production and 10.1% in some other areas.

Where has the problem of environment been more pronounced? 33.9% of the respondents pointed to solid waste disposal, 27.5% to deforestation, 21.8% to air pollution and 16.8% to water pollution.

Half of the 1109 interviewees in Rasua, Kaski, Surkhet, Morang, Banke, Kanchanpur, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Dhankuta, Kavre and Makwanpur said the people themselves could do something to improve the environment. Those who thought the government could improve the environment constituted 48.2% of the respondents. Only a very small percentage (1.8%) of those queried was of the view the foreigners (in their individual capacities) had a role in the business of improving the environment in Nepal.

But interestingly enough, a majority of the respondents (45.8%) believed that foreign money had a role in improving the environment as against 29.1% who thought otherwise. Those giving no opinion accounted for 25.1% of the respondents.

To the question: “Have you heard about the Ministry of Environment?” 52.2% replied in the affirmative. Only slightly less (47.6%) said they had not, with 0.2% giving no answer.

But when asked about the loudly proclaimed Environment Protection Council (EPC) a whopping 82.7% said they had not heard about it, with 16.8% saying ‘yes’. Only 0.2% did not say anything.

On the important issue of whether or not they were satisfied with the works being done by the NGOs in the field of environment conservation, 40.8% said they were not aware of the works being done by the NGOs. If 25.5% said they were satisfied with the performance of the NGOs, 25.1% said they were not. Nearly 9% chose not to comment on the matter.

When confronted with the question if they thought the NGOs were truly committed to the cause of environment conservation or if the NGO activists were just working for their own parochial interest, 41.9% said they did not know anything about it but 29.4% believed the NGO workers were fulfilling their own personal interest. Quite a percentage of the respondents (19.9%) however believed the NGOs were truly committed to conservation of environment in Nepal. Those giving no response accounted for 8.8% of those surveyed.

As regards the complex phenomenon of global warming, it was heartening to note that an impressive 64.6% of the respondents said they were aware of the fact that global warming was taking place. Only 20.1% said they did not know about this problem, while 15.1% said they did not believe global warming was taking place. ‘No comment’ group figured only in terms of a meager 0.2%.

This opinion poll, last but one in the current series, was conducted with the cooperation of London-based Westminster Foundation for Democracy. The final survey under this programme will concern the problems and promises of Open Border with India.

SAARC judges urge judicial talks

Judges from India, Nepal and Bangladesh proposed formal judicial talks within the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) on human rights issues.

They added the rule of law was meaningless if people perceived the justice system as being marred by expense, delay and corruption.

The meeting included chief justices of India, A.S. Anand and Nepal’s Keshav Prashad Upadhaya, a statement issued after the two-day meeting convened by Bangladesh Chief Justice Latifur Rahman said.

The seven-nation SARC was launched in 1985 as a regional group. The judges reaffirmed the importance of ensuring the separation of the judiciary from the executive and the need for financial autonomy.

But it made no mention of a proposed “judicial colloquia” which would enable an exchange of information among judges on remedies for human rights violations, implementation of judgements, and access to justice. r  —AFP