Multi-Platoon training for SA peace-keeping

-By A Staff Reporter

At a time when more was being said about the army’s role in quelling the Maoists insurgency that has been taking place in the country for almost four years, the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) has opened a new chapter in its history by focussing on a different operation.

This coming Sunday, there will be the opening ceremony of the Multi-Platoon Training under the South Asian Peace-Keeping Operations of RNA. Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, who also looks after the Defense portfolio, will formally open the training amidst a ceremony at the RNA United Nations Training Camp at Panchkhal.

The Nepal Army has been involved in UN peace-keeping missions for a long time and the Nepalese soldiers have received special praise from everyone for their dedicated service in keeping peace at different hot spots of the world. But it is still unclear what definite mission, the newly trained army men will be sent for. 

Bhattarai under pressure to reshuffle cabinet

-By A Staff Reporter

Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai may have only a few months time before he is forced to step down as the country’s top executive. Even now, pressure seems to be mounting on him to make some changes in the cabinet.

According to an understanding reached between Bhattarai and party president Girija Prasad Koirala a few weeks ago, Bhattarai is said to have agreed to hand over power to Koirala after the coming winter session of the parliament.

However, Koirala’s supporters have begun demanding for an immediate shake up of the cabinet. This means Bhattarai will have to expel several of his supporters and take in more of Koirala men. This could be taken as a step by Koirala’s supporter for a ‘smooth’ take over of the government later on.

Those ministers whose expulsion has been demanded include Yog Prasad Upadhyaya, Omkar Shrestha and Bal Bahadur K.C., who are accused of being inefficient and of being involved in activities detrimental to the party. All of them are close aides of Bhattarai.

Now, there seems little Bhattarai can do. The ‘understanding’ has already made his government a lame duck. And Bhattarai’s refusal to remove the ministers may flare up the campaign again for his own ouster.

Meanwhile, there are also reports that the reshuffle may come within days. Three of the faces which are hot in the rumour mills to be included in the cabinet are those of former Speaker Ram Chandra Poudel, Prakash Koirala and Aamod Upadhyaya, two of the newest MPs. Both of them are Koirala’s relatives.

Former Speaker of the parliament, Ramchandra Poudel is tipped to replace Purna Bahadur Khadka as Home Minister. Khadka has been subjected to much criticism for failing to control the Maoists, and for the alleged security lapse at the Tribhuvan International airport, which might have caused the hijacking of the Indian Airlines’ plane.

Khadka, one of Bhattarai’s close supporters, may be given a less glamorous ministry even if he is retained in the cabinet.

Meanwhile, there are also feelings among the people that a reshuffle of the cabinet has been long overdue. Bhattarai himself had indicated, when he expanded his cabinet about four months ago, that he would reshuffle the cabinet soon to maintain a balance between his and Koirala supporters.

Similarly, some members in the present cabinet such as Bal Bahadur K.C., Yog Prasad Upadhyaya and Omkar Shrestha may have outlived their utility because of their inefficiency and  conduct. These are the persons targetted most by the Koirala supporters and even the general people.

However, those who have watched Bhattarai’s functioning in the last 10 years are not sure that even if he reshuffles his cabinet, he would give up so easily and completely bow down to Koirala. If he does so, it will mean taking a virtual retirement from politics.

But Bhattarai has shown no inclination towards leaving politics. That may be an indication that problems will not be over for the Nepali Congress even after Koirala takes over the government.

Maoist rebel released as high level police meet starts in Pokhara

-By A Staff Reporter

In a surprising move, the government released a high level Maoist leader, who was in jail till recently. Dev Gurung, a Central Committee member of the Maoists party, was released last week after being kept in jail for more than three years.

But even as the high ranking Maoist leader was released barely a few weeks after a police DSP was released by the insurgents, the government also seems to be making preparations to mount further police raids in Maoists areas. A high ranking source within the Nepali Congress informed that Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai was following the policy of holding “an olive branch on one hand and a gun in the other”.

Perhaps it was with such intention that a high level police meet is being held in Pokhara right now. Home Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka flew to the tourist township on Tuesday to hold consultations with the police officials.

According to sources, discussions will also be held on whether the Royal Nepalese Army personnel should be mobilised in the insurgency hit districts. RNA generals have expressed the confidence that they can control the insurgency, but first there has to be all party consensus for the army to make its move.

In the meantime, it is unclear what the commission formed under the convenorship of former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has suggested in its report to the government. But it is sure, Deuba, a former Home Minister also, has not recommended for the mobilisation of the army.

There had been a raging controversy some months back when it was reported that the government was all set to send in the army at the most severely hit districts. Many observers had criticised the decision, saying moving in the army would be virtually pushing the nation into a civil war. “Furthermore, where has any army been able to control insurgency?” A senior journalist had questioned.

Indian minister says hijackers identified

-By A Staff Reporter

India has said it has made a significant breakthrough in implicating Pakistan’s involvement in the planning and executing of the hijacking of its plane on December 24.

The hijackers as identified by the Indian Home Minister : (From left) Ibrahimj Athar, Sunny Ahmed kazi, Shahid A. Sayed, Rajesh G. Verma and Mistri Z. Ibramin .

Indian Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani said at a press conference in New Delhi on January 6 that the five hijackers have been identified as Ibrahim Akhtar, Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim and Shakir. It has said they all are Pakistani nationals.

“There are at least six tell-tale pointers confirming the involvement of ISI,” Advani told the press conference in New Delhi.

The Indian police said this indictment came after the arrest of four accomplishes of the hijackers in Mumbai. All these four accomplishes are said to be members of the Harkat-ul-Ansar and two of them are said to be Pakistani, one Nepali and one Indian.

According to the Indian Home Minister, the accomplishes were arrested after a follow up of a phone conversation made to Adbul Latif, one of the accomplishes, from Pakistan on December 29 telling him to inform a television correspondent in London that if the hijackers’ demands were not met the plane would be blown up.

He also said Latif escorted two of the hijackers from India to Nepal. He said Latif accompanied hijacker Akhtar to Calcutta from Mumbai by plane and then to Jalpaigudi by train and by bus to Kathmandu. That was on November 1.

Similarly, one December 1, Advani told the press conference, Latif took Shakir to Gorakhpur from Mumbai by train and then by bus to Kathmandu. The Indian minister did not say anything how the other three hijackers came to Kathmandu.

These revelation, now, prove false the earlier Indian version that the hijackers had boarded the Indian plane directly from a Pakistani plane.

Meanwhile, Maulana Masood Azhar, one of the three militants released by India in exchange of the freedom of the hostages, told a press conference in Karachi on the same day (January 6) that the hijackers told him they were all Indian citizens.

The second militant freed is said to have gone to the Pakistani side of Kashmir and he is said to have contacted his relatives in Srinagar, capital of Kashmir. The where about of the third militant a Pakistani-born British citizen is said to be unknown.

Meanwhile, the Indian Airlines will not resume its flights to Kathmandu till the investigation committee formed by the Nepalese government to look into the possible cause of the hijack submits its reports.

According to an AFP report, the Indian Aviation secretary Rabindra Gupta said the Indian government was waiting for the report of the commission and only then they would decide whether to resume the flights to Kathmandu or not.

Final push in campaign to eradicate polio

-By A Staff Reporter

In a strong turn-of-the-millennium appeal, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) last week urged leaders of countries where the final battle to eradicate polio is being waged to give full cooperation to the global effort.

“We are on the verge of an historic public health victory - the eradication of poliomyelitis, a disease that has caused untold suffering to millions of children in all parts of the world,” WHO Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland and UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy stated in a New Year’s letter to 30 heads of state in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

They said the ultimate success of the drive to eliminate the disease now hinges on efforts underway in those 30 countries, many of which are affected by conflict or are ‘reservoirs’ of poliovirus where transmission remains particularly intense.

Begun in 1988, the global initiative to eradicate polio by the end of the year 2000 is spearheaded by WHO, UNICEF and Rotary International.

To win the battle against the disease, Dr. Brundtland and Ms. Bellamy urged heads of state in the 30 countries to provide leadership for extra immunisation activities, to allocate sufficient resources to support National Immunisation Days and routine immunisation and surveillance activities, to mobilise support for these efforts from the national to the community level and to facilitate truces in areas affected by conflict.

Rotary International President Carlo Ravizza reiterated the support of 1.2 million Rotarians worldwide to the eradication effort.

In India alone, Rotary mobilised 150,000 volunteers for national immunisation days.

Dr. Brundtland and Ms. Bellamy also noted significant achievements since the launch of the polio eradication initiative in 1988:

* The number of polio cases has fallen from an estimated 350,000 in 1988 to some 5,200 reported cases in 1999:

* The proportion of the world’s children living in polio-infected areas has dropped from 90 to less than 50 per cent;

* Polio has been eradicated from the Americas, Europe, the countries of the Western Pacific and much of the Middle East and disappeared from most of northern and southern Africa.

With the eradication of polio and the eventual cessation of polio immunisation, the world will save US $1.5 billion per year.

ASCOL Almuni Association formed

-By A Staff Reporter

An association comprising of thirteen members has been formed to address the problems faced by the students living at the hostel of Nepal’s premier science college, Amrit Science College (ASCOL).

A recent meeting of former students of the college chaired by Narayan Shrestha, former student of the college who stayed in its hostel for a couple of years, has also agreed to make efforts to improve the physical facilities both at the hostel and also in the campus.

The meeting formed a thirteen member ad-hoc executive committee under the convenorship of Narayan Shrestha, which will prepare a constitution of the Association and also work towards it’s registration with the concerned institution. The other members of ASCOL Almuni Association are Dr. Pradeep Man Baidya, Bhupendra Bahadur Thapa, Pranti Serchan, Dharnidhar Khatiwada, Dr. Damber Bahadur Nepal, Kamal Thapa, C. P. Mainali, Jhalanath Khanal, Tara Baral, Satyanarayan Rajbhandari and Nirmal Shrestha.

The meeting also discussed on the areas it will work in. According to the executive committee members, some of the areas the Association will focus on are drinking water supply at the hostel, clean up of the campus area and also the physical maintenance of the whole campus.

Narayan Shrestha, a resident of Sankhuwasava district, who now lives in Boulder, USA, played the major role in organising the gathering of the former students of the college. He was inspired to raise funds for the campus when he saw its poor state while on a visit to Kathmandu some months back. Even at that time he organized a meeting of ex-students and pledged to work for the development of the college.

Shrestha has already contributed Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 125,000 for the physical maintenance of the campus. Other former students have also pledged to give monetary help in this effort.

Osho’s spiritual workshop

-By A Staff Reporter

Osho Foundation Nepal, Indian Institute of Yoga & Management and Osho Maitreya Meditation Centre in Chitwan are jointly organising a 10 day spiritual workship called “Freedom From Depression” from January 14 to 23, 2000 at Oshodham, Sauraha, Nepal.

Dr. Sailendra Shekhar, President, Indian Institute of Yoga & Management and Chief of Oshodham in Sauraha, Chitwan said: “In spite of much advancement in psychiatric medicines, still we are unable to help patients beyond a certain limit. In many cases of terminal and chronic disorders, Associated Depression is very difficult to eradicate”.

Dr. Shekhar added: “World Health Organisation (WHO) defines health as a physical, mental, social and spiritual senses of well being. Unfortunately, present medical services are not dealing with the spiritual aspect at all. We (doctors) are taking care of the periphery (Body and Mind) but totally ignoring the centre (soul). Depression is a disease of the spirit, not of the psyche, that is why mostly intelligent people suffer from it, because they cannot see any purpose in life.”

Basudev Lamichane, president of Osho Foundation Nepal and Deputy Auditor General said: “Referring to the 2nd International Convention of Psychiatrists held in Nepal recently, a local newspaper reported that 20 percent of Nepal’s population is suffering from depression. I was shocked to read this report and I think in such circumstances this programme is not just going to be useful to an individual sufferer, but it looks like that this will be in favour of the nation as a whole.”

Elaborating on the details of the programme, another Aide of the programme and faculty member of Indian Institute of Yoga and Management Bheem Timilsina said, “hopelessness, meaninglessness and aimlessness of life are the root causes of depression, which can not be cured by any chemical drug because matter can affect only matter, not the consciousness. Yoga, Meditation, Pranayam, Tantra, Devotion, Hara-therapy (sorking on Chakra - the centres of vital energy) and micropathy like Homeopathy, Acupuncture etc. are more useful, because these affect the immaterial (Etheric or Astral) plane”.

Timilsina added: “Allopathic and homeopathic physicians, hara-therapist, acupuncturist, experienced yoga teachers mediation experts and musicians both from India and Nepal, will conduct this programme at  natural, beautiful and peaceful atmosphere of Oshodham in Sauraha, Chitwan”.

“This Anti-depression Programme is designed to cure the psychiatric problem and to infuse wisdom for changing old scripting of life in to the new one - full of bliss, love, laughter and great hope. After attending this programme, the participants will be able to live a warm, happy and inspiring life and therefore everyone who can afford it should joining this programme” - Timilsina further added.

First Nepali to hold UN ASG post

-By A Staff Reporter

The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has appointed Kul Chandra Gautam as the new Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF. The appointment was made on the recommendation of Carol Bellamy, the Executive Director of UNICEF.

Although Gautam is currently the highest-ranking Nepali serving in the UN system, the new appointment makes him the first Nepali to hold the post of Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, according to an UNICEF press release here.

A Nepalese national, Gautam was born in Amarpur village, Gulmi district in 1945. He received his higher education in the US, majoring in international relations at Dartmouth College (1967-71), in development economics at Princeton University (1972-73), and as a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Center for Population and Development Studies at Haward University (1996-97).

Before commencing his higher education in the US, he had studied at Tri-Chandra College in Kathmandu, and at a local high school in Tansen, Palpa.

Gautam, who is currently UNICEF Regional Director for East Asia, has had a long and distinguished career with UNICEF. He has worked with the organisation since 1973 in positions of increasing responsibility, both at country level and at Headquarters.

He began his career with UNICEF as Programme Officer in Cambodia and Indonesia and later served at UNICEF Representative in Laos and Haiti. He was then transferred to UNICEF Headquarters in New York, where he had responsibility for Latin America and the Caribbean, then as Director of the Planning Division and later as the Director of Programme Division. He also served as UNICEF Representative in India - UNICEF’s largest programme. He studied international relations and economic development.

During his career with UNICEF, Kul Gautam has made significant contributions in the areas of programme and advocacy. He was the primary UNICEF focal point for the preparation of the World Summit for Children and participated actively in the conceptualisation and finalisation of the Plan of Action agreed at the Summit.

As Director of the Programme Division following the World Summit for Children, he was responsible for the specific guidance provided to our country offices to ensure that UNICEF played a strategic role with our partners to move forward on the goals agreed at the Summit. In this and his subsequent work in East Asia, he has focused on building broad alliance and mobilising resources for these goals.