NEWS NOTES (Spotlight Weelky)

National Security Council To Be Activated

PM Koirala

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has said he will activate National Security Council in order to maintain law and order in the country. Addressing a function organized by Nepal Tarun Dal, a sister organization of the ruling party, here on Saturday, the premier said after the Council is activated people will feel a sense of security. The Council has Prime Minister as its chairman, and Defense Minister and chief of the army staff as its members. Koirala also holds the defense portfolio. Koirala might be hinting toward the possibility of using Royal Nepalese Army to contain the four-year-old Maoist rebellion that has already claimed lives of more than 1200 people over the last four years. Kantipur April 09.

'I Will Fully Cooperate With Koirala'

Former Prime Minister and senior Nepali Congress leader K. P. Bhattarai has said he would fully cooperate with Prime Minister G. P. Koirala who engineered his ouster from office less than a month ago through a revolt in the ruling parliamentary party. "I have no malice against him and we are very good friends," Bhattarai said, in an interview. He, however, said that he still wanted to become Prime Minister once again. "I go for morning walk every day and plan to visit my constituency and other parts of the country soon." When asked what would happen to his proposal to hand over power to the younger generation within the party, Bhattarai said, "They are the most capable ones. But as long as myself and Koirala insist to remain at the helms, they won't consider otherwise." Bimarsha April 07.

Nepal SBI Bank and United Insurance Declare Dividends

Nepal SBI Bank Ltd., a joint venture with the State Bank of India, has declared a final dividend of 10 percent from profits of 1998/99 and an interim dividend of 15 percent from the current fiscal year's profits. Chairman of the Bank, Mukunda Prasad Aryal announced the dividends at the sixth annual general meeting of the Bank early this week. According to Aryal, the Bank had collected Rs 4.38 billion as deposits and invested Rs 2.96 billion till the end of last fiscal year. Similarly, the United Insurance Company Ltd. has announced 10 percent dividend to its shareholders from the profit the organization earned in the fiscal year 1998/99. The Company said it earned a net profit of Rs 13.6 million, of which Rs 5.66 million have been put aside for dividend. Leading dailies report April 07.

Pro-UML Students Clash with Police

Police arrested nearly 200 students after a clash between agitating students and riot police at a major business center in the capital, Kathmandu, on Wednesday. The clash took place near Putalisadak when students belonging to ANNFSU, a student organization affiliated to the main opposition Unified Marxist-Leninist party, tried to stop people from entering into Singha Durbar, country's main secretariat, early in the morning. Police resorted to lathi-charge and shot nearly 50 shells of tear gas to disrupt the crowd, reports said. Police later released most of the arrested student activists. The student body had organized the demonstration to press the government to fulfill its 46-point demands to end distortions in the country's higher education sector. Compiled from reports April 06.

Ex-Gurkha Soldiers To Internationalize The Pension Issue

The Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen's Organization (GAESO) has said that it will internationalize the pension and welfare issue at the on-going 56th session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva. Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, President of GAESO, Padam Bahadur Gurung, said the organization will try to draw the attention of the world community by highlighting the issue of, what he said, unequal pension and benefits to ex-British Gurkha soldiers vis a vis their British counterparts. He said that he would also discuss with lawyers in Geneva about filing a case at the International Court of Justice. Compiled from reports April 05.

Reforms Policies For Poverty Reduction

Minister of Finance Mahesh Acharya has said that the government would pursue economic reforms policies with a view to reduce widespread poverty in the country. Addressing a talk program organized by Tradex 2000 here recently, Minister Acharya said there was a need for massive investment in the development of country's infrastructure. As nearly 90 percent of the rural people live under poverty, the government has to expand its investment in producing skilled human resources, education, health, drinking water and rural infrastructure development, he said. Acharya's comments have come at a time when reforms programs are being criticized for their reported inability to reduce poverty in the country. Compiled from reports April 05.

Export Policy in the Offing

A senior government official has said that a comprehensive policy to boost exports was in the offing. Addressing a day-long seminar on "Developing Nepal's Export Strategy" organized by Nepal-USA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vice Chairman of National Planning Commission Prithvi Raj Ligal said the government was introducing National Export Policy in the near future. "The policy will be submitted in the next session of the Parliament for approval," he said. The policy aims at sustaining the present export markets and strengthen national economy, he said. Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, Dr. Tilak Rawal, said the central bank was ready to lend support for the establishment of an Export-Import (EXIM) bank if the private sector came up with a convincing proposal. Leading dailies report April 05.

Transport Strike In Western Nepal Withdrawn

The strike by transport operators in western Nepal was called off last week after representatives of Bheri zone transport entrepreneurs' association and concerned officials reached into an agreement the same day. The transport operators had been on strike since Sunday demanding compensation for four buses burnt down by a mob at Chandrauta in Kapilvastu district some two months back. The transport resumed after officials assured that they would take action against the miscreants and expedite process to provide a compensation of more than Rs 870,000 through the Home Ministry within the next 15 days. The mob had burnt down buses, including a government-owned bus, in retaliation of killing of a local agronomist by a group of suspected Maoist rebels. Compiled from reports April 04.

Regional Meet For LDCs Kicks Off

Kracher

The three-day regional meet of experts for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Asia and the Pacific concluded here last week. Organized jointly by UNCTAD, UNDP and National Planning Commission, the meet aims at exchanging views on the socio-economic developments in LDCs during the last decade and make recommendations for enhancing the potential of sustainable development of LDCs. Addressing the program, Resident Representative of UNDP, Dr. Henning Karcher said the process of globalization needed to be monitored, managed and controlled to protect the weak and those who are already marginalized. Minister for Commerce and Industry Ram Krishna Tamrakar urged that the international community should assist the LDCs to free them from their present state of poverty and social exclusion. Although LDCs constitute about 13 percent of the world population, their share in world imports is only 0.6 percent and 0.4 percent in the exports. Leading dailies report April 04.

Himalayan Expo From Next Week

The tenth Himalayan Expo, an annual trade exhibition, which will kick off in the capital from April 12, is to focus on promoting trade and investment into the country. According to House of Rajkarnicar, organizer of the pioneering event, the five-day event will bring together nearly 200 exhibitors from about a dozen foreign countries. Investment exchange network, new products showcase and exhibitors pre-scheduled appointment options will be some new activities in the Expo. Bilateral chambers and National Small-Scale Industries Corporation from India are also taking part in the fair. Leading dailies report April 04.

"Cooperatives As A Means To REsolve Unemployment Problem "

A senior government official has said that co-operatives could be developed in Nepal as a means to resolve the growing unemployment problem. Minister of State for Agriculture Baldev Sharma Majgaiya said that the problem of unemployment could be solved only through the self-reliance programs run through the cooperative movement. Addressing the 43rd National Cooperatives Day on Sunday, Minister Majgaiya said local self-help initiatives like cooperatives needed to be assisted with technological input and market access. According to officials, around 5000 cooperatives in the country have mobilized a deposit of around Rs four billion. Leading dailies report April 03.

Abduction Cases Rock Janakpur

The growing number of abduction cases in the city has left the residents of Janakpur paralyzed. Last week alone a four-year-old boy was kidnapped which was followed by the abduction of a priest in the local temple. On the top of that, propaganda regarding abduction has made the residents of this famous religious center highly alarmed. While most of their counterparts in the country are upset with the rise in insurgency, the people in this city are more concerned with cases of abduction. As the city borders Indian state of Bihar, the practice here is to abduct a person and take him/her across the other side of the border and demand ransom. Lately, the targets of the kidnappers have been the school-going kids. Bimarsha April 7.

ML On The Brink Of Split

Less than two years after it broke away from Unified Marxist Leninist (UML), the splinter Marxist Leninist party has landed itself into a serious trouble. The party is set to be split once again as two of its powerful leaders General Secretary Bamdev Gautam and leader Chandra Prakash Mainali have ceased to see eye to eye. Recently, Gautam removed Mainali from the party's Organization Department charging him to have involved in anti-party activities. Mainali, too, has not taken the Gautam action against him in good humor. He has started questioning Gautam's authority in removing him. As the two leaders are involved in seemingly unsolvable differences, the two year old party risks to be divided once again. Nepalipatra April 7.