NEWS NOTES (Spotlight Weelky)

GOVT PREPARES TO FILE CASES AGAINST MAOIST LEADERS

Just as the deadline set by the Maoists came to an end, the government, on Tuesday, said it was positive towards their demand for creating minimum environment for the official dialogue between the two. According to human rights activist Padma Ratna Tuladhar, who brokered last week's unofficial talks between the Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel and Maoist representative, the government has asked for some more time to fulfill Maoists' demand and has also asked the rebels to stop violent activities during the period. The Maoists had asked the government to make the whereabouts of its leaders and workers public and start processes to release them as the condition for creating the minimum environment for the dialogue. They had set the deadline till Tuesday. Meanwhile, the government, on the other hand, is also preparing to file

cases against top Maoist leaders. It was decided during the meeting of political affairs sub committee of the cabinet, Tuesday. The government is preparing to file cases on charges of murder and armed robbery against top Maoist leaders including its General Secretary Pushpa Kamal Dahal a.k.a Prachanda and politburo members Baburam Bhattarai, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Mohan Vaidya, Chandra Prakash Gajurel and Post Bahadur Bogati among others. Source at the Home Ministry has claimed that the preparation to file cases against Maoist leaders is an indication that the government is preparing to make their whereabouts public. Leading dailies report.

UML ACCUSED OF TRYING TO SPLIT NINE LEFTISTS

The main opposition party United Marxist Leninist has been accused of trying to break up the nine leftist coalition after it agreed to work alongside three left wing parties including CPN (Masal), CPN (Unity Center) and United People's Front in its bid to oppose the recent government decision to hike the prices of petroleum products. "This is totally non-political and unprincipled cooperation,"said Balram Baskota, central member of CPN (Marxist Leninist). "We six leftist parties denounce this cooperation."On the other hand, leaders of the three left wing parties have refuted the claims that they were being hijacked by the UML. "The present cooperation with UML is just for the protests against price hike,"said the leader of the United People's Front Lilamani Pokhrel. Although there was a talk of forging the coalition of ten leftist parties, it could not materialize thanks to deep differences between UML and ML leading to the formation of a separate coalition of four left parties. Leading dailies report.

CONGRESS ROW CONTINUES

In a new development, the active membership row in the ruling party has taken a new turn when the chief of the active membership probe committee Harinath Bastola resigned from his post, Tuesday. According to him, there had been an agreement that the committee would give its final decision about the controversy regarding the distribution of active membership on October 30. "But when I went to the Congress office that day, I found that the final list of active members were already prepared and handed over to the election committee four days before on October 26. So, I found it inappropriate to remain witness to the excesses,"said Bastola, who tendered his resignation to the party president and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. The active membership row is gaining momentum as the date of the general convention of the Nepali Congress approaches. Leading dailies report.

FARMERS OF SOUTH ASIA MEET IN KATHMANDU

The peasant leaders of South Asian countries including Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Thailand have come together for a two-day regional seminar on agriculture and land reforms organized by All Nepal Peasants Association (ANPA). The seminar kicked off Tuesday in Kathmandu. Some forty peasant leaders are participating in the seminar to discuss the situation of farmers in the region and the ways to uplift their living condition. The seminar was inaugurated by General Secretary of UML and opposition leader Madhav Kumar Nepal. President of the ANPA and coordinator of the South Asian Peasants Coalition Keshab Badal is coordinating the seminar. Leading dailies report.

POL PRICE STABILITY FUND PROPOSED

Experts have floated the idea of creating a price stability fund to cushion the fluctuation in the price of petroleum products in the international market. Speaking at an interaction program organized in the backdrop of massive fuel price hike, the experts said the consequences of change in price of petroleum products in the global market could be minimized by setting up a price stability fund, making regular adjustment of price and lowering the high cost due to delays at the ports. They also stressed for a separate body to look over the sale and distribution and storage of petroleum products in the country, end the monopoly of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) by involving the private sector and expand the storing capacity from one month to three. Speaking at the program was organized by the Institute of Engineering, energy study center, former general manager of NOC and director of Nepal Lube Oil Ltd Amrit Nakarmi said if NOC buys kerosene at an annual average price rate then the corporation would make a profit of Rs 520 million even if it sells it at Rs 19 per liter. After the recent price hike, the per liter price of kerosene has risen to Rs 26. Leading dailies report.

ACTION Against VAT defaulters

Value Added Tax Office in Katmandu issued a three-day ultimatum to over 15 VAT defaulters. If the defaulters fail to comply with the ultimatum, their business activities will be sealed. This first round of action that is supposed to be intensified from next week. The VAT office has initiated this action when revenue mobilization has severely dipped indicating a bleak revenue scenario for the future. According to Nepal Rastra Bank figure, revenue collection in the first two months of the current fiscal year stood at Rs 5.45 billion. The revenue growth rate compared to last years has grown fast. The government targets to collect over 52.98 billion Rupees in revenue collection in the current fiscal year, out of which 13 billion Rupees will have to be collected from the VAT. The VAT office is also planning to take action against hotels that have failed to pay Tourism Service Fee (TSF). A report suggest over 25 hotels in Katmandu have a due of over 10 million rupees in TSF. From leading national dailies, November 3.

Nepal Sri Lanka Issue Public Share

Nepal Sri Lanka Merchant Bank Ltd is going to issue public shares worth of 40 million within six months. Established in 1996 under Nepal Finance Company Act, the bank recently decided to upgrade it's capital to Rs 100 million from the present amount of Rs 45 million. V.M. Malla, general Manager of the bank informed that out of Rs 100 million, Rs 60 million will be raised from the promoters and the rest 40 million rupees would be collected from the public by issuing shares. Regarding the current liquidity of the bank, he informed that the current holding of cash reserve ratio is around 12 percentage of the total deposit, which is well above the requirement of 8 percentages set by Nepal Rastra bank.

The accumulating profit of the bank before tax has during the fiscal year 1999/2000 crossed Rs 18.87 million. During the first three months of the current fiscal year, the profit has scaled to Rs 2.3 million. The bank has also been actively in the merchant banking activities. It has invested Rs 40 million in shares issued by various companies. "As market price, the value of shares has been increased to Rs 650 million," said Malla. Leading dailies reports, November 4.

NATO Appeals To Cancel Bandhas

Nepal Association of tour Operators (NATO) has appealed to the grouping of the nine left parties and the main opposition united Marxist -Leninist (UML) to withdraw the Nepal bandhs scheduled for November 16 - 17, 2000 on the grounds that it will greatly affect Nepal's tourist market and her international market. NATO has stressed since November is the peak season for the Nepalese tourism industry when attractive foreign currency is earned. Such activities that disturb the fragile tourism industry should not be under taken. NATO has strongly appealed to all the political parties to withdraw Nepal band programs to safeguard the national economy. The tourism industry is the backbone of the national economy and contributes over percentages to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It should be promoted and protected for the larger national interest.The statement stated that November 13 - 17, 2000 is all set for holding a big conference by a galaxy of international celebrities. If such a big event is hampered due to a bandh program, Nepal will loose huge foreign currency and the image of the country will be damaged in the long run as well. Compiled from leading national dailies.