NEWS NOTES (Spotlight Weelky)

Six Women Rebels Break Jail

Six Maoist rebels — all women — escaped from a prison in the western district of Gorkha Friday night by breaking the jail. Kantipur daily quoted jailer Nirmal Gautam as saying that the women managed to escape by digging a nine-feet-long tunnel early Saturday. According to officials, a bomb was exploded near the jail and a few fires were shot in the air in an apparent move to help the rebels escape. As the police officers’ attention was diverted to the explosion, the rebels slipped out of the jail. Police said they have mounted an operation to arrest the women who are between the ages of 17 and 25 years. Compiled from reports April 1.

Hoax Call Delays IA Flights

A hoax call delayed scheduled Indian Airlines flights to the Indian cities of Kolkata and Varanasi by more than two hours Friday. According to officials, the Terminal Duty Office received a telephone call at 3:22 p.m. from an unidentified caller who spoke in Hindi, warning that bombs had been placed in the two planes. Security was stepped up and an extensive search was carried out with the help of army and police personnel. The flights later took off and reached their destinations safely. Compiled from reports March 31.

Maoist Leaders Produced Before Special Court

Dahal (left) and Yadav at Special Court

The government produced two senior Maoist leaders before the Special Court in the capital Thursday. The court started recording statements made by central leaders of CPN (Maoist) Matrika Yadav and Iswori Dahal, reports said. Earlier, police had taken the two leaders to Chautara, district headquarters of Sindhupalchowk on Wednesday where police had recorded their statements. The police have charged them with participating in an attack at a police post in the district. Talking to reporters in the court premises, both leaders accused the police of framing fake cases against them and torturing them physically as well as mentally. Police had arrested both leaders nearly a year ago but their names were missing in the list of Maoist activists made public by the Home Ministry early last month. Both Maoist leaders also raised slogans within the court premises and told reporters that "people would not be free from exploitation unless the Maoist ‘people’s war’ succeeded." Nepal Samacharpatra March 29.

Govt. To Probe Overstay Of Nepalis

The Foreign Ministry has instructed the Royal Nepalese Embassy in Tokyo to probe the overstay of 17 Nepali students who had gone to Japan for higher studies under scholarship, Nepal Samacharpatra daily reported. Foreign Secretary Narayan S. Thapa said the Nepalese embassy in Japan has already started the probe. The government’s move came after Japanese Ambassador to Nepal, Mitsuaki Kojima, publicly warned that the tendency of Nepalese students and officials, among others, to overstay in Japan could harm bilateral relations. He also hinted that the Japanese government could take stricter measures while granting visas to Nepalese citizens. Illegal workers are considered one of the important elements supplementing the declining labor force in Japan. Compiled from reports March 30.

Govt. Distributes Land To Kamaiyas

The government has handed over more than 200 bighas of land to 1,350 families of former kamaiyas (bonded laborers) in five districts in the mid-western and far-western region, RSS news agency reported quoting officials. According to Secretary at the Ministry of Land Reforms and Management Keshav Raj Rajbhandari, these kamaiyas have already received land-ownership certificates. He said the process of providing land to more kamaiyas is under way. The government has also decided to provide homeless ex-kamaiyas a loan of Rs 5,000 each to construct houses. Officials said they were going to launch food-for-work programs for former kamaiyas. The government had declared kamaiyas free in July last year but is facing severe criticism from the local and international agencies for failing to rehabilitate them properly. Compiled from reports March 30.

‘Maoists May Join A National Government’

General Secretary of the CPN (Marxist-Leninist), Bamdev Gautam, has said the Maoist rebels could accept the constitutional monarchy and join a "national government" in order to find a way out of the present political impasse. Talking to reporters Wednesday, Gautam said his party was also in favor of forming such a government. "There is no alternative to the resignation of Prime Minister G.P. Koirala to end the ongoing deadlock in parliament," said Gautam. He also urged Koirala to create an environment for forming a "national government" that could accommodate both the monarchy and "republican" Maoists. Kantipur March 29.

14 People Die In Bus Accident

Fourteen people were killed and 22 others were injured when a passenger bus travelling from Butwal to Balkot in Arghakhanchi in western Nepal fell nearly 200 meters off the road near Gaihrikhutta of Gulmi district Monday evening. The injured were treated at the Mission Hospital in Palpa. According to police, 12 the dead have been identified. The cause of the accident could not be known. Police suspect it may have been the result of brake failure.Gorkhapatra March 28.

Refugee Leaders Slam Resettlement In Bhutan

As the Druk kingdom has been successful in stealing the international limelight by agreeing to verify the refugees that it had allegedly forcibly evicted more than a decade back, Bhutanese officials have expedited the resettling of people from northern part of the country in the area vacated by the Nepali-speaking Bhutanese, refugee leaders say. According to S.B. Subba, president of the Bhutanese Refugees Repatriation Committee, 70 percent of the land and houses vacated by the refugees have already been occupied people from northern Bhutan. A Bhutanese refugee leader, Ratan Gajmere, demanded that the Bhutan government make it itself clear on the issue. King Jigme Singye Wangchuk, who is currently visiting southern Bhutan, is overseeing the resettlement process himself, reports said. Nepal Samacharpatra March 28.

Rebels Abduct Police Inspector

Maoist rebels have abducted at least seven people, including a police inspector, in different parts of the country. According to reports, a group of half a dozen unarmed rebels stopped a passenger bus plying from district headquarter of Rolpa to Ghorahi of Dang Tuesday afternoon and asked police inspector Madhav Khatri to accompany them. Khatri’s whereabouts could not be known. Khatri was on his way to Nawalparasi for a new assignment. Police said a search operation is underway to rescue Khatri. In a separate incident, rebels abducted headmaster Som Nath Kuwor and five students of Narayani High School in Jajarkot district last week. The motive was not immediately known. Compiled from reports March 28.

WTO To Bring Opportunities

Legislators participating in a two-day seminar on the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Nepal have said Nepal’s joining the world body would bring both challenges and opportunities. Speaker of the House of Representatives Taranath Ranabhat said when the country had not been able to mobilize available resources properly, acceding to the WTO would mean daunting tasks ahead. Chairman of the National Assembly Dr. Mohammed Mohsin said there was a need to develop a minimum national consensus while joining the WTO. Minister of State for Industry, Commerce and Supplies said there stressed the need to assess the possible opportunities and challenges that WTO accession would bring. The seminar was organized by government and parliamentary agencies. Compiled from reports March 28.