NEWS NOTES (Spotlight Weelky)

Maoists Must Disarm: Army Chief

Army Chief Rana

Chief of the Army Staff of the Royal Nepalese Army General Prajwolla Sumsher JB Rana has said his forces would destroy the Maoists if they did not surrender their arms to the government. In an exclusive interview with state-owned Nepal Television Monday evening, General Rana admitted that the army had gone on the offensive after the insurgents attacked an army barracks in Dang last month and looted a huge cache of weapons and ammunition. "It is our duty to retrieve the weapons they seized from our (Dang) barracks on November 23," said Gen. Rana. Donning his uniform, Gen. Rana told ëDisha Nirdesh' program that the Maoists had made a mistake by provoking the army, which was only acting as a supporting force in the integrated security and development programs. "The operation against terrorism is going extremely well," said Gen. Rana. He urged the Nepalese people to inform and support the security agencies in the campaign against the Maoists. "National security is a matter of concern for every Nepali, not only the army," he added. Compiled from reports Dec. 18.

Deuba Seeks Donors' Help

Deuba

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has called on the donor community to support Nepal's development activities at a time when the government is engaged in an all-out war with the Maoist insurgents. Addressing a gathering of representatives of Kathmandu-based diplomatic missions and donor agencies here Monday, Premier Deuba said a slowdown in trade, tourism and industrial production had severely hit revenue mobilization. Poverty is growing and economic activities are diminishing because of terrorist activities, he said. The prime minister sought the donor community's support in the government's efforts to promote development works and generate employment in the insurgency-affected areas. He also sought donors' support in humanitarian relief works to disadvantaged groups and women and children directly affected by the conflict. According to Dr. Shankar Sharma, member of the National Planning Commission, the donor community expressed full support to the government's programs. They urged the government to set clear priorities for economic development. The donors criticized the government for what they described as lack of full commitment to implement good governance programs, expedite economic reforms and control corruption. Dr. Sharma said the government had not made a request for a specific sum or identified projects for assistance. Leading dailies report Dec. 18.

TU Facing Cash Crunch

Tribhuvan University, the country's oldest institution of higher learning, is facing severe financial constraints, a newspaper reported. The government could provide only Rs 1.2 billion out of the Rs 1.52 billion demanded by the university, the report said. Amid difficulties in providing salaries and benefits to its more than 14,000 employees, the TU has cut down staff allowances. Even then, the university could not save more than Rs 50 million a year, said Nilkantha Lal Shrestha, registrar at the university. In 61 campuses affiliated to the TU, over 4,000 teachers and staff are working as temporary or contract employees. "We are not in a position to reduce temporary staff at a time when the affiliated campuses are demanding more teachers," said Shrestha. Nepal Samacharpatra Dec. 17.

'Emergency To Be Lifted After Job Done'

Gupta

A senior government official has hinted that the national state of emergency would continue as long as it takes to achieve its objectives. Talking to reporters here Sunday, Minister for Information and Communications Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta said the government did not intend to prolong the state of emergency unnecessarily. "This situation will continue until the security forces complete their job of disarming the Maoist insurgents," said Gupta, who is also the spokesman of the government. The minister said the government could consider resuming peace talks with the Maoists only if they surrendered their arms and money looted from banks and agreed to work within the ambit of the present constitution. Answering a question, Gupta said there were no differences of opinion between King Gyanendra and Prime

Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba as reported by sections of the media. Leading dailies report Dec. 17.

Two Journalists Released

The authorities have released Bandhu Thapa, publisher of Deshanter weekly, and Gopal Budhathoki, editor/publisher of Sanghu weekly, without filing charges. Thapa and Budhathoki had been detained at the military barracks at Chhauni for nearly 24 hours for interrogation in connection with news reports their newspapers had carried. Reports said the journalists have been told to report to the authorities when required. Media organizations had condemned the government's decision to arrest the journalists and demanded their immediate release. Compiled from reports Dec. 19.

'Operation Can Succeed Only If Border is Sealed'

Dipta Prakash Shah, a retired brigadier general of the Royal Nepalese Army, has said the military operations to contain the Maoist insurgency could succeed only if Nepal's open border with India was sealed. In an interview, Shah, a royal nominee to the National Assembly, the operation could succeed within six months if the border was sealed. "There is a need to regulate and control Nepal's borders (both in the south and north). If the problem is prolonged and army fails to get political support, an unfortunate situation could arise," he said. Describing the morale of the Royal Nepalese Army as high, Shah said the soldiers would never lag behind in protecting the country and fighting for the nation's interest. Responding to a question, Shah said the army would definitely return to the barracks after accomplishing its job. "To say that there is a possibility of regression is nonsense," Shah said. Budhabar, Dec. 12.

Two Civilians Hacked; Two Maoists Killed

A group of Maoist guerrillas hacked to death Surya Prasad Dawadi, a 75-year-old Nepali Congress worker, and Shiva Prasad Adhikari, 28-year-old schoolteacher, Monday evening. Both were the residents of Hansapur VDC in the western district of Gorkha. Dawadi's wife, who was seriously injured in the attack, was airlifted to Kathmandu for treatment, Kantipur daily reported. Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday that two Maoist insurgents died in separate encounters with security forces in Surkhet and Mugu the previous day. During search operations in Rolpa, Gorkha and Dolakha districts, security forces seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition, the ministry said. Compiled from reports December 19.

Court Bans Garbage Dumping

In what is seen as a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court on Monday has ordered the government and concerned agencies not to dump garbage on the banks of the holy Bagmati River. Responding to a writ petition filed by three lawyers last year on behalf of the Pro-Public, an NGO, a joint bench comprising justices Krishna Jung Rayamajhi and Gyanendra Bahadur Shrestha held that such dumping should be done only after completing an environmental impact assessment, Space Time daily reported Tuesday. They also criticized the government, saying that it was not serious toward properly managing solid waste in the capital. General Manager of the Solid Waste Resource Mobilization and Management Center Devi Nath Subedi said temporary arrangements have been made to dump garbage in other areas. He said nearly 300 metric tones of garbage produced from Kathmandu and Lalitpur municipal areas daily could be properly dumped as soon as the access road to the land fill site at Okharpouwa in Nuwakot district was completed. Subedi said the court verdict would not hamper solid-waste management on the eve of the 11th SAARC summit due to be held in the capital early next month. Leading dailies report Dec. 19.