Briefs (Spotlight Weekly)

THE UNITED STATES government is to provide a grant of USD four million to Nepal to implement programs for the betterment of children rescued from child labor market. The fund, which will come through World Education, is in addition to the US contribution earlier made through International Labour Organisation's (ILO) International Program on Elimination of Child Labour project in Nepal (ILO/IPEC). The assistance will go towards enhancing educational opportunities to children in 22 districts of the country.

THE INDIAN POLICE HAVE handed over to Nepal eight wounded Maoist guerillas who were undergoing treatment at five different private nursing homes in Indian city of Lucknow last week. The insurgents were undergoing treatment for bullet wounds they had suffered in fighting with Nepali security forces.. Three more Maoists including a woman are still undergoing treatment in Lucknow and their condition is stated to be serious. During the recent visit of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to India last month, New Delhi had assured a crackdown against the large number of Maoist rebels taking shelter in India. The issue also figured during the visit of US assistant secretary of state Christina Rocca to India last week. Indian police handed over the rebels to Nepal police on April 10. Indian authorities said the Maoists were arrested under India's Foreign Act (1946) and deported as they had indulged in anti-national activities against Nepal, a friendly country and their presence in India could be prejudicial to Indo-Nepal relations. Most of them had been injured during the Maoist attack at Achham district in far-western Nepal on February 16 in which over 120 security personnel had been killed.

AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER Alexander Downer has condemned the recent Maoist tactics of targeting the telecommunication infrastructure. In a statement issued last week, Mr. Downer also flayed the recent tactics whereby the rebels have widened their sphere of activity to blocking food supply to Humla and Jumla and attacking the hydropower stations, drinking water facilities, pipelines and bridges. Downer also condemned the instances of kidnapping and torture, execution and intimidation of common people describing it as "deliberate moves to undermine the development of Nepal and livelihood of the people."

THE UNITED STATES HAS announced a humanitarian aid of US Dollars 100,000 to be provided to non-governmental organizations to fund programs that will assess and support the basic needs of the locals in Maoist conflict areas. According to the US Embassy in Kathmandu, the fund will support those who have been displaced or severely affected and are without any resources of their own. Similarly, the US government has also provided a grant of USD 111,860 to the National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET) to fund its earthquake action plan implementation project. The office of the Foreign Disaster Assistance under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has made available the grants.

THE INDIAN ARMY is in the process of identifying places along the long and porous Indo-Nepal Border to set up bases for an effective presence in the area in view of stepped up activities of the Maoist rebels and Pakistan's ISI in Nepal, Times Of India daily reported last Wednesday. The report said, quoting sources, that the Army was scouting for land in Muzaffarpur (in Bihar state) to beef up its skeletal presence. The commanding officer of a unit of the 9th Jat Regiment based in Muzaffarpur, Col A K Gupta, is said to have recently held consultations with civil and intelligence officers in Champaran for the purpose. The Army was looking for space to deploy one battalion each in Bettiah and Motihari. The Signals Corps, too, is likely to set up base in Sitamarhi. The presence of the Army will go a long way in combating ISI's covert activities in India, the report said.

TOP POLICE OFFICERS have said the government is yet to provide compensation to families of policemen killed in the Maoist-related violence. Addressing the meeting of the State Affairs Committee of the parliament last week, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pradip Shumsher JB Rana and IGP of the Armed Police Force (APF) Krishna Mohan Shrestha said the government was yet to provide Rs. 142.4 million as compensation to the families of policemen. Similarly, injured police personnel are yet to receive Rs.7.8 million and about Rs three million is yet to be disbursed as scholarships to the children of the deceased personnel.

WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF MARKING the Earth Day (April 22), the Kathmandu Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) is organizing a number of activities. A rally participated by students from 25 schools and colleges will go around the city. There will be a one-day exhibition of environment-related technologies at Basantapur on the same day. Likewise, cultural programs and special clean-up campaigns at different wards will also be held.