News Notes (Spotlight Weekly)

King Gyanendra Grants Interview

In an interview granted to the chairman of the Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) on the first anniversary of his ascension to the throne, His Majesty King Gyanendra said the institution of monarchy is functioning within the constitutional framework and would continue to function in the future also in the collective interests of Nepal and the Nepalese people. "We will never lag behind in wiping out the hardships of the country and the people." King Gyanendra appealed to all Nepalese to "do something even though small in magnitude, for peace, development and good governance". His Majesty also drew attention of all towards the need for taking pride in being a Nepali and always remaining a Nepali. His Majesty remembered his brother late King Birendra who always gave priority to people's will and aspirations and said he will always remain our source of inspiration. On the current political situation, His Majesty said the duty of the constitutional monarch had been fulfilled on the recommendation of the prime minister as provided for by the constitution, adding that the prime minister must have dissolved the House of Representatives with determination that the elections will be held on the date fixed. His Majesty expressed confidence that the elections will be held on the fixed date. King Gyanendra also called on all including those in government and outside, all the political forces, employees and general public to be active in holding the election on the stipulated date. Asked if there might be a role for His Majesty in the resolution of the crisis that may arise in case the election is not held, His Majesty said this happens to be hypothetical and one should not think about it now. His Majesty said our country, which was a synonym for peace in the past, is now choking in a spate of violence, terror and destruction and added that the constitutional path to finding out the underlying causes and to resolving the problem has not closed. "History is witness to the devotion and sacrifice of the Nepalese towards safeguarding our nation," said His Majesty, adding, "We all know that it is up to us Nepalese people how our nationalism can be strengthened and fortified and given awareness and vigilance our national flag will go on fluttering for ever." Leading dailies report.

Deuba Appeals Against Expulsion

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Tuesday forwarded an appeal to the Nepali Congress Central Working Committee (CWC) asking it to revoke the decision to expel him from the party. Although Deuba had been refusing to hand over such an appeal, saying it was useless to "weep before a butcher", he relented upon pressure from some 50 Congress leaders, including Ram Chandra Poudel. In his appeal, Deuba said the action taken against him was prejudiced, unfair and against the interest of country and people. Without giving names, Deuba urged the CWC to revoke its earlier disciplinary actions against several Congress leaders. Meanwhile, party leaders like deputy general secretary Govinda Raj Joshi have indicated that the party would not revoke its decision. Compiled from reports.

UML Holds Talks With CPI

The Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist has urged the Communist Party of India (CPI) to assist in sorting out problems between Nepal and India, including changing the 1950 bilateral treaty. UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal and CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan held an official talks at the central office of UML in Balkhu on Tuesday. Bardhan was in Kathmandu at the invitation of UML. Compiled from reports.

'Maoist-Koirala Mediation By Indian Minister'

In what is seen as a controversial development, Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes is acting as a mediator between Maoist leaders living in India and Girija Prasad Koirala, president of ruling Nepali Congress party. Koirala who went to New Delhi after completing his China visit has had a series of meeting with Fernandes. Former prime minister Koirala, who is accompanied by his two most trusted confidantes - former foreign minister Chakra Prasad Bastola and daughter Sujata Koirala - reportedly told his Indian colleagues that he would harden his stance against Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's faction. He gave clear indication to his Indian friends that not only the party would not revoke expulsion of Deuba but would also initiate serious disciplinary actions against all the ministers and general convention members who have been asking for the partỳs General Convention meeting. In fact, Koirala's unscheduled visit to New Delhi had raised eyebrows in the political circle despite sources close to him claiming he went there to visit ailing wife of his nephew Niranjan Koirala. Fernandes is believed to have received Koirala at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, a courtesy which a former prime minister of a friendly country is not entitled under the protocol. Fernandes is also said to have been assisted by one of his former advisers in setting up the meeting between Koirala and Nepalese Maoist leaders. Bastola is believed to have had meetings with prominent Maoist leaders already but Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai were not among those who he met. Fernandes has been known for his close contact with militants from North East India and Kashmir as well as radical communist Indian Naxalites and rebels from Myanmar, Tibet and Nepal. He had embarrassed Koirala during his earlier tenure as prime minister by illegally sneaking into Tibetan Autonomous Region of China from Nepal. Fernandes' current hobnobbing with Nepalese Maoists leaders living in India comes at a time when they have already been officially labeled as terrorists by the Indian government. The fact that the Indian defence minister is having close contact with Maoist leaders is in contradiction with India's declared policy. Many feel, it could have serious repercussions on India's declared position on terrorism. Leading dailies report.

Pun To Form New Party

Former MP of the Nepali Congress Narayan Singh Pun has declared that he intends to resign from Congress and form a new party in order to raise issues of groups that have lagged behind for years including indigenous, nationalists, Dalits and Madhesi people. He said it would take 50 years for Nepali Congress to address such issues and said he cannot wait so long. He said the new party would be guided by the universal democratic principle and socialism that would combine both Marx's and B.P. Koirala's ideology so as to address challenges of the 21st century. Leading dailies report.

'Surprise Package' For SAF Gold Medalists

Three years after the government promised them the 'surprise package', the gold medalists of the 8th South Asian Federation (SAF) Games held in Kathmandu in 1999 finally got it on Thursday. Amid a special function, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba gave cash prize of Rs 150,000 each to individual gold medalists while members of gold medal winning teams were provided with Rs 100,000 each. Then-prime minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai had promised the Nepalese winners the 'surprise package' after they staged an unprecedented success winning 31 gold medals during the 8th SAF Games. Compiled from reports.

CPJ Expresses Concern

After two weeks of investigation, a US-based organization of journalists has concluded that journalists were the second biggest victims after villagers of the ongoing conflict in Nepal. Kavita Menon, the Asia Program Coordinator of† the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and its Pulitzer-winning executive member Josh Friedman said in a statement issued at a press conference on Thursday, "The journalists' arrests have created a climate of fear, and self-censorship is widespread. Journalists are being literally abducted by security forces and held incommunicado, without any specific charge." Over 100 journalists have been arrested after the imposition of emergency in the country, according to Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ). The government maintains that, barring stray incidents, most of them are closely affiliated to the Maoists. The CPJ officials also met with the prime minister and the information and communication minister to raise their concerns about abuses of press freedom. During the meeting, they urged to facilitate media access to conflict areas and to schedule weekly military briefings to keep journalists better informed about the fighting. The press statement by the CPJ stated that both the prime minister and the information minister agreed that it was important to improve the flow of communication between security forces and the media. Leading dailies report.

Knocking Court's Door Meaningless: UML

Three national political parties including the erstwhile main opposition Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) have termed the move by 61 ex-MPs to knock the court's door for the reinstatement of the House of Representatives as meaningless. The leaders of the UML, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP), speaking at an interaction program in capital on Wednesday, said that the government should be fully alert to conduct election on time. "It is futile to debate whether elections will take place or not. Despite some hardships, elections should be held on time," said K.P. Sharma Oli, leader of the UML. "To conduct elections on schedule, the government should make arrangements to create environment conducive for campaigning," said RPP leader Pashupati SJB Rana. Likewise, leader of NSP Hridayesh Tripathy asked the government to guarantee law and order, cautioning that in case the election could not be held on time, the constitution could face a crisis. Leaders of all three parties also asked Maoists to lay down arms and work towards peaceful settlement of the problem. Compiled from reports.

Maoists Kill District Red Cross Official

A group of armed Maoists have killed Dhruba Dev Acharya, the vice president of Tanahun district Nepal Red Cross Society. Acharya, a leading social worker, was shot to death on Tuesday night. The rebels barged into his residence, took him out, tied his hands and legs and shot him fatally on his chest, according to family sources. Acharya is also associated with Nepali Congress party. Compiled from reports.