News Notes (Spotlight Weekly)

Koirala

'Foreign Hand Behind Party Split'

Former prime minister and Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala has hinted that foreign forces might be behind the latest split in the ruling party. "But whoever is involved in it has caught hold of the weak twig," Koirala said in an address to a meeting of NC workers in Pokhara last week. He did not explain who those forces could be. Meanwhile, the Central Working Committee meeting of the Koirala-led Nepali Congress on Friday endorsed the disciplinary action taken against Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Minister for Information and Communications Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta. The meeting also called upon all democratic forces to remain united during these difficult times.Compiled from reports June 23.

PM Deuba

Deuba Trashes Koirala's Conspiracy Theory

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has rejected his predecessor's suggestion that foreign forces were becoming active in Nepal's internal politics. The premier said Girija Prasad Koirala was misinterpreting the steps taken by the government to rally global support against terrorism. "It is the duty of the prime minister to rally international support against terrorism in the country. This should not be misinterpreted," said Deuba. He accused Koirala of pushing the party into deeper crisis at a time when the entire country was united against terrorism. "Perhaps Girijababu wants to see continued bloodshed," he said. "The country can go the dogs, but he only wants power." Deuba said the forthcoming election will decide who is right and who is wrong. "I am not concerned by those who are enacting street dramas saying I will finish off democracy," he said. The Deuba faction of the Nepali Congress has, meanwhile, decided to launch a membership campaign. Former MP Hom Nath Dahal has been appointed the spokesperson of the faction. Leading dailies report.

UNHCR Chief Hopeful Of Speedy Repatriation

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Rudd Lubbers, has expressed hope that the Bhutanese refugees languishing in camps in eastern Nepal for over a decade will return home within a year. In a message to the refugees on World Refugee Day (June 20), Lubbers said the commission would double its efforts to repatriate them. He said the commission has been working on three fronts: to repatriate the refugees, to make provisions to stay in countries where the refugees first arrived, to resettle them in the country of their refuge. Meanwhile, the Bhutanese Refugee Support Group, a non-government initiative, has called upon all sides concerned to expedite the verification process. It has been more than six months since a joint team of Nepalese and Bhutanese officials verified around 1,300 refugees at Khudunabari in eastern Nepal. But the process is yet to begin in other camps. Nearly 100,000 Bhutanese of Nepali origin are living as refugees in the seven UNHCR-managed camps in eastern Nepal. Compiled from reports June 21.

CIAA Files Cases Against 51

The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) last week filed cases against 51 people, including former auditor general Mukunda Prasad Aryal, at the Patan Appellate Court, on charges of embezzling Rs. 213.9 million while granting loans to a private party five years ago. According to the CIAA, the officials allegedly embezzled the money while granting separate loans "with malafide intentions" to the Laxmi Prasad Acharya Group from the Nepal Bank Limited. The CIAA had carried out an investigation based on an assessment report prepared by a Nepal Rastra Bank team headed by chartered accountant Rajan Singh Bhandari. The CIAA has also accused engineer Keshav Lal Shrestha, Narendra Raj Bhattarai, S.P. Shrestha, Tek Nath Chamlagain and economist Dr. Hari Bamsha Jha of involvement in corruption by overestimating the value of collateral. Compiled from reports June 22.

Reinsurance Pool Formed

All private non-life insurers operating in the country signed an agreement last week, at the initiative of the Insurance Board (a regulatory body), to set up a fund to cover Terrorism and Sabotage Insurance. The signatories have agreed to set aside a collective fund of Rs. 60 million to begin with. The government, too, is expected to chip in matching sum through the board. The latest efforts had to be made after the International Reinsurance Group refused to cover the liability generated from terrorist activities until the next notice in the aftermath of September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. The Reinsurance Pool will come into effect subsequent to dropping off of the TSI coverage by the reinsurers, mainly the Indian companies, said Dr. Prafulla Kafle, chairman of the Insurance Board. The Nepalese insurance companies have already paid insurance liabilities of nearly Rs. 1 billion for the destruction/loss caused by the Maoist terrorist activities, including looting of banks and destruction of hydropower projects. Kantipur June 20.

'Regional Rivalry Threat To Small States'

The security of smaller states in South Asia is likely to be jeopardized further in the wake of the rivalry between the two big regional powers, a visiting Pakistani scholar said. Shireen M. Mazari, director-general of the Islamabad-based Institute of Strategic Studies, said that the so-called "right to intervene" as being talked about by the US, Israel and India could jeopardize the security situation of smaller countries. In an interview with The Himalayan Times, Dr. Mazari said India should seal the border with Nepal to control cross-border terrorism, because the Maoist leadership is based in India. But India could use the opportunity send its military in, saying that Nepal could not control the situation. "This could lead to greater intervention." Dr. Mazari emphasized the need for an institutional framework within the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation to deal with conflicts in the region. Compiled from reports June 19.

Houses In Pashupati Area To Be Demolished

In a bid to preserve the religious and cultural heritage in and around the Pashupati area, the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) has decided to demolish more than a 100 houses and sheds constructed in the area by September this year. As part of its 10-year master plan, the PADT had initiated its demolition plan but was forced to withdraw it following extreme protests from house owners. Leading dailies report.

LIC-Nepal To Go Public

The Life Insurance Corporation-Nepal (LIC-Nepal) is preparing to go for public issue next month, according to a press release issued by the company last week. LIC-Nepal is a joint venture of Life Insurance Corporation (India) and the Vishal Group of Nepal, which began operations this fiscal year. It has nominated NIDC capital markets as the merchant banker and issue manager. The underwriters are Bank of Kathmandu, Everest Bank, Nepal Bangladesh Bank and NIDC capital markets, said the release. The LIC-Nepal has a paid-up capital of Rs. 200 million from LIC-India and Vishal Group and an authorized capital of Rs. 250 million. LIC-Nepal will raise Rs. 50 million from public shares. Leading dailies report.

Contamination Detected In Food

The Department for Food Technology and Quality Control have said that they have detected traces of contamination in rapeseed oil, milk and other stuffs. Among the 50 samples of rapeseed oil, the department detected contamination of "argemone" in 29 of them. The argemone contaminated oil can cause dropsy illness among human beings Scores of people had died of this disease few years ago in India. The department says that compared to rapeseed oil, the soyabean and sunflower oil are significantly free of contamination. It also said that it detected contamination of coli bacteria in dairy milk. Most of the milk industries are found to have breached the quality control standard. Likewise, the contamination in mineral water have increased considerably compared to previous years, said the department. Apart from these, even foodstuffs like ghee, flour, pulse and biscuits were found contaminated in varying degrees. Leading dailies report.