Briefs (Spotlight Weekly)

THE MAOIST INSURGENTS attacked and destroyed the ancestral house of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in far-western region on the night of May 23, reports said. Nobody was injured in the attacks. The latest incidences of Maoist violence coincide with the five-day-long shutdown strike called by the underground Maoist party since Tuesday. A group of Maoist rebels set fire on two ancestral houses belonging to premier Deuba at Asigram village development committee in Dadeldhura district, some 500-km west of the capital, Kathmandu. The houses were still burning when the security personnel reached the site Wednesday morning. Chief District Officer in Dadeldhura, Narendra Raj Sharma, said the extent of damage due to the fire were not available immediately. Officials said that no security was provided to the house as Prime Minister Deuba lives in Kathmandu along with his family. The rebels have attacked and caused damage to houses and properties belonging to over one dozen government ministers, including that of Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat in Nuwakot, over the last few months.

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION HAS sought permission from the United States Congress to grant US Dollars 20 million in military aid to Nepal to quell the ongoing Maoist insurgency, reports said. According to an AFP report filed from Washington, a senior official at the US State Department has confirmed that the United States is presently assessing Nepal's needs and reviewing several options for military assistance. "We've asked Congress for a supplemental appropriation of US Dollars 20 million in foreign military financing for Nepal so that we can offer more assistance," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher is quoted as saying. "Once again, we reiterate our support for the right of Nepal to safeguard its citizens against these guerrillas within the framework of its own Constitution." The US government's decision has come at a time when some US military officials are touring Maoist insurgency-hit districts in this Himalayan kingdom.

ALARMED BY AN INCREASE in violent activities by Maoist rebels in Nepal and their nexus with the Maoist Communist Centre in Bihar, the Centre and Bihar Government are contemplating specialised policing along the Indo-Nepal border and strengthening of the Special Task Force in the state, www.ndtv.com, an on-line news portal, reported on May 23 quoting a Press Trust of India dispatch. The proposal for specialised policing, is being actively considered by the coordination Centre, comprising top police officials of nine states, set up by the Union Home Ministry to tackle left-wing extremism, the agency reported quoting official sources. Bihar shares a 735 km long border with Nepal. Expressing the state Government's concern over close proximity of the banned Communist Party of Nepal with the MCC and People's War Group, the sources said that there was apprehension that these outfits, which have already formed an alliance called Indo-Nepal Border Regional Committee, may be used by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence for smuggling arms into India. Large-scale drug trafficking and pumping of fake currency notes through the porous Indo-Nepal border, they said, pointed to ISI's links with the outlawed organisations trying to disturb regional peace. The sources said that a joint action group comprising top police brass was being formed to coordinate, cooperate and share intelligence information. More troops of the Special Security Bureau were likely to be deployed along the border to prevent the Maoist rebels from sneaking into Bihar, the sources said, adding the Nepal Government was also planning for strict policing on the other side of the border. The rebels in Nepal, who have virtually waged a war against the Government, have killed over 1,000 policemen.

THE STATE-OWNED RSTRIYA Beema Sansthan (RBS-National Insurance Corporation) is currently assessing four major insurance claims totalling Rs. 350 million in connection with the Maoist-related violence. The Nepal Rastra Bank has claimed Rs. 80 million, the Agriculture Development Bank Rs. 20 million, the Nepal Bank Limited Rs. 70 million and the Nepal Telecommunication Corporation Rs. 80 million. The number of claimants is on the rise, said Chief administrator of RBS, Khem Raj Baral. According to Baral, the Jhimruk hydro-electricity project alone has placed a claim of Rs. 100 million for the damage inflicted during the Maoist attacks. The Shah distillery in Banke district has sought Rs. 30 million in insurance. The Maoists in August burned down the distillery during the anti-liquor demonstration last year. "We have not been able to go to all these sites for evaluation because of security considerations," Baral said. Of late, the Maoists have been targeting nation's infrastructure and government installations including VDC offices, banks, telecom towers, power houses, bridges and roads. The communication sector, once considered the most advanced one in entire South Asia, has suffered the most. The insurgents have destroyed six telephone exchanges, 83 Mart stations and 19 SPUR link stations, the Nepal Telecommunication Corporation said.

IN AN UNUSUAL DEVELOPMENT, a former minister has urged the government to arrest him, subject him into torture and put him behind bars for acquiring wealth by committing irregularities. Hari Prasad Pandey, who held the post of minister of state for water resources for nearly five months during the short-lived minority government of the CPN (UML) led by late Man Mohan Adhikari in 1994-95, told reporters in his home town Pokhara Monday that he was guilty of acquiring money through illegal means while holding the post of minister. "I am guilty and demand that action be taken against me," Pandey said, adding, "My crime was as serious as the ones being committed by the Maoists." Mr. Pandey demanded that he should be tried in a court and punished for having cheated the state. He said he also felt guilty for the refusal by the World Bank to finance in the Arun III project when he was the minister. He said he was ready to pay for the electricity, water, food and other logistics to the government when he was put behind bars. Mr. Pandey said he had sent a letter to the District Administration office, Kaski, by post on Tuesday seeking interrogation in his "wrongdoings" after the local authorities refused to file a case against him.

THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT Bank has approved a technical assistance worth US Dollar 750,000 for Nepal to prepare a community based water supply and sanitation in rural areas. Dr. Bimal Koirala, Secretary at the Ministry of Finance and Dr. Richard Vokes, Resident Representative at the ADB's Nepal Resident Mission, signed on an agreement to this effect here Monday. Officials said the assistance will first formulate a strategy for prioritizing investment decisions in rural water supply and sanitation and will develop community driven projects later. The assistance, that will be coming from Japan Special Fund through the ADB, covers nearly 80 per cent of the total cost of US Dollars 910,000. HMG/Nepal will chip in the remaining amount. At a separate function, the ADB Nepal Resident Mission awarded this year's outstanding project implementation performance awards to Micro Credit for Women Project and the Rural Micro Finance Project. Apart from the two winners, Upper Sagarmatha Agricultural Development Project, Third Livestock Development Project and Third Road Improvement Project were also short- listed for the award. The ADB has been distributing awards to ADB-aided projects to encourage the staff for better performance.