News Notes (Spotlight Weekly)

King Grants Audience To Thapa

In what is seen as fresh royal initiatives to break the political impasse, King Gyanendra held talks with leader of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and former prime minister Surya Bahadur Thapa. The latest royal move lend substance to speculations that the count-down to the 113-days-old Chand government has began. Thapa's meeting with the King comes a day after similar meeting with Nepali Congress (Democratic) leader and former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. According to sources, both meetings took place at the initiative of the Royal Palace. More such meetings with leaders of other political parties as well as representatives of various spheres of society are to follow. The latest initiatives for political conciliation followed the assassination of chief of Armed Police Force (APF) Krishna Mohan Shrestha in the capital last week. The incident occurred amid claims by ministers of Chand government that dialogue with Maoists was not far away. The Kathmandu Post reports January 29.

DTT Refuses To Pay Compensation

The Deloitte Touche Tomatsu (DTT) has refused to pay compensation demanded by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) for the financial loss incurred from unilateral breach of agreement by the former. However, the DTT, in a letter to NRB, has urged the central bank to initiate negotiations to find out an amicable solution to the problem. Despite willingness on both the parties to negotiate, the dispute regarding the venue for such dialogue has not settled yet. While NRB maintains that Kathmandu should be the venue, DTT has refused to come here citing fragile law and order situation. Earlier, on the first week of January, the NRB had sent a letter to DTT claiming around Rs 500 million compensation from the DTT for the financial loss incurred from unilateral breach of management take-over contract of Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB) by the DTT. The DTT, which had signed a contract with NRB in January last year to take over the management of RBB, unilaterally breached it six months ago on the grounds of weak security condition of the country. The NRB has claimed that the action led to huge losses due to DTT's initial delay and eventual cancellation of the management take-over contract. According to a report, the RBB alone had to bear a loss of around Rs 10 million a day due to the unnecessary delay in the process. The breach of trust by the DTT also played a crucial role in weakening the financial condition of the bank due to which the non-performing assets climbed to 48 percent. Leading dailies report.

Thapa Appointed APF Chief

Following the brutal assassination of his predecessor last week, Sahabir Thapa has been appointed as the acting chief of the two-year-old Armed Police Force (APF). The cabinet meeting made the decision to appoint Thapa, who was the Additional Inspector General of Police of APF, as the acting Inspector General of Police. Home secretary Tikadutta Niraula presented the insignia to the newly appointed acting IGP of the APF. Wishing all the success of Thapa as the new chief of the 15,000-member paramilitary force, Home Secretary Niraula said the APF would not deviate from its commitment to quell the Maoists terror and translate the grief of IGP's murder into strength. Leading dailies report.

Shrestha's Assassin Confesses

Krishna Bahadur Sainju, the injured Maoist rebel, who was arrested in connection with the assassination of chief of Armed Police Fore (APF) Krishna Mohan Shrestha, his wife and bodyguard has confessed of framing the plan to murder IGP Shrestha at a house in Bagdole, Lalitpur, reports Nepal Samacharpatra daily. Sainju, who was injured after the gun he was carrying fired accidentally, along with three other Maoists had gunned down Shrestha near Bagdole in the early Sunday morning. After he hurt himself, Sainju fled to nearby Patan Hospital from where he was arrested. According to police, they have recovered documents and hit-lists of important personalities upon raiding the house of Sainju. The police also claims of having arrested dozens of Maoists from the capital valley. Leading dailies report.

RPP Demands Resignation Of Home Minister

The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) has demanded the resignation of the Home Minister Dharma Bahadur Thapa following the assassination of chief of Armed Police Force (APF) Krishna Mohan Shrestha. Criticizing Thapa as being "helpless and reason-less", the party, whose leader Lokendra Bahadur Chand heads the current government, asked for his resignation at its central committee meeting on Monday. The party also requested its leaders Rabindra Nath Sharma and Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani to join the central committee. Sharma and Dr. Lohani both had lost in the election for the post of RPP president held recently in Pokhara during its general convention. Pashupati SJB Rana was elected the party president by the convention. Compiled from reports.

Maoists Announce Negotiation Team

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has announced a five-member negotiation team to hold peace talks with the government. Both the government and the rebels had announced cease-fire last Wednesday paving way for the negotiated settlement to end the seven-year-old insurgency. In a statement issued early this week, chairman of the underground Maoist party, Prachanda, said that his party had re-constituted the negotiation team with a view to move forward the negotiation process in a responsible way. The team will be led by senior Maoist leader, Dr. Baburam Bhattarai. Other members of the team include Ram Bahadur Thapa alias Badal, Dev Gurung, Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Matrika Yadav. Thapa is said to wield considerable influence among the Maoist guerrilla force while Mahara led the three-member Maoist negotiation team in the failed peace talks last year. A few months back, the party had announced that it had constituted a negotiation team but did not make public the name of its members. The CPN (Maoist) has also announced withdrawal of the two-day nationwide shutdown strike called by its party next week (February 14 and 15). Compiled from reports.

India Deploys SSB

The Indian government has deployed para-military Special Service Bureau (SSB) along bordering areas in western Nepal with a view to check terrorist activities. Eleven battalion under the SSB have been deployed along the 90-km stretch of the common, open border. A senior official at the SSB said that nearly 24,000 para-military have already been deployed along the 1,768 km long Nepal-India border. India had started deploying border police along the border since 1997 for patrolling border and controlling terrorist activities. Deshanter Feb. 2.

"Violence Rewarded At The Cost Of Democracy"

The Times of India, a leading Indian daily, has observed that the recent political developments in Nepal "could send a signal that violence is being rewarded at the expense of representative democracy." In an editorial entitled "Royal Rebels" published Saturday (February 1), the daily said that the timing of the truce was not as sudden as it was surprising. "In the event, the controversial perception of a Maoist-monarchy axis, reinforced by a shared hostility to multi-party democracy. Ever since King Gyanendra suspended democracy by sacking an elected government in October last, there has been pressure to work towards a restoration of the parliamentary process. However, while the palace sidelined mainstream parties, it has been wooing the Maoists for talks," said the editorial. All political parties should be involved in the (negotiation) process and in an atmosphere free from violence, the editorial concluded. Compiled from reports Feb. 2.

Amnesty Appeals Govt., Rebels

International human rights watchdog, Amnesty International (AI), has called upon the Nepalese government and Maoists to make human rights an integral part of the imminent peace talks. In a statement issued in London, the Amnesty has suggested that a mutually agreed human rights monitoring mechanisms be put in place, an independent investigation be carried out into all allegations of rights abuses during the insurgency and review of cases pertaining to those held under the anti-terrorist act. In its December report, the Amnesty had alleged the security forces and rebels in Nepal of being indulged in widespread rights violations during the seven-year old insurgency. Compiled from reports Feb. 2.

Minister Pun Meets Maoist Detainees

Minister for Physical Planning and Works, Narayan Singh Pun, who is also the convener of the negotiation team on behalf of the government, visited a number of jails and police stations in the capital valley last week to discuss the new situation. Pun's visit is part of the government's efforts to release the Maoist detainees ahead of the proposed peace talks. The government is also preparing to make whereabouts of the Maoist detainees public, official sources said. The rebels have also demanded that the government make public whereabouts of its cadres reported "disappeared" from the custody of the security forces. Compiled from reports Feb. 2.

"NC Could Join Peace Talks:" Koirala

President of Nepali Congress, Girija Prasad Koirala, has hinted that his party would sit alongside the government for peace talks with Maoists if it were invited. Talking to reporters in Damauli last week, Koirala, however, criticized saying that the entire process so far was limited to just the monarchy and the Maoists. "The armed powers of both the King and the Maoists have now come together. If political parties are sidelined, the Nepali Congress would counter it with new strategy," he said. He did not explain. He also ruled out possibility of dropping the party's protest programs against the royal move of October 4. Space Time Feb. 2.