News Notes (Spotlight Weekly)

Natikazi

Senior Musician Natikazi Dies

Senior musician Natikazi Shrestha died on Sunday morning (November 2) at the age of 78. He was suffering from respiratory and heart problems for several years. Natikazi is regarded as one of the pioneers of Nepalese music and his death is considered as irreparable loss to the country. He was involved in composing, writing and singing of romantic, religious as well as patriotic songs for the good part of his life. Prime Minister, ministers, political parties and individuals have expressed grief at his death. Leading dailies report.

Five Parties Decide To Hold Next Phase Of Agitation

The meeting of the central people’s movement coordination committee of the five parties has decided, on Sunday (November 2), to prepare for the next phase of agitation against the political regression. It has authorized the joint task force to frame strong programs. The top leaders of the five parties will also meet before November 9. The meeting also concluded that the nomination by the government to head local bodies is continuation of the regressive policies. Leading dailies report.

Maoists Object To The US Decision

The Maoists have expressed objection over the recent decision by the American government to term them as a threat to US security and has alleged that the US has once again interfered in Nepal. In a statement issued in its Krishna Sen online, the Maoists has termed the US decision as being foolish as it came a few days after the Maoists had made it clear that, at present, they did not have policy against any country including USA. The statement also charges that the US harbors intention to keep a ‘watch’ over India and encircle China by having a military base in Nepal. Nepal Samacharpatra daily reports.

Teacher Fighting For Life With Bullet In His Head

A teacher in the western Nepal is fighting for his life for the last one and half months as the doctors have failed to extract bullet out of his head. Maoist rebels had shot on the head of Kiran Raj Yogi, a teacher at the Nepal Rastriya Secondary School at Dodari, Bardiya on September 21. The rebels asked him to come out of his class while he was teaching, took him to the backyard of the school and shot him at his head. The 31-year-old teacher was rushed to the Lucknow Medical College, India. But, after initial treatment, the doctors advised him to go back saying that they could not take out the bullet from his brain. Kiran still has the bullet in his head and is now undergoing treatment at the District hospital at Guleriya, Bardiya. Dr. Prabodh Regmi of the hospital said that he is suffering from paralysis (due to the bullet wounds) and that he can't move his left hand and left leg. Sister-in-law of Kiran, Shanti Yogi, said that they are facing financial difficulties in treating him. "We have already spent around Rs 100,000 in the treatment by borrowing from our relatives. Now, we are facing financial problems to take him out for treatment in other hospitals." She also complained that the government had offered no assistance for Kiran's treatment. Kiran has an eight-year-old son and a six-year-old daughter. Kantipur daily reports.

Donors Slam Doti Shooting

The major donor countries and institutions involved in the development of the education sector in the country, have condemned the October 13 shooting at the Sharda Higher secondary school in Doti district in which four students were killed. “We deplore the violent incident. There is no justification for the warring aprties to bring their conflict within the school grounds,” they said in a joint statement. The incident highlights the need for both the parties to pay heed to the call by the UN acting High Commissioner for Refugees on September 25, which calls for proper investigation and prosecution in such cases, the statement said. It also calls on the Maoists to publicly declare its adherence to Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention. The statement said they are deeply worried over the increasing trend of using schools for political activities, killing of teachers and students and disruption of normal school activities. Danish Charge d’Affaires Gert Meinecke, Finnish Charge d’Affaires Asko Luukkainen, Norwegian ambassador Ingrid Ofstad, World Bank country director Ken Ohashi, Asian development Bandk country director S.H. Rahman, UNICEF’s Suomi Sakai, Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA) Eitaro Mitoma and European Union’s Rudiger Wenk have signed the statement. Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked for the report prepared by the security agency relating to the incident. Leading dailies report.

Koirala Blackmailed: Rohit

Narayan Man Bijukchhe Rohit, president of the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP), in a statement has charged that Girija Prasad Koirala, president of Nepali Congress, has been blackmailed by the government by dangling the CIAA files on Lauda scam and other scams by his daughter. This statement comes a day after Koirala said that his party would participate in elections if they are called even by the current government. Bijukchhe also criticized Koirala for making such statement without consulting with other parties of the five-party brigade. Likewise, Amrit Kumar Bohara, senior leader of the Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) has said that the party will discuss why a responsible leader like Koirala made such statement. Annapurna post daily reports.

16 Business Organizations Awarded CIP Award

The government has awarded the status of CIP (Commercially Important Person) to 17 business organizations who have been helping in the development of country’s economy. The fortunate organizations include Dabur Nepal Private Limited, Memento Apparels, Cotton Comfort, Shangrila International Apparels, Paramount Carpet Industries, Samling Carpet Industries, Pioneer Carpet Industries, Exclusive Fabric Industries, Narayani Leather Manufacturing Industries, Asiatic Traders and Exports, Nepal Lever Limited and Arihanta Multifiber Limited. Four foreign importers who have been awarded the CIP status include GAP Inc, Federeted Merchandising Group, Rudolph Peterson and Ludwig Bishenbach GMBH. The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies has awarded the status by taking into consideration the contribution on employment, exports and production. Dabur Nepal Private Limited has become the number one producer and exporter. In the last three fiscal years, Dabur Nepal has produced goods worth Rs 5.71 billion. Its exports during the period amounted to Rs 6.45 billion. Nepal Samacharpatra daily reports.

Refugees Repatriation To Begin From February

The verified refugees of the Khudunabari camp will begin to be repatriated by February next year, according to Dr. Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, ambassador-at-large. Dr. Thapa, upon returning from Thimpu where he took part in the 15th ministerial meeting said that the Bhutanese government has agreed in writing to take back refugees that fell under three categories – genuine Butanese, Bhutanese who emigrated voluntarily and criminals – as soon as possible. “As per this agreement, there is now the possibility of repatriating 75 percent of the refugees,” said Dr. Thapa. In case of the fourth category of the refugees – the non-Bhutanese, the Joint Verification Team will finalize its report by January next year. According to the JVT report of this year, out of 12,183 refugees in Khudunabari camp, almost 2948 belong to the fourth category. Dr. Thapa said that both the countries agreed to request India to provide safe passage to the returning refugees. As there is no contiguous boundary between Nepal and Bhutan, the refugees will have to return via India. Meanwhile, in an interview he gave to BBC, Bhutanese foreign minister Khandu Wangchuk said that as per the latest agreement, almost 9000 refugees can be able to return from the Khudunabari camp alone. “We can give citizenship to some of them immediately,” he said, pointing to the genuine Bhutanese category. “Others will have to wait for two years of probation period.” He also said that those who want to remain in Nepal can also apply for citizenship of Nepal. Leading dailies report.

WB Official Decries Crisis Of Governance

The vice president of the World Bank, Meiko Nishimizu, lamented about the crisis of governance and the pervasive corruption in the country as the major impediments to development in Nepal. “I felt a palpable absence of trust between the people and those in any positions of power and authority and smelled a decaying nation, a failing sovereign state, slowly disintegrating into a black void,” said Nishimizu, speaking at a program on governance and development titled “Nepal of your Dreams”. “You will achieve nothing, absolutely nothing, for yourself and your country, unless you pursue the dream of all the poor women and men of Nepal.” She said no development was sustainable without humble and tolerant leaders. “Good governance is good politics, and politics of political patronage makes absolutely no sense in any case,” she said and compared Kathmandu to an island of prosperity in an ocean of poverty which is Nepal. Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani, also present at the program, said, “While many claims have been exaggerated, there is no denying that if we cannot straighten out our system, we will lose.” The Himalayan Times daily reports.

Laws To Be Amended To Suit WTO Commitments

The government is planning to amend laws and even bring out ordinances to make necessary legislative preparations required to fulfill the commitments made to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). Senior officials at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, said that draft of such ordinances have already been forwarded to the Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet for their approval. According to sources, Electronic Transaction Act, Company Act, Security Transaction Act and Commercial Bank and Financial Organizations’ Transaction Act will be amended. Leading dailies report.

Bihar: Launchpad For Maoists?

The state government of Bihar has submitted a report to the Union Home Secretary of India saying that the Nepalese Maoists were preparing to launch attacks against the Nepalese security forces by using Bihar as their base areas. Indian news agencies, citing intelligence sources, reported that the report was submitted to the Home secretary, who recently visited Patna. The report states that the Nepalese Maoists are receiving training together with the Maoist Communist Center (MCC) and People’s War Group (PWG) and that the Indian extremists are imitating Nepalese Maoists by attacking even the passenger trains. Nepal Samacharpatra daily reports.