News Notes (Spotlight Weekly)

Koirala Trashes PM Claim

Girija Prasad Koirala, president of Nepali Congress (NC) and former prime minister, has trashed the claim made by Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa that the agitators had asked police to fire bullets in order to provoke bloodshed and violence. “Agitators have done no such thing. Thapa must be losing his mind to be saying that,” said Koirala who is leading the five party agitation. Likewise, a meeting of the task force of the five party also said that PM was spreading false information by saying that he is having talks with party leaders behind the scene. Meanwhile, disabled people also took part on Sunday’s agitation in Ratna Park area. Leading dailies report.

Minister Reiterates Maoist Infiltration In Agitation

Home Minister Kamal Thapa has reiterated that there is Maoist infiltration in the five party agitation and that the same prompted the government to impose riot-torn zone in the capital city. Talking to reporters, minister Thapa said that the government had proofs of Maoist infiltration but said he could not elaborate on this for security reasons. He also claimed that many party leaders were still having regular contacts with the Maoists regarding seeking their cooperation. “When the government said that it would release the detained agitators after initiating investigation, the party leaders have opposed – fueling our suspicions of such infiltration,” he said. “We thought that the agitation would be peaceful, but midway they asked for Maoist cooperation and the chairman of Maoist Prachanda, too, directed his workers to do the same.” Minister Thapa charged that leaders who were in regular contact with the Maoists belonged to parties other than Nepali Congress (NC) and Unified Marxist Leninist (UML). His signal seemed to be directed at People’s Front (PF) though he did not name it. He added that while some of the agitators wanted to hold peaceful rallies, some were bent on provoking violence. “We praise the restrain shown by some leaders,” he said, adding that the government, too, felt that, at times, security forces used excessive force and had, therefore, improved its performance. Meanwhile, minister Thapa said that the government was working to extradite Maoist leader Mohan Baidya who was arrested in India. Kantipur daily reports.

Bollywood Actress Koirala Terms Agitation Illogical

Manisha Koirala, famous Bollywood actress and grand niece of NC president Girija Prasad Koirala, has said that although she feels hurt for the physical injury sustained by her grand uncle, she finds no logic behind the mass movement he is leading. At a program organized by Rotary Club of Rajdhani, she said she has no sympathy for the five parties’ crusade against regression. “There is no need for the movement at the moment when the King has announced elections,” she said, “Let the King hold elections.” Manisha is in capital to take part in Walkathon organized by the Club to raise money for cancer patients. The program had to be cancelled at the last minute due to prohibitory orders imposed by the government against holding rallies. The Himalayan Times daily reports.

We Want Constitution To Be Activated: Koirala

Nepali Congress (NC) president and former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala has said that the only aim of the agitation is to activate the constitution. “The parliament should be reinstated and it would activate the constitution,” Koirala told BBC news on Saturday (April 10). We only want back the power to the people, he said, adding that the agitation will continue till these objectives were met. Any government formed after activating the constitution would be legitimate and that would work to resolve the Maoist problem as well, he added. Compiled from reports.

Govt. Declares Kathmandu Riot-Torn Area

The Home Minister has declared areas within the Ring Road including parts of Kathmandu and Lalitpur districts as riot-torn areas and have clamped ban on the assembly of more than five persons, demonstrations, rallies and distribution of pamphlets except at religious gatherings. “The government has received convincing information about Maoist infiltration in the five-party agitation,” the Home Ministry statement, on April 8, reads. A minister confided that the decision was based on intelligence report that Maoists and other anarchists were preparing to take advantage of the agitation by giving them a violent turn. The Home Ministry has also said that it has seriously received recent statements by Maoist chairman Prachanda and their leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara where they have said that they would assist the agitation. Leading dailies report.

Seven Maoists Killed By Villagers

Seven Maoists including an area commander were killed by angry villagers of Punarbas area located in southern parts of Kanchanpur district. In two separate incidents, villagers killed three in Tribhuwan basti VDC and four in Parasan VDC, according to the security forces. The villagers are said to have attacked the Maoists furious that they had come to village to abduct them. Two more Maoists were taken under their control and a few weapons were confiscated by the villagers, who later handed them over to security forces. Meanwhile, The Himalayan Times daily adds that most of the 1500 people abducted by the Maoists from Kanchanpur districts have been freed. They were freed after being forced to take part in an indoctrination session and a meeting of Maoist-affiliated peasant organization. Kantipur daily reports.

Maoist Target Border Police Post

After launching fierce attack at the Area Police Post in Pashupatinagar of Ilam district, in which incident two policemen including an inspector were killed, the Maoists abducted around 41 policemen from there. Pashupatinagar is a border town in eastern Nepal. The Maoists who were equipped with latest weapons like AK 47, SMG, LMG and INSAS sniper rifles surrounded the police office from all sides, according to policemen who survived the attack. The Sukhiapokhari police station in Darjeeling district of West Bengal state in India claimed the Maoists used Indian soil in launching the attack. Innumerable empty shells of bullets were found strewn in the area. Prior to the attack, a woman Maoist cadre hailed the Indian side via loudspeaker. Speaking in Hindi and Nepali, she warned the Indian side not to interfere in Nepal’s internal matter and also cautioned people against crossing the border, locals and Indian security personnel said. The Himalayan Times daily reports.

Baidya Sent To 15-Day Judicial Custody

The court of sub-divisional Judicial Magistrate, Siliguri, has ordered Maoist senior leader Mohan Baidya to be placed in judicial custody. Baidya was arrested on March 29. He will be produced in court on April 22. He is charged under the sections 121, 122, 123 and 124 of the Indian Penal Code with ‘waging war against India’. Along with Narayan Bikram Pradhan, Baidya was produced in the court of the sub-divisional magistrate Jaladhar Mandal. Leading dailies report.

Nepal-US Joint Army Exercises On

At least 30 US soldiers are conducting joint training exercises with the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) in the country since Tuesday (April 6). A US Congress delegation is also expected in capital on Thursday (April 8) on South Asian tour, said sources. “Apart from joint exercises with the RNA’s Special Force, the American soldiers will be working with RNA in communication, medical, engineering and logistics,” the sources added. Civil aviation sources confirmed the arrival of the American C-130 Hercules aircraft which brought the US soldiers. An RNA 11 Brigade source said the US flight crew was learning flying skills over Nepalese terrain with the help of RNA personnel. American Center Director Constance Colding Jones admitted, “The flight and maintenance crew of C-130 is here for joint training exercises.” According to her, US Congress delegation will just ‘gather information’ about the whole region. About delivery of the next consignment of M-16 rifles, Jones said, “RNA has asked for 20,000 M-16 rifles but delivery of those weapons will basically depend upon their manufacture.” Sources added the 39 RNA platoons in the western Nepal would be provided new M-16 rifles by end of the month. These guns are lighter, more accurate and malfunction-proof. The Himalayan Times daily reports.

Govt. Assures Safety To Indian Nationals And Properties

A day after India issued a statement requesting Nepalese government to provide security to its nationals and their properties in Nepal, the foreign ministry here has come up with a statement assuring the same. The Indian government had issued the statement after the Maoists set to fire 18 trucks with Indian number plates in Dhangadhi. “Security agencies have been alerted to beef up security so as to prevent such attacks in future,” the foreign ministry statement reads. The Nepalese government has stated that such incidents were harmful to the friendly relations between the two countries. The government has also urged the political parties, civil society and all those who believe in multi party democracy and constitutional monarchy to forge national consensus based on mutual agreement in order to resolve the current crisis. Leading dailies report.

Nepal Fourth In SAF Games

Nepal stood fourth in the final medal tally of the Ninth South Asian Federation Games (SAFG) in Islamabad, Pakistan. Nepal bagged 7 gold medals, 6 silver medals and 17 bronze medals. India led the table by bagging 101 gold medals followed by Pakistan, which won 40 gold medals. Sri Lanka stood in the third place winning 15 gold medals. Bangladesh won 3 gold medals. Afghanistan and Bhutan won 1 gold medal each while Maldives returned without a single medal. On the final day of the regional tournament, Nepal won two silver medals in boxing and three bronze medals. Compiled from reports.

SLC Exams Conclude Peacefully

The two-week-long School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examinations concluded peacefully throughout the country on Monday (April 5). According to the Office of the Controller of Examinations, 317001 students appeared for the exams. Authorities have said that this year the percentage of absent students was much higher. Almost ten percent of the total number of students did not appear for the tests. The reason for the huge percent of absence has been attributed to the situation of insecurity and conflict. The Office is yet to take practical tests and would be holding re-examinations in few exam centers of Makwanpur and Taplejung district. There were 905 exam centers across the country. Birendra Kumar Singh, the exam controller, said that the results of the SLC will come out within two months. Meanwhile, the government has formed a team headed by educationist Dr. Kedar Bhakta Mathema and with the financial support of DANIDA to identify reasons for low pass percentage in SLC. In the last two years, the pass percentage in SLC had hovered around 30. Leading dailies report.

Minister Shukla Resigned

King Gyanendra has accepted the resignation tendered by Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation and Culture Sarbendra Nath Shukla. Minister Shukla, who also holds the portfolio of land reforms and management and forest and soil conservation, resigned after the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) asked the Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa to take action against him saying that he acted against the norms and duties of a minister by pleading in support of a person charged of corruption. Shukla had pleaded in support of former minister and RPP leader Rabindra Nath Sharma at the Special Court on Monday. Shukla had stated (in the court) that CIAA action against Sharma was prejudiced and incorrect. Shukla also allegedly told the court that action against Sharma was a conspiracy. Leading dailies report.