News Notes (Spotlight Weekly)

UML Will Not Pull Out: Nepal

The general secretary of the Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) Madhav Kumar Nepal has said that his party would not pull out from the government till it accomplishes its goals of achieving peace. “We had joined the government to achieve this goal. We will not pull out meekly before we achieve that,” Nepal told his party cadres at Nepalgunj. “I have found this government fully committed to holding peace talks. There is no question of us pulling out midway.” However, Nepal added that the decision to attach deadline for peace talks and claims of holding polls was made by Prime Minister on his own. “The wish of PM alone is not adequate to hold the polls. Peace talks and ceasefire are our collective priority,” he said. Leading dailies report.

King Towards Authoritarianism: Prachanda

Maoist chairman Prachanda has alleged that the King was making attempts for further authoritarianism in the country adding that there was no alternative to united people’s movement. In an email sent to Kantipur daily on Sunday (December 5), Prachanda has said that the King and the Palace were the chief barriers on the path of peaceful resolution of the political problem and the existing civil war in the country. He has written that the King and the Palace need to make sacrifice. “Until and unless the Palace is not ready to handover the power of making decisions regarding the country’s destiny and future to the people, there is no possibility of peaceful resolution of the problem,” the letter writes. Prachanda has also ruled out the possibility of holding talks with the current Deuba government, which he has termed as being of the same status as its predecessors Thapa and Chand governments. “Our experiences tell us that talking with governments of similar status and nature would only strengthen regression.” Kantipur daily reports.

Women Come Out In More Baglung Villages

More than 6000 women from six VDCs of Baglung district participated in the ‘Expose the Maoist’ campaign organized by the People’s Front in Kushmishera bazaar on Sunday (December 5). The gathering raised strong slogans against the Maoists and held a mass meeting where conflict victims and political leaders protested the Maoist atrocities. Central leaders of PF including Chitra Bahadur KC addressed the mass meeting. He trashed the Maoists’ people’s war and alleged that they were merely speaking the language of guns. The PF campaign has received a boost after the Maoists severely tortured the women leaders of the party. The women of Binamare, Damek, Rangkhani, Tarpuwa and other surrounding VDCs of Kushmishera bazaar came out in big numbers to protest the Maoists. The PF has also started its campaign against the Maoists in Pyuthan district. Meanwhile, in a statement released on Sunday, Mohan Bikram Singh, the semi-underground general secretary of Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Center-Masal) – a radical leftist outfit, which is the mother party of PF – has condemned the Maoists for Baglung incident. “We will not bow down to such attacks and threats,” the statement reads. Singh, who is also regarded as a former mentor of current Maoist leaders like Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai, asked the Maoists to apologize for the incident and threatened to expand the campaign against the Maoists nationwide. Leading dailies report.

No Solution Without Indian Mediation: Dhungana

Peace activist Daman Nath Dhungana has said that resolution of the Maoist problem is not possible without the mediation by India. Dhungana, who is a former Speaker of the parliament and a former facilitator of the government and Maoist negotiations, said that the presence of third party was necessary in the peace talks amid the crisis of confidence between the King and the political parties. At a time when the Maoists have been demanding the UN mediation, Dhungana said, “Given the geological location of Nepal, India can be the only third party. I have no objection even if you call me Indian agent.” Dhungana was speaking at an interaction program organized by Friends for Peace in Kathmandu on December 5. Nepal Samacharpatra daily reports.

Rayamajhi Asks King To Step In

Former chairman of Raj Parishad Standing Committee Keshar Jung Rayamajhi has appealed to the King to step in ‘to clear the mess in the country’. Speaking at a program held by a little-known Rastriya Sankat Mochan Samaj, Rayamajhi called for the formation of Advisory Council and asked the King to chair it. “The country is in extremely difficult situation. The political parties have failed. Therefore, the King should form an Advisory Council under his chairmanship,” Rayamajhi said, adding, “If the King can appoint prime ministers, there is no reason why he cannot form such council. Mere changing of prime ministers would no more work, he has to give the leadership to the country himself.” He also charged the political parties of failing to unite on national issues. Interestingly, Monajo Shahi, daughter of princess Shobha Shahi – who is sister of King Gyanendra – was the chief guest of the program. She also addressed the program and asked the participants for ways ‘to bring back smile in the faces of Nepalese people.’ Kantipur daily reports.

PM Urges Media To Help In Peace Talks

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has complained the endless battering of the government at the hands of media. “I ask the media leaders to tell whether they should incite terror or not?” PM asked at the inaugural ceremony of the newest FM radio Nepal FM 91.8 on Friday (December 3). “The country is embroiled in terror of Maoists. But the media is consistently hitting at the government. Why haven’t the media put pressure on the Maoists to come for talks.” PM Deuba warned that if the Maoist regime were to ever materialize, the media would lose all its freedom guaranteed by the present constitution. Leading dailies report.

India Worried Fearing Maoist Unrest Spillover

The Indian government has said it is concerned over the increase in Maoist activities in Nepal and is in touch with the Nepal government to prevent any spill over of their activities into India. “The government is gravely concerned about the developments in Nepal and it is a fact that activities of Maoists have increased in dramatic manner,” External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh told the Upper House of the Indian parliament, during Question Hour on Thursday. Official Press Trust of India news agency quoted Singh as saying India was in tough with the Nepal government and King Gyanendra in this regard. “The government is fully aware of implications of the increasing Maoist activities in Nepal and their spill over into India,” Minister Sing said. However, in response to a question, Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed said, “No agreement or memorandum of understanding extending Indian support to fight the Maoist insurgency was signed during the visit of the prime minister of Nepal to India.” He added, “However, the government is committed to strengthening bilateral cooperation in diverse areas, including security related cooperation with the government of Nepal.” Replying to another question, Ahamed said the government was keeping a close watch on the situation in Nepal and had asked Kathmandu to provide security for Indian enterprises. India believed that “Resolution of the political and security problems in Nepal created by the Maoist insurgency will contribute to improving the business climate in Nepal,” he said. The Himalayan Times daily reports.

Red Alert In Parts Of Capital

The authorities have heightened the security arrangements in some parts of the capital upon receiving information that the Maoists are planning to create disturbances. The security authorities have announced “Red Alert” in areas like Kalanki, Sitapaila, Gongabu and Balaju and intensified their operations there after getting tip-off that a new set of leadership of the Maoists have entered into Kathmandu. The security forces had smashed the old set of leadership in Kathmandu by arresting Maoist leaders responsible to oversee the capital. “If we cannot displace or arrest the newer set of leaders, the sate will have to suffer accidents beyond imagination,” a high-level security official said. In the specified areas, the forces have intensified search operations, interrogations and so on. The operation was intensified after an arrested Maoist cadre revealed that their party’s high command had dispatched hundreds of guerrillas and organizers to strengthen their valley organization after it was smashed by the forces. Nepal Samacharpatra daily reports.

Military Demands Seven Billion

The Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) has proposed to increase its force by 17,000 more and has demanded additional Rs 7 billion for the purpose. According to security sources, the army wants to set up 93 new posts, which would require 13,000 men. Likewise, it needs 173 men to provide security to the capital and 3700 men to provide security to industrial enterprises. “The new proposal has been made after analyzing he security situation. The Defense Ministry has submitted this proposal to the Finance Ministry for approval. They have not approved it yet,” a source said. The source added that the new posts were being created as per the demand of the citizens and political parties in order to instill sense of security among the people. If the proposal is approved the RNA will have total of 95,000 men. Three years ago, they only had 45,000 manpower. Military officials say that currently they are present in only 2000 VDCs (of 3900 VDCs). They complain that the government only gives them half of what they demand. “It is natural that security expenditures go up during periods of war. But they do not understand the sensitivity of the military,” an official said. Last year, the army had demanded 14 billion rupees for their annual budget – of which the government provided only Rs 7 billion. Kantipur daily reports.

Study To Identify Reasons For High Failure Rates In SLC

A comprehensive study has been initiated to identify reasons for high rate of failure in the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examination. The ‘SLC Study Group’ headed by former Tribhuwan University Vice Chancellor Kedar Bhakta Mathema will study 25,000 students from 28 districts. 200 researchers will be involved in studying 450 public schools. The scope of the research includes differences between private and public schools; methods of examining copies; gender and regional disparity, teaching process etc. The study is being conducted under Danish assistance and could take one and a half years to complete. It is said that failure rate at secondary level education is worst in Nepal in whole SAARC region. Whereas at regional level 70 percent students pass the secondary tests, in Nepal the SLC pass rate is at abysmal 30 percent, on average. Kantipur daily reports.

Saran For Aggressive Border Patrols

India has urged Nepal to invite the Maoists for peace talks ahead of a visit by head of state King Gyanendra expected later this month and suggested ‘aggressive’ border patrols to cut rebel supply lines. “They have a program which, I have to admit, has some very progressive elements and I do not think there should be any difficulty in the establishment accepting them,” Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran said of the Maoists in New Delhi. “And they have to be convinced that they cannot win an armed struggle and that their bargaining power would diminish if they continued with their agitation for long,” Saran told a seminar on Nepal. Saran said Kathmandu will have to offer assurances in a bid to win the confidence of the rebels. “Certain assurances such as a level-playing field have to be given to them and some parts of their program accepted to convince the Maoists to come to the political mainstream and participate in elections,” he said. Nepalese political parties and the monarchy, between whom there was a ‘lack of trust and confidence’ seemed to be thinking that by striking deals with the Maoists, they could marginalize the other side, he said. “The Maoists have been playing off one institution against the other to advance their own interests,” Saran said. “The Maoists are seeing a fractured polity in Nepal. The political parties, in their rivalry, do not seem to understand that the need now is to rise above their differences to ensure that the multi party system survives,” he said, calling for ‘aggressive’ border patrolling by Nepalese security forces, reports The Himalayan Times daily. Likewise, Kantipur daily adds that Saran, addressing Nepal-India Track Two seminar – which was participated by former envoys, diplomats, political leaders and experts of both the countries – said that Nepal and India had a clear ‘roadmap’ to deal with the Maoists. Without elaborating the roadmap, he said the two countries needed to work in partnership. “Otherwise, we will not be able to resolve this (Maoist) problem.” Leading dailies report.