News Notes (Spotlight Weekly)

Maoist Assassins Caught

The security forces in Kathmandu valley have nabbed a few ‘hardcore killers’ of the Special Assassins Team (SAT) the Maoists had sent in to create chaos here, according to a security source. The SAT was sent in as part of the Maoists’ design to target high profile individuals. Senior army officials, when contacted, refused to divulge any information about the SAT. However, a highly placed source claimed the Unified Command had reduced duplication of efforts and improved intelligence system, helping the security forces get some important documents related to the Maoists’ plan. The information those documents provided helped the forces make hauls of explosives and weapons. “Had those weapons not been confiscated, the Maoists could have used them to kill people on their hit-list,” the source said insisting on anonymity. The papers seized also show that certain senior bureaucrats have a soft corner for the Maoists or have been sheltering ‘hardcore Maoists’. Recently, a personal assistant of the chief secretary and an employee of the Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation maintenance section were detained for interrogation. According to security officials, the top brass of the army and police, Armed Police Force and the National Investigation Department are on the hit-list of the Maoists. A defense source also said the Maoists had planned to target the army chief with a bomb but the security forces foiled the attempt. “Just yesterday, Defense Secretary Madan Aryal narrowly escaped an ambush, which also shows that they are trying to hit an individual by any means,” the source added. Despite the presence of SAT, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan are still safe because the security forces are on ‘extra alert’. “For instance our bomb disposal team had to run several times a day to defuse improvised explosive devices planted in several places during the few days after the ceasefire was broken,” said the source. The Himalayan Times daily reports.

Tension Shifts To Chitawan

While the streets of Kathmandu were relatively peaceful, Thursday witnessed nasty protests by the students in Chitawan. Security forces including the army intervened when the students chanted anti-monarchy slogans injuring around a dozen of them. Angry students have called for Chitawan bandh on Friday (December 26). Nepali Congress party has condemned the action of the security forces. Leading dailies report.

Sthapit Seeks Clarification From The World Bank

The mayor of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) Keshav Sthapit has said that he expects a clarification from the World Bank on the latter’s move of terming Kathmandu as the worst polluted city in Asia in one of its recent reports. “The World Bank has only studied 17 cities and Kathmandu seems to fare at the bottom. How can it term Kathmandu as the worst city in Asia just by conducting studies in 17 cities?” asked Sthapit. “There are hundreds of cities in India alone and many of them are more polluted than Kathmandu. It is very wrong to portray Kathmandu as the worst polluted. I expect clarification from the World Bank on this issue.” Sthapit has even threatened to file case against the World Bank on this issue. “I can claim that even now 80 percent of Kathmandu Valley is full of greenery. Just take fifteen minutes drive away in any direction from the core city and you will reach serene and green places. How can anybody say that whole of the Kathmandu valley is polluted?” Compiled from reports.

Roadmap For Peace Prepared

Three members of civil society have come forward with what they call ‘the roadmap for peace’. The drafters - Aditya Man Shrestha, a freelance journalist, Dr. Dwarika Nath Dhungel, former administrator and Prayag Dutta Tiwari - have said that their roadmap could help in reaching peaceful resolution by bringing together the King, political parties and the Maoists. In their roadmap, they propose that first of all ceasefire should be announced, following which a roundtable conference chaired by the King and participated by parliamentary parties, Maoists and civil society should be organized. The roundtable conference would then form an all party interim government, which would carry forward the agenda on which agreement has been reached. It also proposes general amnesty to the Maoists before the formation of such government and that the Maoists hand over their weapons to the representatives of the United Nations. The roadmap also tries to address existing anomalies in the social, economic and political sectors. It also proposes reforms in monarchy and other vital sectors of the nation. The drafters have also announced that they are willing to provide the service of mediators. Leading dailies report.

Student Leaders Released, Charges Dropped

The government dropped charges of sedition against the three student leaders and released them on Wednesday (December 24). The officials said that they dropped the charges since the arrested leaders vowed before the Special Court that they were not against the constitutional monarchy and multi party democracy. Upon the release Gururaj Ghimire, president of Nepal Students Union (NSU) said that they will continue with the agitation against regression while remaining committed to ideals of constitutional monarchy and multi party democracy. Ghimire and NSU general secretary Gagan Thapa as well as Purushottam Acharya of All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU) were released together. They were arrested on December 16 for raising anti-monarchy slogans. While NSU is affiliated to Nepali Congress, ANNFSU is affiliated to Unified Marxist Leninist (UML). Leading dailies report.

Two Elderly Women Killed For Being Witches

An enraged person in Sarlahi district hacked to death two elderly neighbors accusing them of practicing witchcraft. Dik Bahadur Bhujel of Karmaiya, Sarlahi killed Ratna Maya Subedi, 60, and Goma Singhdhali, 70, accusing them of being responsible for his ill health. Compiled from reports.

Army Chopper Fitted With Spy Cam

The Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) has fitted one of its MI 17 helicopters with a sophisticated surveillance system called Forward Looking Infra-red (FLIR), which was bought from an Israeli company. The RNA has already trained its soldiers to use the new surveillance technology. “FLIR is a technology with powerful cameras and monitors. With a range of 25 to 35 km from air, the cameras an even zoom-in on trivial things that air crew want to know about,” said an official on condition of anonymity. The country’s map has been installed into the computer and every little detail of the activities on the ground can be monitored. The new technology is expected to strengthen RNA’s surveillance capability while monitoring Maoist activities on the ground. The Himalayan Times daily reports.

‘No Big Attacks As Per Our Policy’ Mahara

At a time when the Maoists have not been able to launch any big attacks against the security forces, their spokesperson has said that it was due to the party’s policy and strategy. “We have not launched any big attacks because it is our strategy,” said Krishna Bahadur Mahara, talking in telephone with the Nepal Samacharpatra daily. He dismissed remarks that the Maoists were weak to launch big attacks anymore. He also said that the party has seriously noted the reports of attacks against local party workers of NC, UML and other political parties by Maoist cadres. “We have received complaints that in many places there have been excesses from our side and that development infrastructures have been destroyed. We will go deeply into such complaints at the local level,” he added. Mahara also claimed that in many places, different elements were raising donation in the party’s name with the intention to discredit its image. Nepal Samacharpatra daily reports.

Britain To Provide Two Aircraft To RNA

The British government has agreed to provide two STOL (Short Take-off and Landing) aircraft to Royal Nepalese Army (RNA), as a grant assistance under its Global Conflict Prevention Pool. Sources said that the aircraft named “Eye Lander” also has a surveillance system installed and will be used for “spy mission”. The aircraft can fly both during day and night as they have night vision equipment installed in them. That apart, the aircraft can also be used to lift troops – a dozen at a time. “It is ideal for short take off and landing in the mountainous terrain that will increase the troop-lift capability of the RNA by 100 percent,” an official at the RNA headquarters said. The army now has two Lancer gunships, four MI 17 helicopters, two Ecquirels, two Puma, two Chitahas, one Avro and five Alevators. Leading dailies report.

Villagers Guarding Themselves

Enraged by the excesses of the Maoists, the villagers of Chulachuli VDC of Ilam district have organized themselves. The villagers have formed “Peace Security and Good Governance Committee” which is armed and provides security to the whole village. The villagers of this VDC had organized themselves against the Maoists since 2057 itself. Having also received support from the security forces, their committee has been formally recognized last week. At a program organized by the police and administration, the villagers vowed that they will leave no stone unturned in trying to defeat the Maoists. They also requested for more weapons from the security forces. According to Chetan Raj Bantawa, head of the committee, they currently have country-made guns only. He said they have requested the government for weapons like SLR and SMG. The security forces, however, have said that they will not be given such weapons at present. Rather, they would be trained. There are around 200 youths in the committee who patrol the village every night in the groups of 25-30 people. Bantawa said that compared to the past, the Maoist activities have sharply come down in recent months. Kantipur daily reports.

India For All Party Govt. In Nepal

Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha has said that India believes a government of a single party would not be able to tide over the difficult situation prevailing in Nepal. In an interview given to Dishanirdesh program of Nepal Television, Sinha said that there ought to be national consensus and that the King and the political parties ought to come together. He vowed that India would cooperate with Nepal in controlling Maoists. He said the recent meeting between top Maoist leaders and a senior Nepalese political leader in Lucknow was possible because of open border. He denied allegations that India was not doing enough to help Nepal by abetting rebel presence in its soil. Sinha said that since Nepalese Maoists had links with India’s terrorist groups like MCC and PWG, there was no question of India supporting them as it would be tantamount to supporting MCC and PWG. Nepal Samacharpatra daily reports.