News Notes (Spotlight Weekly)

King-Nepal Meet Generates Speculations

The two-hour-long audience granted by King Gyanendra to Madhav Kumar Nepal, general secretary of the Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) on January 2, has generated all kinds of speculations with most of the leaders of the agitating parties saying that its success could be measured by the steps the King will take in the days ahead. “I can not say whether the meeting was positive or negative. I discussed all aspects of the political situation with the King. The success of the meeting will depend on the steps the King will take in the coming days,” said Nepal. It was the first time since Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa was appointed seven months ago that the King granted audience to the political leader of the five agitating party. Nepal said that the King could also meet with other leaders before making his next move. During the audience, the King is said to have told Nepal that he would agree to the consensus of the political parties. Meanwhile, Girija Prasad Koirala, president of the Nepali Congress, has expressed doubt over the meeting saying it could be aimed at toning down the agitation. Leading dailies report.

Raj Parishad Recommends Referendum As A Way Out

The second regional meeting of the Raj Parishad held in Nepalgunj has decided to recommend holding referendum to resolve political as well as Maoist problem to the King. The three-day meet alleged the political parties of trying to move away from the mainstream and even urged the King to be more active. The participants at the meeting came down heavily on the activities and roles played by the political parties in the last twelve years. Leading dailies report.

Students Burn Indian PM’s Effigy

A section of the agitating students burned the effigy of Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to show their protest against the recent detention of Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) standing committee member Iswor Pokharel by Indian security personnel in New Delhi. Indian Embassy in Kathmandu has termed the incident as the most unfortunate one “which is highly objectionable in character and aimed at undermining the close, cordial and friendly relations between Nepal and India.” The Embassy, in a press statement, also expressed hope that appropriate action would be taken against those responsible “for such an outrageous action, showing disrespect to the leader of a friendly neighboring country.” Leading dailies report.

Weather Prediction Poor Due To Lack Of Technology

The prediction of weather and its implication cannot be improved until and unless there is a Mathematical Weather Prediction System in place, according to weather officials. “The existing manual analysis of data is not comprehensive,” said Dr. Madan Lal Shrestha, director general of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology. He said that if such system is introduced, accurate prediction of weather of at least the subsequent three days can be made. The recent cold wave that is sweeping the Terai parts of the country has once again stressed the necessity of having such system. Scheduled flights had to be cancelled leaving hundreds of passengers stranded as cold wave made the visibility very poor. According to Dr. Shrestha, in the mathematical system the data provided by satellite is fed into Super Computer, which then analyzes it. Currently, the department is getting weather pictures from American and Japanese satellites. These pictures are then manually analyzed by officials. The department believes that it will cost anything between Rs 400 to Rs 500 million to have such technology in place. Kantipur daily reports.

Bumper Paddy Harvest, But Price Declines

The favorable climate last year has triggered a bumper paddy harvest in the country. The overall agricultural production has also increased. The ‘record-breaking’ production of paddy has, however, brought down its market price to a level not seen in the last five years. According to projections by the Ministry of Agriculture, the paddy harvest this year has increased by 7.8 percent to reach 44,55,727 metric ton. Its price has, however, declined by 10 percent compared to last year, according to the Market Development Directorate at the Department of Agriculture. This has hurt the farmers. “The price they are getting this year will not even meet their cost of production,” said Tulsi Gautam of the directorate. Officials say that the reason for such a slump in the market price of paddy lies in the lack of proper marketing as well as flooding of cheap Indian paddy in Nepalese market. In India, farmers get extensive subsidy even as the government there fixes ‘ceiling price’ for the products. “As the country has adopted the open market economy, the government cannot fix the price. It has to be determined by the market forces,” said Narayan Prasad Regmi, spokesperson at the Ministry. Nepal Samacharpatra daily reports.

Cabinet Expansion Only After SAARC

Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa, talking to reporters, said that the expansion of the cabinet would take place only after he returns from the SAARC Summit in Islamabad. PM Thapa also trashed rumors that there were differences between him and the King regarding the expansion of the cabinet. He said that he would make last ditch efforts to convince the political parties before expanding the cabinet. PM Thapa is leaving for Islamabad, Pakistan on Friday (January 2) to participate in the January 4-6 Summit there. Leading dailies report.

Koirala Gives Topmost Priority To Democracy

Girija Prasad Koirala, president of Nepali Congress, has said that only democracy gives right to the people and only people with such rights can safeguard the nation. Lending support to the agitation of the students, Koirala said the demand of the youths must not be overlooked as they represent the future of the country. The student activists had raised anti-monarchy slogans in their agitation. Koirala, addressing party workers on the occasion of the National Reconciliation day, said that their agitation was against the move of the present King and not against the institution of monarchy. Leading dailies report.

Nepal And Deuba Support Each Other

At a program organized by the Nepal Congress (Democratic), Madhav Kumar Nepal, general secretary of the Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) said that he would have no objection if the regression was corrected by restoring the government of Sher Bahadur Deuba so long as it took the shape of all party one. Likewise, Deuba, president of NC(D), said that although his party’s demand was for the restoration of his government, he would have no problem if Nepal was appointed Prime Minister so long as it corrected regression. They were speaking at a program organized to mark the National Reconciliation day. Leading dailies report.

Pokharel Raises Sharp Objection Against India

Iswor Pokharel, Standing Committee member of the Unified Marxist Leninist (UML), has charged India of harboring untoward interests in the Nepalese politics. At a press meet organized by the party on January 1, Pokharel said that the Indian security officials, who took him under custody for 14 hours in New Delhi, asked questions like “Why does your party do not go for constituent assembly?”; “What is your objection to such assembly?” He said that most of their questions were about the recent meeting of UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal and top Maoist leaders in Lucknow, India. Jhal Nath Khanal, chief of the foreign affairs department of the party, said that the detention of Pokharel was against the diplomatic norms and said that Indian government should apologize for the incident. He trashed the response of the Indian embassy over the incident. Pokharel also deplored the silence of the Nepalese government over this episode. Earlier, Pokharel was taken into custody by the Indian security officials for fourteen hours and interrogated in New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport as he was returning to Kathmandu on December 30. Pokharel claims he had gone there to attend a program of an organization of Nepalese there and to campaign for anti-regression agitation. Pokharel said that the security officials interrogated him on why he had come to New Delhi and if he had met Nepalese Maoist leaders. Indian Embassy officials here have said that Pokharel could have been interrogated upon receiving information that he had gone there to meet Maoist leaders. After the Lucknow meet, the Indian government has already requested Nepalese leaders not to meet Maoists there. Recently, in an interview given to Nepal Television, Indian External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha had said that India was embarrassed at the Lucknow meet. India had been saying that it would do whatever it can to control Maoist insurgency in Nepal and had pledged full support in checking their cross-border activities. Leading dailies report.

Refugee Impasse Deepens

After the Bhutanese foreign minister Khandu Wangchuk has cancelled his participation at the Islamabad meeting, the possibility of resolving the current impasse over the refugee repatriation has gone down. The Bhutanese foreign minister has written a letter to Nepalese foreign ministry saying he was unable to participate in the SAARC Summit meeting due to problems at home. Bhutan is currently fighting the rebels of ULFA. Nepalese ambassador-at-large Dr. Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, who left for Islamabad on Wednesday to take part in the SAARC council of ministers meeting said that although Wangchuk will not be there, he will talk with Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigme Y. Thinley over this issue. Thinley used to be foreign minister in the past. Leading dailies report.

Over 100 Cinema Theaters Closed Down

Owing to severe recession in the cinema industry, over 115 theaters have closed down across the country. While the demands for Nepalese cinema have dipped substantially, the theaters are unable to bring in Hindi cinema, which is costly. The theater owners have called for changes in tax policy as well saying the film development tax should not be imposed on empty seats of the theater. The Nepalese cinema industry is reeling under the effects of insecurity as well as lack of quality films that lure masses. Even the production of Nepalese cinema has taken a swift slide. While only two years ago almost 50 films used to be produced every year, this year only 12 films were produced. Leading dailies report.

Gurka Dialogue: Britain To Decide Within Two Months

Padam Bahadur Gurung, president of Gurkha Ex-servicemen Organization (GAESO), has said that the first phase of its dialogue with the British Defense Ministry has been completed and that the British government would announce its decisions within March. Gurung said that the dialogue was held in December 10. According to GAESO’s lawyer Gopal Shiwakoti Chintan, the issue of Gurkha discrimination could resolve in two months if the British government agrees to its demands. “Other wise, we will pursue the legal course,” he said, speaking at a program in Dharan. Leading dailies report.