Briefs (Spotlight Weekly)

King Gyanendra and Queen Komal paying their homage to God Akash Bhairab

KING GYANENDRA GRANTED AN AUDIENCE TO THE visiting Indian foreign secretary Shashank on Tuesday evening. Although the meeting was not pre-scheduled, it took place, sources said. Shashank also held a meeting with Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala on Wednesday (February 25) before leaving for New Delhi.

THE NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION (NHRC) has come down heavily on both the government and the Maoists for human rights violations all over the country. The criticism comes in the wake of the rights monitoring teams’ return after their probe into human rights violations by the state and the Maoists in 17 districts. Both the government and the Maoists are guilty of human rights violations, according to the teams, said Kedar Prasad Poudel, acting secretary of the NHRC, “Maoists have violated human rights by abducting and killing people while the state is using excessive force to counter the Maoists,” said Poudel. Five teams led by NHRC officials visited Banke, Achham, Bajura, Bajhang, Salyan, Rukum, Jajarkot, Ramechhap, Makwanpur, Dolakha, Sindhuli, Kaski, Baglung, Parwat, Myagdi, Nuwakot and Dhading.

THE RECORDS AT THE BIRGUNJ CUSTOMS OFFICE – the major trading point of Nepal – shows that the import of light vehicles has increased by two fold in the current fiscal year. The import of heavy vehicles, however, has decreased. Eighty percent of the vehicles imported to the country come through this point alone. Experts say that the import of light vehicles increased due to loan, hire purchase and finance facilities offered by banks and financial institutions to the consumers. Whereas, the import of buses and trucks has decreased due to the impact of conflict. According to the Birgunj customs office, till the mid February of the current fiscal year, 2712 cars/jeeps had been imported. In the same period last year, the number of those vehicles imported was 1742. While the import of trucks decreased from 960 last year to 567 in the same period this fiscal year.

THE CENTRAL COUNCIL MEETING OF THE RASTRIYA Prajatantra Party (RPP) has been postponed. Earlier, the meeting was scheduled to be held on March 3-4. But the meeting of the RPP leaders, belonging to both government and party factions, has decided to put it off by a couple of weeks. The new date has been set for March 20-21 and the venue will be Pokhara.

THE COLLECTION OF REVENUE HAS INCREASED beyond the target set by the budget in the first seven months of the current fiscal year. However, it is still inadequate to meet the total general expenditure. According to report by Finance Ministry, revenue worth Rs 30.78 billion were raised in the period, which is 12.6 percent more than that of the same period last fiscal year. The revenue is still inadequate by around Rs 4 billion to meet the general expenditure. Out of the total revenue, tax amount alone is around Rs 24.86 billion (growth of 12.2 percent) while non-tax revenue is around Rs 5.91 billion (growth of 13.9 percent). The growth in revenue has been seen as an indicator of growing economic activities.

THE RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE UNICEF Suomi Sakai has expressed sadness over the recruitment of child soldiers by the Maoists against their past commitment. In an interaction with child journalists in Kathmandu Sakai said that the attention of the UNICEF has been drawn by the news reports of frequent abductions (of children) by the Maoists against their repeated commitments that they are not recruiting children below the age of 18 years. “This is a very sensitive matter. Children must not be used in any forms in war,” she said. Sakai added that UNICEF will take initiatives to find out the facts about this issue. Rights organizations have been claiming that over 30 percent of the Maoists’ militia and army are below 18 years of age. They have also claimed that students who are abducted are being used as child soldiers. Sakai, talking to young journalists, said that still half a million children in Nepal are out of school and that 60 percent of them are girls. Meanwhile, in a statement by Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Sector (CWIN), two dozens children have died in the last six months of conflict in the country. “In this period, around 950 children were abducted,” the CWIN statement adds.

THE DOMESTIC AIRLINE OPERATORS ENDED THEIR strike and resumed domestic flights from Tuesday (February 24) after they reached into an understanding with the government. The two sides agreed to continue the operation of ramp buses in the airport. They have agreed that private ramp buses can run, provided the standard of the buses are up to the mark. The agreement does not compel the private airline operators to use the bus of contractor, which will also come into operation. A joint team of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal and private airlines will monitor and prescribe the standard of ramp buses.

THE TRANSPORT ENTREPRENEURS HAVE ROUNDLY criticized the agreement reached between Nepal and India to allow direct bus service between the cities of the two countries. “There is no way Nepalese transporters can compete with Indians. We oppose this agreement,” said Punya Lal Pradhan, senior vice president of Federation of Nepalese Transport Entrepreneurs (FNTE). He said that a big gathering of transport entrepreneurs from across the country will be organized on March 3 to announce their programs for agitation to compel the government to withdraw from the agreement. The entrepreneurs have said that there is an investment of over Rs 72 billion in the transport sector and that the latest agreement could affect it negatively.

THE CABINET HAS DECIDED TO PRIVATIZE Birgunj Sugar Factory and Rosin and Turpentine. The Birgunj Sugar Factory will be handed over to Employees’ Provident Fund based on latter’s direct proposal to buy it. Whereas rosin turpentine would be leased out to private party for ten years.