News Notes (Spotlight Weekly)

Four Party Agitation Suspended

The anti-regression staged by four political parties – Nepali Congress (NC), Unified Marxist Leninist (UML), People’s Front (PF) and Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP) – has been suspended. The parties have decided to disperse the agitation to the districts beginning September 27. Addressing the mass rally on Sunday (September 26), NC president Girija Prasad Koirala said that the regressive forces would not prevail for long. He said the agitation would continue to get strength as they were fighting for the rights of the people. According to new programs unveiled by the parties, students will organize protest demonstration from September 29-October 3. Likewise, protest programs will be held in districts on October 4-11. Leading dailies report.

Six Missing After Boat Capsizes In Fewa Lake

Six men including three Armed Police Force (APF), one police personnel and two army personnel are missing after the boat they were traveling in capsized in the middle of the Fewa lake on midnight Saturday (September 25). They were on a patrol in the lake. Two other security personnel were able to swim to safety. Officials said search operation is on to locate the missing persons. Leading dailies report .

Koirala Also Has His Conditions For Appearing Before SC

Nepali Congress (NC) president and former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala has put forth a condition for appearing at the Supreme Court (SC). He has said that he will go to the apex court to clarify the charges regarding the contempt of court only if it allows the whole affair to be made public by permitting media to cover it. SC had asked Koirala to personally appear before the court to clarify charges that he committed contempt of court when he reacted furiously to its decision that he should abide by the actions taken by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). Speaking at a program on Saturday (September 25), Koirala said that he does not find the current government serious about talks. “I have not studied it closely. But I think that the Maoists have given up the path of republic as they now seem eager to talk directly to the King’s representatives,” Koirala responded to the latest Maoist statements. Leading dailies report.

Govt. Gives Relief To Iraq Victims

The relief money of Rs 1 million promised by the government to the families of the 12 workers killed in Iraq have started to be delivered. Education Minister Bimalendra Nidhi gave the money to the families of four youths of Dhanusha district, who were among those killed. In other districts, too, the government has released the money to the Chief District Officer for immediate delivery to the families. Leading dailies report.

Army Chief Asks Officers To Abide By Humanitarian Laws

General Pyara Jung Thapa, Chief of the Army Staff, Royal Nepalese Army (RNA), has asked the soldiers and officers to abide by the humanitarian laws and respect the human rights while conducting operation against the Maoists. Addressing a passing out parade of newly recruited officers, he urged them not to get diverted from their duty of upholding the constitution and the laws of the land. He said the Maoists, too, were their own brothers and sisters who have been led to choose the wrong path. He added that the main duty of the RNA is to bring them back to right path. Leading dailies report.

NHRC Team Inspects Panchawati Health Office Site

A team of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) led by its chairman Nayan Bahadur Khatri inspected the site of Panchawati health office, which was bombed by the Maoists. The health office in Udayapur district was severely destroyed along with equipment and medicines. Three buildings were destroyed causing losses of over 10 million rupees. The destruction has brought to halt the anti-measles vaccination campaign in the district. After the inspection, Khatri deplored the Maoists for targeting health and education facilities. He also urged the security forces not to stay in those facilities. Compiled from reports.

SC Not To Allow Camera In Koirala Case

The Supreme Court (SC) has rejected the demand by Nepali Congress (NC) president Girija Prasad Koirala of allowing reporters and cameramen to broadcast the proceedings of the contempt of court case against him. The apex court, however, has said reporters will be freely allowed to cover the event. “As per the laws, the reporters have been covering the SC proceedings and they will be allowed to do so in future. But the use of camera is strictly prohibited,” said SC spokesperson Ram Krishna Timalsena. Nepal Samacharpatra daily reports.

Maoist Cadres Sentenced To Death In Tibet

The two Nepalese who were sentenced to death by court in Tibet Autonomous Region of China turned out to be Maoist cadres. The Shigatse Intermediate Court of Tibet had handed down the sentence to Hiralal Shrestha and Gyaljen Sherpa, who were arrested a year ago in Khasa in possession of arms and explosives. Two other Maoist cadres, who were also arrested that time, have been sentenced to 7 years and 4 years of imprisonment. Meanwhile, The Himalayan Times daily reports that the Maoists have also confirmed that Shrestha aka Anand, one of the two Nepalis awarded death sentences for smuggling weapons, is its district level leader. In a press statement, the Dolakha-Sindhu Joint Committee of the Maoists has informed that Shrestha, a resident of Tauthali VDC, Sindhupalchowk, is a member of the committee. Condemning the verdict, the party has asked the Chinese government to withdraw the decision. Compiled from reports.

Border Meeting Held, Intensive Patroling On Cards

A meeting of senior security officials of the Nepal and Uttaranchal State of India was held in Khatima Nagar of Uddhamsingh Nagar of the State on Wednesday (September 22). The meeting decided to strengthen the cooperation and exchange of information to curb the activities of the Maoists. The meeting also decided to better manage the border between Nepal and Uttaranchal State. Nepal and Uttaranchal share 250 km long open border. According to officials of Uttaranchal, the two sides will now intensify patrolling as well. Compiled from reports.

ADB Brings Down Projected Growth For Nepal

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has estimated that the economic growth for Nepal this fiscal year would hover around 3.7 percent. It had earlier predicted the growth to reach 5 percent. However, due to negative impact of security situation, the blockades, bandhs, industry closures and other factors, the growth level is feared to come down. “Nepal’s growth will remain slow, due to the continuation of the internal strife,” states the ADB report. The report has predicted that the inflation will increase to 5.5 percent, which is slightly higher than what was projected (five percent) by ADB in April. Leading dailies report.

Bordering States To Restructure Administration

The Indian states have decided to restructure the security and administrative arrangement along the Indo-Nepal border aimed at curbing the growing activities of the Maoists. This decision was taken at a meeting of the chief ministers and senior officials of nine states of India that are suffering from Naxalite activities. The meeting, which was held in Hyderabad of Andhra Pradesh, was chaired by Union Home Minister Shiva Raj Patil. Talking to the reporters, Patil said efforts were on to bring the Naxalites – Indian extremists who are said to have close links with Nepalese Maoists - to the mainstream. Kantipur daily reports.

CAAN Warned Of Hijack Bid At TIA

The Indian Civil Aviation Authority has sent letters to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) warning of a possible hijacking of a plane from the Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA) and has asked it to be more vigilant. The airport authorities here, however, seem least bothered even to conduct drills for assessing the preparedness of security agencies in case of an emergency. As per the rules of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Nepal must conduct a full-fledged anti-hijacking drill at least once a year. “No such exercise has been held within the past two years,” an official at the airport said. The Himalayan Times daily reports.

Procedural Matters Complicating Actions Against Erring Judge

According to Chief Justice Gobinda Bahadur Shrestha, the unclear procedures have hindered the efforts to take action against erring judges who were involved in the recent controversial acquittal of British drug lord. “The constitutional and legal provisions are not clear. The procedures of taking action are also not clear,” Shrestha said. Even as a committee formed to study the whole controversy recommended that the Judicial Council take action against the two judges Krishna Kumar Barma and Baliram Kumar, Shrestha said that there were still confusion regarding the procedures through which the council can take such action. The constitution stipulates that the sitting judges of the apex court can be impeached only through two-thirds majority in the parliament. In the absence of the parliament, the procedures are not clear. Leading dailies report.

SC Directs Govt. To Furnish Details On Disappearances

The Supreme Court (SC), on September 21, ordered the Offices of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, the Ministries of Defense and home and the headquarters of the Army, the police and the armed police force to make public the whereabouts of 14 people, who were taken into custody by the security forces on suspicion of being Maoists, within three days. A division bench of justices Min Bahadur Rayamajhi and Balram KC issued the order following a hearing. The Himalayan Times daily reports.

Number Of Youths Going Overseas For Work Increase

The flow of the Nepalese youths going for foreign works, which had been obstructed after the September 1 incident, has started to resume with renewed vigor. Reports say that the number of those going overseas have doubled in the past couple of days. There is a pressure at the Department of Labor and Employment Promotion from the number of youths seeking approval for the overseas work. On September 17, a record number of 812 youths received the preliminary approval whereas 423 others received final approval. After the September 1 vandalism against manpower agencies, the process had come to standstill for two weeks. According to the president of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) Nirmal Gurung, the manpower agencies have resumed their work after the government promised to provide Rs 500,000 as relief to the vandalized agencies. The government had decided to provide to the agencies the money, which they had earlier deposited with the government to get the operating license. Kantipur daily reports.