 |
| King Gyanendra administers oath of office and secrecy to ChiefnJustice Dilip Poudel |
KING GYANENDRA HAS SAID CONSIDERABLE improvement has been seen in the internal law and order situation of Nepal from the great sacrifices made by the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) while being assigned day in and day out for the sake of the country and the people at this situation. In a message to the Naya Gorakh Battalion Peace Keepers Fourth Contingent who have been assigned in Congo and the Third Contingent of the Gorakhnath Battalion Peace Keepers assigned in Burundi at the call of the UN on Thursday (July 28), the King expressed happiness over Nepal's glory being highlighted in the international arena thanks to the matchless contributions made by the RNA by participating in the peace keeping missions for a long time in various parts of the world at the call of the United Nations. The King said the RNA had been gradually receiving widespread participation with its involvement due to the acclamation received by Nepal , which has unflinching faith in the UN Charter, by sending RNA soldiers at various conflict-ridden parts of the world. King Gyanendra noted that he was happy to know that gradual improvement has been seen in the anarchical state in the Central African States of Congo and Burundi because of the efficiency of RNA.
CHIEF OF THE UN OFFICE of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) mission in Nepal , Ian Martin, has said his mission is in touch with the Maoist rebels. Martin said OHCHR had established a channel of communication with the rebels as “non-state actors.” As per the agreement signed between the Nepal government and OHCHR in Geneva in April this year, the UN mission is mandated to engage non-state actors as well “for the purpose of ensuring the observance of international humanitarian law,” he said. He said the whole purpose of contact (with the rebels) was to raise the issues of rights violations and establish ways to ensure response on other issues. Responding to a question, Martin said the rights situation post Feb. 1 (after the royal takeover) was of great concern. “Many arrested people have been released, but other developments are yet to be followed, such as freedom of expression. I can’t say that the human rights situation is improving,” he added.
DUE TO OVERALL SITUATION OF economic slowdown, the consumption of petroleum (POL) products declined by around 9 percent last year compared to the previous year. According to the state-run Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC)—that enjoys monopoly in the import and sales of POL products—total consumption of four major POL products, kerosene, diesel, petrol and aviation fuel, went down to 676,648 kilo liter in the year 2004/05 as against 742,183 KL the previous year. There was a heavy decline in the consumption of kerosene last year—a whopping 25 percent—mainly due to the NOC’s policy of curtailing kerosene supply. The consumption of kerosene went down to 234,508 KL last year compared to 310,826 the previous year. Meanwhile, consumption of petrol went up by more than 7 percent to 72,829 KL last year compared to the previous year, the Corporation said.
THE SAARC NATIONS' COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS (CoEs) meeting from July 10 to 21 in Kathmandu made no progress because of a deadlock between Pakistan and India on two major issues, a Pakistani newspaper reported Thursday (July 28) quoting officials. The two countries disagreed on the No-Concession Items List and Rules of Origin. Under the provision of sensitive items’ lists (no-concession items lists), every SAARC country will be able to protect its local industry’s trade under the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA). SAFTA would come into force on January 1, 2006 , and would be fully materialized by December 31, 2015 . The CoE was assigned to develop a consensus on various issues regarding SAFTA by December 2004. In the meeting, SAARC’s Developed Contracting States, particularly India and Pakistan , disagreed over the No-Concession Items List’s ceiling. India has 997 sensitive items on its list while Pakistan has 1,310, which surpasses the 22 percent ceiling. India ’s list is according to the 20 percent ceiling of total tariff lines. India insisted Pakistan reduce its No-Concession Items List according to the ceiling allowed for all developing contracting states. Daily Times, a Pakistani daily, quoted a Pakistani official as saying that Pakistan and India would discuss issues again at the next experts’ meeting in Kathmandu from August 31 to September 2. Under SAFTA, all the seven countries will have to liberalize and reduce their tariff regimes to ensure free trade among the SAARC countries. The official said that the Rules of Origin would also be discussed at the meeting in Nepal
AT LEAST EIGHT MAOISTS WERE KILLED by irate villagers in Makwanpur, Dhading and Nuwakot districts bordering Kathmandu over the last week. The villagers rose against the rebels after the latter assaulted a mother of new-born baby and an elderly lady in Kiranchowk village recently. Those killed include a Maoist area in-charge Sabitri Ghimire alias Comrade Samana and district-level Maoist leader, Himal. Villagers also destroyed a Maoist training camp in Bule hill and took four other rebels into their custody from various areas.
CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER Keshav Raj Rajbhandari has said elections for municipalities would take place within mid-April this year even if major political parties did not take part in it. Talking to reporters in eastern town of Jaleswore last week, he said a total of 128 parties had already been registered with the EC and that it won’t make difference if some of the parties boycott it. He also indicated that dates for municipal level elections would be announced by mid-October this year.
DOZENS OF TEA ESTATES IN EASTERN districts of Jhapa and Ilam have been closed from Monday (July 25) following the Maoists’ call for indefinite closure of all the tea estates in the region. The estates were forced to close down following threats by pro-Maoist workers’ union, All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF)—in support of their demands. The 15-point demands of the ANTUF include increase in workers’ salary and benefits and release of workers detained on charge of being sympathetic to Maoists, among others. The insurgents have warned factory owners of dire consequences if they continued to operate their factories. The closure of factories at the peak season of picking tea leaves has hit the industry hard. Nearly 45,000 seasonal workers and their families in these two districts have been affected due to the Maoists shutdown strike.
