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25 Missing After Boat Mishap
Around 25 persons are missing since a boat capsized in swollen Lalbakaiya river near Gaur municipality of Rautahat district. There were 50 passengers on the boat when it capsized. Around half of them swam to safety. Most of those missing include women and children. The administration has said that the flooding of the river triggered by incessant rainfall was obstructing in rescue efforts. Likewise, in Damak area of Jhapa district, four wards have been water-logged due to heavy rainfall. Around 150 houses have been submerged thanks to overflowing Ratuwa river. Nepal Samacharpatra daily reports.
RNA Ineffective In Curbing Maoists: Indian Minister
India ’s Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee said, on August 7, that the situation in Nepal could ‘go out of hand’ because the Nepali army’s efforts to crush a Maoist rebellion are proving ineffective. “The Royal Nepal Army is trying to contain the Maoists,” Mukherjee was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India. “But its efforts are not effective. We hope it successfully tackles them; otherwise, the situation will go out of hand,” Mukherjee told reporters in eastern city of Kolkata . “We are trying to impress upon (the Nepali) government to tackle the Maoists. But, unfortunately, certain recent developments in that country, like the suppression of its constitution and the multiparty system, had setback anti-Maoist initiatives,” he said. Mukherjee was referring to the seizure of power and suppression of civil liberties by the King on February 1. Mukherjee said the Nepali Maoists had close links with many leftist rebel groups in India . “Many of them have the fancy idea of setting up a liberated corridor starting right from the Terai region and going through parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Karnataka and Maharastra,” Mukherjee said referring to a long east-west swathe of Indian territory bordering India’s frontier with the Himalayan Kingdom. The Himalayan Times daily reports.
Maternity Not Sole Ground: SC Ruling On Citizenship
The Supreme Court, on Sunday (August 7), ruled that citizenship certificate cannot be issued to anyone solely on the basis of his or her mother being a Nepali. The SC ruling was given on a petition filed by advocate Achyut Prasad Kharel. The bench had some months ago pronounced the verdict but the full text of the judgment was released on Sunday. “It would not be practical to provide citizenship to anyone without identifying his or her father,” the bench also added. “The drafters of the 1990 Constitution have kept a provision to provide citizenship on the grounds of someone’s father being a Nepali. So the bench cannot order the government to provide citizenship to anyone on any other consideration,” the verdict said. The Himalayan Times daily reports.
Entrepreneurs Rue Lack Of Promotion Of Domestic Products
Entrepreneurs and traders have regretted the lack of promotion of domestically manufactured products despite pledges to do so by the government. They said that lack of promotion of domestic products resulted in hundreds of thousands of youths leaving for jobs overseas and closure of industries with billions of rupees of investment back home. “Had the government and the consumers used the quality domestic products, the situation of the country’s industrial sector would not have been so bad,” said Chandi Raj Dhakal, president of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI). He said it was sad that the security bodies, government offices, corporate houses, businessmen and other organizations, too, did not use Nepali products. “Nepali industries are able to manufacture quality goods as per the demand of the market. But it is sad that they do not get market just because they happen to be Nepali,” said Dhakal. Bharat Bahadur Thapa, Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, said that Nepali manufacturers needed to better promote and advertise the quality of their products. In fact, the government has provision in financial regulations, which state that the government offices must buy domestic products even if they are expe4nsive by up to 10 percent. But, the entrepreneurs accuse, this provision has not been implemented. “If domestic products are given priority, in short time Nepal can become self-reliant and start to displace imports,” said Pradeep Jung Pandey, chairman of Industrial Promotion Committee of the FNCCI. Leading dailies report.
Huge Demonstration By Civil Society
Tens of thousands of people took part in the demonstration organized under the leadership of civil society representatives at New Baneshwore on Friday (August 5). The demonstration was organized to demand restoration of full democracy. Speakers at the demonstration called on the King to abandon the path of authoritarian regime and the Maoists to cease violation and join mainstream. The speakers including the human rights activists and professionals from various walks of life asked the King to immediately rectify the February 1 step. They warned, “Otherwise the nation would move towards the direction of republic.” Rights activist Krishna Pahadi said that the country and the people were more important than monarchy. He also urged the Maoists to allow the displaced persons to return home to create atmosphere conducive for talks between the political parties and them. Poets and singers also took part in the demonstration in which top leaders of the agitating political parties were invited as listeners. Addressing the program Dr. Om Gurung, leader of indigenous community as well as Padam Lal Biswakarma, leader of Dalit community, said that their communities blame monarchy for the continuation of oppression. Other civil society representatives including Devendra Raj Pandey and Mathura Shrestha also addressed the program. Leading dailies report.
Bista Says Govt. Ready For Negotiations
Vice chairman of the Council of Ministers Kirti Nidhi Bista has said that the government is ready to hold talks with the Maoists and urged the civil society to take the initiative. Meeting with the delegation of Citizens’ Peace Commission including its chairman and former judge Krishna Jung Rayamajhi, Bista said that the government was not against the negotiation. “It is not enough that the government alone is flexible. The rebels, too, have to be flexible,” he is quoted as saying when the delegation members said that the government was not doing enough to create environment for peace talks. Likewise, Bista also said that the political leaders need to talk with the King and assured the government’s cooperation in this regard. Leading dailies report.
Citizens’ Forum Calls For National Conference
Representatives of civil society have called for wider national conference among the King, political parties and the Maoists to resolve the country’s problems. Different intellectual presented different models of such conference at a discussion program organized by Nepal Citizens’ Forum. The forum has proposed such conference led by the King. Chairman of the forum Himalaya SJB Rana said that their proposal has asked for clarifications regarding the process of constituent assembly and urged the option of referendum to find out people’s viewpoint about the ‘constructive monarchy.’ Nepal Samacharpatra daily reports.
Rana Accuses Parties And Maoists
Former army chief and member of Raj Parishad Standing Committee Satchit SJB Rana has accused the parties and the Maoists of joining hands against monarchy. “The parties that do not have the support of the people are cooperating with the Maoists who have reached to the brink of defeat to end the monarchy,” Rana said, at an interaction program on Friday. He added that the Maoists have lost the capacity to launch offensive against the security forces since the King took over the administration. He accused the students of launching agitation at the instigation of foreign forces. Kantipur daily reports.
Senator Leahy’s Remarks Unfortunate: RNA
Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) has said the allegations leveled against it by US Senator Patrick Leahy are untrue. Leahy had said the RNA was involved in widespread human rights violations and was consistently ignoring Supreme Court orders. The RNA, in a press statement, said, “ Senator Leahy’s comment that the army is summarily executing prisoners is unfortunate.” The Army said it is not involved in widespread human rights violations, disappearance cases or extra judicial killings. It added that it has taken strong action against soldiers found guilty of rights abuses. It denied Leahy’s claim that the RNA is disrespecting the independence of judiciary. However, admitting to isolated individual cases of rights abuses, the army said measures have been taken to investigate them. Leading dailies report.
Sobhraj Gets No Respite From Appellate Court
The Patan Appellate Court on Wednesday (August 3) upheld the conviction of Charles Gurumukh Sobhraj for the murder of an American in 1975. On August 12 last year, the Kathmandu District Court had sentenced him to life imprisonment (20 year jail term) and ordered confiscation of his property convicting him of killing Connie Jo Bronzich in 1975.During the hearing of his appeal, Sobhraj said there is no evidence to prove his involvement in the crime and that he did not visit Nepal in 1975. The bench, however, said evidence presented by the prosecution proved his guilt. “The signatures on guest registration cards belonging to Hotel Malla and Soaltee Oberoi and the signature of Sobhraj in his passport are similar, thus it proved that he had entered Nepal in 1975,” it said. The KDC had convicted Sobhraj based on circumstantial evidence as Bronzich’s bag was found in Sobhraj’s room in Soaltee Hotel in 1975. The KDC had recognized Bronzich’s notebook in which she had written Sobhraj’s address as evidence. “I am shocked by the verdict,” Sobhraj told journalists after the verdict. Asked what he would do now, he said he would consult his lawyers and decide on a course of action. Sobhraj’s lawyer Sanjeev Ghimire, however, said they would file an appeal in the Supreme Court. The Himalayan Times daily reports.
Violence Up Post Feb 1: Pyakurel
Subodh Raj Pyakurel, president of Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC), has said that cases of murder, violence, bandh, and abduction have gone up after February 1. Speaking at a press meet in Pokhara, Pyakurel said, “A culture of silence has developed as people cannot speak out. The state and the Maoists have maintained secrecy on different incidents,” he said. “Although the Maoist supreme Prachanda issued a statement saying that the Maoists will not kill the unarmed civilians, the Maoists have killed 62 persons, including 16 political activists, after the statement came,” Pyakurel said, adding, “The state too has killed an equal number of people.” The Himalayan Times daily reports.
Missing American’s Family Plea For Help
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Family of a missing American Trevor Stokol, 25, have made a fervent plea for help in finding him. The American has been missing since July 22 when he was last seen on the Khumbu glacier on the path toward Everest Base Camp. “My son is an adventurous-type and strong. I believe he is still out there,” said Arnold Stokol, the father, who has come along with his wife and a daughter to look for the missing son. “Trevor has a passion for photography, and we believe his intention was to take photographs of the area, perhaps of the summit of Mount Everest or of the Khumbu icefalls. It is possible that he got disoriented as a result of altitude sickness or hypothermia and has wandered down the valley. It is also possible that he is injured and immobilized at any location, either near the area where he was last seen or further down the mountain,” the statement of the Stokol family reads. Trevor is 5’8” and 160 pounds and has bushy curly brown hair and a full beard. The Stokol family has already organized helicopter searches and have mobilized a team of trackers on ground. Compiled from reports.
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