Briefs (Spotlight Weekly)

SPOTLIGHT Family wishes for long and glorious life of HM Queen Komal Rajya Laxmi Dev Shah on the auspicious occasion of her 55th birthday.

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION MINISTER Tanka Dhakal has been appointed as the spokesperson of the government by the cabinet meeting held under the chairmanship of King Gyanendra on Wednesday (February 9). Likewise, five different cabinet committees have been formed to smoothen the cabinet functions.

PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR TO NEPAL ZAMIR AKRAM has expressed disappointment over the repeated postponement of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit at the behest of India. Speaking at a program organized to mark the Kashmir Solidarity Day, Akram said: “We don’t agree when bilateral issues are brought in as reasons for not attending the Summit.” Last week, India had decided to stay away from scheduled 13th Summit in Dhaka, Bangladesh citing political changes in Nepal and poor security in Dhaka. According to SAARC Charter, the Summit cannot take place even if a single member state decides not to attend it. Akram also termed that the Indian action was “undermining the SAARC process.” He also added that as Pakistan was the current chair of SAARC, it was making efforts to finalize new dates for the summit. During the program, Akram reiterated that Pakistan considered recent changes in Nepal as its internal affair.

THE GOVERNMENT IS PREPARING TO ISSUE AN integrated electronic National ID Card to the citizens. The integrated card would have all the information related to citizenship, passport, driving license, land ownership certificate and so on. This move is aimed at promoting the usage of computer and adopting the concept of e-governance. At present, different government agencies give different cards. The new electronic integrated card will have all such information. The government has already prepared a guideline for the usage of information technology and is soon presenting it to the cabinet. Such electronic cards have become popular in countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Similarly, “social security” cards are popular in the United States and Europe. As per the concept, all information related to an individual will be recorded in computer, which can be accessed if the electronic card number of the individual is known. In developed countries, unemployed youths even enjoy ‘unemployment benefits’ by showing such card. According to Biplav Man Singh, president of Computer Association of Nepal (CAN), usage of computer and IT should be extended and deepened in government offices to ensure the effectiveness of using such electronic card.

THE COMMITTEE UNDER THE HOME MINISTRY, which was formed to investigate the reports of disappearances, has submitted its fifth report on Thursday (February 10) to Home Minister Dan Bahadur Shahi. The report has made public the whereabouts of 62 people said to have been disappearing. According to it, 13 persons have been released; 35 are in house arrest; 12 more released from house arrest; and two have surrendered. The committee headed by joint secretary Narayan Gopal Malego has in its earlier reports made public the whereabouts of 320 persons.

RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO NEPAL Valery Nazarov has said that the political changes in Nepal was the result of Maoist extremism. Speaking at a program in the capital on Wednesday (February 9), Nazarov said that since the elections could not be held and there was obstruction to democratic process, the new situation arose. He said the previous government’s had failed to restore peace and security. Saying that Nepalese must resolve their problems on their own, he hoped that the new government would bring relief and peace in the country.

US AMBASSADOR TO NEPAL JAMES F. Moriarty has said that King Gyanendra has assured of quick restoration of democratic processes in the country. He said that the King has said that the democratic processes would be restored within 100 days. The ambassador noted that he is hopeful that the democratic process would come to track within the timeframe. Inaugurating a South Asian student conference organized by the US Embassy in Kathmandu, Moriarty said that there were ‘undeniable’ pressures to his government on the assistance to Nepal. He called on the Maoists to join the political mainstream. Over 50 student leaders from South Asian countries including Afghanistan are taking part in the 4-day conference.

KING GYANENDRA TOLD INDIAN AMBASSADOR to Nepal Shiva Shankar Mukherjee that emergency measures introduced in the country were for short-term only, Mukherjee said in an interview to BBC on February 11. Talking to BBC World Service, Mukherjee, who was granted a royal audience, said the King told him the reasons for his recent step. The Indian envoy said he conveyed Indian government’s position to the King during the audience. He said he emphasized the importance of bringing political leaders to a broad national consensus to enable Nepal to overcome the political and economic challenges confronting it. Mukherjee said India was ‘very concerned’ as Maoist insurgency in Nepal was spilling into India. “We have our own problem with left extremism in India,” he added. Meanwhile, India has welcomed the release of some of the political leaders from house arrest. “We have seen reports about the release of some political leaders, we welcome the move,” Indian external affairs ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters in New Delhi on February 10.

ACCORDING TO THE INDIAN EMBASSY, the External Affairs Minister received Royal Nepalese Ambassador to India Karna Dhoj Adhikari at his office on February 15. After the meeting, the Ministry of External Affairs, India released a statement stating, "In course of the meeting, EAM conveyed Government of India’s position as spelt out in the Official Statement issued on February 1, 2005, following the dismissal of the multi-party government of PM Deuba and assumption of executive power by the King of Nepal." The statement further read: "EAM also conveyed that it would be desirable that immediate steps are taken towards the release of political leaders, journalists and human rights activists; freedom of media is restored; multi-party democracy is reinstated, and efforts are made to evolve a national consensus to address the problems faced by the country. EAM emphasized that India wishes to see a stable, peaceful and prosperous Nepal in its neighbourhood.”