News Notes (Spotlight Weekly)

Army Attacks Maoists’ Arms Factory

The security forces launched an aerial assault against the weapons factory of the Maoists located at Sirsi jungle of Barchhen VDC in Doti district. The forces launched the strike after they spotted a group of people on blue dresses making weapons in huts in between two hills at the Barchhen VDC – 10 miles from the Kailali’s Pandaun. Security sources claimed to have destroyed eight huts during the operation that lasted for two hours on Saturday. “A number of dead bodies in blue uniform were spotted from the sky,” the source added. The army suspects that a number of foreign technicians and cadres of India’s People’s War Group, too, could have been killed in the attack. Sources said it could have been the biggest arms and ammunitions manufacturing factory of the Maoists in the country. Compiled from reports.

King’s India Visit Likely To Begin From Jan 15

The visit of King Gyanendra to India could begin from January 15, sources said. The visit was postponed last month after the sudden demise of former Indian Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao plunged India into a state of mourning on the day the King was scheduled to leave for New Delhi. The new date has been proposed by India and is under consideration. Sources added, however, that this time the visit would not be as long as was scheduled last month because of impending SAARC Summit and the upcoming elections in neighboring Indian state of Bihar. In the previous schedule, King Gyanendra was scheduled to visit all the neighboring Indian states including Bihar. Kantipur daily reports.

Rights Bodies Complain Against RNA

Human rights activists have complained that the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) is collecting “vital” information from the human rights organizations. The RNA headquarters sent letters to the rights organizations demanding details about origin, objectives, scope of work, code of conduct as well as names of office bearers with their contact addresses. “The army has sought information about organizations that is available at the District Administration Offices. It is a very serious issue at a time when human rights activists are being tortured by the army,” said Sudip Pathak, chairman of the Human Rights Organization of Nepal (HURON). Meanwhile, Brigadier General B.A. Kumar Sharma, chief of the Legal Unit at the RNA, said that the intention behind the circulars was just to enrich the relation between the army and the human rights organizations. “It is disappointing that some activists misinterpreted it,” he added. The Himalayan Times daily reports.

Rawal Disappointed Over The Working Of HLPC

The UML leader Bhim Rawal, who resigned as a member of the Advisory and Assistance Sub Committee under the High Level Peace Committee (HLPC), on Friday (January 7), has revealed that he was disappointed over the working of the committee. He said that he stepped down after his proposal of inviting the Maoists by coming up with clear political agenda was shot down. He charged that the Prime Minister was singularly focused on elections rather than peace process. He cited policy differences with the HLPC for resigning. Meanwhile, in a separate program, UML general secretary, speaking in Baglung, said that Rawal’s resignation was a personal decision. Leading dailies report.

Maoist Valley Coordinator Held

Security forces have nabbed the Maoists’ Kathmandu Valley coordinator Aditya and two regional leaders from Bhaktapur on Saturday (January 8). Six others were held on Friday. Sources said interrogation was under way. Acting on a tip-off, the security forces had been raiding various hideouts of the Maoists in the capital valley for the past few days. Reports add that among those nabbed include Prakash Gautam, a regional bureau member of the Maoists. In subsequent development, Maoists have released a statement confirming the arrest of Gautam whom they have identified as Aditya. Leading dailies report.

NEA Sans New Projects

As the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is without any new power project of now, the country is sure to re-suffer the pains of load-shedding beginning this year. Apart from the ongoing Middle Marsyangdi Project (70 MW), there are no other projects of considerable strength in operation. Even the Middle Marsyangdi project would take another couple of years to complete. At present, the installed capacity of the NEA is just over 600 MW. The rate of growth of electricity demand stands at 10 percent – which means the country requires 60 MW of extra power every year. This year the private sectors would provide only 7 MW of electricity through projects like Sana Chakukhola, Rairang khola, Feme, Sunkosi (Small) and Lower Nyadi. As such, the country would have to bear another round of load-shedding soon. Kantipur daily reports.

Council Recommends Sharma’s Name For CJ

The Constitutional Council has recommended the name of senior judge of the Supreme Court (SC) Hari Prasad Sharma for the post of Chief Justice (CJ). His name has been forwarded to the King for formal appointment in accordance with the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990. Sharma’s name was chosen on the basis of seniority. Sharma will be the 10th CJ to be appointed after the promulgation of the constitution. He will assume his post after the current CJ Gobinda Bahadur Shrestha retires on January 13. Likewise, the council has also recommended the name of Tirtha Man Shakya, former chief secretary, for the post of Chairman of Public Service Commission (PSC). Leading dailies report.

Big Fight In Masuriya Jungle, At Least 41 Maoists Killed

At least 41 Maoists were killed when the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) launched an attack at the Bankhet area of Masuriya jungle of Kailali district. Reports say that the army launched the attack all of a sudden after receiving information that a huge contingent of the armed rebels were cooking food. Security sources claimed around 200 Maoists could have been killed in the attack including a brigade commander. Maoists scattered after the RNA launched the air attack. Eight security personnel were injured in the incident that occurred on Wednesday afternoon. RNA sources said that the large number of Maoists had gathered in the area preparing to launch an attack against the Sukhkhad security base camp. Compiled from reports.

Airlines Seek Govt. Approval To Add Aircraft

Six private airlines have sought the approval of the government to add a dozen more aircraft to their fleet in the wake of sustained surge in the number of passengers. At present, there are 24 aircraft operating in the domestic sector. According to Dr. Bhoj Raj Ghimire, Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, the government will make the decision after studying the applications. According to sources, Yeti and Sita Air have sought the approval to add two Dorniers each. Likewise, Cosmic has applied for two Fokker whereas Skyline, Buddha and Gorkha want to add 3, 2 and 1 Dorniers each. “We want to add the fleet because we want to expand our market and increase our capacity,” said Binod Singh Basnet, managing director of Sita Air. Estimates predict that this year the number of passengers in domestic sector would grow by astounding 24 percent to reach 9,24,217. In the last three months alone, two Fokkers (of 105-seat capacity) and two SAB (of 34-seat capacity) were added in the domestic sky. The airline operators have said they would bring in the aircraft within one to three months of getting the approval. Thanks to frequent bandhs and blockades, a large number of passengers have begin to opt for air travel. At present, 25 aircraft of 8 companies are providing service to three dozen airports (out of total 47 airports in the country) across the country. Most of the air traffic is concentrated to cities like Biratnagar, Pokhara and Nepalguj. Kantipur daily reports.

Rights About Turn By US

The US government has decided to release the blocked military assistance worth US$ 1 million to the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) soon. The assistance, pledged for 2004, was stopped due to the allegations of rights violations on the part of security forces. “The US senate recently decided to release the assistance for 2004 to the RNA and the concerned authority is corresponding,” said a Defense Ministry official. The US has decided to release the assistance due to RNA’s commitment to respect the Supreme Court orders and for cooperating with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Meanwhile, the US senate passed a new law recently related to foreign military assistance. The US support for RNA for 2005 will depend on the conditions stipulated by the new law, which calls for the RNA to cooperate with the NHRC, not to torture detainees and reply to the Supreme Court queries. The Himalayan Times daily reports.

Army Displays Confiscated Weapons, Explosives

Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) on Tuesday (January 4) put into display a number of weapons, explosives and communication equipment they had seized from the Maoists in the last two months from different parts of the capital valley. Among the confiscated items include big and small guns, ammunition, bombs, explosives, modern communication equipment and logistics. “We could seize these things on tip-off from common people,” said RNA spokesperson Brigadier General Deepak Gurung. Leading dailies report.

Two Kids Die In Explosion

Two kids died after a bomb left over by the Maoists exploded near Kharbari of Badbhurti in Narayan municipality of Dailekh district. Tirtha Sarki, 8, and Lalita Sarki, 15, died after trying to play with ‘unidentified object.’ Meanwhile, in a clash between security forces and the Maoists in Sampang village of Bhojpur district, three security personnel lost their lives. The forces have also recovered three dead bodies of Maoists from the clash site. Leading dailies report.

Generals Hold Talks With Justices

For the first time, Supreme Court (SC) justices, including Chief Justice Govinda Bahadur Shrestha and Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) generals including Chief of the Army Staff General Pyara Jung Thapa held discussions at the RNA headquarters on current situation of the country on January 3. The RNA’s legal department had invited attorney-general Mahadev Prasad Yadav, registrar and spokesperson of the SC, Shree Prasad Pundit and Dr. Ram Krishna Timalsena, for the discussion. A few months back, the army chief had gone to SC to clarify the RNA’s commitment to uphold the SC verdicts and protect human rights. It is learnt that the army’s objective of holding such an interaction was to convince legal eagles about the RNA’s commitment to respect human rights and create a better understanding between the SC and the forces. “Since the army is in the field and also in the process of learning legal procedures in various matters, such an interaction was necessary,” said an army general. It may be noted that the RNA was earlier alleged several times for not obeying the SC’s order on habeas corpus cases. Army officials said that there had been problems in matters like obeying habeas corpus orders due to the lack of understanding about legal procedures in the past, but now things were improving. The Himalayan Times daily reports.