Congress Expels Prakash Koirala
Amid demands for his immediate dismissal in view of his remarks opposing the seven-party agitation, central working committee member of Nepali Congress (NC) Prakash Koirala has been expelled from the party for one year. The eldest son of first elected Prime Minister and NC ideologue late B.P. Koirala, Prakash had been elected to the NC CWC in its 10th general convention. He was expelled by the central disciplinary committee of the NC. Party workers and leaders had demanded his dismissal after he gave interviews in several media saying there was no justification for agitation. Leading dailies report.
China To Send Special Representative To Nepal
Amid fluid situation in Nepal, its northern neighbor China is sending its Special Representative to Kathmandu later this week. According to high level diplomatic sources, it is not clear for what purpose China is sending its special representative. The visiting dignitary would meet with Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey. Sources added that the Chinese representative could be arriving here to discuss on ‘arms deal’ or to lobby regarding the proposed ‘changes in the UN Security Council.’ China has engaged in its own lobbying regarding the proposed changes in the UN Security Council membership. Following this visit, South Korea is also scheduled to send its representative to Nepal. Earlier, Indian envoy Shiv Shankar Mukherjee had requested Nepal government to support India’s candidature for the permanent member of UN SC. Likewise, ambassadors of the United States and Germany and official of Japanese embassy, too, had met with Foreign Ministry officials to present their viewpoint regarding the UN SC structure. India, Japan and Germany have made their claims for being the permanent member of UNSC. The fourth candidate Egypt has already received Nepal’s assurances for its support in lieu of Egypt’s support to Nepal’s candidature for temporary membership of UN SC for the period of 2007/08. Nepal Samacharpatra daily reports.
Proposed Press Ordinance Would Restrict Right To Information
Experts at an interaction held on Sunday (May 22) by the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) opined that the proposed press ordinance that aims to bring about stringent provisions would not only restrict media freedom but also would be against the constitutionally-guaranteed right to information of general public. Speaking at the interaction, FNJ president Bishnu Nishthuri urged all to join hands to thwart such ordinance from materializing. Shambhu Thapa, president of Nepal Bar Association (NBA), said that they needed to knock the doors of the Supreme Court against such ordinances. Speaking at the program, several media professionals said they would need to ‘disobey’ if the proposed ordinance comes into being. Kantipur daily reports.
Rai Released
The student leader of the Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) – affiliated All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU) Rajendra Rai was released on Friday (May 20) after the Supreme Court gave its second order for his release. Earlier, Rai had been re-arrested even after the SC ordered for its release prompting vehement protests from lawyers. Leading dailies report.
Foreign Ministry Summons Indian And British Envoys
The Foreign Ministry summoned Indian ambassador Shiv Shankar Mukherjee and British ambassador Keith George Bloomfield on Friday (May 20) and warned them against interfering in internal affairs of Nepal. Foreign Secretary Madhu Raman Acharya expressed government’s strong reaction against excessive interest in the internal affairs of Nepal. The envoys were warned both verbally and in writing. Acharya is reported to have expressed extreme displeasure at the open support expressed by India and the European Union – currently chaired by Britain – for the common agenda of the agitating political parties. The political parties had made public their common agenda for the restoration of House of Representatives, all party government and election for constituent assembly. Leading dailies report.
43 Maoists, 9 Security Personnel Killed In Udayapur Clash
Forty-three bodies of Maoists were recovered from the site of Monday’s (May 16)clash at Lekh Gaun Tapli of Udayapur district. According to security source, 8 bodies of Maoists were recovered from the site of the clash, while 35 bodies were found buried at Gagri Bhanjyang area. The Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) Eastern Division, Itahari, said nine security men – eight RNA soldiers and one police personnel – were killed in the clash, and 16 other security personnel were injured. Meanwhile, Radio Nepal has reported that bodies of 50 Maoists have been recovered from the area in Udayapur. It attributed reports from the RNA Public Relations Directorate as saying that the Maoists suffered heavy casualties and that even their central level commander could have been killed in the clash. The Himalayan Times daily reports.
Japan Willing To Support Democratization In Nepal
Japanese politicians have expressed their willingness to help Nepal in any manner to resolve the current crisis in the country. But they have few conditions – Maoists should declare ceasefire and political parties should show interest to further country’s democratization on the basis of constitutional monarchy and multiparty democracy. The Japan-Nepal Parliamentary League headed by former Japanese Prime Minister Riotaro Hashimoto has expressed that willingness. General secretary of the League and a Japanese lawmaker Tadahiro Matshusita, who recent held consultation with Japanese ambassador to Nepal Tsutomu Hiraoka, said, “We had recently consulted with our president Hashimoto. We are ready to extend necessary support to help Nepal.” He added that the situation has further deteriorated after some friendly countries of Nepal started to apply economic pressure. He said that the time was ripe for political leadership to show wisdom. “We are saddened by Nepal situation. In this situation many friendly countries are applying economic pressure on Nepal, which, we fear, could weaken the sovereignty of Nepal located between two big neighbors,” he added. Matshusita also informed that they were planning to celebrate the coming year in a grand manner to mark the golden jubilee of establishment of bilateral relations as well as the first ascent of Mt. Manaslu by a Japanese climber. Kantipur daily reports.
UN To Examine Child Rights Report
The UN Committee on the Rights of Child is scheduled to examine on Many 20 a report submitted by the Nepalese government, which rights organizations say omits the ‘significant adverse impact’ on the country’s children caused by the escalating Maoist insurgency. The government report refers only to child deaths caused by scarcity of medical treatment. It ignores deaths due to food security and armed conflict. According to estimates by rights bodies, from May 1996 to February 28, 2005, at least 305 children died due to the armed conflict. According to New Delhi-based Asian Center for Human Rights, security forces were responsible for the death of more than 165 children while the Maoists killed 138. The Himalayan Times daily reports.
Malaysia Demands Nepalese Women Laborers
Malaysian government has asked for supply of Nepalese women laborers. The Malaysian government recently made this offer to Nepal following its intensive drive to send back illegal immigrant workers there. Besides, Malaysian government has also written a letter to the Royal Nepalese Embassy and Labor and Transport Management Ministry to inform it how many laborers Nepal can provide and in what areas. Although Nepal government currently prohibits women laborers from going to Malaysia, it is planning to reconsider this policy and allow women to work in certain sectors. Malaysia is presently the number one destination of Nepalese overseas workers. Nepal Samacharpatra daily reports.
Gautam And Others Released
The government released one dozen political leaders and cadres including standing committee member of the Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) Bamdev Gautam as per the court order. Gautam, who has been under detention since February 1, told reporters that he is committed to fight for the restoration of democracy. Madhav Baskota, secretary of NBA, said the initiative taken for upholding the judicial independence and the subsequent implementation of court decision as positive signs. “This is what we had fought for. We hope this will continue,” he said. Leading dailies report.
RCCC Lacks Expertise: Jha
One of the accused persons in the charge of irregularities leveled by the Royal Commission on Corruption Control (RCCC) on Melamchi project has claimed that the commission lacks experts to investigate technical subjects like project construction. “Due to lack of knowledge and technical expertise, the investigating officer of the commission asks same question for hours, which only kills time and makes us exhausted,” said Deepak Kumar Jha, deputy director of Melamchi project, who is one of the accused. He said that other countries appoint special financial crime investigating experts to probe such cases. “But here the officers ask technically incorrect questions in mixed Nepali and English language. When we tell them of their incorrect question, they do not accept it,’ Jha said. Kantipur daily reports.
Nepal For Reforms In The UN
Vice chairman of the Council of Ministers Kirti Nidhi Bista has said that Nepal favors reforms in the United Nations. Speaking at a program organized to mark the 50th year of Nepal’s membership in the UN, Bista said Nepal supports the broad reform proposals put forth by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. He added that Nepal wanted expansion of Security Council and transparency in UN activities. Likewise, foreign minister Ramesh Nath Pandey said that UN should give more attention towards the security, stability and development of smaller countries. Leading dailies report.
NHRC Presents Report Findings
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has presented findings of investigations it conducted in the past two months on allegations of rights abuses in four different incidents. Presenting its report, the NHRC has said that in two incidents Maoists were to be blamed and in two the army were to be blamed. In the incident of Bargadawa of Nawalparasi district, the report said that the Maoists killed 10 people including a 14-year-old when they attacked a village to avenge the murder of five lower caste people by a Maoist Resistant Committee accusing them of Maoists. The commission has recommended to the government to provide Rs 150,000 as compensation to each bereaved family. In the incident of Pipaldanda in Sindhupalchowk, the NHRC has said that three persons were killed when 50 Maoists stormed the village. In the incident of Chidipani of Palpa, the report stated the security personnel traveling in a bus opened fire at students raising funds to celebrate Holi festival from vehicles plying along the Siddhartha highway. Three students were killed. Security officials admitted to killing the students and said they had already recommended the army headquarters for compensation. In the incident of shootout in Janajyoti Campus in Kanchanpur, the NHRC report said three students were injured when security forces opened fire at their gathering. The Himalayan Times daily reports.
