NC In Another Round Of Controversy

-By Our Correspondent

The meeting of the Nepali Congress' parliamentary party, called by the secretary of the parliamentary party for tomorrow (Monday) looks uncertain after the Prime Minister's press advisor Kishore Nepal said that the Prime Minister will not be able to attend the meeting.

Talking to the press on Friday afternoon, the Prime Minister's press advisor said the date for the meeting was fixed unilaterally without consulting the Prime Minister, the leader of the parliamentary committee.

The meeting was called by the secretary of the parliamentary committee after the registration of a no confidence motion.

The motion was registered by 58 of the Nepali Congress members of the Lower House of the parliament on Wednesday at the party's parliamentary party office against the leader of the parliamentary party, Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai.

However, the exertion of the Nepali Congress to change its leader of the parliamentary party went further ahead after several ministers reportedly resigned from the government on Friday.  

But the resignations have not yet been confirmed by the Prime Minister's office. The Prime Minister's press advisor told the press that no such resignations have been received by the prime minister's office.

The registration of the motion has set in another round of controversy within the party. This step of the disgruntled MPs has been criticised by the newly appointed deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel.

Talking to the press on Thursday, Poudel said the no-confidence motion registered by the 58 MPs was an unfortunate incident.

"It is an unfortunate move as the Prime Minister and the NC President had already reached a consensus and the government has been working for providing good governance and creating an environment to hold talks with the Maoists," Poudel said.

  However, at least one minister, who quit the government, said the resignation came after the Prime Minister lost his majority in the parliamentary party with the registration of the no confidence motion.

With the MPs withdrawing their support to the Prime Minister, the situation in the party has suddenly become fluid. Now, it is inevitable for the party to find an exit to the present grave situation brought forth by the no-confidence motion. The Prime Minister is trying to defer the meeting by about a week, and sources close to the prime minister's office say he is willing and is ready to face the situation.  what  is surprising and also meaningful is that the no-confidence motion has come barely two weeks before the winter session of the parliament. If the intent of the no-confidence motion is to be gauged, the disgruntled MPs are bent on changing the head of the government. According to the party statute, a simple majority is enough to change the leader of the parliamentary party. But with Bhattarai seemingly determined not to accede, the scenario does not look pleasant for the Nepali Congress party as a whole. The present standoff and the coming parliamentary session may, thus, decide the future of the party.

50th National Democracy Day

-By Our Correspondent

THE country celebrated the 50th Democracy Day yesterday (Saturday) with much jubilation paying homage and tribute to all those who struggled and sacrificed their lives for the cause of democracy.

It was on this very day fifty years ago that the country broke the shackles of the 104-year-long familial Rana oligarchy to establish democracy in the country.

This day reminds all Nepalese about the joint struggle by the King and the people to bring in democracy.

The significance of the day is more so because His late Majesty King Tribhuvan even staked his throne, with the popular support of the people, for the sake of democracy. This example of the King joining hands with the people for the cause of democracy is an example unique in the annals of the world history.

In a message to the nation on the occasion of the 50th National Democracy Day, His Majesty King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev has stressed on the need for every citizen of the country to have a feel of good governance.

In his message, His Majesty said, "People's faith and confidence in a democratic polity can be sustained only if their aspiration to live a life with dignity in an atmosphere of freedom is insured through good governance."

For this, His Majesty pointed out the essentiality of the institutions established under the constitutions and all others to carry out their responsibilities impartially and efficiently.

In Kathmandu, Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai witnessed a function at Tundikhel.

In his message, the Prime Minister said it was the duty of all to strengthen democracy achieved through the joint effort of King and people.

He said  democracy was the basis of unity among all Nepalis. Similarly, leaders of political parties and others also called for strengthening democracy and to work for the economic development of the country.

Bhutanese Refugee Issue In Indo-US Agenda

-By Our Correspondent

THE Foreign Secretary-level talks  between Nepal and Bhutan have decided to hold yet another similar type of meeting in Kathmandu.

The upcoming Secretary-level meeting is expected to set the date for the Minister-level talks and forward the process for the verification of the Bhutanese refugees. 

Last week, a Nepalese delegation led by Foreign Secretary Murari Raj Sharma visited Thimpu and held talks with the Bhutanese side.

Nepal and Bhutan have already held eight rounds of Minister-level talks to solve the Bhutanese refugee problem. But Bhutan has been trying its best to linger the process of repatriating the refugees.

Meanwhile, support for Nepal's cause has come the United States. Philip Hoffman, Director of the United States Information Centre recently said that the Bhutanese refugee issue has been included in the agenda of high level talks between the US and India during  the US President Bill Clinton's visit to India next month.

He also said the US can play a positive role towards resolving it.

15 More Policemen Killed By Maoists

-By Our Correspondent

IN their latest blitz of violence, the Maoists attacked a police post at Ghartigaon of Rolpa district and killed 15 policemen on Friday night. The attack also left 20 others injured.

According to a police source, seventeen of the injured policemen have been brought to Kathmandu for treatment and three of them are in Nepalgunj hospital. With this, the number of policemen killed by the Maoists in the last one and a half months have reached to more than fifty.

This shows the Maoists are not willing to renounce violence despite their indication that they might be willing to sit for talks.

Only last week, general secretary of the Maoist party Prachanda in a press statement hinted that he might be willing to sit down for talks with the government.

The Maoist's insurgency movement, since it was started four years ago, has taken the lives of more than 1,000 people, many of them common people.

Meanwhile, the government's effort, coupled with pressure from other parties and leaders, seem to be weighing heavy on the Maoists.

The government since it came to power nine months ago has made finding a solution to the Maoist problem its top priority. Since then it has time and again called on the Maoists to lay down their arms and come for talks under the constitution. The Prime Minister, too, soon after he assumed the high seat of the government has offered incentives for them if they are willing to abstain from their violent activities.

To find a speedy solution to the problem, the government also formed a high-level commission under former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.

The Commission had held talks with other political parties and human rights groups to find a solution to the problem.

All the political parties, including the ruling Nepali Congress, have been pressing the Maoists to shun the violence and come under the constitutional framework.

Speaking Of The Child Rights

-By Gopi Sapkota

THE whole world marked the last decade of the millennium as 'The UN Decade of the Children' upon the call of the UN. Old laws on children were revised and new laws and regulations were formed for the benefits of children.

But the overview of the last decade reveal that the rights of children have been violated every where. On one hand the children of many developing countries are still deprived of their basic rights on the other the condition of children in the developed countries is also not that praiseworthy.

According to the UN, fifty per cent of the world's children are still malnourished. A recent survey on the state of children in the USA, UK, Japan and some other developed countries shows that children there are also not well taken care of by their parents. This is especially so regarding the moral lessons and other aspects of teachings.

The deprivation of children from their basic rights -right to life, right to education, right to opportunities and so on - makes an irony of the touchy proverbial expressions like 'Children are the nation builders of tomorrow' or 'Child is the father of man'.

A balanced physical and mental growth of a child is of a great importance for their overall development.

Nonetheless many countries have expressed commitment and have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Nepal also ratified the Convention on September 14, 1990, expressing its commitment to implement provisions enshrined in it.

The convention on the rights of the child adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1989, spells out the basic human rights to which a every child is entitled to, regardless of the place status and race to which a child is born. The convention talks about the right to survival, the right to development of their full physical and mental potential, the right to protection from influences that are harmful to their development and the right to participation in family, cultural and social life.

But there are some discrepancies about the legal status of children and those contained in the CRC. One of them is the age of the children. The CRC has maintained those below 18 as children, but Nepalese law has lowered the age of the child to 16. Again, the Labor Act (1992) puts the age limit of a child to fourteen years.

But provisions and laws in papers will do nothing until and unless the government and the country as a whole are serious about the children's basic needs and rights.

Taking Nepal's example, the state of the children has not improved much in the last decade or even in the decade before that.

Majority of our children do not go to school, children are still being abused. They are still considered the source of labour and are made to work hard in factories and industries. Although there are acts regarding children's welfare, they are being overlooked and they have remained unimplemented. These laws have a lot of loopholes and they are being exploited.

However, the major cause of the state of children is economic backwardness and the lack of social awareness. Unfortunatelly, children have become the first victims of thess economic and social maladies. Until and unless they are treated well by the families and societies no laws can help them lead a better future.