Joshi Resigns

By Our Correspondent

It is rare for Nepalese occupying responsible posts to resign on moral grounds. During the partyless Panchayat period, the then Prime Minister Kirtinidhi Bista set an example by resigning immediately after the Singha Durbar Secretariat caught fire in 1973. So did Minister Keshar Bahadur Bista in 1987 when a stampede at the Dasharath Stadium killed 79 football fans after they were caught in a storm that lashed Kathmandu.

Last week, after Maoist insurgents killed 14 policemen and injured scores others during attacks on a police post in Dunai, Dolpa’s headquarters in far northwest Nepal, the media as well as some members of the ruling Nepali Congress party demanded that Home Minister Govinda Raj Joshi resign on moral grounds. Instead, he blatantly told a press conference on Wednesday that he would not quit his post as he cannot back away from his responsibility of maintaining law and order in the country.

But just two days later, on Friday, at a hastily called press conference at his ministry, he announced his resignation. What compelled him to make the decision is anyone’s guess. In July, 25 policemen had died in a single incident, fighting Maoist insurgents in Panchakatiya in far west Nepal. In between the two big skirmishes between the police and the Maoists, many more policemen have died. But these incidents did not deter Joshi from carrying on with his "responsibility".

A summary of the press release Joshi read out at the press meet on Friday was hard on the Royal Nepalese Army and some colleagues of his own party, particularly Sher Bahadur Deuba, convenor of the high level committee formed to solve the Maoist problem. Apparently, what he said about the military just two days back while briefing about the Dunai incident may have cost him his job.

Joshi apparently played with fire when he passed the buck for the Dunai fiasco onto the army, who, he said, failed to come to the rescue of the police despite their presence in the vicinity. Casualties were not only high that day, the Maoists also looted nearly Rs. 60 million from the Nepal Bank Limited branch office located there.

More than 1,000 Maoist insurgents attacked the poorly armed and greatly outnumbered police force on September 25. Despite forewarnings, adequate reinforcement failed to arrive in time. Reacting to Joshi’s comments, a strongly worded press statement issued by the Defence Ministry on Friday said that the Royal Nepal Army was brought into discussion whenever any incident takes place following escalation in Maoist-related violence and comments are also made over the lack of cooperation from the army.

"The stance of His Majesty’s Government is that the resolution of the Maoist problem without mobilizing the military and through appropriate alternatives would be in the overall interest of the nation," the statement continued.

Joshi in his parting statement lamented at failing to equip the police with modern weapons and helicopters. And he held the army responsible for not providing arms worth Rs. 170 million to the police force under an understanding reached earlier.

But he spared his harshest words at the Friday conference for his own colleagues. He accused some members of the Nepali Congress party itself of supporting the Maoists. It is no secret that Deuba and a former minister, Khum Bahadur Khadka, have been after Joshi. Through the media, Khadka supporters have been portraying a grim picture of the law and order situation in the country and slamming Minister for Home Joshi for his lackluster performance.

Joshi tried to use the press conference as a platform, albeit unsuccessfully, to cleanse himself of all accusations ranging from corruption to bribery to inefficiency.

With everyone shifting the blame on one another, the security situation has only worsened over the years with the insurgency taking a heavy toll of the lives of policemen and ordinary citizens. Since the insurgency began four years ago, more than 2,000 people on both sides of the fence have died. Last week alone, a day after the Dunai incident, eight policemen lost their lives countering Maoists in Lamjung.

Just before resigning, Joshi hinted that the army should now also share the responsibility of maintaining internal security, a proposition no party has been willing to accept so far. He even advocated that ‘the use of the army does not necessarily mean the imposition of army rule in the country’.

Foreign Management Taking Over NRB, NBL

By Our Correspondent

THE government has decided to award the management of the country’s oldest commercial bank, Nepal Bank Limited that is owned 60 per cent by the public, and Rastriya Banijya Bank, the 100 per cent government-owned commercial bank, to foreigners.

According to a reliable source, an advertisement regarding this will appear in The Economist and United Nations Data Base soon.

However, one of the Board of Directors of Nepal Bank Limited said that they had not been informed about this management contract.

He said that the Board may oppose the government’s decision as the share of the private sector is higher than that held by the government.

Both the banks have been suffering from various problems. The World Bank has been demanding that their management improve.

Although it is been said that the bid for the management contract will be open for all, including Nepalese, many say that Nepal will not get the contract as World Bank officials are sceptical about Nepal's professional expertise.

However, Satyendra Pyara Shrestha, former Government of Nepal Rastra Bank, the central bank of Nepal, says that Nepal does have the professionals who can manage banks well.

"We have young cadres who can easily replace foreign banking personnel," he says.

Many fear that awarding the management contract to foreigners might prove counter productive as the two banks hold a third of the total assets of the country's commercial banks, which today number more than a dozen.

His Majesty’s Government is trying to bring financial reform by amending the Nepal Rastra Bank Act and Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, and restructuring Rastriya Banijya Bank and Nepal Bank Limited by inducting improved management and supervision as well as through branch rationalisation.

An Apology Too Late

By Our Correspondent

What prompted British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to start a debate on Nepal’s sovereignty on the Internet is hard to tell. But it has stirred a hornet’s nest and enough damage has been done to the credibility of the organization.

When there were a million and one questions to discuss about Nepal, BBC surprisingly last week decided to prop up the question: " Should Nepal be brought under the Indian umbrella?" given the close cultural, economic and social ties the two countries share.

An otherwise slow to react Foreign Ministry was quick to slam the world service, quickly opening the eyes of the media and the general public at large. After drawing an avalanche of criticisms from the political parties, the media and the people, BBC meekly withdrew the question from its Website and extended an apology through its World Service Programme aired Thursday morning. "The question did not aim to begin a debate whether Nepal should sacrifice its sovereignty," it said.

Landlocked as it is and surrounded by India on three sides, security, independence and sovereignty are sensitive issues to the Nepalese public. Poor as it is, it takes pride in the fact that it was never colonized, a point that the responsible world media overlooked.

If language and traditions alone were criteria for grouping together, then the Arab states which share the same language, dress and religion should have been a single state, said an observer.

Added another, BBC would have done better to start a debate on the Internet on whether Northern Ireland should remain under the British umbrella or let it be an independent state.

Serious Loss Of Authentic Urban Fabric Seen

A high-level UNESCO mission was in the capital last week to inspect the seven World Heritage Sites in the Kathmandu valley. The team was led by Mr. Abdelaziz Touri, archaeologist, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Culture and Communication of the Kingdom of Morocco, and the Chairperson of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) since last year. The team will submit its report at the 24th session of the UNESCO meeting to be held in Kern, Australia in November and the fate of the seven monument zones of the Kathmandu valley will be decided then.

At a press meet held at the historical Keshav Narayan Chowk in Patan last week, the mission hinted that it might recommend to put the heritage sites of the Valley in the list of World Heritage in Danger at the WHC meeting. It called for an urgent need to mobilise international technical assistance and to rally necessary public support to safeguard the world heritage values.

Before Mr. Touri's departure, K.P. Sharma of the Sunday Despatch interviewed him regarding the conditions and his readings of his visit. Excerpts:

What is your impression about the seven World Heritage Sites of the Kathmandu Valley which you recently visited to report to the 24th UNESCO Meeting?

The state of the conservation of Kathmandu Valley, a single World Heritage site composed of seven Monument Zones together representing a unique heritage of humankind, has been the subject of concern of UNESCO and its World Heritage Committee for many years since its inscription on the World Heritage List in 1979.

In view of the fact that the demolition and new construction of alteration of historic buildings within the Kathmandu Valley have persisted in spite of concerted international and national efforts, resulting in the loss or continuous deterioration of materials, structure, ornamental features and architectural coherence, the World Heritage Committee, at its 23rd session in Marrakech, Morocco (November-December 1999) requested a High Level Mission to be undertaken to hold discussions with the authorities of His Majesty’s Government of Nepal.

The Mission likes to congratulate the concerned authorities on their efforts in protecting the universal values of the site and notes the high level of conservation of certain public monuments and historic urban spaces within the seven Monument Zones. However, the Mission reaffirms the importance of conserving the authenticity and integrity of the urban fabric that forms the essential historic setting of all the seven Monument Zones, also protected under the World Heritage Convention, together with the monumental structures. The Mission reiterates the World Heritage Committee’s recognition of the serious loss of the authentic urban fabric detected over the past years due to rapid urbanization and uncontrolled development.

Are these the only Heritage Sites which UNESCO considers in danger?

No, the World Heritage Committee has so far inscribed 27 World Heritage sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger. At each session, the Committee examines the state of conservation of World Heritage Sites and takes decisions concerning whether or not sites should be inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Can you tell us what the Heritage Sites in the Kathmandu Valley lack?

The causes of the present situation at Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site appear to be insufficient control of rapid urbanization processes, lack of specific planning and management tools for the historic urban fabric, and scarcity of funding for restoration activities.

How does UNESCO treat those Heritage Sites which are listed as in danger?

UNESCO and its World Heritage Committee allocates specific funds from the World Heritage Fund in order to implement corrective measures to remove the threats facing the site and mobilizes additional international technical and financial assistance, to facilitate the removal of the site from the List of World Heritage in Danger.

How does UNESCO assist world Heritage sites?

UNESCO, its World Heritage Committee and the World Heritage Centre, assist States’ Parties and concerned authorities protecting their World Heritage Sites by providing technical or financial assistance, promoting bilateral and/or multilateral aid for enhancing the management and conservation process.

While some heritage sites have not been doing well, Nepal wants to add some more sites to the list. How do you view this?

His Majesty’s Government of Nepal has submitted a Tentative List of sites which it intends to nominate within the coming 5-10 years on the World Heritage List, for increasing the representatives of the World Heritage List and assuring additional protection for Sites of outstanding universal significance. This process is compatible with the efforts to increase protection for World Heritage sites facing threats.

The UNESCO Charter demands that stolen images be returned to the respective countries if found. What role can UNESCO play in this regard?

UNESCO has three international legal instruments concerning the protection of cultural heritage. The 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property aims to increase the control of illicit traffic of movable cultural heritage at an international level.

(For further detail regarding this one may contact the UNESCO Division of Cultural Heritage—International Standards Section for further information. The web site is: www.unesco.org