Maoists abducted 12 youths from Hapure, Dang district, after a mass meeting in the area on Friday. Whereabouts of the youths remain unknown.
The security forces freed five army men unhurt, abducted by Maoists this afternoon from Gaura Bazaar, Dadeldhura. The five soldiers were on their way to Daha Barrack from Kailali’s Teghari were taken hostage by Maoists at around 1:00 p.m., reports said.
Separately, in Saptari, a group of armed Maoists abducted two civilians, one from Pipra area and another from Baitawa VDC, on Friday night, reports said.
nepalnews.com mbk Oct 30 04
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Saturday, October 30, 2004
Friday, October 29, 2004
Nepalnews. com : Maoists opened fire at Security Forces at Kavre VDC in Dang bordering Pyuthan district.
Within hours of expiry of the `temporary truce' observed by both the sides, security forces and Maoist rebels clashed at Kamirechour in the mid-western district of Dang Friday afternoon, reports said.
The Maoists had announced that they would stop their armed operations for nine days during Dashain until mid-night Thursday. The government later reciprocated the move.
A security source in Dang told Nepalnews Saturday morning that a security patrol retaliated when a group of Maoists opened fire at them at Kavre VDC in Dang bordering Pyuthan district. The search operation is underway in the area, he said.
There has been no report of casualty on either side as yet.
The area is known as a stronghold of the Maoists. Reinforcement has been sent from the Royal Nepalese Army barrack at Ghorahi in Dang to the area, sources said.
Nepal Samacharpatra daily quoted sources at the RNA barrack in Tulsipur as saying that the clashes had started after the rebels attacked on security forces using a long-range weapon. There had been no reports of casualty during the four-hour clash, the report said.
The Maoists had attacked the army barrack at Ghorahi, Dang in November 2001 within days of walking off the first-ever peace talks with the government. A strategically important valley, Dang-Deukhuri is considered a gateway to remote hilly districts of Rapti Zone from where the Maoist insurgency was launched in early 1996.
nepalnews.com by Oct 30 Sphere: Related Content
The Maoists had announced that they would stop their armed operations for nine days during Dashain until mid-night Thursday. The government later reciprocated the move.
A security source in Dang told Nepalnews Saturday morning that a security patrol retaliated when a group of Maoists opened fire at them at Kavre VDC in Dang bordering Pyuthan district. The search operation is underway in the area, he said.
There has been no report of casualty on either side as yet.
The area is known as a stronghold of the Maoists. Reinforcement has been sent from the Royal Nepalese Army barrack at Ghorahi in Dang to the area, sources said.
Nepal Samacharpatra daily quoted sources at the RNA barrack in Tulsipur as saying that the clashes had started after the rebels attacked on security forces using a long-range weapon. There had been no reports of casualty during the four-hour clash, the report said.
The Maoists had attacked the army barrack at Ghorahi, Dang in November 2001 within days of walking off the first-ever peace talks with the government. A strategically important valley, Dang-Deukhuri is considered a gateway to remote hilly districts of Rapti Zone from where the Maoist insurgency was launched in early 1996.
nepalnews.com by Oct 30 Sphere: Related Content
Thursday, October 28, 2004
The govt will not extend `truce' with the Communist Maoists that ends today 10/28/04
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said the government will not extend temporary truce that comes to an end today.
Talking to reporters at the tea reception organised by his party, Nepali Congress (Democratic) on the occasion of Bada Dashain festival Thursday afternoon, premier Deuba said there was no possibility of extending the period of 'truce' adopted by the government in response to a similar move by the Maoist.
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) had declared that it would suspend all of its armed operations for nine days (October 20 through 28) during Dashain. The government later reciprocated the move.
Responding to another question, premier Deuba said it would be good if negotiations could be held (with the rebels). If peace talks could not take place, then the government would go for (parliamentary) polls, said the premier.
"There is no question of withholding elections if the talks don't take place for next ten years," he said. The Prime Minister also said that the government would make arrangements for security during the polls. He did not elaborate.
Thousands of NC (Democratic) activists, ruling coalition members and people from various walks of life had thronged the Birendra International Convention Center to take part in the reception. Senior leaders of the CPN (UML), Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Nepal Sadbhavana Party were present at the function.
Nepali Congress leader, late B. P. Koirala, had initiated the tradition of
hosting tea reception on the occasion of Bada Dashain upon his return from exile in India in 1977 with the slogan of `national unity and
reconciliation.'
Opposition Nepali Congress, however, said it would not organize the tea reception this year due to the adverse situation in the country.
A major coalition partner, CPN (UML), organised similar reception at its party headquarters at Balkhu on Tuesday.
nepalnews.com by Oct 28 04 Sphere: Related Content
Talking to reporters at the tea reception organised by his party, Nepali Congress (Democratic) on the occasion of Bada Dashain festival Thursday afternoon, premier Deuba said there was no possibility of extending the period of 'truce' adopted by the government in response to a similar move by the Maoist.
The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) had declared that it would suspend all of its armed operations for nine days (October 20 through 28) during Dashain. The government later reciprocated the move.
Responding to another question, premier Deuba said it would be good if negotiations could be held (with the rebels). If peace talks could not take place, then the government would go for (parliamentary) polls, said the premier.
"There is no question of withholding elections if the talks don't take place for next ten years," he said. The Prime Minister also said that the government would make arrangements for security during the polls. He did not elaborate.
Thousands of NC (Democratic) activists, ruling coalition members and people from various walks of life had thronged the Birendra International Convention Center to take part in the reception. Senior leaders of the CPN (UML), Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Nepal Sadbhavana Party were present at the function.
Nepali Congress leader, late B. P. Koirala, had initiated the tradition of
hosting tea reception on the occasion of Bada Dashain upon his return from exile in India in 1977 with the slogan of `national unity and
reconciliation.'
Opposition Nepali Congress, however, said it would not organize the tea reception this year due to the adverse situation in the country.
A major coalition partner, CPN (UML), organised similar reception at its party headquarters at Balkhu on Tuesday.
nepalnews.com by Oct 28 04 Sphere: Related Content
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Reporters Without Borders said that more journalists were arrested in Nepal in 2003 than in any other
In its report published on Tuesday, the Paris-based organization said
security forces arrested, detained, tortured or threatened about 100 Nepali journalists last year. The Maoists murdered one journalist and threatened dozens of others for allegedly spying for the army.
According to the report, journalist Gyanendra Khadka was murdered by the Maoist rebels while pro-Maoist reporter, Binod Sajana Chaudhary, was killed by security forces in separate incidents last year. Security forces detained 36 journalists and at least 12 journalists were being held by security forces by the end of 2003, the report said. At least 51 journalists were imprisoned and five journalists were kidnapped during the year, the report said.
"It was a grim year for press freedom. Nepali journalists have been targeted as never before by the belligerents of a bloody civil war," the report added.
The report, however, noted launching of two new terrestrial broadcast TV stations, Kantipur Television and Image Channel, in the private sector as a positive development last year. The number of community radio stations in the country reached 25 including the Karnali community radio targeting people in the remote northern region. Similarly, the Maoists also launched their own station, Radio Janaganatantra Nepal (Radio Republic Nepal), in the west of the country on 7 November 2003, the report said.
In its third annual worldwide index of press freedom, the RSF said press freedom was threatened most in East Asia (North Korea, Burma, China, Vietnam and Laos) and the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria and Iraq). The greatest press freedom was found in northern Europe (Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, the Netherlands and Norway), which, the organization said, was a haven of peace for journalists.
Predictably, Nepal has its place somewhere near bottom of the worldwide index. Out of 167 countries surveyed, Nepal has acquired the 160th position. nepalnews.com by Oct 27 04
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security forces arrested, detained, tortured or threatened about 100 Nepali journalists last year. The Maoists murdered one journalist and threatened dozens of others for allegedly spying for the army.
According to the report, journalist Gyanendra Khadka was murdered by the Maoist rebels while pro-Maoist reporter, Binod Sajana Chaudhary, was killed by security forces in separate incidents last year. Security forces detained 36 journalists and at least 12 journalists were being held by security forces by the end of 2003, the report said. At least 51 journalists were imprisoned and five journalists were kidnapped during the year, the report said.
"It was a grim year for press freedom. Nepali journalists have been targeted as never before by the belligerents of a bloody civil war," the report added.
The report, however, noted launching of two new terrestrial broadcast TV stations, Kantipur Television and Image Channel, in the private sector as a positive development last year. The number of community radio stations in the country reached 25 including the Karnali community radio targeting people in the remote northern region. Similarly, the Maoists also launched their own station, Radio Janaganatantra Nepal (Radio Republic Nepal), in the west of the country on 7 November 2003, the report said.
In its third annual worldwide index of press freedom, the RSF said press freedom was threatened most in East Asia (North Korea, Burma, China, Vietnam and Laos) and the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria and Iraq). The greatest press freedom was found in northern Europe (Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, the Netherlands and Norway), which, the organization said, was a haven of peace for journalists.
Predictably, Nepal has its place somewhere near bottom of the worldwide index. Out of 167 countries surveyed, Nepal has acquired the 160th position. nepalnews.com by Oct 27 04
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Nepalnews. com: Maoists abduct 17 year old and disrupt vehicular movement in far-western Nepal
Maoists abducted one Uddhav Bika of Dharapani, Dhaibung-4 in Rasuwa district on the day of Mahanawami-the ninth day of the Dashain festival, the daily reported. Uddhav's whereabout is still not known.
17-yr-old Uddhav's father, Chhetra Bahdur Bika has appealed the media and human rights activists to make efforts for the safe release of his son.
In what seems to be a clear defiance of their supreme leader Prachanda’s declaration of cessation of all armed activities and allow all public activities to take place smoothly during Dashain times, the Maoists have obstructed movements of vehicles in far-western Nepal.
The Maoists have obstructed vehical movement along the Dhangadhi-Dadeldhura highway by felling trees at the Goganpani Gaira section of the road on Monday Morning, Nepal Samacharpatra reported. As a result, thousands of commuters who had gone to their relatives to receive the Dashain Tika have been left stranded in the highway.
Though Dipayal-based units of security forces planned to go to the area to clear the road on Monday, they could not do so owing to the geographical difficulties, the daily said citing security sources. Security forces will be deployed in the area to clear the road on Tuesday, the newspaper added.
nepalnews.com amt Oct 26 04 Sphere: Related Content
17-yr-old Uddhav's father, Chhetra Bahdur Bika has appealed the media and human rights activists to make efforts for the safe release of his son.
In what seems to be a clear defiance of their supreme leader Prachanda’s declaration of cessation of all armed activities and allow all public activities to take place smoothly during Dashain times, the Maoists have obstructed movements of vehicles in far-western Nepal.
The Maoists have obstructed vehical movement along the Dhangadhi-Dadeldhura highway by felling trees at the Goganpani Gaira section of the road on Monday Morning, Nepal Samacharpatra reported. As a result, thousands of commuters who had gone to their relatives to receive the Dashain Tika have been left stranded in the highway.
Though Dipayal-based units of security forces planned to go to the area to clear the road on Monday, they could not do so owing to the geographical difficulties, the daily said citing security sources. Security forces will be deployed in the area to clear the road on Tuesday, the newspaper added.
nepalnews.com amt Oct 26 04 Sphere: Related Content
Monday, October 25, 2004
Maya Schenk, 2, from Nepal, clutches a U.S. Flag as she is guided by her adopted mother, Pamela Schenk, and adopted grandmother, Joan Schenk, both of Rochester, N.Y., before accepting her certificate of U.S. citizenship in Buffalo, N.Y., Friday, Oct. 22, 2004. (AP Photo/David Duprey)
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Sunday, October 24, 2004
Nepal's King Gyanendra
'End violence' plea by Nepal king
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KATHMANDU: Nepal's King Gyanendra, facing a deadly Maoist revolt and sustained street protests from political parties, called yesterday for unity among all Nepalis and an end to the country's "cycle of devastation"."In order to end this cycle of devastation, all peace-loving people who have faith in multiparty democracy must unite in earnest, with the nation's well-being as the focal point," the 57-year-old monarch said in a message read over state radio to mark the Dasain festival.
Dasain celebrates the Hindu god-king Ram's victory over the demon Ravan and is widely celebrated in Nepal, the world's only officially Hindu kingdom.
"Today, our nation and people are afflicted with violence and destructive activities. Such acts must be brought to an end without any further delay and an environment of peace restored in the country," King Gyanendra said.
Gyanendra, however, didn't offer any new proposals to revive peace talks with the rebels, which collapsed in August last year. The government has repeatedly urged rebels to return to the negotiating table, but to no avail.
Since they withdrew from peace talks, the rebels have grown increasingly bold in their attacks. In August, they isolated the capital, Kathmandu, by threatening to attack vehicles, as part of a campaign to pressure the government into releasing detained insurgents.
More than 10,000 people have died in the Himalayan nation since Maoist guerillas began a violent campaign in 1996 to overthrow the constitutional monarchy.
The revolt, aimed at setting up a Communist republic, has also left thousands injured, orphaned or displaced and wrecked one of the world's poorest economies by slowing foreign-funded projects and scaring away tourists.
Gyanendra, who plunged the troubled nation into political turmoil by firing elected Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in 2002, has faced violent street protests from four political parties represented in the parliament he disbanded that year.
In June, he reappointed Deuba but failed to coax political parties - which accuse him of overstepping his role and want an all-party government - to join the current government.
Foreign donors, including neighbouring India, the United States and Britain, have stressed the need for a common front between the king and political parties against the Maoists.
Both the government and the rebels, who agreed to a temporary festival truce until next week, are under pressure from political parties and human rights activists to extend the ceasefire and reconvene peace talks that failed in 2003.
Deuba has offered talks on several occasions but the rebels have rejected dialogue unless the United Nations was involved.
However, the rebels and government troops have agreed to a temporary truce during the Dasain festival -during which many Nepalese travel home.
Sphere: Related ContentThursday, October 21, 2004
Reinhold Messner, an Italian mountaineer poses for a photograph with orphan babies at Maiti Nepal Rehabilitation and Orphanage Home in Kathmandu on Thursday.
Photo: NARENDRA SHRESTHA
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Army personnel rehearse for feu-de-joie programme to mark Phoolpati, the seventh day of Dashain festival at Tundikhel in Kathmandu on Wednesday.
KANTIPUR PHOTO/ POST Photo
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Seventh day of Dashain festival witnessed the Fulpati procession bearing the Royal Kalasha filled with holy water, banana stalks, jamara (sprouted barley and wheat) and sugarcane. The Kalasha is carried to the Dashain Ghar at Hanumandhoka all the way from Gorkha palace.
(Online Photo : Prakash Mathema )
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Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Nepal gets draconian act during festival season
Kathmandu Nepal:
At a time when Nepal is celebrating its biggest festival of Dashain, the government has reintroduced a draconian act in an even harsher form.
The Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Control and Punishment) Act, introduced three years ago to control the Maoist insurgency, authorised the security forces to detain people, suspected of being terrorists, for 90 days without trial.
At the time of its introduction, the act had been criticised by human rights activists and opposition parties who feared it would give arbitrary power to the army and create even more "disappearances".
International rights organisations say Nepal, during the course of the eight-year-old Maoist insurgency, tops the list of countries where illegal arrests, torture in custody and disappearance from custody are rampant. Though the draconian legislation expired last week, the Sher Bahadur Deuba government decided to reintroduce it as an even harsher law.
Since Nepal's parliament was dissolved in 2002 and elections put in abeyance since then, the government cannot introduce a new act. However, it circumvents the hurdle by introducing new measures as ordinances.
The expired act was given a fresh lease of life as a new ordinance, the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Control and Punishment) Ordinance.
The new ordinance empowers the army to hold any suspect in detention without a trial for one year.
The new ordinance comes even as the Supreme Court of Nepal rapped the government for not disclosing the whereabouts of people taken into custody while asking for a full disclosure.
The National Human Rights Commission, Nepal's apex rights body, sent a letter to Deuba Tuesday, expressing its dissatisfaction with the disclosures made by the government so far.
The commission says the government has made public the whereabouts of only a few when there are large numbers of people being held illegally in army barracks. The army refuses to let the commission inspect the barracks, despite pressure from international organizations.
The ordinance has been criticised by the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist, an ally of the ruling coalition.
An opposition party, the Nepali Congress of former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala, has threatened to make the ordinance the focal point of its anti-government campaign after the festival season ends.
The Maoists, who are fighting to overthrow monarchy and introduce a Communist republic, have announced a nine-day ceasefire from Wednesday to allow people to celebrate Dashain.
Indo-Asian News Service
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At a time when Nepal is celebrating its biggest festival of Dashain, the government has reintroduced a draconian act in an even harsher form.
The Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Control and Punishment) Act, introduced three years ago to control the Maoist insurgency, authorised the security forces to detain people, suspected of being terrorists, for 90 days without trial.
At the time of its introduction, the act had been criticised by human rights activists and opposition parties who feared it would give arbitrary power to the army and create even more "disappearances".
International rights organisations say Nepal, during the course of the eight-year-old Maoist insurgency, tops the list of countries where illegal arrests, torture in custody and disappearance from custody are rampant. Though the draconian legislation expired last week, the Sher Bahadur Deuba government decided to reintroduce it as an even harsher law.
Since Nepal's parliament was dissolved in 2002 and elections put in abeyance since then, the government cannot introduce a new act. However, it circumvents the hurdle by introducing new measures as ordinances.
The expired act was given a fresh lease of life as a new ordinance, the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Control and Punishment) Ordinance.
The new ordinance empowers the army to hold any suspect in detention without a trial for one year.
The new ordinance comes even as the Supreme Court of Nepal rapped the government for not disclosing the whereabouts of people taken into custody while asking for a full disclosure.
The National Human Rights Commission, Nepal's apex rights body, sent a letter to Deuba Tuesday, expressing its dissatisfaction with the disclosures made by the government so far.
The commission says the government has made public the whereabouts of only a few when there are large numbers of people being held illegally in army barracks. The army refuses to let the commission inspect the barracks, despite pressure from international organizations.
The ordinance has been criticised by the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist, an ally of the ruling coalition.
An opposition party, the Nepali Congress of former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala, has threatened to make the ordinance the focal point of its anti-government campaign after the festival season ends.
The Maoists, who are fighting to overthrow monarchy and introduce a Communist republic, have announced a nine-day ceasefire from Wednesday to allow people to celebrate Dashain.
Indo-Asian News Service
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Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Mon Oct 18, 7:27 AM ET
AFP
AFP
Nepal is to suspend military action against Maoist rebels during the Hindu festival period from October 20 until November 14(AFP/File)
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Nepalnews :: Maoists abduct over 50 Jana Morcha activists
Maoist communists have attacked at a rally organised by pro-left Jana Morcha Nepal (People's Front Nepal-PFN) and abducted 52 PFN activists.
According to reports, the Maoists attacked at a group of nearly 150 PFN activists at Nishi village in western district of Baglung Sunday. At least eight PFN workers were seriously injured in the attacks, said Krishna Thapa, Secretary of PFN Baglung district unit.
This is the second such attack upon Jana Morcha workers in Baglung district
The PFN workers have been facing wrath of the Maoists as they continue to expose what they call atrocities being perpetrated by the communists.
nepalnews.com by Oct 19 04 Sphere: Related Content
According to reports, the Maoists attacked at a group of nearly 150 PFN activists at Nishi village in western district of Baglung Sunday. At least eight PFN workers were seriously injured in the attacks, said Krishna Thapa, Secretary of PFN Baglung district unit.
This is the second such attack upon Jana Morcha workers in Baglung district
The PFN workers have been facing wrath of the Maoists as they continue to expose what they call atrocities being perpetrated by the communists.
nepalnews.com by Oct 19 04 Sphere: Related Content
Monday, October 18, 2004
Nepalese people participate in a candle-light vigil for peace in the Himalayan Kingdom in Kathmandu. Nepal is to suspend military action against Maoist rebels during the Hindu festival period from October 20 until November 14, an official said. The rebels had earlier announced a similar truce.(AFP/Devendra M Singh)
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Nepalnews. com Nepal to open embassy in South Korea
Minister for Labour and Transport, Raghuji Panta, who is visiting South Korea, expressed hope that the embassy would help in promoting bilateral relations between the two countries.
A formal announcement to this effect is yet to be made.
Addressing a function organised in his honour by 'Dakshin Korea Prabasi Nepali Samparka Samiti', in Seoul, Minister Panta said initiative had also been taken to start direct flights between the capitals of Nepal and South Korea.
According to Monday's Nepal Samacharpatra daily, Minister Panta said the government had enforced the `lottery system' to select the trainee employees to South Korea to `avoid irregularities.'
The Nepali delegation is expected to request the South Korean government to declare Nepal as a source country for labour import and increase the quota provided to Nepal to send 'trainee employees' there, reports said.
Nepal and South Korea had embarked towards planned economic development almost simultaneously in the sixties. While South Korea has transformed itself into an industrialized country, Nepal is now known as a country exporting 'unskilled laborers.' nepalnews.com by Oct. 18 04 Sphere: Related Content
A formal announcement to this effect is yet to be made.
Addressing a function organised in his honour by 'Dakshin Korea Prabasi Nepali Samparka Samiti', in Seoul, Minister Panta said initiative had also been taken to start direct flights between the capitals of Nepal and South Korea.
According to Monday's Nepal Samacharpatra daily, Minister Panta said the government had enforced the `lottery system' to select the trainee employees to South Korea to `avoid irregularities.'
The Nepali delegation is expected to request the South Korean government to declare Nepal as a source country for labour import and increase the quota provided to Nepal to send 'trainee employees' there, reports said.
Nepal and South Korea had embarked towards planned economic development almost simultaneously in the sixties. While South Korea has transformed itself into an industrialized country, Nepal is now known as a country exporting 'unskilled laborers.' nepalnews.com by Oct. 18 04 Sphere: Related Content
Nepalnews. com Shortage of sugar in Kathmandu
As Dashain, the greatest festival of the country, nears, residents of Kathmandu are facing acute shortage of sugar among other essential supplies.
According to reports, consumers in Kathmandu have not been able to purchase sugar at market price and are paying very high prices for it. Consumers accuse the traders for selling it only to their regular costumers and creating artificial shortage of basic commodities during the festive occasion.
However, talking to Nepalnews, Parameswor Mahaseth, general Manager of Nepal Salt Trading Corporation informed that the government was preparing to import 30,000 metric tons of sugar to meet the scarcity in Kathmandu during the festival. “Provisions were being worked out to import 12.5 metric tons of sugar instantly. Kathmanduites will not have to suffer from sugar scarcity during the festive occasion,” he said.
Shortage of other supplies kerosene, cooking fuel among others have also been reported in different parts of the country. nepalnews.com pd Oct 18 04 Sphere: Related Content
According to reports, consumers in Kathmandu have not been able to purchase sugar at market price and are paying very high prices for it. Consumers accuse the traders for selling it only to their regular costumers and creating artificial shortage of basic commodities during the festive occasion.
However, talking to Nepalnews, Parameswor Mahaseth, general Manager of Nepal Salt Trading Corporation informed that the government was preparing to import 30,000 metric tons of sugar to meet the scarcity in Kathmandu during the festival. “Provisions were being worked out to import 12.5 metric tons of sugar instantly. Kathmanduites will not have to suffer from sugar scarcity during the festive occasion,” he said.
Shortage of other supplies kerosene, cooking fuel among others have also been reported in different parts of the country. nepalnews.com pd Oct 18 04 Sphere: Related Content
Nepali govt not to launch offensive during the festival
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| Dr. Mohammed Mohsin. Minister of Information and Communications
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The Nepal government on Monday said it would not launch offensive against the Maoist rebels during forthcoming major festivals including Dashain.
The 15-day long festival kicked off on Friday while official holidays would start only from Wednesday (Oct. 20).
The government's response came three days after Maoist rebels announced that they would suspend their armed activities for a period of nine days (Oct. 20-28) during the festival.
The government, however, did not say when its decision would come into force.
Addressing a press meet in the capital Monday afternoon, Minister of Information and Communications and the government's spokesperson, Dr Mohammed Mohsin, said, "There will be no offensive from our side but if there is any sabotage against us and if any one tries to disrupt peace, the government will be on high alert (to maintain peace)."
Responding to a question, Dr Mohsin said the government had taken the Maoist move positively. "We call upon them to be clear," said the minister referring to Maoist activities of carrying out activities like murder, abduction and collection forced donations even during the truce.
Responding to yet another question, Dr. Mohsin said the government had received reports that the Maoists were preparing for fresh attacks. He did not elaborate but said the government could not trust on what the Maoists are saying.
Interestingly, the statement issued by the government on Monday doesn't mention anything about proposed 'cease fire.' Civil society and even a major coalition partner, CPN (UML) have been asking the government to declare 'unilateral ceasefire' to create conducive environment for peace talks.
The government's statement, however, said, "We call upon them (the Maoists) not to avoid the talks and honestly come forward for dialogue." The rebels have said they will not sit for negotiations unless the government agrees to discuss substantial issues including (holding elections to) the constituent assembly to draft a new constitution. nepalnews.com by Oct 18 04
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Sunday, October 17, 2004
People’s Front Nepal (PFN) Sunday declared that its ongoing "exposure campaign" against the Maoists would continue.
Organising a press meet in the capital today, the PFN declared that the campaign against Maoist activities would soon be launched in Gulmi, Dang, Surkhet and Paanchthar districts. The party has accused the Maoists of increasingly leaning towards "social fascism" by physically attacking people of different political ideology.
"The grassroots cadres of the CPN Maoist lack political culture and they do not seem to be obeying the directions of the top brass," said PFN vice-chairman Pari Thapa who himself was attacked by the rebels at a mass meeting in Baglung district, recently. He informed that the party would negotiate with the rebel leadership regarding the attacks on its leaders and cadres as well as some other political issues.
In recent times, the Maoists have attacked a number of PFN leaders and cadres in Gulmi, Baglung, Dang and Dailekh districts. The party also said that it was going to.
Addressing the press meet, PFN general secretary Nabaraj Subedi said, "The Maoist leadership must apologize for the attack on our leaders and cadres." Subedi viewed that the Maoists were trying to establish an authoritarian rule by terminating people of different political faith. "The war they are waging is in fact a mass execution," he declared.
It was informed at the press meet that 24 PFN cadres were still in Maoist captivity. nepalnews.com mbk Oct 17 04 Sphere: Related Content
"The grassroots cadres of the CPN Maoist lack political culture and they do not seem to be obeying the directions of the top brass," said PFN vice-chairman Pari Thapa who himself was attacked by the rebels at a mass meeting in Baglung district, recently. He informed that the party would negotiate with the rebel leadership regarding the attacks on its leaders and cadres as well as some other political issues.
In recent times, the Maoists have attacked a number of PFN leaders and cadres in Gulmi, Baglung, Dang and Dailekh districts. The party also said that it was going to.
Addressing the press meet, PFN general secretary Nabaraj Subedi said, "The Maoist leadership must apologize for the attack on our leaders and cadres." Subedi viewed that the Maoists were trying to establish an authoritarian rule by terminating people of different political faith. "The war they are waging is in fact a mass execution," he declared.
It was informed at the press meet that 24 PFN cadres were still in Maoist captivity. nepalnews.com mbk Oct 17 04 Sphere: Related Content
Nepalnews. com Peace Committee meet fails to decide on ceasefire
A meeting of the High-level Peace Committee (HLPC) held Sunday ended without any decision regarding the government’s response to the announcement of temporary ceasefire by the CPN Maoist.
The three-hour long meeting at the Prime Minster’s Office discussed the Maoist announcement of a 9-day ceasefire but could not come up with any response to the same. Communication minister and government spokesman Dr Mohmmad Mohsin who is one of the members of the HLPC told reporters that the decision of the today’s meeting will be made public following a cabinet meeting on Monday, which is believed to decide whether to declare truce.
Deputy Prime Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari, home minister Purna Bahadur Khadka and heads of security agencies were also invited at the meeting. Among the HLPC members, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, Dr Mohsin and Nepal Sadbhawana Party chairman and minister Badri Prasad Mandal were present at the meeting.
Rashtriya Prajatantra Party chairman Pashupati Shumsher Rana, a member of the HLPC, is currently in India.
Prior to the HLPC meet, a meeting of the Security Council was held at the chairmanship of the prime minister which assessed the current security situation. nepalnews.com mbk Oct 17 04 Sphere: Related Content
The three-hour long meeting at the Prime Minster’s Office discussed the Maoist announcement of a 9-day ceasefire but could not come up with any response to the same. Communication minister and government spokesman Dr Mohmmad Mohsin who is one of the members of the HLPC told reporters that the decision of the today’s meeting will be made public following a cabinet meeting on Monday, which is believed to decide whether to declare truce.
Deputy Prime Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari, home minister Purna Bahadur Khadka and heads of security agencies were also invited at the meeting. Among the HLPC members, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, Dr Mohsin and Nepal Sadbhawana Party chairman and minister Badri Prasad Mandal were present at the meeting.
Rashtriya Prajatantra Party chairman Pashupati Shumsher Rana, a member of the HLPC, is currently in India.
Prior to the HLPC meet, a meeting of the Security Council was held at the chairmanship of the prime minister which assessed the current security situation. nepalnews.com mbk Oct 17 04 Sphere: Related Content
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Nepal yet to reciprocate Maoist truce offer
16-October-2004
World News, Kathmandu, The Nepalese government remained silent on a truce offer made by the Maoist insurgents, waiting for a cabinet meeting to formulate the official reaction.
The Maoists, who had broken off peace talks and resumed violence in August last year, issued a statement Friday saying they would suspend all "military operations" for nine days.
The statement, issued in the name of their supreme commander Pushpa Kamal Dahal, better known Prachanda, said the party had decided to observe a unilateral ceasefire from Oct 20 to 28, when Nepal will celebrate its biggest festival Dashain, out of deference to public sentiment.
The statement took the wind out of the sails of the Sher Bahadur Deuba government that was being pressured by one of its own coalition partners, the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist, to declare a unilateral ceasefire to show that it was serious about resuming peace parleys.
Though Prime Minister Deuba himself had categorically ruled out the government calling a one-sided truce and insisted he would proceed with arrangements to hold elections if the Maoists did not come to the talks table, a high-level peace committee set up to start peace negotiations under the prime minister himself had been holding a series of meetings last week among its members.
The state-run Rising Nepal daily Saturday said the government would make an official reaction only after the authenticity of the statement was verified.
It quoted the Information and Communications Minister Mohammad Mohsin, who is also the government spokesman, as saying after verifying the announcement, the cabinet would meet to decide how to "reciprocate".
The government's caution stems from the fact that it was earlier misled by a fake statement.
The Deuba government has made two formal proposals to the Maoists to resume peace talks. Sphere: Related Content
World News, Kathmandu, The Nepalese government remained silent on a truce offer made by the Maoist insurgents, waiting for a cabinet meeting to formulate the official reaction.
The Maoists, who had broken off peace talks and resumed violence in August last year, issued a statement Friday saying they would suspend all "military operations" for nine days.
The statement, issued in the name of their supreme commander Pushpa Kamal Dahal, better known Prachanda, said the party had decided to observe a unilateral ceasefire from Oct 20 to 28, when Nepal will celebrate its biggest festival Dashain, out of deference to public sentiment.
The statement took the wind out of the sails of the Sher Bahadur Deuba government that was being pressured by one of its own coalition partners, the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist, to declare a unilateral ceasefire to show that it was serious about resuming peace parleys.
Though Prime Minister Deuba himself had categorically ruled out the government calling a one-sided truce and insisted he would proceed with arrangements to hold elections if the Maoists did not come to the talks table, a high-level peace committee set up to start peace negotiations under the prime minister himself had been holding a series of meetings last week among its members.
The state-run Rising Nepal daily Saturday said the government would make an official reaction only after the authenticity of the statement was verified.
It quoted the Information and Communications Minister Mohammad Mohsin, who is also the government spokesman, as saying after verifying the announcement, the cabinet would meet to decide how to "reciprocate".
The government's caution stems from the fact that it was earlier misled by a fake statement.
The Deuba government has made two formal proposals to the Maoists to resume peace talks. Sphere: Related Content
Friday, October 15, 2004
Nepalnews. com Nearly 1,000 people fell victim of landmines
A total of 976 people have fallen victim of landmine explosions in Nepal in the first six months of the year 2004, an organization said.
Of those, 280 people have died while others have been left badly bruised, disabled and terror-stricken, the Ban Landmines Campaign Nepal (BLCN) said.
Those falling victim to landmines include security personnel, Maoist rebels and ordinary people. Ninety-two children have also fallen victim to landmines during this period, the organisation said.
The number is much higher compared to the last year. In 2003, a total of 731 people were hit by landmine explosions.
The BLCN has urged the Nepal government to sign the Ban Landmine Treaty and impose ban on the use, production, storing and sale of landmines. Addressing a press meet in Kathmandu on Thursday, coordinator of the BLCN, Purna Shova Chitrakar, also urged the Maoist leadership to give up the practice of using landmines.
The BLCN has also asked the government to raise the issue of banning landmines with the rebels during the proposed peace talks as and when they are held. nepalnews.com pd Oct 15 04 Sphere: Related Content
Of those, 280 people have died while others have been left badly bruised, disabled and terror-stricken, the Ban Landmines Campaign Nepal (BLCN) said.
Those falling victim to landmines include security personnel, Maoist rebels and ordinary people. Ninety-two children have also fallen victim to landmines during this period, the organisation said.
The number is much higher compared to the last year. In 2003, a total of 731 people were hit by landmine explosions.
The BLCN has urged the Nepal government to sign the Ban Landmine Treaty and impose ban on the use, production, storing and sale of landmines. Addressing a press meet in Kathmandu on Thursday, coordinator of the BLCN, Purna Shova Chitrakar, also urged the Maoist leadership to give up the practice of using landmines.
The BLCN has also asked the government to raise the issue of banning landmines with the rebels during the proposed peace talks as and when they are held. nepalnews.com pd Oct 15 04 Sphere: Related Content
Nepalnews. com Group protests use of landmines on highways (by Maoist Terrorists)
The Himsa Birodh Abhiyan, an anti-violence group, Friday asked the Maoist leadership and activists to desist from placing landmines on roads and highways.
The group in a statement today said that such activities would prove deadlier particularly at a time when most Nepalis are using highways to head back home to their families during the Dashain festival.
"Travel along roads and highways has become a hazardous and fearful activity due to the placement of landmines, said to be targeted at the security forces but which in fact kill and maim ordinary citizens," the group said, adding, "Such an inhumane activity not only destroys lives and property but also terrorises the larger population."
Use of landmines in highways and roads by the rebels violates the fundamental right of the people to use public spaces which is a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, the group further said.
Citing recent instances of landmine explosions carried out by the rebels in Dhankhola of Dang district and Mainapokhari of Dolakha district wherein the security personnel had used public transport, the group said that use of public transport by the security men puts greater risk on the civilian side. Yet, the people cannot bar them from boarding public vehicles, therefore, according to the group, it is wise on the part of the security personnel to avoid using public transport.
The group’s statement further said: "We ask all concerned to restore the right of the Nepali people to walk the highways, roads and trails without fear of landmine attacks. The Maoists must immediately end their practice of placing explosive on roads and public spaces."
nepalnews.com mbk Oct 15 04
Related News
- Nearly 1,000 people fell victim of landmines Sphere: Related Content
The group in a statement today said that such activities would prove deadlier particularly at a time when most Nepalis are using highways to head back home to their families during the Dashain festival.
"Travel along roads and highways has become a hazardous and fearful activity due to the placement of landmines, said to be targeted at the security forces but which in fact kill and maim ordinary citizens," the group said, adding, "Such an inhumane activity not only destroys lives and property but also terrorises the larger population."
Use of landmines in highways and roads by the rebels violates the fundamental right of the people to use public spaces which is a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, the group further said.
Citing recent instances of landmine explosions carried out by the rebels in Dhankhola of Dang district and Mainapokhari of Dolakha district wherein the security personnel had used public transport, the group said that use of public transport by the security men puts greater risk on the civilian side. Yet, the people cannot bar them from boarding public vehicles, therefore, according to the group, it is wise on the part of the security personnel to avoid using public transport.
The group’s statement further said: "We ask all concerned to restore the right of the Nepali people to walk the highways, roads and trails without fear of landmine attacks. The Maoists must immediately end their practice of placing explosive on roads and public spaces."
nepalnews.com mbk Oct 15 04
Related News
- Nearly 1,000 people fell victim of landmines Sphere: Related Content
Maoists declare nine-day ceasefire in Nepal - Sify.com
Friday, 15 October , 2004, 19:58
Kathmandu: Maoist seeking to overthrow Nepal's monarchy announced Friday a nine-day ceasefire, to go into effect next week, for the country's biggest Hindu festival, Dasain.
"The Maoist party has decided to suspend all military actions from October 20 to October 28 to allow the Nepalese to celebrate the Dasain festival ... in response to appeals of human rights groups and individuals," a Maoist statement said.
Dasain celebrates the worship of the Hindu goddess Durga who vanquished demons and saved humanity. It is the scenic Himalayan kingdom's most popular festival, bringing together family and friends.
The Maoists have been fighting since 1996 to topple the monarchy and replace it with communist rule in an increasingly bloody battle that has claimed more than 10,000 lives.
There was no immediate reaction from the government to the ceasefire announcement.
A group of prominent Nepali civilians headed by retired Supreme Court judge Krishna Jung Rayamajhi set up a peace commission this week and called for a truce for the festival.
Violence has surged here since a peace dialogue and ceasefire collapsed in August 2003, with on average eight people dying daily in insurgency-related incidents.
Prime Minister Sher Deuba has said his government wants peace and is waiting for the Maoists to reply to a recent offer of talks.
But Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda or the "fierce one," said in the statement the "inability" to reply to the rebels' demands had "clearly shown the capabilities of the present government."
The Maoists' demand for a constituent assembly, which ultimately aims at seeing the world's only Hindu kingdom being declared a secular republic, has scuttled two previous attempts to reach peace.
A growing number of rebel deaths in "artificial encounters (with security forces) show that the old regime is not at all in favour of a dialogue and peace," Prachanda added.
In the latest violence, the army said, 14 Maoist rebels were killed in three clashes in the east and west of the country overnight.
Human rights groups have accused both sides in the insurgency of brutal human rights atrocities. Sphere: Related Content
Kathmandu: Maoist seeking to overthrow Nepal's monarchy announced Friday a nine-day ceasefire, to go into effect next week, for the country's biggest Hindu festival, Dasain.
"The Maoist party has decided to suspend all military actions from October 20 to October 28 to allow the Nepalese to celebrate the Dasain festival ... in response to appeals of human rights groups and individuals," a Maoist statement said.
Dasain celebrates the worship of the Hindu goddess Durga who vanquished demons and saved humanity. It is the scenic Himalayan kingdom's most popular festival, bringing together family and friends.
The Maoists have been fighting since 1996 to topple the monarchy and replace it with communist rule in an increasingly bloody battle that has claimed more than 10,000 lives.
There was no immediate reaction from the government to the ceasefire announcement.
A group of prominent Nepali civilians headed by retired Supreme Court judge Krishna Jung Rayamajhi set up a peace commission this week and called for a truce for the festival.
Violence has surged here since a peace dialogue and ceasefire collapsed in August 2003, with on average eight people dying daily in insurgency-related incidents.
Prime Minister Sher Deuba has said his government wants peace and is waiting for the Maoists to reply to a recent offer of talks.
But Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda or the "fierce one," said in the statement the "inability" to reply to the rebels' demands had "clearly shown the capabilities of the present government."
The Maoists' demand for a constituent assembly, which ultimately aims at seeing the world's only Hindu kingdom being declared a secular republic, has scuttled two previous attempts to reach peace.
A growing number of rebel deaths in "artificial encounters (with security forces) show that the old regime is not at all in favour of a dialogue and peace," Prachanda added.
In the latest violence, the army said, 14 Maoist rebels were killed in three clashes in the east and west of the country overnight.
Human rights groups have accused both sides in the insurgency of brutal human rights atrocities. Sphere: Related Content
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Nepalnews. com 50,000 Nepali women working in Saudi Arabia, more workers sought
Even as the government has banned women from going to Gulf countries for employment, nearly 50,000 Nepali women have already entered Saudi Arabia through illegal channels.
Minister for Information and Communication Dr Mohammad Mohsin who returned home after a weeklong tour to three Gulf states informed this. Talking to reporters at Tribhuvan Airport, Mohsin said, "We were told by Saudi officials that the number of Nepali women has crossed 50,000 whereas Nepal has not allowed women to go to the Gulf for work. They reach there through various channels."
He said that Saudi employers have urged Nepal to send more women workers. "Since so many women are working there, the government will consider lifting the ban," he said.
Mohsin informed that the Gulf countries were ready to take more Nepali labourers. "UAE is ready to welcome as many as one million more workers from Nepal," said he, adding that skilled labours were more on demand.
During the tour, according to him, the Nepali team discussed with the government officials of Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar concerning the security of Nepali workers. He claimed that the Gulf authorities were not worried by the September 1 violence and arson in reaction to the killing of 12 Nepalis in Iraq.
Gulf labour ministers are scheduled to tour Nepal very soon, Mohsin informed.
The minister further said that the government was determined to take stern action against manpower agencies involved in illegal practices while sending workers to the Gulf.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Prakash Saran Mahat and State Minister for Labor and Transport Management Urba Dutta Pant had accompanied. nepalnews.com mbk Oct 14 04 Sphere: Related Content
Minister for Information and Communication Dr Mohammad Mohsin who returned home after a weeklong tour to three Gulf states informed this. Talking to reporters at Tribhuvan Airport, Mohsin said, "We were told by Saudi officials that the number of Nepali women has crossed 50,000 whereas Nepal has not allowed women to go to the Gulf for work. They reach there through various channels."
He said that Saudi employers have urged Nepal to send more women workers. "Since so many women are working there, the government will consider lifting the ban," he said.
Mohsin informed that the Gulf countries were ready to take more Nepali labourers. "UAE is ready to welcome as many as one million more workers from Nepal," said he, adding that skilled labours were more on demand.
During the tour, according to him, the Nepali team discussed with the government officials of Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar concerning the security of Nepali workers. He claimed that the Gulf authorities were not worried by the September 1 violence and arson in reaction to the killing of 12 Nepalis in Iraq.
Gulf labour ministers are scheduled to tour Nepal very soon, Mohsin informed.
The minister further said that the government was determined to take stern action against manpower agencies involved in illegal practices while sending workers to the Gulf.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Prakash Saran Mahat and State Minister for Labor and Transport Management Urba Dutta Pant had accompanied. nepalnews.com mbk Oct 14 04 Sphere: Related Content
Nepalnews. com Army launches 'Operation Simarekha' in mid-western districts
The Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) has launched what it calls 'Operation Simarekha' in three mid-western districts from this week to contain Maoist activities, reports said.
According to Nepal Samacharpatra daily, Western Regional Division
Headquarters of the RNA in Nepalgunj said Thursday that an army operation had been launched in Rolpa, Rukum and Pyuthan districts simultaneously upon receiving reports that Maoist activities had escalated there.
The Army has claimed that 'Operation Lekbesi'-that it had launched in the western parts of those districts last month-was successful.
nepalnews.com by Oct 15 04 Sphere: Related Content
According to Nepal Samacharpatra daily, Western Regional Division
Headquarters of the RNA in Nepalgunj said Thursday that an army operation had been launched in Rolpa, Rukum and Pyuthan districts simultaneously upon receiving reports that Maoist activities had escalated there.
The Army has claimed that 'Operation Lekbesi'-that it had launched in the western parts of those districts last month-was successful.
nepalnews.com by Oct 15 04 Sphere: Related Content
:: Xinhuanet China- :: Oculists badly needed in Nepal
www.chinaview.cn 2004-10-14 13:58:17
KATHMANDU, Oct. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- As the world celebrates Oct. 14 as the day for restoring the vision of thousands of visually impaired, health authorities in Nepal are also marking the day with the pledge to restore the vision of its blind populace withinthe year 2020.
According to a report from Nepal Netrajyoti Sangh, a non-governmental organization that has been rendering eye care services in different parts of the country, three in every 100 people are either blind or visually impaired in Nepal.
Nearly 80 percent patients could get back their eye sight if provided timely treatment, said the report.
But the dearth of doctors and timely medical intervention has forced nearly 130,000 Nepalis to live in darkness, nearly 90 percent of them live in the far-flung villages, a famous Nepalese doctor told Xinhua Thursday.
The main reasons of blindness are cataract, trachoma, lack of Vitamin A and infection in the injured eye, said Dr. Harish Chandra Shah.
Among the eye patients, 71 percent are suffering from cataract,which can be treated through simple surgery.
Currently, treatment is being provided through 16 hospitals in Nepali cities with only 110 oculists to the population of 22.4 million, Shah said.
And among them, 20 percent are working outside the country. As the remaining experts are concentrated in the capital of the country, the people living in the villages have been deprived of eye care facilities.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to conduct programs with the slogan "Sight is the Right of All" till 2020. Nepal has also made commitments to the slogan being a member country of the WHO.
Officials at Nepal Netrajyoti Sangh said that they had been receiving 2 million Nepali rupees (25,873 US dollars) donation from the government to conduct its activities. Sphere: Related Content
KATHMANDU, Oct. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- As the world celebrates Oct. 14 as the day for restoring the vision of thousands of visually impaired, health authorities in Nepal are also marking the day with the pledge to restore the vision of its blind populace withinthe year 2020.
According to a report from Nepal Netrajyoti Sangh, a non-governmental organization that has been rendering eye care services in different parts of the country, three in every 100 people are either blind or visually impaired in Nepal.
Nearly 80 percent patients could get back their eye sight if provided timely treatment, said the report.
But the dearth of doctors and timely medical intervention has forced nearly 130,000 Nepalis to live in darkness, nearly 90 percent of them live in the far-flung villages, a famous Nepalese doctor told Xinhua Thursday.
The main reasons of blindness are cataract, trachoma, lack of Vitamin A and infection in the injured eye, said Dr. Harish Chandra Shah.
Among the eye patients, 71 percent are suffering from cataract,which can be treated through simple surgery.
Currently, treatment is being provided through 16 hospitals in Nepali cities with only 110 oculists to the population of 22.4 million, Shah said.
And among them, 20 percent are working outside the country. As the remaining experts are concentrated in the capital of the country, the people living in the villages have been deprived of eye care facilities.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to conduct programs with the slogan "Sight is the Right of All" till 2020. Nepal has also made commitments to the slogan being a member country of the WHO.
Officials at Nepal Netrajyoti Sangh said that they had been receiving 2 million Nepali rupees (25,873 US dollars) donation from the government to conduct its activities. Sphere: Related Content
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Three Indians held on terror charge in Nepal
Statesman News Service India
KATHMANDU, Oct. 13. — Nepalese police have arrested a Muslim religious leader, Bashir Ahmed, from a Kathmandu madrasa for allegedly helping Pakistani terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. He is from the same state.
Within a fortnight of Ahmed’s arrest in September, seven more people were detained. Three of them are Indians. Police suspect the group had been funding terrorists from Nepal.
One of the three detainees, Ijaz Ahmed, is suspected of having direct links with Mujahideen groups in Pakistan. Bashir Ahmed, police allege, was involved in hawala deals, channeling funds sent from Pakistan to Jammu and Kashmir to sponsor Islamic militants.
The men, yet to be formally charged, are being kept in a Kathmandu prison. Bashir Ahmed was first produced in court on 24 September for an extension of his remand.
The eight men were produced in a special court on Tuesday with police again asking for an extension of their detention period.
With all eight being accused of crime against the state, which also covers crimes against a friendly neighbouring state, police can keep them in detention for a maximum of 25 days. After that they would have to be either released or formally charged in court. The special court has extended their custody till 19 October.
The arrests came after a local daily leaked out a letter from the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu to the Nepalese foreign ministry, asking for an investigation into the assets of an Nepalese businessman, alleging that he was being funded by mafia overlord Dawood Ibrahim, whom India suspects of having engineered the Mumbai blasts.
Frequent seizure of fake Indian currency in Nepal has been a thorn in the flesh of New Delhi, which suspects Pakistan’s ISI of having a network in the Himalayan kingdom.
India is said to have asked the Nepalese government to downsize the Pakistani Embassy here, saying its size was not commensurate with its activities in Nepal. The Indian Embassy declined to comment on the arrests. Sphere: Related Content
KATHMANDU, Oct. 13. — Nepalese police have arrested a Muslim religious leader, Bashir Ahmed, from a Kathmandu madrasa for allegedly helping Pakistani terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. He is from the same state.
Within a fortnight of Ahmed’s arrest in September, seven more people were detained. Three of them are Indians. Police suspect the group had been funding terrorists from Nepal.
One of the three detainees, Ijaz Ahmed, is suspected of having direct links with Mujahideen groups in Pakistan. Bashir Ahmed, police allege, was involved in hawala deals, channeling funds sent from Pakistan to Jammu and Kashmir to sponsor Islamic militants.
The men, yet to be formally charged, are being kept in a Kathmandu prison. Bashir Ahmed was first produced in court on 24 September for an extension of his remand.
The eight men were produced in a special court on Tuesday with police again asking for an extension of their detention period.
With all eight being accused of crime against the state, which also covers crimes against a friendly neighbouring state, police can keep them in detention for a maximum of 25 days. After that they would have to be either released or formally charged in court. The special court has extended their custody till 19 October.
The arrests came after a local daily leaked out a letter from the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu to the Nepalese foreign ministry, asking for an investigation into the assets of an Nepalese businessman, alleging that he was being funded by mafia overlord Dawood Ibrahim, whom India suspects of having engineered the Mumbai blasts.
Frequent seizure of fake Indian currency in Nepal has been a thorn in the flesh of New Delhi, which suspects Pakistan’s ISI of having a network in the Himalayan kingdom.
India is said to have asked the Nepalese government to downsize the Pakistani Embassy here, saying its size was not commensurate with its activities in Nepal. The Indian Embassy declined to comment on the arrests. Sphere: Related Content
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Nine Maoists killed in clashes across Nepal - Sify.com
Tuesday, 12 October , 2004, 22:32
Kathmandu: Nine Maoist rebels were killed in clashes with security forces across Nepal, a security official said Tuesday.
"Nine Maoist rebels were killed by the security forces in separate clashes in different parts of Nepal in the past 24 hours," the Royal Army Public Relations Directorate office said.
Security forces killed three Maoists in Rukum district, to the far west, two each in southwestern Kapilbastu and far western Doti districts and one each in southwestern Arghakhachi and southeastern Siraha districts, it said.
The security forces recovered some fire arms, a few grenades, improvised explosive devices and materials used for making bombs after the clashes, it said.
The Maoists have been campaigning for a communist republic Nepal since 1996 and the violence has claimed more than 10,000 lives. Sphere: Related Content
Kathmandu: Nine Maoist rebels were killed in clashes with security forces across Nepal, a security official said Tuesday.
"Nine Maoist rebels were killed by the security forces in separate clashes in different parts of Nepal in the past 24 hours," the Royal Army Public Relations Directorate office said.
Security forces killed three Maoists in Rukum district, to the far west, two each in southwestern Kapilbastu and far western Doti districts and one each in southwestern Arghakhachi and southeastern Siraha districts, it said.
The security forces recovered some fire arms, a few grenades, improvised explosive devices and materials used for making bombs after the clashes, it said.
The Maoists have been campaigning for a communist republic Nepal since 1996 and the violence has claimed more than 10,000 lives. Sphere: Related Content
Journalists are being Killed by Maoists In Nepal
By Kamala Sarup
''The situation in Nepal is going from bad to worse,'' said IFJ President Christopher Warren. ''The continued violence directed towards the Nepalese media, including killings, detention, abduction and intimidation of journalists, media workers and media organizations can not be allowed to continue,'' said Warren.
"The criminalization of politics, the corruption of police, the violence of terrorists and rebel groups have all contributed to the creation of a climate that legitimizes the use of force against journalists. Increasingly journalists are seen as legitimate targets in conflict. It is only through journalists coming together collectively that media unions and organizations can stand up for press freedom". Warren further said.
Nepali Journalists have been subjected to threats, arrests and other untenable actions by the Maoists. The frequency and severity of such assaults have increased in recent years. A number of journalist have been killed or made to disappear. Besides, other people who thought their vested interests were threatened by the media exposes have taken to physical means to silence the Fourth Estate. This amounts to the rule of the jungle.
However, the international community has rightly been taking note of this situation and putting pressure on the authorities concerned. Christopher Warren, president of the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), currently in Nepal, has expressed serious concern over incidents of murder, abduction, and intimidation of journalists by both the State and the rebels.
On 2 September 2004, Bijaya Mishra, journalist for Kantipur in Siraha, eastern Nepal received death threats from CPN-Maoists for failing to report the arrest of a local CPN-Maoist leader. Mishra was told he would suffer the same fate as murdered journalist Dekendra Thapa who was killed on 11 August.
Last month, the rebels had murdered Dekendra Raj Thapa, a reporter with the state-run Radio Nepal in Dailekh district.
Nepali Journalists and people of all walks of life across the country continue to condemn the killing of journalist Dekendra Raj Thapa. Maoists admitted that they had ‘executed’ Thapa after detaining him for nearly six weeks. Thapa is the second journalist to be killed in the country this year. A Paris-based press freedom watchdog, Reporters Without Borders said it was shocked and revolted by this barbaric murder.
Gyanendra Khadka, a journalist with the government news agency Rastriya Samachar Samiti , was also killed by Maoists on September 7, in Jyamire, in Nepal’s eastern Sindhupalchowk District.
Eight reporters were killed last year; 176 were arrested, kidnapped, or detained; and dozens more were tortured. No legal inquiry has investigated these killings. The kidnapping and murder of a journalist, or of any civilian, violates the most fundamental principles of humanity. We Nepalese people condemn the murder of Thapa and urged the PM to ensure that a vigorous investigation is undertaken so that Thapa’s killers may be brought to justice. Journalists have been beaten, gang-raped, or subjected to other forms of torture, including threats against their children since this conflict began. This conflict, however, appears more dangerous than any other.
“We have launched campaign against violence and the killing spree, and we urge all to support, consolidate with our resolve and go hand in hand for peace and fundamental human rights,” said Tara Nath Dahal, president of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ). The Maoists have presented themselves in a barbaric manner, said Dahal. “Time has come to ask the Maoists whether they are a political party or a group of criminals,” he said. “The Maoists have lost the sense to tolerate comments and criticism against them,” he said, “And started killing the journalists by violating and challenging the freedom of press.”
Krishna Pahadi, president of Human Rights and Peace Society, said that gun has prevailed over principles and ideas. “We are always for the principles and idea and against the arms.” Politics of killing cannot be accepted at any cost, he said. “Maoists have strayed away from political track as they have threaten to kill 10 journalists in Dailekh and Achham districts.” The Maoists would turn into a gang of criminals if they do not correct in time,” he added.
Maoists have become anti-freedom and anti-democratic forces. On one hand, they pretend that they believe in democracy, but on the other, they have continued killings, abducting and coercing innocent people and the messengers of fundamental rights. Maoist rebels have been violating the national, humanitarian and international laws by killing the innocent and people without arms. It is against Article 3 of the Geneva Convention. They have no right to kill anybody. Their policy to eliminate people without hearing is entirely inhuman and illegal. Human Rights activist said in Nepal.
Continuing their coercive acts and threats, including inflicting bodily harm to journalists in different parts of the country, a young journalist in Nepal are harassed and tortured by the rebels.
In an utterly gruesome act by the Maoists, 16-year-old Anup Gurung, a scribe with the Purva Mechi weekly, was made to carry a sack full of rice from Talgaun in Sulubung VDC to Mabu VDC for about five hours on Sunday afternoon.
Gurung was accused of not publishing news items favoring the rebels? activities in the area. He also said that while carrying the sack of rice, they did not allow him to take rest during the entire duration of the walk.? I threw the sack in a nearby field and managed to escape as I couldn't bear the weight any longer,? said Gurung.
The deliberate and indiscriminate killing of journalist by Maoists in Nepal violates the basic principles of international humanitarian law. Even if we see International humanitarian law, which governs the conduct of the parties in an armed conflict, comprises a series of treaties and conventions, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocols. Any journalists covering war should be able to report effectively on violations of the rules of war, including war crimes; second, because a number of provisions of the conventions apply directly to journalists. Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, journalists must be treated humanely.
Maoists should remember that media can be an instrument of conflict resolution. It is a media that reduces conflict and fosters human security. The latest killings have given a new sense of urgency to the campaign. This is clearly tragic incident, it is extremely regrettable. Such behavior is unacceptable and must be punished. The long civil war in Nepal places it among the most dangerous places in the world for journalists.
The murders of journalists each year receive little attention and often go unpunished. These deaths, whether as a result of conflict, illustrate just how important it is to provide journalists with more protection. The problems in Nepal deserve mention because journalists are most at risk.
There must be no impunity for the killers of journalists and media workers. The deliberate targeting of journalists by those who seek to prevent the media from exposing their activities represents a worrying trend in Nepal. If the killers learn that by killing a journalist the media will come together and give them more media attention, that is not true. It is another bad and blood-stained year for press freedom. These attacks are not just attacks on individuals; they are assaults on the Fourth Estate and the Freedom of the Press and Information.
*************
(Kamala Sarup is a Co-Ordinator of a media watch group - The Peace Media Research Center)
Sphere: Related Content
''The situation in Nepal is going from bad to worse,'' said IFJ President Christopher Warren. ''The continued violence directed towards the Nepalese media, including killings, detention, abduction and intimidation of journalists, media workers and media organizations can not be allowed to continue,'' said Warren.
"The criminalization of politics, the corruption of police, the violence of terrorists and rebel groups have all contributed to the creation of a climate that legitimizes the use of force against journalists. Increasingly journalists are seen as legitimate targets in conflict. It is only through journalists coming together collectively that media unions and organizations can stand up for press freedom". Warren further said.
Nepali Journalists have been subjected to threats, arrests and other untenable actions by the Maoists. The frequency and severity of such assaults have increased in recent years. A number of journalist have been killed or made to disappear. Besides, other people who thought their vested interests were threatened by the media exposes have taken to physical means to silence the Fourth Estate. This amounts to the rule of the jungle.
However, the international community has rightly been taking note of this situation and putting pressure on the authorities concerned. Christopher Warren, president of the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), currently in Nepal, has expressed serious concern over incidents of murder, abduction, and intimidation of journalists by both the State and the rebels.
On 2 September 2004, Bijaya Mishra, journalist for Kantipur in Siraha, eastern Nepal received death threats from CPN-Maoists for failing to report the arrest of a local CPN-Maoist leader. Mishra was told he would suffer the same fate as murdered journalist Dekendra Thapa who was killed on 11 August.
Last month, the rebels had murdered Dekendra Raj Thapa, a reporter with the state-run Radio Nepal in Dailekh district.
Nepali Journalists and people of all walks of life across the country continue to condemn the killing of journalist Dekendra Raj Thapa. Maoists admitted that they had ‘executed’ Thapa after detaining him for nearly six weeks. Thapa is the second journalist to be killed in the country this year. A Paris-based press freedom watchdog, Reporters Without Borders said it was shocked and revolted by this barbaric murder.
Gyanendra Khadka, a journalist with the government news agency Rastriya Samachar Samiti , was also killed by Maoists on September 7, in Jyamire, in Nepal’s eastern Sindhupalchowk District.
Eight reporters were killed last year; 176 were arrested, kidnapped, or detained; and dozens more were tortured. No legal inquiry has investigated these killings. The kidnapping and murder of a journalist, or of any civilian, violates the most fundamental principles of humanity. We Nepalese people condemn the murder of Thapa and urged the PM to ensure that a vigorous investigation is undertaken so that Thapa’s killers may be brought to justice. Journalists have been beaten, gang-raped, or subjected to other forms of torture, including threats against their children since this conflict began. This conflict, however, appears more dangerous than any other.
“We have launched campaign against violence and the killing spree, and we urge all to support, consolidate with our resolve and go hand in hand for peace and fundamental human rights,” said Tara Nath Dahal, president of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ). The Maoists have presented themselves in a barbaric manner, said Dahal. “Time has come to ask the Maoists whether they are a political party or a group of criminals,” he said. “The Maoists have lost the sense to tolerate comments and criticism against them,” he said, “And started killing the journalists by violating and challenging the freedom of press.”
Krishna Pahadi, president of Human Rights and Peace Society, said that gun has prevailed over principles and ideas. “We are always for the principles and idea and against the arms.” Politics of killing cannot be accepted at any cost, he said. “Maoists have strayed away from political track as they have threaten to kill 10 journalists in Dailekh and Achham districts.” The Maoists would turn into a gang of criminals if they do not correct in time,” he added.
Maoists have become anti-freedom and anti-democratic forces. On one hand, they pretend that they believe in democracy, but on the other, they have continued killings, abducting and coercing innocent people and the messengers of fundamental rights. Maoist rebels have been violating the national, humanitarian and international laws by killing the innocent and people without arms. It is against Article 3 of the Geneva Convention. They have no right to kill anybody. Their policy to eliminate people without hearing is entirely inhuman and illegal. Human Rights activist said in Nepal.
Continuing their coercive acts and threats, including inflicting bodily harm to journalists in different parts of the country, a young journalist in Nepal are harassed and tortured by the rebels.
In an utterly gruesome act by the Maoists, 16-year-old Anup Gurung, a scribe with the Purva Mechi weekly, was made to carry a sack full of rice from Talgaun in Sulubung VDC to Mabu VDC for about five hours on Sunday afternoon.
Gurung was accused of not publishing news items favoring the rebels? activities in the area. He also said that while carrying the sack of rice, they did not allow him to take rest during the entire duration of the walk.? I threw the sack in a nearby field and managed to escape as I couldn't bear the weight any longer,? said Gurung.
The deliberate and indiscriminate killing of journalist by Maoists in Nepal violates the basic principles of international humanitarian law. Even if we see International humanitarian law, which governs the conduct of the parties in an armed conflict, comprises a series of treaties and conventions, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocols. Any journalists covering war should be able to report effectively on violations of the rules of war, including war crimes; second, because a number of provisions of the conventions apply directly to journalists. Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, journalists must be treated humanely.
Maoists should remember that media can be an instrument of conflict resolution. It is a media that reduces conflict and fosters human security. The latest killings have given a new sense of urgency to the campaign. This is clearly tragic incident, it is extremely regrettable. Such behavior is unacceptable and must be punished. The long civil war in Nepal places it among the most dangerous places in the world for journalists.
The murders of journalists each year receive little attention and often go unpunished. These deaths, whether as a result of conflict, illustrate just how important it is to provide journalists with more protection. The problems in Nepal deserve mention because journalists are most at risk.
There must be no impunity for the killers of journalists and media workers. The deliberate targeting of journalists by those who seek to prevent the media from exposing their activities represents a worrying trend in Nepal. If the killers learn that by killing a journalist the media will come together and give them more media attention, that is not true. It is another bad and blood-stained year for press freedom. These attacks are not just attacks on individuals; they are assaults on the Fourth Estate and the Freedom of the Press and Information.
*************
(Kamala Sarup is a Co-Ordinator of a media watch group - The Peace Media Research Center)
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Monday, October 11, 2004
Maoists kill four, bomb forestry office in Nepal
KATHMANDU (AFP) - Suspected Maoists killed four security force members in two incidents in remote areas of Nepal and bombed a forestry office on the outskirts of Kathmandu, police said.
Two security force members were shot dead by the communists on Wednesday after they had been kidnapped a day earlier while on patrol near Phulkali village in southeastern Saptari district, a police spokesman said on Thursday.
In another incident, two security workers were killed on Wednesday evening in the far-western district of Dadeldhura when they detonated a landmine planted by the communist maoists, he said.
The forestry office bombing caused extensive damage but no casualties, the spokesman added.
"Three suspected communists entered the compound of the Lalitpur Forestry District Office at Khumaltar (southern Kathmandu), overpowered four securitymen guarding the building and set off a pressure-cooker bomb," he said.
"The Maoist fled the scene after exploding the bomb," the spokesman added.
The communists have been fighting for a communist republic in Nepal since 1996 and the insurgency has claimed more than 10,000 lives.
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A climate of intense fear
A 102 page report by Human Rights Watch has painted a distressing picture of the human rights situation in Nepal, saying civilians are caught in the middle and neither side seems concerned about protecting innocents.
The report, called Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Civilians Struggle to Survive in Nepal’s Civil War was launched on Thursday by Senior Emergency Researcher, Peter Bouckaert who has traveled to many parts of Nepal to document cases of abuse (Read interview).
The New York-based agency said that while both the government and the rebels have made repeated commitments to protect human rights, in practice both have ignored them. The government has rejected virtually all allegations of abuse by its forces, and the Maoists have responded to allegations of abuse by maligning their victims.
“Rampant abuses have created a climate of intense fear in Nepal’s villages,” said Brad Adams, executive director of Human Rights Watch Asia division. “Because of Nepal’s geography and poverty, Nepalis under attack or threat usually have nowhere to turn to for protection or redress,”.
The report says the government’s tacit policy to ‘break the backbone’ of the rebellion has led to many extra-judicial killings and disappearances, making Nepal among the world’s prime locations for forced disappearances. The Maoists rarely commit forced disappearances, the report adds, usually declaring abductees ‘class enemies’, and then executing them in the name of their ‘people’s war’.
The Maoists infamously impose a 'tax' on local villagers and travellers, while the government attempts to isolate the Maoists by trying to cut off their access to food and shelter in villages. Many soldiers use the license granted by their superiors in the army and police to engage in extortion and blackmail. Visiting hapless families, they often demand money to ensure the safe release of their relatives from custody.
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The report contains detailed case studies of extra-judicial killings, disappearances and abductions by both the security forces and the Maoists. It also describes the forced Maoist indoctrination of school children, teachers and the recruitment of children.
The report ends with recommendations to the government to take steps to ensure that security forces comply with the requirements of international human rights and humanitarian laws. It asks the Maoists to stop the abduction, torture and killing of civilians, members of other political parties and those who disagree with them as well as to stop extortion and using schools for recruitment and training.
Human Rights Watch also wants the king to ‘accept limitations placed on his role under the 1990 constitution to elect their representatives at the local and national levels’. It wants the international community to keep up the pressure on both sides to observe human rights, and Nepal’s arms suppliers to monitor the use of the weapons they supply.
Banke
19 June, 2003
Around 10:30 PM a group of men who identified themselves as Maoists came to the village of Bhandariya and rounded up about 14 men. They were taken to a spot along the main dirt road and tied up ‘chicken-style’, in a squatting position with their arms looped under their knees and tied up behind their ears. Villagers, including family members and children, were gathered around, watching. The Maoists shouted at the men, claiming that they had passed information against the Maoists to the army. Among other things, the Maoists said: “Three of our comrades were killed. We are fighting for you and you dare betray us.” The villagers believe that this was a reference to an army ambush near their village in which some Maoists, including a senior commander had been killed. Half an hour, later some of the men were released. The Maoists took away four men: Jahara Sheikh, Triveni Prasad Baniya, Shaijad Ali Sheik and Chet Prasad Sharma. Shortly thereafter, villagers heard the sound of gunfire from the fields. They formed a search group, and found the bodies. All four had been shot and their legs and arms had been broken. Villagers noticed what looked like burn marks on Baniya’s body. His foot had been twisted around completely. Jahara Sheikh had bullet wounds in his forehead and his temple. His eye had come out of its socket with the force of the bullet. One of the four men survived the shooting, although he spent six months recovering in Bheri Zonal Hospital. He is still unable to walk properly. (HRW report)
Kabhre
4 Feburary, 2004
Devi Sunuwar of Kabhre was a witness to an extra-judicial execution by government forces and gave statements to journalists and human rights workers. Within days, her daughter, a 15-year-old Dalit school girl named Maina Sunuwar, was accused of providing food to Maoists and was taken away by security forces. Since Devi was not home at that time, the soldiers left a message with her husband, asking Devi to come to the barracks to secure the release of their child. But when she went to the army, she was told that her daughter was not in custody. When the Human Rights Watch asked the army about Maina’s whereabouts, it insisted that an inquiry had been ordered and that the girl was not in army custody. It claimed that Devi Sunuwar was a liar who had lied about her niece’s execution and was now lying about her daughter’s disappearance. Yet in April 2004, Devi was finally told by an international agency that her daughter was killed by security forces on the very day that she was taken into custody, a fact later confirmed to Human Rights Watch by the local district administration. Not only had the army denied the arrest when questioned by the Human Rights Watch, soldiers have been visiting the family’s house regularly since then. Frightened by these visits and fearing another arrest and murder, the Sunuwar family left their home and are now forced to earn a living as migrant labourers. Currently, soldiers are still turning up, questioning neighbors about the family. (HRW report)
Kathmandu
15 Feburary, 2004
Ganesh Chiluwal, a 35-year-old father of two, was gunned down in broad daylight by the Maoists for his work advocating on behalf of the victims of Maoist abuses. Chiluwal was an active member of the Nepali Congress and in 1998 he had been attacked by Maoists in his home village for his party activities. He was cut all over his body, leading to three months of hospitalisation. After this experience, he founded the Maoist Victims Association, an NGO working to help civilians who had been victimized in different ways by the Maoists. As part of this work, Chiluwal spoke out openly against the abuses suffered by the people who sought his organisation’s support.
The Maoists started threatening Chiluwal directly. He received threats to his life through letters, faxes and telephone calls. His family asked him to stop, they knew from his first experience that the Maoists could be very brutal in their assaults. On 15 February 2004, as Chiluwal was leaving his office in Kathmandu, two Maoists on motorbikes fired five rounds of bullets into him. He collapsed and died almost instantly. The Maoists have since claimed responsibility for Chiluwal’s murder, even posting his murder as a success on their website, Krishna Sen Online. (HRW report)
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Nepalnews. com Emergence of Kathmandu-Washington-Delhi triangle
Kathmandu: Nepal as a Nation-State has some credible reasons to be happy over the fresh political developments in her neighborhood vis-Ã -vis the Maoists insurgency.
While the United States of America, the lone super power, had from the very beginning hinted this Kingdom that she would do all the needful in tackling the Maoists issue even if she had to support Nepal militarily and in effect the US did support Nepal as per its commitments. Needless to say, the US never seduced the government to go in for a sort of war with the Maoists. This policy appears to remain unbroken.
The US support irritated the Maoists radicals to the extent that the latter began propagating that the entire Nepali establishment were guided by the dictates of the United States of America. The insurgents came heavily down against the US policy towards Nepal time and again and in the process made certain US establishments their targets and some of its officials were killed by the Maoists. The latest being the bombing of the American center which they are yet to take the responsibilities.
It could be a mere supposition indeed but the fact is that the US line of thinking vis-Ã -vis the Maoists and the Nepali establishment appear closer to each other, if not identical.
For example, the United States of America discards the theory of "mediation" by any third party which is coincidently the posture taken by the Deuba establishment.
The US says that it would not mind a sort of "facilitation" by a third party instead of mediation. The Deuba set-up too appears close to this American theory but has yet to spell it out in clear terms.
The Americans deduce that the Maoists have yet to exhibit their sincerity for a multi-party democratic set up and maintain that the rebels were providing signals that their real goal is "one party" rule.
The Nepali establishment together with the major political parties too has been demanding a commitment for the democratic order from the rebels, which is not yet forthcoming. Instead, the Maoists at times hint that they will not settle for less than what they call a republican order in Nepal. Nevertheless, to recall, the Maoists have recently hinted that they respect the multi-party system which they ventilated while sending six questions to the Deuba government last week. However, the rebels are yet to declare their firm commitments for the system now in place.
The US favors secret talks with the Maoists as and when it happens. Prime Minister Deuba is on record to have said the other day in Pokhara that the talks with the Maoists will be secretly held which even the media could not get an inkling of the event.
The US in the process has indicated that there was no threat to democratic system either from the King or for that matter the Nepali Army. If Madhav Nepal were to be believed to what he said Monday evening upon his return from the Palace after a meeting with the King, Ambassador Moriarty's assurance ( see TKP dated 4 October, 2004) also comes true. To recall, Madhav Nepal said that he found both the King and the army positive for the peace talks, which implies that the system remained safe and that neither the King nor the army would pounce on the prevailing system of governance in the country.
Significantly enough, Ambassador Moriarty indirectly signals the monarchy to mend his differences with the political parties and says that "it can't stand by itself; it needs to work with legitimate political forces".
In saying so, Ambassador presumes that the King in the recent months did ignore the role of the political forces and that now he should correct his actions.
Not very surprising, the major political parties now in the streets too wish that the King proceeded taking them all in confidence. The message is that if the King and the legitimate political forces came closer, it would enhance their capabilities while negotiating with the Maoists. There is also a hidden message in the US thinking that if these major forces came closer would easily alienate the Maoists to the extent that the latter would be pressed hard to come to the negotiating table.
Surprising though it may appear, the fact is that the US line of judgment is not against the talks, which is what the government here is also reiterating time and again. However, what is also very clear, by implication, is that both would prefer to go to any extent if the Maoists rejected the offer of talks and continue to terrorize the population much the same way that they have been doing now.
Now let's take up the Indian stance now.
India wants no foreign mediation in Nepal, not even that of the UN for its own exclusive reasons. The US line is the same. Nepali establishment has made it abundantly clear that she can do it on its own.
India now sees the insurgency as a threat to its own security. This is what Nepal had been convincing India from the very beginning. India now realizes the insurgency as a common threat.
India had been unequivocally telling Nepal that she wished the continuation of multi-party democracy under a constitutional monarchy. The US is committed to this consideration.
The Indian authorities have already equipped Nepal with lethal weapons, the US only recently managed yet another consignment of weapons after its information was attacked on September 10.
All put together what comes to the fore is that at the moment Washington, New Delhi and Kathmandu constitute a triangle that is clearly not averse to the supposed peace talks with the Maoists but concurrently appears prepared to face the challenge if the rebels opt for a war with the State.
(Based on US Ambassador Moriarty's interview published October 4, 2004-ed). Sphere: Related Content
While the United States of America, the lone super power, had from the very beginning hinted this Kingdom that she would do all the needful in tackling the Maoists issue even if she had to support Nepal militarily and in effect the US did support Nepal as per its commitments. Needless to say, the US never seduced the government to go in for a sort of war with the Maoists. This policy appears to remain unbroken.
The US support irritated the Maoists radicals to the extent that the latter began propagating that the entire Nepali establishment were guided by the dictates of the United States of America. The insurgents came heavily down against the US policy towards Nepal time and again and in the process made certain US establishments their targets and some of its officials were killed by the Maoists. The latest being the bombing of the American center which they are yet to take the responsibilities.
It could be a mere supposition indeed but the fact is that the US line of thinking vis-Ã -vis the Maoists and the Nepali establishment appear closer to each other, if not identical.
For example, the United States of America discards the theory of "mediation" by any third party which is coincidently the posture taken by the Deuba establishment.
The US says that it would not mind a sort of "facilitation" by a third party instead of mediation. The Deuba set-up too appears close to this American theory but has yet to spell it out in clear terms.
The Americans deduce that the Maoists have yet to exhibit their sincerity for a multi-party democratic set up and maintain that the rebels were providing signals that their real goal is "one party" rule.
The Nepali establishment together with the major political parties too has been demanding a commitment for the democratic order from the rebels, which is not yet forthcoming. Instead, the Maoists at times hint that they will not settle for less than what they call a republican order in Nepal. Nevertheless, to recall, the Maoists have recently hinted that they respect the multi-party system which they ventilated while sending six questions to the Deuba government last week. However, the rebels are yet to declare their firm commitments for the system now in place.
The US favors secret talks with the Maoists as and when it happens. Prime Minister Deuba is on record to have said the other day in Pokhara that the talks with the Maoists will be secretly held which even the media could not get an inkling of the event.
The US in the process has indicated that there was no threat to democratic system either from the King or for that matter the Nepali Army. If Madhav Nepal were to be believed to what he said Monday evening upon his return from the Palace after a meeting with the King, Ambassador Moriarty's assurance ( see TKP dated 4 October, 2004) also comes true. To recall, Madhav Nepal said that he found both the King and the army positive for the peace talks, which implies that the system remained safe and that neither the King nor the army would pounce on the prevailing system of governance in the country.
Significantly enough, Ambassador Moriarty indirectly signals the monarchy to mend his differences with the political parties and says that "it can't stand by itself; it needs to work with legitimate political forces".
In saying so, Ambassador presumes that the King in the recent months did ignore the role of the political forces and that now he should correct his actions.
Not very surprising, the major political parties now in the streets too wish that the King proceeded taking them all in confidence. The message is that if the King and the legitimate political forces came closer, it would enhance their capabilities while negotiating with the Maoists. There is also a hidden message in the US thinking that if these major forces came closer would easily alienate the Maoists to the extent that the latter would be pressed hard to come to the negotiating table.
Surprising though it may appear, the fact is that the US line of judgment is not against the talks, which is what the government here is also reiterating time and again. However, what is also very clear, by implication, is that both would prefer to go to any extent if the Maoists rejected the offer of talks and continue to terrorize the population much the same way that they have been doing now.
Now let's take up the Indian stance now.
India wants no foreign mediation in Nepal, not even that of the UN for its own exclusive reasons. The US line is the same. Nepali establishment has made it abundantly clear that she can do it on its own.
India now sees the insurgency as a threat to its own security. This is what Nepal had been convincing India from the very beginning. India now realizes the insurgency as a common threat.
India had been unequivocally telling Nepal that she wished the continuation of multi-party democracy under a constitutional monarchy. The US is committed to this consideration.
The Indian authorities have already equipped Nepal with lethal weapons, the US only recently managed yet another consignment of weapons after its information was attacked on September 10.
All put together what comes to the fore is that at the moment Washington, New Delhi and Kathmandu constitute a triangle that is clearly not averse to the supposed peace talks with the Maoists but concurrently appears prepared to face the challenge if the rebels opt for a war with the State.
(Based on US Ambassador Moriarty's interview published October 4, 2004-ed). Sphere: Related Content
:: Xinhuanet China - English ::7 dead, 25 injured in Nepal bus accident
KATHMANDU, Oct. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- At least seven people died and 25 others were injured Monday afternoon when a bus met with an accident in western Nepal, a local radio reported.
The bus plying from Narayanghat to Pokhara fell off the road into the Kumle Khola river in Tanahu district, some 150 km west of Kathmandu, the Kantipur FM said.
"Five people died on the spot and another two died while taking to the hospital," the independent radio said, adding, "25 people were injured in the accident."
The reason behind the accident is not immediately known and rescue operation is underway on the accident site, the radio added. Sphere: Related Content
The bus plying from Narayanghat to Pokhara fell off the road into the Kumle Khola river in Tanahu district, some 150 km west of Kathmandu, the Kantipur FM said.
"Five people died on the spot and another two died while taking to the hospital," the independent radio said, adding, "25 people were injured in the accident."
The reason behind the accident is not immediately known and rescue operation is underway on the accident site, the radio added. Sphere: Related Content
Asia Pacific Breaking News - Nearly 30 Tibetans arrested for illegally entering Nepal
Authorities in Nepal have arrested 27 Tibetans for illegally entering the country.
Border security in the north east of the country arrested the group for entering Nepal without legal documents.
Hundreds of Tibetans cross over to Nepal each year on their way to the north Indian hill station of Dharam-sala to meet their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 amid a failed uprising against Chinese rule. Sphere: Related Content
Border security in the north east of the country arrested the group for entering Nepal without legal documents.
Hundreds of Tibetans cross over to Nepal each year on their way to the north Indian hill station of Dharam-sala to meet their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 amid a failed uprising against Chinese rule. Sphere: Related Content
Asia Pacific Breaking News - US agency warns on situation in Nepal
The US Agency for International Development has urged political forces in Nepal to unite to restore democracy, saying otherwise a Maoist revolt wracking the country will escalate.
The agency says without progress towards restoration of democracy, the continued disintegration of the countrys political leadership will only worsen the conflict.
USAID is a leading development partner of Nepal where an eight-year revolt by Maoists to topple the monarchy and install communist rule has become increasingly deadly.
King Gyanendra recently reinstated Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba whom he dismissed in 2002 along with the kingdom's parliament.
The king has promised to hold elections by next April but opposition parties call the pledge a stalling tactic.
They say it will be impossible to stage a vote until Gyanendra's appointed government engages the Maoists in a peace process. Sphere: Related Content
The agency says without progress towards restoration of democracy, the continued disintegration of the countrys political leadership will only worsen the conflict.
USAID is a leading development partner of Nepal where an eight-year revolt by Maoists to topple the monarchy and install communist rule has become increasingly deadly.
King Gyanendra recently reinstated Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba whom he dismissed in 2002 along with the kingdom's parliament.
The king has promised to hold elections by next April but opposition parties call the pledge a stalling tactic.
They say it will be impossible to stage a vote until Gyanendra's appointed government engages the Maoists in a peace process. Sphere: Related Content
Another grandson born to King Gyanendra of Nepal
11-October-2004
A new member has been added to Nepal's royal family with the reigning monarch, King Gyanendra, becoming a grandfather once again.
However, the new grandchild would not be considered an heir to the throne since he was born to the king's daughter, Princess Prerana, and not to the son, Crown Prince Paras.
Prerana, whose wedding to commoner Kumar Raj Bahadur Singh in January 2003 hit the headlines internationally and triggered more weddings in the royal family the same year, gave birth to a boy in a Kathmandu hospital Sunday.
The new prince is yet to be named. Prerana's elder brother Paras too is reported to be expecting an addition to his family this year.
Paras is married to Himani, an Indian princess, and the couple has three children. Though the eldest is a daughter, the little princess, according to Nepal's law of inheritance, cannot succeed to the throne because of her gender.
Her younger brother Hridayendra would be the future king of Nepal, after his grandfather and father.
Paras has been hitting the headlines frequently for his fondness for public brawls while his sister Princess Prerana has been keeping a low profile.
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A new member has been added to Nepal's royal family with the reigning monarch, King Gyanendra, becoming a grandfather once again.
However, the new grandchild would not be considered an heir to the throne since he was born to the king's daughter, Princess Prerana, and not to the son, Crown Prince Paras.
Prerana, whose wedding to commoner Kumar Raj Bahadur Singh in January 2003 hit the headlines internationally and triggered more weddings in the royal family the same year, gave birth to a boy in a Kathmandu hospital Sunday.
The new prince is yet to be named. Prerana's elder brother Paras too is reported to be expecting an addition to his family this year.
Paras is married to Himani, an Indian princess, and the couple has three children. Though the eldest is a daughter, the little princess, according to Nepal's law of inheritance, cannot succeed to the throne because of her gender.
Her younger brother Hridayendra would be the future king of Nepal, after his grandfather and father.
Paras has been hitting the headlines frequently for his fondness for public brawls while his sister Princess Prerana has been keeping a low profile.
Sphere: Related Content
Nepal's rights record condemned
Fighting between the security forces and the Maoists has escalated
Nepalese troops and Maoist rebels have both been responsible for kidnapping and killings in the country's civil war, a human rights group says.
The US-based Human Rights Watch says other countries should use their influence with Nepalese authorities to stop such abuses.
The Maoists have been engaged in an armed struggle since 1996 to replace the monarchy with a communist republic.
At least 9,500 people have lost their lives in the eight-year insurgency.
"In Nepal's escalating civil war, civilians in contested areas are executed, abducted and tortured both by government forces and Maoist rebels," the Human Rights Watch report says.
The report describes many cases in which villagers have been taken from their homes by the Maoists or the security forces, and are either shot dead or disappear. 
Neither the government nor the Maoists appear particularly concerned with the protection of civilians while they fight this dirty war 
Brad Adams,
Human Rights Watch
'Dirty war'
The villagers face the risk of reprisals from both the Maoists and security forces if they provide information to the security forces or shelter the Maoists, the report says.
"Neither the government nor the Maoists appear particularly concerned with the protection of civilians while they fight this dirty war," Brad Adams, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division told the Associated Press.
"If they want to have any legitimacy in Nepal or with the international community, they need to end attacks on civilians," he said.
The Nepalese army denies that it targets innocent civilians.
Peace talks between the government and the Maoists broke down last year over a key rebel demand for a constituent assembly that would draw up a new constitution clearing the way for a communist republic.
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Thursday, October 07, 2004
After Maoists, Nepal plagued by fake Maoists
7-October-2004
World News, Kathmandu, In the alley shops and street bazaars of Kathmandu, you can buy fakes of almost any expensive, esteemed brand you can think of - from Levis jeans to Adidas shoes and CDs to Rado watches.
And now, in the course of an eight-year-old insurgency started by an outlawed, underground communist party, there is a mushrooming of "fake Maoists" as well.
Though the rebels, fighting to overthrow monarchy and establish a communist republic, risk being arrested or even gunned down by security forces when they make a public appearance, people have been known to try and make a fast buck by posing as Maoists.
There has been a spate of incidents in which a group of people calling themselves Maoists have tried to extort shopkeepers, businessmen and villagers.
Since the Maoists also do the same thing in the name of "collecting tax for the people's government", at times it is impossible to tell the fake outfit from the genuine.
In July, the media reported how residents of Fasku village in the remote district of Dolakha, considered a Maoist stronghold, rounded up people calling themselves Maoists and trying to extort money and handed them over to police.
In another incident, police in the popular tourist destination Pokhara in western Nepal arrested 12 people who posing as Maoists and were intimidating and robbing residents.
The Maoists themselves are aware of the phenomenon and at times have punished the pretenders severely.
This year, they killed three people in a village about south of Nepalgunj, reportedly for masquerading as Maoists.
Last year, when the rebels were holding peace talks with the government and a truce had been declared, the Maoist leaders surfaced in Kathmandu. One of them, Ram Bahadur Thapa aka Badal, had said in an interview with a local weekly, Nepali Times, that cadres of one of the largest political parties, the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist, were posing as Maoists to discredit the organisation.
The phenomenon grabbed the headlines Tuesday when a nameless statement, purporting to be by the Maoists, surfaced in the capital, creating a furore. Sphere: Related Content
World News, Kathmandu, In the alley shops and street bazaars of Kathmandu, you can buy fakes of almost any expensive, esteemed brand you can think of - from Levis jeans to Adidas shoes and CDs to Rado watches.
And now, in the course of an eight-year-old insurgency started by an outlawed, underground communist party, there is a mushrooming of "fake Maoists" as well.
Though the rebels, fighting to overthrow monarchy and establish a communist republic, risk being arrested or even gunned down by security forces when they make a public appearance, people have been known to try and make a fast buck by posing as Maoists.
There has been a spate of incidents in which a group of people calling themselves Maoists have tried to extort shopkeepers, businessmen and villagers.
Since the Maoists also do the same thing in the name of "collecting tax for the people's government", at times it is impossible to tell the fake outfit from the genuine.
In July, the media reported how residents of Fasku village in the remote district of Dolakha, considered a Maoist stronghold, rounded up people calling themselves Maoists and trying to extort money and handed them over to police.
In another incident, police in the popular tourist destination Pokhara in western Nepal arrested 12 people who posing as Maoists and were intimidating and robbing residents.
The Maoists themselves are aware of the phenomenon and at times have punished the pretenders severely.
This year, they killed three people in a village about south of Nepalgunj, reportedly for masquerading as Maoists.
Last year, when the rebels were holding peace talks with the government and a truce had been declared, the Maoist leaders surfaced in Kathmandu. One of them, Ram Bahadur Thapa aka Badal, had said in an interview with a local weekly, Nepali Times, that cadres of one of the largest political parties, the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist, were posing as Maoists to discredit the organisation.
The phenomenon grabbed the headlines Tuesday when a nameless statement, purporting to be by the Maoists, surfaced in the capital, creating a furore. Sphere: Related Content
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
U.S. urges talks between Nepal, rebels
Thursday 7th October, 2004
U.S. urges talks between Nepal, rebels
Big News Network.com Wednesday 6th October, 2004
The U.S. State Department expressed hope Tuesday the Nepalese government and Maoist rebels start talks soon.
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage met with Nepalese Deputy Prime Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari Monday to discuss Katmandu's response to the Maoist insurgency.
The Deputy Secretary stressed the need for political unity among Nepalese parties in facing this threat and his hope that the Government and the Maoists would reach agreement on talks in the near future, the department said in a statement Tuesday.
Armitage also urged the Maoist rebels to halt their attacks on government and civilian installations.
Maoist rebels want to turn the world's only Hindu country, a constitutional monarchy, into a communist state. Sphere: Related Content
U.S. urges talks between Nepal, rebels
Big News Network.com Wednesday 6th October, 2004
The U.S. State Department expressed hope Tuesday the Nepalese government and Maoist rebels start talks soon.
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage met with Nepalese Deputy Prime Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari Monday to discuss Katmandu's response to the Maoist insurgency.
The Deputy Secretary stressed the need for political unity among Nepalese parties in facing this threat and his hope that the Government and the Maoists would reach agreement on talks in the near future, the department said in a statement Tuesday.
Armitage also urged the Maoist rebels to halt their attacks on government and civilian installations.
Maoist rebels want to turn the world's only Hindu country, a constitutional monarchy, into a communist state. Sphere: Related Content
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Indian Maoists discuss strategy
Two key Indian Maoist groups are meeting in Calcutta to discuss strategies, delegates said.
The People's War Group (PWG) and the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC), which are active in a number of states, began a three-day forum on Wednesday.
Members of about another 150 leftist organisations are also attending.
Delegates said the two main groups would try to narrow ideological differences and work out a revolutionary unity.
Their leaders remain tight-lipped about what is being discussed but delegates told the BBC the groups had agreed to come closer.
The PWG is preparing for negotiations with some state governments but the MCC still backs an armed struggle.
The groups had agreed to follow a dual policy of negotiating with governments but also improving military capability, delegates said.
Empowerment
One delegate said the groups realised they did not have the capability for "continuous revolutionary warfare" even as they strengthened their armoury and recruited more cadres.
Both factions agreed to morally and physically support the Maoists in Nepal.
The 150 organisations represented, including the All India People's Resistance Forum, the Struggling Forum for People's Resistance and the All India League for Revolutionary Culture, agreed to challenge globalisation and liberalisation of the Indian economy.
They said they would continue struggling for the economic and cultural empowerment of India's working class.
The PWG has considerable influence in Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, while the MCC is strongest in Bihar.
Both groups have pockets of influence in West Bengal.
The Indian federal government is worried about the growing area of influence of leftist groups.
The home ministry recently convened a conference of chief ministers of Maoist-affected states and advocated a coordinated approach to fight them.
However, Andhra Pradesh has established its first direct talks with the PWG, which will begin on 15 October. Sphere: Related Content
The People's War Group (PWG) and the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC), which are active in a number of states, began a three-day forum on Wednesday.
Members of about another 150 leftist organisations are also attending.
Delegates said the two main groups would try to narrow ideological differences and work out a revolutionary unity.
Their leaders remain tight-lipped about what is being discussed but delegates told the BBC the groups had agreed to come closer.
The PWG is preparing for negotiations with some state governments but the MCC still backs an armed struggle.
The groups had agreed to follow a dual policy of negotiating with governments but also improving military capability, delegates said.
Empowerment
One delegate said the groups realised they did not have the capability for "continuous revolutionary warfare" even as they strengthened their armoury and recruited more cadres.
Both factions agreed to morally and physically support the Maoists in Nepal.
The 150 organisations represented, including the All India People's Resistance Forum, the Struggling Forum for People's Resistance and the All India League for Revolutionary Culture, agreed to challenge globalisation and liberalisation of the Indian economy.
They said they would continue struggling for the economic and cultural empowerment of India's working class.
The PWG has considerable influence in Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, while the MCC is strongest in Bihar.
Both groups have pockets of influence in West Bengal.
The Indian federal government is worried about the growing area of influence of leftist groups.
The home ministry recently convened a conference of chief ministers of Maoist-affected states and advocated a coordinated approach to fight them.
However, Andhra Pradesh has established its first direct talks with the PWG, which will begin on 15 October. Sphere: Related Content
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
One person injured in an explosion at Kathmandu DDC
Eye witnesses said the explosion took place at around 14:10 hours minutes after a group of half a dozen young people including two girls and four boys left the office. They said they had left behind a bag, which exploded within a few minutes.
Police suspect the youths to be Maoist cadres.
A guard has been injured and the building of Kathmandu District Development Committee (DDC) partially damaged in a bomb explosion Tuesday afternoon.
According to police, Damber Tamang, was injured and four rooms at the ground floor of the DDC office at Sinamangal in the capital were damaged due to the explosion.
Sphere: Related Content
Nepalnews. com Air patrol along highways
Following the escalation of looting of vehicles plying along the highways during night time, the security forces have begun air patrolling along the highways.
According to reports, the unified security command have been mobilized for night security patrol along the highways. The patrol is believed to curb all sorts of terrorist activities including increasing Maoists activities and dacoits along the highways.
nepalnews.com pd Oct 05 04 Sphere: Related Content
According to reports, the unified security command have been mobilized for night security patrol along the highways. The patrol is believed to curb all sorts of terrorist activities including increasing Maoists activities and dacoits along the highways.
nepalnews.com pd Oct 05 04 Sphere: Related Content
Nepalnews. com India could turn 'Red': US analysis
The largest democracy in the world could turn into a communist country if Maoists continued to expand their influence in Nepal, a columnist says quoting a US information-analysis.
Writing in the latest issue of Himal Khabarpatrika (2-16 October, 2004), Arjun Gyawali quotes a five-year old American information-analysis as saying that if the Maoists kept on expanding their influence in Nepal then this would have its effect in around ten states of India.
"This is because the rebel outfits (in India) like the People's War Group (PWG) and Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) have been waging struggle there for decades. In the coming one or one and a half decade, apart from these states, the communist struggle would leave its distinct impact on whole of India. And eventually, India would become a communist country," the analysis said.
The US analysis further said that perhaps in some two and a half decades time China would have already established itself as a super power in the world. (If the Nepali Maoist movement continued to gain greater heights), the end result would be that both China and India-- which are the world's biggest in terms of population and size-- would become communist states. And its effects would spread in other places as well. This is why it is now indispensable that India extends its help in controlling Nepal's Maoists when there is still some time left."
U.S. assistant secretary of state, Christina Rocca, who looks after South-Asian affairs, successively visited Kathmandu and New Delhi many times. The main objective of her visit was to make India agree on the American analysis. But until that time India hadn't recognized Nepal's Maoists as a serious or shared threat.
One of the reasons behind the latest shift in Indian policy towards Nepali Maoists could be the five-year-old US information-analysis. "By setting up their 'headquarters' on the Indian soil, the Maoists have spread their political network in Germany, Belgium and other European countries. The extension of diplomatic activities of Nepali Maoists and their intimacy with groups like MCC and PWG must have made India worried and apprehensive," Gyawali said in his write-up.
Analysts, however, say the 'alarming' report, which was never discussed in the public over the last five years may have been blown out of proportion. They say nearly six-decade-old Indian democracy has served as a main force for the country's integration and a bulwark against all kind of extremist forces.
They point towards the fact that India now has nearly 100-million strong middle class and that ultra-left movement has its hold in relatively poor states like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand only. Despite a brief spell during the state of emergency (June 1975- January 1977), Indian democracy has remained vibrant and is strong enough to overcome such challenges, a commentator told Nepalnews.
nepalnews.com by Oct 05 04 Sphere: Related Content
Writing in the latest issue of Himal Khabarpatrika (2-16 October, 2004), Arjun Gyawali quotes a five-year old American information-analysis as saying that if the Maoists kept on expanding their influence in Nepal then this would have its effect in around ten states of India.
"This is because the rebel outfits (in India) like the People's War Group (PWG) and Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) have been waging struggle there for decades. In the coming one or one and a half decade, apart from these states, the communist struggle would leave its distinct impact on whole of India. And eventually, India would become a communist country," the analysis said.
The US analysis further said that perhaps in some two and a half decades time China would have already established itself as a super power in the world. (If the Nepali Maoist movement continued to gain greater heights), the end result would be that both China and India-- which are the world's biggest in terms of population and size-- would become communist states. And its effects would spread in other places as well. This is why it is now indispensable that India extends its help in controlling Nepal's Maoists when there is still some time left."
U.S. assistant secretary of state, Christina Rocca, who looks after South-Asian affairs, successively visited Kathmandu and New Delhi many times. The main objective of her visit was to make India agree on the American analysis. But until that time India hadn't recognized Nepal's Maoists as a serious or shared threat.
One of the reasons behind the latest shift in Indian policy towards Nepali Maoists could be the five-year-old US information-analysis. "By setting up their 'headquarters' on the Indian soil, the Maoists have spread their political network in Germany, Belgium and other European countries. The extension of diplomatic activities of Nepali Maoists and their intimacy with groups like MCC and PWG must have made India worried and apprehensive," Gyawali said in his write-up.
Analysts, however, say the 'alarming' report, which was never discussed in the public over the last five years may have been blown out of proportion. They say nearly six-decade-old Indian democracy has served as a main force for the country's integration and a bulwark against all kind of extremist forces.
They point towards the fact that India now has nearly 100-million strong middle class and that ultra-left movement has its hold in relatively poor states like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand only. Despite a brief spell during the state of emergency (June 1975- January 1977), Indian democracy has remained vibrant and is strong enough to overcome such challenges, a commentator told Nepalnews.
nepalnews.com by Oct 05 04 Sphere: Related Content
Nepalnews.com :: Barbaric killing in Nepal
The Maoists in Bara district of Nepal, on Sunday night killed Rudra Patel by slitting his throat on the banks of Dudhaura river. Patel was killed on charges of faking to be a Maoist. nepalnews.com Oct 05 04"
Sphere: Related Content
Monday, October 04, 2004
MENAFN - Middle East North Africa . Nepal gets $200,000 to develop agriculture
UPI - Monday, October 04, 2004
Date: Monday, October 04, 2004 1:11:22 PM EST
MANILA, Philippines, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- The Asian Development Bank granted Nepal $200,000 Monday to help the country's agriculture sector.
The money will be used to help women in rural agricultural areas in particular, the Manila-based ADB said.
"Because livestock has a vital role in improving rural livelihoods, the (grant) will be undertaken in village development committees," said ADB's chief representative in Nepal, Sultan Hafeez Rahman.
Nepalese women have one of the lowest participation rate in the economic, political, and professional spheres in the region, the ADB said.
-- Sphere: Related Content
Date: Monday, October 04, 2004 1:11:22 PM EST
MANILA, Philippines, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- The Asian Development Bank granted Nepal $200,000 Monday to help the country's agriculture sector.
The money will be used to help women in rural agricultural areas in particular, the Manila-based ADB said.
"Because livestock has a vital role in improving rural livelihoods, the (grant) will be undertaken in village development committees," said ADB's chief representative in Nepal, Sultan Hafeez Rahman.
Nepalese women have one of the lowest participation rate in the economic, political, and professional spheres in the region, the ADB said.
-- Sphere: Related Content
Nepal caught between 'People's War' and politicians' war - Newindpress.com
Monday October 4 2004 15:47 IST
IANS
KATHMANDU: In addition to an eight-year-old "People's War" started by the Maoists from 1996, Nepal today faces a politicians' war as well.
While the insurgents want to overthrow monarchy and establish a communist republic, four political parties opposing the government have been waging a non-cooperation movement, punctuated by violence and shutdowns.
The protest, led by the Nepali Congress party of former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala, is also joined by two Left parties - the People's Front Nepal and the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party - and the Nepal Sadbhavana party (Anandi) consisting of people from the Terai plains.
The protest, which observes its third anniversary this month, was against an incident that threw Nepal into turmoil on Oct 4, 2002.
On this day, King Gyanendra sacked the then prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba for not being able to hold elections in time.
In Deuba's place, the king appointed his own nominee, another former premier Lokendra Bahadur Chand, triggering a protest by the opposition alliance that condemned the king for stepping outside his constitutional authority and usurping executive powers.
Since Chand there have been two more new governments headed by prime ministers chosen by the king overriding the consensus candidate of the opposition parties.
However, the agitation, which has time and again crippled Kathmandu, lost much of its steam this year when one of its major partners, the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist-Leninist, left the movement to join the present government headed by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.
The current opposition coalition has been asked by Deuba to join the government or support from outside the effort initiated by the government to open peace parleys with the Maoists.
The alliance wants Deuba's ouster and restoration of parliament, which Deuba had dissolved in 2002 before being sacked.
The alliance planned to take out a rally in Kathmandu Monday in support of their demand followed by similar demonstrations this week. However, with two of Nepal's biggest festivals, Dashain and Tihar, round the corner, the average Nepalese wants an end to violence.
The public sentiment is for peace talks to start between the government and Maoists.
Though the Deuba government sent two formal proposals for the rebels to come to the table for dialogue, pledging security for the talks' team, the Maoists have so far rejected the overture. Sphere: Related Content
IANS
KATHMANDU: In addition to an eight-year-old "People's War" started by the Maoists from 1996, Nepal today faces a politicians' war as well.
While the insurgents want to overthrow monarchy and establish a communist republic, four political parties opposing the government have been waging a non-cooperation movement, punctuated by violence and shutdowns.
The protest, led by the Nepali Congress party of former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala, is also joined by two Left parties - the People's Front Nepal and the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party - and the Nepal Sadbhavana party (Anandi) consisting of people from the Terai plains.
The protest, which observes its third anniversary this month, was against an incident that threw Nepal into turmoil on Oct 4, 2002.
On this day, King Gyanendra sacked the then prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba for not being able to hold elections in time.
In Deuba's place, the king appointed his own nominee, another former premier Lokendra Bahadur Chand, triggering a protest by the opposition alliance that condemned the king for stepping outside his constitutional authority and usurping executive powers.
Since Chand there have been two more new governments headed by prime ministers chosen by the king overriding the consensus candidate of the opposition parties.
However, the agitation, which has time and again crippled Kathmandu, lost much of its steam this year when one of its major partners, the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist-Leninist, left the movement to join the present government headed by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.
The current opposition coalition has been asked by Deuba to join the government or support from outside the effort initiated by the government to open peace parleys with the Maoists.
The alliance wants Deuba's ouster and restoration of parliament, which Deuba had dissolved in 2002 before being sacked.
The alliance planned to take out a rally in Kathmandu Monday in support of their demand followed by similar demonstrations this week. However, with two of Nepal's biggest festivals, Dashain and Tihar, round the corner, the average Nepalese wants an end to violence.
The public sentiment is for peace talks to start between the government and Maoists.
Though the Deuba government sent two formal proposals for the rebels to come to the table for dialogue, pledging security for the talks' team, the Maoists have so far rejected the overture. Sphere: Related Content
| 4 October, 2004 | |
| NEPAL | |
| Nepal to host Second World Buddhist Summit | |
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Kathmandu (AsiaNews/EDA) – Lumbini, a city in south-western Nepal, will host the Second World Buddhist Summit from November 30 till December 2. The gathering is organised by the Lumbini Trust Development (LDT), a company that manages the development of the city Buddhists venerate as the Buddha’s birthplace. “Over 250 Buddhist religious leaders and special guests from 35 different countries are expected to participate,” Nepal’s Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Dip Kumar Upadhyay told a news conference on Thursday. Upadhyay, who is also LDT chairman, said the meeting was being held to “develop Lumbini as an attraction for all peace-loving people of the world.” The Summit’s opening session will be presided by Nepal’s King Gyanendra. South Asian heads of government and members of the royal families of Japan and Thailand are invited. LDT vice chairman Omkar Gauchan said that “the conference will adopt resolutions to set up a World Peace City at Lumbini.” Thus, according to Upadhyay, the city can “be to Buddhists what Mecca is to Muslims, i.e. a Buddhist holy site where they can worship and meditate for world peace”. The First World Buddhist Summit was held in 1998. The second summit was scheduled for 2001 but was postponed after then King Birendra and his family were killed by Prince Dipendra, who later shot himself. Last year, on the anniversary of the Buddha’s birth, King Gyanendra opened a restored a temple built to honour Maya Devi, Buddha's mother. Many countries with large Buddhist communities like Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, India, China and Sri Lanka have built monasteries in Lumbini, each reflecting their own culture and typical architecture. The city also has several museums and a sacred garden where, according to Theravada tradition, Buddha was born in 623 BC. | |
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