Bhutan's king says Nepal insurgency threatens to escala

Sun Jan 30,12:03 AM ET

South Asia - AFP

NEW DELHI (AFP) - Bhutan's king has warned there is a "real threat" of the Maoist revolt in Nepal escalating out of control, adding it could have "negative implications" for both India and his country, reports said.

AFP/File Photo

"We sincerely hope ... some initiatives will be taken by the political parties in Nepal to resolve the Maoist problem," said King Jigme Singye Wangchuk, the Press Trust of India (news - web sites) quoted him as saying on Saturday.

The king, who left Saturday for home after a six-day official visit to India, said the situation in Nepal was "deteriorating day-by-day," adding, "Today the Maoists have total control more or less of the whole country."

Political analysts in Nepal estimate the Maoists control over two-thirds of the impoverished landlocked nation wedged between India and China.

The Bhutanese ruler was speaking to Indian journalists in New Delhi at the close of his visit.

The Maoist rebels have been battling since 1996 to overthrow the constitutional monarchy in Nepal. Violence has been rising in recent months since a pledge by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to hold long-delayed elections if the Maoists failed to agree to resume peace talks by January 13.

The deadline passed with the Maoists rejecting the call for negotiations and vowing to wreck the elections.

The rebels are holding out for talks with King Gyanendra under international mediation focusing on their demand for elections for an assembly that would draft a fresh constitution but authorities have rejected their demands.

The constitution is seen aimed at establishing a communist republic.

"There is a real threat of Maoist situation becoming much more serious than it is today. If this happens, it will have negative implications for both India and Bhutan because we share common borders," Bhutan's king said.

India's ultra leftists have ties with Nepal's Maoists and some Indian commentators have expressed concern the Nepal revolt could spill over the border.

"Each country has a different kind of problem, a different situation. The political parties and people of Nepal have to together solve their own problems in the best possible way." the Bhutanese ruler said.

Over the past few years, the king has been steering his tiny mountain nation of over 700,000 people, once considered the last Shangri-La untouched by the winds of modernisation, toward democracy.

Bhutan, which like Nepal is tucked between India and China, has put together the first draft of a new constitution based on the principles of parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch at the head.

About the Bhutanese army's actions to flush out anti-Indian rebels sheltering on Bhutanese soil, he said "there are no militant camps in any part of Bhutan now. We're trying to ensure that our borders remain secure."

The military drive in 2003 led to dismantling of the 30 militant camps, he said, adding India and Bhutan have agreed they will never allow their territory to be used by anyone for activities harmful for each other's interests.

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NEPAL

Head of state: King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev

King Gyanendra ascended the throne in June 2001 soon after then Crown Prince Dipendra gunned down his parents King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya and seven other royals.

The 29-year-old Crown Prince Dipendra ran amok at a family dinner in a drunken and drug-fuelled rage before killing himself.

King Gyanendra at his enthronement in 2001

King Gyanendra, who was born in 1947, is thought to be a more forceful man than his predecessor.

In 2002 he dismissed a popularly-elected government and assumed executive powers himself.

Educated in India and Nepal, Gyanendra is well known in Nepal for his conservation work. He is also interested in developing the kingdom's tourism potential, and owns a hotel in Kathmandu.

Gyanendra is married and has two children. His youngest son, Paras, who is now the crown prince, leads a controversial lifestyle and has been at the centre of numerous car accident scandals.

Prime minister: Sher Bahadur Deuba

Sacked in 2002 for failing to organise elections or to tackle the Maoist rebellion, Mr Deuba was reinstated by the king in June 2004.

The leader of a breakaway faction of the Nepali Congress, Mr Deuba was tasked with organising elections within a year. His predecessor resigned amid daily street protests.

Foreign minister, defence minister: Sher Bahadur Deuba Finance minister, deputy prime minister: Bharat Mohan Adhikari

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Ilam clash: 23 bodies of security forces found, 22 missing

Bodies of 23 security personnel killed in a Maoist attack near Puwakhola on the Mechi Highway in the eastern district of Ilam Wednesday have been found by Thursday evening while 22 security men are still out of contact. The area is 10 km northeast of the district headquarters, Ilam Bazaar.

Latest media reports said that 23 dead bodies -17 army men and six policemen - were found at the incident site while five injured security men have been undergoing treatment in Dharan. 22 security men who had gone missing after the incident arrived at the District Police Office this morning.

Army Captain Upendra Ranabhat is one of the killed. There were altogether 72 security men fighting with hundreds of rebels for nearly three hours.

Quoting a Maoist brigade commissar, Parwana, reports said no security men were in Maoist captivity.

Six Maoists have been confirmed dead in the clash. Quoting eyewitnesses, reports said that the rebels took away at least four bodies with them while two bodies were found buried nearby the incident site. However, the actual casualty on the Maoist side is not known.

Human rights activists who visited the area this afternoon said they saw dozens of socket bombs and bullets strewn around the site, reports said. Following the clash, schools have been closed down while fear-stricken villagers have not dared to come out of their homes.

The Maoists had launched a sudden attack on security forces en route to Puwakhoka to clear the barriers laid (by the rebels) on the highway since last three days.

Search operation continues in and around Puwakhola. nepalnews.com mbk Jan 20 05 Sphere: Related Content

International News Article | "They beat me with rifle butts and kicked me, and forced me to flee,"

by Simon Denyer

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nawa Raj Joshi was a teacher for more than 30 years in a small village in western Nepal, until one day Maoist rebels decided they didn't like his politics.

"They beat me with rifle butts and kicked me, and forced me to flee," he said. "But my wife and two sons were not allowed to leave."

A few years later, the rebels came back, this time for his son. "They asked him to accompany them, and he couldn't say no. We think they are trying to force him to join them."

Joshi's story is an every-day one in the Himalayan kingdom, where an increasingly ugly civil war is playing out against some of the world's most stunning mountain scenery.

This month, the conflict, which has already killed more than 11,000 people, took another turn for the worse, with both government and rebels bracing for further violent confrontation.

Last Thursday, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba turned up the heat on the Maoists by announcing plans to push ahead with elections they oppose and at the same time intensify a crackdown.

The Maoists have vowed to "shatter" the vote, and are thought to be planning a major attack against the government to underline their point and mark the ninth anniversary of the start of their struggle in February, according to Nepal's army.

Most worrying, is the state's utter inability to unite in the face of the Maoist threat. Political parties spend most of their time squabbling among themselves or with the autocratic and increasingly unpopular king, who has dismissed three governments in the past two years.

"The country is sliding off the edge of a cliff," said Kunda Dixit, editor of the Nepali Times weekly. "The political forces and the monarchy are at each other's throats and, most unfathomably of all, they don't seem to know who the real enemy is."

To the casual observer, Nepal's war seem strangely low-key. Tourists still come in their tens of thousands, though fewer than before, and have never been targeted. Kathmandu itself seems peaceful and safe to outsiders -- but not necessarily for locals.

Rights groups say hundreds of suspected Maoist sympathizers "disappear" every year into notorious army or police detention centers. Maoists tend to simply kill their opponents.

But the outside world is gradually being forced to wake up to the war, looking on with increasing frustration and concern.

A FAILING STATE?

Giant neighbor India knows well the risks of a failed state on its porous borders and is stepping up support for the Nepali army, as well as efforts to arrest Maoist leaders on its soil.

The United States and European nations are providing more discrete assistance, but are equally determined to prevent a Maoist takeover, not least because of the signal it would send to other rebel movements around the world.

"We simply don't want to see an old fashioned Communist dictatorship taking over in the 21st century," one diplomat said, defending his country's assistance to an army accused of increasing human rights abuses. "However bad human rights are now, they would be worse under the Maoists."

In India, concern is mounting about the rebels regional ambitions. They have established formal links with Maoist groups in India and say they aim to set up a "Compact Revolutionary Zone" throughout Nepal and northern and eastern India.

Rebels in India's troubled northeast are also thought to be supplying the Maoists with arms, says Nepali magazine editor Yubaraj Ghimire.

"The government of India always seemed to ignore the presence of Nepali Maoists in India, but now they are taking the threat much more seriously."

But there are other risks, too, not least early signs of fragmentation within the rebel movement itself. Not only is there division between hard-liners and moderates, but there are warning signs that an ideologically driven movement could be gradually turning into an extortion racket.

"Quite a few Maoist area commanders seem intent on enriching themselves," the diplomat said. "There are incipient signs of warlordism."

Comparisons with Afghanistan may be premature, but the risks are there for everyone to see. It is possible, although unlikely, foreign terrorist groups could be tempted to hide in an anarchic Nepal. It is easier to imagine Nepali warlords turning the countryside into a giant opium or heroin factory, analysts say.

Not only that, says Ghimire, but it would be much more difficult for the state to ever negotiate peace with a fractured rebellion or warlords scattered across the country.

For Nepalis, it could mark their state's final slide toward failure and herald a more protracted era of conflict.


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UN High Commissioner urges govt., Maoists to sign rights accord

Visiting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, has called upon both Nepal government and Maoists to sign the Human Rights Accord (HRA) prepared by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

Addressing the Conference on Human Rights and Peace organized by the NHRC in Kathmandu Monday, Arbour called upon the Nepal government to fully implement the human rights commitments made by it on 26 March 2004.

She also called upon the CPN -Maoists to end, immediately, the recruitment of child soldiers and to desist from using children in any way to further their military goals. She also urged them to allow full access to NHRC monitors to all areas under their control.

Arbour further urged the Nepal government to ensure safety and security of its people in full compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law. “The Maoist insurgents, for their part, do not operate in a legal vacuum: they are equally bound under international law,” she added.

Referring to experiences of conflict-ridden regions around the world, Arbour said injustice fuels violence and violence fuels only greater violence. “One generation’s loss becomes the next generation’s rallying cry. This is particularly true in a country such as Nepal where half of the population is under 18 years of age,” she added.

Addressing the conference, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba blamed the Maoist insurgents for what he said deteriorating human rights situation in the country.

The premier said common people were forced to leave their villages because the Maoists were abducting students and teachers from schools in the rural areas. “At a time when the Maoists are killing unarmed civilians and extorting money, human rights is a far-off thing for the Nepali people,” said Deuba. He, however, said that he was fully committed to the human rights commitments made by the previous government.

The premier said the government was engaged in a serious study of the Human Rights Accord proposed by the NHRC. He also used the occasion to repeat his earlier remarks that the government was left with no other alternative than pushing ahead with general elections ‘to activate the constitution and restore peace in the country’ after the Maoists refused to resume peace talks even after repeated requests by the government.

Addressing the conference, chairman of NHRC, Nayan Bahadur Khatri, said on the one hand the Maoists clearly consider themselves beyond the law of the land in justifying their violent activities, while on the other hand, the security forces have also been found to be involved in human rights violations. “Of major concern is the growing number of disappearances of civilians and the lack of information on those who have been held in incommunicado detention,” said Khatri.

The NHRC chairman said the derailment of the democratic process has further undermined the rule of law, and consequently, resulted in the development of a culture of fear and insecurity, widespread impunity, and the worsening of the human rights situation. He also called upon the government and rebels to sign on the Human Rights Accord prepared by the NHRC and said it would constitute a step forward in building confidence between the parties and opening the way for ceasefire and negotiations.

The two-day conference will discuss the role of human rights organization in peace building, upholding people’s fundamental rights to resolve the conflict, interrelationship between human rights and peace, and the role of NHRC, among others. nepalnews.com by Jan 24 05

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Seven Maoists killed in army operations in southwestern Nepal

Sun Jan 23, 5:40 AM ET

KATHMANDU (AFP) - Seven alleged Maoist rebels were killed by soldiers in the southwest corner of the Himalayan kingdom in weekend clashes, according to a statement from the Royal Nepal Army.

AFP/File Photo

No soldiers were killed or injured, the army said.

"Seven Maoists, including four women, were killed in a clash with the security forces at Lambiphant in Kailali district on Saturday," the press release said. The area is about 450 kilometers (281 miles) west of the capital of Kathmandu.

"The exchange of fire between the army and the rebels lasted for about an hour on Saturday," it said on Sunday.

The army has been continuing its "Kailali Search Operation" since January 19 in the areas, it said.

The rebels have been fighting for a communist republic in Nepal since 1996 and the uprising has so far claimed more than 11,000 lives.

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Maoists abduct 500 youths in Nepal - Sify.com

Saturday, 22 January , 2005, 00:25

Kathmandu: As many as 500 youths returning home after working in Indian territory have been abducted by the Maoists rebels in the Achham district of Western Nepal, media reports said on Friday.

The abducted youths hailing from various villages of the district have been confined in rural dwellings of Kantipur district. Maoists have put restrictions on the youths to go out of the villages, reports quoting local people said.

Earlier, the Maoists rebels had reportedly abducted more than 200 students and teachers from three different schools of the eastern district of Ramechhap.

The Maoists abducted them for political indoctrination programmes, Kantipur radio reported quoting its local reporter. The rebels forcibly took away 13 teachers and 77 students from Setidevi Secondary School in Salukalika village and 12 teachers along with 100 students from Chandeshwori Secondary School in Gothgaun from the class rooms on Thursday, it said.

The abducted students were studying in classes six to ten. The news of abduction have come at a time when the London-based Amnesty International had urged the government and the Maoists to stop human rights violations and killings of people.

More than 11,000 people have been killed and hundreds have been abducted since the insurgency began in 1996. Meanwhile, suspected Maoists shot dead a policeman and injured five others in Butwal on Friday.

The suspected rebels indiscriminately fired at Milanchowk, in the heart of the city. No one has claimed the responsibility for the incident but the police suspect the role of Maoists. Sphere: Related Content

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Nepal gay group launches journal

By Charles Haviland
BBC News, Kathmandu

Nepal's only gay rights organisation has launched a weekly newspaper, the first publication here of its kind.

The Blue Diamond Society (BDS) says that it wants to give a voice to a range of oppressed communities, not just sexual minorities.

The publication is being funded by the British government.

A British diplomat told the BBC the funding of the project was part of London's campaign to reduce the impact of HIV and Aids.

Budget

The parallel English and Nepali language Blue Diamond Weekly papers are being brought out by BDS, which describes itself as an organisation for sexual minorities, including homosexual, bisexual and trans-gendered people.

BDS has already raised the profile of these communities in this conservative society and its founder, Sunil Pant, says the new paper will focus on all marginalised groups in Nepal whose voices, he says, are never heard.

It will look at the human rights of women and children, dalits - or so-called untouchables - and sex workers, as well as sexual minorities, and will focus on HIV and Aids prevention.

It is being funded by Britain's Department for International Development, which has a budget for small projects like this.

The British Embassy will administer the grant, which must be spent in line with departmental objectives.

The British diplomat said the aim was to help people living with Aids, or at risk of it, to lead fulfilled lives and have greater Aids-related risk awareness. Aids, he pointed out, contributed to poverty.
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Japan Today - News - 23 bodies recovered after clash in Nepal - Japan's Leading International News Network

Friday, January 21, 2005 at 07:06 JST
KAHTMANDU — The bodies of 17 soldiers and six policemen were on Thursday recovered from the site of gun battles between government troops and Maoist insurgents in eastern Nepal, state-run Radio Nepal reported.

Five other members of the security forces were injured in the three-hour firefight Wednesday in Ilam district, about 300 kilometers west of the capital.
(Kyodo News) Sphere: Related Content

Rebels, security forces clash in Ilam

There have been reports of heavy clashes between the Maoist rebels and security forces at Barbote area in the eastern district of Ilam Wednesday.

According to reports, the clash took place when the Maoists attacked a team of security personnel that was returning to its base after clearing the road obstructions set up by the rebels at Puwakhola along the Mechi highway in eastern Nepal.

Security sources in Kathmandu confirmed the incident and said skirmishes had taken place Wednesday afternoon. They said they were still awaiting the details.

Meanwhile, some radio reports have quoted Brigade commissar Parwana of the Maoist’s seventh brigade in Mechi and Koshi zones, as saying that they had lost half a dozen of their comrades during the two-way gun battle. He also claimed that at least 20 security personnel were killed during the clashes and that the rebels were able to seize some automatic weapons from the security personnel.

The Maoists’ claim is, however, yet to be verified independently.

Nepal F. M., a Kathmandu-based private radio station, quoted Parwana as saying that at least 20 security personnel were in the Maoist captivity.

The situation is still unclear but sources in eastern town of Biratnagar have said up to 50 security personnel were out of contact since Wednesday afternoon. Their whereabouts remain unknown.

The authorities are yet to comment on the incident.

nepalnews.com by Jan 19 05 Sphere: Related Content

BBC: Hundreds of rioters burned tyres and hurled stones to protest at the increase in fuel prices by the government in Kathmandu, Nepal.

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Nepal plays poll card, all eyes on Maoists

15 January 2005

KATHMANDU: Nepal is turning up the heat on Maoist rebels by announcing it will push ahead with polls and at the same time intensify a crackdown on the insurgency.

Eyes are now turning to the Maoist response. Will the rebels counter with more violence, or will the pressure eventually force them to come to the negotiating table?

Most commentators see divisions within the movement itself.

Hardliners are thought to have prevailed at a September plenum and won the go-ahead to pursue a military strategy for at least another six months. Rebels are expected to review that decision at a high-level meeting over the next month or two.

"The next month is very crucial," said Yubaraj Ghimire, editor of Samay weekly magazine. "We really don't know if the party will extend the hardline approach, or reject it, and say 'now we should try other methods'."

The hardline approach has had only limited success so far.

Rebels have demonstrated their power by blockading the capital and closing down businesses simply by issuing threatening statements. But the army says it has foiled plans for major attacks, and inflicted heavy losses on the guerrillas.

"Their military strength has suffered a serious jolt," said Ghimire. "There is a compulsion before them to come to some kind of understanding."

The eight-year civil war in the strategic Himalayan nation sandwiched between nuclear giants China and India has killed more than 11,000 people and is poisoning the lives of millions more.

Diplomats fear the conflict could spiral further out of control if the rebel movement fragments and warlords take over.

India and the United States are desperate to prevent a takeover by the Maoists, not least because of the encouragement that would give to rebel movements worldwide.

On Thursday (local time), Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said he would call elections this year and intensify the crackdown.

But even though the rebels failed to respond to his offer of talks by Thursday's deadline, Deuba said his door remained open and he still hoped they might come to the table soon.

"I have a report that the pro-dialogue group was defeated in the September Maoist plenum," he said. "The report said that they will go for a strategic offensive up to mid-March.

"If they succeed, they may come to the table with some sort of victory, and if they are defeated, they will come for negotiations - the pro-dialogue group might emerge."

Nepal has had no parliament since 2002 and Deuba was appointed directly by King Gyanendra with a mandate to hold elections this year.

Diplomats and analysts say it would be tough to hold an election if the Maoists stick to their threat to "shatter" the poll. But even an imperfect vote could give the government a degree of legitimacy, and strengthen its hand in any dialogue.

Ghimire said the best hope was for some kind of back-channel negotiations and a tacit understanding with the Maoists not to disrupt the vote.

In exchange, he said, the government would have to agree to discuss the Maoists' key demand - the abolition of the monarchy - straight after the vote.

Former mediator Padma Ratna Tuladhar said the Maoists also wanted the government to agree to foreign mediation, either by the United Nations or a respected independent humanitarian group.

"I myself can take responsibility to bring them back to the negotiating table if there is any third party involvement," he said.

So far, that is not something the government or giant neighbour India will agree to, but some say there is a chance Delhi could drop its objections if there was no other option.
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Maoists declare three-day unilateral ceasefire in Rupandehi

Amid security concerns during the 2nd World Buddhist Summit in Lumbini, Rupandehi district, the CPN (Maoist) Tuesday declared a unilateral ceasefire in the district for three days.

The Rupandehi District Organisation Committee of the CPN (Maoist) announced this through a statement, which was faxed to local media offices this morning, a Rupandehi-based journalist told Nepalnews over telephone.

Along with the ceasefire, the Maoists have also withdrawn their two-day bandh (general strike) in the district starting from today coinciding with the Buddhist Summit, the journalist said citing the statement signed by Saroj, the district in-charge of the rebel party.

Vehicular traffic was slightly affected in the morning but situation became normal as soon the local F.M radios carried the news about the ceasefire. nepalnews.com by/mbk Nov 30 04 Sphere: Related Content

Maoist area commander killed in security operation

Security forces gunned down the Saptari district area no 5 commander of the Maoist party Wednesday morning, reports said.

According to reports, the Maoist area commander, who has been identified as Dambar Yadav alias ‘Sandesh’, was killed in a security operation at Malhaniya of Saptari district today morning.

However, the Maoist rebels are yet to make any official comment on the news.

In another incident, a youth has been found dead on the banks of the Bhaluwahi river at ward number 4 of Rajbiraj Municipality. The dead has been identified as Krishna, a local resident.

nepalnews.com amt Jan 12 05 Sphere: Related Content

Maoists abduct UML cadres in Palpa

Maoist rebels abducted five CPN-UML cadres, including two district committee members, of Palpa district on Monday, reports Tuesday said.

District committee members Buddhi Raj Gautam and Bimala Basistha and three others were abducted from Galda village where they had gone to attend a program of the party. The rebels have not yet clarified the charge on them.

Meanwhile, the Palpa district committee of the UML in a statement has urged the Maoists to immediately release them, reports said. nepalnews.com mbk Jan 11 05 Sphere: Related Content

Two weeks in a leaky boat - Asia Tsunami - www.smh.com.au

January 11, 2005 - 7:54AM


An Indonesian man swept out to sea by the Asian tsunami has described how he survived adrift for two weeks, living on coconuts and chancing upon a leaky boat and a raft.

Ari Afrizal, 21, spoke briefly to reporters today after arriving at a Malaysian port on a container ship that spotted him in the Indian Ocean yesterday, 14 days after the wave tore him from his homeland.

'I managed to survive as I ate the flesh of old coconuts for about 12 days. For three days I didn't get to eat anything,' he said. 'I gave up all hope of living.'

Ari, clutching a plastic bag containing the rags that were his clothes at the time of the tsunami, wore a T-shirt and jeans donated by the ship's crew. Exhausted, he gave sketchy details of his ordeal before being taken by ambulance to hospital.

He said he was with friends building a house in the town of Calang in Aceh province when the wave struck. It pushed them inland before dragging Ari out to sea, clutching a piece of wood.

Ari said he had chanced upon a small leaking fishing boat on his second day in the water.
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'The first day I clung to a piece of wood, the second day I retrieved a small fishing boat but it was leaking. I was in the small boat for four days before I managed to get on a raft,' he said.

Ari said he waved frantically at several ships from the raft without success before the Arab-based Al Yamamah container ship came into view.

'I managed to whistle at the ship and then waved my hands.

The ship sped on but it sounded the klaxon and I stood up. I thought the ship had left the area and I sat down and cried. But the ship returned and cheered me up,' he said.

'I then waved at them as I knew I was safe.'

Ari is the third Indonesian tsunami survivor to be rescued at sea.

A pregnant woman was rescued by a Malaysian tuna-fishing boat after clinging to a palm tree for five days. Another man drifted for eight days on an uprooted tree before a cargo ship found him.

More than 156,000 people were killed by the December 26 tsunami which followed a massive earthquake beneath the sea off Aceh province in the Indonesian archipelago.

Aceh accounted for almost all of Indonesia's 104,000 deaths.
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Nepal army claims to have destroyed Maoist arsenal

KATHMANDU: Two Nepalese army helicopters destroyed a Maoist rebel hideout and arsenal in an aerial attack on a remote jungle gorge in the far west of the country, a senior security official said on Monday.

“The security forces carried out aerial attacks on a Maoist hideout and arsenal located in the middle of Sirise forest on Saturday evening,” the official who did not want to be named said.

The official said eight huts allegedly used to manufacture and repair arms were destroyed and said several Maoists were killed or wounded in the attack, but declined to give further details of the incident 350 kilometers west of Kathmandu.

The rebels are believed to have set up the arsenal inside the forest after an arms supply crunch following a recent tightening of border security by land-locked Nepal’s southern and northern neighbours- India and China, the official said.

The Maoists have been fighting for a communist republic in Nepal since February 1996 and the uprising has already claimed more than 11,000 lives. afp Sphere: Related Content

Japan Today - News - 17 soldiers, policemen killed in rebel attacks in Nepal - Japan's Leading International News Network

Monday, January 3, 2005 at 07:58 JST
KATHMANDU — Warring Maoist rebels killed nine soldiers and eight policemen in two separate attacks on highways in Nepal on Saturday and Sunday, government officials said. Five policemen died and six were wounded when the Maoist ambushed a police vehicle on the Mahendra Highway in far western Nepal early Sunday morning.

On Saturday, four policemen and eight soldiers were killed in a clash on the Koshi Highway in the eastern part of the country. (Kyodo News) Sphere: Related Content

Japan Today - News - 13 killed in Nepal bus accident -

Friday, January 7, 2005 at 07:19 JST
KATHMANDU — A speeding passenger bus veered off a mountainous highway in eastern Nepal on Thursday, killing 13 people and injuring 35, at least seven seriously, police said.

The accident occurred around 2 p.m. near Puwakhola in the Ilam district, about 400 kilometers east of the capital Kathmandu, according to the police. (Kyodo News) Sphere: Related Content

A kid's life in Nepal

A kid's life in Nepal

Living simply in the shadow of the world's tallest mountains

05:09 PM CST on Thursday, January 6, 2005

By JOHN LANCASTER / The Washington Post

JOHN LANCASTER/The Washington Post

Babita Biswokarma, 12, lives in a small house near Pokhara, Nepal, with her mother, father, grandmother and four brothers and sisters.

POKHARA, Nepal – Babita Biswokarma, age 12, is the youngest in a family of six children. She lives with her mother, father, grandmother and four brothers and sisters – her eldest sister has married and moved away – in a small brick-and-concrete house just outside Pokhara, one of Nepal's biggest cities.

On a clear day, Babita can stand outside her house and see the snow-covered peaks of the Himalayas, the highest mountains in the world. Her father is a farmer. Like most people in Nepal, the family doesn't have much money. Their house has no running water and Babita doesn't have any toys.

But they do have electricity and a small television, and outside there is a garden where Babita and her mother grow vegetables and flowers. Babita also takes care of the family's chickens and ducks, chasing after them when they escape and scolding the ducks when they try to eat her lettuce plants. She likes her neighborhood because she lives near lots of other kids, including Sapna, her best friend.

"She never quarrels with me," said Babita, who wants to be a nurse when she grows up. "If I don't know something as far as schoolwork is concerned, she explains it to me, and I do the same for her."

Babita's mother wakes her every morning at 5. Babita has a glass of tea and a piece of bread, fetches water from the tap that the family shares with its neighbors, then washes the dishes from the night before. She also sweeps the yard with a small broom. If she has enough time after finishing her chores, she does her homework before leaving for school at 9:30 a.m.

Babita likes school, where her favorite subjects are Nepali, her native language, and science. Once there was a Japanese man who came to teach at the school and showed Babita and the other students how to play baseball. Now Babita would like to visit Japan. "It's a rich country, and I would like to earn money to build a house," she says.

During harvest season, Babita helps her parents in the fields. She has her own knife, with a short handle and a curved blade, which she uses for cutting rice plants. It's hard work, but Babita likes the festive atmosphere.

"There are a lot of people and while harvesting the crop they sing songs, so I enjoy that," she says.

For dinner, Babita and her family usually eat rice, vegetables and lentil stew. They have chicken once a week as a treat. At 10 o'clock every night, Babita curls up in the big, comfy bed she shares with her grandmother and quickly falls asleep. Babita doesn't mind the company. "It makes me feel secure," she says.HOW SHE HAS FUN

Playing games: Babita Biswokarma and her friends like hide-and-seek and gati khelni, which involves drawing squares in the dirt with a stick and hopping from one to the other on one leg while kicking a small stone. It's similar to hopscotch and takes a lot of skill.

Having a party: This year Babita and her friends are going to use the money they got during Tihar, the festival of lights, to buy meat and other food for a picnic in the fields. "We'll carry firewood from the house and then cook the food ourselves," she says. "We'll play games, sing songs and dance."

Watching TV: Every Sunday night at 9, Babita watches a television drama called Gahana, which means "Jewelry." It's about a family and is "very sad," Babita says. She also likes a comedy called Bitter Truth.

WHERE SHE LIVES

Babita Biswokarma, 12, lives just a few miles outside Pokhara, Nepal, which is next to a pretty lake. Pokhara is a popular destination for tourists, who come from all over the world to see the Himalayas. But Babita and her family don't have much to do with tourists. Like most of Nepal's 25 million people, they earn their living from the land. Babita's father practices a type of farming known as sharecropping, which means that he grows crops on someone else's property, keeping part of the harvest as payment.

In many parts of Nepal, farm fields climb up the sides of mountains like stair steps. But Pokhara is in a valley and the surrounding land is quite flat. The weather is mild, even in winter, which is Babita's favorite season because it almost never rains. Every few months, she and her mother take the bus into Pokhara to shop for clothes and other supplies.INSIDE NEPAL

How many people: About 25 million. About 40 percent are children ages 14 and younger.

How big it is: About 54,000 square miles. That makes it just a bit bigger than Arkansas.

National symbols: They include a rhododendron, a white cow and a green pheasant.

Capital: Kathmandu

Religion: More than 85 percent of the people practice Hinduism, including Babita Biswokarma. Buddhism and Islam are also practiced.

Economy: Nepal is one of the world's poorest countries, with about 40 percent of its population living in poverty. Babita is very lucky to have a television (only six in 1,000 people do). Children ages 6-10 are required to go to school. Because the country is so poor, many children work very hard jobs at early ages.

Terrain tidbit: Nepal is home to eight of the world's 10 tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the world's tallest, which is on Nepal's border with Tibet.

The Washington Post

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