Return-Path: <nepal-request@cs.niu.edu> Received: from mp.cs.niu.edu by library.wustl.edu (5.0/SMI-SVR4) id AA09958; Thu, 9 Jun 1994 17:26:41 +0600 Received: by mp.cs.niu.edu id AA19299 (5.67a/IDA-1.5 for nepal-dist); Thu, 9 Jun 1994 15:26:59 -0500 Received: by mp.cs.niu.edu id AA01742 (5.67a/IDA-1.5 for nepal-list); Thu, 9 Jun 1994 15:26:53 -0500 Date: Thu, 9 Jun 1994 15:26:53 -0500 Message-Id: <199406092026.AA01742@mp.cs.niu.edu> Reply-To: The Nepal Digest <NEPAL@mp.cs.niu.edu> From: The Editor <nepal-request@cs.niu.edu> Sender: "Rajpal J. Singh" <A10RJS1@mp.cs.niu.edu> Subject: The Nepal Digest - June 9, 1994 (29 Jestha 2051 BkSm) To: <NEPAL@cs.niu.edu> content-length: 66012 Status: RO X-Status: X-Keywords: X-UID: 15
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The Nepal Digest Thursday 9 June 94: Jestha 29 2051 BkSm Volume 28 Issue 2
Today's Topics:
Note: Apology for no headers due to time restrictions.
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Date: Thu, 02 Jun 1994 11:52:36 EDT
To: The Nepal digest Editor <nepal-request@cs.niu.edu>
From: "Pramod K. Mishra" <pkm@acpub.duke.edu>
Subject: library in Nepal
Dear Readers of The Nepal Digest:
I'm delighted these days that some people both in Nepal and here in the
United States are beginning to take keen interest in talking about the
need of libraries. Just the other day, I read an article by an acerbic
but quite frank writer Fanindra Upadhyaya in The Rising Nepal about the
libraries in various colleges in Nepal. Fanindra, as usual, has looked
into the whole issue with a Fanindrasque eye; that is to say, with an eye
to pin point the deficiencies and inadequacies of those academic
libraries. And very recently, I think in Nepal Update, a publication a
section of Nepali community from Washington, D.C., I read an excellent
piece in a long time in that magazine about some people, the writer of the
article among the primary ones, trying hard, cutting through red-tape and
all that, to found public libraries in the remote mountains. As many of
us are aware, there are many projects, fine and healthy ones, going on in
the mountain regions of Nepal with the assistance of the writer of article
and the legendary Edmund Hillary. But those efforts, laudable as they are
and their founders and organizers, awfully inadequate if we want the whole
of Nepal to benefit.
There are many things I don't like about the United States,
including the escalating crime rate and junk mail. But this nation has
become what it has, in spite of the red-necks and the KKK, because of its
emphasis on books. To tell you the truth, I hadn't learned to read a
thick book from cover to cover until I came to this country some five
years ago. And my six and eight years old children, now in Nepal for a long
vacation, find themselves bewildered when they see that the books that
the big bagful of books they could get for free from the public library
here in a small town, they can't find even in the second largest city of
Nepal, Biratnagar. Of course, in Kathmandu we have the graceful presence
of the British Council Library that caters to the need of the Kathmandu
readers, but what about the rest of Nepal?
It's not always that the former colonial powers would do their
charity service by providing libraries to a few privileged ones happily
educated and situated in Kathmandu. It is people like us who live abroad
and claim to have great affection for the land of our birth and origin who
will have to come up with some substantial plan to found library in every
Village Development Committee, not affiliated with some schools but free
from such affiliation, especially founded and run as part the
administrative framework of the VDC to cater to the needs of the general
populace, who otherwise spend a major chunk of their time either playing
cards and drinking and brawling or sitting idle. As for the poor, they
have hardly any hope, because they don't even know if there is life beyond
hungry stomach and tattered clothes.
Now, we now know that the United States, in spite of its crimes
against the African-Americans and the native Indians, strove to realize
the best society in human history. And one of the first condition the
founders realize for a humane and dynamic society was the establishment of
personal and public libraries.
In my opinion, more than dollers as foreign aid to run the
bureaucracy in Nepal, we need dollars to establish a solid ground for
widespread reading public by founding libraries in every village. It was
only six or seven years ago when I had asked the head master of the local
high school in my village that he should subscribe to Gorkapatra but also
Saptahik Bimarsh, he had taken it as an insinuation of some sort and had
refused to do so. The rulers of Nepal have for long kept the Nepali
people in the dark ages. Now is the time for the educated young Nepalis
and well-wishers of Nepal to join hands with whoever offers help and shows
the way to found libraries every where in Nepal, both in the Terai and in
the mountains. Otherwise, in the absence of libraries, which would
educate the public in myriad matter, all our talk of doing good to Nepal
would vanish in thin air.
Now the problem is: How can one go about doing anything in that
direction. I don't know. This piece I'm writing for my co-readers of the
Nepal Digest to offer ways to realize this goal.
Sincerely,
Pramod Mishra
pkm@acpub.duke.edu
***************************************************************
Date: Tue, 31 May 1994 08:08:39 EDT
To: a10rjs1@cs.niu.edu
From: rajendra@coos.dartmouth.edu (Rajendra P. Shrestha)
Subject: News etc.
Source: The Independent, May 18th
News in Brief
King Birendra initiated the centenary celebrations of the Janaki
temple at the northern courtyard, where 111 Ramayani Baisnavs began
recitation of the Ramayana, written by Tulsidas, for nine consecutive
days starting May 11.
Current Foreign exchange reserves in Nepal, totalling Rs. 38.83
billion, are enough to cover imports for nine and half months. Total
foreign exchange reserves grew by Rs.5.65 billion as of April 29,1994,
compared to the month of Asar (June-July) last year, according to
Nepal Rastra Bank
Syangja district unit of the Rastriya Prajantra Party gheraoed the
District Education Office, Nepal Electricity Authority Office, Revenue
Office and the District Administration May 9. The gherao was organised
to protest increases in land revenue and electricity tariffs, and the
congressization of education.
Tittle-Tattle
You are in for an electric shock. Credentials of the key players in
Nepal's water resources management go like this: minister has a degree
in Civil Engineering, the secretary in International Law, and
electricity boss in Chemical Engineering. Hare Ram, Ke garne?
Nepal has never been a fully sovereign state...thus Indian police raid
in Baneswor can't be considered interference in Nepal's internal
affairs, says Gajendra Narayan Singh.
Shot in movie Mahadevi requires hero (Bhuvan) to kiss heroine
(Karishma). Repeated retakes of the scene brought wrath to the
heroine's actual husband, who thought more than one kiss too many and
bashed up the director.
Vehicles used by Doctors Ram Prakash Yadav and Surya Man Shakya, both
members of top-heavy and slow-moving Environmental Protection Council,
miserably failed emission-control tests.
Sikkim-based doomsdayer Ram Chandra Paudel predicted the world would
come to an end May 16. Now hear Paudel hospitalised due to burns
received from a sacrificial fire. Well, for him the world nearly came
to an end, bur for the rest it was just another humdrum day.
Seems the visa authorities were careless in not stamping the date on
an Australian lady's passport. It was noticed by the authorities as
she was about to board a plane on departure. Eventually whe had to
spend the whole day explaining to officers, and pay a 500-buck fine.
Her embassy sympathised, reportedly telling her that such things
happen frequently here.
Quote of the Week:
This war is not an ideological one. It is between those who want
stability and those who want to bring in instability. You may be sure
that the Nepali Congress will not split. The confusion will be solved
by discussions within the party.
PM Girija Prasad Koirala, in Suruchi.
Source: The Independent, May 11th
Headline: Alien Powers at Work
Some alien powers are pressurising Nepali Congress (NC)
President Krishna Prsad Bhattarai to retain Girija Prasad Koirala in
the premiership hot seat, ostensibly for the political stability of
Nepal, according to Ganesh Man Singh, the disgruntled 78-year old NC
supremo. Talking to The Independent May 10 at his Chhetrapati
residence, the man who steered the pro-democracy movement to a
successful conclusion four years ago said, "The proponents of
so-called stability in Nepal are motivated by interests not beneficial
to this country. If the NC is beaten in the next vote, which is
certain if Koirala stays in power, I wonder what their stand will be."
Headline: "Trade War"
German TV network ARD aired a programme titled Nepal Teppich
Von Kinderarbeit Profitieren April 20, alleging that 90% of Nepali
carpets are woven by children aged 5 to 13 in "factories with iron
fences."
Headline: Give information, says Court
The Supreme Court ruled May 8 all documents - treaties, agreements,
memoranda of understanding, notices and other papers - relating to the
much-talked-about Arun III hydropower project be made available to
Inhured International's Gopal Shivakoti and human rights activist
Dr. Rajesh Gautam.
Quotes of the Week:
The people of the Kathmandu Valley are now going around with
empty water pots in search of water, just as they were going around
with empty jerry cans in search of kerosene during the 1989 trade.
Assosthama Kharel in Dibya Chhakshu
I am prepared to give in writing my prophesy that, the day the
Nepali Congress ceases to exist, that very day democracy will also
end.
Ganesh Man Singh in Nepalipatra
The activities within the party and government have depressed me.
The government has proved a total failure, and the main cause of this
is the power struggle within the ruling party.
Nepali Ambassador to India Chakra Bastola in Bimarsha
Brief News:
The ministry of foreign affairs has made arrangements for
providing passports by the third working day after the formal
application forms are registered, it is stated by the Foreign
Ministry.
Australian Ambassador to Nepal Leslie B. Douglas presented
30,000 Australian dollars to the Department of National Parks for the
Musk Deer Research Project under implementation in Godawari, Lalitpur,
and for the establishment of a veterinary clinic at the Elephant
Breeding Centre, Chitwan.
Nepal and the government of People's Republic of China signed
a bilateral road transportation agreement in Beijing May 6. The
agreement envisages operation of passengers, goods and mail services
between Kathmandu and Lhasa.
Tittle-Tattle:
Gossip overheard on the cocktail circuit: those wishing to
invite Mangala Bhauju to functions should never ever tag her along
with the Supremo. They have separate identities and designations, thus
must receive separate invitations. Even her entry at functions is
timed differently to that of the Supremo. Prospective inviters be
warned.
Chakra Bastola, our man at Barakhamba Road, while talking to
Bimarsha, lambasted his government for its inefficiency and failures.
How undiplomatic, or is it democratic? Remember
panchayatiraj-appointed envoy to UK reportedly rumoured to have been
called for his constructive criticism of the present government. Let's
see if Bastola will be recalled too.
****************************************************************
Date: Tue, 31 May 1994 08:09:56 EDT
To: a10rjs1@cs.niu.edu
From: atuladhar@vax.clarku.edu
Subject: RE: News etc.
Alien Power wanting "Stability" for nepal and Girija on the PM seat
===================================================================
The May 18 news posting from The Independent contributed by Rajendra Shrestha
quoted two intriguing statements of Girija{and Ganesh man Singh.
Girija is quoted as saying, "Nepali Congress will never be split. The
congress problem is between those who desired stability and those who desired
instability for the country" implying of course that stability meant Girija in
power.
Ganeshman put a different take on this statement, saying that "an alien power
was responsible for desiring Girija as the stability symbol. If Girija stays
in power , it is sure Congress will lose the next election and without
Congress there will be no democracry and what sort of stability will there be?
Question 1: What or who is the "alien" power. Is he Chandra Shekhar the
ombudsman behind Congress family quarrel who makes sure they keep together and
who makes sure any injustice meted out to them as in the last days of the
Panchayat is reaised in the Indian Parliament and media. Or is it the West,
notably US, whose mouthpience newspapers The Washinton Post have favoured
Girija?
Question 2: Congress i]may be damn unpopular with Girija in power for the
next election but how can Ganesh Man forget the power of the incumbent to
mobilize State machinery to stay in power. History teaches us that one needs
massive massive dissatisfaction before the people can vote a determined
incumbent, which Girija has proven he is, to stay in power. Look at Raoul
Cedras who stays in power despite 67% of the people voted for Aristide or
Burma where the democratically elected govt of Aung San has still not got
power. Of course, Girija has the convenient advantange of being a
democratically elected Member of Parliament.
Question 3: If Ganesh man thinks this alien power is so effective in
decinding matters of Nepal, what happened to the sovereing power of the nepal
electorate, something they fought for valiantly for half century? Is Nepali
voting public periphereal to Nepali politics?
Wonder , wonder wonder.
Amuly{
Clark Univeresity
***********************************************************************
Date: Tue, 31 May 1994 08:11:22 EDT
To: a10rjs1@cs.niu.edu
From: sshakya@lynx.dac.neu.edu (Sunil Shakya)
Subject: News from Nepal
Headline: Contract imminent in Nepal
Dateline: KTM, May 28,1994
Source : Xinhua
Nepali legal professionals and businessmen urged the government to make
a contract law to promote liberal economy in the country. In a seminar
entitled "contract law, present problems and expected recommendations"
which opened Friday, the legal professionals and businessmen said that
foreign investment could not be promoted as the existing company law was
unable to give full protection to foreign investment and was not capable
of meeting the challenges of the time, local press reported today. They
felt that the government has shown negligence in improving the company
law since the law has not been amended after it was first enacted in
1992. They stressed the need to modernize the company law in the context
of expanding international economic relations and trade contacts. They
also pointed out that the contract law should be effective for both
private and public sectors and should not differ in general principles.
The seminar was organized by Nepal Law Society and a draft of the
contract law has already been submitted to the government.
Headline: IFAD promises loan assistance to Nepal
Dateline: KTM, May 27, 1994
The international fund for agricultural development (IFAD) has promised
to give loan assistance of 484.2 million rupees (9.88 Million U.S.
dollars) to Nepal. The loan would be used to launch the country's ground
water irrigation and flood rehabilitation projects to help increase
production through diversification and promotion of cash crops, food
crops, horticulture and animal husbandry, local press reportted today.
The world food program will also provide a grant assistance amounting to
93.1 million rupees (1.9 million U.S. dollars) to undertake a flood
rehabilitation program under the planned projects.
*****************************************************************
Date: Tue, 31 May 1994 08:13:34 EDT
From: sshakya@lynx.dac.neu.edu (Sunil Shakya)
Subject: News from Nepal
Headline: Pakistan, Nepal to enhance cultural cooperation
Dateline: Islamabad, May 26, 1994
Source : Xinhua
Pakistan and Nepal signed a cultural exchange program for 1994-1996 in
accordance with the bilateral agreement on cultural cooperation during
P.M Benazir Bhutto's three-day visit to Nepal. The program comprises
details of cooperation in the educational, scientific and cultural
fields, according to a joint communique issued here today at the end of
Benazir Bhutto's visit. To promote greater cultural interaction between
the people in the two countries, both sides would provide assistance
for the teaching of Nepali and Urdu in their respective educational
institution, the communique said. The two sides also agreed to step up
joint efforts to increase cooperation in the fields of civil aviation
and tourism.
Headline: Nepal to take action against employing child labor
Dateline: KTM, May 25, 1994
The Nepali government has taken action against the carpet industries
found employing child labor in contravention of existing labor act. The
Labor Ministry has warned the carpet industry entrepreneurs not to
engage children below the age of 14 in carpet industries in violation of
existing rules and regulations, according to a press release issued here
on Tuesday by the Ministry. The Labor Ministry has urged the units
concerned of the government to take stern action against the carpet
industries found employing child laborers and to intensify its works on
inspection of carpet industries to check employment of child labor.
Headline: Returning Gurkha heros find little waiting for them at home
Byline : London Observer
Dateline: Pokhara, Nepal, May 25, 1994
When enemy troops advanced toward his trench in Burma during World War
II Lacchi Man Gurung dug in. Gurung, a Gurkha rifleman in the British
army, staved off 200 enemy soldeirs by tossing grenades at the
approaching tanks and troops. For his efforts, he was awarede the
Bictoria Cross, Britain's highest military honor. Now, at age 75, all
Gurung has to show for his valor is a certificate nailed to the adobe
wall of his thatched-roof home in central Nepal and a missing right arm,
which was blown away during the attack. A naive man from a small,
mountain village, he gave away his Victoria Cross medal in 1951 and
hasn't seen it since. He rarely collects his pension because it would
take him 8 hours to walk from his village to the nearest road and
another four hours to drive to the pension office in Pokhara. Although
he has fallen on hard times, Gurung's heroics haven't been forgotten
completely. Last month, Gurung and 6 others Nepalese VC recipients were
treated to a civic ceremony in KTM to honor their service to the British
army. While the legend of the Gurkha soldier lives on, Gurung and
thousands of others have returned to Nepal in recent decades to find
that there's little waiting for them after serving the British and
Indian armies, the two largest Gurkha recruiters. Valinat service in
foreign battles has not translated into prosperity at home for the
Gurkhas, whose martial skills are of little use in tranquil Nepal. "
These people are lost," Baral said. "They always served the British.
They can't go back to the village." In 1991 the British army announced
that it would cut its Gurkha force from 8,000 to 2,500 in the next five
years. This threatens to displace thousands of Nepalese families who no
longer fit into traditional village life and can't find jobs in Nepal's
scattered cities.
Headline: NC committee formed to investigate by-election defeat
Dateline: KTM, May 24, 1994
Source : Xinhua
The ruling Nepali Congress (NC) has formed a three-member high level
committee to investigate the cause of the defeat of the party in the
by-election held in constituency no. 1 of Kathmandu district in February
this year. The high level committee was constituted under the
chairmanship of NC general secretary and M.P. Mahendra Narayan Nidhi,
local press reported today. The committee was formed by the NC president
Krishna Prasad Bhattarai in accordance with the decision taken by the
Nepali Congress Central Working Committee meeting held on April 1 after
consultations with M.Ps of both the houses of the parliament and other
distinguished members of the ruling party. In the parliamentary
by-election in February of this year, NC presidnet Bhattarai lost to the
candidate from the communist party of Nepal (UML) and 56 legislators
from the ruling party attributed the electoral defeat of NC president
Bhattarai to "conspiracy" within the party. These legislators demanded
the NC leadership take disciplinary action against those involved in the
conspiracy which led to the NC president's failure in the by-election of
Kathmandu district.
*********************************************************************
This article and the follwing Review Article on Little Buddha I found
by gophering.
LITTLE BUDDHA
A film review by Michel Hafner
Copyright 1994 Michel Hafner
- Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
- Screenplay: Mark Peploe, Rudy Wurlitzer
- Camera: Vittorio Storaro
- Costumes: James Acheson
- Editing: Pietro Scalia
- Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto
- Cast:
Keanu Reeves: Siddhartha/Buddha
Ying Ruocheng: Lama Norbu
Chris Issak: Dean Konrad
Bridget Fonda: Lisa Konrad
Alex Wiesendanger: Jesse Konrad
Sogyal Rinpoche: Kenpo Tensing
LITTLE BUDDHA is Bernardo Bertolucci's new movie (following THE
SHELTERING SKY and THE LAST EMPEROR). The story is rather simple. The
spiritual master of Tibetan Lama Norbu (Ying Ruocheng), Lama Dorje, has
died and ever since Lama Norbu is looking for his reincarnation. Kenpo
Tensing, a Tibetan monk living in Seattle contacts him. In dreams the
late Lama Dorje revealed him where he has been reborn. It's in the
house of the Konrad's, Seattle, USA! So a few days later the Konrads,
Lisa (Bridget Fonda) a math teacher, Dean (Chris Issak), an architect,
and their son Jesse (Alex Wiesendanger) get a visit from Lama Norbu,
his companions and Kenpo Tensing. The idea that Jesse might be a
reincarnation of a late Lama is first hard to swallow for the sober
scientific minds of the parents. Yet they allow the monks to introduce
Jesse with the help of an illustrated book for children to the story of
prince Siddhartha, who became known to the world as Buddha. To be sure
the monks want to take Jesse back to their convent, but this is only
possible after Dean Konrad has an experience he wasn't prepared for.
He, Jesse and the monks leave for Bhutan....
LITTLE BUDDHA consists of two "universes." There is Seattle
standing for the western world, dominated by technology and presented
in sterile looking blueish shades. And there is the world of prince
Siddhartha, 2500 years ago and today, colorful and juicy, a paradise,
but also a place of suffering, decrepitude and death. The gorgeous
images by Vittorio Storaro, telling us the story of Siddhartha every
time Jesse looks into his book, are the main attraction of LITTLE
BUDDHA. They have to be appreciated on a big cinema screen. Don't
wait for the LD or tape. Especially the scenes with Siddhartha leaving
his palace for the first time and Siddhartha fighting the demon Mara
before enlightenment are breathtaking.
Keanu Reeves as Siddhartha gives an acceptable performance.
Physically he fits the role quite well with his exotic looks, enhanced
by suitable make up. For the ascetic scenes he went on a strict diet
to become skinny enough. Ying Ruocheng as Lama Norbu is the emotional
center of the story. His fine performance helps the movie a great
deal. Bridget Fonda is competent in her role, but there is really not
much she can sink her teeth into. Chris Isaak's role offers more
possibilities, but the actor turned singer keeps his facial and other
expressions to a minimum. Little Alex Wiesendanger looks a bit
uncomfortable at times, yet he pulls it off quite successfully at the
end.
Bertolucci gave up the idea of a realistic and detailed Buddha
biography in favour of a more fairy tale like approach with "pretty"
pictures providing a crash course in Buddhism. The movie is supposed
to be accessible to children and capture the attention of grown ups at
the same time. I'd say it does, but at the cost of simplifying things
and, sometimes, even provoke laughter where laughter is not appropriate
(especially in the scene of Siddhartha's birth).
Ryuichi Sakamoto's music is an asset to the movie. There are two
main themes, one for Siddhartha (majesticly descending 12-note motive)
and one general theme standing for the movie as a whole (I guess, but
it's also related to Jesse). Strings, Indian instruments and
synthesizer are the main ingredients. Musical highlights are (again)
the scene of Siddhartha meeting "the world" and Siddhartha achieving
enlightenment. The final scene features a soprano singing in a style
very reminding of Gorecki's third symphony.
Bertolucci doesn't shy away from (ultra-modern) special effects
(morphing and other digital tricks ). With varying success, going from
embarrassing (lotus flowers growing in baby Buddha's footsteps) to near
perfect (Siddhartha fighting Mara in the form of Siddhartha ).
LITTLE BUDDHA is all in all a bit disappointing. From Bertolucci
more can be expected. This movie is no LAST EMPEROR and all it can
hope for at Oscar time is a nomination for best cinematography and
costumes/production design. And for these a trip to the nearest big
screen cinema is worth its costs.
Sidhartha M. Tuladhar
tuladhar@titan.ucs.umass.edu
************************************************************************
Date: Tue, 31 May 1994 08:18:27 EDT
To: a10rjs1@cs.niu.edu
From: tuladhar@titan.ucs.umass.edu (S TULADHAR)
Subject: Little Buddha
LITTLE BUDDHA
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1994 James Berardinelli
Rating (0 to 10): 5.6
Date Released: 5/25/94
Running Length: 2:03
Rated: PG (Mature themes)
Starring: Ying Ruocheng, Alex Wiesendanger, Keanu Reeves,
Chris Isaak, Bridget Fonda
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Producer: Jeremy Thomas
Screenplay: Mark Peploe and Rudy Wurlitzer
Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto
Released by Miramax Films
At the core of LITTLE BUDDHA lie questions of belief. Can you
acknowledge reincarnation as a viable solution to what lies beyond death?
Can you believe in the search for Cosmic Oneness as a central mystery of
life? And, most importantly, can you accept Keanu Reeves as the Buddha
dude?
LITTLE BUDDHA has two stories to tell. The first follows the quest
of a group of monks, led by Lama Norbu (Ying Ruocheng) to seek out the
reincarnated spirit of a great Buddhist teacher, Lama Dorje. Norbu and
his fellows believe they have found Dorje's spirit residing within a
Seattle boy named Jesse Conrad (Alex Wiesendanger). While Alex is
enchanted with the monks and their way of life, his parents, Dean (Chris
Isaak) and Lisa (Bridget Fonda) are wary, and that wariness turns into
near-hostility when Norbu announces that he would like to take Jesse back
with him to Bhutan to be tested.
The second tale is the fable of how a prince named Siddhartha (Keanu
Reeves) became the great spiritual leader Buddha. Framed within the
modern-day portions of LITTLE BUDDHA, this segment is presented as a
children's story told to Jesse, with the telling simple and fairytale-
like.
The strength of LITTLE BUDDHA is the ideals that it presents, and
the way it forces us to confront questions of spirituality and existence.
Director Bernardo Bertolucci (THE LAST EMPEROR, THE SHELTERING SKY) has
never been one to avoid probing themes, and the subject matter of LITTLE
BUDDHA is no different. There's a fair amount of material in this film
to stimulate the intellect.
Unfortunately, it's really just the intellect that is stimulated.
As beautifully photographed and intelligently-written as the movie is, it
has no emotional depth or appeal, and is often as cold and clinical as
its gray depiction of Seattle. Perhaps the problem is the twenty minutes
cut from the final print (there's a sequence involving the bankruptcy and
death of a friend of the Conrads that has been trimmed significantly).
Or maybe it's the use of a wooden Chris Isaak in a key role. Whatever
the reason, however, the characters never connect with the audience,
causing LITTLE BUDDHA to test the viewer's attention span when it should
instead be soaring.
There's also a question about LITTLE BUDDHA's intent. At first, the
center of the picture seems to be on young Jesse's spiritual
enlightenment as he comes to understand the monks' way of life. This,
after all, is the whole point of his learning Siddhartha's story.
However, as the film progresses, the focus wanders as Jesse's presence
becomes less critical. Deans own crisis of the soul, which forms a
minor subplot, is resolved in an oblique and unsatisfactory manner.
So what about Keanu Reeves? Choosing one of today's least able (but
most popular) actors in such a critical role might at first seem bizarre
(to say the least), but in a weird way, it sort of works. This isn't
because Reeves has suddenly learned how to act, but with his part of the
story nestled in the cozy frame of a fable, his stilted style isn't
harmful. All that he needs to do is look nice - which he does - and not
flub his lines. His failed attempt at an Indian accent is a bit
distracting, however.
With ragged transitions and a too-long running time, the editing of
LITTLE BUDDHA is suspect. Considering the otherwise-impeccable
production standards, it's odd that this portion of the project should
have been handled so imperfectly. Conventional wisdom indicates that if
you're aware of something, it's a problem, and that's the case with the
cutting and pasting in LITTLE BUDDHA.
For those who can get past Keanu Reeves and Chris Isaak, and who
don't mind viewing a film that opens an emotional gulf between itself and
its audience, LITTLE BUDDHA has themes and images worth exploring. And
while no one will debate the impressiveness of cinematographer Vittorio
Storaro's work, as far as I'm concerned, there are too many problems for
this film to be considered more than a mediocre attempt to present a
multi-layered spiritual and temporal picture.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
************************************************************************
Date: Fri, 03 Jun 1994 09:34:29 EDT
To: a10rjs1@cs.niu.edu
From: bale@acs.ucalgary.ca (Bhakta Ale)
Subject: Arun 3
This is an article about Arun 3 published in Calgary Herald. May
be somebody will enjoy reading it.
CALGARY HERALD: MAY 27, 1994
----------------------------
DAM FLOODS NEPAL WITH PROMISES OF PROSPERITY - By Janet Bell, Kathmandu
Just around the Nepalese corner from Mount Everest is the Arun Valley.
This is the land where dogs jump from first-floor windows at the sight of a
westerner, where orchids grow like daisies - and where mega-development is
about to strike.
If the world Bank can agree - and it is expected to soon - a dam will
be built in one of the most culturally and environmentally sensitive places in
the world.
Arun 3 is the first of a series of large hydroelectric schemes planned
for the far east of Nepal. Picked out in 1987 by the World Bank as the "least-
cost" option from a now-controversial power-sector study, the project is
taking its last painful steps toward final approval.
It will cost $764 million US (1.5 times Nepal's annual national
budget) and be the largest project ever in the coutry. "Arun" means dawn, and
the government envisages the project catapulting Nepal into modernity and a
golden age of hydro-dollars. The intenstion is to bring electricity to Kathman-
du and eventually sell power to India from ever more ambitious schemes.
Nepal's patience with the World Bank is running out. Water Resources
Minister Laxman Ghimire said: "Their bureaucracy's worse than ours.
"As soon as the donors approve Arun 3, we will go at it on a war
footing."
That's what worries dam's opponents. Arun, they say, means overall
economic decline, cultural disruption and environmental devastation for one
of the most bilogically rich valleys in the Himalayas.
There are no street-wise environmental crusaders here, no co-ordinated
opposition from intellectuals. People are naive to the realities of World
Bank-style development and dazzled by the glimpses of the promised land.
"Cars? Yes, we've seen cars ... floating down the river from China,"
laughed one villager from a hamlet next to the powerhouse site. These were the
gifts of a recent flood overlooked in the planning documents, one of many
incidents.
Locals will not get a sniff of Arun's power, which is destined for the
urban elite. To build the dam means building a road away from settlements and
through pristine forest. It will be built in only three years, requiring gangs
of 1,215 workers to be set up at 10-kilometre intervals along the valley
floor, wreaking havoc.
Washington continues to wobble as successive dates for Arun 3 presenta-
tion to the World Bank's board slip by. Narmada's ghost hangs heavy, and many
Bank staff are concerned about Arun 3's high cost and Nepal's ability to
manage a project this size, when it cannnot even keep Kathmandu's street clean.
(Bell is a writer with The Guardian)
*****************************************************************************
Date: Mon, 06 Jun 1994 06:22:23 EDT
To: a10rjs1@cs.niu.edu
From: <C31CC@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: The Young, the Smart, and the Serious!
A couple of months ago, and then again a month ago, I had posted about the
whereabouts of a certain SAV benefit concert. I could figure that most of us
under pressure from final examinations or otherwise, could not inquire more or
attend the particular show. However, I am glad to report that the fabulous
show went on applauded for many a minutes last Saturday (may 28).
The entire show, consisting of Indian dances, Irani dances, and of course Nepal
i medlies, were choreographed and directed entirely by the dancers: seven young
Nepali girls (approx. ages 10-17) and a young boy.
What is even more fascinating is the fact that the entire proceeds from the sho
w (yes, all of it) is going to the Social Action Volunteers, a NGO based on
Kanti Childrens' Hospital in Kathmandu, which assists on medicinal needs, food
needs, clothing, support for the family etc. for those unable to afford. The
show, as will be confirmed by the 80 so people that attended it, was a tremendo
us success. The dances were all professional quality and very hard-worked
upon. Wah-wah's could be heard throughout in the background from the audience.
The fact that these young Nepalis are so devoted to the benefit and development
of their country should send a clear message to all that the Nepali Generation
X is no joke. The very fact that they could, on top of their studies, close to
the period of their final exams, put up such an innovative performance is
definitely something that deserves a standing ovation from all of us. Their
care, love, and devotion for their motherland goes unparallelled so far. They
have taken the Nepali pride one step higher at such an early age. Their effort
I am sure, will be appreciated by Nepal, by SAV, and definitely by the children
that will be receiving such warm support.
The program was held in Riverside, Connecticut (as all of the performers lived
close to it) and the program lasted three hours in all: two hours of dances, an
d a intermission in which the parents of these performers had volunteered to
bring in some snacks (samosas, chips, soda, etc.). They called themselves the
SA, RE, GA, MAs after the notes of "classical indic music" as the MC informed
us. After the show, there were discussions on if the show could be brought to
a place where a larger audience could be involved (New York, of course). That
however, is up to the girls, since it was clear that their only motive would be
to raise more funds for SAV, and since three of them would be going away to
college.
It was definitely a historic occassion, and as an audience there pointed out,
it could be a start of a new revolution in fund-raising by those that have been
residents of other countries (as the US) towards their home-country.
The following cast of the show, without any question, deserve great mentions in
television, newspapers, magazines, and of course, SCN:
-JYOTSNA GAUTAM -SARAREH BAJRACHARYA -BINA GUBHAJU
-APARNA BASNYAT -SEPIDEH BAJRACHARYA -LINA GUBHAJU
-ARJOO BASNYAT
and the sole male representative: -AVEET BASNYAT
If you require further information on how you can help SAV, please call one of
the following numbers:
(203)637-8486
(203)629-2069
(203)661-6549
My hats off to all the performers!!
--Pradeep Bista, CCNY
*******************************************************************
Date: Mon, 06 Jun 1994 06:24:29 EDT
To: a10rjs1@cs.niu.edu
From: International Rivers Network <irn@igc.apc.org>
Subject: ANTI-WORLD BANK DAM DECLARATION
Dear Friends,
We are writing to ask the support of your
organization for the attached Manibeli Declaration,
calling for a moratorium on World Bank funding
for large dams around the world. International
Rivers Network's goal is to submit this declaration
to the World Bank, the member governments, and
the world's media with 1,000 signatory
organizations as part of the campaign on the
occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of
the Bank. It is called the Manibeli Declaration in
honor of the heroic resistance of the people of
India's Narmada Valley to the Bank-funded Sardar
Sarovar Dam, who today are facing forced eviction
from their homes and lands as the waters rise
behind the dam.
We are asking that you add the name of your
organization (but not the names or titles of any
individuals) to the list of signatories to the Manibeli
Declaration, and that you contact other
organizations in your country who may support
this position and be willing to sign on as well. In
addition to listing the endorsing organizations we
would like to state how many people these
organizations represent. If appropriate, please
indicate how many people or members of the
community are represented by your organization.
We plan to release the declaration Wednesday,
June 15, so please respond before then. There are a
number of ways you can communicate your
response to this appeal directly to Leonard in the
Berkeley IRN office:
by fax to 1-510-848-1008;
by telephone to 1-510-848-1155;
by Email to "leonardirn@igc.apc.org";
and by post to IRN, 1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley
CA 94703 USA.
If you would like more information on the positions
taken in the Manibeli Declaration IRN would be
very glad to provide detailed background materials.
Thank you for considering this appeal, we look
forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Leonard Sklar
Research Director
MANIBELI DECLARATION*
Calling for a Moratorium on World Bank**
Funding of Large Dams
June, 1994
* In honor of the heroic resistance by the people of the village of
Manibeli and others in India's Narmada Valley to the World
Bank-funded Sardar Sarovar Dam, and of the millions of reservoir
refugees around the world. At this moment the people of
Manibeli face forced eviction and flooding of their lands.
** "World Bank" includes International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (IBRD), International Development
Association (IDA), International Finance Corporation (IFC), and
Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
WHEREAS:
1 The World Bank is the greatest single source of funds
for large dam construction, having provided more than
US$50 billion (1992 dollars) for construction of more
than 500 large dams in 92 countries. Despite this
enormous investment, no independent analysis or
evidence exists to demonstrate that the financial,
social and environmental costs were justified by the
benefits realized;
2 Since 1948, the World Bank has financed large dam
projects which have forcibly displaced on the order of
10 million people from their homes and lands. The
Bank's own 1994 "Resettlement and Development"
review admits that the vast majority of women, men
and children evicted by Bank-funded projects never
regained their former incomes nor received any direct
benefits from the dams for which they were forced to
sacrifice their homes and lands. The Bank has
consistently failed to implement and enforce its own
policy on forced resettlement, first established in 1980,
and despite several policy reviews the Bank has no
plans to fundamentally change its approach to forced
resettlement;
3 The World Bank is planning to fund over the next
three years 18 large dam projects which will forcibly
displace another 450,000 people, without any credible
guarantee that its policy on resettlement will be
enforced. Meanwhile the Bank has no plans to
properly compensate and rehabilitate the millions
displaced by past Bank-funded dam projects, including
populations displaced since 1980 in violation of the
Bank's policy;
4 World Bank-funded large dams have had extensive
negative environmental impacts, destroying forests,
wetlands, fisheries, habitat for threatened and
endangered species, and increasing the spread of
waterborne diseases;
5 The environmental and social costs of World Bank-
funded large dams, in terms of people forced from
their homes, destruction of forests and fisheries, and
spread of waterborne diseases, have fallen
disproportionately on women, indigenous
communities, tribal peoples and the poorest and most
marginalized sectors of the population. This is in
direct contradiction to the World Bank's often-stated
"overarching objective of alleviating poverty;"
6 The World Bank has prioritized lending for large dams
which provide electricity to trans-national industry
and to urban elites, and irrigation water supply for
export-oriented agriculture, neglecting the most
pressing needs of the rural poor and other
disadvantaged groups. The Bank has provided $8.3
billion (1992 dollars) for large dams through the
International Development Association (IDA), the
"soft" credit window which is supposed to aid the
poorest populations in developing countries;
7 The World Bank has tolerated and thus contributed to
gross violations of human rights by governments in
the process of implementing Bank-funded large dams,
including arbitrary arrests, beatings, rapes, and
shootings of peaceful demonstrators. Many Bank-
funded large dams projects cannot be implemented
without gross violations of human rights because
affected communities inevitably resist the imposition
of projects so harmful to their interests;
8 The World Bank plans, designs, funds, and monitors
the construction of large dams in a secretive and
unaccountable manner, imposing projects without
meaningful consultation or participation by the
communities affected, often denying access to
information even to local governments in the areas
affected;
9 The World Bank has consistently ignored cost-effective
and environmentally and socially sound alternatives to
large dams, including wind, solar and biomass energy
sources, energy demand management, irrigation
rehabilitation, efficiency improvements and rainwater
harvesting, and non-structural flood management.
The Bank has even convinced governments to accept
loans for large dams when more cost-effective and less
destructive alternative plans existed, as may be the case
again with the Arun III project in Nepal;
10 The economic analyses on which the World Bank
bases its decisions to fund large dams fail to apply the
lessons learned from the poor record of past Bank-
funded dams, underestimating the potential for delays
and cost over-runs. Project appraisals typically are
based on unrealistically optimistic assumptions about
project performance, and fail to account for the direct
and indirect costs of negative environmental and
social impacts. The Bank's own 1992 portfolio review
admits that project appraisals are treated as "marketing
devices" which fail to establish that projects are in the
public interest;
11 The primary beneficiaries of procurement contracts for
World Bank-funded large dams have been consultants,
manufacturers and contractors based in the donor
countries, who profit while citizens of the borrowing
countries are burdened by debt and the destructive
economic, environmental and social impacts of the
large dams themselves. The Bank has consistently
failed to build local capacity and expertise, promoting
dependency instead;
12 World Bank-funded large dams have flooded cultural
monuments, religious and sacred sites, and national
parks and other wildlife sanctuaries;
13 In its lending for large dams the World Bank has
tolerated and thus condoned theft of funds supplied by the
Bank, often by corrupt military and undemocratic
regimes, and has often made additional loans to cover
cost-over-runs brought on by what the Bank refers to
as "rent seeking behavior." Examples include Yacyreta
Dam in Argentina and Chixoy Dam in Guatemala;
14 The World Bank has consistently violated its policy on
environmental assessment, and has allowed
environmental assessments to be produced by project
promoters and used to justify prior decisions to
proceed with destructive large dam projects.
15 The World Bank has never addressed in policy,
research, or project planning documents, the
decommissioning of large dams after their useful
lifetime has expired due to reservoir sedimentation and
physical deterioration;
16 The World Bank has never properly assessed its record
of funding large dams and has no mechanism for
measuring the actual long-term costs and benefits of
the large dams it funds;
17 Throughout its involvement in the Sardar Sarovar Dam
in India's Narmada Valley, a world-wide symbol of
destructive development, the World Bank has
consistently ignored its own policy guidelines
regarding resettlement and environmental assessment,
and attempted to cover-up the conclusions of the
severely critical official independent review, the Morse
Report. With the ongoing forcible evictions and
flooding of tribal lands, the Bank bears direct legal and
moral responsibility for the human rights abuses
taking place in the Narmada Valley.
THEREFORE, the undersigned organizations:
* CONCLUDE that the World Bank has to date been
unwilling and incapable of reforming its lending for
large dams; and
* CALL for an immediate moratorium on all World Bank
funding of large dams including all projects currently
in the funding pipeline, until:
1 The World Bank establishes a fund to provide
reparations to the people forcibly evicted from their
homes and lands by Bank-funded large dams without
adequate compensation and rehabilitation. The fund
should be administered by a transparent and
accountable institution completely independent of the
Bank and should provide funds to communities
affected by Bank-funded large dams to prepare
reparations claims;
2 The World Bank strengthens its policies and
operational practices to guarantee that no large dam
projects which require forced resettlement will be
funded in countries that do not have policies and legal
frameworks in place to assure restoration of the living
standards of displaced peoples. Furthermore,
communities to be displaced must be involved
throughout the identification, design, implementation
and monitoring of the projects, and give their
informed consent before the project can be
implemented;
3 The World Bank commissions, reviews, and
implements the recommendations of an independent
comprehensive review of all Bank-funded large dam
projects to establish the actual costs, including direct
and indirect economic, environmental and social costs,
and the actually realized benefits of each project. The
review should evaluate the degree to which project
appraisals erred in estimating costs and benefits,
identify specific violations of Bank policies and staff
responsible, and address opportunity costs of not
supporting project alternatives. The review must be
conducted by individuals completely independent of
the Bank without any stake in the outcome of the
review.
4 The World Bank cancels the debt owed for large dam
projects in which the economic, environmental and
social costs are found to outweigh the realized benefits;
5 The World Bank develops new project appraisal
techniques to assure that estimates of the costs and
benefits, risks and impacts, of large dams under
consideration are rigorously based on the actual
experience with past Bank-funded large dams;
6 The World Bank requires that any large dam under
consideration be a necessary part of a locally -approved
comprehensive river basin management plan, and that
the project be a last resort after all less damaging and
costly alternatives for flood management,
transportation, water supply, irrigation and power
supply are exhausted;
7 The World Bank makes all information on large dam
projects, including past and current projects and
projects under consideration, freely available to the
public;
8 The World Bank requires independent monitoring and
evaluation of preparation of large dam projects and
systematic monitoring and auditing of project
implementation, by persons outside the Bank and with
no stake in the outcome of the project;
9 A formal decision is taken by the Bank to permanently
halt all funding of large dams through the
International Development Association (IDA), funding
which is inconsistent with the IDA-10 donor's
agreement.
Endorsed by: -----------------------------------
***********************************************************************
Date: Tue, 07 Jun 1994 15:26:08 EDT
To: a10rjs1@cs.niu.edu
From: sshakya@lynx.dac.neu.edu (Sunil Shakya)
Subject: News from Nepal
Headline: Nepal, Japan air accord comes into effect
Dateline: KTM, June 2, 1994
Source : Kyodo News Service
Nepal and Japan announced on Thursday that the air service agreement
signed by the two countries in Feb. 1993 has come into force, after
fulfillment of all legal requirements. Notes on the accord were signed
and exchanged here on Thursday by Nepalese Minister for Tourism and
Civil Aviation Ramhari Joshi and Japanese ambassador Shigenobu Yoshida.
The accord allows Nepal's national flag carrier, Royal Nepal Airlines,
to start regular flights between KTM and Osaka from this October. At the
signing ceremony, Joshi lauded Japan's contribution to promoting tourism
and civil aviation in Nepal. Yoshida said direct air services between
Nepal and Japan will greatly contribute to strengthening ties between
the two countries by facilitating transport of personnel as well as of
goods and commodities.
Headline: Kyodo news summary
Dateline: Tokyo, June 2, 1994
Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, will not move from his home in
a northern Indian hill town to elsewhere in the country following
clashes between Tibetans and a local youth last April, a release from
Dharamsala said.
Headline: Nepali P.M. calls for unity in ruling NC
Dateline: KTM, June 2, 1994
Source : Xinhua
Nepali P.M. Girija Prasad Koirala called for complete unity within the
ruling Nepali Congress which has been suffering from serious internal
party conflicts since February this year. The P.M., during his Wednesday
meeting with party workers from different constituencies of Jhapa
district in eastern Nepal, said that "we knowingly or unknowingly have
been engulfed in a grand design of the forces of instability in the
country which has led the Nepali Congress and its leaders to many
differences," official daily "The Rising Nepal" reported here today.
Koirala said that "complete unity in the party is a must to overcome the
'grand design' by the forces of instability." "The destabilizing forces
are trying to weaken Nepali Congress and made democracy in the country
ineffective," he added. The present differences in the party are also
due to the inability to change the mentality and such differences can
be overcome if the statute of NC is updated to suit the present need of
the party, he said. The party, the government and development cannot
move forward if there is no proper coordination between Nepali Congress
Central Working Committee, parliamentary party, district development
committee and the cabinet, he pointed out. Likewise, the judiciary, the
legislative and the executive branches should have clear demarcation
because in the absence of such a demarcation, confusion arises due to
overlapping while executing their powers, he said. NC supremo Ganesh M.
Singh in his recent public talks, has strongly demanded for "the
resignation of the P.M. to save the party from being defeated in the
next general election and virtually split," Singh said, adding "the
split remains only to be formalised."
Headline: Nepali government to privatize tourism industry
Dateline: KTM, June 2, 1994
The Nepali government has a plan to privatize the tourism so as to
strengthen the industry, said Ramhari Joshi, Minister for Tourism and
Civil Aviation, at a current meeting here. While addressing the 28th
annual general meeting of the Federation ot the Nepalese Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) which started here on May 31, the Minister
assured the members of the FNCCI that "the government is enthusiastic
to solve the problems the Nepalese tourism is facing today". The latest
official statistics revealed that Nepal's tourism had suffered a 16%
decline of visitor arrivals in 1993, an all-time low in the history of
the country. The tourism industry is Nepal's 3rd biggest foreign exchange
earner only after carpet and garment industries. Joshi said that the
private sectors and government have not been able to exploit all the
means and resources of the nation for the promotion of the tourism
industry. He assured the participant that the government will provide a
much relief to the tourism as it can. He informed that a new
international airport will be built in order to make the tourism more
effective. Some effective steps will also be taken soon to make the
environment free from being further polluted, he said, adding an Indian
incineration company is initiating its works in the near future to help
preserve the environment to some extent.
Headline: Calls for Nepal's leader to quit
Dateline: KTM, June 2, 1994
Source : UPI
The unending differences within the ruling Nepali Congress Party have
resurfaced with fresh calls for P.M. Girija Prasad Koirala's resignation
and a stoning on a senior leader, it was reported Thursday. Koirala
loyalists hurled stones Tuesday at the party's supreme leader Ganesh M.
Singh at Pachthar, but the septogenarian escaped injury. Singh is on a
weeklong tour of East Nepal, including Koirala's hometown, to convass
openly for the P.M's ouster. Koirala is following close behind Singh to
neutralize the anti-Koirala campaign being waged by Singh. Both leaders
are charging each other with attempting to derail the country's 4-year-old
democracy. "Wittingly or unwittingly, some within the party are being
trapped into a grand design of elements opposed to democracy," Koirala
told a rally in Bhadrapur. "This is the reason for differences within
the party. "We can crush this grand design only when there is complete
unity in the party," the premier said. "Unity is the need of the hour."
But Singh has been telling his supporters that the party, which was
elected to power in 1991, already has split. He blamed it on Koirala and
called for his resignation to revamp the organization. Singh said if the
Nepali Congress is going to win general elections in 1996, Koirala, whom
he accuses of nepotism and corruption, must be replaced by a person with
a clean image.
Headline: Nepal to move industry from KTM
Dateline: KTM, June 2, 1994
The Nepalese P.M. Girija P. Koirala said Thursday he will relocate
polluting carpet and garment factories from KTM to make the capital city
more attractive to Western tourist. The relocation would lead to an
exodus of some up to 100,000 workers, including several thousand under
the age of 14 illegally employed in the industries. P.M. said he wants
to move the industries to reduce pollution in the capital. "I am
committed to this or else, no tourist will ever come to KTM because of
pollution levels, " Koirala told business leaders Thursday. He has given
such assurances of relocating the industries before but this is the
firmest commitment he has made in 3 years. "The decision to relocate the
industries will be unpopular. It may mar chances of my party in
elections, but whoever is the P.M. has to take such a strong decision,"
Koirala said. The decision comes when buyers in Germany are boycotting
Nepalese carpets after recent publicity alleging that 90% of the labor
force in the carpet industry constitute children under the age of 14.
The government denies this, saying that the figure is only 6% while real
figures are unavailable. "Half of the pollution problem of the city will
be eased. The water supply situation will also improve," the P.M. said.
The 28th general meeting of the Nepalese Federation of Commerce and
Industry Thursday urged the government to announce an incentive package
to business to voluntarily relocate the industries to ease the capital's
problem. "This issue has been discussed at every level but nothing
concrete has been done so far," complained President Binod Choudhary.
Headline: Koirala to summoned for clarification of agent deal
Dateline: KTM, June 1
Source : Kyodo
Nepalese P.M. G.P. Koirala will be summoned by the Public Accounts
Committee to give clarifications on the appointment of a general sales
agent (GSA) of the Royal Nepal Airlines in Europe 2 years ago. A
parliamentary committee made the decision Tuesday, according to
newspaper reports published Wednesday. The decision followed extensive
discussions on a report on the case presented by a subpanel. The report
said there has been 'abuse of authority and corruption in GSA
appointment, and the P.M. is directly involved in it." Earlier, the
committee led by the opposition member R.K. Mainali said the Nepalese
flag carrier is incurring a loss of more than 11 million dollars
annually in its European sector.
*****************************************************************
Date: Wed, 08 Jun 1994 08:29:48 EDT
To: a10rjs1@cs.niu.edu
From: sshakya@lynx.dac.neu.edu (Sunil Shakya)
Subject: News from Nepal
Headline: Biggest garment factory inaugurated
Dateline: KTM, June 1, 1994
Source : Xinhua
Nepali P.M. Girija P. Koirala inaugurated the Momento Apparels Pvt.
Ltd., the country's biggest garment factory, at Bhadrapur municipality
in eastern Nepal at a ceremony held today. This is the first joint
venture set up in Nepal with an investment of 250 million rupees (3.67
million U.S. dollars) brought by Nepalese and Indian industrialists, in
addition to a credit of 86.5 million rupees (1.76 million dollars)
provided by the Rastriya Banijya Bank, for the construction of the
garment factory. Readymade garments industry is one of Nepal's major
hard currency earners. Speaking on the same occasion, State Minister for
Commerce and Supplies S.P. Chaudhari said that in the past 3 years, the
exports of garments and carpets have increased by 53%. Raw materials for
the factory which employed a total of 1,200 to 1,500 Nepalese women
workers, will be brought from India, China, Hong Kong and Singapore and
the readymade garments produced will be exported to North America. The
daily output will range from 10,000 to 15,000 pieces.
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Jan 11 2000 - 11:15:28 CST