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The Nepal Digest Tuesday 26 December 95: Push 11 2052 BS Volume 45 Issue 5
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* TND Board of Staff *
* ------------------ *
* Editor/Co-ordinator: Rajpal J. Singh a10rjs1@mp.cs.niu.edu *
* TND Archives: Sohan Panta k945184@atlas.kingston.ac.uk *
* SCN Correspondent: Rajesh B. Shrestha rshresth@black.clarku.edu *
* *
* +++++ Food For Thought +++++ *
* *
* "LIFE: Indulgence vs Seeking Truth - Which is your forte?" -Sirdar_Khalifa *
* "If you don't stand up for something, you will fall for anything" -Dr. MLK *
* "Democracy perishes among the silent crowd" -Sirdar_Khalifa *
* *
******************************************************************************
**********************************************************************
Date: Fri, 15 Dec 1995 23:13:53 -0500 (EST)
From: atuladhar@vax.clarku.edu
Subject: Re: The Nepal Digest - December 15, 1995 (5 Push 2052 BkSm)
To: The Nepal Digest <NEPAL@cs.niu.edu>
Ganesh Man deserves every cent and more ...
=============================================
I think Ganesh Man deserves every cent and more but I support chitra
tiwari's principle too. I just do not think his principle applies to
Ganesh Man at all.
First let me try to spell why I think Ganesh Man deserves every cent.
1. If there is any person living who has done more for the people of
Nepal, it is Ganesh Man: yes more than the current King, Krishna Prasad, Man
Mohan or even Girija. I challenge anyone to prove otherwise.
Not only has not Ganesh Man taken the crucial decision to rally with
communists as oppressed nepales to take the historic geopolitical and
national opportunities to galvanize the nepali people to deliver
democracy, but he stayed true to his word of being forever vigilant and
pulling down even his own Congress PM when he threatened democracy.
His faults, very human faults, pales in his super-human efforts of a half a
century of fearless, and consistent sacrifice to the country.
I ask his critics who are now quibbling the $ 100,000 given to Ganesh Man
for medical treatment, if any of them would take one whip lashing for $ 1
and add up 100, 000 lashes.
For those who use high western morality, "our tax payers money" i ask how
much taxes has he/she paid to the country, not much. I paid less than Rs
100 a month since 1990 when my tax bracket became taxable as a lecturer,
that is hardly Rs 6,000. I do not mind contributing all of my tax money
for Ganesh Man's treatment.
If we use American standards of civility, may I remind readers of western
tort law, how much damanges could he claim for a lifetime exile, jail,
torture, separeation from family and putting a life on line, in US, a
college grad can easily claim $ 1 million if he/she is paralyzed in a car
accident for instance.
The morality and legitimacy of Ganeshman's critics would perhaps not been
called in questions if we had heard consistent noises against all such
waste on the part of govt:
we have royals getting junk education in Eton, on whose money but nepali
tax payers money, we have had ministers buying luxury goods and getting
treated in foregin lands for ever since i can recall.
Worse, we have many corrupt "leaders" and bureucrats and judges and
so-called leaders of society dipping into the country's treasury and
HIDING their culpability in imaginative paper procedures but we hardly
hear about them.
Yes, I think Ganesh Man's contributions of Nepal is pricelss that this
little contribution is too little.
2. Having said that, I agree in principle that every rame shyame and hari
shuld be getting unlimited govt money as has been the tradition from the
rana and shah times when the govt treasury was both de facto and de jure
personal property of the soveregin, from a strictly legal sense it was
only after Ganesh Man's unique partnership with the people of Nepal did
nepal win the "soveriegnty is vested with the Nepali people, not the
king" principle whence this claim of fictitious taxpayer's money moral
legitimacy come from.
3. A legitimate question may asked why Man Mohan a sitting PM andhead
of state could get treated in a Nepali hospital while free-citizen, i.e.
one without an office, get govt subsidy. My salute to Man Mohan.
I think the doctors of Nepal who must have come up with a "medical
excuse" to explain to the people of Nepal that such a treatment could not
be done in nepal, or even cheapen in first rate hospitals in Delhi,
Vellore or Bangkok?
Also, how can rule out that the PM and the congress had their own
political motives to cozy up to the West, remember the bevy of congressi
scurrying to US to get billy's tika? deoba, mahat, krishna prasad and now
ganeshman, not that any of them were very successful but can we fault
them for trying, after all they are trying to help nepal survive in a
unipolar world right?
If the congress Pm has learned one thing from the last political fiasco,
one does not suffer Ganesh Man and try to to get away as if he is a
political cipher as Girija tryied, PM is now making Prakash Man his min
and giving Ganesh Man an american trip in the fool's dream that his
integrity can be bought, except by some some "hizo-ka-challa" critics who
have forgotten history and refuse to pay their tribute to those who laid
thier lives to give us what little freedoms we now have in Nepal as
nepalese.
Amulya
********************************************************
Date: Fri, 15 Dec 1995 23:47:29 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Jagadish, Jag Dawadi" <JXD8795@ritvax.isc.rit.edu>
Subject: Season's Greetings!
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Season's Greetings
and
Best Wishes for a
Happy New Year -- 1996!!
Jagadish
*************************************************************
From: "Damber K. Gurung" <dgurung@CLEMSON.EDU>
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Date: Sat, 16 Dec 1995 08:03:06 +0000
Subject: MUSIC with Buddhist Flavor: WORLD WIDE SALES
CROSS-LISTED FROM WTN
Buddhist monks set to hit world music charts
By Graham Earnshaw
SHANGHAI, China, December 14, 1995 (Reuter) - China looks like
it might
finally make its mark on the world music charts, courtesy of an album
called "Sister Drum" featuring Tibetan monks chanting Buddhist
scriptures.
The album, written and produced by Chinese composer He Xuntian,
is
already the biggest-selling China-made album ever and the first with
Chinese lyrics to gain international recognition.
It is reported to have sold more than 200,000 copies in Taiwan,
is
selling briskly in other markets around Asia and will be launched in
the United States in January. The "Sister Drum" music video has been
heavily played on Asian music TV stations.
The style of music on "Sister Drum" is similar to New Age but
it's not
background music. Dominating the album are the strong, high vocals of
Zhu Zheqin, a female singer from southern China who is being compared
to Icelandic pop star Bjork.
He Xuntian, sitting in his tiny office in the Shanghai
Conservatory of
Music, is both pleased and perplexed by this sudden success.
"Sales are incredible," he said. "They told me 6,000 copies were
sold on
its first day of release in Paris last month. I'm just amazed that so
many people in so many countries are interested in Sister Drum."
He was born and raised in Sichuan province in western China on
the
borders with Tibet and has been writing progressive classical music
for most of his career. He started putting "Sister Drum" together soon
after he moved to Shanghai in 1992.
"Twenty years ago I filled three exercise books with
transcriptions of
Tibetan music but I didn't do anything with them until now.
"The aim was to come up with something that hadn't been done
before in
the West with a Chinese voice. This is not opera, it's not Chinese,
it's not pop," he said.
The songs, constructed on a computer music sequencer -- another
first
for China -- use many Tibetan sounds, including Buddhist monks
chanting the scriptures. He recorded the chants on a trip to Tibet in
1993.
But he is keeping studiously away from the sensitive religious
and
political issues surrounding Tibet, the Himalayan kingdom controlled
by Beijing since 1950, and is quick to point out that his is not a
Tibetan musical work.
"Some people want to use this for political purposes but I'm only
interested in the music itself," he said.
"There are no Tibetan songs here but the Tibetan sounds opened up
a
window for me. Of course there are things in "Sister Drum" which
relate to the spirit of Tibet but the spirit is the thing, not more
superficial elements such as songs."
The tunes on "Sister Drum" have a dream-like quality about them
and the
singing, while in Chinese, is more akin to chanting - the sound is
more important than the lyrics.
The singer, Zhu Zheqin, was clearly deeply affected by her work
on the
album. She changed her name for the project to Dadawa and wrote in the
album liner notes:
"Tibet is the inspiration for our ideas. It is a contrast to the
modern
world. It is a magical mirror; we can discover our true selves through
our reflection in the mirror."
The album has been compared to the work of the French New Age
outfit
Deep Forest and also to Enya and Bjork. But He said he had not been
aiming to emulate anyone.
"I wanted to get as far away as possible from other types of
music and
styles, although of course all styles of music have basic elements in
common. You can't get away from those 12 notes in the music scale," he
said.
He has little time for either the fledgling rock music scene of
Beijing
("they all sound like the same song to me") or for the easy-listening
pop music that emanates from Taiwan and Hong Kong ("They're just
copying Japanese or western styles").
Being the biggest selling album ever produced in China has made
"Sister
Drum" prey to the same problem many other music companies face in
China -- piracy.
He said he was aware of four different pirated versions of the CD
on
sale in China but was relaxed about it.
"At least it means people like it, although it must be eating
into the
market. Anyway, it has no influence on the quality of the product
being produced," he said.
He is still considering what to do next but says he plans to
continue
teaching composing at the Shanghai Music Conservatory.
He said his next album would also be a collaboration with Dadawa
and
would be related in some way to the feel of "Sister Drum."
"I haven't figured it out yet," he said. "But there's clearly
lots to be
done in this area."
Damber K. Gurung, PhD
----------------
Barre Hall
Applied Economics
Clemson University
Clemson, SC 29634-0355
----------------------
Phone: 803-656-3223 or -2782 (W),Fax: 803-656-5776
**********************************************************
Date: Sat, 16 Dec 1995 17:35:31 CDT
From: stdpss02@SHSU.edu
To: NEPAL@cs.niu.edu
Subject: RE: The Nepal Digest - December 12, 1995 (2 Push 2052 BkSm)
To: The Editor
The Nepal Digest.
From: STDPSS02@SHSU.EDU or BIO_PSS@SHSU.EDU
Hello,
First of all I would like to thank you for the best wishes.
My current research project pertains to vegetation survey and analysis and I
would like to pursue future research work in the field of Plant Ecology.
I would be very grateful if any one would send me information/ suggestions
about ongoing- plant ecological projects- in Nepal which would help me further
develop my research goal.
I will be happy to accept your information/ advice at the above address.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely.
P.Shrestha.
*************************************************************
Date: Sat, 16 Dec 1995 23:35:35 -0500 (EST)
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Possible threat to the life of Dalai Lama
From: shresth1@pilot.msu.edu (Anil Shrestha)
Cross-posted with due acknowledgements to the original author:
DHARAMSALA, India (Dec 7): The district administration and the
Tibetan-government-in-exile have chalked out a Rs 4 crore security plan
to deal with the possible threat to the life of the Dalai Lama.
The plan, which comes in the wake of the arrest of three
alleged Chinese spies, makes it mandatory for all Tibetan youth, above
the age of 18, to get themselves registered with the authorities.
Meanwhile, according to Dalai Lama's spokesman, there are
'unconfirmed' reports that the Chinese authorities have enthroned
Gyalsten Norbu, the rival Panchen Lama, at Tashi Lhunpo monastery in
Tibet. The enthronement coincides with a festival of an important Deity
today.
The rival Panchen Lama was recognised by China on Nov 29, in
front of the Buddha statue at Jokhang temple in Lhasa. He was taken
next day to Shigaste, seat of the late Panchen Lama, the spokesman
said.
In an effort to prevent a public outburst, the Chinese
authorities are learnt to have imposed curfew in Lhasa, Shigaste and
DRam, which is the main entry point to Tibet from Nepal.
The security plan, discussed and agreed upon at a high-level
meeting held today at Mcleodganj, envisages a bullet proof Mercedes for
the Dalai Lama.
The Indian government reportedly bears the expense.
Further security measures will include X-ray baggage scanners,
metal detectors on doors etc of the Tibetan religious and temporal
head.
The personal drivers of the Dalai Lama have already been sent
for a three week course in defensive driving at the NSG training camp
at Maneshwar in Haryana.
Taking the espionage case seriously, the authorities have
decided to upgrade the intelligence network in the district, and
Establishment 22, a special frontier force unit of Tibetans, has been
placed on alert.
Three Tibetans, including a girl were arrested by the local
police, on charges of spying for China. [Indian Express]
******************************************************
Date: Sun, 17 Dec 1995 13:14:42 -0500 (EST)
From: atuladhar@vax.clarku.edu
Subject: dec15_editorial.html (fwd)
To: THE NEPAL DIGEST <NEPAL@cs.niu.edu>
PARTICIPATORY MINISTERO_CRACY ?
===================================
With 46 ministers in deopa's cabinet and a good number in uml cabinet, i
guess the Parliament has given a new name of multi-party democracy:
Ministero_cracy.
If 40% of the elected reps can be ministers, and 100% can double their
salary, who wants irksome democracy and the participatory voice of the
common people in the elections?
The sooner we can throw these bums out the better.
amulya
Source: KTM Post
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has expanded his council of
ministers for the second time in three months. With the inclusion of
18 new ministers in the 26 member council he now has the distinction
of heading the largest ever cabinet in the countrys history. On the
face of it, the long anticipated expansion may indicate that the prime
minister believes in the motto Big is better. But he may be pardoned
for subscribing to that view since if he did not, he could have become
an endangered PM. Indeed, one can understand why the young prime
minister chose the easier way and even sympathize with his attempt to
embrace a path that was the lesser of the two evils. By accommodating
every disgruntled NC MP at the risk of drawing much flak from other
quarters, he has saved himself from the wrath of party bosses. A
street smart decision no doubt, after all, he does need their blessing
to keep the coalition ship afloat, if not on course. Notwithstanding
Mr Deubas sincere efforts to appease both the NC camps (supposedly
reconciled now), resentment still runs high. Some ministerial hopefuls
who were left out in the cold because they would not accept junior
ministership have already begun to grumble.
When the first ever coalition government was sworn in on September 12
political pundits were unanimous in their verdicts: the electorate has
matured; the age of political consensus has begun. In the light of
on-going intra-party tussle for ministerial berths that verdict could
be more pertinently put as the age of political appeasement has begun.
If there is any consensus among the three coalition partners it has to
do only with the business of clinging to power. The November 1994 snap
poll results showed the electoral pendulum had swung to the communists
favour, although the swing was not sufficient to give the leftists a
clear majority in parliament. They did run the country for nine months
until it dawned upon the democratic forces that the only way to
dislodge the totalitarian communists was to bury the hatchet and stand
on a common platform. Thus was the alliance justified. That lofty
ideal which brought disparate parties together has been all but
forgotten in the grip of the powerlust. By putting the individual
politician before either the party or the people, democrats have
defiled their own principles.
Willingly or unwillingly Prime Minister Deuba has set a dangerous
trend in motion. The likelihood of a culture of political appeasement
taking root apart, Mr Deuba has once again proved that he is not to be
taken for what he says in public. He preaches austerity but is
prepared to put extra strain on the exchequer. Whatever his political
compulsions in forming a mega-cabinet, the nation will judge him only
by the success or failure of his over-sized council of ministers.
_________________________________________________________________
INTEGRATING WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT
By Siddhant R Pandey
The important role women play in development is beyond dispute. It has
recently been widely recognized and has met with resistance as well.
The problems women face in the process of integration are very
sensitive and deeply women in the socio-economic and political fabric
of society. Development planners show a reluctance when it comes to
adding new criteria for women in the field of development. Whether it
is in the hills of Nepal, or in the vicinity of the white Nile in
Sudan or in Latin American villages, the traditional economic
framework has been the prevailing content of development planning.
Integrating women into the development process means increasing their
participation in all components and phases of projects and providing
government support for improving their access to land, technology,
credit and social services like education, health care, sanitation and
water supply. There have been numerous arguments stating that women
must be at the centre of development strategy implementation.
According to IFAD women are capable of transforming the vicious circle
of poverty into a virtuous circle in which increased productivity
leads to even greater productivity. Those who suggest that womens
status improves with economic development fail to take into account
the widespread structure of patriarchy, which subordinates women.
Globally, women participate widely in labour intensive work but their
contributions are not acknowledged. The traditional view that rural
women only prepare food, take care of children and look after homes is
far from true. Studies have shown that women produce more than half of
all the food grown in developing countries, with the figure reaching
an estimated 80 percent in Africa. The International Fund for
Agriculture and Development states that if womens unpaid house work
were included in the calculation of per capita GDP, the figure would
be one quarter to one third higher in most developing countries.
Therefore, the issues that dictate their involvement or lack of it
should be addressed from the socio-historical dimension. Recognising
that women in both urban and rural areas play an important role in
household survival and have a vested interest in improving security
and services, governments and agencies have come to adopt a more
gender aware approach to community development by attempting to
identify the different needs of men and women and trying to ensure
that women benefit from development schemes as well.
However, there are still problems, largely due to stereotyped
assumptions about what womens roles are and should be. Most
stereotyped assumptions arise from the fact that all major world
religions legitimize patriarchy in varying degrees. If machismo in
Latin America subjugates women with the idea of virility, sexual
prowess, courage and competence between men, Fitna, (disorder and
chaos provoked by sexual attraction) justifies womens subordination in
Middle East cultures. In the West, womens inferiority has been tied to
the idea that they are sexually passive, physically weak and in need
of mens protection. In South Asia, Hinduism dictates that women should
be under the jurisdiction of men. Although African women face fewer
constraints, they are nontheless subject to many pressures. The
commitment to finding women a place in development planning has
received considerable impetus from the UN decade for women (1975-85).
However, stereotyped assumptions about what womens roles are and
should be have hindered the progress of many women oriented projects.
One reason why projects for women fail is the inability of planners to
identify different interests women have and to translate them into
different planning needs. Caroline Moser classifies needs into two
categories : practical and strategic gender needs. Practical gender
needs are concerned with inadequacies in living conditions. In
contrast, strategic gender needs are formulated from the analysis of
womens subordination. Moser contends that distinguishing between these
two needs and the identification of the triple role of women may
provide methodological tools for planning.
It is evident that the majority of the poor in developed and
developing worlds are women. The analysis of womens poverty suggests
that its main causes stem from the perpetual disadvantage in terms of
position in the labour market, access to productive resources and
income. It can hardly be conceived how overall development can be
attained without rectifying these problems. Allowing these constraints
to continue will adversely affect the societys ability to grow. The
lack of progress in the last twenty years in the eradication of
poverty and growing proportion of women among the poor is the single
most important threat to development.
The realisation that women are part of the solution and not part of
the problem should give further impetus towards incorporating women in
the development process. Their active role as caretakers of natural
resources makes them important instruments of sustainable development.
The problem that has arisen from the debate is not whether integrating
women in the development process is important, but how to combat the
lack of long term strategy that enables it.
PEOPLE DEMAND TECHNICIANS FOR TESTING HIV VIRUS
By a Post Reporter
BESISAHAR, Dec 13 - People of Lamjung district are demanding that HIV
testing facilities and relevant technicians be made available in the
district hospital.
They suspect that the district may have some patients afflicted with
HIV virus.
This was the hot topic in the programmes organized here to mark the
AIDS Day.
The general people here are of the opinion that they should draw the
attention of the government to fulfil their demand. Most of the youths
of Lamjung go out to work in Indian army and the British Gorkha army.
Lamjung is also an attractive site for tourists. Also tourists who
wish to visit Pokhara via Manang, Thorang and Muktinath (Mustang) pass
through this route.
However, the number of people suffering from AIDS has not been
ascertained in the district for lack of technology to identify the
patients and concerned technicians. When asked whether AIDS victims
were ever identified in the district, hospital chief Dr.Tarun Poudel
did not answer. He said, Such things should not be disclosed to
journalists.
CRIMINALIZATION OF POLITICS CONDEMNED
By a Post Reporter
KATHMANDU, Dec 13 - Human Rights Groups today observed the 47th Human
Rights Day, stressing that the growing criminalization of politics was
a serious threat.
Despite the restoration of democracy, the expected improvement in
human rights situation remains a far cry, says an INSEC press release.
We feel saddened that the very human rights we fought for are yet
again under threat.
A very bad political trend has set in. Violence and criminal elements,
similar to autocratic Panchayat days, have entered Nepali politics,
said the INSEC release. Our politicians and elected representatives
seem more interested in pursuing their own power politics than
safeguarding democracy and human rights.
Incidents of violence were reported during general elections, and
there was widespread intimidation and coercion of voters. Recently
Buddhi Man Tamang, Land Reform Minister, was reported to have urged
his supporters to use violence ... the release said.
INSEC has accused Khum Bahadur Khadka, the Home Minister, of aborting
a human rights case filed against him. In the 1994 general election,
Khadka, then Minister for Works and Transport, was allegedly involved
in a shooting incident in Bijauri, Dang, where four people were
killed. Minister Khadka has consistently denied charges.
[
What can u expect when we we "Ason ko butcher" as our PM, the home
minister who had his soldiers shoot children watching demonstrators from
their windows killed?]
Human rights violators, must be punished, regardless of their
political affiliations. Why has the government not taken legal action
against those involved in rights abuses during the 1990 Peoples
Movement ? INSEC questioned.
A number of other non-governmental organisation, including CWIN and
CVICT were involved in todays programme that aims at sensitizing a
mass against growing criminalization of politics.
_________________________________________________________________
GIRL BEATEN TO DEATH
By a Post Reporter
Conference On Women
[ yeah, yeah, conferences are all these elite women will do, talk talk
talk!]
KATHMANDU, Dec 13 (RSS) - The Midwestern Regional Level Women
Conference will be organised in Nepalgunj on January 20-21 under the
aegis of Sushma Koirala Memorial Academy. The conference will be
represented by two to three women from each of the 15 districts of the
midwestern region. Beside holding exhibition and traditional dances,
problems of the local women and ways and means to resolve the problems
are to be discussed in the conference, the president of the academy
Sujata Koirala said.
Committee Formed
*************************************************************
From: "Shrestha Nilesh" <XSHRESTH@hwlab.felk.cvut.cz>
To: NEPAL@cs.niu.edu
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 1995 12:39:53 MET-1MEST
Subject: Re: Ganesh Man and National Treasury (5 Push 2052 BkSm)
I strongly support the article of Suresh Raut.Our Neta Ganesh
man's visit to American including Europe for the treatment purpose is
really waste of money. As far as I am concerned, Nepal Congress Party
has no right to waste national money for the treatment of a leader.
If any case , the huge amount of money should be paid my the NC's
fund. All Nepalese and leaders should not forget than National
Treasury is our blood and sweat.
On the other hand,as stated by Suresh Raut, there are so many
other cheap alternatives to carry out the treatment. Hence all
sensitive Nepalese should protest this rediculous movement!
Nilesh
<xshresth@hwlab.felk.cvut.cz>
******************************************************
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 1995 11:41:45 -0500 (EST)
Forwarded By: atuladhar@vax.clarku.edu
Subject: dec17_editorial.html (fwd)
To: THE NEPAL DIGEST <NEPAL@cs.niu.edu>
Source: KTM Post
The Menace Of Drug Abuse
By Nanda Kumar Karki
It was obviously a cruel decision for a mother. Mrs R personally came
to my office to have her son Deepak, 21, a student at the local campus
arrested. Her simple and innocent argument was that jail was the
safest place for him. Actually, she wanted her son to be treated so
that he could overcome aggressiveness, insecurity and weakness.
Since Deepak was the only son, he had no problem getting money from
his grandmother. He initially hung out at lake-side restaurants and
clubs. This gave him a new but exciting taste of marijuana and
hashish. There were no dearth of places from where you could get free
puffs from sadhus. Gradually, Deepak graduated to other hard drugs
supplied by peer groups.
With money enough to buy hard drugs, Deepak started staying outside in
safe houses belonging to friends and relatives. He would return home
in an angry mood, confused and staggering and make his mother more
confused. The whole family was tense.
As there was no effective rehabilitation services available at the
district level, Deepak was sent to Dhulikhel Mental Hospital to be
kept under the guidance and care of a professional expert. During his
five month stay at the hospital, Deepak was very cooperative and was
determined to kick the habit.
Deepaks persistent effort to understand and sincerely confront
problems made it possible for him to lead a normal life again. After
five months Deepak was there before me, this time with his parents. He
said proudly, I have learnt to live without drugs. Books concerning
drug abuse, we nearly have comprehensive data. Studies on drug abuse
show the graph going up. It is estimated that the number has gone up
to 30,000 - 70% male and 25 % female - between the age group of 10 to
25 years. Dr Dhruba Man Shrestha, director of the countrys largest
mental hospital in Patan says, Some 25 patients come everyday to this
hospital sharp at nine in the morning, especially teenagers. He
further emphasises, the problems are more complex in other SAARC
countries.
Bhedetar, a picnic spot between Dharan - Dhankuta road seems to be the
weekend, paradise drug-sessions groups. While visiting this place, Dr
Sharma, a medical officer explained about Phensedyl (Indian) and
Phencodine (Nepali) - codine based cough linctus - most popular among
drug addicts, sold openly (now prohibited) as a medicine at black
market rates of Rs 150 - Rs 200 a bottle against its printed price Rs
18. It comes in cartoons with fake names. When it comes in plastic
Jerry cans it is called petrol or diesel. Biratnagar Mill area was the
main supply point. This deadly addiction drug has now reached
different remote corners of the country.
The drug scourge, respects no boundaries. No one nation is untouched.
No one is safe .. nor has Nepal been immune from the curse of drug
consumption and addiction. No one,I repeat, no one is immune, thus
remarked the US Ambassador in her opening address to the US Customs
and Police. And in reality no one is immune.
Nepal nestles close to golden triangle (Burma, Thailand and Laos) and
the golden crescent (Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran). And with her
open borders in the South, she has not been able to remain outside the
vicious circle of drug syndicates. The lure of dollars has enticed
many into the fold of drug barons.
A recent INTERPOL report estimated that 60% to 70% of all heroin in
western European countries was coming from the golden crescent and 30%
from the golden triangle. Conclusion
In the light of the above facts, it is imperative to suggest that our
entire efforts be directed towards the promotion of nationwide - mass
awareness about the deadly effects of drugs. Prof Donald K Fletcher,
USA in a recent interview answers, I think there are a number of ways
to comebat the problems.
Generally no single approach is going to be successful. Enforcement
has a very positive role. But I think our greatest hope is through
Prevention by Education.
The present situation demands that intellectuals, teachers,
journalists, leaders and social workers play a prominent role in
creating awareness against drug addiction. Many of our studies and
surveys show that our resource constraints have pushed back our fight
against drug addiction. Nothing could be more tragic.
HEADLINE NEWS
Kathmandu declared metropolitan city; By a Post Reporter
KATHMANDU, Dec 15 - Amid muted cheers from a large crowd gathered in
the Basantapur square today, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba
announced that Kathmandu had now become a metropolitan city. The
announcement brings to an end the bitter battle of will between the
Kathmandu Mayor P L Singh and the government, who have played hood and
wink over the issue.
Singh, who was elected the Mayor of Kathmandu in 1992, has been
severely criticized for his failure to revive Kathmandus pristine
image, his main election pledge. Singh for his part has charged the
government of non-cooperation and has been demanding a greater
autonomy.
.c1.Frustrated youths blow themselves up;
By a Post Reporter
KATHMANDU, Dec 15 -Frustrated over failure of love two youths blew
themselves up with detonation and gelatine near Patan Industrial
Estate early in the morning today.The two youths named Laxman Gubhaju
and Dev Gurung both aged 25 were killed in a grenade explosion in
Patan Industrial Estate, Lalitpur this morning.
The blast took place in one of the quarter rooms early in the morning.
A large number of people gathered after they heard the explosion, but
the room where the explosion had taken place was locked from inside.
Local people informed the police and immediately broke into the room
through ventilators. They found the two youths, with their limbs
scattered to pieces.
Ganesh Bhakta Gubhaju, brother of deceased Laxman Gubhaju said that
Dev Gurung hailed from Pokhara and worked in Birat Furniture at Patan
Industrial Estate. Gurung and Laxman were best friends. Both friends
had returned home this morning at 5:00 am from a week-long tour
outside Kathmandu valley, Ganesh Bhakta Gubhaju said.
The police found a letter, 3 sets of grenades, 3 sets of gelatine,
match-boxes, safety fuse and some thread. Superintendent of police at
Lalitpur District Police Office Kiran Gautam suspected of suicide.
Though our investigations are still going on we suspect this is a
unique case of suicide.
The letter written by the deceased which was read out to this reporter
clarifies that Laxman and Gurung were best friends and Gurung was
madly in love with his friends sister Vidya Gubhaju.
Gurung had confided with Laxman about his love for Vidya and wished
wanted to marry her. Laxman made a proposal to his sister about this
matter from Devs side. But his sister refused the marriage proposal
and angrily left her brothers house and went to stay with her elder
sister. Frustrated the two friends decided to take their own lives.
The two youths had also written a satirical poem about Kathmandus
snobbish attitude, conventional custom and pompous behaviour.
PROTECT THE PUBLIC
Some key players of the coalition government are not thinking alike is
borne out by the recent statements of Finance Minister Ram Saran Mahat
and Water Resources Minister Pashupati Shumshere Rana. While the
former implied that the access road to Khadbari in the Arun Valley to
be financed through IDA assistance was 'a partial return of Arun III',
the latter categorically declared it to be an entirely separate
enterprise. Even though, it does not materially change the nature of
the project, the contradictory positions taken by the two bright and
influential members of the Deuba cabinet cannot be dismissed as mere
slips of the tongue. As both Mahat and Rana are perceived to be fairly
knowledgeable about how the donors' mind work in economic as well as
in political terms, the public is quite thoroughly baffled by the
'substantive difference' volunteered by the duo. Common sense tells
that it is useless to trust that the World Bank is likely to be talked
again into the multimillion dollar project in the foreseeable future.
'Never' may be too harsh a judgement, but to hope the 'now
discontinued' project will see the light of day soon enough to
retrieve the lost opportunity will be tantamount to building castle in
the air. For now, Rana's multi-pronged strategy for the immediate
purpose of overcoming power shortage in the country does promise
something albeit his proposal to remobilise what he calls the 'captive
diesel plants' may in the end escalate price beyond the poor man's
ability to pay. It might be stressed here that he minister stands to
earn the gratitude of the public if he puts his energy and attention
to reducing, preferably radically, the administrative overheads of the
Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) as part of the exercise to offset
the additional cost incurred in recommissioning the diesel plants
which are entirely based on the imported commodity. The so-called
'diesel lobby' in Kathmandu that together with other vested interest
?????????????????
amulya's question:=09Does the "diesel lobby" include Bikash Pandey of
ITDG, Shivakoti of INHURED, and Dipak Gyawali of Swastika NGO?
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
=09
groups financed the anti-Arun crusade is of course very excited about
the prospects of it becoming the main beneficiary of the forced change
in approach dictated by the demise of Arun III. Minister Rana, one
hopes, is aware of the ongoing and impending activity of this powerful
lobby and has indeed worked out in his brains the kind of decision he
would have to take to protect the public from all possible
exploitative deals engineered by the market-friendly sharks.
=20
Far from it
=20
That the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) is still far from being a
'democratic alternative' to the two main political forces in the
country -- the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML -- has been more or
less established by the personality-based feuds that the party let
itself fall into in recent times. As one senior member of the central
committee noted, as a matter of fact the RPP should have been more
than pleased to have annexed two Upper House seats despite the number
of votes it has in the Lower House. Neutral observers feel the former
panchas are not only becoming overly ambitious but also
unnecessarily arrogant. They seem to have forgotten that they are very
much a part of the government and are therefore accountable to the
public as much as the Nepali Congress and the Nepal Sadbhavana Party
should anything go wrong in any sector of the evolving national
outlook that determines the future characteristics of the Nepali
nationhood. The question before the RPP today is not so much of who
exerts the most pressure as it is of who, among the stalwarts, is
truly devoted to the democratic development of Nepal. What transpired
at the recent RPP conclave over the Rajeswore Devkota prakaran
(episode) is understandable, even laudable, from the standpoint of the
declared objectives of the party. What is, however, questionable is
the way the leaders tended to downgrade each other's credibility
before the public eye. Squabbles over issues of whys and why nots
can be justified only when the debate they tigger ultimately
strengthens the party. If, on the contrary, the results prove to be
mutually exclusive as the case seems to be, the RPP will have nobody
but itself to blame. Who knows, in the next hustings the party may end
of up with lesser seats in parliament. The stakes are just too high.
The critical point is not whether the coalition will survive or die on
its account but whether the party can hold unto to its self-
proclaimed image -- that of a democratic alternative.
Economy
=20
The phobia of guerilla war is hounting the reactionaries
=09=09=09=09?????????
['HOUNTING =3D hounding or hunting/}
=20
Dr. Baburam Bhattrai
=20
Maoist Samyukta Jana Morcha (SJM) or United Peoples Front President
Baburam Bhattarai, 42 is at least in his own apprehension a Nepali
Gonzalo in the making. Awed by many as a rare blend of academic
brilliance and revolutionary zeal, this Urban
Planner-turned-politician has become once again the most talked about
man around after a serious debacle in the wake of SJM's split two
years ago. A massive police operation is being carried out in the
Mid-Western hilly district of Rolpa a SJM stronghold where allegedly
as a test-case Bhattarai ordered his cadres to launch a
'class-energy-elimination-campaign' victimising mostly the
=09=09=09=09=09++++++++++
["victimising"=3D hmm, it is clear which side of the debate this newspaper=
=20
is on: anti-Bhattarai anti-people, it must be remembered that this news=20
should be read with the aim of exorcising this textual bias...]
s =20
non-communist political activists. A vehement critic of monarchy and
the present parliamentary system, Bhattarai although refuted the
charges of resorting to the violent class struggle exudes confidence
that one day he will succeed in bringing down the present dispensation
and establish a Hoxa-ian prolatarian regime. The wild mannered
=09=09++++++++
[Again a rhetorical trick deployed by the writer to sway the reader into=20
anti-bhattarai by allluding to the negative imagery of Hoxa of Albania,=20
it should be reminded that China is where it is because Mao build the=20
culturals and social change that deng has now put the icing on, and god=20
knows we need maosist based peasant empowerment over lip-service farmer=20
centered approach thaqt really only benefits rural elites of the congress=
=20
party political approach]
never-to-be-second engineer talked to Hari Adhikary of The
Independent on the burning issues of the moment including the Rolpa
episode and his political mirage. Text follows
=20
Q. How do you assess the present political situation of Rolpa?
=20
A. The situation in Rolpa is extremely tense and explosive at the
moment. The present reactionary state managed by the three-party
coalition of the Nepali Congress, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP)
and the Sadbhawana Party, has launched the so-called 'operation Romeo'
in the district since November 4. Under this armed police operation
around 1500 policemen including a specially trained commando force
sent from Kathmandu have been deployed to let loose a reign of terror
against the poor peasants of that rugged mountain district in western
=09=09################################################
[Remember Rolpa is one of the most marginal districts of nepal, it rarely=
=20
gets in the news, even rarely gets much of any development outlays, some=20
years aga, it was mentioned that the entire district did not have a=20
single MA and the number of SLC were a handful, it is about as=20
disenfranchised as any district can ever get in Nepal, except Dolpo=20
maybe.=20
So the one time it gets attention, it is the massive deployment of=20
security to suppress people's anger and effort to stand up and be taken=20
notice ]
ainre
Nepal. So far about one thousand people have been arrested, of whom
about three hundred are kept in police custody or sent to jails under
fictitious charges while the rest have been released on bail or after
severe torture. The people arrested range from 12 to 70 years of age
and most of them have been subjected to inhuman torture while in
police custody. An eighteen-year old girl from Gam VDC was raped in
Sulichour police station; eight girls from Oowa VDC were stripped to
nudity and tortured with Sisnu Pani. A numerous houses of poor
peasants in Kotgaon VDC have been set ablaze and there has been
indiscriminate ransacking and looting of properties of common people
by the ruling party hoodlums under the protection of the police force.
More than ten thousand rural youths, out of a population of two
hundred thousand for the whole district, have been forced to flee
their homes and take shelter in remote jungles. The armed police
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
[And I thought the whole purpose of the country's switch to "multi-party"=
=20
democracy was to prevent the need to forcibly suppress the voices and=20
needs of the disenfranchised by giving them to opportunity to participate=
=20
in a "democracy=3D or a rule of the people" This reads like so much=20
rightist suppression, i wonder if this is what Sailaza Acharya was=20
referring to when she said the current Cabinet was weighed towards the=20
Rightist politics.]
operation is still continuing and the virtual reign of white terror
seems endless at the moment.
=20
Q. What, in your opinion, is the root - cause of the worsening law an
order there?
=20
A. The various independent human rights organisations have
investigated this police operation and published their report
recently. Their report also has verified our position that the current
armed police repression is aimed at nipping in the bud of the
developing class struggle of the poor peasants in Rolpa district and
other parts of the county under the leadership of the communist party
of Nepal (Maoist) and the United People's Front Nepal. What you term
'law and order' problem is basically a socio-economic problem of
extreme poverty and exploitation is the rural areas of Nepal under the
present semi-feudal and semi-colonial dispensation. How do you expect
social peace and harmony to prevail in a socio- political system which
increasingly generated poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and all round
underdevelopment for more than ninety percent of the toiling
population in mostly rural areas and filthy richness and extravagance
for a handful of parasitic classes in rural and urban areas.?
=20
Q. The law-enforcing agencies have charged your party with having
started a violent class-struggle aiming at eliminating
non-communists. What do you have to say?
=20
A. That is absolute nonsense. Class struggle led by revolutionary
communists, i.e. those upholding Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, is never
aimed at eliminating 'non-communists,' as you charge. The aim of
revolutionary class struggle in the current phase of New Democratic
revolution is to eliminate feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism.
Please do note the difference - we want to climinate the 'class
position' of these parasitic classes and not necessarily eliminate the
class enemy physically.
=20
Q. Is this the starting point of a guerilla war?
=20
A. The phobia of 'guerilla war' is haunting the reactionary ruling
classes of Nepal for quite some time. That is why they have been
projecting the poor, illiterate peasants of tribal Kham Magar stock of
Rolpa as prospective 'guerillas' through their T. V. channels. Had
[Talk about the social construction of truth by the state, this real life=
=20
as opposed to impotent mindgames in US social theory academia..]
that been true ninety percent of the poor and toiling population of
Nepal could be branded as respective 'guerrillas'. It is not our
business to forecast when these poor and exploited people will rise in
arms against this reactionary state for their genuine rights.
=20
Q. Are you ready to take responsibility for a series of politically
motivated killings that occurred in the districts of Rolpa, Rukum and
Baglung in the last 4-5 years?
=20
A. We have already made our position clear that class struggle does
not necessarily mean the physical annihilation of class enemy. How can
we take responsibility for the stray incidents, you have mentioned,
which go against our known ideological and political stand?
=20
Q. It is said that drugs like the hemp and hashish have a very
important role in the economic life of the commoners in mid-western
hills. Violent clashes in those areas usually take place just because
of this contraband trade. How many of your party loyals are involved
in this nefarious business?
[Ahhhh, more "nefarious" social construction and demonizing the poor to=20
hide the explotive links members of this interviewr class has with the=20
ruling elite of Nepal.]
wo
=20
A. Reactionaries of all hues are so scared of their own criminal deeds
that they have to manufacture different white lies to cover up their
crimes and instead shift the blame to the revolutionary forces to
hoodwink the public opinion. This charge levelled aganist us as also
against the Shining Path guerilla of Peru is an imperialist ploy of
the US and its lackeys all over the world. Who does not know that drug
trafficking is one of the pillars of the unperialit world economy and
their stooges in underdeveloped countries, particularly the
bureaucratic capitalist classes, thrive on this illicit trade? Do I
need to answer your motivated question when you know one of the
targets of our New Democratic revolution is to destroy imperialism and
its stooge bureaucratic capitalism?
=20
Q. You proclaimed the other day from the open air theatre that your
party is going to turn this kingdom into a 'Red-fort' very soon.
Isn't that rather a tall claim?
=20
A. Yes, we want to turn this beautiful Himalayan country into an
invincible 'red-fort' and a shining trench of world proletarian
revolution. We are sure we will hoist the hammer and sickle red flag
atop the Mt. Everest one day. Every revolution sounds a dream or a
'tall claim' before it is made. Remember the French Revolution or the
Great Bolshevik Revolution or the Chinese Revolution?
=20
Q. You have given the CPN-UML a very bad name saying the largest left
formation has become a stooge of the likes of Damodar Sumsher. How do
you justify this charge?
=20
A. We don't give bad name to anybody as you charge us. We only call a
spade a spade. The CPN-UML is an extreme right revisionist party which
has degenerated into an openly reactionary one after it vowed to serve
and strengthen the existing constitutional multi-party system and
formed its own government under this rotten reactionary system.
Through its deeds of prostrating before the feudal monarchy and US
imperialism and Indian expansionism during its 9-month rule the UML
itself has verified the charges we have levelled against them.
=20
Q. It seems that your party CPN (Maoist) along with its frontal wing
United Peoples Front has been losing its support base and is being
confined to a limited area of mid-west region. What future course are
you taking to widen support base?
=20
A. If we had been losing our support base among the masses as you
allege why should the state launch such a massive armed police
operation to wipe us out? It you had cared to see or report the
massive public rallys and meetings we have recently organised in about
25 districts of Nepal from Bhojpur in the east to Humla in the west
and with a fitting finale in Kathmandu on December 8, I am sure you
would not have asked such a question.
=20
Q. What about the left unity? Don't you feel like contributing to it?
=20
A. We are always prepared for genuine Left unity for the cause of
accelerating the pace of proletarian revolution and have been
successfully working for it. But we are not prepared to join hands
with the revisionists and opportunists who have been 'left-out' by
history. Genuine left unity will be forged in the course of advancing
revolution and not by aggregating splinter opportunists groups
together.
=20
Q. Capture of power through armed class struggle and establishing a
communist state in Nepalese context seems to be a dream never to be
fulfilled. But you are insisting on this sure-to-lose politics. Why?
=20
A. I have already told you every revolution appears a dream before it
is made. Moreover, it appears like a 'nightmare' for the reactionary
classes before and after it is made. I am firm in my conviction
because I believe in the science of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and know
that this class-divided society cannot last for ever and one day a
classless society has to emerge if we want to perpetuate humanity on
this earth.
=20
Q. Doesn't it show your lack of sincerity to the cause. Or you are
guided by something else which is hidden?
=20
A. What do you mean by sincerity? In a class-divided society you
cannot be sincere to all the classes. A Maoist revolutionary is
sincere only to the proletarian class. And I am sincere to my class.
=20
C K Lal
Jagadish Ghimire is a famous name. A noted Nepali author, a popular
columnist and a man who loves to change his wheels so very often; he
also happens to be the hubby of social service Tsarina Durga Ghimire.
Until he decided to forsake Battisputali in favour of Chobhar, we were
neighbours but hardly knew each other. The other day, I was introduced
to him at a fashionable do of the valley.
=20
"Haven't read your column for quite some time," said I.
=20
"I am giving my good friend Deuba the customary honeymoon period
without criticism," he responded smiling, "But, you seem to have given
up that time- honoured tradition in your columns."
=20
"In a way, yes," admitted I, "Because, in my humble opinion, this is
not a carefree honeymoon after a normal marriage. It's battllefront
and the general is taking far too long to even assemble his forces."
=20
"Poor chap, he has his limitations. On top of that, his hands are tied
by his coalition partners, his legs in fetters of his party bosses and
he is being asked to run. No wonder, the fellow feels like being a
mountain mule-Jumli or Bhote, it does not matter," he sympathized for
his friend.
=20
"But, why does he have to spend his valuable time in inaugurating
product launches, talkathons and sundry other programmes of social
climbers? Does not that send a wrong message?" I asked.
=20
"Seminars and workshops do have their utility. they allow you to
sharpen your knives before you use them," he observed sagely.
=20
"Is that so?" I wondered aloud.
=20
"One of my friends- Badri, you know him, the man behind Alliance for
Democracy ? Well, it's him I was talking about. He was telling that
such intercourse are more like intellectual masturbation. The only aim
is pleasure for oneself and nothing more. Why should Prime Ministers
or any other minister for that matter grace such functions and waste
NTV's precious footage in the process?"
=20
"Try to understand the psychology of their insecurity," interjected an
onlooker who has been taking a keen interest in our conversation,
"Most of these politicians are bumpkins who have made it big and they
would go to any lengths to make themselves, acceptable to Kathmandu
society. They think cutting ribbons is a short-cut." Meanwhile,
Jagadish had moved on to a more elite crowd and I was left with this
seemingly knowledgeable gentleman.
=20
"Our Prime Minister is a learned man. He is a noble and has married
into old money. It is unlikely that he has any love for such
snobbery," I disagreed.
=20
"Oh, him! His predicaments are different. He seems to believe that his
mere survival will be his greatest success. he may be wrong," opined
the stranger and went on to add,"It's not every day that one gets to
become the Prime Minister of a country. If Deuba were made to bow out
today, you know what he will be remembered for? For launching servo
and lending a ear to Indian faded star Padmini at a public function.
Not the things one could be ashamed of, no doubt. But, can one be
proud of them? You can't go on refusing to take decisions for the fear
of making mistakes."
=20
"Our political leaders lack vision." I repeated an oft- quoted line.
=20
"What did they do when they were out of power? Or when they were
confined? Confinement is believed to spur creativity."
=20
"I don't know about all of them," said the stranger who was a friend
by now, "But, one of today's top level leaders was my cell-mate in
jail. The chap used to spend all his time sleeping and never read any
books. Probably he fantasized about sex most of the time."
=20
"That is another aspect about our leaders which never ceases to puzzle
me. They take pride in admitting that they have no time to read! How
can they rule without reading?" asked I.
=20
"One of the reasons behind the bankruptcy of ideas in the
establishment. Their intellectual fare consists of BBC 's Hindi
service, Zee TV's news and some local weekly yellow rags. What can you
expect from the decisions of men who do not know when they read their
last book," commented my friend.
=20
"Are you an academician?" inquired I so very politely, impressed by is
perceptive comments.
=20
"Unfortunately not," said the man, "Even I am some kind of a
politician."
=20
"So, there is some hope left. There are some politicians left who do
read," said I.
=20
"But, I have not read any of your columns," he retorted. I was stumped
and left in a huff to look for a drink.
Head Line News
RPP buries hatchet
The week-long marathon trading charges of betrayal and indisci-pline
against each other by the two warring factions led by the Chairman
Surya Bahadur Thapa and Co-chairman Rajeshwar Devkota of Rastriya
Prajatrantra Party (RPP) respectively, ended with a happy but
unenthusiastic note, December 12, when the party's 41-member Central
Executive Committee (CEC) succeeded in declaring a cease-fire between
the two antagonists. A press statement issued by party spokesman
Narayan Dutta Bhatta at the end of the stormy conclave, says, 'all
disputes have been resolved after an extensive discussion on every
individual issue.'
=20
"Everything in dispute has been dealt with. The party has become
stronger now", RPP General Secretary Rabindra Nath Sharma told the
mediapersons after the CEC meeting. Another General Secretary a senior
minister in the Coalition Pashupati Shumsher JB Rana also confirmed
that all the problems which surfaced after the unpleasant episode
following the National Assembly elections had been candidly debated
and settled.
=20
A bunch of party operatives who seem sceptical about the 'new unity'
in the faction-prone rightist formation is not yet subdued by the
leadership's assessment of the situation. Asked if he thought the
issues had not been resolved completely and it's only a temporary
truce in the ongoing war of nerves in his party, President of RPP
student wing Rajendra Lingden shot back: "All issues as of this moment
have been more or less tackled with effect. In a fragile situation
that we are in, everything is temporary and uncertain."
=20
The ceasefire in the RPP may not last long. But the understanding
arrived at after the week-long CEC meeting among the party bigwigs,
who had earlier openly demanded nothing less than the scalps of their
rivals, has sent shock waves to the CPN-UML which had pinned great
hopes of returning to power on the backs of RPP split.
=20
"No sane politician can think of bringing down the three-month-old
government, that too, by drilling a hole in another party's roof, God
bless them. We have given a befitting reply to the CPN-UML's this
utterly malevolent design", said RPP General Secretary Rabindra Nath
Sharma.
=20
RPP insiders say that all preparations were meticulously made to poke
a hole in the party. The party's youth wing, which is controlled by
the Devkota faction, had submitted a memorandum to the CEC demanding
action against those who did not abide by party discipline. But
ultimately, the wisdom prevailed and in a soul- searching bid, the RPP
leaders set aside the personal prejudices to uphold unity and by
implication, the coalition government. It is the very manifestation of
their determination that they, thankfully, vowed to fight the
'sponsoring elements' of division and destability, says the press
release issued December 12. p
=20
=20
=20
CPN-UML changes tuen
=20
The mainline opposition CPN-UML, encouraged by the Deuba government's
no-deeds-no-wrongs operandi, is stunned by the outcome of Rastriya
Prajatantra Party (RPP) Central Committee meeting has, all of a
sudden, dropped its intention of recapturing power in the near future.
=20
"We are, by all means, prepared to sit in the opposition bench,
watching the government's performance," said Devi Prasad Ojha, Chief
Whip of the party in the House of Representatives.
=20
Till yesterday, party top-hats were thunderously claiming that they
were going to be the government any day. General Secretary Madhav
Kumar Nepal, who is now in a nationwide tour to 'strengthen' the party
organisation, as reported in a party mouthpiece, said at Janakpur
December 11, "People are not expecting this government will deliver
goods. They are awaiting its collapse." Party President Man Mohan
Adhikari in several mass meetings recently in Kathmandu had
consistently declared that the CPN-UML would ascend power pedestal
soon enough. In a party workers' meet, he had said, "There are ample
indications that this government is going to crumble in no time."
=20
In another development, the party Standing Committee meeting held
December 6 formulated a strategy to vertically split the RPP, paving
the way for a new government with the support of RPP (Chand faction).
According to a Standing Committee member, the new strategy included
exposition of the corrupt practices of the Nepali Congress ministers,
mobilisation of the media and rendering support to the RPP ministers,
publicly if need be. Observers have, however, not failed to take
special note of the 'meaningful' absence of MP Jhalanath Khanal in the
meeting. It is no secret that the Khanal faction is not in favour of
bringing this government down without according reasonable time to
prove its mettle.
=20
But, after the RPP Central Committee meeting which concluded December
12 by reaffirming party unity, the CPN-UML is holding an emergency
meeting to reappraise the obtaining reality as soon as Strongman Nepal
returns to Kathmandu, December 15. p
=20
=20
=20
In democracy working in Nepal
=20
Practically, every conceivable concept has been tried in Nepal. At the
end of the day, though, practically nothing appears achievable.
Development economist Mahesh Banskota laments real growth has been a
far-cry, whereas pragmatist Bhekh Thapa is crying for a new political
alignment. Is democracy working in Nepal?
=20
According to Lok Raj Baral, the traditional authoritarian values and
norms are still dominant in society and politics, and the political
parties are always fearful of old conspirators, either perceived or
real, being opposed to the new system, Every debacle is blamed on the
Bhumigat Giroha (unseen forces).
=20
The NC-RPP-NSP partnership has been in office for 90 days, but the
constituents, instead of getting on with the momentous task of
providing positive directions to the nation, are riddled with
unpardonable personality-based conflicts.
=20
The upright neo-liberals are clamouring for reduced government
expenditure, elimination of subsidies and protection, switch from
import substitution to export promotion without obviously realising
the relationship between competitive markets and rapid economic growth
continues to be rather inconslusive. They turn a Nelson's eye to the
pretty well-founded argument that much of the explanation behind rapid
economic growth is not so much the result of liberalisation as the
impact of capital accumulation, development of human capital, research
and innovation, sectoral shifts in resources and, not at all
surprisingly, a highly pragmatic and competent state.
=20
The fact of the matter is, in Nepal the level of rural production is
on a steady decline and for want of appropriate technology, industrial
activity as a whole has not shown any upward movement. In the name of
liberalisation all that is happening relates only to increased volume
of imports, most of which the country can easily and profitably can do
without.
=20
The second economy has received a shot in the arm. Traditional
merchants are being systematically edged out and who knows what
happens to the first economy when the proposed Offshore Financial
Centre gets commissioned to dry-clean the black into white?
=20
The picture gets all the more fuzzy when one ventures into the
unknowns of the political biosphere. Five years have gone by since
the panchayat banners were bugled down. More than three years of
Nepali Congress rule and the nine months of the CPN-UML rule produced,
for the poor in particular, virtually nothing of substance. All that
the two great parties succeeded in proving is that albeit the tempo of
pluralism and constitutional process could somehow be maintained,
political stability and progress don't logically fit into their
respective psyche.
=20
And, now the coalition. The less said the better about its ability to
generate public disenchantment. Granted that in a situation where
decisions are not made by a single party, things tend to move slower.
That much is understandable. But what about the 90 days already safely
taken to standstill? Even a simple question concerning who should be
added to the cabinet, who should be designated to the National
Planning Commission and who should be asked to represent the country
abroad etc. is left unanswered. What does the delay indicate? Is the
Bhote ghoda, in contrast to Jumle ghoda, still struggling to
gather pace despite the people's mandate to coalition politicsr?
Media
=20
The print and electronic media highlight of the sudden, untimely and
sad demise of national news agency General Manager 55-year old Mukunda
Parajuli on a second tour of duty was an unprecendented
acknowledgement received by a working journalist with a chequered
career in the Gorkha Patra daily and other language weeklies over more
three decades. Condoled as his passing away was by political and media
circles quite widely deservingly at that, this incertitude episode
which ended at quite an early age went on to prove once again the
veracity of the saying a working journalist cannot expect to live a
long life. While the stress and strain including the life exposed to
tension and danger of the media persons coupled with working overtime
unusually long hours attending cocktail circuit and smoking do account
for their short span of life. A news report of Ramnath Rath editor of
an Driya language daily turning 100 almost simultaneously early last
week did stun our media world. At best Mr. Ramnath's growing strong as
a full-fledged editor as a centenarian is an exception not the rule.
On the contrary the courage and attention of our media over the demise
of Messrs Rudra Prasad Giri and Dinesh Singh of cannot but be
described as beauty. While Mr. Giri =97 one of the few founders of
Nepali Congress, a breed one fighter in pre-1950 change nearly
imprisoned 6-years after 1960 who nearly missed to be the Prime
Minister after several stints as senior minister in the Panchayat era
received woefully little notice in our print media. The demise of two
time foreign minister and the minister of without portfolio in the
Indira Gandhi and Rao cabinets at the age of 71 after more then two
years of illness last week was not mentioned at all in our
communication media. Mr Singh who visited Nepal as Foreign minister of
Prime minister Smt. Gandhi in late 60s and early 70s for interaction
with late King Mahendra and Foreign minister G.B. Rajbhandari too no
more with a view to sorting out simmering differences between Nepal
and India. An experienced Nepal worker with numerous stints heading
our diplomatic missions abroad confident in this service about
departed Singh's high reverence for Nepal's monarchy without holding
divergent views however with respect to India's overall approach to
Nepal. A close confidante of Nehru, Gandhi family, Mr. Sigh was a
trusted friend of Prime minister Rao paying him tribute as the one who
contributed to formulate Indian foreign policy.
=20
***
=20
print media despite recent Chinese warming up in New Delhi enforces
the above. Meanwhile the outcry expressed by a vernacular weekly close
to G.P. Koirala faction of Nepali Congress and the delay in the
presentation of credentials by the new Chinese envoy designate =97 a
unprecedented episode and the forceful rebuttal by Education minister
Govinda Raj Joshi of alleged support of prime minister Deuba to
Tibets' independence are echoed as linkages in some of our print-media
as fall- out of New Delhi's turn track policy.
=20
***
=20
Prime Minister Deuba is the butt of criticism from print media loyal
to the Nepali Congress trinity for failing to carry out the long
expected expansion of the council of ministers last week end despite
the receipt of go-ahead signal from the power centres as indecisive
with Hamlet's frame of mind. A bunch of ministers belonging to Nepali
Congress including Water Resources minister Pashupati Shumshere Rana
has come out in strong defence of the prime ministers style of working
citing the government's accomplishments enhancing credit in less than
a three months period in power. But minister Rana sounded highly
reticent about the World Bank coming to rescue the Arun III despite
Finance minister Dr. Mahat's optimism and the world body's latest
announced aid-package for construction of roads to the project. As
print media's bashing of Prime minister Deuba and RPP president S.B
Thapa is at its peak, a vernacular weekly's speculation the last
minute choice of our envoy to New Delhi over Prof. Lok Raj Baral, if
true, is laudable.
_________________________________________________________________
=20
Voice
Last week our legislators quietly and without any opposition passed
a bill that will provide them with a whopping pay-hike and perks.
Parliament will incur an additional expense of Rs 90.2 million, which
is nearly double the previous expense of Rs 46 million. The like,
one hopes will also double our lawmakers' enthusiasm and
efficiency.
=20
***
=20
It is said, people who live by the sword die by the sword. Thus
two of our kins who live by the shorter sword (the Khukuri) died by
the sword in Saudi Arabia for alleged sexual liaison with the
spouse of their employer. However, the story of the severed heads is
yet to be confirmed.
=20
Together with Prof. Lokraj Baral, Dr. Bhekh Thapa is also now
rumoured to be our envoy to Bahrakhamba Road. Hope the personal
interests won't clash vis-a-vis national interest.
No Substitute for Security
Sir,
I was shocked to read Bikash Joshis misguiding and irresponsible
article Choosing between guns and butter (page 6, Dec 5, 1995). His
baseless allegation that "the present army is nothing more than a
mercenary force is totally ill-judged, ill-intentioned and aimed at
tarnishing the image of the army, which has undoubtably contributed a
lot both inside and outside the country in a number of fields. The
even goes to the extent of advocating abolition of the army. This
sounds rather conspiracy-prone like that of some of our shrewd
politicians with vested interests who once suggested handing over our
defence and foreign matters to India.
Also, please note that the value of security is seldom known until it
is lost! Reallocating the defence budget to other areas instead of
maintaining this white elephant wearing an olive green outfit can
somehow help to raise the living standards of the people, but only at
the cost of endangering our security and putting the sovereignty of
the country in jeopardy. None of our countrymen will accept such a
deal. Joshi may be well versed in the theory of economics but he has
failed to account for the armys contribution to the nations economy
made through its personnels pay and allowances as well as foreign
exchange received through its successful and effective participation
in the international peace keeping missions.
Other provocative allegations in the article are also baseless,
ill-intentioned and deliberately designed to harm one of the most
responsible and sensitive institutions of the country.
Rita Joshi
Pako,New Road
*****************************************************************
From: Rajesh Shrestha <rshresth@husc.harvard.edu>
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 1995 16:20:46 -0500 (EST)
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Nepalis in America
Cross-posted from SCN:
---------------------
I've been working on a demographic/economic profiles of Nepalis in the
United States. The data is based on the 1990 Census of Population and
Housing, Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS). As you may know a vast array
of information is available from the Census data. Although Census Long
Form information was collected from every 1 in 6 households, PUMS is
available in 5 percent and 1 percent samples. (If all the Long Form data
is published, then in some cases you can actually match the data records to
the actual person/household even after stripping the household identifier
:) thus violating the privacy of the respondent.)
For my purpose, I'm using PUMS 5% sample. This gives a PRELIMINARY total
of 132 sample size. As a result, detailed analysis (crosstabs/
frequency distributions with many categories) is not possible. However,
basic characteristics with broad categories is certainly possible, and I
anticipate to be quite informative. For me, even the estimate of total
number of Nepalis in the U.S. was quite exciting. If anyone interested,
the table below gives you the total number of Nepalis, by sex, in America.
Please note that the results are PRILIMINARY, and should be treated as
such. The results are from the first stage screening, thus includes all
those that were born in Nepal OR those who trace their ancestry to Nepal.
This means, a few Scottish, English, German, Norwegian, Swiss, American who
are born in Nepal are included in the sample. (I'll exclude these cases in
the final screening.) A lot more demographic/economic characteristics will
be included in the report. The report will be descriptive.
I'm not aware of any research of this nature. If you are, please let me know.
I'm planning to present my descriptive findings, appropriately at the Nepalis
in America conference in the spring of 1996.
I'm looking for a sponsor to cover the cost of my trip :) before I proceed
with further analysis. Anyone out there? Any pointers?
==================================================
NEPALIS IN AMERICA | U.S.A. TOTAL
===>>>(PRELIMINARY RESULTS) |
|
Sex Persons Percent | Percent
------ ------- ------- | -------
Male 1,852 58.1 | 48.7
Female 1,337 41.9 | 51.3
|
Total 3,189 100.0 | 100.0
|
==================================================
Kanhaiya Vaidya, Ph.D.
Senior Demographer
Oregon Office of Economic Analysis
(503) 378-4967
email: Kanhaiya.L.Vaidya@state.or.us
OR forecast@teleport.com
**********************************************************
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 1995 16:21:50 -0500 (EST)
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: AYO-GORKHALI Nepal Link Page
From: bajracha@solix.fiu.edu (Sanjay Bajracharya)
Hello everyone,
There are alot of things related to Nepal in the Web at present and it is
growing day by day. I also have a Home Page and what I have tried to do is
make a page with only links to sites related to Nepal. Infact that's all I
have in my web site (don't have time to create things of my own).
Everyone is welcome to visit my Home page at
and then go into Nepal Link Page. Or directly go to
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
http:///www.fiu.edu/~bajracha/pub/nplinks.html
As the list is growing bigger and bigger, I have lost track of what is in
the list and what is not. If you know of any site(s) related to Nepal not
listed or want to include you Home Page site in the list, please send
me an e-mail.
Any comments and/or suggestions are most welcome.
I want to have only links on this page so that anyone can easily navigate the
Web easily for materials related to Nepal.
Dhanyabad.
* --- * -- <<<<< Sanjay Bajracharya >>>>> -- * --- *
*******************************************************
From: Rajesh Shrestha <rshresth@husc.harvard.edu>
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 1995 17:05:30 -0500 (EST)
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: Sending Money to Himalayan Bank?
Cross-posted from SCN:
---------------------
neup2011@mach1.wlu.ca (Bhanu Neupane u) writes:
>I had transferred my research grant to Nepal Bangladesh Bank and there was
>absolutely no problem. There are no legal restriction but Rastra Bank
>takes 1 dollars of every 100 dollars sent to Nepal. All you have to do is
>pay $ 6.75 dollar to any bank in US or in Canada (I can relate that with
>my personal experience because my grant came from both Canadian and US
>donors) to prepare money order or certified cheque of any amount. All you
>need to do is to cash that cheque or money order in Nepal.
>And if you are talking about opening personal account in US currency. ITs
>now legal and simple (You will be asked to show your income source). The
>logic is same for every dollar you deposite, Rastra Bank takes a penny.
>Operation is also simple. If you write a cheque to someone in Nepal s/he
>will recieve equivalent of nepali currency and if you write a cheque to
>someone going out of Nepal s/he will receive travellers cheque in US $ at
>no-extra charge. The deposite earns an interest of 3.5 percent in US
>dollar.
>(If there has been any policy changes after July '95...I am not aware of it)
>PS: BTW, why Himalayan Bank? It sucks! if you want to hear horror story
>or need more info...? Send e-mail!
Thanks Bhanu for the information.
What I am really trying to do is send a wire transer (called TT (Telegraphic
Transfer) in Nepal?) to an acount in Himalayan Bank. Why Himalayan Bank? Well,
I thought it was among the more efficient banks in Nepal. However, the local
US Bank here asked me for the ABA # or information of a correspondent U.S.
Bank. A friend of mine recently wire transferred an amount from the same local
bank here to Nepal Bank Ltd. with no fuss. I can't understand why it is
being so difficult with Himalayan Bank. Information from Himalayan Bank
regarding wire transfer includes nothing about ABA # or U.S. Correspondent
Bank.
Has anyone sent a wire transfer to Himalayan Bank? Or should I just bunk
Himalayan Bank and attempt another bank in Nepal?
What really would be easier in the longer-term is to open a U.S. dollar account
with the Rastr Bank in Nepal. But what do I do right now?
Your advice is valuable.
Thanks again.
Rajesh B. Shrestha
Thank you all who responded to my query.
>From all the information I received, I have compiled the following list that
you could find useful sometime:
Comments Agent Cost Approx. Time
-------- ----- ---- ------------
FASTEST but Western Union 15% 24 hours
Expensive
Cheaper and Wire Transfer $25-30 (Direct*) 2-3 days
Reliable Local US Bank $10 (US correspondent
bank)
CHEAPEST but Money Order ~1% Unreliable
Unreliable (PO dependent)
NB:
1. Cost here typically includes only the transaction cost from the sender's
side. Recipient's costs may be extra.
2. Direct* Wire Transfer means sending an international wire transfer.
Sending a Wire Transfer via a U.S. Correspondent Bank is cheaper because it
is considered a domestic transaction.
Information on Himalayan Bank for Wire Transfer:
-----------------------------------------------
U.S. Correspondent Bank:
American Express, NYC
Acc #: 723262
ABA #: 0210-00089 (according to Dinesh Chhetri)
*****************************************************
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 1995 15:58:53 -1100
From: Mitchell Silver <silver@maui.net>
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: (no subject)
>>The name of the author, however, rung my bells of curiosity. Is he the same Hugh Downs, who co-produces the investigative TV program 20/20 with Barbara Walter? <<
It's Hugh Downs Jr., his son. Speaks very fluent Nepali and lived in Nepal for a considerable
period of time during the 70's. I'm sure he is on the net but do not have an email address. He
lives in Berkeley CA.
- Mitch
********************************************************
From: pcs@pcspc.mos.com.np
To: NEPAL@cs.niu.edu
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 1995 12:30:31
Subject: Computer Association of Nepal INFO-TECH'96 in Nepal
Dear Readers,
I would like to inform the interested readers of The Nepal Digest
that Computer Association of Nepal is organizing INFO-TECH'96 (The
only Information Technology specific exhibition & conference) in
Kathmandu during January 18th - 22nd, 1996 at The Blue Star Hotel.
The exhibition is expected to draw about 50 Nepalese & international
exhibitors and attract 15,000 visitors in the course of 5 days.
The CAN Info-Tech'96 Conference brings together about 100 experts,
professionals, buyers, sellers, manufacturers, developers and
suppliers to provide a forum for networking and exchange of ideas
within the information technology (IT).
Professional Computer System (P) Ltd. (PCS) is a software developing
and IT consulting company in Nepal established in 1988 and has
already served more than 40 different public, private, INGO
organizations in Nepal. Some of the application software products of
PCS are Banking Software, Finance Company Software, Share Management
System, Stock Broker System besides software for mercantile
accounting, inventory, personnel records, budgeting etc. PCS was the
first computer company in Nepal to provide Devnagari script
(bilingual english/nepali) with pure software solution on DOS
compatible computers.
PCS has a group of more than 10 computer graduates with upto 20
years of IT experience. Most of our professionals have graduated
from foreign countries including UK, USA, Old USSR, India. Our
professionals have worked in Mainframe computers to Palmtop, LAN to
WAN, 4GL to Assembly Language, UNIX to CP/M, ORACLE to dBASE
applications. PCS is currently also working under IBM's Developer
Assistance Program in DB2 client/server database management system.
PCS will be having a stall at the exhibition during INFO-TECH'96. Our
stall No. is J43 on the 2nd Floor at The Blue Star Hotel.
If you are planning to visit Kathmandu during the exhibition and if
you have interest in information technology, we would like to invite
to our stall or call us at our phone number. We will be interested to
show you some of our products.
In any case, if you have any query about us, please contact us in our
following address.
Thanks.
Suresh K. Regmi
Managing Director
Professional Computer System (P) Ltd.
Kasaa Chhen, Kha 2-216,
Putalisadak, Kathmandu,
Nepal.
Phone: 977-1-416478
Fax: 977-1-224710
email: pcs@pcspc.mos.com.np
**********************************************************************
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 1995 13:28:08 -0500 (EST)
To: nepal@cs.niu.edu
Subject: News 12/18/1995
From: karkis@mail.med.upenn.edu (Sher B. Karki)
Copyright 1995 Xinhua News Agency
The materials in the Xinhua file were compiled by The Xinhua News Agency. These
materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The
Xinhua News Agency.
DECEMBER 17, 1995, SUNDAY
LENGTH: 208 words
HEADLINE: nepal to launch new land reform program
DATELINE: kathmandu, december 17; ITEM NO: 1217146
BODY:
the nepali government will soon launch a six-month land reform program aimed
at solving lingering problems concerning more than half a million landless
people in this himalayan kingdom, minister for land reforms buddhiman tamang
said today. according to tamang, the program will follow simplified methods to
ban dual ownership over land within the existing legal framework. the
government will provide economic incentives to encourage land plotting in order
to raise productivity, and will at the same time discourage further
fragmentation of arable land, he said. he said that the government was studying
a report on land reforms prepared by the former communist government and would
set up commissions on landless settlers at the district level in the near
future. budgetary allocations had been made for future land reform activities.
future activities of the national commission on landless settlers would be
carried out with the aim of identifying genuine landless people and solving the
problem on a long-term basis, he said. nearly 40,000 landless households were
distributed land ownership certificates under the former government's land
reform program which was suspended last september as the communist government
stepped down.
Copyright 1995 U.P.I.
December 17, 1995, Sunday, BC cycle
SECTION: International
LENGTH: 43 words
HEADLINE: Hand grenade explodes, kills one
DATELINE: KATMANDU, Dec. 17
BODY:
A hand grenade left behind at a firing range in the west Nepal town of
Mahendra has killed (Saturday) one person and injured another. Janaki Devi
Bhatta was foraging for firewood when she picked up the grenade and axed it,
causing it to explode.
Copyright 1995 Xinhua News Agency
The materials in the Xinhua file were compiled by The Xinhua News Agency. These
materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The
Xinhua News Agency.
DECEMBER 16, 1995, SATURDAY
LENGTH: 116 words
HEADLINE: nepal declares capital to be metropolitan city
DATELINE: kathmandu, december 16; ITEM NO: 1216058
BODY:
kathmandu, capital of the himalayan kingdom of nepal, was declared a
metropolitan city friday. prime minister sher bahadur deuba said at a special
function that the decision was in line with the government's decentralization
policy. under the policy, power and responsibility will be gradually
transferred to local administrative bodies, he said. deuba said that kathmandu
needs cooperation from the state government and city residents to become a clean
and beautiful metropolis. kathmandu, an ancient city with a population of
400,000, is the social, political, commercial and educational center of nepal.
the kathmandu municipality had been asking for greater autonomy since 1992.
The materials in the Xinhua file were compiled by The Xinhua News Agency. These
materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The
Xinhua News Agency.
DECEMBER 16, 1995, SATURDAY
LENGTH: 154 words
HEADLINE: nepali former pm leaves for treatment in japan
DATELINE: kathmandu, december 16; ITEM NO: 1216178
BODY:
nepali former prime minster man mohan adhikari, who was badly injured in an
air accident in august, left here today for japan for medical treatment.
adhikari, also president of the main opposition communist party of nepal
(uml), was on an inspection tour in august as the prime minister of the former
communist government when his helicopter crash-landed. adhikari had undergone a
long treatment in hospital after the accident. according to sources close to
the former prime minister, his current trip to japan is for a thorough
check-up, diagnosis and treatment to preclude any possible long-term effects
from the injuries. while adhikari was in hospital, three opposition parties
jointly toppled his government through a no-confidence vote and formed an
alternative coalition government. adhikari is scheduled to stay in japan for
two weeks and all the cost of his treatment would be covered by the government.
The materials in the Xinhua file were compiled by The Xinhua News Agency. These
materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The
Xinhua News Agency.
DECEMBER 16, 1995, SATURDAY
LENGTH: 97 words
HEADLINE: swiss aid for nepal's technical education
DATELINE: kathmandu, december 16; ITEM NO: 1216181
BODY:
the swiss government has agreed to provide nepal with a grant assistance of
3.07 million swiss franc (2.6 million us dollars) for the development of
technical training in the country. three separate agreements were signed here
recently between the two governments, according to a press release of the nepali
finance ministry today. under these agreements, the swiss government will
continue to support the development of a nepali technical training center,
provide help for technical education and start the next stage of a project for
training technical instructors in nepal.
Copyright 1995 Xinhua News Agency
The materials in the Xinhua file were compiled by The Xinhua News Agency. These
materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The
Xinhua News Agency.
DECEMBER 15, 1995, FRIDAY
LENGTH: 325 words
HEADLINE: nepal's export grows after long period of decline
DATELINE: kathmandu, december 15; ITEM NO: 1215065
BODY:
nepal has seen some improvement in its export sector during the first four
months of the current fiscal year from mid-july, the country's central bank said
thursday. according to a press release by the nepal rastra bank, the total
export earnings in that period registered a positive growth after several years
of decline. total exports increased by 1.8 percent to about 97.8 million us
dollars in the first four months of 1995-96 fiscal year beginning from july 16,
the press release said. during that period, nepal's exports to india, it's
biggest trade partner, increased by 14.5 percent to 32.2 million dollars while
exports to third countries maintained the trend of decline. the exports to
third countries declined by 1.3 percent. export growth to third countries
remained negative mainly due to the continuing decline in export of ready-made
garments which showed a decline of 28.6 percent in the review period. however,
another major export item, woolen carpets, has shown a marked improvement
compared to the same period of last year. export of woolen carpets, which was
down 16.9 percent last year, has been up 2.8 percent so far this year, according
to the bank. the bank's press release said the overall export growth would help
ease the pressure on the country's foreign exchange reserves. the country's
total imports increased by 33.3 percent to 411.7 million dollars in the review
period with imports from india and third countries up 32.4 percent and 33.3
percent respectively. despite the growth in export nepal's overall trade
situation remains adverse. total trade deficit widened further by 41.7 percent
to 313.9 million dollars in that period. the country's total foreign exchange
reserves stood at 742.3 million dollars early this month, representing a decline
of more than half percentage. the available reserves could only meet more than
seven months of merchandise imports, according to the central bank.
The materials in the Xinhua file were compiled by The Xinhua News Agency. These
materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The
Xinhua News Agency.
DECEMBER 15, 1995, FRIDAY
LENGTH: 115 words
HEADLINE: d e 918 bc- nepal -canada-grant hke121548 --canada to provide grant to
nepal
DATELINE: kathmandu, december 15; ITEM NO: 1215224
BODY:
the canadian government has agreed to provide a grant assistance of 3.7
million us dollars to nepal for a five-year community-based economic
development project, the nepali finance ministry said today. under the
agreement signed here today by representatives of the two governments, the
project will cover three districts in nepal and benefit 90,000 residents. the
nepali government will prepare a management plan with details including
schedules, project monitoring and evaluation methods to carry out the project.
the social welfare council of nepal and the canadian center for international
studies and cooperation will act as the implementing agencies, said the finance
ministry.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Copyright 1995 British Broadcasting Corporation
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts
December 14, 1995, Thursday
SECTION: Part 3 Asia-Pacific; SOUTH ASIA; NEPAL; EE/D2487/A
LENGTH: 161 words
HEADLINE: ENVIRONMENT;
Premier swears in new ministers
SOURCE: Source: Radio Nepal, Kathmandu, in English 1415 gmt 13 Dec 95
BODY:
[13] Text of report by Radio Nepal
In the presence of His Majesty the King, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba
administered oath of office and secrecy to newly appointed ministers Mrs Vila
Koirala, Bal Bahadur Kesi, Dimal Nendra Nevi, Prakash Man Singh and Nara Hari
Achari at a function at the Royal Palace today 13th December . On the same
occasion Raj Parishad Council of State word indistinct Committee chairman
Manendra Bahadur Singh administered oath of Raj Parishad ex-officio membership
to the newly appointed ministers.
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba administered oath of office and secrecy to
Minister of State Sharad Singh Bhandari and Assistant Ministers Sim Gadish
Rashtra, Gopal Jitram Shah, Mansur Bahadur Mallah, Dipak Bas Kota, Ganesh
Bahadur Kharga, Chari Prasad Devgota, one or two names indistinct , Suresh
Chandradas Yadav, Man Mahadur Kotri and Baltin Gurung at a function at Singha
Durbar Kathmandu today all names phonetic .
Copyright 1995 Xinhua News Agency
The materials in the Xinhua file were compiled by The Xinhua News Agency. These
materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The
Xinhua News Agency.
DECEMBER 14, 1995, THURSDAY
LENGTH: 168 words
HEADLINE: wfp to launch food-for-work program in nepal
DATELINE: kathmandu, december 14; ITEM NO: 1214067
BODY:
the united nations world food program (wfp) has planned to launch a
food-for-work program in 45 districts of nepal in the next five years. the
food-for-work program aims at creating employment opportunities, generating
income and uplifting the living standard of rural people in these districts.
under the program, wfp will provide 4.5 million tons of foodgrain worth 21
million us dollars and the german government will provide technical assistance
for the purpose. the first phase of the five-year wfp program will cover 10
districts of the country's all 75 districts. the nepali government will make
local governments and officials more responsible by ensuring their participation
in the implementation of projects under the wfp program, minister for local
development kamal thapa said wednesday at a workshop on the program. however,
he said, the government had adopted a policy of handling over the responsibility
to select, work out and implement projects to local district level governments.
December 14, 1995, Thursday, BC cycle
SECTION: Bonds Capital Market.
LENGTH: 106 words
HEADLINE: U.N. AGENCY PLEDGES $ 42 MILLION IN AID TO NEPAL
DATELINE: KATHMANDU, DEC 14
BODY:
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) will give 2.34 billion Napalese
rupees ($ 42 million) in aid to Nepal to fund three projects, including one to
help refugees from neighbouring Bhutan, officials said.
WFP will help fund the distribution of meals to 200,000 poor children in
eight remote districts of the Himalayan kingdom over the next 18 months to
encourage children to attend school.
Under another agreement signed on Thursday, the U.N. agency will give 1.16
billion rupees for a food-for-work programme.
The scheme will initially be implemented in 10 of the kingdom's 75 districts
and later extended to 45.
Copyright 1995 The Russian Information Agency ITAR-TASS
TASS
December 14, 1995, Thursday
LENGTH: 52 words
HEADLINE: 22 KILLED AND SEVEN INJURED IN TRAFFIC ACCIDENT IN NEPAL
BYLINE: BY LEONID KOTOV
DATELINE: NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 14
BODY:
A LONG DISTANCE PASSENGER BUSCRAMMED WITH PASSENGERS FELL FROM A HEIGHT OF
130 METERS INTO THE RIVERJUMKA IN THE HIGHLANDS IN SOUTH-EAST NEPAL WEDNESDAY.
TWENTY TWO PEOPLEWERE KILLED, SEVEN INJURED WHILE THE REMAINDER MIRACULOUSLY
SURVIVED,SUFFERING FROM MINOR INJURIES AND A PSYCHOLOGICAL SHOCK
ERE/GOR
December 14, 1995, Thursday, BC cycle
LENGTH: 199 words
HEADLINE: U.N. agency pledges $42 million in aid to Nepal
DATELINE: KATHMANDU, Dec 14
BODY:
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) will give Nepal 2.34 billion
rupees ($42 million) to fund three projects, including one to help refugees from
neighbouring Bhutan, officials said on Thursday.
The WFP will help fund the distribution of midday meals to 200,000 poor
children in eight remote districts over the next 18 months to encourage children
to attend school, they said.
Finance Secretary Ram Binod Bhattarai said the WFP would provide a grant of
283.6 million rupees ($5 million) for the meals under an agreement signed on
Thursday.
About two thirds of the 3.3 million children enrolled in primary schools in
Nepal drop out, mainly due to poverty, government officials said.
Under another agreement signed on Thursday, the U.N. agency will give 1.16
billion rupees ($20.7 million) for a food-for-work programme.
The scheme will initially be implemented in 10 of the kingdom's 75 districts
and later extended to 45.
Under a separate agreement signed earlier this week, the WFP pledged 900
million rupees ($16.3 million) in food aid for 90,000 refugees who fled to
eastern Nepal from neighbouring Bhutan, alleging human rights violations.
Copyright 1995 Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
December 13, 1995, Wednesday, BC Cycle
14:16 Central European Time
SECTION: International News
LENGTH: 280 words
HEADLINE: Nepal's cabinet expanded to record size
DATELINE: Kathmandu
BODY:
Putting months of speculation and criticism to rest, Prime Minister Sher
Bahadur Deuba Wednesday added 18 ministers, including five cabinet rank and one
minister of state without portfolio, to his three month old coalition
government.
This brought the total strength of the council of ministers to a record 44.
King Birendra was present at the Narayanhiti Royal Palace Wednesday afternoon.
All the new faces belong to the prime minister's Nepali Congress (NC) party,
the dominant partner in the three-cornered coalition government.
Prakash Man Sing, son of NC leader Ganesh Man Singh, looks after population
and environment, Mrs Leela Koiralan - sster-im-law of former premier G.P.
Koirala, heads women and social welfare, and Bimalendra Nidhi, son of NC general
secretary Mahendra Narayan
Copyright 1995 Xinhua News Agency
The materials in the Xinhua file were compiled by The Xinhua News Agency. These
materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The
Xinhua News Agency.
DECEMBER 13, 1995, WEDNESDAY
LENGTH: 127 words
HEADLINE: nepali opposition mp raps government over gold price
DATELINE: kathmandu, december 13; ITEM NO: 1213100
BODY:
an nepali opposition lawmaker has denounced the government for its decision
to reduce gold price by 12.5 percent in comparison to the international market,
saying it was against financial laws and regulations. bharat mohan adhikari, a
former finance minister and a member of parliament from the communist party of
nepal (uml), told a session of the lower house on tuesday that the move by the
present government to decrease the customs duty on gold was causing a loss of
national revenue. he said the house of representatives should be informed
about changes in customs rates while in session. adhikari warned nepal would
become a center of smuggling and that foreign exchange would be deflected into
gold purchase as a result of the gold price reduction.
Copyright 1995 Reuters, Limited
Reuters World Service
December 13, 1995, Wednesday, BC cycle
LENGTH: 367 words
HEADLINE: Nepal cabinet expansion draws heavy criticism
BYLINE: By Gopal Sharma
DATELINE: KATHMANDU, Dec 13
BODY:
Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba inducted 18 new ministers into his
three-month-old cabinet on Wednesday despite opposition protests that the
expansion would strain the tiny Himalayan kingdom's finances.
There were no major changes as Deuba kept the royal palace and defence
portfolios, a palace statement said. It said King Birendra had made the
appointments on Deuba's recommendation.
The new cabinet, comprising 25 cabinet ministers, two junior ministers and 17
assistant ministers, will be the largest ever.
Deuba's Nepali Congress party, which leads the three-party centre-right
coalition government, now has 17 ministers in the 44-member cabinet.
The prime minister appointed Lila Koirala as women's affairs minister, the
only woman in the cabinet.
The communist Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) party, which was voted out of
power in September, criticised the cabinet expansion as unaffordable and
unnecessary.
"It is like a jumbo jet which a small country like Nepal can't afford,"
said UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, former deputy prime minister.
"The large size of the cabinet has only exposed the real intention of the
government on austerity measures," he told Reuters. "The expenses of a big
cabinet will be a burden on taxpayers."
Deuba, who took office after his coalition voted out the minority communist
government in parliament, has come under fire for slow decision-making due to
squabbling among coalition partners.
Analysts said the cabinet expansion could be a result of grumbling within
Nepali Congress, which before the expansion had been represented by only 12
ministers in a cabinet of 26. All but one of the 18 new ministers are Congress
members.
Nepali Congress has 85 of 205 seats in the House of Representatives. Its
coalition partners, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party and Nepal Sadbhavana Party,
have 19 and three seats respectively.
Until recently the monarch had absolute power but in 1990 a pro-democracy
movement installed a Westminster-type multi-party democracy.
Nepali Congress led the first government following the revolt, followed by
the communists who came to power in late 1994 for a 10-month stint.
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