Discrepancy in govt., UNMIN casualty claims

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 5 March: There is a suspicious discrepancy in government and UNMIN casualty claims on the number of passengers and crew members killed in a Russian MI8/MTV crash Monday.
The home ministry says 12 passengers and crew members died after the chopper took from near a Maoist cantonment at Sindhuli while UNMIN says all 10 persons onboard the flight were killed.
UN security council, at the request of Nepal Government and Maoists, sent UNMIN to Nepal monitor Maoist rebel weapons hand-over to join the political mainstream and constituent assembly now being held 10 April after two postponements.
A five-member government team headed by deputy attorney general Dhrona Raj Regmi will investigate and report details of the crash over the skies of Ramechap between the capital and Sindhuli.
Some reports said the chopper exploded in the air while another report said it was hit by lightning in stormy weather conditions.
Could two unauthorized persons have boarded the flight? Was the chopper carrying explosives? These are questions being asked in aviation circles after the worst chopper crash following another Russian chopper killing 24 persons, mostly renowned Nepali conservationists, over Taplejung in September 2006.
UNMIN Chief Ian Martin claims two persons boarded the flight and immediately alighted causing the confusion.
Experts Wednesday evening begun forensic examination of body parts of only 10 persons at TU Teaching Hospital that may provide clues to the cause/causes of the crash.
UNMIN said weapons experts from Gambia, Indonesia, South Korea and Sweden were killed crash; UNMIN hasn’t released the identifies of the dead until families are first notified.
But published reports said Lt Col Park Hyung-jin of South Korea and Lt Col Sondang from Indonesia were among the killed.
Two Russians and one Belarussian were crew members.
A five-member South Korean team arrived in the Nepalese capital to conduct its own examination.
Meanwhile, UN staff in Nepal have jointly asked UN headquarters to conduct inquiries on reliability and safety of hired aircraft for its missions.
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Goit group launches strike; nominations sought for direct elections

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 5 March: Goit group of the Janatantrik Terai Liberation Front (JTLF) launched a three-day continuous strike to violently disrupt the 10 April constituent assembly election as election activity began.
Government security agencies asked candidates to campaign only under security cover mainly in the terai and the eastern hills were a simultaneous secessionist movement has been launched by Limbus and Kirats.
Political parties that didn’t file nominations within the stipulated date have been asked by the Election Commission, at government request to register candidates for direct elections tomorrow Thursday.
The government , through its request to the Commission, gave an opportunity mainly to terai parties to participation in the 10 April assembly elections following an agreement to end a 16-day strike and participate in the vote.
The parties called off their strike and suspended their demands for self-determination in the south bordering India and provincial to be decided by an elected constituent assembly.
Altogether 16 parties, even those agitating from the terai, registered names of candidates for indirect elections in which 335 persons are to be elected; 240 assembly members will be elected in direct elections..
All three terai parties that boycotted the first round of nominations registered at the second opportunity.
Conservative RPP became the first party to release its election manifesto Wednesday; CPN-UML finalized its policy programme Wednesday and Maoists are expected to go public with their document Thursday; Congress is also giving final touches to its political manifesto to be announced this week.
Newly launched Terai Madesh Loktantrik Party and Nepal Sadbavana Party will contest polls jointly, an announcement said Wednesday.
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