PRACHANDA TASK FORCE SELECTS NEPALI AS OFFICIAL LAANGUAGE
Kathmandu, 2 Nov.: The high-powered task force led by Maoist Chairman Prachanda to speed up constitution the delayed constitution drafting process began meeting again Tuesday morning.
The seven-member body with top party leaders Monday discussed protection of national interests.
The task force agreed Nepali will be the official working language at government offices in the center. Provinces will be decided by provincial governments.
It will be the responsibility of central and regional governments to protest all languages, UML leader Bharat Mohan Adhikari said.
The Prachanda-led body narrowed differences on 10 points Tuesday amid differences in eight of 11 thematic committees of the constituent assembly; differences veer around 230 points to be incorporated in a proposed constitution to institutionalize a declared republic.
The task force agreed Monday to recommend the appointment and dismissal of the army chief by the president.
There was no agreement of compulsory military for 18-year-olds.
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NRNA CHIEF MEETS PM
Kathmandu, 2 Nov.: Non-resident Nepali Association Chief Devman Hirachan met Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Tuesday and urged him to push the delayed constitution drafting process.
He drew the attention of NC President Sushil Koirala at a meeting Monday.
Hirachanda in meetings with government and party leaders has also been pushing for Nepali citizenship for NRNAs.
Government has, so far, only agreed to issue them identity cards.
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US ENVOY HOLDS DISCUSSIONS WITH JHALANATH KHANAL

Kathmandu, 2 Nov.: US Ambassador Scoot H, DeLisi Tuesday morning held political discussions with UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal as a political deadlock continues without an end in sight.
DeLisi held discussions with Khanal one day after NC Vice-chairman Ram Chandra Paudel in 15th round of voting in parliament for prime minister.
The 16th round voting will be held Thursday and will again be inconclusive without UML and Maoists change of position to boycott the vote.
Paudel was defeated after he couldn’t muster the required 301 vote in parliament.
DeLisi is also holding discussions with Speaker Subash Nemwang Tuesday.
The US ambassador urged early end of deadlock to facilitate US assistance to Nepal.
DeLisi earlier held discussions with NC President Sushil Koirala and Maoist Chairman Prachanda.
The ambassador met Prachanda at the latter’s residence even as Washington pus Maoists on its terrorist list.
DeLisi has been holding separate meetings with political party leaders as UNMIN prepares to leave Nepal by 15 January 2011.
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Two MUD DIGGERS BURIED ALIVE IN KANCHANPUR

Kathmandu, 2 Nov.: Two mud diggers—both women- were buried alive at a village in Kanchanpur in the far-West Tuesday morning.
Excavators dig out red clay during the festive season to paint houses.
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VITAMIN A CAPSULES AND DE-WORKING MEDICINE BEING ADMINISTERED TO CHILDREN
Kathmandu, 2 Nov. In a two-day national campaign Tuesday /Wednesday, vitamin A capsules and de-worming tablets are being administered to children.
The campaign will cover 3.7 million children from six months to five years.
Children between one and five years will be administered de-working medicine.
The campaign is conducted twice a year with the help of 49,000 volunteers.
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KRISHNA P. KHANAL
Kathmandu, 2 Nov. Political Science Prof. Krishna P. Khana; has been appointed first national director of Center for Constitutional Dialogue by UNDP-Nepal.
The Center will support constitution drafting process in Nepal at a time when it has hit an insurmountable obstacle.
Khanal will be responsible for providing high-level strategic and creative leadership to the center as well as for preparing a strategic vision and plan for the future of the Center as long-term national policy institute to support constitution implementation, UNDP said.
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TRADE, COMMERCE, ECONOMY

VISITOR ARRIVALS SOAR 12% IN OCT.
Kathmandu, 2 Nov.: October visitor arrivals soared 12% to 62,712 compared to the same month the previous year, Immigration Office, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) said.

South Asian arrivals jumped 13.7% with Bangladesh (34.7%) and India (17.1%) while arrivals from Pakistan and Sri-Lanka declined 39.2% and 36.8% respectively.
Sustained growth of 21.9% was observed in the arrivals from South Asia in the first 10 months of 2010 compared to the same period the previous year.

Arrivals from other Asian regions declined 2.3% in October.
But arrivals from Japan increased 9.2%. and South Korea 26.1%) while tourist arrivals from China slumped 8.7%, Malaysia 8.9%, Singapore 4.5% and Thailand -22.4%.

European arrivals jumped 14.5%; altogether 29,681 Eiropeans visited in October. Arrivals from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and UK were up by 29.6%, 56.7%,18.8%,19.3%,42.6%,7.7%,19% and 7% respectively.

The figures show increasing trend in the visitor arrivals from Australia ( 6.8%) and New Zealand (10.6% ) as well. Likewise, the United States of America and Canada, both the markets have registered positive growth of 32 % and 28.5% respectively.

Altogether 57,663 foreign tourists departed from TIA in October 2010.The number of Nepalese arrivals stood at 73868 while 51,177Nepalese departed from TIA in October 2010.
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OHCHR-NEPAL CLOSING DOWN FIELD OFFICES
Kathmandu, 2 Nov.: Office the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nepal (OHCHR-N) is closing down two more field offices in Nepalgunj and Biratnagar this month/
Such offices in Janakpur and Dhangadhi were earlier closed down at government request.


"… closure of its remaining field offices of Nepalgunj and Biratnagar will be completed by the end of this month," Chun Bahadur Gurung, public information officer at OHCHR-N told Republica.

The UN rights body is wrapping its field offices as per its memorandum of understanding signed with the government in June 2010.

When asked about how the OHCHR-N plans to monitor human rights situations in the filed following the packing up the offices, Gurung said, As provided for in the agreement, the office will continue its operations across the country with Kathmandu-based human rights staff focusing on the promotion of accountability and non-discrimination.

Such activities will include ongoing collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), other national institutions and civil society organizations to strengthen the national human rights protection mechanism, Gurung further said.
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AGREEMENT ON STANDARD NORMS FOR PLA INTEGRATION; POKHREL

The Sept 13 agreement had given momentum to the peace process that had remained stagnant for a year or so. A month later, the peace process has once again lost tempo, prompting concerns that it may not be concluded by the agreed deadline of Jan 14, 2011.

Many had hoped the peace process to roll on after the Maoists on Sept 17 agreed in principle to dissociate their combatants effective from that day. But there has been no progress toward bringing the combatants under the command and supervision of the Special Committee.

In this context, Republica’s Prem Khanal and Kiran Chapagain talked to Ishwor Pokharel, General Secretary of CPN-UML and a member on the Special Committee, for his views on the progress of the Special Committee and other political issues. Pokharel is also a member of a three-member taskforce formed by the Committee to sort out differences on issues related to integration and rehabilitation.

EXCERPTS

Your party has been batting for national consensus to end the political impasse for long. But the efforts for consensus have not yielded any results yet. Why?

There are three main reasons. First, lack of agreement on issues related to the peace process has prevented us from forging a consensus. Second, there is lack of an agreement on contents of a new democratic constitution. Finally, we have failed to come to an agreement on the model of power-sharing in politics of understanding.

Should external forces or internal interests be blamed for this?

If parties do not accept each others’ existence and quarrel among themselves, it is natural to have neighbors interfering in our affairs. Political parties should remain united.

Nepali Congress (NC), CPN-UML and other parties have argued that there has been no progress in resolving the current political deadlock because past agreements have not been implemented. Do you also support this argument?

Our party is clear on the issue of peace and constitution. As decided by our central committee, we have also reached out to other parties with proposals with a clear roadmap to steer the peace process forward and draft a new constitution. We have also told the Maoists and NC that anything borne out of consensus will be acceptable to us.

However, Maoists cannot lead a consensus government until they do not do away with the conflict-time mentality, behavior and structures.

Does it mean that Maoists should not be allowed to lead a government unless the party dissociates from its army?

I believe there is partial truth in that theory. The Maoists are good at playing in contradictions to elevate their position. They used this to their advantage during insurgency. But this kind of game does not work in open politics. There are people in the Maoist party who believe that management (integration and rehabilitation) of the combatants should not be done. The politics guided by such mentality will fail.

There is a theory that Maoists are not committed to the management of their combatants. Do you buy this argument?

Yes, implicitly.

In a decision made on Sept 17, the Special Committee announced detachment of the combatants from the Maoist party in principle effective from that day. But the combatants are yet to be brought under the Committee in practice. Why do you think there’s a delay?

That was only a policy-level matter. They cannot come under the Committee until a plan of action for integration and rehabilitation is finalized. It is due to lack of willingness on the part of the Maoists.

Should the Committee be blamed for it?

Maoists are a decisive party in the ongoing peace process. Lack of willingness in the Maoist party definitely affects the process.

What is the reason behind that?

The Maoists seem confused, and it has slowed the pace of the peace process.

When will the peace process catch momentum again?

This pace will continue until we are able to reduce their confusion.

On Sept 17, the Special Committee had decided to form a secretariat to carry out the integration and rehabilitation as soon as possible. But things have not happened accordingly. Why?

It’s because of Maoists’ interest in designating the person of their choice to the post of coordinator of the secretariat.

Who is their choice?

They have not spelled out their choice directly. The coordinator should be a professional person. It will be surprising to have a Maoist commander as the coordinator of the secretariat.

And who is the government’s choice?

A professional person with national and international recognition should lead the secretariat. Such a person should be senior and competent and who understands the importance of integration and rehabilitation.

What is the progress of the work of the taskforce formed by the Special Committee?

We discussed all the contentious issues, including standard norms for integration.

Any progress in sorting our differences in standard norms?

.

We have reached an understanding on standard norms and there will be no further discussion in this regard. We have concluded that standard norms mean: a) standard norms set by security agencies for recruitment, b) integration should not be viewed as normal recruitment by security agencies and c) some additional things should be considered in the context of integration.

The taskforce concluded that that no one should stick to basic parameters of security agencies for recruitment. Additional factors like age, marital status, education, among others, should be considered while carrying out integration.

What will be the highest rank that will be given to the Maoist combatants in security agencies?

It is hypothetical to talk in this regard. The proposed secretariat will decide about this.

Maoist leaders in private say that at least a brigadier general should be given to them.

It is not like political power-sharing. We talk about making security agencies more professional and competent and we should stick to it.

Is Nepal Army (NA) being cooperative in this process?
Very cooperative.

Is there any concern, prejudice from the NA?

The army is very positive and friendly. They have told the prime minister that integration is a matter to be decided at the political level.

What is the reason behind NA’s cooperation?

There are competent and intellectual officers in the army leadership.

Did the taskforce also deal with rehabilitation packages for combatants?

We discussed rehabilitation packages in general. The Maoists want golden handshake to those combatants who will opt for voluntary exit. But there is a question over the amount of money to be given to such combatants. It is under discussion.

Similarly, we discussed about offering agriculture-related packages, education, foreign employment, among others, to those who will opt for rehabilitation. But it needs a broader discussion.
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DONORS FRUSTRATED WITH INSTABILITY

Kathmandu, 2 Nov.: The hype among Nepal’s donors about the untenable development situation due to the continuing political stalemate is gathering momentum. Close on the heels of the Asian Development Bank’s warning to stop aid flow for development projects if the political paralysis drags on, a high level official overseeing another international aid agency has conveyed a similar message to the political leadership.

A senior official of the Danish International Develop- ment Agency (DANIDA) Board has warned that Nepal could be struck off the list of recipients of direct assistance if there is no improvement in the political situation within a year.

Klaus Bustrup, Chairman of DANIDA Board, said his country is revising its aid strategy to focus on those countries where Denmark could help most. Bustrup, on an observation visit from Oct. 27-31, told officials at the National Planning Commission and leaders of the Nepali Congress and the UCPN (Maoist), including former Finance Minister Baburam Bhattarai, that things need to change for the better on the political front. “We want to reduce the number of countries and sectors that we are active in. The number of countries looked at for the time being is 26 and we want to cut that down to 15. All countries, including Nepal are in question,” he said.

The Board is an independent authority which approves programmes and projects executed by the Danish government and comprises various personalities active in international development.

For 2010, Denmark has committed US$ 81 million (Rs.576 million) to various programmes including support for the peace process. But, as Denmark is in the process of revising its assistance strategy, Nepal’s political paralysis is giving the Danes a reason to think twice if their money will be better spent elsewhere. “As donors, we would like to see results and solutions. Otherwise, Nepal can’t count on our support for eternity,” Bustrup told the Post, echoing the frustration of the donor community.

Denmark has been providing assistance to livelihood, human rights, good governance, rural energy and education sectors since 1989. It has provided over US$ 450 million during the period.

“Danish aid would be used much more effectively if Nepal had a stable political situation. That’s why it makes sense for a small country like Denmark not to be in all countries and instead refocus its efforts where it can help the most,” Bustrup said.

The donor’s warning may not have immediate leverage in unraveling the deadlocked politics.

But, the rising frustration among Nepal’s important donors and falling internal revenue should give Nepal’s planners something to mull over. According to the Ministry of Finance, the revenue growth rate has fallen to nine percent in the first quarter of this year from 53 percent in the corresponding period last year.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal shared his concerns with officials about the warning from donors to stop aid flow if political disagreement continues to paralyze development work.

The donors also have a long list of grievances, including political meddling in development projects and frequent transfers of project chiefs.

Though the aid money in itself doesn’t have a significant impact on growth rate, it can definitely create problems in the balance of payment in addition to affecting jobs created by it,” said Bhim Bhurtel, Executive Director of Nepal South Asia Centre, a Kathmandu-based think tank. “Equally important is the effect it will have on Nepal’s credibility as a recipient country.”
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INDIAN ARMY CHIEF COMING

Kathmandu, 2 Nov.: Chief of the Indian Army Gen. V. K. Singh will be visiting Nepal from Dec. 20-23, according to Nepal Army sources, The Kathmand Post reports.

The Indian side confirmed the date but said the itinerary is still being worked on. Singh, who was elevated to the post of Army chief in March, will be decorated with the title of honorary General of the Nepal Army by President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav. Nepal Army Chief Gen. Chhatra Man Singh Gurung was decorated with a similar title by Indian President Pratibha Patil last December. The reciprocity has been practiced by the two armies for the last six decades. Gen. Gurung had sent an invitation in June asking Singh to visit Nepal at a “mutually convenient time.” The visit, according to a Nepal Army official, was delayed after the Indian General was advised by India’s Ministry of External Affairs not to visit Nepal at a time of political instability. “He had expressed his desire to visit Nepal much earlier, but the date didn’t materialise as both sides did not want the visit to be dragged into unnecessary controversy,” said the official.

Singh’s predecessor Gen. Deepak Kapoor was greeted with black flags by Maoist cadres when he had visited Nepal in January to receive the title of honorary general of the Nepal Army.
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SC VERDICT ON PM POLL 10 NOV.
Kathmandu, 2 Nov.: The Supreme Court on Monday fixed November 10 as the date for issuing the final verdict on whether or not to intervene in the ongoing parliamentary election process and declare Nepali Congress candidate Ram Chandra Paudel as a new Prime Minister of the country.

A division bench of Justices Kalyan Shrestha and Girish Chandra Lal issued a ruling to that effect and directed the lawyers of the writ petitioners and the government attorneys to submit their arguments in writing within a week.

Former attorney general Mahadev Prasad Yadav, senior advocate Harihar Dahal, advocates Sher Bahadur KC, Kumar Regmi, Yadunath Khanal, Narendra KC, Tulsi Simkhada and the writ petitioners argued in today’s court session, urging that Speaker Subas Chandra Nembang be directed to declare the sole candidate as unopposed PM as per Rule 7 (5) of the Constituent Assembly (Legislature-Parliament business) Rules, 2008.

The lawyers sought the apex court intervention stating that though it is the parliament that elects the PM, it has failed in the task for fifteen times and that the Speaker has violated the Rule by allowing the election to go ahead when Paudel has remained the only contender for the post.

Advocates Chundamani Paudel and Prabhu Krishna Ghimire had filed the petition at the apex court on October 5.
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PARLIAMENTARY TEAM VISITS DENGUE PATIENTS IN TEKU HOSPITAL





Kathmandu, 2 Nov.: After a long time since dengue spread in various districts, a task force formed by Parliamentary Committee on Women Children and Social Welfare visited Shukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital, Teku and Bir Hospital Monday.
The task force aimed to get in-depth information about dengue patients.
Earlier on October 29, the parliamentary committee had directed the Ministry of Health and Population to launch special campaign to control the disease, to coordinate with the Ministry of Local Development and the Ministry of Finance, to use emergency budget to control the disease and to form effective network for conducting awareness programmes to deal with the deadly disease.
The task force acquired information about the implementation of committee’s earlier instruction.
Constituent Assembly members Binod Pahadi, Sharada Devi Kumal and Hira Gurung visited the hospital at 8:30 in the morning.
Around 34 dengue patients were receiving treatment in Teku hospital Monday. Teku hospital is only a referral hospital for infectious diseases and has only one ICU. There is no ventilator.
However, the doctors who provided treatment in the hospital did not reveal this under the Health Ministry’s pressure.
Nepal Medical Association chairman Dr. Kedar Narsingh K.C. accepted that the doctors working in Teku Hospital were facing trouble.
On the other side, there is no single specialist doctor on the disease. One doctor deputed to the post of infection specialist was in leave.
A doctor who was already transferred elsewhere has been providing treatment in Teku hospital.
Around 400 dengue patients received treatment in the hospital. Among them, as per the nature of the disease, 10 per cent may suffer dengue hemorrhagic fever. Almost all need ICU and ventilator. Due to the lack of ventilator and ICU, doctors are compelled to refer the serious patients to different hospitals. In some cases, patients have been angry and misbehaved with the doctors, Dr KC said adding that the government was unable to provide security to the doctors.
Dengue is transmitted by a mosquito bite. Unlike other mosquitoes which breed in dirty water, dengue transmitting mosquitoes breed in clean and stagnant water, doctors said.
"The virus could pass in through clean water which we use in homes," virologist Dr. Basudev Pandey said.
Dengue hemorrhagic fever is severe; it is caused by deadly infection spread by certain species of mosquito (Aedes aegypti).
Medics suggested avoiding mosquito bites during the day time. Normally, in 9-11 am and in 3-5 pm the Aedes aegypti mosquito bite highly.
As it is a vector born disease, there is no vaccine and medicine developed to cure dengue fever.
Medics said that as per the symptoms, separate treatment method is used in dengue cases. Like dehydration and bleeding are some symptoms and the treatment is carried out depending on the symptoms.
However, 10 per cent may be classical dengue fever cases. In these cases people suffer from high pain around their eyes along with backbone pain.
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4,000 CHILDREN WAIT RESCUE FROM ORPHANAGES

Kathmandu, 2 Nov.: Two and half years ago, the government itself pointed the need to rescue children living in group "D" category orphanages. But more than 4,000 children living in such orphanages are yet to be rescued. Republica reports.

In June 2008, the Central Child Welfare Committee (CCWC) had conducted a survey on the conditions of the orphanages across the country. “
After the survey we have rescued more then twelve hundred children living in various children´s homes, but we are unable to rescue more in the lack of budget,” Dharmaraj Shrestha, executive director of CCWC, said.

According to Shrestha, the survey categorized orphanages under four groups on the basis of their conditions and facilities they provided. “The children living in group "D" category orphanages were in pitiable condition and in dire need of rescue,” he said, adding. There are 198 orphanages under group "D" category. CCWC had warned orphanages under category "C" improve the conditions to graduate to category "B".

The CCWC has put 192 orphanages under category "C", 56 under category "B”, and only six orphanage meeting all requirements are under categroy "A".

“Most of the orphanages have to work a lot to upgrade their standard,” Umakanta Chaudhary, monitoring officer at CCWC, said . After the survey ten orphanage were shut. Due to the lack of sufficient budget and transit home CCWC cannot rescue the children living in the vulnerable condition, he said. The CCWC doesn´t see rescue as ultimate solution. “They should be rehabilitated back in their homes. This is the only solution,” Chaudhary said.

Most of the children rescued before were sent back to their homes and few were sent to better orphanages.

The survey also showed that only 27.51 percent children living in orphanages were real orphans while 72.49 percent children had father or mother or both. Some children were found admitted to orphanages because their parents were too poor to provide for their children, the survey found.

There are 11,969 children living in 434 orphanages across the country, according to the survey.
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