61st NATIONAL DEMOCRACY DAY OBSERVED

Kathmandu, 19 Feb.: The 61st national democracy day is being observed Saturday.
A special programme is being held at Sainik Manch in the capital Saturday afternoon.
Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal is holding a tea reception at Shital Niwas.
NC President Sushil Koirala, three-time Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and parliamentary party leader Ram Chandra Paudel are addressing rallies in Nepalgunj, Bhaktapur and Tanahu respectively.
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INDIA’S OPPOSITION LEADER IN TOWN DURING TRANSITION

Kathmandu, 19 Feb.: Chief General Secretary of India’s Janata Dal (United) K.C.Tyagi is in town at a time when Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal is attempting to put together a majority communist government.
He handed over a congratulatory message of Party President Sharad Yadav to Prime Miniser Khanal and Maoist Chairman Prachanda Friday.
Tyagi is also holding consultations with leaders of other political parties, including NC and MJF-N of Upendra Yadav..
The leader of the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) df he’s merely on a ‘goodwill visit’ and added,: “We are not here to influence any political parties. Nepali political parties themselves should pave the way for making the peace process successful.”
The visitor called for unity between forces that toppled monarchy.
“The forces of equality and democracy will finally prevail and both Nepal and India can work together for the establishment of peace, progress, prosperity and stability in the region,” he added.
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CONSULTATIONS TO DRAFT CONSTITUTION

Kathmandu, 19 Feb.: Chairman of the main constitution drafting committee Nilambar Acharya held discussions Friday with leaders of 13 political parties to prepare and promulgate a constitution by the 28 May
deadline.
Only 89 days remain to enforce the basic law amid fears the extended
one-year deadline may not be met again.
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FORMER QUEEN KOMAL OBSERVING 60TH BIRTHDAY

Kathmandu, 19 Feb.: Former Queen Komal is celebrating her 60th birthday Saturday.
Prayers and pujas are being held at temples for her long life.
A reception is being held at Nrmal Niwas where well-wishers will
her.
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NEPAL PLAYS UAE

Kathmandu, 19 Feb.: Nepal plays UAE Saturday in Kuwait in its
second outing in the ACC T20 women’s cricket tournament.
Nepal beat Thailand Friday by 21 runs.
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SINGER YOGITA MOKTAN DEAD

Kathmandu, 19 Feb.: Singer Yogita Mokthan
was found dead overnight at her home.
She recorded more than 2,000 songs.
The cause of death wasn’t known.
Last rtes are being conducted at Syambhunath Saturday.
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LAWMAKERS AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE LOAN

Kathmandu, 19 Feb.: Parliamentary Committee on Finance and Labour Relations today directed the government to think twice before taking the much-hyped $ 60 million climate change loan. Lawmakers of the committee stressed on asking for a grant, not a loan, The Himalayan Times writes.

“There is no immediacy of the loan. Rather, we have to attempt for a grant and further discussions are a must,” said Sushila Kandanwa, chairman of the committee in the meeting today [Friday].

The meeting was summoned to discuss Nepal’s preparations for receiving $60 million loan and another $50 million grant to fight climate change.

At the meeting, Environment Ministry Secretary Ganeshraj Joshi said the loan proposal was just an outline and a national debate on the issue is a must.

Pushkar Bajracharya, a planning commission member, said an extra care should be taken to receive the commercial loan.

“Prior to taking the commercial loan, we should subtly analyse how it is used and how it benefits the country,” said Bajracharya.

The planning commission member was of the opinion that as Nepal has been facing problems of climate change due to the industrial

countries; it should try to receive the fund as compensation to invest in climate adaptation projects.

On the occasion, Nepali Congress lawmaker and former finance minister Ram Sharan Mahat said even if the loan from the multinational agencies like World Bank and Asian Development Bank was at a nominal interest rate, it turns high due to escalation in the exchange rate of US dollar.

Mahat opposed the proposed climate change loan and suggested an attempt for a grant.

Unified CPN-Maoist lawmaker Saligram Jamarkattel also flatly rejected the idea of taking the loan.

“Nepal is not a climate change problem creator; it is the victim. Those responsible should pay compensation to Nepal rather than Nepal itself taking the loan,” said Jamarkattel.

Lawmaker Laxmi Pariyar said the proposed climate change loan was not right as it would only add more debt to the people.

Finance Secretary Rameshore Prasad Khanal underscored the need of foreign investment source as Nepal government is not in a position to spend money in climate change issues.

The government is in the process of taking $60 million loan from World Bank for climate change. The loan will be provided for the implementation of Pilot Project for Climate Resilience.
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MACAO RESUMES HIRING NEPALIS

Kathmandu, 19 Feb.: HONGKONG, Feb 19: Macao has resumed taking Nepali workers eight months after it started sending them back saying it needed to give more opportunities to locals, Purna Basnet writes in Republica from Hong Kong.

The Special Administrative Region of the People´s Republic of China has sought 200 Nepali security guards arguing that no one can do the job as good as the “Gorkha Force”.

Macao is considered the biggest casino hub in Asia.

The under-construction Galaxy Mega Resort that will also have a huge massage center was eyening Nepali security guards right from the beginning. The resort will come into operation two months later. It will have a total of five five-star hotels and massage parlors.

Of the 200 Nepali security guards that Galaxy is seeking, 48 have already been taken in, of which 20 arrived from Nepal while 28 switched jobs from the Grand Lisboa Hotel in Macao.

This is the first time that such a huge number of Nepali security guards are being taken by Macao over the past four years. Macao is considered safer for workers and the pay is also relatively attractive.

“The door has reopened in Macao for Nepali workers,” said Trilok Gurung, whose Ekta International has been supplying Nepali security guards to Macao. “After Galaxy started taking in Nepali security guards, others have also shown interest. This is a good sign,” he added.

Eight months ago, Macao stopped granting visas to Nepali workers in a bid to check illegal entry of migrant workers and to control crime, among other reasons. But it is not as easy as in the past to enter Macao.

Until eight months ago, a Nepali national could get a one-month on-arrival visa and could travel through Macao, or seek job there. But now, Nepali nationals need to get visa from the Chinese Embassy, according to Gurung. “It is not easy. But we will fill the vacancies for security guards within a month,” he added.

The government of Macao adopted a policy of reducing the intake of foreign labor force after being pressured by trade unions to prioritize opportunities to locals.

As a result, the contracts of Nepali workers employed by hotels and casinos were not renewed, and about 600 Nepali workers returned to Nepal. The Nepali workers who remained in Macao were also working with a sense of job insecurity. But now, they are assured that their job is not as risk.

Of around 2,000 Nepali workers in Macao, most work as security guards. “They prefer Nepali workers for security guards as they believe the Gorkha Force is valiant and loyal,” said Purna Gurung, a security guard working for Hotel Landmark. “Of the 34 hotels, casinos and jails in Macao, 25 have Nepali security guards,” he added.

Apart from the policy of prioritizing employment for locals, a factor that went against Nepali workers was the perception of the Macao government that some Nepali workers were living there illegally and were involved in drug trafficking. However, the renewed interest in Nepali workers is expected to improve things for Nepali workers in Macao.
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US BAN ON NEPALI ADOPTIONS TO CONTINUE

Kathmandu, 19 Feb.: Visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affair Janice Jacob has said that the ban on inter-country adoption from Nepal would remain despite some changes to the adoption process in Nepal, Baburam Kharel writes in The Kathmandu Post.
“The US suspension of inter-country adoption will remain in place until substantive progress is made on the issues raised by a February 2010 Hague Convention report,” said Heather Steil, Spokesperson for the American Embassy in Kathmandu. Assistant Secretary Jacob feels that recent changes to the adoption process in Nepal are "inadequate" to address concerns about the origin of the children being matched for inter-country adoption.
The US decision continues to affect over 80 prospective American parents who have already gone through meticulous paperwork for adoption of Nepali children. Though it is not clear how many American parents have adopted Nepali children so far, according to the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MoWCSW), over 2400 children have been adopted since 2000 by parents in western countries.
The US government in August last year suspended the inter-country adoption involving abandoned children from Nepal questioning the authenticity of the system that has been marred by “fraud and irregularities.”
Jacob—who met officials in the Foreign Ministry, MoWCSW and Prime Minister's Office—encouraged the Nepali officials to work with the international community, including The Hague Permanent Bureau, to implement The Hague Convention and reform its adoption process to protect children and families.
The US government's decision to suspend adoption from Nepal follows a report last February by Hague Conference on Private International Law, an intergovernmental organisation. The report, based on investigation by a group of lawyers, had alleged systemic failure in Nepal's adoption system with widespread abuse and had called for suspension of adoption from Nepal until the system was reformed. Since then, ten other countries—Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Italy and Britain—have officially and unofficially suspended adoption from Nepal.
Last year as well, a team from the Department of State had visited Nepal to interact with government officials. The team investigated numerous abandonment cases, including field visits to orphanages and police departments. Its investigation found that documents presented to describe and "prove" abandonment of children in Nepal were unreliable. The US then said in a statement that civil documents such as children's birth certificates often included data that had been changed or fabricated.
Tilak Ram Sharma, acting Secretary of MoWCSW, met Jacob and said that addressing US concerns would take time. He said inter-country adoption was not a priority of the government. "Our primary focus will be to strengthen the domestic adoption in place of inter-country adoption," Sharma said.
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LET’S SEE WHO PREVAILS: BARSHA MAN PUN
Barsaman Pun is a Standing Committee member of the UCPN (Maoist). He was reportedly the party´s candidate for home minister in the UML-led government. The in-charge of the Maoist party´s military bureau, Pun is also a confidant of Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Pun spoke to Republica´s Post B Basnet Friday evening on the current deadlock over government formation. Excerpts:

Why has your party not joined the government? Is it due to the row with the UML over the home ministry?

The euphoria seen after the election of UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal to the post of prime minister could not last long as the prime minister´s party declined to abide by the seven-point agreement (signed by Khanal himself). Our party had not expected this from the UML. We hoped the deal would be translated into reality. We held a series of talks with the prime minister, but to no avail. That´s the reason why we decided to lend full support to the Khanal-led government, but stay out of it. In fact, the deadlock is not over sharing of ministries.

What will be your strategic move in light of the UML´s stance not to officially own up the seven-point deal and not to give your party the home ministry?

We are waiting for UML Central Committee (CC) meeting slated for Tuesday. We expect that the party will come out with positive decisions. The prime minister has hinted to us that the party would come up with a solution. So, our party is still in a wait-and-see mood. Everything will depend on the UML´s decision; we will chart out our strategy accordingly. We are yet to decide what we will do in case the UML decides to go back on the seven-point deal.

How does your party view the current political deadlock?

We are in a very critical phase of the peace process. Conspiracies are afoot to bring down the new government. Domestic and international conspirators don´t want to let the government take a full shape. They want to push the country further into chaos and instability. We are fighting against them, and that´s the reason why we decided to support the government without participating in it. Now the tussle is reaching its peak and we are yet to see who will prevail.

How do you think the current political deadlock can be ended and the tasks of peace process and constitution drafting concluded?

First of all the current government should get a full shape with Maoist participation. We should focus on that. Then, we should create an atmosphere of trust for national consensus. Though the Nepali Congress (NC) has stated that the party would stay in opposition, we should persuade the party to join the government for the sake of peace process and constitution drafting, and turn the coalition into a national consensus government.

Then we can formulate a calendar of events to implement the peace process and also speed up the constitution-drafting process. This is how we can make a political settlement. Otherwise the country would further plunge into chaos and uncertainty.
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