JANAK RAJ JOSHI APPOINTED VICE-CHAIRMAN OF POVERTY ALLEVIATATION FUND

GOVT. ACCEPTS $2 FROM SOUTH KOREA FOR LUMBINI
Kathmandu, 12 Jan.:- Government through a cabinet decision accepted
$US 2million from South Korea to develop Lumbini.
The spot is the birthplace of The Buddha.
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JANAK RAJ JOSHI APPOINTED VICE-CHAIRMAN OF POVERTY ALLEVIATION FUND
Kathmandu, 12 Jan,: Former Secretary Janak Raj Joshi was appointed Thusday
Vice Chairman for Poverty Alleviation Fund by he cabinet.
A public holiday was announced for Chhantyal ethnic group on the occasion of Maghi Parva or Makkar Shrangthi by thje cabinet.
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NBA RECOMMENDS NAMES FOR APPOINTENT AS JUDGES
Kathmandu, 12 Jan.: The Nepal Bar Association (NAB) has recommended the name of 15 law practitioners to the Judicial Council (JC) for appointment in the vacant post of the Supreme Court justices, RSS reports.

The legal practitioners recommended for the vacant six posts include Ram Prasad Sitoula, Prakash Raut, Anita Sapkota, Baburam Kunwar, Surendra Mahato, Anil Sinha, Ram Krishna Nirala, Baburaja Joshi, Hari Krishna Karki, Hari Prasad Upreti, Chandreswar Shrestha, Tulasi Bhatta, Bishnu Prasad Bhattarai, Purna Chand and Devendra Singh.

Those recommended include eight from among those affiliated to the Nepali Congress, two each from the CPN-UML, the UCPN-Maoist and the RPP and one independent.

The names of five people from among the university teachers have also been recommended on behalf of the Faculty of Law. Those recommended include Prof. Dr Amar Pant, Prof. Dr Ranjit Bhakta Pradhananga, Prof. Dr. Laxman Upadhyaya, Prof. Dr Bidhya Kishore Raya and Prof. Gunanidhi Neupane.

Meanwhile, the Progressive and Professional Legal Practitioners' Association has protested against the recommendation made by the Bar Association, arguing that it was against its norms of maintaining transparency, objectivity and professional efficiency.
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NC FOR REFORMED PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM WITHOUT GIVING DETAILS
Kathmandu, 12 Jan.: Nepali Congress leader Arjun Narsingh KC has said his party has stood for the reformed parliamentary system rather than the traditional one, RSS reports.

The NC was not against personal trait but against the emergence of autocratic system if the directly elected presidential system was adopted in the country, he argued.

At a programme here on Thursday, standing committee member of the UCPN-Maoist, Lilamani Pokharel accused the Nepali Congress of enfeebling the Maoist party by obstructing the peace process.

He reiterated that only presidential system was best for Nepal which the Maoist could not compromise.

Similarly, CPN-UML Politburo member Raghubir Mahaseth said his party was for the executive prime minister directly elected as a new form of governance.
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CIAA ORDERS WITHDRAWAL OF FACILITIES FOR MINISTER
Kathmandu, 12 Jan.: The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has issued directives to the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare(MoWCSW) not to provide any facilities to MoWCSW, Dan Bahadur Chaudhari (Kuemi), except the ones he was entitled to in the capacity of the chairman of the Social Welfare Council, RSS reports.

The CIAA stated in a press release it issued on Thursday that it has decided to write to the Secretary at the Ministry asking it to withdraw all the extra facilities provided to Minister Chaudhari.

It is stated in the Council's letter that Chaudhari was using the car (Ba 2 Cha 709) that he took from the Council on September 20, 2011, that he took 285 litres diesel, 35 litres of petrol and Rs. 9,000 under the fuel heading on October 25, 2011 and also took 112 litres diesel during his trip to the districts.
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NOBODY INJURED IN HELICOPTER ACCIDENT
Kathmandu, 12 Jan.: A Fishtail Air helicopter hit a rock and was damaged while taking off with sick Australian tourist William
Biseri Thusday from Thorangphedi in Manang, local officials said.
The tourist was being airlifted after suffering a shoulder injury.
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FORMER KING GAYNENDRA’S MESSAGE ON 290TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF KING PRITHVI NARAYAN SHAH THE GREAT
Full Text of Message as given below:
Today (10 January), as we celebrate the 290th birth anniversary of King Prithvi Narayan Shah the Great, the architect of modern Nepal and Nepalese national unity, it will do well to remember that it was he, who, two hundred and forty three years ago, laid the foundations for an independent nation, bringing together as beads on a single garland, peoples of various castes and creed, class, religions, communities and regions. By consolidating the unity amongst the Nepaelse people, he also gave this great nation an identity of her own. Therefore, irrespective of whether they reside in the Himalayan, hilly or Terai regions, all patriotic Nepalese who are proud of Nepal and being Nepalese must reminisce over the unparalleled contributions of this great king on this day.
It was only because of King Prithvi Narayan Shah’s generous and liberal policies of building a great nation and forging national unity that the feeling of patriotism took roots in Nepal. These policies also instilled in the Nepalese people the values of mutual friendship, coordination, cooperation, national pride, independence, happiness, peace, security and prosperity. History is witness to the fact that, with these ideals as the guiding spirit, the Kings of the Shah Dynasty have always discharged their duties and responsibilities towards the nation in keeping with popular aspirations.
I believe that, with this glorious, golden history of our nation in mind, we must place love for our nation before oneself and display magnanimity by sacrificing our personal interests in favour of national interests. My only wish is to see this nation built by King Prithvi Narayan Shah the Great always remain sovereign, with her independence indivisible and unity intact. While reiterating my total commitment towards achieving this goal through coordination with every community, class, creed, religion and region in the country. I believe Nepal’s greater good can be attained only through such shared sentiments and commitments.
Nepal must always remain beautiful, peaceful and prosperous- a common garden which all can share. Depending on the resources available and our capability, our social, cultural, economic and security policies must be guided by King Prithvi Narayan Shah’s revered edicts. Only then will we be paying true homage and gratitude to the architect of the nation in today’s glorious historic context.
Jaya Nepal!
(Note The message was delayed in transmission on the blog. It had to be hunted down from websites. causing the delay. It would have been transmitted on time had it
been received immediately. Thanks. Your blogger Bhola B Rana.)
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OPINION
A FRATERNITY’S FEVOR IN SELF-DEFENSE FLIPPANCY
Kathmandu, 12 Jan.: Leaders of the Big Three were always capable of charming us with their small chatter. The chunks Maila Baje could collect over one 48-hour period last week were truly splendid.
Nepali Congress president Sushil Koirala asserted that his party had done nothing to hurt the country, Maila Baje writes in Nepali
Netbook.
The CPN-UML’s K.P. Sharma Oli claimed that the current crop of leaders was keeping Nepalis in the dark in the name of fostering change. The Maoists’ C.P. Gajurel, who is becoming increasingly acerbic in some of his public pronouncements, called his party chairman, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, a traitor.
Sushil Koirala’s comment came against the backdrop of the autocracy allegation leveled against him by party dissident-in-chief Sher Bahadur Deuba. For someone who feels he stood up rather heroically to Girija Prasad Koirala, Deuba certainly cannot afford to let Sushil get the better of him. The party president is entirely justified in explaining his side of the story, Maila Baje writes in Nepali Netbook/.
But Sushil took things a bit too far. Forget the specifics. A party that claims to have led three valiant campaigns to bring democracy was unable to preserve it twice and may be on the verge of failing a third time. How much longer can the nation put up with mere intentions, putting aside actual performance?
In including himself among the ranks of politicians who have failed the country, Oli is probably projecting himself as a worthy successor to Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai. Given the beating Dr. Bhattarai’s personal image has taken during his tenure at the helm, any politician can expect to bask in the soft idolatry of lowered expectations. But Oli could have at least tried to shed more light on the kind of darkness he believes his tribe has cast on the country. He has, after all, been at the center of some of the most opaque deals sullying the Nepali political firmament.
Gajurel’s labeling of Dahal as a traitor is reminiscent, at least superficially, of the travails of another Comrade Pushpa a generation ago. Yet the accusers of Pushpa Lal Shrestha themselves could not ward off the same allegation from other comrades. Gajurel, who ostensibly wants to see Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal in Dr. Bhattarai’s seat, has too much of his skin in the game not to recognize how subjective the T word can be.
In grappling with the mechanics and machinations of the parliamentary system they once condemned as despicable as the monarchy, Badal or, for that matter, Mohan Baidya have diluted their rhetoric of a full Maoist takeover of the Nepali state. Granted, they have offered boisterous protests against perceived pernicious compromises Dahal and Bhattarai have made in the name of peace. Still, there may be some in their ranks who would be equally prone to accuse the hardest of the Maoist hardliners of having abandoning the cause.
In reality, our politicians have taken the easy way out. They are caught in a dance the real choreographers are directing on the fly. By demonizing their collective fraternity, they manage to keep the people as well as the puppeteers at bay. We’re all having fun in our own ways. Just don’t lose your penchant for springing up compromises when it comes to the crunch.
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PARADE IN THE NUDE

Kathmandu, 12 Jan.: Nepali Congress workers continue to assess how their nation-wide strike last fortnight fared. Reeling under criticisms from within and outside the organization for imposing such an “anti-people” closure on the entire country, a group of its second generation leaders have been holding meetings as to what approach to take for which issue “in order to recover the lost ground”, Trikal Vastavik writes in.
People’s Review.
This time, even known NC sympathizers came out harshly against the party that boasts of having “led and triumphed in all pro-democracy movements in the country”. It all began when the American Ambassador Scott DiLisi did what he or his peers elsewhere would not dare do. He wrote against the strike, warning that foreign investment climate in Nepal might be ruined.
Actually, that was a big joke. How much U.S. business investment is there in Nepal? Or, for that matter, how much Western investment is there here? He was not talking about “aid”, “loans” and “grants”. Moreover, he was known to have threatened the CPN (UML) not long before that the embassy could stop issuing visas to UML leaders and other members if they went ahead with campaigns that inconvenienced the Nepali people.
Interestingly, DiLisi did not issue visa threat against NC as had been done in the case of UML some time before. In return, NC simply decided to go ahead with the closure in whose course arsonist tactics were employed, setting to fires scores of motor vehicles, including eight ambulances in one district alone.
It was basically a “peaceful” protest. That could be the reason the police did not see anyone involved in the destructive and violent acts. As in all past “peaceful” protest campaigns, the destruction was treated like a construction of a great event.
The fact is that strikes in Nepal have never been peaceful, whether launched by the NC, the UML, the Maoists or their front organizations. Down the decades, the so-called human rights groups, the ever concerned foreign missions and “the Fourth Estate” hardly saw any violence in such “peaceful” protest activity.
There are “news” publishers like Kanak Mani Dixit and his printing business who opposed the closures “unless” they happen to be “movements for democracy” and democratic movements. Not surprising if he can’t comb his brains, especially coming from someone who Vivek Shah, the former Military Secretary at the Narayanhity Royal palace, names him as a petitioner during King Gyanendra’s rule for a cabinet post so that he could promote better understanding with foreign governments and international organizations.
This means a closure is wrong when Dixit does not endorse it but it is fine if he approves it. In other words, if the Maoists engineer strikes in his printing establishment, it is wrong because that would not concern with “democracy”. It is an absurd definition of democracy. By the way, an interesting coincidence is that many INGOs and their front organizations give their “job” work to Jagadamba Press. The INGOs and their bosses who are named always turn out to be eligible for only commendation in the publications of the baron of sorts. Peerless talent for spotting the qualified and deserving! This could become to immense use if the truth Commission and other accompanying commissions were instituted. UML-swamped INSEC’s past boss Sushil Pyakurel could chip in some support, provided that he himself makes it to the team in the first place.
Such individuals, supposedly human rights champion, expert on Nepal-India relations and Indo-Nepal expert, publisher, journalist writing more for other publications than his own in-house periodicals, would want to dismiss Madheshi Anadolan that led to other major parties to concede a series of concessions.
Narayan Wagle, editor of Nagarik daily, wrote a commentary occupying the main news space to describe the NC as a champion of governance and governance through the rule of law and regretted that the violation of people’s right to move about freely on account of enforced closures.
What I say, however, is all enforced closures (in the past, the present, or in the future) violate (d) human rights. The NC, the UML, the Maoists and Madheshi groups have violated the basic human right of most Nepalis, who whether they support some of the issues raised or not, are against strikes that create great hardships to people across communities, regions, sex, race, topography and profession.
It was the height of irony that NC Vice President Ram Chandra Poudel used a motor vehicle escorted by security personnel to reach Chitwan on the strike day when his mother died. He arrogated to himself a privilege he denied the rest of Nepali society. The earth would not have shaken if Poudel had travelled only after 4 O’ clock in the afternoon that day when the protest deadline was scheduled to end. He could have reached Chitwan in three hours.
Leaders are tested during difficult times and inconvenience or when they are amidst tempting but questionable opportunities. Poudel and his party failed miserably, eroding the organization’s credibility and relevance.
Pop came the U.S. Ambassador, Scot DiLisi’s Facebook warning that the NC strike might risk foreign investment in Nepal. If he said individually, he can sink in his own words. If it is his government’s view, did not its satellites that can pinpoint even a car number if Kathmandu’s streets or a house number of some by lane of the capital’s labyrinthine ever witness and record previous closures and the damages and difficulties they wrought?
He recently gave a pep talk on economy and lo and behold, the media lapped it up as words of great economic wisdom, choosing to forget that, if he had any idea of the economy, he would have changed his job long ago than being posted to this remote, landlocked, poverty-stricken, instable place. What wonders a few regular drinks, quiet receptions and prospects of a U.S. trip or visa for the rainy day when the publisher shows the editor the exit, can do!
We do not want such words of wisdom which have taken us to the ditch and mess that we are in for the last six years. Some imbecile thinking is that if India does and says something, it becomes interference; if others like the U.S., the Scandinavians, the E.U., and personages operating legally or illegally in Nepal through NGOs yell something it becomes sympathy, support and substantive road to unprecedented harmony, stability, incorruptibility and progress towards democracy and modernity. Their clandestine activity is supposed to complement our development efforts.
Help!
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