THREE STAR PLAYS BRT IN FOOTBALL LEAGUE Kathmandu, 7 Dec.: Three Star plays NRT in the Martyrs Memorial A Division League Championship Friday at Dashrath Rangashala. Himalayan Sherpa Club plays RCT in the Second match. Nnnn PRESIDENT HOLDS ORDINANCE APPROVAL Kathmandu, 7 Dec.: President Ram Baran Yadav decided today not to pass the ordinance on retaining five ad hoc judges for the time being, stating that their parliamentary hearing case was sub-judice before a full bench of the Supreme Court, Ananta Raj Luitel writes in The Himalayan Times.. Rajendra Dahal, Press Adviser to the President, told The Himalayan Times that the constitutionality of issuing the ordinance was questionable. Moreover, since the Supreme Court has yet to decide whether parliamentary hearing was necessary before appointing the judges or not, the President has decided to take some time to study the ordinance, added Dahal. According to him, the President will hold discussions with legal experts and politicians regarding the ordinance. The President has scheduled a meeting with the political leaders’ tomorrow morning and the issue will be taken up along with the discussion on government formation. Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi, however, refused to talk on the matter of ad hoc judges’ retirement. “We did our bit till the last hour,” Regmi added. On yesterday’s request by the Judicial Council headed by Chief Justice, the Cabinet today recommended the ordinance to the President to insert a provision in the Judicial Council Act, 1990, to appoint retiring ad hoc judges on the same position without them having to face parliamentary hearing again. Khem Narayan Dhungana, member, JC, however, said that the JC still can appoint the ad hoc judges on the same post whenever the ordinance was issued by the President. Stating that the ad hoc judges were sworn in only on December 7, 2010, though they were appointed on December 5, 2010, the JC interpreted that their tenure would end on December 7. Ad hoc judges Kamal Narayan Das and Bharat Bahadur Karki were appointed from the legal profession, while Baidhyanath Upadhayay, Gyanendra Bahadur Karki and Tarka Raj Bhatta were promoted from the post of Chief Judges of the Appellate Courts. With their retirement, the SC will be left with only six permanent judges — Damodar Prasad Sharma, Ram Kumar Prasad Shah, Kalyan Shrestha, Girish Chandra Lal and Sushila Karki — besides Chief Justice Regmi and ad hoc judge Prakash Osti, pushing the judiciary into a serious crisis. With the consent of the Prime Minister Bhattarai who himself holds the law portfolio, the JC had formally asked the Secretary of Ministry of Law and Justice Bhesh Raj Sharma to proceed for amending the Judicial Council Act. When the ordinance was tabled before the Cabinet for a discussion, it was unanimously approved. The PM himself went to Shital Niwas to request the President to give his nod to the same in order to avert a crisis in the judiciary. Nnnn INCONENIENSE FOR VISITORS TO WEST ASIA Kathmandu, 7 Dec.: People have been suffering due to the government’s restrictions on migrant workers flying to Gulf countries — Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. Immigration at Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA) has been stopping people from flying on visit (or tourist) visas to the Destinations, The Himalayan Times reports. However, authorities — Department of Immigration and Department of Foreign Employment — rejected the blame that they are creating hurdles for genuine visitors bound to Gulf countries. “We are not stopping genuine visitors. Our target is just to stop worker migration through visitor visas,” said an officer at the Department of Immigration. According to him, the immigration office at TIA has been following the government’s directive. “We have been directed to scrutinise visitor visa holders and we are doing it perfectly,” he said. However, he admitted that there could be obstacles at times for genuine visitors. “There might be some people who have suffered from the scrutiny process due to human errors,” he said. Department of Foreign Employment — regulatory authority on foreign employment — said that being strict regarding visitor visas has provided desired results in controlling illegal migration. “Illegal migration has reduced significantly since the process began at TIA some six months back,” said director at the department Surya Prasad Bhandari. Earlier, about 150 to 180 migrant workers used visitor visas to fly to Gulf countries every day. “Most of them stayed back and worked illegally there,” he said, adding that currently, the number is below a dozen. According to him, scrutiny of visitor visas is not a bad decision because it will help protect Nepali migrant workers from possible abuse and exploitation in Gulf nations. “About 1,500 migrant workers leave the country every day, so some people might have suffered due to the scrutiny,” he said. He admitted that genuine visit visa holders will not suffer from the process. According to him, they are working with immigration officials to reduce such sufferings. “Globally, such investigations are done by humans, so we cannot expect ‘zero suffering’ in immigration scrutiny,” he said. Currently, immigration officials at TIA have been judging visit visa holders according to the passenger’s face and the clothes they wear. If someone is found suspicious, then that person is interrogated. However, immigration officers at TIA do not have training on passenger psychology to judge them. Nnnn GAY MOVEMENT BODY IN TROUBLE CORRUPTION, NEPOTISM HITS GAY BODY Kathmandu, 7 Dec : A leading gay rights organization, which is in the limelight even internationally, has plunged into serious financial trouble due to a series of accusations and cases filed against its founder and director Sunil Babu Pant, placing the future of its employees and the interests of sexual minorities under threat, Anjali Subedi writes in Republica.. Claims of massive financial irregularities and nepotism at the Blue Diomond Society (BDS) has been made by a growing number of people who earlier worked with BDS, and three cases were filed recently against the organization and its founder. The mess at the organization has not only tarnished its image but also left it unable to pay the salaries of most staff for the past three months. “This year Pant has faced three cases against him and I am sure more are in the pipeline,” said Bardi Pun, who has remained national lesbian coordinator and BDS board member for the past four years. “The problem at BDS is you have no right to know the details of any financial transaction no matter whether you are an ordinary member or a board member, or raise a finger against any bias. You ask questions and your job is in danger.” Pun stated that the first case, filed by Binod Lama, is enough to put Pant behind bars. “If they investigate the charges labeled against him including over ownership of the house in Dhumbarahi which Pant managed to have registered in his own name instead of the organization´s, it would be clear how corrupt he is,” the transgender said. “I was among those who signed for an amount of Rs 40.1 million donated to the organization. And I have never learnt how the money was used,” added Pun, who on 30 November filed a case against the organization for suddenly terminating his tenure. Punam Rokka, another former employee at BDS, claims to have been a victim of nepotism at BDS. “They sack you without valid reason if you fail to tolerate any level of discrimination inside the organization. Male domination is very prominent here too, and we face a high degree of discrimination for being lesbians,” said Rokka, who has filed a case against the organization for not disbursing her remaining salary. A staffer at BDS said that he cannot speak to media about the inside story of the organization as he cannot afford to lose his job. “Many wrong things happen here, but please do not mention my name,” he said. Pant, talking to Republica, stated that all the legal charges and allegations are nothing but a conspiracy by a group that wants to destroy BDS for their personal gain. “The report on charges of corruption is going to come out soon. Informally we already know I have been given a clean chit by the CDO but it will be there for all to see once it is out,” he said. Meanwhile, he also expressed sadness over the actions of the disgruntled group, the same being reported by a local channel and this leading to the drying up of support from some donors. “We have 750 staff across the country and 400,000 members; we are unable to pay salaries to many since a few months. Many organizations have stopped giving us funds though we still have good support from a few others,” he said. “This is purely a conspiracy. I have never been engaged in any kind of corruption.” BDS was established in 2001 and gradually gained popularity nationally and internationally for its work for gender minorities. It has a history of organizing marriages of even international same sex couples, thanks to a relatively liberal Nepali society, and the Gay Olympics held in Kathmandu recently attracted the attention of global media Nnnn PROPERTY LOSS IN ROAD WIDENING Kathmandu, 7 Dec : People have lost twice as much in property as the government´s total expenditure on widening and smoothening roads in Kathmandu Valley, Republica reports.. Government estimates show that it would cost Rs 5 billion to expand the 122 road stretches covered by the widening program while people whose property had to be demolished have lost around Rs 10 billion. "People have lost around Rs 10 billion during this entire process of road widening," Krishna Hari Baskota, secretary at the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM), told Republica. According to Baskota, more than 1,000 houses have been affected on the 200 km of road widened. "Our rough calculation is that people have lost more than the government´s total investment in the road expansion," he said. He further said it was a different matter that people had built their houses without conforming to laws and regulations, "but loss is loss". Bhai Kaji Tiwari, chief of Kathmandu Valley Town Development Authority (KVTDA), also echoed Baskota. "Yes, the rough calculation is that people have lost a huge amount pulling down their premises and renovating them," Tiwari said. Baskota, who has been on field inspection several times to speed up the road widening, said that the figure on loss for people emerged from his interactions with engineers and people whose houses have been affected by the road widening. "I think we should also recognize what people have lost in the course of this process but I find people mostly supportive of the government´s program," Baskota said. The government has released Rs 6 million to KVTDA to distribute to households that have lost their entire property during the road expansion. "The Ministry of Finance (MoF) released Rs 6 million a few weeks back to distribute to 10 households in the Lazimpat-Maharajgunj section that have lost everything to the road widening drive," Baskota disclosed. The government doesn´t have a budget for road expansion as such but OPMCM has directed MoF to arrange the required amount in order to complete the work in time. "The government is confident the road widening program will not be short of funds," Baskota said. "MoF is managing the budget through transfers from other heads." According to Baskota, the government has already allocated Rs 1 billion for the road widening. "An additional Rs 4 billion will be arranged without delay to complete the work on time," he said. Nnnn SPECIAL COMMITTEE WINDING UP Kathmandu, 7 Dec.: As the integration of former Maoist combatants into the Nepal Army is formally coming to an end, the government is preparing to wind up the Special Committee and its Secretariat, constituted five years ago to supervise the integration and rehabilitation of the rebel soldiers, pHanindra Dahal writes in The Kathmandu Post.. The tenure of the nine-member cross-party committee, headed by the prime minister, ends on December 15. There is almost no possibility of further prolonging the Special Committee, said a government source privy to developments. During talks with Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai on Tuesday, Special Committee Secretariat Coordinator Balananda Sharma advised that now was the right time to put an end to the Special Committee. Sharma suggested that a four-member skeleton body, comprising one representative each from the four major political parties, be tasked to resolve any future complications in the integration process. Preparations to formally end the tenure of the Committee follows the beginning of training for 1,451 former combatants at Nepal Army training centres across the country. The new recruits have been hoping that parties will determine their ranks as per the 'gentleman's agreement' while signing the peace deal in November last year. In his talks with PM Bhattarai, coordinator Sharma is learnt to have recommended that the gentleman's agreement not be referred to the Special Committee. "Given the current trust deficit and logjam over other intricate issues, it will be difficult to build consensus over the matter," a source quoted Sharma as having told the prime minister. The Maoists have claimed that there was informal understanding to confer ranks of one colonel and three lieutenant colonels to the former fighters opting for integration. They have nominated Yam Bahadur Adhikari, commander of the Maoists' first division, for the post of colonel and former vice-commanders Padam Tamang, Basudev Ghimire and Mahendra Buda Magar for the posts of lieutenant colonels. Maoist leader and member of the Special Committee Secretariat Chandra Prakash Khanal said that parties should resolve ambiguities over rank and ensure that the weapons held in storage containers be locked up in a museum. "The sooner ranks are settled, the process will move forward without any hiccups," said Khanal. The Special Committee was formed in mid-2007 to decide the fate of 19,602 rebel soldiers verified by the United Nations Mission In Nepal at seven main and 21 satellite cantonments. The cross-party committee took up the responsibility of arms monitoring after UNMIN's departure in January 2011. Meanwhile, the 12-member Secretariat of the Special Committee is also planning to cease activities from early next week. The Secretariat, which has already distributed pay cheques to over 16,000 former fighters, has asked the remaining 50 or so combatants to contact them for pay by Monday. nnnn NEPALI GIRL HELD, RAPED IN NEW DELHI Kathmandu, 7 Dec.:- In a shocking revelation, a 16-year-old Nepali girl was allegedly confined in a flat in Defence Colony in New Delhi for over two months and sexually assaulted by six law students of a reputed Delhi-based university, The Hindu online said in a report. Four of the accused have been arrested while two are on the run, The Kathmandu Post writes.. The incident came to light when the victim in her statement to the court a few days ago revealed that she was repeatedly raped by the accused students who had kept her in confinement, the report further said. The girl alleged that she had gone to attend a party hosted in a flat in Defence Colony in mid-September when she was overpowered and then raped by some of the accused. She remained in illegal confinement and was sexually assaulted by the accused and his friends, one of whom purportedly posed to be a policeman. After the girl went missing, her mother lodged a complaint with the police stating that she had not returned from school since September 15. She was finally traced to the flat in Defence Colony . On the basis of her complaint, relevant provisions of law were added to the kidnapping case and four of the accused students were arrested. “Four of the accused, all law students , have been arrested. Two of the suspects are absconding,” a police officer said. The police have obtained two days’ custody of the four accused. The identity of the two other accused is also being verified and their whereabouts ascertained. Given the serious nature of the crime, the police also plan to quiz the neighbours of the accused to cross-check the facts revealed by them. nnnn