TIBETAN MONK SETS HIMSELF ALIGHT IN NEPAL WEDNESDAY Kathmandu, 13 Feb.: A Tibetan monk doused himself with gasoline and set himself on fire in Nepal's capital Wednesday in what is believed to be the latest self-immolation to protest Chinese rule in Tibet, AP reports from Kathmandu.. Police official Keshav Adhikari said the man went inside a cafe, poured gasoline on himself and set himself on fire before police and locals were able to put out the fire and rush him to the hospital. Adhikari says the man was about 21 years old and has yet to be identified. He is in critical condition and being treated at the Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital in Katmandu. Security has been tightened in the area around Boudhanath in the northeastern edge of Katmandu where most of the Tibetan exiles live and home to Buddhist temples and monasteries. A local eyewitness who did not want to be identified said he saw the monk come out of the cafe, light himself on fire and run a few steps chanting slogans against China before he collapsed on the ground. Police officers and local people were able to put out the fire and send him to hospital. Thousands of Tibetan exiles live in Nepal and occasionally protest against China. The Nepalese government has banned such protests, saying it cannot allow any activities against any friendly nation to take place in Nepal. Nepal has allowed thousands of Tibetan exiles to live in the country as refugees, while hundreds more are allowed to pass through Nepal, traveling from Tibet to Dharmasala, India, where their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, lives in exile. Nearly 100 Tibetan monks, nuns and lay people have set themselves on fire in various countries, mostly in ethnic Tibetan areas inside China, since 2009. Nnnn CALL TO MAKE NATIONAL VOLUMBEER CAMPAIGN SUCCESS Kathmandu, 13 Feb.: The Government has urged the civil servants to make voluntary contributions in order to make the national volunteer campaign Successful, RSS reports.. Support for the New Nepal Building Fund has been called as per the 'Economic Development and Prosperity Immediate Action Plan 2068', according to Chief Secretary Lilamani Poudel. Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai has already announced contribution of his 15 days salary amount to the fund. Deputy Prime Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachchadar and other Ministers and the National Planning Commission Vice-chair too have followed suit. Likewise, the Government Secretaries have decided to contribute their five days' remuneration, according to Poudel. As per the action plan, the Government aims to collected one day's income from every Nepali citizen and 10 US dollars from a non-resident Nepali. Likewise, one million youth, students and civil servants are expected to be mobilised as volunteers for generating social awareness. The Fund will be mobilised in various sectors of the society including in river cleaning, promoting open defecation free zones, constructing health posts, agro roads, river control, literacy campaign, sports ground, calamity management and against violence against women. A steering committee comprising of representatives of all the political parties represented in the earlier Legislature-Parliament and organizations active in the area of volunteerism will oversee and manage the Fund. nnnn PRESIDENT LIKELY TO RETURN TRC ORDINANCE TO GOVT Kathmandu, 13 Feb.: President Ram Baran Yadav today held discussions with human rights lawyers and rights activists and dropped a hint that he was doing groundwork to send an ordinance on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission back to the government, Ananta Raj Luitel writes in The Himalayan Times.. “The President told us that he would not go against the spirit of the Interim Constitution, Supreme Court verdict and international covenants and conventions,” human rights advocate Govinda Sharma Bandi, one of the members meeting the Head of State today, told The Himalayan Times. According to him, the President seems to have made up his mind to return the ordinance — pending for the last five months — to the government. President Yadav today consulted human rights advocates Bandi and Hari Phuyal and right activists Sushil Pyakurel, Subodh Raj Pyakurel, Charan Prasai, Mandira Sharma and Yagya Thapa and sought their suggestions in relation to return the ordinance to the government. The government had forwarded the ordinance to President Yadav on August 28, saying TRC was ‘needed urgently’ to deal with war-era cases. But rights bodies and international community had taken exception to the government bid, which they said was aimed at granting blanket amnesty to serious human rights violators. They had also opposed the ordinance because the government was trying to set up only TRC despite Article 33 (Q) and (S) of the Interim Constitution clearly calling for formation of two separate commissions — TRC and Commission on Inquiry of Disappearances. Besides the ordinance on TRC, the President has not endorsed ordinances on Education (fourth amendment), Civil Service (third amendment) and Anti-Organised Crime also, citing government’s failure to forge consensus as required by Article 43 of the Interim Constitution. On August 17, the President had rejected Election Laws Amendment Ordinance, 2012 and Constituent Assembly Election Ordinance, 2012, stating that their relevance was over in the wake of Election Commission’s statement that there was no possibility of holding polls set for November 22. The government, however, has long been accusing the President of stonewalling the ordinances. When asked about today’s development, Attorney General Mukti Narayan Pradhan, government’s chief legal adviser, told THT: “The President does not have the right to send the ordinances back to the government.” Article 88 of the Interim Constitution does suggest that the President must give his seal of approval to any ordinance forwarded by the government, but it also says the President should give the nod ‘only if he is satisfied, only if the ordinance in question does not go against the constitution and only if it is very necessary to fill the vacuum of an Act’. During today’s discussion, rights defenders also told the President that future arrests of individuals in foreign land — like Col Kumar Lama in the UK — could be avoided if credible investigations were conducted through TRC nnnn CIAA SEALS CTEVT OFFICE Kathmandu, 13 Feb.: Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) today sealed the office of Standard Determination Division inside the premises of Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) for giving affiliation to five new nursing colleges‚ accusing officials of financial irregularities while giving affiliation, The Himalayan Tomes reports from Bhaktapur.. A team of four CIAA officials under the leadership of Laxman Niraula‚ under secretary‚ CIAA‚ raided CTEVT for alleged irregularities during the affiliation process. The 126th meeting of CTEVT held on December 19 had decided to give affiliation to five new colleges for 13 subjects to begin classes from the first year of affiliation. Employees’ Associations had been stating that such a decision after colleges had already started classes for a few months had made the process doubtful and alleged some financial sharing between officials had to be involved in the decision making process. The CIAA team had seized documents with records of the affiliation process. CTEVT had given affiliation to Morang‚ Biratnagar based Nobel Medical College for Proficiency Certificate level studies in Staff Nurse‚ Dental Science‚ Medical Lab Technology‚ Radiography and Diploma in Pharmacy from the current academic session. Likewise‚ the College of Medical Sciences in Chitwan‚ Bharatpur had got affiliation for Proficiency Certificate level in Dental Science‚ Medical Lab Technology‚ Radiography and Kantipur Dental and Research Centre in Basundhara of Kathmandu had received affiliation for Proficiency Certificate level studies in Dental Science and Diploma in Pharmacy. School of Medical Sciences in Chitwan‚ Bharatpur‚ was given affiliation for PCL studies in Medical Lab Technology and Radiography and Bharatpur Hospital was allowed to run nursing classes. CTEVT employees association had been alleging that officials were taking around Rs 2.5 million to Rs 3.5 million from colleges while giving affiliation. Niraula said they had raided CTEVT on the basis of complaints of financial irregularities. He said they collected the necessary documents and would speak more after thorough investigation. Meanwhile‚ according to an employee in CTEVT‚ earlier J B Tandon‚ member secretary had said that the documents CIAA officials had asked for were not in the office but at his residence. It took an hour’s search before CTEVT officials were able to find the minutes of the meeting held on December 19. Stating there were irregularities in CTEVT and that the decision of December 19 was illegal‚ three different employees’ associations had padlocked the office of Vice Chairman Gopal Khanal‚ Member Secretary JB Tandon and the Affiliation Division and Standard Determination Division. CIAA officials today broke the lock at the office of the member secretary and Standard Determination Division and seized the necessary documents. Employees’ associations had also filed a complaint at CIAA against the misuse of authority and irregularities in CTEVT. nnnn