Tourist arrivals by air decreased by 2.2 percent in the month of April due to frequent curfews and general strike called by the seven parties as part of the people’s movement for restoration of democracy.

According to the data of the Ministry of Culture, Civil Aviation and Tourism, 18,465 tourists came in April by air down from 18,879 in the same month last year. The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) in a statement said that there was a sharp rise in the number of visitors in the first half of the month which helped to avoid registering a considerable fall in the month.

According to figures, there was a growth in tourist arrivals by 35 percent in the first half of the month. Tourist arrivals from India went down by around 24 percent. Only 3,849 Indian tourists arrived during the month compared to 5,088 in the same period last year.

Tourist arrivals from the third countries registered a rise of 5.8 percent, with the number reaching 14,616 from 13,821.

Tourist arrivals from SAARC region decreased by 26.6 percent, while the numbers plunged by 10.7 percent from other Asian countries. The number of tourists from Bangladesh decreased by 49.6 percent, from Malaysia by 38 percent and from Pakistan by 41.1 percent. Similarly, the number of tourists from the US and Germany decreased by 15.2 percent and 7 percent respectively. However, visitors from France and the UK rose by 2.8 percent and 38.9 percent respectively.

Tourist arrivals in the first four months of the year 2006 rose by 13.3 percent. In the period, 81,601 tourists visited the country, up from 72,049 tourists in the same period last year.

The Human Rights Organization of Nepal (HURON) has distributed assistance and felicitation letters to the families of two people who were died in course of pro-democracy movement of the country.

A press statement issued by the HURON said former Justice of the Supreme Court Laxman Prasad Aryal distributed a purse of nine thousand rupees and felicitation letters to Pradhumna Khandka of Syauchatar village development committee (VDC)-4 of Kathmandu and Mohammed Jahagir of Sitamadi India.

The assistance was collected from Baltimore branch of the organization.

The organization has informed that it will provide similar assistance to the families of other 17 people who were killed during the pro-democracy movement of the country.

19 people were killed and over 5,000 injured when police used excessive force to suppress the pro-democracy movement of the country.

Nepal has signed an emission reductions purchase agreement (ERPA) for the Nepal Biogas project, which will benefit small rural communities throughout the country.

A press statement issued by World Bank country office in Nepal said, “This is the first greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reductions project in Nepal under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol.”

“The project promotes the use of biogas as a commercially viable industry in Nepal by expanding its use for cooking and lighting in rural households. The biogas units will be sold at a non-commercial price to poor households and displace fuel sources traditionally used for cooking—fuel wood, kerosene and agricultural waste—with gas from the treatment of animal and human waste,” the statement adds.

Each household biogas unit can reduce almost five tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually.

“This project is a major breakthrough,” the statement quoted Ken Ohashi, the World Bank Country Director for Nepal as saying.

“It is the result of years of painstaking work by visionary Nepalis who saw that clean environmental practices would eventually bring economic and social payoffs. Hundreds of thousands of rural Nepalis now stand to benefit not only from renewable energy sources for their homes and communities, but a wide range of associated benefits in the areas of health, sanitation and agriculture as well,” he added.

In Nepal, only 15 percent of the rural population has access to electricity. The dependence on fuel wood has contributed greatly to deforestation in the country. Switching to biogas will help lessen the pressure on forests.

“The project developer, Alternative Energy Promotion Centre, Nepal (AEPC) will sell a total of one million tons of greenhouse gas emission reductions to the World Bank managed Community Development Carbon Fund (CDCF),” the statement adds.

The statement also quoted Madan Bahadur Basnyat, Executive Director of AEPC, as saying, “The Nepal Biogas is the first CDM project in Nepal. We take pride in participating in the global efforts to reduce GHG through this project. The revenues from the carbon credit sale will help us expand biogas plant installations to provide affordable energy to more remote households of rural Nepal without depending much on donor assistance.”

It is expected that about 200,000 plants will be installed over 8 years.

The newly formed government announced an indefinite ceasefire and removed the Red Corner notice and terrorist tag on the Maoists Wednesday evening.
A meeting of the Council of Ministers announced to reciprocate the ceasefire announced by the Maoists a week ago. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister KP Sharma Oli announced the cabinet decision.

The two-and-half hour long meeting also called on the Maoists to come to the negotiating table at the earliest. Prime Minister Koirala had proposed for ceasefire at yesterday’s cabinet meeting.

Local bodies dissolved

Meanwhile, the government also decided to dissolve the local municipalities constituted after the municipal elections held in February this year and withdraw the nominations in other local bodies.

Compensation to martyrs’ families

Today’s cabinet meeting also decided to provide Rs1 million to each of the families of the martyrs of the people’s movement.

19 people lost their lives in the suppression by former government on the movement for democracy spearheaded by the seven-party alliance.

The CPN (UML), a key ally of the seven-party alliance, has formed a team to negotiate with the Maoists, various political parties and the civil society.

A meeting of the Standing Committee held at the UML central office, Balkhu, Thursday formed the five-member talks team headed by senior leader Jhal Nath Khanal. Deputy prime minister KP Sharma Oli, Amrit Bohora, Bamdev Gautam and Bharat Mohan Adhikari also are in the talks team which will soon start negotiations with the leaders of the CPN (Maoist), various political parties and the civil society, a statement issued by the UML said.

The Standing Committee meeting also formed another committee under Bharat Mohan Adhikari to prepare the outline of the new constitution. Committee members include Ishwor Pokhrel, Surendra Pandey, Rajendra Shrestha, Ram Chandra Jha, Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Prithivi Subba Gurung and Gokarna Bista.

Saying that there were no hassles in the distribution of ministerial births within the SPA, the UML meeting asked party leader Pradeep Nepal, who resigned on Tuesday citing dissatisfaction over the party’s decision to accept ministries other than those previously demanded by party, to withdraw his resignation from the Standing Committee. Saying that the way he made his statement was wrong, the meeting also directed him to realize his mistake.

The party also condemned the manhandling of party leader Pradeep Gyawali by a group of unruly people while coming out of Singh Durbar yesterday.

Edmund Hillary, the first man to conquer the world’s highest peak Mt Everest, has called on tourists to help revive the tourism industry of Nepal, a report said.

In an interview with the New Zealand Television on Monday, 85 year old Hillary said that the revival of tourism industry of this Himalayan kingdom would help in recovery of the country’s derailed economy by the recent political troubles, the Associated Press reported.

His call came as Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala took the responsibility of forming a new government after three weeks of demonstrations led by the seven-party alliance, forcing King Gyanendra to step down from his 15 month long direct rule.

Hillary is in Nepal on a trip that had been delayed because of the demonstrations.

With Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, Hillary had conquered Mt Everest on May 29, 1953. Since the last 43 years, Hillary has been active in fund raising for development work in the Solukhumbu region.

CPN-M central committee member and Spokesperson Krishna Bahadur Mahara addressing the mass meeting at Khulamanch (Open Air Theatre), Friday, June 02 06. nepalnews.com

Allaying fears of possible violence, a major mass meeting organised by the CPN-Maoist at the Open Air Theatre at Tundikhel in the capital on Friday has concluded peacefully.

An estimated 200,000 cadres and supporters of the Maoists as well as people from various walks of life took part in the meeting. The organizers, however, claimed that as many as 800,000 people took part in the Friday’s mass meeting.

Addressing the meeting, Maoist leaders said they were committed toward restoring peace in the county through negotiations. Deputy commander of the Maoist ‘People’s Liberation Army,’ Comrade Prabhaker alias Janardan Sharma said he had brought with him the message of Maoist supremo, Prachanda, that their party was ready to move towards peace provided people were allowed to choose their own destiny. “We are not tired and don’t want to give up war to share power. We want to attain our goal through as little bloodshed as possible,” he said.

Maoist spokesman and coordinator of the rebel negotiating team, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, referred to the royalists as regressive and mainstream political parties as status quoits. “We are the real progressive and revolutionary force in the country,” he claimed. He also warned that the king had retreated by only one step and could stage a comeback if the people did not maintain vigilance.

While the party spokesperson Krishna Bahadur Mahara was delivering his 1 hours and 15 minutes long speech, many of the people who came long way from villages were hanging on in the grassy ground behind the big masses with hunger.

Some of them told Nepalnews that they have not eaten since early morning since they arrived in the capital. No money in hands to buy some snacks, there were no one to take care of them.

The volunteers too had a hard day of work before them. Many of them were deployed since early morning and had no chance to go out for lunch. “I had eaten food at 6 a.m. Till now I am not been given permission to go for lunch. If I leave, they may take action against me,” a visibly angry volunteer said at 4:15 p.m. He became ready to talk to us when we offered a piece of cucumber to him.

Mikes were fixed as far as Tindhara Pathshala—only a few hundred meters away from the Narayanhiti royal palace. People were sitting in groups of 300 and 400 around mikes to listen to the speeches. Maoist cadres were moving around with booklets about Maoism to distribute among the people.

The Maoists had mobilized their unarmed militia to manage the crowd right from the morning. Thousands of cadres arrived in the capital in hundreds of buses and mini-buses from neighbouring districts from early morning. They were chanting slogans against the monarchy and demanding that the Nepal be turned into a “democratic republic.”

For the first time, thousands of Maoist cadres entered into the Army pavilion and took control of it. Some of them managed to erase ‘Shree Panch” (His Majesty) written at the pavilion in honour of His Majesty. They also erected sickle and hammer red flags at the army pavilion.

Young people were more interested and excited with dance and songs performed by pro-Maoist cultural troupes rather than long speeches given by the Maoist leaders. Gradually, the mass began to disperse after Mahara ended his speech.

Water tankers were at hand to provide drinking water to the participants while half a dozen primary care centers were also set up by various health institutions.

The Valley Traffic Police Office had banned the entry of heavy vehicles inside the Ring Road from 10 a. m. onwards. Friday being a public holiday, very few vehicles could be seen in the street. Maoist volunteers were seen helping traffic personnel to manage the crowd and participants of the rally.

Some Maoist cadres were also seen discussing with the members of security personnel on the issue of managing the mass meeting and rally

The European Commission (EC) delegation visiting Nepal has asked the Maoists to renounce violence and commit to decommissioning their weapons as a precondition for free and fair elections to a Constituent Assembly and as part of a peace process.

Addressing a press conference at the end of its two-day visit to Nepal on Friday, leader of the delegation, Hervé Jouanjean, Deputy Director General of the Directorate-General for External Relations, said he conveyed the message of the EU in support of the ongoing transition to full-fledged multi-party democracy, the establishment of an effective democratic government and efforts aimed at lasting peace during the meeting with ministers and senior government officials.

“We have also discussed the possible contributions of the European Commission on the provision of peace-building support to Nepal,” he said.

Jouanjean further said, “I would like to stress that despite the positive developments over the past weeks, in particular the agreement reached on a Code of Conduct, there are still many challenges ahead.”

“It is the hope of the European Commission that all parties to the conflict show clear commitment to lasting peace and make credible efforts to settle differences. In this respect, it is essential that both the Government of Nepal and the Maoists respect the ceasefire and I call upon all sides to uphold human rights and observe international humanitarian law. It is of utmost importance that this opportunity is not lost and that Nepal embarks on a trail of peace, stability, and social and economic prosperity,” he added.

He expressed satisfaction that situation in Nepal has achieved positive changes since the EU Troika visited Nepal in October 2005.

He further said, “The European Commission believes that it is up to the Nepalese people to decide what type of constitution and government they wish for Nepal; thus, in our view it is important that the processes towards a peaceful Nepal are inclusive, transparent and accountable.”

During the two day visit, the three-member EC delegation met the Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs KP Oli, Minister of Home Affairs Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Minister of Finance Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, political leaders, representatives of the international community in Nepal including the UN, the business community and civil society leaders to take a first hand account of their views of the situation and the most important challenges ahead.

The delegation also discussed issues like how the international community can best support the processes ahead towards lasting peace and support Nepal in recapturing human, social, and economic development potentials.

The delegation left Nepal on Friday.

Five girls were killed and one woman injured when a mudslide swept them away at Gautampur village development committee in Sunsari on Monday.

The deceased have been identified as 12 year old Rekha Kumari Shah, 12 year old Gita Kumari Urau, 8 year old Koshila Kumari Urau, 12 year old Ful Kumari Urau and Sita Kumari Urau of saerjhoad VDC.

They were buried in the morning while collecting white clay for daubing house.

Local rescued one girl from the incident site and she is receiving treatment at BP Koirala institute of Health sciences, Dharan.

The breakaway Nepali Congress (Democratic) party has been granted the status of an independent political party in the revived House of Representatives following full support from five political parties represented in the parliament, including the CPN-UML.

With its new status of an independent political outfit, NC(D) will have control over its 39 members of Parliament (MPs).

“This would not perhaps have been possible had there not been enough support to us from the five alliance partners,” reports quoted NC (D) general secretary Bimalendra Nidhi as saying.

“It was agreed that while NC(D) would back Koirala as the PM, NC would back the NC(D) claim for independent status,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) initiated initial discussions on a constituent assembly as the next political agenda.

The party had on Sunday backed the agenda of the seven-party alliance to go for election to a constituent assembly.

As per the Parliament Act, to be registered as a separate party in the parliament, any breakaway faction needs at least 40 percent of the total MPs of the parent party. The NC had 113 seats in the erstwhile parliament however only 40 MP are in NC (D).