A book “Ocean in a Drop Yoga, Meditation and Life in the Himalayas” by Swami Chandresh was pre-released by Everest Book Shop at a function yesterday.
At the pre-release, Swami Chandresh said that the learning of western scientists has come to our schools but wisdom of Buddha was yet to reach our academic institutes. Swami Chandresh also informed about the central issues discussed in the book.
A press release issued by the organizers said the book includes teachings of Swami Chandresh who is not only a renowned master of Yoga but also an educationist, poet, musician and a painter. The book is published by Nirala Publications, New Delhi,
Swami Chandresh lived for more than two decades in a cottage on top of Mount Shivapuri of the Himalayan hill ranges that surround Kathmandu Valley. Currently he resides at Budhanilkantha where he has built an Ashram where he runs a school for the children, the statement adds.
The book has covered the major issues and questions related to his yoga, meditation, education and spiritual quest in human life.
China’s state councilor Tang Jiaxuan has arrived in Kathmandu for a three-day long official visit to Nepal.
State Councilor of China, Tang Jiaxuan (left) being welcomed by Vice Chairman of Council of Ministers Kirti Nidi Bista upon his arrival on a three-day long official visit to Nepal at Tribhuvan International Airport, Thursday, Mar 16 06. nepalnews.com/rh
Talking to journalists at the Tribhuvan International Airport, Councilor Tang said this is the friendly visit.
Vice Chairman (VC) of the Council of Minister Kriti Nidhi Bista, Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal and other high-ranking government officials welcomed Tang upon his arrival.
Talking to journalists, VC Bista said that the visit will be helpful to strengthen good relation between both the countries.
Tang is scheduled to meet cabinet vice-chairmen, high-ranking government officials and senior opposition leaders during his stay.
His Majesty the King will grant an audience to the visiting Chinese dignitary, according to officials.
Experts said that Tang’s visit is significant from political and economic perspectives. Unlike other countries, China has described February 1 royal takeover of the King as internal affair of the country.
In an attempt to foil the blockade announced by the Maoists, the government has announced various arrangements in order to maintain smooth operation of transportation service in the country.
According to the Ministry of Labour and Transport Management (MoLTM), the government will provide an additional 20 percent to the compensation paid by the insurance companies for damaged vehicles and also provide compensation to the non-insured vehicles, the state run The Rising Nepal daily reported.
As immediate relief assistance, a maximum of Rs. 50,000 will be provided to the vehicle owner immediately after inspecting the damages incurred.
Likewise, in case of death of the driver or helper of the damaged vehicles, the government will add a 100 percent to the insurance amount received by the individual concerned.
A 50 percent concession will be granted to owners of vehicles that are completely damaged and who want to import a new vehicle. The same route license will also be provided.
The aforementioned facilities will be provided to the vehicles that ply during the period and incur any damage during the next one year.
The MoLTM has asked the concerned transport entrepreneurs to operate transportation service as usual in the routes that they have taken permission for and also warned of legal action (suspend or annul route permit) against those obstructing the service.
The Maoists have announced a three-week long blockade in the valley and district headquarters from Tuesday.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Camp has said that the United States’ (US) primary objectives in Nepal are the restoration of multi-party democracy and the prevention of a Maoist takeover.
In his statement before the House Committee on International Relations Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific he said, “We believe that reconciliation between the King and the political parties and a return to democracy is the only path toward an effective counter-insurgency strategy and the restoration of security, government services, exercise of political rights and respect for human rights.”
He also said that he had reiterated the President’s message on Nepal – his call in New Delhi for the King to reach out to the parties and for the Maoists to foreswear violence during his visit to Nepal last week.
“The King has not initiated a dialogue with the parties and he is losing domestic support. The seven major political parties have been equally reluctant to engage with the King and have entered into a “12 Point Understanding” with the Maoists. But we believe that the Maoists must forswear violence before they can be considered a legitimate political force. Moreover, the agreement is flawed in that it does not commit the Maoists to abandon their campaign of violence,” he added.
“Maoist insurgents systematically employ violence and terror and commit human rights abuses including killings, torture, bombings, extortion, kidnapping and recruitment of child soldiers,” the top US official said.
He expressed dissatisfaction over the February 8 municipal elections, which was held without participation of the mainstream political parties and said, “The February 8 municipal elections, called by King Gyanendra, only showcased his increasing isolation.”
The top US official also described the one year long direct rule of the King as a failure and said, “Regrettably, democracy has not been restored, nor have human rights conditions significantly improved, since February 2005.”
He further said that in their struggle against the Maoists, Nepalese security forces have committed serious human rights abuses, including unaccounted-for detentions, disappearance of detainees, torture, and arbitrary and unwarranted use of lethal force.
On the refugee issue he said, the plight of refugees in Nepal is another critical human rights issue. The Bhutanese government’s policies in the early 1990s caused tens of thousands of ethnic Nepalese to leave Bhutan, he said. As a result, over 100,000 ethnic Nepalese refugees from Bhutan have been living in seven camps in southeastern Nepal. Despite fifteen years and fifteen rounds of formal negotiations between Bhutan and Nepal, no refugees have been permitted to return to Bhutan, he added.
The authorities released two Nepali Congress-Democratic (NC-D) leaders following the Supreme Court (SC)’s order on Thursday.
Acting upon a writ petition filed at the SC, a division bench of Justices Paramananda Jha and Pawan Kumar Ojha ordered for the release of Pradeep Giri and Bimilandra Nidhi terming their detention as illegal, according to reports.
They were detained at the Royal Nepalese Army’s Kharipati Barrack in Bhaktapur since January 19, one day before the proposed mass meeting of the seven political parties.
Talking to journalists upon their release, the leaders said that there is no other alternative than to intensify the peaceful agitation of the seven political parties to restore democracy in the country.
CPN-UML general secretary, who was placed under house arrest from January 19, is still under house arrest.
The government also has not released some rights activists and representatives of the civil society who were arrested from peaceful demonstration for the restoration of democracy.
Former Prime Minister and the seniormost leader of the seven opposition parties, Girija Prasad Koirala, has said the on-going agitation being launched by their alliance must finish off before the monsoon.
In an exclusive interview with the March-April issue of Himal Southasian magazine, the President of Nepali Congress said “We have to energise our agitation in the next two months. We must finish it off before the monsoon.”
The Seven Party Alliance (SPA) has announced Kathmandu-centric agitation beginning April 8, this year “to restore peace and democracy in the country.” The day symbolizes the end of three-decade-long direct rule of the king in 1990 leading to the restoration of the multi-party polity.
Monsoon normally starts in Nepal in the months of June-July. Nepal being a predominantly agrarian country, monsoon is the season when people—including political party workers—return to their villages to undertake farming.
Responding to a query on why the parties had been so weak in opposing the royal takeover of Feb. 1, 2005, the octogenarian leader said, “In the beginning, we did have problems within ourselves, and also some lack of clarity. This prevented us from going to the people. Remember also that we have been harassed continuously, detentions, house arrests. Even today, our most effective organisers are being picked up one by one,” he said.
“The king must understand how precarious the situation has become now. If he reaches out, of course we can help. If he does not, who can take responsibility for what happens next.”
G. P. Koirala
Koirala– who rarely gives one-to-one interview (the last one being over BBC Nepali)– claimed that His Majesty King Gyanendra was completely isolated. “Everyone opposes his takeover, even those he thought would support him.”
Commenting on the recent remarks by the US envoy in Kathmandu, James F. Moriarty, Koirala said, “His pronouncements are like a safety line thrown to the king. We shall see if the king uses it to retreat or to reinforce his autocratic grip. I have my doubts and am watching closely,” he added.
When asked about the contradictory statements and interviews being granted by the senior Maoist leaders, the veteran politician said, “These things will happen, because they also have their activists to consider. I have met them, and will rely on what they have said to me in person. Leave the Maoist matter to me. It is our responsibility to bring them in—no one else can do that,” he added.
Together with CPN (UML) general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal and other senior leaders of the SPA, Koirala was in Delhi in November last year to hold talks with the Maoist leadership. Both the sides then came up with the 12-point understanding calling for an end to what they call “autocratic monarchy” and peaceful transformation of the decade-old conflict in the country.
“They (the Maoists) are keen to leave violent politics at long last. We are working for a political solution, which is possible now because the Maobaadi no longer believe they can achieve a military victory,” he added.
When asked what should the palace do to end the long-drawn political stalemate in the country, Koirala said, “The king must issue a proclamation conceding that state sovereignty (rajya satta) lies with the people. He has to do that. (Thereafter) The Parliament must be reinstated. …You will be surprised at how many layers of problems will be solved the day Parliament is restored. First and foremost, it will guarantee peace with the Maoists. We will also have democracy. The restoration of Parliament will be decisive,” he added.
Responding to another query, Koirala said he had not had any contact with the Narayanhiti royal palace for the last fourteen months (since the royal takeover). When asked what should the king do, the NC leader said, “I am one who believes in giving continuity to history as much as possible because that will help achieve permanent peace. This is the reason for the goodwill towards the monarchy as an institution, but the king must understand how precarious the situation has become now. If he reaches out, of course we can help. If he does not, who can take responsibility for what happens next,” he added.
His Majesty King Gyanendra and Queen Komal returned to the capital, Kathmandu, from Pokhara on Thursday.
Their Majesties flew back to the capital by a special helicopter this morning. The royal couple will stay in Kathmandu for four days and return to Pokhara where they have been staying for the last four weeks as part of their unofficial visit to the western region.
Their return to Kathmandu coincides with the arrival of Tang Jiaxuan, the State Councillor of China. Jiaxuan landed in Kathmandu this afternoon.
The King and the Queen will return to Pokhara next week and will stay there for nearly a month, according to reports. The royal couple had been staying at the Ratna Mandir in Lakeside of Pokhara.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken the government to task for keeping political leaders and civil society representatives under prolonged detention.
Issuing a press statement after meeting CPN (UML) general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, who has been placed under house arrest at his Koteshwor residence for some time, and two detained Nepali Congress (NC) leaders – Ram Chandra Paudel and Narahari Acharya – on Thursday, the NHRC said, “The commission had on February 10 asked the government to release the UML general secretary and other detained leaders as political leader should be put under house arrest or detention in an arbitrary manner and without sufficient ground.”
It added, “The recent monitoring shows that basic human rights of the citizens as recommended by the commission have not been respected. The house arrest of UML general secretary Nepal and detention of other political leaders and civil society personalities is not appropriate.”
The rights body also asked the government to free all detained leaders and respect the Constitution of the Kingdom, rule of law and the rights guaranteed by the international accords on human rights.
The statement came after a high-level monitoring team led by NHRC chairman Nayan Bahadur Khatri, which comprised of members Sushila Singh Shilu, Sudeep Pathak, Gokul Pokhrel and Dr Ram Dayal Rakesh, met with UML general secretary Nepal and NC leaders Poudel and Acharya and take stock of their condition.
At least one security man and two others were killed in separate encounters between the security forces and the insurgents in Jhapa and Tehrathum districts, eastern Nepal, on Thursday.
The clash started after armed Maoists attacked a revenue patrol of the Armed Police Force (APF) in Kakadbitta, Jhapa, at around 1:00 p.m., reports said. An APF man and a suspected Maoist cadre were killed in the gunfight while two policemen were injured.
The area remains tense following the shootout while security forces have been mobilised in search of the Maoists.
Meanwhile, a Maoist militant was killed in a security action carried out in Surke area of Tehrathum district Thursday.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the Maoist identified as Shri Prasad Limbu was killed on the spot during the encounter.
In another incident, two students of a school in Bajhang district were seriously injured in an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) blast carried out by the Maoists this afternoon, according to the ministry.
Students Lokesh Hamal and Rajan Rajak, students of the Bhojpur Secondary School located in the Bajhang district headquarters, who were injured in the blast, have been taken to a local hospital for treatment, MoD statement added.
Welcoming the formation of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), replacing the existing Commission on Human Rights, country representative of the UN rights body, Ian Martin, has said that the decision would not hamper the mandate of his office in Nepal.
A press statement issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)-Nepal on Thursday quoted Martin as saying, “I want to make it absolutely clear that the mandate of OHCHR-Nepal is not affected by the creation of the Human Rights Council or the closure of the Commission on Human Rights.”
He further added, “We will continue to operate under the two-year agreement signed in April 2005 between the High Commissioner and the Government of Nepal for the protection and promotion of human rights in Nepal.”
On 15 March, UN’s member states at the General Assembly decided to establish the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Based in Geneva, the Council will start work from 19 June and the 62nd session of the Commission will resume on Monday [20 March], when the agenda will be finalised. The mandate of the Commission on Human Rights will end on 16 June.
Issuing a statement, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, also described the decision as “a historic opportunity to improve the protection and promotion of fundamental freedoms of people around the world.” She said that it responded “to the hope that the global community could come together and create a strong institution at the heart of the international human rights system”.
In addition to retaining some of the best elements of the Commission on Human Rights, such as the system of independent investigators and the broad participation of civil society, the new Human Rights Council will display some significant features, including that candidates for membership will have to make commitments on human rights; elected members will be first in line for scrutiny under a universal periodic review of their human rights records and members that commit gross and systematic violations of human rights may be suspended. Members will also be required to commit to cooperate with the Council and its various mechanisms.
“The method of electing members of the Human Rights Council also represents a major improvement over the Commission on Human Rights. Election to the Council will require an absolute majority of UN member States: of the 191 members, at least 96 must support a state’s membership by secret ballot,” the statement said, adding, “This threshold is much higher than the 28 or fewer votes required by a country to attain membership in the Commission, and will allow countries to block the election of egregious rights violators.”