A group of peace communicators from different professions have established a network to contribute to peace building efforts in the country.
The network, National Network of Peace Communicators (NNPC), was the result of a training program ‘Systemic Conflict Transformation for Peace Communicators’, organized by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) a few days earlier.
The main objectives of the network are to create awareness on peace, research and publications of peace related issues, peace volunteer training, capacity building activities and others.
The members of the network are academicians, researchers, trade unionists, journalists and representatives of civil society organizations with various expertise in their respective fields of work, a statement released by NNPC said.
The statement also said that the most remarkable feature of the network is that it is working without a fixed office building and without being registered as an NGO, which makes it a truly voluntary organisation.
Six Nepalis who had gone to Malaysia for employment have been jailed for “violating immigration laws”, according to newspaper reports.
The Malaysian police arrested six of a group of 24 Nepalis while 18 others managed to evade arrest and are now in hiding, the Himalayan Times quoted the victims family members as saying. The people were arrested three days ago.
All 24 persons had been sent to Malaysia by Om KSH Overseas located in Samakhushi of Kathmandu some nine months ago.
“The police have arrested our friends. I managed to evade arrest and have been hiding. Please try and rescue us,” Jang Sunuwar of Dokhu VDC-3 of Taplejung said quoting his brother Bhakta Bahadur Sunuwar, who is in Malaysia, as saying over the phone.
According to the report, those in police custody are Tej Bahadur Sunuwar of Dokhu VDC-3, Yam Shrestha and Lal Bahadur Darji of Fungling-2 of Taplejung, Prakash Puri of Sanya and two persons of Gulmi district.
Sixteen inmates among over 100 prisoners who escaped in the overnight clashes between the Maoists and security forces in the district headquarters of eastern Ilam district have come into contact on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Directorate of Public Relations (DPR) of Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) has confirmed that at least five people including two Maoists, two security men and a civilian were killed during the attack.
Officials at the DPR of RNA said there was heavy causalities on the rebels side and that the rebels had buried some of their dead comrades at Raanke area of the district.
The official further said the RNA recovered one SLR and one .303 rifle from the rebels. A search operation is on in the area to nab the rebels who fled following the attack, the official added.
According to RNA, the Maoist attack was repulsed through strong retaliation.
The clashes erupted after the rebels launched an attack at the district headquarters of Ilam targeting the District Prison Office, District Administration Office, District Police Office, the army base and other government offices at around 9:30 p.m. Sunday night. The fighting lasted till 1:30 a.m. Monday morning.
However, local reports said that at least 10 people including six Maoists, 2 security men and two civilians were killed in the fighting.
The Association of Youth Organisations Nepal (AYON) has with support from Poverty Reduction Strategy Resource Centre of the World Bank launched Youth in Development Partnership (YDP) programme aimed at making the young population as active agents of development process.
Addressing a ceremony organised to unveil the programme in the capital on Monday, secretary of the Ministry of General Administration, Madhav Ghimire, said the government’s National Youth Policy, which is under discussion, is also targeted at increasing the involvement of young people in the socio-economic activities. Innovative potentialities of Nepali youths have not been ably trapped by the nation due to financial constraints, he said.
“Youths should no more be the target of development but agents of the development,” Ghimire added.
Rajib Upadhya, World Bank’s focal person for Youth in South Asia, said that the young generation has not been able to participate in the development process because of lack of workable youth policies and programmes of the government.
President of Youth Initiative Rajendra Mulmi addressing the function in Kathmandu on Monday (Photo courtesy: AYON)
President of AYON Rajendra Mulmi informed that the project aims at institutionalising the youth participation in development activities. He said youths have an important role to play in sustainable development and at the same time they could be effective advocates of change, both to decision-makers and to the general public, if the nation consolidated their involvement in development process.
Director of the YDP 2006 project, Sudhyumna Dahal, said that the Millennium Development Goals would not be met by countries like Nepal without activating the potentialities of youths. The young population must have access to policy making level so that traditional policies get reformed.
The project will fund seven youth-led organisations that have been working on programme on education, health, employment, youth participation, agriculture, conflict resolution, infrastructure development and environment –with each getting maximum of Rs 300,000.
The government is mulling over the formulation National Youth Policy with the aim of involving youths in national development mainstream by enhancing their knowledge, skills and capabilities. Critics, however, say the new policy aims at mobilising youths in support of the present government, in the name of nationalism, as was the case during the autocratic Panchayat rule.
Their Majesties King Gyanendra and Queen Komal arrived in Jomsom, the district headquarters of Mustang, on Monday.
Administrative and security chiefs based in the Western Region welcomed the Their Majesties when they arrived in Jomsom by a helicopter this morning, reports said.
The royal couple will stay in Jomsom for two days and will fly back to Pokhara on Wednesday.
The King and Queen are in Pokhara since last week as part of their three-week long informal tour to the Western Region.
The seven party opposition alliance has appealed the CPN (Maoist) to call off the indefinite general strike and other protest programmes they have announced from early next month.
The meting of the alliance, attended by senior leaders of the seven parties, in Kathmandu on Monday, also expressed concern on the recent violent activities of the Maoists like murder and abduction of common people, forceful collections of donations and action against party cadres notwithstanding the 12-point agreement between the seven political parties and Maoists. The meeting urged the rebels to immediately stop such activities.
The meeting, held at the residence of Nepali Congress (NC) President Girija Prasad Koirala, however, expressed full commitment towards the 12-point pact.
The meeting also decided to organise capital centered protest programmes from April 6 for the restoration of complete democracy in the country.
The meeting concluded that the roadmap of the seven political parties announced on 8th May 2005 was the best way to restore complete democracy in the country and added that the roadmap is still relevant.
The seven agitating political parties issued a joint declaration on 8th May 2005, which has demanded reinstatement of the dissolved House of Representatives.
“The reinstated parliament would constitute an all-party government, which would then work towards creating a favourable environment to hold peace negotiations with the Maoist insurgents,” the declaration added.
A press statement issued by the alliance after the meeting also urged for cooperation from all quarters in the peaceful agitation of the seven political parties aimed at restoring complete democracy.
Stating that the relevancy of the royal government ended following the recent verdict of the Supreme Court to quash the Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC), the press statement said there is no alternative to implementing the six point roadmap of the seven political party for the restoration of peace and democracy.
The meeting also condemned the government’s act of detaining leaders of political parties and some rights activists.
The meeting also dubbed the municipal polls held on February 8, as a complete failure of the royal government.
More than 40 visually-impaired persons were arrested and several others injured as police intervened into their protest rally, demanding employment, in Kathmandu on Monday.
Police intervened into the rally when it arrived at Bhadrakali, a restricted area. Participants of the rally said police used excessive force to disrupt the rally. They said police even mistreated some female participants.
The arrested persons have been kept at the Ward Police Office at Singha Durbar.
Two of them the protesters were seriously injured in police beating.
Over 100 demonstrators were arrested and several others were injured during Sunday’s agitation.
The Visually-Impaired Persons’ group has been demanding that the government offer jobs to 500 visually-impaired persons at the earliest and provide a monthly ‘unemployment allowance’ of Rs 2,000 to others.
By Shiv Raj Bhatt
In rich countries, parents and their children live and work separately. The children are not able to devote the needed service, time and attention to their aged parents. Despite of very strong social security measures, isolated and elderly people are disparately searching for the support and care of able hands. However, due to very materialistic thinking among the people, it is very hard for them to find hearty caretakers over there. Therefore, the aged people have to spend their lives in the old age homes with very limited opportunities to talk, interact and enjoy with young and active population. The life outside is busy and fast, so no one has even a few minutes to share with them. Moreover, services of personal care and building rentals are comparatively more expensive in developed nations.
As a result, many old people from the north (developed world) are now moving towards the south (less developed world) to spend rest of their life with joy and proper care at lower costs. For example, many American settlers move to Mexico, not so much in pursuit of the sun, but in search for a cheaper way of life, along with the sense of community that they generate. The situation is not very different in other advanced countries.
All of this poses a lucrative opportunity for the south. Therefore, many developing countries, particularly in the Latin America, offer tax breaks to foreigners seeking to retire there, believing that even an influx of a few tens of thousands of American ‘senior citizens’ can have a big impact on the small economies.
In this context, it may be right time for Nepal to think towards opportunities created by these developments and trends around the world. Dr. Roop Jyoti, as a member of the National Assembly, had also indicated the importance of old age homes in his proposal entitled ‘desired course of action for the present economy to enhance employment for poverty alleviation and reforms needed in the economic policies’ submitted to the National Assembly on April 3, 2003.
In his proposal, Dr. Jyoti rightly pointed out that foreign travelers to Nepal have praised the smiling faces, sweet talk and civic behaviour of Nepalese. Similarly, the proper belief of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ (Guest is the God) and godly respect for elders may also help Nepal to attract senior citizens from the north. Moreover, a large workforce available to care and entertain may further help to realize the benefits. Most importantly, climatic and natural advantages coupled with low cost of living can be strong case for Nepal in this regard.
Unfortunately, Nepal cannot benefit at present situation of weak health services that elders need very frequently, absence of proper old age homes, lack of entertainment facilities for elders, weak and inconvenient air connectivity with the rest of the world, lack of proper in-country transportation facilities and lack of proper laws and regulations to systematize the issue.
Therefore, development of proper and reliable health services, establishment of proper old age homes, development of needed entertainment facilities for the elders are required. In these areas, participation of private sector is most crucial. Similarly, introduction of appropriate laws and rules/regulations, reliable air connectivity and infrastructure development is also important. These facilities, once developed, would also benefit the local population.
If these issues can be addressed properly, Nepal can be an attractive destination for elders from the north to spend rest of their lives. The spill-over effects for our own elders will also be remarkable. Let’s hope, Dr. Jyoti– who is now the State Minister of Finance– will move forward and initiate a dialogue/debate immediately and turn his proposal into action when he is in a position to influence the policies, budget and actions of the government.
(Bhatt is a development economist based in Kathmandu. Please send your comments/suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected])
(Follows response from a Nepalnews reader-Ed.)
Are we really welcome ?
After spending nearly five years during an assignment from 1959-1964 in a development project, I and my wife wished to spend our retirement again in Nepal , together with our old Nepali friends. Encouraged by the concerned embassy, piles of documents and bank-guarantees forwarded and with a free entry visa we arrived again in Kathmandu in 1996. For seven years, we had to face a continuous, laborious, yearly procedure to have our Non-Tourist visa extended. Beside the exorbitant visa-fee of 2400 US$ , a bank transfer of 40.000 US$ per year had to be verified and even more than 2 lakhs NRs income-tax for a fictitious income was levied. Altogether we spent and promoted a total sum of approx. 8 million Rupees into welfare projects for disableds , old-age facilities and a village-development project. Nevertheless, during a time of 2-3 months every year, we were left uncertain, if our stay would be permitted any further. Getting finally tired of this practice, we shifted down to Thailand. For a ridiculous modest fee, non-immigrant visa was issued to us within not even an hour’s time and we felt treated as welcome guests in this also beautiful country. Our love for Nepal –with its wonderful, friendly people– is now reduced to frequent visit with a normal tourist visa. It is a thousand pities!
Karl Müller , (Switzerland)
(Editor’s Note: Nepalis, wherever they live, as well as friends of Nepal around the globe are requested to contribute their views/opinions/recollections etc. on issues concerning present day Nepal to the Guest Column of Nepalnews. Length of the article should not be more than 1,000 words and may be edited for the purpose of clarity and space. Relevant photos as well as photo of the author may also be sent along with the article. Please send your write-ups to [email protected])
By Padam Prasad Sharma, Ph. D.
Nepal never had a “people are the sovereign” rule of democracy. Throughout its modern history under both absolute and constitutional monarchy, the monarch retained the command of the Royal Nepalese Army. The governance system continued to empower the khaoists – a Nepali word for the unscrupulous bunch amongst the ruling elites. The continued social injustice and economic malaise, corruption by the ruling class, rampant human rights abuses by the King’s army and police, and the resulting socio-political chaos created and emboldened the Maoists.
By manipulating the elected Prime Minister to dissolve the parliament, and by accusing him of inept leadership unable to hold elections and solve the Maoist problem, King Gyanendra took administrative control of the government on February 1, 2005. His rhetorical explanation of the takeover was for re-establishing ‘peace’, ‘security’ and ‘democracy’. Like his father King Mahendra’s dissolution of elected parliament and civilian government in 1960, King Gyanendra’s actions of the past year demonstrated his autocratic character. With unquestioned authority and the state coffers of a poor country at its disposal, the royal regime seems in no mood to end the civil war.
Current US policy of crisis intervention in Nepal is based on the twin pillar theory: the King and the mainstream parliamentary parties should compromise and present a united front against the Maoists. The US policy is based not on the “people are the sovereign” principle of democracy but on the US administration’s Maoist-phobia – a psychological barrier to accept the hard-core communists as legitimate political force in Nepal. The phobia is built up by the Maoists’ continued anti-US rhetoric, the US’s own paranoid perception of Nepal being a potential future haven for international terrorists, and the ghost of its bitter war against South-East Asian communists.
Because of King Gyanendra’s intransigence, the dominating political consensus of the day in Nepal is to achieve peace and stability by bringing the Maoists into mainstream politics. The recent 12-point understanding between the Maoists and the seven political parties to coordinate their struggle against the autocratic King is a natural political confluence towards a democratic goal. This political alliance, “however unholy” it may be, has isolated the monarch, thus demolishing the very foundation of the twin pillar theory.
The seven political parties have taken up the challenge of the Maoists’ demand for an election of a constituent assembly to rewrite a multi-party democratic constitutional system in Nepal. In a recent interview with international media, the Maoists have indicated their willingness to accept such a constitution with or without the King. By agreeing to the Maoists’ constituent assembly demand, the political parties have nullified Maoist’s mission. By taking up the Maoists’ challenge head-on, they have provided a political conduit to solve the root cause of Maoist insurgency.
The American policy reflected by the current shuttle-diplomatic efforts of US ambassador James F. Moriarty is imprudent and inopportune. It seems to prod the king and the mainstream political parties to ally against the Maoists. Instead of supporting the evolving mainstream political effort to re-establish democracy, the US – the greatest democratic country in the world – seems to be hanging on to the autocratic King’s coattails. The US is missing this opportunity to politically empower the people of Nepal.
For violence to end and democracy to take root, the warring factions in Nepal must be persuaded to recommit on the ‘people are the sovereign’ foundation of democracy. The course of action should include support for the election of a constituent assembly resulting in the amendment of the current (now defunct) constitution. The amended constitution should reemphasize that no institution (regal or otherwise) can be above the people.
The United States should revise its current Maoist-phobia policy and work with the mainstream political parties to help them rebuild this foundation of democracy. The US should leverage its financial and political capital to directly persuade the King and his administration and indirectly influence the political parties and the Maoists to agree to work towards this goal. The US should continue to pressure the King –not to compromise with political parties and sideline the Maoists – but to take steps to reinstall a multi-party government and put the constitution amendment process in gear.
The current socio-political crisis in Nepal is a classic power struggle between an autocratic monarch’s intentions to hold on to his “God given” regal power and Nepali people’s desire to reassert their sovereignty of the country. Despite their ‘terrorist’ approaches, the Maoist movement is a political struggle by deprived people against ruling elites who continue to exploit state resources for their own selfish use. In a historical context of time and scale, the goal of the political and insurgent opposition to the autocratic king’s rule is no different from those of the American and the French revolutionaries.
Without peace, and without civilized discourse to the current conflict, the Nepali nation will continue to disintegrate, and her citizens continue to suffer. For its own security and the stated goals of promoting democracy around the world, US should support the Nepali people’s struggle to re-establish democracy – a democracy that would not be held hostage at the whims of an autocratic king or a totalitarian Maoist junta.
Dr. Sharma is currently based at Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA, and is the coordinator of Empower Nepal Foundation. Please send your comments to [email protected] or [email protected]
(Editor’s Note: Nepalis, wherever they live, as well as friends of Nepal around the globe are requested to contribute their views/opinions/recollections etc. on issues concerning present day Nepal to the Guest Column of Nepalnews. Length of the article should not be more than 1,000 words and may be edited for the purpose of clarity and space. Relevant photos as well as photo of the author may also be sent along with the article. Please send your write-ups to [email protected])
At a time when thousands of youths are fleeing their villages in the wake of escalating conflict, a growing number of youths are returning to conflict-hit areas to help local communities in their local level development endeavours.
Samuhik Abhiyan, a non-governmental organization, is mobilizing youths in rural areas to support development activities of local communities.
Under its National Volunteer Mobilisation Programme (NVMP), Samuhik Abhiyan, has been mobilising fresh graduates to support development activities at the local level since 1997.
Convocation ceremony of the fourth batch of NVMP
Convocation ceremony of the fourth batch of NVMP (nepalnews.com)
The Abhiyan has already mobilised 70 volunteers in different communities including in the conflict affected areas of the Mid-Western region.
To begin with, the SA selects candidates to join the NVMP from the local and national level. The volunteers play the role of social mobiliser in selected communities.
Working as volunteers, young men and women spend up to 18 months supporting the activities of the communities and making communities aware about their development needs and raising awareness about their rights.
The volunteers get only minimum remuneration for working in the communities. What motivates them to work in difficult situations at a very low remuneration is the respect of the community and result of their work.
Samuhik Abhiyan offers 15-day long training to volunteers before sending them to the field and provides them 45-day long training in course of their 18-month long stay with the communities.
“Thanks to the tireless works of our volunteers, people have become aware about their rights and development needs and are able to raise their voices with the concerned authorities, ” said Kapil Neupane, programme director of NVMP.
According to Neupane, Samuhik Abhiyan launched the programme without seeking funds from donors. “We don’t engage in development works directly. All we do is play a catalytic role for development by mobilizing volunteers,” he added.
So far, volunteers mobilized by the Samuhik Abhiyan have not had any trouble at the local level from the warring sides as they working with local communities without any political or other interests.
The NVMP has mobilized volunteers in 31 communities including some conflict-hit districts. In the fifth group, volunteers have been mobilized in 14 communities of nine districts.
“First, people did not believe that we could contribute in any way for the betterment of the society as we did not have any money or projects to offer to local people. But, slowly they realized our importance and started treating us as their own members,” said Divya Raj Acharya, who worked as volunteer among the Dalit community of Kailali in far- western region.
He advised that the programme should be extended and there should be some provision to fill in the gap after volunteers return after completing 18 months.
Due to their commitment for the betterment of the society, ex-volunteers have formed a Volunteers Forum, which is actively working for the continuity of the programme.
Impressed by the performance of volunteers, MS Nepal and Action Aid Nepal have been extending cooperation in NVMP from the fifth group.
The local community has to pay 9,000 rupees as participating fee and provide food and lodging facilities to the volunteers under this programme.
Volunteers interacting with local people on development activities for communities.
Volunteers interacting with local people on development activities for communities. (nepalnews.com)
“Some communities are also demanding for the extension of volunteers even after 18 months and have also agreed to pay the cost for it,” Neupane added.
During the 1970s, the Tribhuvan University had launched the National Development Service (NDS), popularly known as Rastriya Bikas Sewa, under which all post graduate students were required to dedicate one year as part of their Masters degree studies to go and work in rural communities.
The NDS is considered by many of having a catalytic social development experiment in the life of the nation. In the opinion of some observers, the NDS was a highly successful students’ ‘volunteer’ program, and perhaps one of the most successful national programs in Nepal.
In 1973 and early 1974, 22 volunteers in two small trial projects were sent to live and work in rural communities. In July 1974, the NDS program was formally launched, and the first regular batch of 212 students (57 female, 155 male) was sent to the field.
From the beginning until the program was closed down five years later in 1979, a total of 3,063 students were enrolled and posted to the rural areas (of which nearly 21 percent were female).
Though the programme was very successful, it was closed in 1979 due to the fear that the student volunteers might persuade rural people to vote in favour of multi-party democracy against the then Panchayat polity. Officials, however, said NDS was closed due to funding problems.
Late King Birendra had called for a referendum between the Panchayat polity with reforms and multi-party democracy in 1980 in which the former was declared winner.
In 1998, amidst the phenomenal growth of Nepal’s civil society institutions, the National Planning Commission (NPC) members decided to revive the tradition of volunteerism and took initiative to launch a similar programme.
In the winter of 1999, the council of ministers approved a new volunteer program, the ‘National Development Volunteer Service (NDVS),’ which was launched formally in April 2000.
Local people involved in development activity of a village
Local people involved in development activity of a village (nepalnews.com)
During 1998, a pilot program was inaugurated involving 220 volunteers posted in 25 hilly and mountain districts. Since then, the program has expanded to include 42 hilly, mountain and lowland (terai) districts.
By mid-2002, a total of 520 volunteers had been mobilized, most of whom were new graduates with technical skills in agriculture, engineering, solar energy and water management along with a smaller number of liberal arts, management and planning graduates, according to the NPC.
The National Volunteers Management Programme (NVMP) being implemented by Samuhik Abhiyan is not only complementing the NPC’s programme in its own way, it has also shattered the myth that today’s educated youth don’t want to return to villages once they graduate.