Tourism entrepreneurs have called upon all concerned sides to put a permanent ban on bandhs (general strike) closures as such protests were ruining the national economy.
They made this appeal at an interaction program organized here in the capital on the first day of the weeklong Nepal bandh called by Maoists on sunday.
Tourism entrepreneurs also opined that it was high time everyone defied such general strikes from now onwards.
“We have to understand that a bandh takes a very heavy toll on the tourism sector. We must collectively prohibit bandhs,” said Tek Bahadur Dangi, CEO of Nepal Tourism Board.
Dangi strongly urged the Maoists to withdraw the bandh immediately.
Tourism was picking up pace in recent days. But, this bandh has dealt a severe blow to all the positive developments, he complained.
Chairman of Nepal Rafting Association Surya Joshi drew the attention of all political forces in the country to the fact that the tourism sector was in a critical stage and bandhs only aggravated the problems of tourism entrepreneurs.
Chairman of Tourist Guide Association Bishnu Gyawali said the tourism sector has become the ultimate victim of bandhs and conflict in the country, adding, “Thousands of jobs have been threatened by such bandhs. This situation must end now.”
Maoists called week long bandh to disrupt the municipal poll slated for Wednesday.
Meanwhile speaking at a programme in the capital Sunday, leaders of various political parties and Human Rights activists have said that the Nepal bandh called by the Maoists targeting the municipal poll of Wednesday has no relevancy.
Leader of Nepali Congress Dilendra Prashad Badu, Mangal Siddhi Manandhar of CPN UML and Man Mohan Bhattrai of NC (Democratic) claimed that there was no need of the Bandh to make the municipal poll a failure as it was already become a failure.
They urged the Maoists to immediately call back the bandh respecting people’s aspiration.
The alliance of seven agitating political parties is also actively boycotting the municipal poll.
The Election Commission (EC) has said canvassing for municipal polls slated on Wednesday in the municipalities across the country will come to an end on Sunday mid-night.
The EC’s reminder came as most of the candidates – both independent as well as affiliated to fringe parties—largely stayed away from door to door canvassing mainly due to security threats. At least three people have been shot dead by the CPN (Maoist) rebels and injured one candidate in Lalitpur over the last few days.
The Home Ministry announced Sunday that all the government offices will remain closed on the polling day on Wednesday (Feb. 8) in the districts that have municipalities.
Perhaps this is the first time that local polls have divided the country sharply. Major political parties and the CPN (Maoist) have called for boycott of the polls. Royalist Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and newly launched Rastriya Janashakti Party (RPP) have also announced that they are not going to take part in the polls.
The RPP faction led by Home Minister Kamal Thapa and a few political outfits launched by ministers in the royal cabinet said their candidates are contesting for the civic polls.
According to the EC, out of 4,000 seats in 58 municipalities, voting will take place for over 600 seats. Most of the remaining seats have either remained vacant or candidates have been elected unopposed to them.
A hotelier at Kantipath, Akash KC, told Nepalnews that he was not going to cast vote on Wednesday. “Nobody has approached me seeking for my vote so far,” said KC. “Local elections used to be a fun-filled event in the past. But this time around you will have to face persoanl risks and ‘social boycott’ if you choose to vote a person whom you have never met,” he added.
After the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has heavily come down upon the royal government for failing to provide minimum facilities to the political detainees and has asked it to free all those “who have been detained without any appropriate or adequate basis.”
A team led by NHRC chairman and former chief justice Nain Bahadur Khatri inspected Women’s Training Center at Jawalakhel and Police Pahara Barrack at Tripureswore on Sunday without pre-information and acquired the state of human rights of the detainees being kept there, according to NHRC.
A statement issued by the NHRC on Sunday said the inspection team found that university teachers, professionals, human rights activists and even street dwellers were detained from the areas out of so-called ‘restricted zone’ without appropriate and adequate basis. “It was found that police had used excessive force at several places while taking people into custody. Such act is against the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right to peaceful assembly and freedom of movement and rights guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights (to which Nepal is a party),” the NHRC said.
The NHRC said it found that people were being detained in those centers beyond their capacity, they did not have appropriate access to food, medicine, clothes and toilet and other basic facilities guaranteed by the law.
NHRC has also urged the government to free all those “who have been detained without appropriate and adequate basis.”
On Friday, in a letter sent to Home Minister Kamal Thapa, the UN OHCHR in Nepal called upon the government to release all the detainees held under the Public Security Act (PSA) for peacefully expressing their political opinion.
In his letter, the representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal, Ian Martin said, “The great majority of these persons appear to have been arrested for exercising their right to freedom of peaceful assembly or expressing their political opinion. I urge that your Ministry undertake an urgent review of all PSA detention cases with a view to ensuring the immediate and unconditional release of those against whom there is no evidence of involvement in violence. ”
OHCHR-Nepal said it was aware of more than 800 people who have been detained under the PSA around the country in the context of protest activities by the alliance of seven political parties and civil society organisations.
“As the date of the municipal elections approaches, OHCHR-Nepal calls once again on the authorities to respect the right of freedom of peaceful assembly and expression. OHCHR-Nepal also calls on those advocating boycott of the elections to do so peacefully and with respect for the rights of others, and urges that no coercion should be applied to force people to participate in bandhs or other protest actions,” the statement added.
The authorities are yet to respond to the latest call by the UN OHCHR.
Reacting to the concerns expressed by the United Nations (UN), human rights groups and educational bodies, the Election Commission (EC) on Sunday said it would not remove the polling stations from schools.
EC spokesman Tejmuni Bajracharya said that the polling booths set up in schools around the country for the upcoming municipal elections would not be removed under any circumstance. “The polling stations already set up in schools will remain there. The EC is not going to remove them just because of such concerns,” he told Nepalnews.
The EC had recently decided to establish polling stations in public schools in 58 municipalities where voting is going to take place on February 8.
Saying that setting up polling stations in schools would hamper the educational environment and that even violent incidents could take place in the context of the CPN (Maoist) publicly declaring to disrupt the polls, the UN Systems based in Kathmandu had on Thursday asked the EC not to establish polling booths in schools.
When asked about the growing number of withdrawal of candidacies, the EC spokesman said that votes cast to the election symbols of members who have announced withdrawal after registration would be considered valid and certificate of election would be provided to the candidates on that basis.
More than 650 candidates have decided to back out from their candidacies.
Joint General Secretary of Nepali Congress (NC) Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat
Joint General Secretary of Nepali Congress (NC) Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat
(File photo)
Joint General Secretary of Nepali Congress (NC) Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat has said that human rights, democracy, peace and corruption are global issues and they could not be defined as internal affairs of any country.
Speaking at a program in the capital on Friday Dr. Mahat said, no democratic country extends its support to other country in the absence of human rights, democracy and peace so foreign assistance to any country is not limited only on economic assistance.
Referring to the foreign concern about the political situation of the country, Dr Mahat said international calls for returning to a functioning democracy and peace could not be termed as interference in Nepal as claimed by the establishment.
Mahat said, “India and western world suspended economic assistance and military assistance to Nepal after the King started direct rule,” adding, “If the current political situation continues unresolved and the country’s political actors fail to address the crisis, the United Nations may intervene Nepal on humanitarian ground to protect life and property of people.”
He defended the 12-point pact between the political parties and the Maoists saying it is aimed at restoring peace and bringing Maoists to the mainstream of politics.
He said that the democratic countries are stressing the need for reconciliation between parties and palace as they do not want to see the Maoists prevail through military power.
Speaking at the same programme journalist Shakti Lamsal said that Nepal’s problems would never be resolved without addressing the issues raised by the Maoists, saying Maoists raised arms after the subsequent political changes from 1950 to 1990 made no progress in socio-economic and political fronts.
Before the Maoists’ attack
The government has decided to release an amount of Rs. 10 million for the reconstruction of the Palpa Durbar and other physical infrastructure damaged in the Maoist’s attack on January 31.
According to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the cabinet took the decision after the Maoists destroyed almost all important physical infrastructures of the Tansen during the attack.
11 security personnel and eight Maoists were killed during the raid carried out by the Maoists on Palpa. Maoists also abducted 36 people following the attack.
In an attack, the rebels destroyed historical monuments, attacked Bal Mandir (children’s home), Scouts, and houses of locals and businessmen and almost all government offices of the district.
The rebels also attacked Pashimanchal FM during the incident.
At a time when the measures taken by the government against pro-democracy activists is facing criticism from different quarters, an influential US Senator, Patrick Leahy, has alleged that the palace announced a pre-emptive curfew and ban on political demonstrations recently to quell mounting public criticism of the government’s failed policies.
US Senator Patrick Leahy (File photo)
US Senator Patrick Leahy (File photo)
Delivering the speech, ‘A lost year for Democracy and Peace in Nepal’ in Senate on Wednesday, he said, “Since then hundreds pro-democracy activists including several party leaders have been imprisoned around the country.”
“Since King Gyanendra dissolved the multiparty government, curtailed civil liberties and imprisoned political leaders last year, the King also ignored appeals from the US, India and UK as well as the UN to negotiate with the leaders of political parties on a plan to restore democracy.”
He also urged for a far more creative and persuasive leadership in Nepal and abroad to prevent a tragic situation from becoming a disaster.
Lehay said such role is needed in Nepal including from the army as well as from the US, India, China and others to prevent a looming disaster.
“Since King Gyanendra dissolve the multiparty government, curtailed civil liberties and imprisoned political leaders last year ane the King also ignored appeals from the US, India and UK as well as the UN to negotiate with the leaders of political parties on a plan to restore democracy.”
“But nearly a year after the King Gyanendra justified his power grab as necessary to defeat the Maoists, they are stronger and peace is more elusive,’ he said.
In his speech in November, Leahy had asked the Royal Nepalese Army to side with the people.
As most of the candidates for forthcoming municipal polls have been camped under tight security, a 22-year-old mayoral candidate of Bharatpur municipality in Chitwan district has launched his own website calling upon people to vote for him.
(Photo source:aniladhikari.com.np)
Perhaps for the first time in the country’s election history, Anil Adhikari, 22, has launched his own website (www.aniladhikari.com.np) for his election campaign.
In his website, Adhikari said he had filed his nomination to find a peaceful solution to the crisis facing the country. He said that people should not be barred from being ruled by their representatives for a long time.
Two slogans have been highlighted in the website. They are: “Age is just a number. Grey hair is not the sign of wisdom.” And “Ballot is stronger than bullet. Let’s bring revolution through ballot.”
A sports enthusiast, Adhikari is studying at the Bachelor’s level at the local Birendra Multiple Campus, Chitwan. In his biography, he has introduced himself as a quiz champion.
It could not be immediately known about the response from prospective voters to this Internet-savvy young political aspirant.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has linked up with a Dutch agency to provide facilities for solar power to Bhutanese refugees.
With funding from the Dutch Postcode Lottery, the UN agency for refugees in partnership with Stichting Vluchteling, also a Dutch NGO, will help the Bhutanese refugees in Nepal to build solar ovens so they no longer have to burn scarce fire wood to cook their meals.
The Dutch agency would provide around €720,000 (euros) to UNHCR for the project. The agency said that this will reduce deforestation and carbon dioxide emissions as well as the use of costly kerosene.
However, the length of the project and when would it begin has not been mentioned.
A month ago the UNHCR began the distribution of coal briquettes saying its budget could not adjust with the increasing price of kerosene that had been distributed to the refugees since their settlement in Nepal. Refugees have been staging demonstrations in seven camps in eastern Nepal demanding redistribution of kerosene.
More than 100,000 Bhutanese refugees have been living in Nepal for the last 15 years. The Bhutanese fled their country after the enforcement of a 1985 Citizenship Act made life intolerable for the people of Nepalese ethnicity. The 15-round of bilateral talks between the Nepalis and Bhutanese government has failed to give any solution to the crisis.
In accordance with the Regulations Relating to Conferment of Decorations, His Majesty the King has conferred title of Grand Master of All Orders of the Kingdom of Nepal to His Royal Highness Crown Prince Paras Bir Bikram Shah Dev on Friday.
The state-owned News Agency, RSS, reported that His Majesty also conferred the orders of Birendra Mala and Ati Mahagauravmaya Supradeepta Birendra Prajatantra Bhaskara to the Crown Prince.