Govt officials set to skip Geneva UN rights meet

More documents

Recommendations

Info

2 THE KATHMANDU POST | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013 VISUAL STIMULUS A female artist at work in Kupondole, Lalitpur, on Thursday. The artwork aims to raise awareness on malaria. POST PHOTO: LAXMI PD NGAKHUSI Paras health shows no sign of progress POST REPORT KATHMANDU, FEB 21 RAMCHANDRA GIRI MALAYSIA, FEB 21 FORMER crown prince Paras Shah remains under intensive care in a Thailand hospital as he showed no sign of progress. Shah’s friend Sunil Khadka said on Thursday that Shah is still Sapana is Nepal’s Cedaw candidate THE government has selected human rights activist and former Constituent Assembly member Sapana Pradhan Malla as Nepal’s candidate for the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women’s (Cedaw) 2015- 2018 term. In 2010, Pradhan Malla had registered her candidacy for the same post but was defeated by a narrow margin. Thursday’s Cabinet meeting decided to register her candidature. Elections for Cedaw, which will take place towards the end of 2014 in New York, will pick 23 members from countries that are party to the convention. “This is an important high-powered platform. The 23-member expert group is a big stage for women empowerment and justice,” said a senior foreign ministry official. During the Cabinet meeting, some ministers expressed reservations over Pradhan Malla’s nomina- Each week The Kathmandu Post invites our readers to submit photographs on a particular theme. The idea is to give you—the readers—an opportunity to play an active role in deciding our content, and to bring to light your unique perspective. Submissions, including detailed caption and contact address, are to be emailed to tkpphoto@kantipur.com.np or phototkp@gmail.com by 5 pm Friday. Photos must not be smaller than 400kb. Please also send your brief introduction. The winner will be given a six-month subscription of The Kathmandu Post and a gift hamper. Theme: PEDESTRIANS NOTICE: WE would like to notify our readers that the weekly photo contest becomes fortnightly. unconscious and on ventilator. He was admitted to Samitivej Hospital in Bangkok on Tuesday after he suffered a cardiac arrest. Shah has a history of heart disease—he underwent a surgery after suffering a mild attack in September 2007. “Doctors attending him say they cannot say anything about his health condition yet,” Khadka said. A CT scan performed on Shah’s brain on Thursday showed a mild form of infection, as earlier. Doctors could conduct a magnetic reso- tion, raising questions over why only candidates affiliated to the CPN-UML were being picked repeated- Some ministers expressed reservations over her nomination, raising questions over why only candidates affiliated to UML were being picked repeatedly ly. “I defended Pradhan Malla at the Cabinet meeting as a well-known face in the international arena for defending women’s rights,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha. Whereabouts of kidnapped youth still unknown BHUSAN YADAV BIRGUNJ, FEB 21 BIRGUNJ police are yet to locate the whereabouts of 21-year-old Brijesh Mahato who was allegedly kidnapped from his Birgunj home on December 11 last year. Deputy Superintendent of Police Rajendra Bista said search teams have been mobilised in other districts after the initial investigation showed that Brijesh was being held hostage within the country. Five days after Brijesh’s abduction, an unidentified person had called his family and demanded Rs 1.5 million in ransom. The caller had demanded the family to deliver the money at bordering Indian town of Raxaul. Asarfi Mahato, Brijesh’s father, said he does not have the money demanded by the abductors for his SAMIK KHAREL KATHMANDU, FEB 21 THE ongoing road expansion drive in Kathmandu is facing a host of criticism after authorities proposed a plan to demolish a government school building while sparing a five star hotel. According to new expansion plan, a Shanti Vidya Griha School building will be demolished to save the Malla Hotel. The original proposal had planned to demolish the Lainchaur-facing facades of both the school and the hotel. Now, the school will have to bear the brunt of the expansion in order to compromise for the hotel’s encroachment of public space. While the original plan had mandated that this Lainchaur road nance imaging (MRI) to probe for infection and injury if there are any. Irregular heartbeat of the patient, however, could create difficulty in the MRI process, a source said. Meanwhile, Shah’s wife and former crown princess Himani is expected to arrive in Bangkok on Thursday night. Shah’s sister Prerana Singh, cousin Puja Shahi and her husband Rajiv Shahi, among others, arrived on Wednesday to be by his side. son’s release. “How was I to manage that kind of money on such short notice?” he said. The entire Mahato family was in Basantapur when Brijesh was abducted from their home. Brijesh was last seen by some of the neighbours leaving with four men on a motorcycle. “We contacted his friends and called our relatives inquiring about Brijesh, but no one had any idea where he was. So we went to police for assistance. There is no news about him so far,” Asarfi said. Birgunj residents have been terrorised by growing number of abduction cases of late. Five months ago, 17-year-old Raju Prajapati was kidnapped from Ghantaghar. His status remains unknown even though his family already paid Rs 1 million ransom to the abductors. stretch would be expanded by 22 meters, the expansion has been reduced to 18 meters. According to the expansion master plan, from the centre, both sides of the road have to be nine meters, which would demolish around one metre each from the hotel and the school premises. However, authorities have now planned to shift the expansion track and only demolish parts of the public school, leaving the hotel intact. According to Kathmandu Valley Town Development Implementation Committee (KVTDIC) Chief Bhai Kaji Tiwari, the original plan was changed to avoid paying a huge amount as compensation to the hotel if its structures were demolished. “The road expansion drive has always been hit by a cash crunch. We Nepal to set up residential missions in Bahrain, Oman POST REPORT KATHMANDU, FEB 21 WITH a view to addressing grievances of thousands of Nepali migrants working and living in Oman and Bahrain, the government on Thursday decided to open residential missions in these two countries. Bahrain is host to an estimated 40,000 Nepalis, while the Nepali population in Oman has crossed the 30,000 mark. Thursday’s Cabinet meeting also decided to open Consulate General offices in the Chinese city of Guangzhou and Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah. Owing to the growing trade between China and Nepal, the Nepali business community had long been demanding a consulate in Guangzhou. Similarly, Nepalis in Saudi Arabia, along with the foreign employment sector, had been demanding a consulate in Jeddah as the Nepali mission in Riyadh has long been unable to address problems faced by the growing number of Nepali workers. The meeting also decided to establish diplomatic relations with Uzbekistan and Samoa. Currently, the Nepali Embassy in Doha, Qatar, is mandated to look after Bahrain, whereas the Nepali Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, looks after Oman. “Oman and Bahrain have recently emerged as favoured destinations for foreign employment. Keeping this in mind, the government decided to open missions in these two countries,” Minister for Information and Communication Raj Kishor Yadav said after the Cabinet meeting. The government will send requests to the respective countries—Oman, Bahrain, China and Saudi Arabia— seeking permission to set up the missions and consulate offices. Currently, Nepal has 29 residential missions abroad, including two permanent ones in New York and Geneva, and three consulate general offices in Lhasa, China; Kolkata, India and Hong Kong. Last year in April, a panel led by a joint secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) had recommended that new missions be established in Oman, Bahrain, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Indonesia, Turkey, Bhutan, Afghanistan and the Maldives, along with three consulate offices in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Mumbai, India and Guangzhou, China on mid- and short-term basis. Owing to a significant rise in the Nepali population in Oman and Bahrain, the panel had suggested immediate opening of the missions there. The Cabinet also approved changing the name of the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transportation. The meeting further endorsed the working procedure of the proposed distribution of poverty identity cards and formed a committee under Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Post Bahadur Bogati to celebrate the diamond jubilee of the first ascent of Mt Everest. The Cabinet decided to waive loans taken by peasants and endorsed a work plan to this effect. It also waived land registration fees of Rs 2.966 million for the GP Koirala Foundation in Mandikatar, Kathmandu. Cops arrest overseas employment agent POST REPORT KATHMANDU, FEB 21 POLICE arrested Rabin Silwal, an overseas employment agent charged with multiple cases of fraud. Silwal, 34, was arrested on Tuesday by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) from his Kapan-based residence. He was presented before the Kathmandu District Court Kantipur journalist Ganesh Rai (right) receives ‘Rastra Matrabhasa Sewa Puraskar’ at a function in Lalitpur on Thursday to mark International Mother Language Day. The award, handed out by Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, carries a purse of Rs 15,000. POST PHOTO: SANJOG MANANDHAR Plan to save hotel, demolish school comes under lash The road expansion drive has always been hit by a cash crunch. We cannot afford to pay such a large amount to the hotel, which will be in millions cannot afford to pay such a large amount to the hotel, which will be in millions,” said Tiwari. Tiwari further argued that the CABINET DECISIONS Consulate General offices in Guangzhou, China and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, will also be opened Diplomatic relations with Uzbekistan and Samoa to be established Reames Ministry of Physical Planning and Works as Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transportation Okays working procedure for poverty identity card distribution Forms panel to celebrate the diamond jubilee of the first ascent of Mt Everest Currently, Nepal has 29 residential missions, including two permanent ones in New York and Geneva (KDC) on Thursday, police said. Silwal had been convicted of separate fraud cases against Keshav Bahadur Rana and Dhan Bahadur Tamang but had been absconding. According to police, Silwal cheated clients by falsely assuring them of employment in foreign countries, including South Korea and New Zealand. The KDC had slapped Silwal with a new plan would also protect the Amrit Science Campus’ main building. “We had planned demolishing the northern side, which also includes the Amrit Science Campus hostel,” he said. After the expansion, the Shanti Vidya Griha’s prime source of income, its rented shutters, will be demolished. Tiwari said that the school will be compensated to the tune of around Rs 1.8 million to build new shutters inside their compound. The Vidya Griha is ranked among the best public schools in the country. However, students have objected to the decision and are seeking support from student unions. Nepal Student Union (NSU) leaders claimed that the road expansion hasn’t been fair. “Our help was fine of Rs 100,000 for a complaint filed by Rana on February 5, 2008. In a separate case filed by Tamang, the KDC again fined Silwal Rs 450,000 on January 21, 2009. After Silwal failed to comply with both rulings, Tamang had filed another case at the Appellate Court, which, on March 10, 2011, charged Silwal with a Rs 250,000 fine. sought by these young students. This expansion design isn’t fair. The authorities are planning save the elites at the cost of a government school,” said Leela Ballabh Dahal, NSU central committee member. In order to save the Malla Hotel’s infrastructure, the open Lainchaur grounds will also be affected. “They have planned to move utility poles into the Lainchaur grounds to save the hotel,” said Dahal. If the expansion is conducted fairly by sticking to the original blueprint, the Malla Hotel will lose around nine annas of land, he said. “We cannot let this happen. If the plan is not fairly implemented, we will stage protests against the Kathmandu Metropolitan City” said Dahal. The Lainchaur strip of road is prime property with high land value.
THE KATHMANDU POST | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013 Congress leaders prod party honchos against CJ-led govt POST REPORT KATHMANDU, FEB 21 THE second rung leaders of the Nepali Congress on Thursday reached out to the party leadership and warned them not to compromise democratic norms and values, and the principle of separation of powers while accepting Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi as the head of the to-beformed election government. At least two dozen Central Working Committee (CWC) members led by former Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala had reached the residences of party President Sushil Koirala and Senior Leader Sher Bahadur Deuba to ask them not to ignore the party decision. The party had instructed the POST REPORT KATHMANDU, FEB 21 A DAY after the major political parties formally asked Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi to head an election government, senior leaders, including Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, held consultations with the legal fraternity on Thursday concerning the handing over of executive authorities to the incumbent head of the judiciary. The legal consultation came after CJ Regmi expressed reservations over a number of issues put forth by the parties. At the meet, lawyers diverged on whether the CJ could be made head of government citing conflicting provisions in the Interim leadership not to compromise on democratic ideals and go against the principle of separation of powers while accepting CJ Regmi as the head of an election government. “We asked both the leaders not to cross the party’s mandate,” said NC CWC member Chandra Bhandari. According to Shanker Bhandari, another CWC member, they questioned the acumen of the party leadership that it had grossly failed to address serious issues such as democracy, nationality and party ideology. During the meeting with party leaders, President Koirala assured that no compromise would be made against the party line and democratic values. “To accept the CJ as the election government head Lawyers suggest Cabinet under Regmi possible Constitution. Article 106 of the constitution states that a sitting justice can be deputed on matters of national concern upon consent from the Judicial Council, a constitutional body mandated to deal with the transfer, promotion and other policy issues concerning judges. Advocate Borno Bahadur Karki advised that the CJ could be given authority to head the election government citing this provision. However, Advocate Purnaman Shakya maintained that the provision calls for deputation but does not envision the transfer of executive authority. Shakya said that the proposed political mechanism involving top political leaders should not interfere in All the lawyers invited for talks, however, did not agree the move would be lawful the workings of the election government and that the executive authority should be vested in the government. CJ Regmi, however, has told parties that he will require complete independence of the poll government from the political mechanism. Advocate Raman Shrestha told the meeting that a political declaration would be necessary even if was a compulsion but we will not compromise the basic norms and values of democracy while accepting the proposal.” But Koirala did not elaborate the compulsion he had faced. The duo tried to persuade the dissatisfied leaders saying that ‘they were enough informed about the challenges confronting democracy and nationality in case the CJ led the new electoral government in the given circumstances.’ The party leadership never calculated the intent of the proposal, said Chandra. In the meeting with Deuba, the leaders expressed the same kind of reservation that they did with Koirala and drew his attention that the move could invite a serious constitutional crisis if the CJ was the parties are considering removing constitutional difficulties by evoking Article 158. “If there is a political declaration, then the Supreme Court cannot interfere even if the decision to appoint the CJ as executive head is challenged before it,” Shrestha told the Post. Former Attorney General Mahadev Yadav maintained that even removing constitutional difficulties may not suffice and suggested amending the constitution based on political consensus. “One can remove constitutional difficulties but the provision to make chief justice the executive head is not envisioned by the Interim Constitution,” said Yadav. CPN-UML Vice-chair- given the helm of the government. Deuba also admitted that getting the CJ to lead a poll government was out of compulsion and that the party may rethink it if it undermined the party ideology, democratic values and was against the spirit of the separation of powers. “To safeguard democracy and nationality, NC is ready to go for an agitation but it will not compromise at any cost,” Deuba told his juniors. “I admit that it was a mistake to accept the CJ as the head of the new government and the feeling is shared by the party rank and file. To take a call on the election government, we need to convene a CWC meeting at the earliest,” Shanker quoted Deuba as saying. man Bam Dev Gautam, who attended Thursday’s meeting, told the Post that the lawyers said that nothing can prevent the parties from seeking the people’s mandate. Gautam, who sounded optimistic about parties’ securing a deal on a CJ-led government, said that the Cabinet would forward an ordinance to President Ram Baran Yadav asking him to remove constitutional difficulties. The Nepal Bar Association, an umbrella organisation of lawyers, was not invited to Thursday’s legal discussion by parties as it has stood against the CJ-led government, arguing that such an appointment would breach the principle of separation of power. 16 stolen vehicles seized SYANGJA: The District Police Office, Syangja seized 16 illegal jeeps operating in rural areas. The vehicles were impounded as they were brought in by evading taxes and 3 installing duplicate engines, police said. The DPO is preparing to send the vehicles to the Department of Revenue Investigation for action. Deputy Superintendent of Police Somendra Singh Rathaur said the four-wheelers were seized after they were proven as stolen. (PR)
Page 1: WORLD Indian President says country
Page 5 and 6: Nato to bid farewell to Panetta, se
Page 7 and 8: THE KATHMANDU POST | FRIDAY, FEBRUA
Page 9 and 10: THE KATHMANDU POST | FRIDAY, FEBRUA
Page 11 and 12: Talking about delicious dumplings M
Page 13 and 14: Inside CROSS CURRENCY USD EUR JPY G
Page 15 and 16: MONEY | ekantipur.com Wimax launch

Govt officials set to skip Geneva UN rights meet

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?