#351 1 - 7 June 2007 16 pages Rs 30

Total votes: 2,810

Weekly Internet Poll # 352. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.comQ. How do you rate the performance ofthe interim government since it wasinstalled two months ago?

Weekly Internet Poll # 351

Q. Should all sides cut their losses and letMelamchi die?

The number ofNepalis still listed

as disappearedduring the war937

EditorialDisappearing truth p2NationJitman Basnet, Mary Werntz p10-11

ìTELL ME WHERE HE ISî:Ram Krishni Chaudhary nextto her portrait in which she is

holding the citizenshipcertificate of her son, Bhaban,

disappeared by the armynearly four years ago.

“Maybe I will still find him,” RamKrishni Chaudhary says, but from thetone of her voice one can tell she has verylittle hope.

It has been nearly four years since her25-year-old son, Bhaban, left for work inIndia. He was picked up by soldiers fromthe Chisapani Barracks along with sevenother young men and never seen again.

One of the seven was later releasedbecause he was related to a soldier.According to his testimony, they weremade to lie down in the back of amilitary truck underneath sacks on top ofwhich the soldiers sat. They wereseverely tortured.

Under pressure from the NationalHuman Rights Commission, the armyfinally disclosed in 2004 that three ofthe detained had been killed in an“encounter”. The army said it didn’tknow about the other three.

“There is now an interimgovernment, maybe someone will tell mewhere my son is,” Ram Krishni saidrecently in Nepalganj where sheinaugurated the nepa-laya exhibition byunveiling her own portrait.

One year after the ceasefire, Bhaban isamong 937 people still officially listedas missing by the InternationalCommittee of the Red Cross. Unlike othercountries, the number of disappeareds inNepal’s conflict is rising as familiesovercome fear and report missingrelatives. Most were taken by the army,while the Maoists usually owned up tothose they killed to terrorise others.

Army sources say personnel atChisapani Barracks directly involved indisappearances in western Nepal in 2003-4 are now retired and one of them isworking for a private security firm inAfghanistan.

Ram Krishni says Bhaban was a quietman who worked hard in the fields totake care of his family, and brought backearnings from India. Bhaban’s young sondied soon after he disappeared, and hiswife has taken his daughter to live withher mother.

“It has been very difficult to survivewithout him, he was our life,” RamKrishni says. Then she tells us to takethis message to Kathmandu: “If he isalive give him back to us, if he is deadtell us.” Kunda Dixit in Nepalganj

KUNDA DIXIT / RAMESWOR BOHARA

Lena Sundh p12

2 1 - 7 JUNE 2007 #351EDITORIAL

Published by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd, Editor: Kunda DixitExecutive Editor: Anagha NeelakantanDesign: Kiran Maharjan Web: Rupendra KayasthaDirector Sales and Marketing: Sunaina Shah marketing@himalmedia.comCirculation Manager: Samir Maharjan sales@himalmedia.comSubscription: subscription@himalmedia.com,5542525/535Hatiban, Godavari Road, LalitpurGPO Box 7251, Kathmandu 5543333-6, Fax: 5521013Printed at Jagadamba Press, Hatiban: 5547018

edi tors@nepal i t imes.comwww.nepal i t imes.com

STATE OF THE STATEC K Lal

T

HERE AND THEREDaniel Lak

DISAPPEARING TRUTHFor a country and its once-opposed groups, a peace process isabout many things. There are accords, weapons lockdowns andcantonments, struggles to carve out and maintain fresh politicalpositions, re-designed legislative bodies.

But there must also be a peace process for individuals.Those who have lost loved ones, those who have been tortured,and those who live with the anguish of not knowing whether theirrelatives are dead or alive deserve closure. Healing is asimportant as the right to vote in constituent assembly elections. Asociety cannot move towards a lasting peace if it does notacknowledge personal losses, and a state cannot regain itscredibility until it is open about its past. A people denied answersand justice by the state will not engage productively with itsprocesses.

Politically, a powerful commission on the disappeared is aminefield. Most parties are willing to tacitly collude against it.Some because they are sweet-talking the army for support now.Others because they themselves live in glass houses, and stillothers who are willing to turn a blind eye for tactical gains. So,Girija Prasad Koirala waffles and Pushpa Kamal Dahal doesnítwant a commission on the disappeared because it will unearthskeletons in his own closet.

And thereís no point in the army getting defensive and sayingëthey started ití. After all, it is the responsibility of the state toprotect its citizens. Even as a military strategy, victimisinginnocent civilians was completely counter-productive. As amatter of principle no one should ever bedisappeared, and if they are, those responsible needto be accountable.

The National Human Rights Commission remainsrudderless and toothless. This is ironic, given howmuch we love the idea of our homegrown peaceprocess. The support of the International Committeeof the Red Cross and the UNís Office of the HighCommissioner for Human Rights has been essentialin keeping records of the disappeared and ofsystematic, institutional violations such as atBhairabnath. But now Nepal needs strong,independent institutions of its own to uncover thepast and put it to rest. The people have the right toknow what happened.

For true reconciliation, there has to be a comingtogether of those who want to remember, those whoseek forgiveness, and those who need justice. Letísnot argue about which is most important. Itís notwhether to forget or forgive, or whether peace is moreimportant than truth. We need to do it all together soour past does not burden our future.

et’s start with a mea culpa. We inthe media don’t put much effort indigging for the roots of what makes

news. We like to report things as theyappear rather than as they are. This savestime, effort and money. Whether it informsor enlightens our audience is a differentmatter.

A senior journalist is fond of sayingthat real money in the Nepali media canonly be made by suppressing news. Cynicalthe old warhorse may be, but there is nodenying that the Nepali media’s onlysaving grace has been its successful strugglefor freedom in the past five years.

Take the flashflood of recent coverage ofsandalwood smuggling from India, viaNepal to China. The journey betweenSunauli and Kodari may take 15 hours, butit is the most minutely policed bit ofhighway in the country. OK, the

The buck stops at BaluwatarOur judges are percevied to be even more corrupt than cops

sandalwood has to pass through severalIndian states before it gets here fromKarnataka, and what happens to corruptcops in India is their business. But it lookslike kickbacks from transiting sandalwoodis a huge business here, too, lining pocketsof cops all along the line. One can bet thatas the flash-in-the-pan coverage wanessandalwood trafficking will resume,greasing our law enforcement machinery.

The latest Corruption Perception Indexof Transparency International showsNepal’s judges have an even worsereputation than cops. That is surely anexaggeration. TI also didn’t ask people totick boxes for wilful defaultersmasquerading as industrialists. But it doessay something about our judicial systemwhere government attorneys of twoadjoining districts offer different legalopinions on issues of identical nature.

Closely related to the culture ofimpunity is the tradition of hunting,deeply engrained in the psyche of the highand mighty in the land. Wildlifesmuggling in Nepal is what blood

diamonds are to Sierra Leone, or the IvoryCoast. They are factors that fuel corruptionand fund conflict. Hunting lore aboutpreferences of Arab sheikhs, Chinesetycoons, and American arrivistes are legionamong the innkeepers of variousconservation areas, gaming reserves,wildlife sanctuaries, and national parks inthe region.

An addiction to guns and huntingcould be part of the explanation for theNarayanhiti massacre seven years agotoday. King Dipendra was in the habit ofblazing away at cats and bats in the royalcompound whenever he felt a little edgy.The connection is rather peripheral, but aperson who shoots animals for fun canshoot at anything.

Getting back to sandalwood, the entireepisode seems to be tangled in the lack offaith between the prime minister and hiscabinet colleagues. It is pretty widelyknown that Girija Prasad Koirala sharplyreprimanded Forest Minister MatrikaYadav when concerns about theculpability of security forces in the illegal

wildlife trade was raised by the Maoistsin public.

That is something widely perceived tobe true: supplying rare sukuti to the royalpalace and the villas of various jarsaps isstill one of the primary duties of forestguards from Shivapuri to Bardiya. IfKoirala has succeeded in changing thatreality, it’s his responsibility to work for achange in public perception.

When IK Gujral was the Indian primeminister, Chaturanan Mishra once shotback upon being censured, “I am yourcolleague, not your employee.” In deferenceto Koirala’s seniority, or senility, Yadavreportedly held back and walked out insilence. It has been over a month since thataltercation and the cabinet has scarcely metafter that.

The onus of backing up his positionfalls upon Koirala: he should either provethat Yadav was wrong or direct his homeminister to prosecute the guilty. In theparliamentary principle of First AmongEquals, the buck can’t be passed up ordown. It stops at Baluwatar.

L

he hot sweaty nightsforetell monsoon and therhythms of the land assert

themselves inexorably. Nepal’sliving culture, based on theseasons, crops and family needs,flows on, unaffected by politicsand earthly events.

It’s easy to lose sight of thefactor of time. This is a youngcountry, not the ancient polity itsPanchayat-era royal hagiographersmake it out to be. The sputteringattempts at democracy in the1950s hardly count as modernnation building. Nothing muchhappened to make this a 20thcentury place before 1990’s JanaAndolan.

Who can forget the massimpatience and impossibly high

Time passesexpectations of that decade?Nepalis wanted everything, andthey wanted it now. Democracyhad arrived and prosperity was itshandmaiden, the two were linkedat the waist. No effort was needed,no sacrifices required, a particularpolitical party in office wasenough to guarantee development.

As a measure of nationalmood swings, days becamesignificant. A place that used totrack change by generations awokeeach morning convinced that anew day would bring newrealities, just as the politicianspromised. People quickly souredon this patently false notion andbegan to blame the system itself.

Forgetting that all majornational projects of recent yearshave taken decades to gel andthrive, Nepalis thought they’dbeen robbed of their rightfulheritage in a matter of a few yearsby political corruption and venalelites. In part, they were right, butit was ever thus. The democrats ofthe pre-Peoples’ War 1990s areguilty of mishandlingexpectations, and stealingsomewhat from the trough, butthey had good teachers—the royal,Rana, and Panchayat erasproduced far worse outcomes.

The Maoist war sped upevents and darkened expectationsfurther. Not knowing when nextthe guerrillas would strike almostneutralised time. When screamingmen and women with rifles andkhukuris poured from the junglearound isolated police and armyposts, of what use was a calendaror a farmer’s knowledge ofgrowing seasons. The downwardspiral of war, royal massacre andinept monarchical meddling

turned the nation away from timealtogether. Things always gotworse. Why measure the passageof entropy?

Jana Andolan 2 exploded withfrenetic speed and remarkablesuccess, a glowering kingsurrendered and Nepalisrediscovered high, instantexpectations. Peace negotiationsdragged on but they heightenedhope and supercharged a longdepressed national mood. At longlast, the dark night was giving wayto dawn’s glowing promise, a viewthat promised things weren’t justgetting worse.

Things haven’t gone accordingto plan. They never do. Organisingand holding constituent assemblyelections in June was alwaysbeyond realism. Nations aren’tbuilt in a few months. Nationalpolities take years of negotiationand patient compromise. Theyrequire leadership and broadinput, co-operation and resilience.Time must pass at an almostglacial pace, at least when stackedagainst expectations.

Let us not be cynical ordepressed by the day to daymanoeuverings and perceivedfailures of parties and players inthe constitutional process. Let usdemand input, involvement, andcommitment and let time beapplied realistically to a complexprocess that can finally banish thedysfunction that has paralysedthis country for so long.

Restoring realism to politicsand peoples’ expectations is theplace to start. Just admit that itwon’t happen overnight, orperhaps even this year. NeitherRome nor Nepal was built in aday.

Neither Rome, nor Nepal, was built in a day

HRW

31 - 7 JUNE 2007 #351

LLLLL E T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R S

LETTERSNepali Times welcomes feedback.Letters should be brief and may beedited for space. While pseudonymscan be accepted, writers whoprovide their real names and contactdetails will be given preference.Email letters should be in text formatwithout attachments with ëletter to theeditorí in the subject line.

Email: letters@nepalitimes.comFax: 977-1-5521013Mail: Letters, Nepali Times,GPO Box 7251, Kathmandu, Nepal.

anarchy (ëChristianiaí, #350). But wehave made a start. For example, we stilldonít close down all schools all overDenmark because our Maoist party(yes, we have one) wants to putpressure on the government. We donítyet prevent parliament from having asession for over a month. We donít let aminor traffic accident shut down thewhole town. And we didnít declare asnap two-hour banda when policecharged us in Christiania. But we arelearning.

Marta Andersen, Copenhagen

ëRunning riot in Christianiaí wasdevilishly pleasing and very true to ourpsyche. As the popular Nepali sayinggoes, ìAfno aang ko bhaisi nadekhne,arkako aang ko jumra pani dekhne,îwhich translates as, ìCanít spot abuffalo on your own back but can clearlysee a louse on someone elseís.î

Swagat Raj Pyakurel, email

Kunda Dixitís ëRunning riot inChristianiaí is an absolute joke. Is hetrying to preach to us that if tyres areburnt in Denmark then itís perfectly fineto do the same in Nepal as well? Is hesupporting the mockery the Maoists andpolitical parties have let loose in Nepal?Or is he trying to brag that he hasactually been to Denmark?

Name withheld, email

WATER TROUBLEOnce again we have a prime example ofhow unfit our new leaders are to rule thiscountry (ëTroubled watersí, #350). Onceagain a project that would have helpedNepal is cut down to gain popularity. Idoubt Hisila Yami has any idea what sheis doing. She is unfit to be in a publicposition and should be sacked unlessshe can prove otherwise. Arun III andnow Melamchi. How many more? Onlyin Nepal does a leader destroyinfrastructure and gun-toting guerrillasbecome ministers overnight.

A B Nepal, Australia

It may not matter to the cat ownerwhether the cat is black or white as longas it catches mice (ëNot a drop to drinkí,#350). However, if seen from the catísperspective, it does matteróif itís thewhite cat that gets the mice, the blackone goes hungry, and vice versa.

S Pal, email

Most state-owned corporations arerunning up huge losses due to lack ofnew investments. The closure of suchinstitutions is inevitable because thegovernment does not have the money orthe desire to keep them running. We canprolong the process and incur endlesslosses or privatise it for the greatergood. NWSC is a living example. Itcomes down to: what is in it for me.

Dibesh Shrestha, email

Navin Singh Khadka (ëTroubledwatersí, #350) and Ratna SansarShrestha (ëNot a drop to drinkí, #350)are both realistic. Preserving traditionaltaps, rainwater harvesting, andunderground water generation are goodoptions but will not cater to the massiveand exponentially growing demand. Thegroundwater level of deep tubewellswithin the valley is decreasing rapidlyevery year and recharging them maytake more than 10 years. Similarly,traditional taps cannot be revived inmost cases as their channels have beendestroyed by urbanisation. So theultimate crux of the problem lies with the

uprooting of existing distribution systemnetwork. With the lack of political will, isthis possible? Perhaps we do need a non-Nepali boss.

Name withheld, email

NO LOGICBecause Iím a foreigner with only aconversational knowledge of Nepali and 20years of residence here, Iím not gettingeither the economics or the social logic ofthe situation (ëBankruptí, #348). NOC paysrates for petroleum products set by IOCwhich are higher than what NOC ismandated to sell them for and incurs amonthly loss of Rs 250 million and has adebt worth Rs 60 billion to settle with IOC

and Rs 4 billion to the local banks.Meanwhile people queue up for 8-10 hoursto get a petrol ration amounting to betweenRs 500-700 (This figures to around Rs 7per hour making the minimum wage lossfor queuing up about Rs 56 per day).However, Commerce Minister RajendraMahatoís solution is to extend fresh loansto NOC. NOC Chief BN Goyalís solution isto sell most of the petroleum back to theIndian consumers just over the border atprices Indians pay at their pumps andthereby reduce NOCís losses.

Who is crazy enough to loan money toa losing proposition with a long track of redink that is controlled by politicians withadvanced bombastic degrees? Who

appointed these numskulls to their jobs?†Bythe way, in case you are wondering, I drivean aging Honda Kinetic scooter and useabout five litres of petrol a week, subject toavailability of course.

PM Brandt, Hattisar

REACH OUTAshutosh Tiwariís article (ëWhy is it we arehereí, #350) on corporate socialresponsibility (CSR) is interesting butlacking in content. Perhaps instead ofinterviewing people from trading houses orfinancial institutions, he should havecaptured the CSR practices of theNepali†business community. As a generalmember of Care and Fair Nepal, it gives metremendous pleasure to announce that wehave been helping the poor for over 11 yearsthrough six projects.†In 2006, over 15,000patients received rudimentary checkups atclinics and over 1,300 students receivedsome form of scholarship. I am sure thereare other businesses in Nepal that deservea mention. I suggest Tiwari go beyond thefamiliar path and be more inclusive.

Ramesh Lama, email

NACWe wish Minister Prithibi Subba (ëTheyhave sucked NAC dryí, #350) a successfultenure at a time when NAC has thereputation of being hopeless, corrupt, anderratic. I agree that politicians areresponsible to an extent, but not all the time.Ninety-nine percent of flights to Mumbaiwere either delayed, cancelled, orsuspended in the last three years. Therehave been no flights from Mumbai for thepast year, but NACís Mumbai branch hasrenovated its rented office at Nariman Pointand still maintains expensive flats for thestaff. In the meantime, NAC aircraft have oldnapkins and faded seat covers. If NepalAirlines wants to revive its reputation,urgent changes are needed. We hope Subbaand his party will positively look into thismatter.

A tourism entrepreneur, Kathmandu

CHRISTIANIAObviously we in Christiania have a lot moreto learn from Nepal about how to unleash

4 NATION 1 - 7 JUNE 2007 #351

ooking around the country you wouldn’t be able to tell, but Nepalis awash in cash.

One year after the return of democracy, investment is down,there is an oil shortage, water shortage, electricity shortage. Districthospitals are still waiting for doctors, schools still don’t have roofs,infrastructure damaged during the conflict still hasn’t been repaired.Yet, paradoxically, the country’s macroeconomic situation has neverbeen better.

The treasury has Rs 15 billion in cash. The Rastra Bank has $ 2.5billion worth of foreign currency reserves, enough to pay for morethan a year of imports. The dollar has fallen by Rs 9 making importseven cheaper. Inflation is down and the balance of payments islooking good.

The internal borrowings target was Rs 18 billion, but there is somuch liquidity that the government hasn’t borrowed more than Rs 10billion. In fact, in the past month the Rastra Bank has paid back Rs 9.3billion worth of past treasury bills. On 22 May alone, Rs 2.9 billion waspaid out. All this has increased liquidity in the financial market andput a downward pressure on interest rates.

Ideally, there should now be enough liquidity in the money marketfor new domestic investments so new jobs are created. But this is nothappening because of continued political instability. Rastra Bankdirector Nara Bahadur Thapa says if only the constituent assemblyelection dates were to be fixed it would firm up the economy. “Becausewe don’t have dates, there is less certainty all around,” he says.

Other economists agree: having lots of cash in the bank is notnecessarily a sign of good health. “There is so much to be done, but noplans. There is local demand for development but no mechanism toimplement projects. There is money but no policy about priorities onspending,” explains one Finance Ministry official.

Although there is now an interim government that includes theMaoists, Nepalis are still waiting for the peace dividend. “This isshameful, says the official, “it’s like my pockets are stuffed with cashbut my family is going hungry.”

There was nearly Rs 45 billion set aside for development in thecurrent fiscal year alone. But till mid-May not even Rs 14 billion of ithad been spent.

And despite this there are long lines at gas stations. Nepal OilCorporation is bankrupt because it has to subsidise fuel and thegovernment refuses to lend it the Rs 6.5 billion it owes Indian Oil. Theeight parties act as if they know nothing because they think raising fuelprices would be politically suicidal.

A senior Rastra Bank executive has an easy solution to thestalemate: “If raising fuel prices is politically not feasible, thegovernment could extend a soft loan to NOC to pay up its debts. It’s awin-win: oil supplies will resume, we won’t be beholden to India andthere won’t be a political risk.” But there seems to be no one willing tobell the cat.

Another reason for the pileup of cash in the treasury is that importsare falling. Last fiscal year, imports increased by 6.6 percent comparedto the previous year and this year there has been a 1.1 percent decrease.All this points to stagnant production and it will have a negativeimpact on economic growth.

Who saysNepal is poor?KIRAN NEPAL

L

The state treasury has a stash of Rs 15 billion in cash, enough topay for half the cost of the Melamchi project. Nepal Rastra Bank has Rs 177 billion in foreign currency reserves,

enough formore than a year of imports.

ROBIN SAYAMI

51 - 7 JUNE 2007 #351NATION

ECONOMIC SENSEArtha Beed

ast week there was ashowdown on the future ofMelamchi between the

CPN-M and the AsianDevelopment Bank (ADB). Yetanother setback to a large scaleinfrastructure project. The Beedcan’t really figure out where thegovernment stands. While Hisila

Yami demonstrated her positionvery clearly, she still does nothave any solutions. So we canjust expect more of the same forthe next six months.

Melamchi has been a bone ofcontention for many years. TheNGOs that helped end Arun IIInearly 15 years ago have managedto now stall Melamchi helped bya populist wannabe minister.

There’s a lot of self-righteoustalk against the private sectorgetting involved in hydropower.Globe-trotting activists againstthe private sector development ofhydropower earn hefty consultingdollars. But what do they have tosay when we have 12-hour powercuts everyday? What do the anti-Melamchi types have to say aboutwhat we’ll drink in the Valley?

Self-styled economists goblue in the face debating aboutwhether water should bedeveloped by the public orprivate sector. The Beed thinksthat if you can sell water inbottles and in tankers and, as agovernment agency charge forwater, it is probably a commoditythat needs to operate in aregulated environment.

Look at the price we payanyway. There are overhead tanks

in every house and storagefacilities. We consume millionsof units of power pumping waterinto underground and overheadtanks. We have to wake up in thewee hours of the morning tocheck on the water, spend hoursqueuing at local stone spouts, andwait further countless hours fortankers to arrive. And this is onlyabout quantity. There are equallydire problems with quality, water-borne diseases being a majorhealth hazard.

On Melamchi, after WorldBank withdrew from the process,it was for the ADB to take it up.The Beed is not sure whetherthese multilaterals have beenterribly successful inimplementing water projects ofthis magnitude successfullyanywhere in the world. Further,the involvement of more than onedonor just delays the process, asthe priorities of the differentagencies are, apart from imposingdonor-country equipment andservices, diverse and sometimescompletely divergent.

So here’s a solution: If weagree that Nepali people need to

pay a commercial price for water,then let us have the privatecompanies bid for these projects,based on public-privatepartnerships (PPP). Let us createa regulatory environment wherethe private provider is penalisedfor not delivering quality orquantity. Let us not foster anenvironment where they can getaway with providing less thanthey promise.

The electricity businessshould be looked at as havingthree distinct parts. First is thesource of supply, like electricitygeneration that could be from theprivate sector on a build, operate,and transfer model. The pipenetwork, like the transmissiontowers, is owned by another PPPcompany that for a certain chargeallows the suppliers to sell to thedistribution companies. Finally,distribution PPPs could beformed with VDCs andmunicipalities to ensure betterservice to the end consumer. Thiscould perhaps providesustainable solutions in thelong run for all scales of waterprojects.

Water solubleShow us the solutions, not the problems

L

Nepali Times: You’reentering the remittancebusiness, which alreadyhas a number of oldplayers. What was thedraw?Ramasamy Veeran: We mayhave entered late, but wehave done all ourhomework. There are manyplayers in the market, butwe have been working withthe labourers who workabroad for a long time. Ournetwork is the biggest inMalaysia when it comes toproviding calling cards andPCO services. These arethe services that labourerswho work abroad use themost. We understand the

needs of the remittance service market and know how toattract our target group.

Aren’t calling cards and phone booths, and remittancedifferent businesses?They are different but if you look at them from ourperspective, these services are essential for labourersworking in a foreign country. In the past we could fulfil onlysome of their demands, now we can do more.

When did you start offering the remittance service?

We started this year, and Nepal is our first foreign venture.Nepali labourers contribute a lot in Malaysia and we arehappy to be providing them this service. In addition, we arealso in the final stages of launching our services inIndonesia, Bangladesh, and Vietnam.

Why pick Nepal for your first venture?In the Malaysian labour market Indonesian labourersoccupy over 60 percent, yet we chose Nepal as our firstventure. This is because of the efficiency of our Nepalipartner Laxmi Bank. We have to give them credit forbringing us here.

How is your remittance service unique?Big companies like IME and Parbhu Money Transfer arealready in this business. We are unique because weunderstand the need of labourers working in a foreigncountry. We provide remittance service, but we alsounderstand their other needs, so we tie them together whileproviding services. This means, they come to us if theywant their other demands fulfilled as well. We want tocombine communication with remittance, for example if aNepali labourer wants to call his home, they can use ourcalling card. Eventually we want to tie up all ourbusinesses like this.

What are your future plans?Right now we have between 50-60,000 businesstransactions in Nepal. Our aim is to occupy 30 percent ofthe market in the first year. We will do so by combiningremittance with communication, strong brand positioning,and easy access.

Laxmi Bank has tied up withMerchantrade Asia, a Malaysiancalling card and PCO company.

Ramasamy Veeran, managing directorof Merchantrade, was in Kathmandu

last week and spoke with NepaliTimes about their plans in Nepal and

a new remittance service.

MIN BAJRACHARYA

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Xing TVHyundai Santro Xing cars nowcome with a free LCD TV fromSamsung. The compact car comeswith a three-year or a 36,000kmwarranty and also three years offree servicing. Avco Internationalis the sole distributor of Hyundai vehicles in Nepal and DeepLaxmi Intercontinental is the authorised dealer for Xing cars inKathmandu.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Real estate onlineGharghaderi.com isthe latest real estateventure to be launchedin Kathmandu. Theportal offers platforms for buying, selling, leasing, and renting ofproperty, as well as legal and financial consulting services. Itboasts the largest network of professionals and consultingservice providers.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

NokiaNokia has announced theappointment of Neoteric and Paramount Electronics as officialdistributors of Nokia phones in Nepal. Nokia phones range fromthe entry-level Nokia 1110i to feature-filled models like theNseries, Eseries, and the 8800 Sirocco Edition. Nokia wasranked number one by Synovate in 2006’s Asia’s Top 1,000Brands.

"We understand the needs of foreign labourers"

6 1 - 7 JUNE 2007 #351FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

Editorial in Naya Patrika, 30 May

On Tuesday the Indian policeindiscriminately fired at Bhutani refugeestrying to return to their homeland. Thecold-blooded shooting left one dead anddozens injured, and only went to showIndia’s oppressive and hypocritical nature.

India has neither the legal nor themoral right to stop the refugees fromreturning to Bhutan. India itself created thesituation where they were forced to chooseits soil as a pathway to Bhutan. Nepali-speaking Bhutanis were the victims of theviolent ethnic cleansing mounted by theBhutan government in the early 1990s.Many strayed into India seeking refuge, butthe Indian government shepherded them

into Nepal. Those same refugees now want to return to their homeland butIndia bars the way. It magnanimously allowed them to leave Bhutan, but nowrefuses them passage back.

India calls itself as the world’s largest democracy but there is nothingdemocratic about blindly accepting the actions of the racist Bhutanigovernment. King Jigme’s ethnic cleansing could never have worked withoutsupport from India. And it was also because of India’s support that Jigmecould ignore international pressure. Seventeen years have passed since therefugees first came to Nepal, their children have already grown into youngmen. Inside the refugee camps, the humiliation of having to live off charityand fear of an uncertain future lead to sadness, depression, and anger.

Various nations including the United States have offered to absorb therefugees, but this has only stoked the fire. Perhaps third country resettlementwill mean a better life for the refugees but to do so is a slap in the face ofhuman rights and would be like giving the Bhutani government permissionto chase out the remaining Nepali-speakers from Bhutan. It is the right ofany refugee to be resettled in a third country if they want to. But it isundeniable that this option is a conspiracy to keep the racist Bhutanigovernment in power.

Editorial in Kantipur, 31 May

Seventeen years ago Bhutan carriedout an ethnic cleansing of its Nepalispeaking population. The refugeestravelled across Indian territory toarrive in Nepal. India, whichfacilitated the movement ofBhutanis to Nepal can’t now stopthem from going back. Even legallyIndia can’t do it since Nepalis andBhutanis are allowed to move acrossthe Indian border freely. India’s actions support theBhutani dictatorship and it bolstersthe argument of those that arediscriminating against the refugees.India has tried to say this is abilateral matter between Bhutan and Nepaland remain neutral, but it can’t when itallowed a neighbouring country to evict nearlyone fourth of its population through itsterritory to another neighbouring country.Bhutan has for the past 17 years played fortime, hoping that the refugees wouldassimilate. Nepal’s policy of keeping Bhutanengaged while internationalising the issuehas worked.

The Americans and Europeans nowrecognise this as a gross violation of humanrights. Still, Bhutan is getting away with itdespite international shaming and pressure. Itis inhuman to keep any people in a camp fornearly two decades, and if there is no otheralternative , third country resettlement is anoption. Refugee groups know that unless they

India’s role

launch an even stronger movement,diplomacy alone is not going to get themback to their homeland. The US, Canada,New Zealand, Norway, the Netherlands,Denmark , and Australia have all said theyare willing to take the refugees. TheAmercians alone are taking more than half.It is natural for some refugee leaders to bedespondent about third countryresettlement. But the question is: how longcan more than 100,000 people remain incamps? There is now donor fatigue, andfood aid is running out.

Everyone should help find a pragmaticsolution. Refugees should be free to choosewhether to go to a third country or return toBhutan. And it is India that should put thepressure on Bhutan.

Refugee crisisFACE OFF: Indiaís security

forces bar the Bhutanirefugees from crossing the

Mechi bridge in Kakadbhitta.

FACE OFF: Indiaís securityforces bar the Bhutani

refugees from crossing theMechi bridge in Kakadbhitta.

BIKAS RAUNIAR

71 - 7 JUNE 2007 #351FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“

“

SELECTED MATERIAL TRANSLATED EVERY WEEK FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

Abin Shrestha in Samaya, 25 May

Table: UnityìCanít reach you, why donít you lean forward a bit!î

We may be ministers, but we still have to please Girija Prasad to get things done. Thisfeudalism in politics needs to end.

Minister of Education and Sports Pradeep Nepal quoted in Gorkhapatra, 30 May.

How Krishna○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Sen was killedNaya Patrika, 27 May

After five days of isolation andtorture Krishna Sen died, theblows, boots, and lathis of themen in uniform raining downupon him. He was kept captive inthe highest building in MahendraPolice Club, next to its Judo Hall.His hands were bound behind hisback, and he was repeatedly askedto say “This country belongs tothe king.”

Sen had been caught in NayaBaneswor on 20 May 2002 andbeen in captivity in the PoliceClub since. Journalist SangeetaKhadka, who saw Sen at 2 AM on21 May, said, “After some hours oftorture, Sen was vomiting, hisarms and legs were broken.”Khadka says two policemen werepropping Sen up against a wall asa jackbooted DSP Bikram Thapakicked him repeatedly.

Bharat Sigdel, then acorrespondent for Janadisha wasalso at the police club at that time.He says policemen taunted Sen,and assistant inspector generalAmarsingh told him, “Thiscountry loves only Gyanendra. Doyou really want to go against thethakuris who built this country…The army is going to be deployed.The American Army will also behere. And you’ll be six feet under,that’s where you’ll be. I’m a loyalsolider of the king. I’ll buryPrachanda and Baburam too,and pack off Sher Bahadur and

Girija to jail.”Sources say that on 27 May,

Sen’s body was bundled into asack and tossed into a Hilux thathad its government number platesroughly coloured over red. Thesame night, Sen was secretlycremated at Aryaghat. DIG Shahsaid to his collaborators: “we werejust joking, but Sen was alreadydead.”

Yet, the government put outthe news that Sen had been killedin an encounter in the Gokarnaforest. The announcement didn’teven include his name, just adescription.

The government under whichSen was killed made nocomment. There has never been aninvestigation. The peopleinvolved in his murder are high-ranking police officers.

Shah denies being involved.“Such work was the domain ofthe unified command (the army).It was not our concern.” He evendenied knowledge of the fact that

Krishna Sen had been caught.“Capturing, transporting, takingaction was the lookout of thearmy. How would we knowanything about it?” He thendeflected the question to theheadquarters. “And where is theaccounting for all the policemenkilled,” he added. “No one isinvestigating incidents likeNepalganj or Naumule.”

Asked again how the head ofthe Valley police could not haveknown, Shah replied: “That’s howthings were then. Anyway, this isan old story, and I don’t need toknow anything about it.”

DSP Bikram Thapa was sentabroad right after Sen’s murderand won a peacekeeping award. Healso denies knowing anythingabout Sen’s death. In fact, Thapasays, “I’ve never heard of KrishnaSen or of Janadesh weekly.” Thapawho is at the Number 1 Battalionin Naxal is trying for a promotion.Sen was apparently taken intocustody by Sub Inspector VijayaPratap Shah, who wasimmediately promoted toinspector. Shah returned frompeacekeeping duties in Kosovo sixmonths ago.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Food firstRameswor Bohara inHimal Khabarpatrika,30 May-14 June

On 25 May, women, children andSocial Welfare Minister KhadgaBahadur Biswokarma reached thevillage of Lui in Mugu by

helicopter to inaugurate a highersecondary school. No sooner hadthe minister launched into hisspeech about building a NewNepal that the villagers startedtheir own chant: “First food thenelections.”

The people of Mugu viewthemselves as ‘citizens without acountry’. The average lifespan ofMugu people is 36, there are noroads, agricultural production isenough for barely three months,and communicable diseases areendemic. The lack of jobs meansmost of Mugu’s young abandonall hope and seek their fortunes aslabourers in India. There is no

higher education campus andonly 18 percent of the men andnine percent of the women areliterate.

The people in Lui had walkedfor two days to see the ministeron 25 May. The crowd includedwomen balancing babies on theirhips and many elderly people.All had come to tell of theirsorrows and pain. And when theminister started throwing aroundpolitical verbiage like constituentassembly and republicanism, theMugulis were enraged. Theirdemands were simple: first feedour hunger and then we talkabout politics.

RAMESWOR BOHARA

CHANDRA KHAKI

8 MOUNTAINEERING

pa Sherpa’s 17th ascentof Everest was deservedlyall over the national and

international media. But anotherremarkable feat went under theradar—Chhiring DorjeSherpa climbed to the top ofthe world three times in twoweeks.

The 32-year-old fromRolwaling first reached the topon 2 May and planted a statue ofthe Buddha in honour of hisbirthday. “As a devout Buddhistit was important to me. I did notmind carrying the 12kg statue,”he said.

Chhiring Dorje then reachedthe summit of Everest two moretimes, on 15 and 16 May, bothtimes with an Indian Armyexpedition.

This year also gave somewestern mountain guides theopportunity to show theirstrength. Two Brits, KentonCool and Rob Casserley, andAmerican Willy Benegas allmanaged to top out twice in oneweek.

Another British climber,David Tait, with PhurbaTashi Sherpa pulled off atraverse from the Tibetan side ofEverest into Nepal on 15 May.This was the first north-southtraverse by a western climber. “Iwas planning to go back to thenorth side again but I was too

SpringA staggering number of people havealready climbed Chomolongma this yearBILLI BIERLING tired. I am not really a

mountaineer, but it was good tosee that Phurba Tashi was alsoexhausted on the way down,” Taitsaid upon his return toKathmandu.

Other firsts this year include18-year-old Samantha Larsonfrom the US becoming theyoungest person to have climbedthe highest summits on all sevencontinents, and 71-year-oldKatsusuke Yanagisawa fromJapan becoming the oldest personto summit Everest. Anotherrecord might have been set at8,848m. British climber RobBaber claims to have phoned hiswife and kids from a standardmobile phone from the summit.

The weather has beenextremely kind on Everest thisyear, facilitating an enormousnumber of summits—over 500 sofar. But Chomolungma has alsoclaimed seven lives. And nearbyLhotse, the world’s fourth highestpeak, took the life of one of thecounty’s most accomplishedfemale climbers. Pemba DomaSherpa, 36, fell to her death afterhaving successfully climbed the8,516-metre high mountain.

The notoriously avalanche-prone Annapurna I (8,091m) sawthree successful ascents withAndrew Lock becoming thefirst Australian to scale the tenthhighest mountain in the world.Lock, who has now scaled 12 ofthe 14 eight-thousanders, was

climbing with Ivan Vallejofrom Ecuador and FernandoGonzalez Rubio fromColombia.

The solo expedition on thesouth side of Annapurna I turnedout to be less successful. Swissclimber Ueli Steck, who wasattempting to open a new routeon the sheer south face of themountain (‘South face solo’,#347), was forced to abandon hisclimb. During his attempt tofinish the route first attempted bytwo French climbers in 1992,Steck was hit by a rock and took a300m fall.

“In spite of commotion [sic]and bruises I made it back to BaseCamp under my own power. I amwell so far,” he said.

Another potential new recordcould also not be completed. TheDutch Iceman, who had intendedto climb Everest in shorts, failedto reach the world’s highest peak.However, Wim Hof did manageto reach an impressive altitude of7,400m, and vows to have anothercrack at the mountain next year.

However, Himalayanmountaineering is not only about8,000m peaks. All climbersattempting the normal route ofAma Dablam in the Khumbu thisseason had to leave the mountainempty-handed. Since anavalanche wiped out Camp 3 andkilled six people last year, theroute is said to have become morechallenging (‘Accident on Ama

Dablam’, #324). “The serac thatlies on the final ice slope isdangerously cracked and allSherpas refuse to put up Camp 3underneath it,” said Italianmountain guide GiampietroVerza.

The man to ask about theconditions of the hanging serac ofAma Dablam would be BearGrylls, who paraglided to8,990m—152m higher thanEverest. The 32-year-old Britishadventurer started in Dingboche,from where the 50kg propeller,which was strapped to his back,carried him straight up aboveAma Dablam.

“It was a very special momentwhen I realised that there was nomountain in the world above me,especially after having stood onthe top of the world myself nineyears ago,” Grylls said on his

return to Kathmandu.Italian climbers Hans

Kammerlander and KarlUnterkircher have finally summitedthe 7,350 m-tall Jasemba. This wasKammerlander’s third attempt onthe unclimbed mountain and thisyear’s expedition was in memory ofLuis Brugger, his fellow Italian whofell to his death on the mountainlast year.

“It was the most difficult butmost beautiful expedition in mylife,” the 50-year-old wrote on hiswebsite. “When we finally reachedthe top after having climbed the2,000-m vertical and technical wallfor 13 hours my first thoughts werewith Luis.”

Having finished 13 of the 14eight thousanders Kammerlanderhas vowed to dedicate his climbingcareer to unclimbed and technicaldifficult mountains.

2007

A

A WORLD VIEW: Increasingly this view from thetop of Chomolongma, with Makalu and

Kanchenjunga in the distance, is not enough.Climbers want a 'first,' no matter what it is.

ANNE PARMENTER/PROJECT HIMALAYA

JAMIE MCGUINNESS/PROJECT HIMALAYA

LONG WAY UP: Some climbers make a preliminary trip to the North Colto see if they can handle the mountain at a later date.

91 - 7 JUNE 2007 #351

limbers often get a lot of bad pressfor being selfish. Last year’s DavidSharp incident was especially

damning. As the British climber lay dyingunder an overhang beside the mainclimbing trail about 450m below thesummit, some 40 people passed him, andfew bothered to help.

Despite the good weather this year, atotal of 12 people have died on Everest,Dhaulagiri, Kanchenjunga, and Lhotse. Andsome of those who got back down safe andsound may not have done so without thehelp of high-altitude sherpas and fellowclimbers.

One example is the epic rescue ofclimber Usha Bista from the Nepal

Himalayan samaritans

n avalanche wiped out Camp 3 on Dhaulagiri I on 13 May,killing Spanish climbers Santiago Sagaste and RicardoValencia. The avalanche happened 47 years to the day the

8,167m high mountain was first climbed by an expedition led bySwiss climber Max Eiselin.

Top Austrian climber Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and SpaniardJavi Serrano barely escaped the deadly masses of snow at 6,650mon the world’s seventh highest mountain. “After having spentabout 45 minutes digging myself out I looked around me and onlythen did I realise how bad the situation was. I immediately ran up

Avalanche

Democratic Team who fell ill at 8,300m.Canadian climber Meagan McGrath was onher way down from the summit on 21 Maywhen she came across Bista. “I saw herbending over forwards. Her mask wasaskew, she seemed a complete mess andwas completely alone,” the 29-year-oldaerospace engineer told Nepali Times.

McGrath, another western climber anda sherpa started to help the 22-year-oldBista to descend, which proved ratherhard. “We moved her about 30m down butI noticed very quickly that I had noexperience or strength to do a rescue so Iwas glad when Dave Hahn, an experiencedmountaineer, came to help,” said McGrath.

Three other climbers then pulled Bista

down to Camp 4, where they built astretcher. It was a long, slow, andtreacherous undertaking to descend theLhotse Face and then lower Bista down theYellow Band to Camp 3 at 7,500m, wheredoctors of the Extreme Everest researchteam looked after her.

“They gave me a second life,” Bista said.“I can’t believe the love and concern theyshowed to rescue me in spite of such adifficult situation.”

Another amazing rescue at 8,300mhappened when Marco Epis was helpeddown to safety by a Russian mountainguide and a team of Sherpas. The 44-year-old Italian suffered cerebral oedema atCamp 3 and would have been unable to get

back down had it not been for his helpers,who dragged him all the way to AdvancedBase Camp in less than two days.

“Without help, Marco would not havegot down the mountain. He was not clear inhis head,” said Gian Mario Trimeri, anotherItalian climber on the mountain at the time.

Kazakh climber Denis Urubko abortedhis speed ascent of Dhaulagiri I in order tohelp down mountain guide BorisKorshunov. The 72-year-old Russian spaceengineer had been caught in the night aloneand without a tent at 7,300m. Denis helpedthe veteran climber to safety, and thenturned back up. He reached the top the nextmorning in an amazing 4.5 hours. Billi Bierling

to the site where the Spaniards’ tent had been and started toshuffle like a mad woman,” said Kaltenbrunner.

Unfortunately the 36-year-old mountaineer could only findthe dead bodies of Santiago Sagaste and Ricardo Valencia. “I knewit would be unlikely to find anybody alive, but I carried ondigging and screaming.”

Earlier in the expedition Kaltenbrunner had abandoned hersummit push when her climbing partner, Lucie Orsulova from theCzech Republic, got altitude sick at 7,400m. Kaltenbrunner hasalready climbed nine of the 14 eight-thousanders. “I had plannedto push for the summit on my own but when I saw Lucie getworse by the minute it was clear to me that I would go downwith her.”

Together with her husband Ralf Dujmovits, Kaltenbrunner isnow off to Pakistan to attempt the world’s second highestmountain, K2 (8,611m).

PADAM GHALE

BROKEN MOUNTAIN: Ama Dablam'sdistinctive 'chin' is no longer.

LIFE AND DEATH ON DHAULAGIRI:The northeast ridge of Dhaulagiri istreacherous in itselfand made more

dangerous by avalanches.

KOICHIRO OHMORI

A

C

10 NATION 1 - 7 JUNE 2007 #351

Nepali Times: Is there the political will toaddress the issue of disappearance?Mary Werntz: The biggest challenge is to notallow this issue and the suffering of families to betotally drawn into a political issue. It is about abasic humanitarian right. Also, unless you dealwith the issue of the missing, you cannot moveforward to a lasting peace.

The agreement on 8 November betweentheseven parties and the CPN-M to create a highlevel body to address this issue is extremelypositive. In some countries it takes 10 years to getto that point. I’ve been told by the Ministry forPeace and Reconstruction that the high-levelcommission on the disappeared will go forward.They are very optimistic. It is essential that thecommission be given the proper legal basis and beformed and function in an independent fashion.Parallel with this is the need to put into placemeasures to prevent further cases of disappearance.

What would be the mandate of such acommission?The commission’s mandate should be independentand humanitarian, focusing on the provision ofremedies and information. It should be in contactand approachable by the families. Its first goalshould be seeking to clarify the status of themissing. It should answer the question of whethersomeone is dead or alive, if dead the circumstancesof the death and the location of the humanremains. It should as well work on properexhumation of the human remains and onidentification of the recovered remains.Additionally and very importantly, it shouldanswer to the needs of the families (materialsupport, psychological support, etc) to help themin their mourning process.

The commission will need to collect, centralise,and process all the information with regard to themissing. This takes time. We’ve been working here

Mary Werntz, head of the International Committeeof the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation to Nepal, spokewith Nepali Times about helping families findmissing members and the need for a separate,independent commission on the disappeared.

very day, tens of thousandsof commuters, civil servants,diplomats travel up and

down Maharajganj. The ForeignMinistry and Treaching Hospitalare across the street.

Yet, just over the wall insideMohan Shumshere’s former palaceat Laxmi Nibas, which served asthe headquarters of theBhairabnath Battalion, thousandsof prisoners were detained,tortured, and exterminatedbetween 2003-2005.

This was a concentration inthe heart of the city. Bhairabnathshowed how easily human rightsgroups, activists, and eveninternational humanitarianorganisations could be kept in thedark about the military’s dirtysecret.

Two years after their release,former inmates of Bhairabnathhave defied threats to tell the tale.Lawyer and journalist JitmanBasnet, 32, is one of them. He waspicked up on 4 February 2004 andreleased in 18 October 2005.Basnet endured 258 days oftorture and detention withblindfold and hands tied behindhis back. His hair-raising story astold in the book ‘Andhyara 258Din Haru’ (258 Days of Darkness)is a vivid account of whatthousands went through atBhairabnath and one of very fewtestimonies of those disappearedduring the conflict.

Many at Bhairabnath werecivilians in the wrong place at thewrong time, others were caughtwhen friends broke under tortureand gave random names. ('Prison

KUNDA DIXIT

n 15 February Gorkhapatra carried four pages of names in fineprint. They were a list of Nepalis disappeared in the conflictcompiled by the International Committee Red Cross (ICRC).

The families of the 812 people on that list had no idea about thefate of their relatives. Since then, more families have come forward,and ICRCís disappeared count stands at 937 now.

A new bill on disappearance aims to criminalise the act, butactivists say it fails to address past crimes, is not in line withinternational norms and doesnít treat enforced disappearance as avery serious crime.

ìThe bill effectively lets perpetrators of disappearance during thewar off the hook,î says human rights lawyer Govinda Sharma, whountil recently sat on a supreme court panel to investigate four casesof disappearance.

In its current form, the bill will not be effective retroactively andhas a six-month statute of limitations which, says the UNís Office ofthe High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal, doesnítreflect the ëextreme seriousnessí of the crime or that it is ëcontinuousí(ongoing until the fate of the disappeared person are known).

The bill also does not demand institutional accountability andholds only people immediately involved in an act of enforceddisappearance liable. Both OHCHR and the International Commissionfor Jurists (ICJ) suggest that it explicitly address the responsibility ofsuperiors for crimes committed by subordinates and prohibit ëjustfollowing ordersí as justification.

Hari Phuyal, a legal consultant with ICJ-Nepal says the bill isframed as an amendment to an ìoutdatedî civil code that lacks theìmodern structure and procedural provisionsî that comprehensive andindependent legislation on enforced disappearance needs. Phuyalsays it also fails to address multiple offences involved indisappearance, such as deprivation of liberty, ill treatment, torture,right to life, fair trial, and other fundamental rights.

Nepal Army personnel alleged to have committed enforceddisappearance and torture are subject only to military courtjurisdiction and the bill does not require that they be tried incivilian court.

“For lasting peace,

E

MIN BAJRACHARYA

Disappeared, dead

One way to address these loopholes would be for Nepal to signand ratify the UN convention on enforced disappearances and on non-international armed conflict to the Geneva convention, whichaddresses disappearance, says ICRC. The interim constitutionrequires the government to implement treaties it is party to andbecause the Treaty Act states that the provisions of a treaty ratified bythe government of Nepal are ëautomaticallyí applicable at the nationallevel. But Nepal is notoriously poor at implementing conventions evenafter they have been ratified ('A climate of intense fear', #217, 'Notknowing if they are dead or alive is killing us...', #292, ëConventionalwisdomí, #330).

ìDisappeared family groups, media, and civil society must keepthe pressure on for answers,î says a human rights worker. There aresome divisions within the groups of people who were for a timeëdisappearedí, particularly between Maoists, and civil society activistsand those secretly detained for no apparent reason. But in Bardiya,where most of the disappeared people were Tharu, families have cometogether regardless of who they hold responsible.

Who, how many?The ICRC and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)maintain detailed dossiers on the missing. The ICRC only adds aname when approached by family members who have no news of theirrelatives. Their figures show the people still ëmissingí areoverwhelmingly male, and close to a third of them are between 18-24.Kathmandu has the most missing (119) followed by Bardiya which hasclose to 100.

The number of disappearances increased sharply after the armyentered the conflict in November 2001 and during the state ofemergency in 2002, and declined with the setting up of the OHCHRoffice here.

The NHRC divides its list into those disappeared by the state andthose ëabductedí by the Maoists. The commission registered 2,105cases of disappearance, and the status of 653 people remainsunknown. Of the 814 people documented as abducted by Maoists, 158remain missing.

The words ëmissingí and ëdisappearedí, used interchangeably, referto the same thing, though activists say the latter conveys a greatersense of agency. Now, ëenforced disappearanceí is considered themost accurate description.

ANAGHA NEELAKANTAN

O

111 - 7 JUNE 2007 #351NATION

since 1997 and have rooms full of documents which,if there is a commission we are comfortable is workingproperly, we’d want to hand over. The commissionwould also be responsible for recognising death,deciding about maybe a memorial, compensation,other legal aspects, say a woman who has lost herhusband cannot hand the land down to her sonbecause there is no way for her to prove her husbandis dead.

Isn’t this what a truth and reconciliationcommission is supposed to do?There’s a lot of confusion about this. A high levelbody is mentioned only in the 8 November agreement,and is not explicitly included in the ComprehensivePeace Accord (CPA). The CPA mentions a Truth andReconciliation Commission which can technically bea short-term body, with a mandate that could belinked with the judiciary, whereas the missingcommission will function for many years to come andshould have a mandate independent of judicialinquiries. The missing commission answers directlyto the needs of the families of the missing people,whereas the Truth and Reconciliation Commissionhelps a society to come to terms with its past.

What do the families want?We work to help families move forward. Somedemand justice and push for just compensation.

Others don’t demand justice in the human rights sense butrequire recognition. Society has different opinions andcertain actors in civil society have very strong opinionsthat may not be exactly what families think. ICRC believesthe families have the right to define for themselves whatthey need, in order to get on with their lives.

How effective do you think the draft bill ondisappearance is?There’s the draft law and existing law. Nepal is a signatoryto the Geneva Convention and there are rules that arebinding for Nepal. We are encouraging Nepal to sign theconvention on enforced disappearance, as domestic lawwould have to be in line with that.

The government also has to want to implementconventions it has signed. Then there’s the question of thelegal system. Once you have a law, you have to be willingto use it.

How closely do you work with the NHRC?We’ve always worked with the NHRC, but we’ve been alittle confused of late about what their role is. We want tohelp, for example, by providing anthropological forensicexpertise unavailable here and would like to know whoseresponsibility exhumation and forensic analyses in thecase of the missing is.

The ICRC’s figures for the disappeared aren’t thesame as those of the NHRC or OHCHR.

This issue of numbers is a little complicated. We havesome 3,300 cases in our database from families of themissing who approached us during the last ten years.Over 2,000 were ‘solved’, one way or the other, mostfound alive and in detention during the conflict. Wedon’t claim our numbers are right, within threemonths of our publishing the list of the 812 missing(see story), we had 125 more, and that was what weexpected. But our list is up-to-date. In December, ourpeople walked all over Nepal and met every single oneof those families. The 937 people on our list arepeople whose families have no information about thefate of their relatives.

It’s said most people on the disappeared listare probably dead.Yes indeed, it is sadly so. You hear often of peoplewho make up a story regarding the missing in order tocollect compensation or some such. Maybe some guyran off with his girlfriend to India, or someone livesas a refugee in Denmark and their family in themountains don’t know, or someone doesn’t want to becontacted by family members. Such cases may exist.However, these are the exception. The ICRC has a longexperience in armed conflict worldwide and knowsthat these few cases are used as a cheap excuse toavoid the sad reality of the disappeared. Mothersdon’t lie. The real issue is that over 900 families of themissing in Nepal are still without news.

diary', #290). Basnet was himselfa victim of Maoist torture in hisnative Solu, but was taken in forhis journalism work.

There were Maoists inside,too: Krishna KC, who has alsowritten a book on Bhairabnath,Himal Sharma, and many others.The army had penetrated theMaoists’ Kathmandu task forceand used information fromtorture for further arrests. Buttorture was notoriously unreliableand thousands of innocentpeople across Nepal were made tosuffer and die.

With the mind of a lawyerand the observational skills of ajournalist, Basnet tells us in stark

and simple words what he andfellow prisoners went through.His story needs no literaryembellishments, hisindependence gives the bookauthenticity that other accountsof Bhairabnath detainees lack.

His book reads like classicSolzhenitsyn: ‘The strange thingabout torture is that afterrelentless beatings night andday, you don’t feel the painanymore. You go into a kind oftrance.’ Or: ‘They told me to takemy shirt off, but I couldn’tbecause it was stuck to thewounds from the previousnight’s beatings…so the soldierjust ripped it off.’

Basnet writes about beingable to see the red neon sign ofHimalayan Bank from across theroad through a gap in hisblindfold and hearing trafficnoise. Amidst all the cruelty heis baffled to see his torturerslovingly fondle a puppy, orhearing bells ringing at thebarrack temple. ‘How can peoplelike these be religious,’ he askshimself.

There were an estimated tencamps inside Bhairabnath, eachhousing up to 90 inmates, andtwo camps were for women.Basnet was kept in the SquashCourt and later the CommandoChok, and before every ICRCinspection the prisoners wouldbe moved to tents inside widebunkers.

Basnet tried to find out asmuch as he could about historturers and meticulously liststheir names in his book. Somehave gone on UN peacekeepingduties, some are still in thearmy and others are retired.

“Many of them took a greatdeal of pleasure in inflictingpain on us,” recalled Basnet

More than a thousand people wereimprisoned, tortured, or killed rightin the middle of the capital

who still has scars of his beatings.Two years later, he still getsnightmares.

It was because of Basnet’stestimony that the truth about 49of the inmates of Bhairabnathhaving been executed andcremated at the ShivapuriNational Park has come out. Afterhis release, Basnet’s lobbyingwith human rights organisationsforced the army to own up andrelease dozens of other inmates.

But for many it was too late.After his release Basnet visitedfamilies of those who he hadwatched die so they could haveclosure. The book lists names ofevery other detainee that Basnetmet during his nine monthsinside.

“Parents who hear that theirsons have died grieve once,”Basnet told us, his eyesglistening, “but those whose sonshave disappeared grieve a

we must deal with the missing"

TESTIMONY OF TORTURE: Jitman Basnet reading passages from thebook that documents his nine-month torture and incarceration atBhairabnath in which he names all names. A Google Earth view ofbarrack showing the key areas (left).

KUNDA DIXIT

thousand times.”Surviving inmates of

Bhairabnath and the families ofthose who died or are stillmissing want justice. And theysay the Maoists in governmentand ministers sympathetic to thearmy don’t want unpleasanttruths from the past to come out.

“Those who tortured us arewalking around openly andthreatening us, while we have tohide and still be scared,” saysBasnet, who has sued KingGyanendra as supremecommander of the army. He getsdeath threats, but says: “They cankill me, but they can’t kill mybook.”

Passing Bhairabnath as theslanting sun illuminated itsgates, Basnet looks away. “What abeautiful palace and they turnedit into a burial ground…I can’tbear to remember what went onbehind those walls.”

GOOGLE EARTH

or alive

12 1 - 7 JUNE 2007 #351DISAPPEARANCES

Nepali Times: What message does theDisappearance Bill send out about institutionalaccountability and impunity?Lena Sundh: Under international human rightsstandards, states have a clear obligation to investigate andprosecute persons allegedly responsible for serious humanrights violations, such as enforced disappearances. Thebill reflects the government’s recognition that enforceddisappearance is not only a serious human rightsviolation, but also that it must be made a criminal offenceunder Nepali law. OHCHR welcomes the bill as a steptowards ensuring such accountability.

But we are very concerned that the Bill does not fullymeet international human rights standards. One concernis that the bill is not intended to apply to acts ofdisappearance which were committed in the past. Also,crimes of disappearance are considered to continue untilthe fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person areclarified. So most disappearances in Nepal would not beconsidered past crimes, but ongoing crimes.

Another concern is that it does not address the factthat military courts have jurisdiction over Nepal Armypersonnel accused of disappearance under the existingArmy Act. This is contrary to international human rightsprinciples which allow only ordinary civilian courts toexercise jurisdiction over persons accused of serioushuman rights violations.

There are other problems. The definition ofdisappearance in the Bill does not include all theelements of the internationally-accepted definition ofenforced disappearance—for example, by ensuring notonly that government officials, but also any person actingwith the support or acquiescence of the government, maybe held responsible. The penalty the bill provides (up tofive years of imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 50,000)is not at all reflective of the very serious nature of thecrime of disappearance.

The bill in its current form is limited to individualcriminal accountability. According to internationalhuman rights standards, states also have theresponsibility to undertake a range of institutional andother measures to prevent, terminate, investigate, andpunish acts of enforced disappearance. OHCHRrecommends that a more comprehensive law ondisappearance be adopted in Nepal in the near future.

What else needs to happen to address the issueof disappearance and the needs of the families?Since the office in Nepal was established in 2005, OHCHRhas been gathering information on the disappeared andhas maintained contact with relatives of the disappearedand organisations working on their behalf. We havepresented information on cases to the authorities and tothe Working Group on Involuntary and EnforcedDisappearances. We have also carried out an in-depthinvestigation into allegations of disappearances from theBhairabnath Battalion and published a report in May2006. Many times we have called on the authorities tocarry out independent investigations into thedisappeared, but so far there has been little response. Attimes we have been given inaccurate and misleadinginformation by the Nepal Army, which also neverprovided us with a copy of its report on investigationsinto our May 2006 report. We have also raised cases ofthose abducted by the CPN-M and whose whereabouts arealso unknown.

The 8 November 2006 agreement between the SPA andthe CPN-M committed them to setting up a high levelcommission of inquiry on disappearances. Unfortunately,nothing appears to have been done so far to set up such acommission. OHCHR believes that such a commissionmust be independent, credible, and competent, and onlyestablished after broad consultations with civil societyand other stakeholders, including relatives of thedisappeared. The delay in setting up proper, independentinquiries to clarify the fate of all the disappeared isprolonging the agony of families waiting to know the fate

and whereabouts of their loved ones, and denying them theright to justice and reparations.

Should disappearance be part of the mandate ofthe truth and reconciliation commission (TRC)decided upon in the comprehensive peaceagreement?In addition to the truth and reconciliation commission inthe CPA, there is also a commitment to create a commissionof inquiry on disappearances. The establishment of such acommission would not substitute for an eventual TRC,which would look into a broad range of human rightsviolations, including disappearances. Effectiveinvestigations into individual cases of disappearances by acommission of inquiry would allow a TRC to focus onbroader issues related to disappearances, such as the generalpattern of disappearances, institutional and politicalresponsibility, and effective measures to preventdisappearances in the future. It would also allow the TRCto focus on supporting processes for reconciliation andhealing the wounds.

“The agony of familiesis being prolonged”

Lena Sundh, representativein Nepal of the United

Nations High Commissionerfor Human Rights, spokewith Nepali Times about

the new Disappearance Billand the stalling on an

independent investigationinto Bhairabnath.

MIN BAJRACHARYA

1 - 7 JUNE 2007 #351 13INTERNATIONAL

t is now a quarter-of-a-century since the acquiredimmune deficiency syndrome

(AIDS) was recognised. Theknowledge that has been gainedsince and the pace at which basicresearch has been translated intolifesaving treatments isunprecedented.

The discovery of the humanimmunodeficiency virus (HIV) asthe cause of AIDS was followedby elucidation of itspathogenesis, natural history, andepidemiology, the creation of adiagnostic blood test, and thedevelopment of antiretroviral(ARV) drugs. In 1996, theapproval of the first drug of aclass called protease inhibitorsled to the adoption of a multi-drug, anti-HIV regimen known ashighly active antiretroviraltherapy, or HAART. Thisdramatically transformed thequality of life and extended thelife expectancy of HIV-infectedindividuals.

Moreover, ARVs given topregnant HIV-infected womenand newborns have provenenormously successful inpreventing mother-to-childtransmission of HIV. Since thesecombinations of drugs wereintroduced, at least three millionyears of life have been saved inthe United States alone. We have

he whole world, it seems, views China as the nextgreat global power. A trip to Beijing does little todispel that impression. Out of the welter of dust,

noise, weldersí sparks, flotillas of cement mixers andconstruction cranes, the setting for the 2008 SummerOlympic Games is taking shape.

But looking down on the scene from the half-finishedMorgan Centre, the luxury apartment complex, and seven-star hotel that is arising beside the Olympic site, one is

awestruck not only bythe projectís grandeur,but by its designdaring. Below, likesome latticed popover,is the Herzog & de

Meuron-designed ëbirds nestí Olympic Stadium. Beside it isthe stunning ëwater cube,í or Aquatics Centre, of Chinese/Australian design.

Feeling the Promethian energy unleashed in Beijing, itis easy to believe in Chinaís aspirations to restore itself toa position of global wealth and power. Over the past half-century, when the Chinese have put their minds to it, theyhave always demonstrated extraordinary fortitude andresolution, whether in embracing Maoís revolution or inrealising the economic counter-revolution unleashed byDeng Xiaoping.

But, to become a truly ëgreat nation,í China must maketwo great leaps. First, it must become more comfortableplaying an active and constructive international role. Chinais now deeply involved in the world because of trade. But itmaintains a nineteenth-century notion of sovereignty ñnamely, that its leaders have an absolute right to do

over 25 approved anti-HIV drugsand drug combinations, and arobust pipeline of next-generationdrugs in various stages ofdevelopment and clinical testing.

Now our task is to apply thesescientific and technologicaladvances to delivering treatmentand prevention strategies aroundthe world, especially to people inresource-poor nations. It is clearthat efforts to combat thepandemic must be scaled up inAfrica, Asia, and other parts of theworld where HIV/AIDS exacts itsgreatest toll. There are anestimated 40 million HIV-infected people in the world;nearly three million died of AIDSin 2006 alone.

desperately need to improve ourability to prevent infections.

A wide array of preventionstrategies, including behaviouralmodification, condomdistribution, and the provision ofclean needles and syringes to IVdrug users has emerged. Recentstudies suggest properlyperformed and followed-up adultmale circumcision is a promisingprevention strategy. The ongoingdevelopment of topicalmicrobicides offers women thehope of warding off HIV infectionwhen using condoms or refusingintercourse is not feasible.

But the greatest scientific andpublic health goal in HIV/AIDSresearch, developing an effective

vaccine, still eludes us. This isparticularly difficult because ofthe nature of the virus,particularly its ability to integrateitself into the genome of hostcells, to readily mutate, andconceal that part of its outer coatthat would induce protectiveantibodies.

We also know that the body’snatural immune response isinadequate in controlling thevirus. Since the discovery of HIV,there has been no documentedcase of an individual’s immunesystem completely eradicating thevirus following establishedinfection.

Many current studies focus ondeveloping vaccines that might atleast slow the progression of HIVor make a person less likely topass the virus on to others. Todevelop a vaccine that canprevent HIV infection, we need todiscover how to induce thehuman body to produce aprotective immune response.

Despite the extraordinaryscientific and medicalaccomplishments in the battleagainst HIV/AIDS so far, historywill judge us by what weaccomplish in the next 25 years,and how we deliver the fruits ofour research efforts to those whoneed them most. (Project Syndicate)

Anthony Fauci is director of theNational Institute of Allergy andInfectious Diseases. He alsoadvises the White House onglobal AIDS issues and initiativesto bolster medical and publichealth preparedness againstemerging infectious diseasethreats such as pandemicinfluenza.

whatever they want without outside ëinterference.íChinaís leaders fear that if they begin to pronounce on

the domestic record of other nations, much less join insanctions or United Nations peacekeeping missions, theywill establish a precedent that would allow others to intrudeon domestic Chinese affairs. But the Chinese governmenthas just had a wake-up call in Sudan, from which Chinaimports 50 percent of its oil. After doing little to pressureSudanese strongman Omar al-Bashir into admitting UNpeacekeepers to stem the killing in Darfur, China suddenlyfound the promise of an unsullied Olympics at risk.

It was only after actress Mia Farrow suggested that the2008 Olympics might be remembered as ìthe genocidegames,î that an emissary was dispatched and al-Bashirrelented. It was an important moment in Chinaís evolutionfrom a defensive to an offensive player on the internationalscene.

Chinaís second challenge concerns its hybrid capitalist/Leninist system of governance, which may not function wellenough without democratic feedback and the rule of law.Although hardly democrats, President Hu Jintao andPremier Wen Jiabao already are expending large amountsof time and resources on divisive social problems in thecountryside where income growth has lagged. They havecancelled national agricultural taxes, made rural schoolingfree, launched a new rural medical insurance plan, andguaranteed that, since there is still no title for holdingprivate agricultural land, peasants are entitled to renew theirlong-term leases.

So China may be edging towards a whole new way ofinteracting with the world and dealing with its people; itscurious authoritarian capitalism may be inching towards

some new, and possibly viable, model for long-termdevelopment. But, as Mao always noted, theory should notbe confused with practice, and the sustainability of such amodel remains untested. Indeed, no state run by aCommunist Party has yet managed to reform itselfsufficiently to modernise and develop successfully. In this,China is a both pioneer and a developmental curiosity.

What kind of nation China aspires to be, and where it isheaded, is still something of a conundrum. Chinaís focusnow is not on grand political visions for the future, but ongrand visions for a Beijing reborn to impress the world.Beneath the surface are many threatening cracks. But todrive past the Olympic Green in Beijing will help makemany Chinese believe that perhaps the centre will hold inthis unprecedented and unusual experiment of nationbuilding. (Project Syndicate)

Orville Schell is a renowned expert on China and Dean ofthe School of Journalism at the University of California-Berkeley.

25 years of AIDS

COMMENTAnthony S Fauci

Now we need to get medication to all thosewho need it most, and develop an HIV vaccine

Programs such as thePresident’s Emergency Plan forAIDS Relief, the Global Fund toFight AIDS, Tuberculosis, andMalaria, and philanthropies likethe Bill and Melinda GatesFoundation and the ClintonFoundation have helped makedrugs available to treat twomillion people infected with HIVin lower- and middle-incomecountries. But fewer than25 percent of people in thesecountries who need ARVs arereceiving them.

With 4.3 million new HIVinfections each year, we face anuntenable situation, as newinfections far outstrip our abilityto treat all those infected. We

I

China, the Olympics,and the world

China needs a bigger international role and achange in its system of governance

ANALYSISOrville Schell

T

KATHMANDU VALLEY

Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue

32-18 30-18 32-19 32-19 30-20

KATHMANDU

14 1 - 7 JUNE 2007 #351CITY

ABOUT TOWN

†

Ques

t Ent

erta

inm

ent

Call 4442220 for show timings at Jai Nepalwww.jainepal.com

In Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worldís End, Elizabeth(Keira Knightly), Will (Orlando Bloom), and CaptainBarbossa (Geoffrey Rush) rescue Captain Jack Sparrow(Johnny Depp) from the clutches of the Kraken. Nowthey must face their foes, Davey Jones (Bill Nighy) andLord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander). The crew mustcall the Pirate Lords from the four corners of the globe,including the infamous Sao Feng (Chow-Yun Fat), to agathering that will make their final stand against Beckett,Jones, Norrington, the Flying Dutchman, and the entireEast India Trading Company.

EXHIBITIONSPhoto.Circle Dambar Krishna Shresthaís feature story onNepali workers in Qatar, Susheel Shresthaís works, and UdiptSingh Chettryís sports reportage, 2 June, 9.45 AM at theSundhara Bakery CafÈ.Colors of the sepals and petals an exhibition of paintingsby Neera Joshi Pradhan, until mid June, at Park Gallery,Lazimpat. 4419353

EVENTSInternational Day of Innocent Children Victims ofAggression 4 JuneWorld Environment Day 5 JuneEast to East a film about Pakistani families in Britian,1 June, 6.45PM at the Lazimpat Gallery CafÈ. 4428549Shastrartha organised by MAPS on ethnomusicology,2 June, 4-6PM at Martin Chautari. 4238050Pottery course by SantoshKumar from the Delhi BluePottery Trust, at Newa ArtCeramics in Mdhyapur, Thimi,25 May-24 June. 9841257968Core EmpowermentTraining by writer PaulaLaxmi Horan, five day intensiveretreat at the Farm House,Nagarkot, 13-17 June.9803356700Film South Asia 2007Festival of South Asiandocumentaries, 11-14 October,call for entries deadline 30June. www.filmsouthasia.org

MUSICSoul of Raga live classical and fusion music, every Fridaynight at Nhuchheís Kitchen, The Organic Bistro. 4429903.Open mic night at Via Via CafÈ, every Friday, 8PMLive music at the Red Onion Bar, Wednesdays from 8PMwith Yanki and Zigme Lepcha. 4416071DJ Raju and the Cloudwalkers live at the Rox Bar,Hyatt Regency, every Friday and Saturday. 4491234

DININGFriday evening BBQ with live music, at the Hotel Himalaya,7PM, Rs 499. 5523900Walk and lunch every Saturday at the Shivapuri HeightsCottage. 9841371927Kebabs and curries at the Dhaba, Thapathali. 9841290619Krishnarpan Nepali specialty restaurant at Dwarikaís Hotel,six to 22 course ceremonial lunch and dinner. 4479488Weekend special with sekuwa, bara, barbeque, Fridays atAmbassador Garden House, Lazimpat, 5.30 PM. 4411706Mongolian BBQ Wednesdays and Fridays, 6.30 PM on atthe Splash Bar and Grill, Radisson Hotel. Rs 1,000 forunlimited barbeque and beer. 4422828Flavours of the Middle East every Friday and the taste ofThailand every Wednesday at The CafÈ, Hyatt Regency,Boudha. 4491234Light nouvelle snacks and elaborate cordon bleu meals atLaíSoon, Pulchok, behind the Egyptian embassy. 5537166Continental cuisine and wine by the fire place at Kilroyís,Thamel. 4250440.Smorgasbord lunch at Park Village Resort, every Saturday.4375280Gyakok at the Shambala Garden CafÈ, Hotel Shangri-La,minimum four diners at Rs 450 per person, two hoursí notice.Retro brunch barbecue with Crossfire Band at LeMeridien, Gokarna from 12-4PM, Rs 1,000 including swimming.4451212Calcuttaís rolls, biryani, kebabs Indian cuisine atBawarchi, Bluebird Mall Food Court. 9741000735Woodfired pizzas at the Roadhouse CafÈ, Thamel 4262768,Bhatbhateni 4426587 and Pulchok 5521755Pizza from the woodfired oven at Java, Thamel. 4422519Jazzabell cafÈ enjoy great food, exotic cocktails and music,Chakupat, Patan. 2114075

GETAWAYSWeekend package at Le Meridien Kathmandu GokarnaForest Golf Resort and Spa, two nights three days at Rs 8,888and one night two days at Rs 4,444. 4451212Wet and wild package at Godavari Village Resort, everySaturday and Sunday, unlimited swimming, buffet lunch with abottle of beer†or a softdrink, Rs 690. 5560675

NEPALI WEATHER by NGAMINDRA DAHAL

The clear, hot days of the past week orso are a result of the westerly jetstreampersisting over the south of theHimalaya, even unleashing a freakblizzard on Dolpo. But we expect it tomake its seasonal migration north soonto allow in warm, moist air from the Bayso the pre-monsoon fireworks can startwhich should be early next week. Thesouthwesterly monsoon has struckKerala with a bang right on schedulethis week, and its Bay arm should beentering Nepali air space sometimearound 10 June. That means ETAKathmandu about 15 June or so. Don'tgrumble about the heat, without it therewill be no rains.

For inclusion in the listing send information to editors@nepalitimes.com

;xeflutfd"ns ;+ljwfg lgdf{0fsf nflu ;+ljwfg;efsf]lgjf{rgdf ;xefuL eO{ cfkm}+n] 5fg]sf k|ltlglw dfkm{t

gofF ;+ljwfg lgdf{0f u/f}+ .

g]kfn ;/sf/;"rgf tyf ;~rf/ dGqfno

;"rgf ljefu

1 - 7 JUNE 2007 #351 15HAPPENINGS

THE ART OF TREKKING: Artists Sagar Manandhar, Prasant Gurung,Bidhata KC, Bhawana Manandhar, Erina Dongol, Sunil Ranjit, and LKLama during an artistic trek 'Inspiration of Manaslu' at Sama Gaun(3,360m) last week organised by Manang Youth Society which will usethe paintings produced to promote treks in Manang and Manaslu.

MIN BAJRACHARYA

RUNNING BLIND: Blind marathoner Mark Pollock (left) and John Reganhis guide, after completing the worldís highest run from 5,356mChomolungma Base Camp and ending at the 3,446m at Namche Bajarin 16h 27m 39s on Monday night.

A GARDEN OF MANY FLOWERS: US Assistant Secretary of State forDemocracy, Human Rights and Labour, Barry R Lowenkron (middle)with Foreign Minister Sahana Pradhan and US Ambassador JamesMoriarty on Thursday at Sital Nibas under a portrait of King PrithbiNarayan Shah.

MIN BAJRACHARYA

KUMAR SHRESTHA

KIRAN PANDAY

BURNING ISSUE: Bhutani protesters burn a protrait of the Indian primeminister at the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu on Tuesday as otherrefugees began their 'Long March' back to Bhutan. The march wasstopped at a border bridge in Jhapa and Indian police shot dead oneprotester and injured several others. After talks, the march has beenput off for 15 days.

1 - 7 JUNE 2007 #35116

ww

w.n

epal

itim

es.c

omIS

SN 1

814-

2613

BACKSIDE

ass@nepalitimes.com

H ridayendra sarkar coming down with the chickenpoxhas the palace all aflutter. The little prince was rushedback from Gokarna to Nirmal Nibas this week where

he is recuperating under the close supervision of great step-grandmother Ratna. All this wouldn’t have made headlines inthe tabloids had the Nabayubaraj not been proposed as acompromise candidate to save the monarchy. Now it looks likeeven that won’t do the trick.

So the Indo-Nepal medical diplomacy is in full swing again:Ram Baran, Shekhar, and Sushil all trooped off to ApolloHospital to meet a slew of Indian leaders and take theopportunity to have their heads examined. Ram Baran needsto treat his tarai schizophrenia, First Nephew Shekhar has tosort out his dysfunctional relationship with First DaughterSujata and First Cousin Sushil badly needs a face-lift. Nowthat Nona is no more, the Sujata-Sushil rift has paralyseddecision-making in the Koirala kitchen cabinet. With the twopulling a hapless Girija in diametrically opposite directionsthe centre-right party establishment even lost control of theNSU leadership in Chitwan because the Sujata and Shekharlobbies cancelled each other out. The Ass’s advice to theprime minister is to forget about unification of the NepaliCongress for now, just unite the Koirala family first. Nextweek exclusive on Ass: UML medical diplomacy in Delhi.

Comrade Deb Gurung (army security code name: “Zulu 21”)goes down in history this week as the first minister to call fora bund. As head of the Ethnic Federal Republican Front, theminister of local development wants the Supreme Court tooverturn its decision on Nepali language, and since there is nolikelihood of that happening we’ll all be forcibly bunned againon Friday as you read this at home. During the most unstablecoalition governments of the post-1990 democracy era we usedto have three bunds a week on average, but even during thosedark and uncertain days we never had a government ministercalling a shutdown, for fakir’s sake. Deb Babu is ably assistedin this endeavour by our very own valley commissar ComradeHitman whose work on behalf of self-described “backward”groups is well known.

The behaviour of the formerly-subterranean comrades ingovernment is beginning to arouse suspicions that the Maoistsmay move from their strategic offensive phase into a strategicwithdrawal and pull out of the eight-party alliance ahead ofelections. Being in the opposition can give them an anti-incumbent advantage, the freedom to unleash the YCL, stoneambassadorial cars without triggering a diplomatic incident,and call any number of bunds they want.

But it will be difficult to convince the comrade ministerswho have been getting fairly comfortable in their jobs.Comrade Hasiya (code name: “Zulu 26”) has got so hooked tothe limelight thanks to Melamchi she now wants to have theproject no matter what. Mahara Babu (code: “Zulu 21”) hasthree cell phones (Mero Mobile, Tero Mobile and HamaraCDMA) and none of them work properly. Getting a call duringa press meet at Singha Darbar recently he was shouting “Hello!Hello!” and when it turned out to be a wrong number heyelled into the phone: “Don’t you know you’re talking to aminister?”

It’s not a coincidence that Nepal is flooded with sandalwooden route from Karnataka to Lhasa. They hunted downComrade Veerapan, so the business just moved north to Nepalwhich is why it is called 'red' sandalwood here. The Ass can’tfigure out what the fuss is about anyway. It’s not oursandalwood forests that are being chopped down, they are notselling it in Nepal so we’re not breaking any internationaltreaties. We are just facilitating trade between our twoneighbours and everybody gets his share. Nepal is benefitingfrom being a transit point between India and China, andwasn’t that supposed to make us really rich?

So, instead of working up all this self-righteous outrage let’s allow the sandalwoodtrade to flourish, collect our freight fees, and ifany sandalwood is apprehended by chance, wecan always send it back to India and barter it fordiesel.

(sung to the tune of Norwegian Wood)

Isn’t it good,red sandalwood