UN Continues Peace Process in Nepal

The United Nations participated in registering and storing weapons of the Nepalese Army on Thursday, part of its continued assistance to the peace process in the Asian country, according to a UN report from Katmandu.


The arms registration is in accord with the peace process signed last year between the Nepalese government and the Maoist Communist Party of Nepal to end 10 years of hostilities.



The peace accords require the Nepalese Armed Forces to register and store the same number of weapons delivered by the Maoist army, under supervision of the UN Political Mission in Nepal.



High officials of the UN Political Mission expressed their satisfaction at the course of the peace process and total cooperation of the Nepalese Army.



The officials said the process, which began Tuesday with Nepalese Army presentation of 850 weapons in Katmandu s Chhauni Camp, and involves 14 teams supported by the UN Development Program, will possibly end this week.



The Maoist army presented 2,855 weapons, with 523 still in their hands on their security perimeter as well as another 96, pending a security agreement.



The civil war in Nepal cost the lives of 15,000 people and displacement of 100,000.

Diversity Visa victims on fast-unto-death

Diversity Visa victims on fast-unto-death 
 
Seven members of the American Diversity Visa Victims Association today decided to go on fast-unto-death outside American Embassy in Panipokhari.
"The victims want that the American Embassy refund the money they spent to appear for the visa interview, along with necessary compensation," the DV victims said in a press conference organised today.

Ghanashyam Basyal, president of the ADVVA, said, "We don't want American visa. If people think that we are protesting to get the visa, they are wrong. We are against the American policy of rejecting Nepalis' visas without tendering any reasons."

He said the embassy made each of them spend Rs 55,000 for the visa and rejected it without sufficient ground. "There are some families with six members whose spent around Rs 330,000 but none of them got a visa," he added.

"Our efforts to talk to the embassy officials and the Nepal government went in vain. Their apathy has compelled the victims to go on fast-unto-death," said Govinda Adhikari, vice-president of the ADVVA. He said the government and the American Embassy would be responsible if something happens to those on fast. "We tried our best to make them understand our problem, but to no avail. We have enough evidence to prove that we are right," he added.

While, Sharon Hudson-Jean, acting public relation officer of the An American Embassy official, when contacted, said the embassy had already made it clear to the concerned people that compensation could not be granted. She added that the embassy wants them not to go on hunger strike. "We don't want any harm to their health," she said.

The DV victims started their protest in October. For two months they organised sit-in outside the American Embassy and since December 26 they had been on 24-hour relay fast.