Who called the Valley bandh? No idea, say all

Though Kathmandu Valley remained partially closed today, most of the denizens didn't have the faintest idea as to who might have called for the shutdown.
Most of the educational institutions and a few private offices remained closed.
Though work in government offices went ahead as usual, the number of vehicles plying on the roads was very low.
"We didn't receive any report of bandh supporters demonstrating on the streets or picketing," said a police official at the Metropolitan Police Control Room.
"Usually during bandhs, we used to get reports of incidents like bandh supporters taking out rallies or forcing people to get off vehicles. However, the control room phones didn't ring for such reports today," the official added. This reporter asked people from different walks of life on who might have called the shutdown.
"I heard an association of landless people has called the bandh, but, I am not sure," was the reply the reporter got from almost all of them he queried. Media houses also didn't receive any press release on the bandh. This reporter at long last, but unofficially, found out that it was the Nepal Basobas Basti Samrakshan Samaj (settlement protection society), who had called the bandh. No one was able to tell him who the people associated with the organisation were or where they could be contacted. All he came to know was that the samaj had been formed by people who were displaced after the government acquired their land at Tinkune

Koirala, Prachanda smoke the peace pipe

Maoist chairman Prachanda and his deputy Dr Baburam Bhattarai met Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala at the latter's residence this morning. They sorted out differences that had surfaced after the PM's comment on the activities of the Young Communist League (YCL) last week.

The trio agreed to form a committee under the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction to make cases of disappearances public.

A Maoist source told this daily that the PM "realised" that he should not have publicly branded the Maoists' youth wing as a criminal league. Koirala called the YCL a criminal league after the latter captured businessman Sitaram Prasain and handed him over to the police.

Prasain was wanted by the Nepal Rastra Bank for irregularities in a financial institution he chaired.
The source said the PM was "positive" on institutionalising the agenda of a republican order through constituent assembly election for which he expressed his "firm commitment."

The meeting mainly focused on the issue of republic through the election, the source added.
The leaders agreed not to make public issues on which they differ, and committed themselves to resolving those issues through dialogue.

They also agreed that the eight-party unity must be kept intact until a new constitution is drafted.
Poudel also said that a committee would be formed to make public the cases of disappearance.
According to the Human Rights Year Book, 2007 published by Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), 783 people were disappeared by the state and 105 by the Maoists.

No question of doubting India, says Prachanda

Maoist supremo Prach-anda today said his party has no doubts on India's intentions. Prachanda had rapped India after reports appeared in the media that India favoured an alliance between the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML.

Those reports had said that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during a recent meeting with a UML delegation in New Delhi, stressed the need for a permanent alliance between the NC and the UML to ensure democracy and lasting peace in Nepal.

In a a statement issued here today, Prachanda denied his party's involvement in hurling stones at a vehicle carrying US Ambassador James F Moriarty in Jhapa. He said his party did not target any foreigner even during the decade-old conflict and it was unimaginable to do so at the time of the peace process.
"I would like to remind all that we had asked the government to investigate the Jhapa incident immediately after it occurred, "he said Prachanda and another Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai also met United Nations secretary general's personal representative, Ian Martin at his residence today and discussed the verification process of the Maoist combatants in cantonments. They agreed to start the second round of the verification at the earliest. The process has been stalled due to differences between the government and the Maoists over payment of monthly allowance to the fighters.

In the statement, Prachanda stressed the need to create a new basis for political unity among the parties. "People will not be assured of the assembly election unless the date is fixed," the statement said.

Prachanda said the government was reluctant to release political prisoners, make public the status of the disappeared, provide relief to victims of the conflict, reconstruct destroyed infrastructure and manage cantonments and combatants' allowances.

According to IANS, Prachanda also recalled India's positive role during the ongoing peace negotiations as well as New Delhi's pledged assistance to the CA election.

No business, no issue. Visa for the asking!

Kent Bruce Crane, a Belize national, has been obtaining business visa for the last 14 years, even though his firm's registration has not been renewed for the last seven years. His business visa was extended on February 17, 2007, for five years.

The company — Nepal Wildlife Development Company Pvt Ltd (NWDC) — was set up in 1993 and was registered at the Company Registrar's Office (CRO) and the Department of Industry (DoI) for promotion of eco-tourism and hospitality business through a golf course and a luxury resort.

However, the company could never be operational in over 14 years. A report prepared by the DoI monitoring team in January this year states construction of a seminar hall, guest house and few buildings has started at Lapsiphedi, VDC-3, where he purchased 519 ropanis of land in 1994. Later he also managed to get on lease an additional 150 ropanis of land in the VDC.

The Immigration Rules, 1994, say investors can get a one-year visa during the start-up phase of their venture, and for five years after the investment is made.

"We are bound to issue a visa if the DoI recommends someone," says Durga Prasad Pokhrel, director of the department. "We do not investigate every application", he added. Crane has used five different passports issued either by the London High Commission or by the Embassy of Belize in Washington DC. The latest passport (No 004954), in which he obtained the five-year business visa, was issued on February 8, 2007 from the Embassy of Belize in Washington DC.

Crane had two passports which have not expired. The Passport (No 0290773) that was issued on January 25, 2005 will expire on January 24, 2015, while the second passport will expire on October 4 next year. Of these two passports, the first one was issued from the Embassy of Belize in Washington DC and the second one from the Belize High Commission in London.

According to a source, Crane had used a different passport when he first came to Nepal 13 years ago. Later he used the passport (No A 000666) issued from the Belize High Commission and obtained business visa for a year. The passport expired in October 2004.

Despite repeated orders of the Company Registrar's Office to NWDC to furnish the annual report and audit report from the fiscal year 1998-99 to 2006-07, the company submitted them on January 14 this year. These reports are to be submitted annually.

Ashok Kumar Dahal, director at the Foreign Investment Section of DoI, said the visa extension was made on the ground that Crane's property worth millions of rupees is still in Nepal. "We recommended the DoI to extend the visa as he has invested a huge sum of money in Nepal and he has to frequently visit the country," he said.

The project could not kick off due to a court stay order against him, Dahal said. He said Crane got his visa extended on the pretext that he could not start the project due to the adverse situation here.
Crane could not be reached despite several telephone calls and e-mails sent to him. When contacted, an employee at Crane's office at Lakhankhel said he is out of the country.