OHCHR to keep HR violators out of peace missions.

Senior human rights advisor at the Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal, David Johnson, said Thursday that the office will make sure Nepalese security officers involved in rights violations do not get into UN peacekeeping missions.
"We are taking steps to ensure no officer involved in rights violations will benefit (from UN peacekeeping opportunities)," Johnson said, speaking at a multi-stakeholders roundtable on prospects of democracy and peace in Nepal, organized in the capital by INSEC.
While Johnson hoped that the conflict is finally over now, he stressed that rights monitoring would go on. He also noted that violations are continuing and this will eat like a cancer into the hopes of the Nepalese people. Speaking at the same program, CPN-UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal said that no officers involved in rights violations, including those from the army, police and armed police, would be spared this time.
"No one will be spared this time. The mistakes of 1990 will not be repeated," he said, adding that the high-level commission formed by the government to probe rights violations will see to that.
Nepal also said that contrary to the Maoist demand, parliament should not be dissolved. "We will have no legitimate weapon or institution with us (if parliament is dissolved)," he said. Nepal highlighted the need to form an interim constitution to provide a legal basis for house declarations. "The interim constitution, in turn, would be replaced by a constitution drafted by the constituent assembly," he said.
Nepal noted that there is some crisis of confidence between the Maoists and the political parties. "The Maoists, due to their historical experience, are suspicious whether the constituent assembly elections will take place at all. On the other hand, the parties are suspicious of Maoist sincerity about laying down arms," he said.

House wants king out of parliament.

A meeting of the House of Representatives Wednesday unanimously endorsed a proposal to consider sweeping amendments to the HoR Regulations, leaving the king totally out of House proceedings.
The Regulations, once endorsed formally by the House most likely on June 10, will allow lawmakers to discuss matters related to the royal family, any matters under consideration in a court of law, and anything done by a judge in the course of discharge of his duties, among other things.
These new provisions will come into effect as the new regulations propose to omit the 11th point in the old regulations that specified topics which, as per Article 56 of the Constitution, can't be discussed or debated in the House.
The new regulations have also made amendments to the Constitution as simple as amending a bill, as per the spirit of the HoR proclamation. Under Clause 136 of the new regulations, any amendment to the Constitution - as long as it's for "resolution of the violent conflict and establishing lasting peace" - can be effected by the House.
Presenting the 77-page draft of the Regulations for consideration in the House, lawmaker Narayan Man Bijukche, head of a committee formed by the House on May 22, said the Regulations were prepared keeping in mind that the HoR is the sovereign body and all state powers can be exercise through it.
Announcing that the proposed regulations were unanimously endorsed for consideration, Speaker Subas Nembang set Thursday as the date for lawmakers to register any amendments, if any, with the House Business Committee. The House is set to approve the Regulations at its next sitting on Saturday.
The Regulations have also changed the Preamble of the old regulations, replacing the phrase "Sub Clause (1) of Article 63 of the Constitution" with "Clause 1.4 of the HoR Proclamation 2006", making it clear that House businesses will henceforth be guided by the HoR Proclamation, not the Constitution.
The draft regulation was discussed and finalized at a series of meetings of top leaders of the ruling Seven-Party Alliance.
Unlike in the past, a House session can be summoned by the prime minister (PM), and the speaker - under the PM's recommendation - can prorogue the session.
The Regulations also propose to form special committees as required. At present, it has finalized at least three such committees - on security, on implementation of the HoR Proclamation and on House hearings.
The 19-member Special Committee on Security, that comprises the prime minister, the speaker, the defense minister, the home minister, the foreign minister and the leader of the opposition, among others, enjoys full authority for mobilizing the Nepali Army.
Likewise, the Regulations propose enacting a separate law on proclaming the heir to the throne or a regent or a council to announce the regent. According to lawmakers, the government is preparing to table a bill in this regard "soon".
The Regulations deny the king authority to place his royal seal on bills passed by parliament and authorize the speaker to take charge here.
The Regulations have scrapped all clauses related to the "Upper House" and "His Majesty the King". The prime minister, not the king, shall present the government's annual policies and programs during the budget session of parliament.
The Regulations make the government answerable to the House for each and every action or decision it makes. Earlier, it was obliged to inform the House only of those decisions deemed to be of public interest.
The Regulation also provide for garnering public opinion before passing any bill. The Appropriations Bill (except for the clause related to taxation) will now be discussed at the Finance Committee of the House before it is presented before the House.
The new regulations also make provisions for a Hearings Committee in the House that will grill in person would-be chief justices and justices, commissioners of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority, the auditor general, the chairman and members of the Public Service Commission, commissioners of the Election Commission and Nepalese ambassadors-designate for diplomatic missions abroad.

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Nigerian arrested with 1.1kg white heroin.

Police have arrested a Nigerian national with 1.1kg white heroin from the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA).

Acting on special information, a police team from the Narcotic Drug Control Law Enforcement Unit arrested Ozol Michel, who landed at the TIA on Monday from the Q.R 352 flight of Qatar Airlines.
64 pieces of plastic-coated white heroin weighing 1.1kg was taken out of his body 33-year-old Nigerian citizen after a surgery at the Birendra Police Hospital where he was taken for medical checkup.
Michel, a footballer of Nigerian club Enyimba National Football Club said that he came to Nepal to play professional football in Nepal. He landed in Kathmandu via Afghanistan-Dubai-Doha route.
Police investigation into the case in underway, a statement issued by the Unit said Tuesday.
White heroin seized from four Nigerians few days earlier: Photo Source NDCLEU
Four Nigerian nationals, Merdith Chukwdi, Rome Nnadozine, Hens Kelechi and Ifanyi Chukwadi, were arrested two weeks earlier with the 2.4kg white heroin and US$10,000. A case has been filed against them at the Kathmandu District Court, according to the Unit.
In another haul on Friday, police arrested two Italians named Chiefa David, 29, and Carolina Walker Gamboa, 23, were with 900-gram hashish.
The anti-narcotics unit has said five Indians and two Singaporeans are also facing investigations currently over drug trafficking charges.

Madi blast victims languish in hospitals, homes..

One year after the gruesome Madi incident that saw the death of 39 civilians and three security personnel traveling in a bus that was blown apart in a Maoist-laid mine blast, the victims are still languishing in hospitals and at home, thanks to government apathy and "hollow promises".
The June 6 incident -- so far the biggest rebel onslaught on a civilian target -- had drawn national and international condemnation, while the rebels said it was a "serious mistake". Another 72 were seriously injured in the blast.
Though the then government had committed itself to providing "free medical treatment" to all the victims, the latter claim that they have received only preliminary treatment so far.
"Apart from first-aid help, the government has given us nothing. We even submitted our medical bills to the Chief District Officer but there was no response," said one of the victims, Krishna Adhikari, 34, of Ayodhapuri-2. Adhikari lost both his legs and sustained a major spinal injury in the incident.
Adhikari, who is confined to a wheelchair, says he has already spent more than Rs 100,000 for his treatment. He is now planning to sell his house and only piece of land to pay for further treatment. He used to be the only breadwinner of the family.
Another victim, Dhankumari Poudel, 50, whose body was severely burnt below the waist, said she has already spent Rs. 70,000 for her treatment. "Seems like there is no rescue for me," Poudel laments. Likewise, Durga Maya Magar, suffering from a spinal injury, is also in dire straits.
The victims have been demanding that the identities of the real culprits should be made public and they should be brought to book.
Also, the concerned authorities should make proper arrangements for the livelihood of the victims' families, they demand. "We should be allowed to meet Baburam and Prachanda," one of the victims said.

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Nepal “untouchability free” country.

In yet another major announcement, the reinstated House of Representatives on Sunday unanimously endorsed a proposal to declare Nepal a country “free of untouchability and all kinds of discrimination.”
The legal and constitutional status of the proposal, however, remains unclear.
Moving a proposal of “urgent public importance,” a lawmaker of the CPN (UML), Parshuram Neghi Gurung, called on so-called dalit community—that constitutes 16 percent of the country’s 27 million population—in all processes of making new constitution and ending all sorts of discriminatory policies and practices including so-called untouchability.
The proposal calls for mobilization of special economic programme for education, health and employment for dalits and those under the absolute poverty line to their status.
The constitution of the kingdom of Nepal 1990 prohibits all types of discrimination against citizens on the basis of caste, gender or religion. But activists said a number of discriminatory provisions and laws were still in practice.
Addressing the House session on Sunday, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Narendra Bikram Nemwang said untouchability was a social crime and that the government would introduce a new bill soon to make necessary amendments in the existing Act.
Earlier, the House of Representatives has already declared Nepal a secular state and asked the government to formulate laws so as to issue citizenship certificated to children in the name of their mother. Earlier, the certificate could be issued in the name of father only.

aRMED GANG ATTEMS ROBBERY AT KATHMANDu.

In yet another broad daylight robbery in the Capital, three persons including two security guards of Nabil Bank’s Jorpati branch were killed when a group of armed robbers indiscriminately opened fire on them, after they tried to resist.

Police said the two dead security guards have been identified as Tej Bahadur Thapa and Prem Bahadur Tamang while the driver of the microbus carrying the robbers was killed in shootout between the police and the robbers. The identity of the driver is yet to be confirmed.
Police nabbed two robbers along with 2.5 million rupees looted from the bank. One of arrested robber, Ajay Rai, was a former Maoist while the other, Dev Raj Bhattrai, was an Armed Police Force (APF) constable working at the APF barrack in Dakshinkali, according to the police. Bhattrai had been out of duty since two weeks.
Some 15 looters came in a microbus at around 11:00 a.m. A patrolling team from the police beat in Bouddha arrived on the scene when the looters were trying to get away with the looted cash, police said.
Shootout ensued between police and the looters that caused serious clamor around the area. Three pistols, khukuris, mobile phone sets and bullets were recovered from the robbers.
This was the third major robbery case in a row in Kathmandu in less than a week. A group of robbers had looted properties worth Rs 2.5 million from a house in Santinagar, Kathmandu, Tuesday morning and armed robbers had looted Rs.1.1 million cash from the Nepal Bank Limited branch office in Chhetraparti the day before. However, this is only the first time, police have been able to nab any robber.

UN ready to extend help in Nepal peace process.

A senior official of the United Nations, Kul Chandra Gautam, has reiterated that the world body is ready to extend its help in Nepal’s peace process.
Talking to BBC Nepali Service on Tuesday from the UN headquarters, New York, Gautam said the UN would be happy to take up the role of monitoring ceasefire, in managing the arms (of the rebels) and helping conduct the Constituent Assembly elections peacefully, among others.
“It would be easier for the UN (to help the peace process) if both the sides jointly sent their request to us,” he added.
“In our view, there is no need for international mediation (in Nepal),” said Gautam, adding, “Whatever the role will be there for the UN, it will involve some costs.. So, other UN members may have to come forward to meet the costs.”
Gautam said raising funds to finance UN operations in Nepal would not be that difficult if the Nepal government made requests before the international community.
He said the present team of the UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal could also help in monitoring the ceasefire.
Gautam said UN could send its civilian experts in helping the Nepali peace process. “In case, if we needed to send peacekeeping troops (for the management of the arms), the case will have to referred to the Security Council and the process may be rather complicated,” said Gautam. “What is important is that there is total consensus within Nepal,” he added.
When asked if India would accept the direct UN role in Nepal’s peace process, the senior UN official said he had heard that Indian position had become flexible compared to the past. “We have heard that India may not have any objection (to the UN involvement) but things are yet to become clear. Nepal, too, can convince India in this regard,” he added.
Gautam’s comments came in response to reports that both the government and Maoist rebels had agreed to invite to monitor the month-old ceasefire. A member of the Maoist negotiating team, Dinanath Sharma, told Nepalnews that the issue would be taken up during the second round of peace negotiations. He said the details were yet to be worked out.
Sources say the second round of peace negotiations is likely to take place next week as the Maoist negotiating team is said to be busy this week in preparation of its first major mass meeting scheduled to be held in Kathmandu on Friday.

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fOUR NEPALESE PEACEKEEPERS TO BE HONOUREd.

Four Nepalese soldiers among 124 peacekeepers, who died last year serving in the cause of peace, will receive ‘The Dag Hammarskjold Medal’ to be provided posthumously.
A press statement issued by the United Nations Information Centre UNIC) in Kathmandu said those receiving the medals are; Warrant Officer Rishi Ram, who died while serving in the UN Mission in Burundi on 2 March 200(?), Corporal Mohan Shingh Ga Ma, who died while serving in the UN Mission in Haiti on 20 March 2005; Sepoy Shyam Bahadur Katuwal, who died while serving in the UN Mission in Haiti on 26 February 2005 and Major Kabindra Jung Thapa, who died while serving in the UN Mission in the DR Congo on 2 June 2005.
“The Dag Hammarskjold Medal will be awarded posthumously to military, police and civilian personnel who lost their lives serving in the UN peacekeeping operations amid a special ceremony in the United Nations headquarters in New York on 31 May,” the statement added.
At this time, Nepal is the fifth largest contributor to the peacekeeping operations with 3,523 peacekeepers serving in 12 missions, according to Douglas Coffman of the Peace and Security section in the UN Department of Public Information.

Meanwhile, in a statement issue on the occasion of UN peacekeepers day on Monday, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan urged all to pay tribute to the men and women from countries across the world who serves selflessly, tirelessly and fearlessly in UN peacekeeping operations.
“Let us remember the heroes who have laid down their lives in lands far from their own in the service of peace. And let us reaffirm our commitment to building a world free from the scourge of war,” Annan added.
“The days of lightly armed peacekeepers conducting foot patrols along ceasefire lines between sovereign States are long over. UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after decades of conflict,” he noted.
More than 72,000 uniformed personnel and 15,000 civilians now serve in 18 peace operations administered by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, making the United Nations the largest multilateral contributor to post-conflict stabilization worldwide.
“One hundred and eight countries now contribute uniformed personnel, including a 71-nation mission in Sudan -- the most diverse coalition ever assembled. The leading contributors, by far, are India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, which collectively provide more than 40 per cent of UN peacekeepers -- and as a result have also suffered some of the highest losses,” Annan added.
With peacekeeping having become a core function of the Organization, and with a greater number of staff joining the many already serving in dangerous field locations, it is essential that they receive more professional and responsive institutional support, he said, adding, “We are determined to achieve this through critical management and oversight reforms, and through strict enforcement of the highest standards of conduct and of the zero tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse.

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‘dEAD'’ EVERESTEER RETURNs.

Half-undressed and hatless, an Australian climber given up for dead on Mount Everest greeted an American mountaineer with the words: "I imagine you are surprised to see me here."
This description of the remarkable encounter was given by US mountaineer Dan Mazur in a telephone interview with Everestnews.com after he gave up his own bid for the summit to help rescue the Australian, Lincoln Hall, 50.
Hall had been reported dead by his expedition teammates after reaching the 8,848-meter summit of Everest on Thursday but then succumbing to acute altitude sickness as he began his descent.
Hall, one of Australia's most experienced climbers, became disoriented, lay down in the snow and resisted attempts by accompanying sherpas to help him, according to an account of the incident posted on the Internet by his expedition leader, Alexander Abramov.
The two sherpas with Hall were forced to leave him behind when they ran out of oxygen and Abramov issued a statement Friday that the Australian was dead.
But the team of climbers led by Mazur came upon Hall several hours later and found him alive.

Mazur radioed the news back to camp and in a rescue operation involving about a dozen sherpas and a Russian doctor, Hall was brought to Everest's advanced base camp where he was treated for frostbite and altitude sickness. Abramov said earlier on an Everest news website that Hall was suffering "acute psychosis, a disorientation in space" and had been resisting efforts to help him.
He was diagnosed as suffering from acute oedema of the brain, a frequently fatal swelling of the brain that occurs at extremely high altitudes.
Hall, who lost several toes to frostbite on an earlier climb, was also said again to be suffering from frostbite. Abramov said Hall later told his wife Barbara in an emotional phone call of frostbite in his fingers.

Abducted people found dead in Rautahat

The dead bodies of two people, abducted by the Maoists six days ago, have been found at Inaruwa VDC, Rautahat Saturday morning.
Bodies of Sambhu Sahani and Shyam Sundar Sahani, sons of Congress District Working Committee member Jyogindra Sahani, were found buried near a river.
The Maoists, after bombing the house of Sahani had abducted the slain brothers from Basantapatti village development committee (VDC) of the district accusing them of trying to disrupt a Maoist meeting.
Reports quoted Superintendent of Police Keshav Adhikari as saying that the badly mutilated bodies were found buried at a local river bank.
The Maoists however, have claimed the Sahani brothers of being dacoits and that the villagers themselves had beaten the brothers to death.
Locals have strongly refuted the Maoists' claim of villagers doing the killings, pointing out that it was the rebels who did the brothers in.
Meanwhile, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal has begun an investigation into the incident.
There has been no let up in the atrocities of the rebels despite ceasefire announced by them.