Big Three's top guns in PM race: No one is likely to get majority vote

Dahal’s candidacy and the UML Central Committee decision on Tuesday to withdraw its candidate and stay away form election in case it fails to garner a two-thirds majority (401 votes) has made the scenario of the parties going for a second round polling most probable.

 

KAMAL DEV BHATTARAI, PHANINDRA DAHAL & BHADRA SHARMA

KATHMANDU, JUL 20
The scenario is finally clear. The race for the prime minister’s post will be between the big three leaders of the Big Three. UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress (NC) Parliamentary Party Leader Ram Chandra Poudel and CPN-UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal will be contesting in the prime ministerial election on Wednesday. 
However, with no new equation among the major political parties till Tuesday evening, chances are high that Wednesday’s elections will fail to elect a new prime minister, thereby leading to a second-round of voting.
The three major political parties filed their nominations for the top post on Tuesday afternoon after they failed to strike an agreement on a consensus candidate to lead the new government. 
If the three parties go head long into elections, the swing votes from the Madhes-based parties appear decisive. However, it is unclear which side the Madhesi Front will back, though they have said they would support any of the three depending on how they commit to address the Madhesi agenda. 
However, there are possibilities of multiple scenarios emerging.
Second round of polling likely 
As of now, the Parliament failing to elect a new prime minister seems the most likely scenario. Dahal’s candidacy and the UML Central Committee decision on Tuesday to withdraw its candidate and stay away form election in case it fails to garner a two-thirds majority (401 votes) has made the scenario most probable. With the UML decision, unless the party changes it on Wednesday, NC candidate Poudel’s hope of winning the election may come a cropper.
UML, on the other hand, has little hope of winning the election as it will get votes from neither the Maoists nor the NC as both will obviously vote for their own candidates.
Given the scenario, Poudel himself sensed that “the House could go for a second round of polling because of the decision of the UML”, which commands 109 votes. He said so after filing his candidacy on the Constituent Assembly premises.
In such a situation, if any of the three nominees fails to secure 300 votes of the 599 members of Parliament on Wednesday’s election, the parliament secretariat will fix a date for the second phase of election. Caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal will continue in office until a new premier is elected. The second phase polls are likely to be held in the first week of April, according to an NC leader.
Khanal fate in the balance 
UML Chairman Khanal strongly believes that he has an edge over the other candidates. Khanal expects to garner votes from the Maoists, Madhes-based parties and Left and fringe parties. In Tuesday’s meeting, Khanal said he would secure 427 votes from them. “I am confident Prachandajee will pull out his nomination and support me,” said Khanal after filing his nomination.
If the Maoists and the United Madhesi Democratic Front support the UML, Khanal’s dream to hold the most coveted post will come true.
However, it is not sure whether the Maoists will withdraw support to the UML as some Maoist leaders said Dahal’s candidacy was irrevocable.
Besides, the Maoist party itself is divided on supporting Khanal. A faction of Maoist leaders led by Baburam Bhattarai wants to take the middle path when it comes to supporting Khanal, while Dahal is comparatively loyal to Khanal rather than Poudel.
However, some UML leaders said Khanal’s consensus politics strategy would be harmful for him.
Furthermore, Khanal will be in more trouble if he fails to secure a two-thirds majority (support of the 401 lawmakers) before Wednesday’s voting.
A two-thirds majority will not be possible for the UML candidate without the backing of the UCPN (Maoist), the Madhesi Front and fringe parties.
Khanal will be ousted from the race if his nomination is withdrawn. “In case of nomination withdrawal, any candidate would not be entertained in the second phase elections. This is the parliamentary tradition,” said Speaker Subas Nembang.
However, party leaders claimed no one would block party Chairman Khanal from contesting in the second round. “His attempts are for consensus and nobody will stop him from forging consensus even if parties fail to form a majority government,” UML Secretary Yuba Raj Gywali said.
Maoists bank on Madhesi parties  
The UCPN (Maoist) claims that it will emerge victorious and form the next majority government, if not a consensus one. The Maoist confidence comes from its belief that it will get full support from the Madhes-based and fringe parties. 
Having confirmed that it would get neither the NC nor UML support, the Maoist party has turned to the Madehes-based and fringe parties, which are on the fence.
The Maoist claim holds some water, too. If all three parties stand by their position till the last hour on Wednesday, Dahal has the possibility of securing a majority if the Madhesi Front, the alliance of four Madhes-based parties comprising 83 votes, decides to back the Maoist party. The Maoists have 237 votes in the parliament. Besides, the fringe parties have 55 lawmakers in the House, though their vote is likely to be scattered among the three candidates. 
Dahal, to that effect, held consultations with MJF Chairman Upendra Yadav and Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party chairman Mahantha Thakur. The leaders, however, did not give him a clear stand.  
Earlier, the Maoist Politburo meeting picked Dahal as a party’s candidate in the election. The Maoist Vice-Chairman Mohan Baidya-led faction insisted that Dahal file his candidacy to block another Vice Chairman Babu Ram Bhattarai. 
The Bhattarai faction has reasoned that a majority vote could be garnered in Bhattarai’s name. Earlier, the Madhes-based parties had vowed to support Bhattarai. 
However, Dahal is still hopeful of political consensus. “I think that a new atmosphere of national consensus can be built at the last moment through my candidacy,” he said after filing his nomination.

“We are open to discussions and ultimately there will be consensus among the political parties.”
NC chances yet a boost? 
With the Maoist party fielding its own candidate, NC stalwarts say that the chances of Congress winning the elections have become high. They believe Dahal’s candidacy virtually shattered Khanal’s hope of winning the elections. Under this condition, they say, UML has no 
alternative other than to support the NC. Though the UML has announced that it will withdraw its candidate and stay away from the elections in case it fails to confirm a two-thirds majority vote by Wednesday afternoon, NC leaders believe the “UML will change its decision”. 
The UML was considered to be the strongest contestant in that a section of the Maoists had opened the possibility of 
supporting the party in case they failed to form their own majority government. “I’ve come to know that Dahal’s nomination is irrevocable, which means the UML has already lost the Maoist votes it expected. Since the UML is not going to win without Maoist support, it has no alternative but to support NC,” said NC Vice President Gopal Man Shrestha. “UML will support the Congress also because it received the NC’s support while electing Madhav Kumar Nepal to the post of prime minister last year.”
NC leaders say that everything is possiblein politics. “If the UML fails to get a two-thirds majority, there will be further talks between the NC and UML. We hope there are still chances that the UML will agree to support NC in that case,” Shrestha said. 
The NC further claims that the party will garner support from the Madhesi Janadhikari Forum (MJF), which is not in the UML-led coalition. “We will have full support from the existing coalition plus from Upendra Yadav’s MJF,” Shrestha said.

(Originally published at: http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2010/07/20/top-story/big-threes-top-guns-in-pm-race/210663/)

Bloodhound SSC 1000+mph car!

ThrustSSC - Fastest Car ever, PERIOD. 762+MPH.

Supersonic car: British Engineers Hoping to Achieve 1,000 MPH to Break Land Speed Record

A team of British engineers is trying to break land speed record with a rocket-powered car and they will not do it “just like that”, they are hoping to achieve it with style and reach 1,000 mph, or 1,600 kmph. The current land speed record of a vehicle is also held by a British team who managed to drive a car called ThrustSSC with a speed of 763 mph.

The Bloodhound Super Sonic car will measure 13 meters long while the weight will stand around 6.4 tonnes. It should be enough to withstand heavy pressures of about 12 tonnes of force per sq-meter. Although the project has been announced, for the moment the team didn’t manage to raise all the money needed to achieve their goal - about $16.1 million are needed for the project currently under development at the Bristol University.

“Going fast is not the total reason for doing this. We’re setting off today on the most incredible engineering adventure which we hope will inspire the future generations to take up careers in science, engineering and technology,” concluded Noble.

(Originally it appeared at: http://www.devicedaily.com/misc/british-engineers-hoping-to-achieve-1000-mph-to-break-land-speed-record.html)

LoL - Beavis and Butt head Trouble Urinating

MTV LoL -- Beavis & Butt-Head - No Service

Nepal sworgadwari demining operation clears religious cave in pyuthan

New UFO seen in China, see video

2 UFO sightings have China, blogs abuzz

CNN (Phil Gast, July 17):

One of two recent UFO sightings in China occurred almost on the 63rd anniversary of news that a "flying disc" had been found in Roswell, New Mexico.

And like in 1947, people either choose to believe or be skeptical that visitors have stopped by from outer space.

Nothing has officially been ruled in or out by Chinese officials, who are looking into whether the objects were private or military aircraft, rocket flares, reflection in the sky or something else.

The first sighting occurred at Hangzhou's Xiaoshan Airport, in the eastern part of the country, according to the state-controlled Xinhua news agency.

Eighteen flights were delayed or rerouted and operations shut down after twinkling lights were spotted above the terminal around 9 p.m. July 7, the agency said. According to Xinhua, speculation has centered on a private aircraft. The state-run China Daily quoted a source saying the object had a military connection.

"No conclusion has yet been drawn," said Wang Jian, head of air traffic control with Zhejiang branch of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, and the investigation continues.

Purported photos of the unworldly object have appeared online and on YouTube.

Meanwhile, The Shanghai Daily reported a UFO appeared above the city of Chongqing on Thursday.

Witnesses said four "lantern-like objects forming a diamond shape" hovered for an hour above a park.

"I stared at it and it did not move," one resident told the newspaper. "After hovering for an hour, the thing started to fly higher and finally out of people's sight."

UFO sightings around the world are common, but a little rarer in China.

The International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell, New Mexico, educates visitors, conducts research and receives sighting reports.

Its website summarizes the Roswell incident, which came to light July 8, 1947. "Once it became public, the event known as The Roswell Incident, the crash of an alleged flying saucer, the recovery of debris and bodies and the ensuing cover up by the military was of such magnitude and so shrouded in mystery, that 60 years later there are still more questions than answers."

The U.S. government has long contended that no aliens or spaceships were found.

Mark Briscoe, library director for the museum, said the center looks for credibility whenever it records UFO reports, including a documented date, time and location. He sees many photos, and an outside researcher provides information.

"You can tell some of them are a little different. A little off," Briscoe said of some UFO submissions. But he recently recorded 300 he found to be credible.

He said one of the photos circulating about the Chinese airport could be legitimate, but he had not seen the others.

The blog Forgetomori weighed in on Internet and news media images purporting to be from Xiaoshan Airport.

"All of these other photos, with the exception of a single one, are also simply long-exposure photos of aircrafts, but in this case, helicopters," the blog says. "Not only that, they have nothing to do with China and were published on the web long ago."

(The story originally appeared at http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/07/16/china.ufo.reports/?fbid=6l9B9B6gaZ5)

Integration & Rehab of Combatants-III: UNMIN paper offers 60-week time plan

Party leaders: Sans consensus, it’s only academic

PHANINDRA DAHAL, KATHMANDU, JUL 09: The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has prepared a “non-paper” proposing a 60-week time plan for the integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants.

The “Hypothetical timeline for Integration and Rehabilitation” was handed over last month to leaders of the three major parties—UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress and CPN-UML—involved in negotiations on deciding the fate of the former rebel soldiers.

The paper is based on current proposals from various national actors, refined according to the lessons learnt from the discharge of disqualified combatants and international experience on the subject. “Much of the timeline will change according to the decisions that are made as negotiations progress. Those decisions are made by the parties,” said an UNMIN official.  “It is a paper meant to trigger some thinking and encourage the parties to develop their own realistic timeline.”

On May 12, while extending the tenure of UNMIN, the UN Security Council had called upon the government and Maoist to agree and implement a timetabled action plan with clear benchmarks for integration and rehabilitation of the combatants. 

Party leaders stress it is indeed the political negotiations that will ultimately decide the fate of the combatants and the role of UNMIN—or that of any international agencies, for that matter—will only be “technical” in these processes. NC leader Ram Sharan Mahat said any timeline would be meaningless unless the political is resolved. “Foreigners like to prescribe many such documents. But it will just be an academic exercise unless the current deadlock comes to an end.” A Maoist leader said the party has taken the ‘non-paper’ “positively” and the integration and rehabilitation task can be completed by eight months if there is consensus among parties.

UNMIN has suggested that the political agreement on key issues such as rank harmonisation post-integration, entry norms and modalities, operational and implementation plans, plans for governmental implementing bodies, basic packages for combatants opting rehabilitation and voluntary retirement are the prerequisites to “D-Day”, the beginning of time-line on integration and rehab. Depending on negotiations, numbers could be fixed beforehand or during the consultation phase.

The paper proposes that the secretariat of the six-party Special Committee would be formed by the end of Week Four and the combatants will come under the supervision and control of the Special Committee by the end of Week Five. It has suggested the design of rehabilitation package will be finalised only after the completion of national labour market survey and socio-economic survey.

The timeline outlines that the labour market survey will complete by the end of Week 16 and socio-economic survey by Week 20. By then, the consultations and briefings with combatants on different options, packages and selection process for different security agencies, registration of choices of combatants would complete.

The combatants would split into camps depending on choice. UNMIN has suggested establishing three camps — P (for voluntary retirement), Integration (I) and Rehabilitation (R). The document says the parties are yet to find a meeting point on whether such centres will exist in all camps or there will be one overall for each option.

By the end of Week 39, a detailed plan for integration including rank harmonisation, entry norms would complete and preparation and refinement of rehabilitation package based on the results of the labour market would be done. The combatants would be delivered final briefings on the choice of security force, rehabilitation option and packages from Week 37-39 and their choices would be registered accordingly. By Week 43, the timeline assumes all the three groups of combatants —P, I & R—would be discharged from the cantonments. The discharge process includes provision of Id’s as required, discharge ceremony, disbursement of cash and information and exit from cantonments, timing of which is “loosely based on the discharge of the disqualified” that was conducted early this year. The calendar has allocated the next seven weeks for the selection process for security agencies, the venue may be either in cantonments or at a security institution of choice. The rehabilitation process would start from Week 44 and  management of weapons would complete by the end of Week 50.

In January, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal had prepared a 112-day action plan for fighters’ integration and rehabilitation. He had allocated nine days for the selection process for security agencies. UNMIN, in the document, has said the time prescribed by Nepal seems “far too short” if it is assumed that there will be integration of 5,000-7,000 combatants.

The bench mark date for managing the weapons would depend on when the cantonments are emptied, states the document. It says the bridging training for combatants who are selected in security agencies will start between week 51-week 60. The training is expected to last one year for rank and file and 18 months for officers who choose Nepal Army while the rehabilitation packages are expected to run for three years.

Nepal's participation in UN peace mission stumbles hurdle

SIGDEL, K. R. The KATHMANDU POST, JULY 16/17, 2010

Nepal’s participation in the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions abroad seems to face a new trouble. The UN has rejected Nepal Army’s request to recognise its UN peacekeeping training centre at Paanchkhal, Kavre.

The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) took the decision to that effect on grounds of human rights violations in the past, including in the training centre, according to an official with the UN Headquarters in New York.

The Paanchkhall center is the only institution in Nepal authorised by UN to provide pre-mission trainings to NA soldiers. Though it had already received UN recognition, it applied for renewal of the same as per the new requirements outlined in the latest UN Peacekeeping PDT Standards, which asks each troop-contributing country “to receive a new official UN training recognition for their military and/or police Pre-Deployment Training (PDT) courses.”

However, NC Spokesman Ramindra Chhetri said, “NA had written to the UN regarding recognition of the Pre-Deployment Training, and not the training center. But we have not received any response yet.”

Sources told the Post that the decision follows the Army’s failure to address the impunity on the murder of a teenager Maina Sunuwar, who allegedly died due to torture in detention at the Paanchkhal training center.

“If this is what it is, the UN has given a strong message that it does not compromise on human rights issues,” said a defender based in Kathmandu. “Though it does not mean that Nepal is barred from joining peace missions, it will create problems, I guess.”

Earlier in December 2009, the DPKO had expelled Maj. Niranjan Basnet from a UN peacekeeping mission in Chad after confirming that he was accused in the Sunuwar murder case. The UN rights body in Nepal had urged the Army to hand over Basnet to the police as he had an arrest warrant from the Kavre District Court. NA has not done so yet.

According to UN rules, the DPKO takes such decisions only after making thorough “review” to find out whether the troop-contributing institution meets the latest UN PDT Standards.

The latest “standards” states that each request -- new or old -- shall be addressed through a process that involves six steps, including “desk review”, and “on-site course assessment”. The review, according to the latest UN Peacekeeping Operations: Principles and Guidelines, takes human rights issues seriously.

It states that no personnel with tainted human rights records can join the peacekeeping missions and to ensure this the troop-contributing country -- NA in Nepal’s case -- is asked to do a human rights vetting of all Army personnel during the PDT.

Started since 1958, a total of 70,757 personnel have participated in 34 UN peace missions across the globe so far.

(The story originally appeared at http://www.ekantipur.com/2010/07/17/top-story/un-rejects-na-plea-to-okay-peacekeeping-training-centre/318652/)

The Kathmandu Post: Off the Cuff: Amorous Jailbirds

The Kathmandu Post, JUL 01:

Amorous jailbirds
In what appears to be a bizarre case of a lovelorn couple, a husband and wife imprisoned in the Saptari jail—Suraja Marik Dom, 37, and Chhotani Devi Marik Dom, 30—grabbed headlines after they moved the Supreme Court demanding they be allowed to live together in prison so that they would enjoy their reproductive rights. The case proves one thing for sure - no one can abstain oneself from making love for long.
The couple has a genuine concern here: They have no issue and will have no successor to carry on with their family line if they are not given a chance to conceive when they can. 
They say their right has been violated as authorities have not given them a chance to meet. 
Pity the incarcerated couple! It seems they are totally unaware of Nepal’s prison regulations. Anything can happen in this country.
On the other hand, there are privileged jailbirds in the Central Jail who get to drink, dine out, meet wives and date girlfriends, and all in the company of police personnel. Some are even found visiting massage parlours. Those having moolah are not supposed to follow prison regulations. Only recently, this scribe had a chance to click a picture of a jailbird, serving time for drug related crimes, dining out in a restaurant.
Rumour mills in the Central jail have it that one inmate’s wife has become pregnant in Bhaktapur. The ‘culprit’? None other than the husband who frequently visited the rented room of his wife, his friends claim.
They are living testaments to the fact that love and sex know no boundaries. The inmates argue that the Supreme Court should favour the couples who should be given the right to live together or meet periodically in private. The also say unmarried inmates should be able to call prostitutes. With no alternative, some prisoners start engaging in homosexual relationships. Worse, drugs, and sometimes needles and syringes, find their way inside the walls. “We have a lot of risky sexual activities... Almost every second or minute, somebody’s sneaking out and doing something,” officials say.  
“For inmates, prison life is painful. Many of them lose their spouses as they elope with other men as they find hard living without a sex partner.The central prison had hit headlines one year ago when Charles Sobhraj, the ‘Bikini Killer’, reportedly married a 20-year-old Nepali girl Nihita Biswas inside the prison.
- Bobs

PM’s lucrative business
Journalist: You have published a number of books. Are you a book freak? 
Prime Minister: Not exactly. In fact, it’s a way of documentation. You have no idea about this. 
Journalist: So you are a documentation officer?
PM: Yeah, something like that. After all, I have a long experience of working in the banking sector. I have completed B.Com with gud marks.
Journalist: But you were assigned to write the constitution...How far have you gone?
PM: Maoists barred me from doing so and I published 10 books. It’s a lucrative business…my PA lord Bisnu and the publisher made a fortune…They will give me some commission.
Journalist: Then what about the new constitution? 
PM: It’s not in my agenda. Ask comrade Jhallu and Prachanda. They were elected, I am not.   
PM: Anymore questions? I am a little busy. It’s just a short break of the inauguration function. If you have more questions, ask my Press Advisor, lord Bisnu!
Bisnu: This is only a trailer. We will come up with more books in the future. But unfortunately, the Maoists brought my boss down to his knees…
PM: (interrupting… getting excited) Finally, listen to me carefully, Abhadra Jee. All these precious documents will be translated into multi-languages… reputed publishers have shown interest in my idea. Besides, we are considering the production of more audio and video versions of my speeches and pictures, which I think will create a sensation and give food for gossip to all our idle youths. Look at my ideas…actually I wanna 
get my name registered in the Guinness Book of World Records so that Nepalis will get a reason to feel proud of 
themselves…  
-Abhadra Karma

Balu-Watar checklist 
If you, by the widest of luck, happen to lead this Himalayan, and of course Terrain, nation of Nepal and get to taste a life at the jumbo villa in Balu-Watar, here are a few things that should make up your checklist, for all you need is just a few things for your longest brief months.
And don’t expect to stay there longer because by the time your near and dear ones know your address you’ll have lost your mandate. After all there are a bunch of old flowers—precisely without fragrance—in the messiahs’ guise desperately waiting for their turn to get into the cozy Baluwatar cushions.
Obviously, who wouldn’t be tempted to feel the warmth that means no harm to your father’s wallet.  It’s the taxpayers,’ foolish!
By the time you find a curio encrypted “Home Sweet Home” to be hung in your kitchen hall, you’ll contract 
diabetes. Despite the researchers’ failure, the rich men’s disease can be linked to their insecurity and, of course, greed. 
Here’s your checklist: 
Daura Suruwal and Dhaka topi will do just fine and you won’t be needing other linen fineries as by the time you consider a fashion statement, you’ll find yourself making a press statement. You’ll have a plane to catch, plots to hatch, foreign deities to appease, big guys to coax, games to play, strategies to make, and when it’s sundown you wont have energy enough to slip into the gown.

Not surprisingly, this is, and only this revered attire, is your checklist; others you’ll have all your life to think what else did you enjoy from the peasants’ harvest, labourers’ sweat, wayfarers’ patience during your grand motorcade and the Martyrs’ blessings in your brief but remarkable stay.
But remember, romances are sweetest when it is not meant to last forever.
- Laughing Bhairav 

National anthem
People suddenly broke out into a roaring laughter while singing the national anthem at a function to mark the International Day against Drug and Illicit Trafficking at Basantapur Durbar Square this week.
It so happened that the host of the programme asked everybody to follow her while singing out loud the national anthem, but she herself started humming after a while.. she didn’t know the national anthem in full. The same had to be re-sung with help of an audio player playing the national anthem.
Similar was the case with CA Vice-chairman Purna Kumari Subedi at a programme at Hotel Soaltee.  Everybody stared at Subedi as she remained silent while everyone else present there sang the anthem.
Some people around there were heard talking about what Subedi learnt within the two years as the CA vice chair.
- B-Nod 

Cruel show?
Reporting an event at the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division (MTPD), this scribe recently experienced something that irritated him while at the same time greatly amusing him.
The MTPD paraded two motorcycle thieves before media persons. While this scribe was talking to a police officer, he saw two cute looking crooks, being brutally captured by the cameras.
The photo-session ended and after sometime the reporting was over. As he was just about to leave, a journo carrying a camera entered the scene, all perspiring. This scribe wondered what he would do as the programme was already over. He requested a police official to replay the whole scene again. And guess what? The cute gloomy faces were again brought out. They were made to pose with handcuffs on their hands and the journo greedily started his job.
That was really disgusting, but still - this scribe can’t lie to himself - The journo telling those victims to move the cuffed hands a bit forward was comic too.
-    Sanki

(Originally published at: http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2010/07/01/nation/off-the-cuff/210015/)

Nepal Supreme Court directs government to regulate Singapore, Brunei recruitment

SC: Regulate S’pore, Brunei recruitment

KAMAL RAJ SIGDEL

THE KATHMANDU POST, JUL 01 - The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday directed the government to regulate the over half-a-century old practice of recruiting Nepali youth in Singapore Police Force and Royal Brunei Police Force through ‘mutual cooperation’ with the two countries.

The court ruling that drew upon the doctrine of Parens Patriae, however, is not obligatory as it is entirely up to the government to decide whether or not to enter into any agreement with foreign countries. As per the doctrine, a government is always granted the “inherent power and authority to protect persons who are legally unable to act on their own behalf.”

The court ruling was in response to a litigation filed by advocate Om Prakash Aryal on behalf of concerned ex-servicemen about five-and-a-half years ago. The litigation registered on Dec. 17, 2004 pointed out that Nepal and its citizens recruited as security personnel in Singapore and Brunei are at a huge loss, both politically and financially, as there is no formal bilateral agreement of the government of Nepal with Singapore and Brunei on manpower trade.

Since 1965, the time when Singapore was still a British colony, thousands of Nepali youth have served and retired as Singapore Police and over 2,000 of them are still in service, according to the Singapore Gorkha Pensioners’ Association in Nepal.

Compared to native soldiers there, they are deprived in terms of pay and perks.

Each year, over one hundred Nepali youth are recruited in a separate Gurkha Contingent in the Singapore Police Force. Except for the UK and India, there is no agreement with Singapore or Brunei, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Strangely, the Gurkhas are not recruited directly by the Singapore government but by the British Army, which receives “commission” for the job. The advocates, including Chandra Kant Gyawali and Tikaram Bhattarai, argued that such unofficial hiring was akin to “human trafficking”. 

The court ruling builds on two strong arguments: First, it is the duty of the government to protect its citizens if their rights are violated due to the absence of bilateral agreements with Singapore and Brunei.

Second, the fact that foreign countries are recruiting Nepali youth without any valid bilateral agreement questions the sovereignty of the country. No sovereign country, said the petition, allows any foreign country to hire its citizens without agreement.

The court also asked the government not to violate the individual’s right to choose employment in the place of his/her desire as per the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Nepal is party.

“We are pleased to hear the apex court ruling,” said Kiran Rai,  a member of the Association. “I believe this has opened up ways to further our legal battle for our rights. Still, there is still a long way to go as this ruling will have to be implemented first.”

According to ex-servicemen from Singapore and Brunei, they are “heavily” discriminated against in terms of pays, perks and other facilities. For instance, Nepali widows of the retired Nepali Singapore Police are still denied pension.

(Originally published at: http://www.ekantipur.com/2010/07/01/top-story/sc-regulate-spore-brunei-recruitment/317600/)

IMPUNITY WATCH: Court orders probe of Army's involvement in 2002 extrajudicial killing

IMPUNITY WATCH SERIES of THE KATHMANDU POST

KAMAL RAJ SIGDEL

JAN 14 - In a landmark ruling, the Nepalgunj Appellate Court, Banke has issued a mandamus to the District Police Office, Banke to initiate the investigation into the extrajudicial killing of Kamal Dahal by Army personnel in 2002.

Issued on Wednesday by the joint bench of judges Shanti Raj Subedi and Ratna Bahadur Bagchan, the ruling was in response to a writ filed by Yogmaya Dahal and Bhumisara Thapa, who had claimed that the police had been denying initiating investigation into the murder case for the last two years.

The petitioners had filed the FIR at the district police office two years ago demanding independent investigation and action against the guilty Army personnel involved in the killing of Dahal. The FIR claims that Dahal was allegedly murdered by the army personnel dispatched from the Chisapani Barrack in the command of Captain Ramesh Swanr in 2002.

It is the second landmark ruling by a civilian court after the Kavre District Court’s ruling on the Maina Sunuwar murder case last year, according to Govinda Sharma Bandi, the advocate who pleaded on behalf for the case. The Kavre District Court had ordered Nepal Army to suspend Maj. Basnet. Advocates Sushil Kumar Lakhe and Basanta Gauchan from Advocacy Forum had also pleaded from the victims’ side. 

According to the victims and the FIR, Dahal, who was a 34-year-old teacher at Prabhat Secondary School in Bankatawa-4, Banke was arrested by the Army personnel on Jan. 1, 2002 from the school premises and was taken to the Chisapani Barrack. The next day, that is Jan. 2, 2002, there was a radio report that “a terrorist named Kamal Dahal died of bullet fired by security personnel while he was trying to escape from the detention.”

(Originally published at: http://www.ekantipur.com/2010/01/14/most-popular/Court-orders-probe-of-Armys-involvement-in-2002-extrajudicial-killing/306388/)