The Nepal Digest - Nov 2, 1994 (29 Kartik 2051 BkSm)

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The Nepal Digest Wednesday 2 Nov 94: Kartik 30 2051 BkSm Volume 33 Issue 2

Today's Topics are:

1. Letter To The Editor

          2. KURA_KANI:
                              Caught Between Cultures: A True Story
                              Re: Women in Hinduism

3. TAJA_KHABAR: News From Nepal

4. KATHA_KABITA: A Poem

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*********************************************************************** From: Sirdar_RJS_Khalifa <a10rjs1@mp.cs.niu.edu> Date: 1 Nov 1993 To: The Nepal Digest <nepal@mp.cs.niu.edu> Subject: A New Thread

Dear TND members:

I would like to start a new thread on the following topics:

Caught Between Cultures: A True Story
-------------------------------------

    If you would like to share how your views have affected your life,
    how it has changed you, personal choices you may have had to make,
    some bitter and some not so bitter experiences, personal values,
    your solutions to some of the concerns, your compromises and all,
    please send it under the above topic.

    For the sake of privacy, contributors have a choice to identify
    themselves, or use a fictitous name or use third pronoun as long
    as the stories are NOT fabricated.

    I am looking for TRUE STORIES of a Nepali's life being affected
    due to western influences - for the good or the bad (only you
    are the judge, jury and the client).

I believe your experiences could be a valuable lessons for us to share!

Following rules are to be implemented under this thread:

1. This is just a vehicle to let some of the cross-cultural
beliefs out.

2. This is not a discussion for East Vs. West.

    3. Please refrain from judging other people. Stick to your experiences.
       Feel free to comment on others' experiences as long as you can
       refrain from judgment (I know its hard ..... your comments will
       be dropped if it insults others).

4. Feel free to voice your oppinion if you think a particular rationale
holds true or works for you.

    5. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT A LOT OF PERSONAL ISSUES ARE GOING TO BE
       EXPRESSED, BE SENSATIVE, BE UNDERSTANDING AND MOST IMPORTANTLY,
       LET US HOPE WE CAN LEARN SOMETHING AND COPE WITH OUR OWN
      "CAUGHT BETWEEN CULTURES" ISSUES.

-Sirdar_RJS_Khalifa
"A blind affection may lead to an irrational mind!"

********************************************************************* Date: 29 Oct 94 15:47:28 EDT From: Rajendra.P.Shrestha@Dartmouth.EDU (Rajendra P. Shrestha) Subject: News:10/28 To: nepal@cs.niu.edu

SOURCE: AFP

HEADLINE: Nepalese PM greeted with black flags and stones during campaign

DATELINE: KATHMANDU, Oct 28

BODY:
Nepal's caretaker prime minister, Girija Prasad Koirala, is facing criticism and discontent on the campaign trail, a Nepali Congress party source said Friday.

Supporters of dissident Nepali Congress (NC) independent candidates have been displaying black flags against Koirala wherever he campaigns.

Koirala addressed a public rally at Dailekh, west of Kathmandu, on Thursday and was pelted with stones, the party source said.

Parliamentary elections are being held November 15.

The two leaders of ruling NC -- Koirala and its president Krishna Prasad Bhattarai -- are in a hectic campaign in the far western districts to woo the voters in the name of "stabilizing democracy."

Almost all the walls in Kathmandu have been painted with the slogans of the different political parties but only a very few streamers of the independent candidates are seen.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- SOURCE: DPA

HEADLINE: Nepal's ruling party bosses warn of "grave" results if voted out

BYLINE: By S. Bahadur

DATELINE: Kathmandu, Oct 28

BODY:
Top leaders of the ruling Nepali Congress Party have been warning voters of "grave" consequences if the party is voted out of power in the November 15 elections.

The warning has come in election speeches by the Nepalese caretaker prime minister, Girija Prasad Koirala, and the party president, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, in the course of their election tour of western Nepal.

The party boss, bhattarai, told the gathering at Nepalgunj 450 kilometres west of here that there would be "chaos, anarchy and roits" within three days after the formation of a non-Nepali Congress government.

Prime Minister Koirala has been echoing the party chief, saying that there can be no "stability" in the country without Nepali Congress voted back to power.

The Nepal Congress electioneering tactics appear to have been coloured by predictions that the party can win no more than 70 seats in the coming elections.

The main opposition parties, the United Marxist-Leninists, the National Democratic Party and the Nepal Sadbhavana Party, have all protested to the Election Commission against the Nepali Congress for creating what they call a fear psychosis among the people.

The opposition parties have also alleged large scale misuse of government resources by the prime minister and other ministers in electioneering activities.

According to newspaper reports, Koirala is using army helicopters to visit over 40 different places in the kingdom on the pretext of
"inspecting army barracks" but in fact to address election rallies.

The Election Commission, despite protests against the ruling party by the opposition parties, has not been able to enforce the code of conduct except to appeal to the government not to misuse government resources including the official media for electioneering purposes. dpa eg
------------------------------------------------------------------- SOURCE: Xinhua

HEADLINE: president meets nepalese crown prince

DATELINE: beijing, october 28; ITEM NO: 1028147

BODY:
chinese president jiang zemin met with dipendra bir bikram shah dev, crown prince of the kingdom of nepal, and his party here this afternoon. prior to beijing, dipendra had already toured tibet and he is scheduled to visit other places. jiang said that china and nepal are friendly neighbors with close bilateral relations, adding that he is confident that the relations will be furthered on the basis of the five principles of peaceful co-existence. china has all along persisted in the five principles in dealing with country-to-country relations, jiang said. "china does not interfere in other nations' internal affairs and it does not allow others to interfere in china's internal affairs," stressed. the chinese president asked the crown prince to convey his regards to king birendra of nepal. as a neighbor of china, dipendra said, nepal is glad to see china's achievement since china's development is conducive to the progress of his country. during the meeting, dipendra handed to president jiang a letter from king birendra.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- SOURCE: Reuters

HEADLINE: AGRICULTURE TO UNDERPIN GROWTH OF NEPAL'S ECONOMY

DATELINE: MANILA, Oct 28

BODY:
Robust growth in agriculture is vital if Nepal's economy is to post modest growth over the next three years, a leading banker said on Friday.

Satyendra Shrestha of the Nepal Rastra Bank said in a written report at an Asian Development Bank forum the country's gross domestic product (GDP) would expand 4.2-4.8 percent from 1994-1996. Nepal's GDP will grow 7.7 percent in 1994.

"Economic growth of the country is possible only through a respectable and sustained growth in the country's dominant agricultural sector," Shrestha said.

The landlocked Himalayan country must rigorously implement a plan to ensure adequate supplies of irrigated water, delivery of fertilisers, maintain a network of all-weather roads, provide power to rural areas, and boost a research programme to give farmers access to new farming technology.

Another key area of Nepal's economy that must be overhauled is the financial sector, especially the rehabilitation of two state-owned banks which account for 70 percent of total banking transactions in the country, Shrestha said.

One bank will be converted to majority private ownership by January 1995 and a detailed timetable prepared to supervise a restructuring programme.

Inflation surged to 9.1 percent this year, exceeding a target of eight percent for the year. The government hopes to trim inflation to under five percent over the next two years.

******************************************************************** Date: Sat, 29 Oct 1994 16:17 EST From: ATULADHAR@vax.clarku.edu Subject: REgional Politics of China/India To: nepal@cs.niu.edu

Dear Editor: I think this is of interest and significance to Nepal. amulya

------------------------ World Tibet Network News ----------------------
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                     Nima Dorjee <cv531@freenet.cwru.edu>
                     Conrad Richter <conradr@utcc.utoronto.ca>
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---------------------------------------------------------------------Issue ID: 94/10/27 18:00 GMT Compiled by Thubten (Sam) Samdup
------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Sino-Indian Ties Look Up
------------------------------------------------------------------ Editorial, The Tribune, Chandigarh - Wednesday, October 26, 1994 Forwarded by Doma Tsomo, TCRC, Dharamsala

Rules of Chinese diplomacy are encoded in highly complex hieroglyphics which are almost impossible for the uninitiated to decipher. What is all the more confounding is the fact that tacit gestures like how long a handshake lasts and how far down from a particular leader one is placed count more than the actual words, written or spoken. Those who claim to know the key to this Chinese puzzle aver that the visit of the Indian Vice-President, Mr. K.R. Narayanan, has been treated with considerably greater warmth than anticipated. President Jiang Zemin, acknowledged as the successor to paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, not only spent considerable time with the visiting dignitary, but even broke into some phrases in English, an absolute no-no for the top Chinese leader. Some of this informality may be because Mr. Narayan is an old China hand having spent considerable time as India's envoy there but the front-page treatment given to the visit by the state controlled China Daily, also indicates that India has started figuring fairly prominently in the Chinese scheme of things. But a confirmation of this will come only when Mr. Jiang commits himself to visiting India. So far he has only promised to come "at an appropriate time", which in real terms does not mean much. Such invitations have been extended by President R. Ventkataraman in 1992 and Prime Minister Narasimha Rao in 1993 but the return visit is yet to materialize. In fact, Mr. Rao had travelled to China over-ruling the argument that he should do so only after the China Head of state had reciprocated Mr. Venkataraman's visit. If Mr. Rao's decision showed desperate pragmatism, the Jiang Zemin visit will be a litmus test of the new status of Sino-Indian relations in the post-Deng Xiaoping era.

There has rarely been any economic content in the relations between the two Asian giants so far. But this time, improvement of trade ties have formed the lynchpin of the talks. The two memorandums of understanding signed during the visit relate to re-establishing direct banking ties simplifying visa procedures for diplomats and official passport holders. The State Bank of India is all set to open an office in Shanghai. Cooperation between the two in the fields of science and technology is also poised to grow. The quantum of trade between New Delhi and Beijing has grown from $ 50 million in 1978 to $ 800 million last year but both sides are unanimous that it is far less than what it should be. This shows that both sides realize that importance of side-stepping contentious political issues which have poisoned the ties for the past over 30 years. These can perhaps be settled at a more opportune time when sufficient momentum has been gained through economic cooperation. There are many fields where these neighbors can complement each other. In the changed political scenario, both sides have to temper their policies on the anvil of pragmatism. All that India has to guard against is the possibility that it may be made to do more than its part the key word in the days to come. China is a shrewd customer. Succumbing to pressure will be as inadvisable as standing on ceremony.

************************************************************** Date: Sat, 29 Oct 1994 16:45 EST From: Uday Manandhar <UMANANDHAR@vax.clarku.edu> To: nepal@cs.niu.edu

Dear Editor/s:

I would comment regarding a recent newsclip from the International Herald Tribune posted in the TND recently. Needless to say that both the authors, Farrell and Lingle have not had the opportunity to read the Honors Thesis of Ms. Seira Tamang, a graduate of Clark University (currently pursuing her Ph. D. at American University, D.C.) titled, RGurkha Women- A Feminist AnalysisS. Ms. Tamang herself, a daughter of a Gurkha serviceman, has given first hand account on whether the familily life of these Gurkha servicemen is as glorious as many British and Nepali citizens have made it out to be.

In their article, Farrell and Lingle say that, the ground forces of a major power should not be involved [in UN peacekeeping missions] because that raises too many political hackles in too many places, producing disruptive consequences for any peacemaking or peacekeeping effort. ...The Gurkhas are ideally suited to take on an emergency reaction role. They are superb professional soldiers long accustomed to service for an authority other than the leaders of their homeland.

With all due respect to Messrs. (or is it Lord!) Farrell and Lingle, is this really why Nepali citizens should serve in this purposed UN standing force? Does it even matter what the Gurkhas think about this idea? What do these two authors mean by suggesting that the Gurkhas are accustomed to service for and authority other than the leaders of their homeland? I think these authors are stuck at the beginning of the 20th century. As far as I can recall my friend who was in the Falkland wars told me that the Gurkha soldiers cried and shook with fear like any other human being. The GURKHA of yesterday (loyal, respectful, deserving a few token Victoria Crosses) created by the British Empire for their own selfish reasons has ceased to exist. Yes, read this again Farrell and Lingle; it has CEASED TO EXIST. Britain as it exists today is but a piece of island somewhere in the north sea. Let us wake up and smell the coffee!

A Gurkha, no matter how well he (of course they were all men) fought and how loyal he was, was never allowed to be promoted beyond a certain rank just because he was not white. Needless to say ayo Gurkhali and the Khukuri thing is today a myth (I mean in front of those laser guided bombs they dumped in Iraq). I know some of you will say what about those tens of thousands of so called Gurkha soldiers in India? Well if India can get people from other countries to fight all their dirty wars (like areas such as Kashmir and Punjab) for so cheap I guess it is in their intrest to hang on to this system. Let us come to our senses and be realistic.

Let us also take the time to reflect on what consequences the Gurkha system the British empire created has had on so many Nepali women and children who waited for months for their husbands and fathers to return from war or never return. Sometimes they brought token stereos or other goodies home. I am not denying that this system opened many doors for some Nepalis in villages who otherwise would never have had such an opportunity. However, this was the exception rather than the rule. In the end I would like to end with a better suggestion to Farrell and Lingle on a standing UN force.

Composition of the UN Standing force

They will be primarily made up of white male westerners, since they are so well trained and so well equipped. The generals, commanders etc. will be made up of Gurkhas. This is because it is believed Gurkhas are very loyal and honest and they will always follow the orders given by Butros Butros Ghali word for word. This would also rule out the possibility of confusion with NATO or US forces. So what do you think ya all!

Uday Manandhar Clark University umanandhar@vax.clarku.edu

***********************************************************************************************

*********************************************************************************************** Date: 30 Oct 1994 13:11:42 U From: "Arun Shrestha" <Arun_Shrestha@grg.unh.edu> Subject: TO THE EDITOR To: "TND " <NEPAL@cs.niu.edu>

TO THE EDITOR Dear Editor,
I am a Ph. D. graduate student in University of New Hampshire. I am working on glaciers in the Himalaya and Atmospheric compositon there and trying to trace climate change in that region. I am second Nepali in this University and in this town. I am now here for 2 months and slowly getting used to the way of life as well as school sustem. As soon as I got here, the first Nepali here introduced me to TND, I lost no time to place my subscribtion request. I thank you for send me TND issues regurarly. Using this opportunity I would also like you to send me more information on TND ie. when, where and how was it established, how it is run ? etc. I would also like to greet all my friends spread around in USA and request them to contact me. My full address is

Arun Bhakta Shrestha 252 Forest Park Apt. E-2 Durham New Hampshire 03824-2613 Tel. 603-862-0286 (work)
603-868-7404 (apt) Fax 603-863-2124 E-mail arun_shrestha@grg.unh.edu

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-------------------------------
>From Arun B. Shrestha
arun_shrestha@grg.unh.edu Glacier Research Rroup University of New Hampshire

D E M O C R A C Y I S F I R M

(Analysis by Namrata Sharma, The Independent, Oct 26 - Nov 1)

It seems inevitable that the November 15 general election will result in a hung parliament, as political trends suggest no single party will be able to top the poll with the 103 seats required to form the government.

The chances of the Nepali Congress winning the vote as it did last time with a simple majority look bleak considering the fact that different rebels and independent candidates are contesting against official NC nominees in many of the 205 constituencies. Even PM Koirala has to fight Durga Subedi, a rebel from his own party, contesting as a Nepali Congress (BP) candidate.

All of the independent or rebel candidates may not be victorious but will definitely make inroads into official NC candidates' vote banks. This also gives an opportunity for the right-wing Rashtriya Prajatantra Party, Rashtriya Praja Parishad and others to increase or gain representation in parliament.

The prospects of rebel candidates, contesting under the patronage of ex NC supremo Ganesh Man Singh, look promising in a number of places. But the facts that their mentor was unable to form a new party after leaving the NC, and that his son and strong supporter during the Go-Girija campaign, Prakash Man Singh, is contesting as an official NC candidate, has cast a shadow over the political political motives of the septagenarian leader.

Political observers feel that, at this historic juncture, a coalition government may be the right medicine for all the ailments afflicting Nepal. The lack of leadership in the main parties represented in the recently- dissolved House of Representatives is the principle reason why the country is in for yet another costly election.

The NC crumbled because its three main leaders, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, party President Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, and then NC Supremo Ganesh Man Singh, treated the party and government as their private property rather than as tools for national development. They were so involved in glorifying their sacrifices in restoring democracy to the country and trying to show who was most powerful, they forgt about ther trust the Nepali people had reposed in them to ameliorate the hardships of the common man.

Political analysts now feel a coalition government may be successful in changing the present tradition of government extracting personal benefits instead of working for the nation.

The up-coming polls have provided an opportunity the opposition has been dreaming of, to form the government. The Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist (CPN_UML), the main opposition in the last parliament, could easily have formed the government in November had they been successful in combining forces with other left parties. But unfortunately, for them, the left is bogged down in inter- and intra-party rivalries. Not only are they likely to fail in their bid to form the next government, as they claim they will, the CPN-UML will be lucky if they emerge the largest party in parliament.

Although some intellectuals are still optimistic about the NC scraping through with a slender majority, enabling it to form the government once again, the prospects of its being returned as the largest party and the senior partner in any coalition administration is loomin up. However much the country may have suffered from the inept rule of the first government that came to power after multiparty system was restored, one thing is undeniable - democratic roots have been substantially strengthened in Nepal. This has been proved by the fact that democratic norms have been practised quite satisfactorily in the last parliament. Besides, one has to acknowlede that individual citizens and parties alike are now totally free to preach and propagate their ideologies. The general fear that right-wing forces may take advantage of the seemingly unstable situation can be dismissed, as the possibility of their coming to power is nil.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ B R I E F L Y

(The Independent, Oct 26, 1994)

HRH Crown Prince Dipendra will pay an official visit to the People's Republic of China from October 25 to November 2, 1994 at the invitation of the govern- ment of the People's Republic of China. The Prince will be accompanied by HRH Prince Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah. Besides Beijing, the Prince will also visit Lhas, Xian and Shenzen.

+++++++++++++++++++

Daniel J. O'Dell arrived in Nepal on October 10 to take charge of the UNICEF Nepal Country Office as UNICEF Representative. O'Dell, an American, comes to Nepal with 17 years' UNICEF experience, of which a major part was spent in the South Asia region. Before coming to Kathmandu, he was Special Assistant to the Director, Division of Personnel, UNICEF headquarters, New York.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ P O L I T C A L P A R T I E S I G N O R E C H I L D R E N

(By a Post Reporter, The Kathmandu Post, Oct 27, 1994)

KATHMANDU - Even four years after Nepal ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of th Child (CRC), the advocacy for child rights remains a non- issue in the country.

Non-governmental organizations involved in the children welfare say the party manifestos brought out for the Nov 15 general elections failed to address issues relating to country's nine million children, who constitute over 40 percent of population.

Obviously, the "silent group" which doesn't vote has been ignored and advocacy for children is gradually moving down the priority list.

The World Summit for Children, held at the United Nations in 1990, aimed at focussing world attention and commitment at the political level on issues concerning children. The summit was instrumental in accelerating the implementation of the CRC, which the Government ratified before the Summit in August 1990.

Gauri Pradhan of CWIN (Child Workers in Nepal) says Nepal is losing the initiative it seized in the early days of democracy as political parties have failed to address the problems of the helpless children.

If the ruling Nepali Congress party hardly makes any mention of children welfare in its current manifesto, says Pradhan, UML only briefly related the problem of the Khates (street children). Other parties fare no better.

Pradhan is also critical of UNICEF, the UN body advocating child rights. "So long as UNICEF refuses to break its bureacratic shackles, its attempt to speak up for children will remain limited to papers."

UNICEF, Pradhan says, has to establish a better working relationship with the non-governmental organizations. He alos flayed UNICEF's "poor selection policy" when it comes to identifying organizations to help them carry out its programmes.

All however isn't lost.

Children at Work Network Group (CarNWG), the umbrella body under which 23 non-governmental organizations work, is organizing a programme on Thursday
(Oct 27), where all major political parties will be represented.

Ten journalists, specializing on issues relating to children, will question the party chief on their failure ro incorporate child rights into election manifestos.

"This is the second best thing we can do," says Pradhan. "One can't fret too much about what's already happened."

Issues relating to child marriage, child labour, free education, child trafficking and street children will be raised at the interaction forum.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ELECTION HOTLINE

(The Kathmandu Post, Oct 27, 1994)

KATHMANDU - A hotline will be set up to facilitate the flow of information during the elections.

International Institute for Human Rights, Environment and Development (INHURED) has decided to run an election hotline in cooperation with Press-net for Human Rights.

The hotline is being set up with a view to collect and disseminate election news through National Election Observation Committee (NEOC), governmental and non-governmental communication media and other concerned agencies.

According to an INHURED source, "Election Hotline 1994" is being set up on the basis of the experience of similar service it had provided during the last election.

According to the arrangement, there will be 'hotline' representatives in Biratnagar, Pokhara and Nepalgunj to maintain a steady flow of information to the central hotline office.

The hotline will publish a separate bulletin in English using Electronic Mail for dissemination, if needed.

Telephone numbers 419610, 412538 and fax number 412538 will remain open round the clock from November 7 to 23 for the free flow of information. All the interested citizens will be able to dial these numbers to give news or ask information on all matters concerning election.

ELECTION NEWS

++++++++++++++++++++++

Wagle Attacked in Gorkha (TRN, RSS, Oct 29)

Kathmandu, Oct 28: 300 wokers of Samyukta Jana Morcha Nepal which has boycotted the coming election made a voilent attack with stones and sticks on Nepali Congress candidate Chiranjibi Wagle and 40 NC workers accompanied him with stones and stick leaving many of them injured in Ghyalchok, Gorkha, Thursday.

NC candidate Wagle has sustained injuries on his neck and head. The voilent crowd was lead by former pancha Devendra Bahadur Bhandari, the Ghyalchok VDC chairman and vice-chairman and the Bhumlichok VDC chairman and vice-chairman, according to NC central office.

++++++++++++++++++++++

Fierce Contest in Morang (TRN, Oct 28)

Biratnagar, Oct 27: Voters and observers in Biratnagar, known for the labour strike of about five decades ago for ther restoration of democracy, expect a fierce competition mainly between the NC and CPN-UML which have fielded 14 candidates to all seven constituencies fpr the Nov 15 elections to the House of Representatives from Morang district.

The election campaign has gained momentum in the rural areas of Morang which comprises 65 VDCs and one municipality.

Well over 400,000 voters are eligible to elect seven out of fifty candidates, twelve of them are independents while the rest represent different political parties.

The district had only six seats during the first General Election three years ago. Three NC candidates and three UML representatives were elected to the parliament then.

RPP with its contestants in all seven constituencies seems to have improved its position as compared to that of the previous elections while the condition of Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP) has declined during the last three years.

The candidacy of Durga Subedi, now explelled by the NC, from C# 1 has drawn more attention from home and abroad as Mr Subedi is contesting in the capacity of an independent candidate agains PM G.P. Koirala, who is pitted by the party.

NSp has once again fielded its previous candidate to the constituency while RPP has brought in a new candidate Mrs Bhim Maya Oli.

UML camp believes that the Durga Subedi factor among the NC voters would be of some reward to them.

Pamphlets bearing the NC flag, Mr Ganesh Man Singh's portrait with Mr Subedi standing by his side, suggest that Mr Subedi is trying to cash in on the Ganesh Man Singh factor.

The other most talked about constituency in Morang district is C# 7. NC CWC member Ms Shailaja Acharya is facing Umesh Giri who is now expelled by the NC. Former minister Badri Mandal is the RPP candidate in this constituency. Although nothing can be said of the election outcome at the moment, a triangular competetion among the three is something generally expected here. Dilip Kumar Ghadewa of NSP is also contesting.
+++++++++++++++++++++++

Appellate Court to Enjoy Two-day Leave (TRN, Oct 28)

Kathmandu, Oct 27 (RSS): A full meeting of the Supreme Court held recently has decided to provid two days leaves a week on Saturday and Sunday to Lalitpur Appellate Court from Nov 17.

According to the SC, the court will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday to Friday.

Similarly, in the months of Mangsir, Paush and Magh, the court will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., say the court source.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Royal Nepal Spread Wings to Shanghai, Osaka (TRN, Oct 29)

Kathmandu, Oct 28: Royal Nepal Airlines introduces tomorrow night Nepal's direct air link with Japan with a twice weekly flight between Tribhuvan International Airport and the New Kansai Airport, Osaka, via Shanghai, China.

The flight to leave Kathmandu on Sundays and Wednesdays will take five and a half hours to Shanghai and another 90 minutes on to the New Kansai on a 757 aircraft. Osaka is Royal Nepal's twelfth international destination.

Royal Nepal pins its hopes on attracting more of Japan's international tourists to Nepal by offering direct and "hassle free" travel to the Japanese travellers who are now required to transit in Hongkong, Bangkok or Singapore.

************************************************************** Date: 30 Oct 94 16:57:22 EST From: Rajendra.P.Shrestha@Dartmouth.EDU (Rajendra P. Shrestha) Subject: News:10/29-30 To: nepal@cs.niu.edu

SOURCE: DPA HEADLINE: Election outlook gloomy for Nepal's troubled ruling party BYLINE: By Shyam Bahadur DATELINE: Kathmandu, Oct 29

BODY:
Nepal's ruling party will lose its working majority in the country's forthcoming parliamentary elections, political observers predict in the capital Kathmandu.

However Nepal's nascent democracy will not be helped if the polls on November 15 produce a hung parliament, it is feared.

The elections were ordered after Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala was defeated in a crucial vote in parliament on July 10.

The ruling Nepali Congress Party is deeply divided with a sizeable section of the party opposed to Koirala's leadership.

The party has candidates contesting all 205 parliamentary seats but many of them are being opposed by dissidents known as "rebels". Their presence along with the opposition's claims that the Nepali Congress Party government has failed to deliver in the past three and half years is thought bound to dent its poll prospects.

Last week the Nepali Congress said it was expelling more than 50
"rebels", but this is not expected to have much impact.

The biggest blow has come from supreme leader Ganesh Man Singh, 79, who led the pro-democracy movement of 1990 which restored multi-party democracy to Nepal.

He last month dissociated himself from the party over differences with Koirala who had sidelined party chief and former prime minister Bhattarai.

Ganesh Man Singh, who has considerable influence and respect among the Nepalese people as well as within the Nepali Congress, has called on voters to "kick out Koirala".

Meanwhile opposition parties have accused the prime minister and other ministers of misusing government resources to canvass for the Nepali Congress. The election commission has asked all political parties to observe the election code of conduct which among other things bans the use of government resources for electioneering.

Despite the gloomy forecasts, Koirala and Bhattarai have been upbeat in initial campaigning, predicting the party will win 120 seats, seven more than the 113 it had in the dissolved parliament.

The Nepali Congress Party came to power in 1991 with just 38 per cent of the votes cast. The United Marxist-Leninists, which many now say is a communist party in name only, had 28 per cent.

The communists, including the United Marxist-Leninists, are hoping to benefit, but the biggest gains are being predicted for the National Democratic Party of the former leaders of the partyless Panchayat system. The party secured just over 12 per cent votes in 1991 polls but had only four seats in the dissolved house. dpa bw zm
-------------------------------------------------------------------- SOURCE: Xinhua

HEADLINE: campaign violence causes death accident in nepal

DATELINE: kathmandu, october 29; ITEM NO: 1029068

BODY:
a nepali congress (nc) activist in dang district, mid-western nepal, died friday due to injuries he sustained earlier in election campaigning, local press reported today. this is the first death accident reported in tough competition among various political parties prior to the mid-term general elections to be held on november 15. the nc central office in kathmandu in a statement blamed the the united peoples' front (upf) for the incident. meanwhile, some 32 nc workers along with nc candidate chiranjeebi wagley, an ex-minister, also sustained injuries when they were attacked by "about 300 workers of the poll-boycotting upf," the statement said. the death and injury accidents have raised fears of escalating violence in the upcoming mid-november general elections, local press said.
------------------------------------------------------------------ SOURCE: Xinhua

HEADLINE: 6,000 aids cases failed to report in nepal

DATELINE: kathmandu, october 29; ITEM NO: 1029056

BODY:
more than 6,000 aids cases have not been reported in nepal, according to a clinical professor. dr. james chin from the university of california revealed this on friday while presenting a paper on epidemiological situation and hiv/aids projections in nepal at a function organized by the aids control and prevention project. he warned that the current official data --32 cases of hiv positive
--could only be the absolute minimum of what actually exists in reality. he said that nepal should not wait until it has a visible aids problem as it could be too late for effective measures against the disease. he suggested that necessary data which is crucial for the successful implementation of public health programs be collected.
------------------------------------------------------------------ SOURCE: Xinhua

HEADLINE: oldest nepali university faces economic constraint

DATELINE: kathmandu, october 29; ITEM NO: 1029057

BODY:
the largest and oldest university in nepal, tribhuvan university, now is facing problems including economic constraint and eroding education standard. at a three-day seminar, vice chancellor of tribhuvan university kedar bhakta mathema complained that the lump-sum grant assistance to be provided by the government to the university has been quite inadequate in view of the growing cost of higher education and sharp rise in the number of students pursuing higher studies. therefore, various campuses and faculties of the university should now concentrate on how to pool resources for the development of the respective units, the vice chancellor said. the tribhuvan university was established in 1959 as a sacred and permanent memorial to late king of nepal tribhuvan bir bikram shah dev.
------------------------------------------------------------------- SOURCE: Xinhua

HEADLINE: nepal air to launch kathmandu-shanghai-osaka flight

DATELINE: kathmandu, october 29; ITEM NO: 1029107

BODY:
the royal nepal airlines is to launch its kathmandu-shanghai-osaka maiden flight at midnight in accordance with agreements reached by the governments concerned. the inaugural flight scheduled at 00:05 hours
(local time) sunday marks the first international air link between kathmandu of nepal, shanghai of china and osaka of japan. k.b. poudyal, acting director and corporator of the royal nepal airlines said that this new international flight will surely help promote economic relations and tourism among nepal, china and japan. the royal nepal airlines will provide two flights a week, operating boeing 757 services every wednesday and sunday, both leaving kathmandu at 00:05 hours. it will take five and a half hours to reach shanghai and another 90 minutes to osaka which is royal nepal's twelfth international destination.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- SOURCE: Xinhua

HEADLINE: nepal medical association calls off protest

DATELINE: kathmandu, october 30; ITEM NO: 1030040

BODY:
the nepal medical association has called off its protest programs started from october 25 after the government decided to fulfill their demands. the government has informed the association that it would present an amendment to the nepaw medical council act in the coming session of the parliament and decided to form a committee to formulate a medical education act, local press reported today. the medical association launched a program from october 25 to november 6 to protest the government's promotion criteria of medical workers to the first and second class and the step by the government to grant affiliation to private medical colleges.
------------------------------------------------------------------- SOURCE: AFP

HEADLINE: 15 western mountaineers climb Mount Ama Dablam

DATELINE: KATHMANDU, Oct 30

BODY:
Several climbing teams, involving 15 climbers, have scaled the 6,812-metre (22,348-foot) Mount Ama Dablam, the Nepalese Tourism Ministry announced Sunday.

The announcement said six climbers of a seven-member French team made the climb on October 26.

Two climbers of a four-member joint UK, Germany and Canadian team did the same on October 27.

Other climbers to scale the peak included a group of four British mountaineers and three members of another seven-member British team who made it to the summit on October 25 via the same southwest ridge route.
----------------------------------------------------------------- SOURCE: Xinhua

HEADLINE: nepali pm's helicopter attacked by stones

DATELINE: kathmandu, october 30; ITEM NO: 1030036

BODY:
the helicopter carrying prime minister girija prasad koirala was attacked by stones in western nepal while the prime minister was on his election campaign in that region. according to reports reaching here today, some people waved black flags against prime minister koirala when he was addressing a mass gathering in mustang district of western nepal on friday and the prime minister's helicopter was attacked when the prime minister was about to fly to mustang district of western nepal. the police had to resort to blank shots and tear-gas to bring the situation under control. it was reported that three people were injured during the incident. this is the second time the prime minister was attacked during his campaign tour all over the country.

*********************************************************** Date: Sat, 29 Oct 1994 11:02:39 EDT To: a10rjs1@cs.niu.edu From: eknath@math.cornell.edu (Eknath Belbase - Math Grad) Subject: eating is optional

To the editor, TND:

This is in response to the following post:

>Aren't you people tired of this "Women in Hinduism" stuff? Come on give
>us some break, even women in hinduism get some break(during monthly period).
>It seems to me that Mr. Mishra is writing his thesis in The Nepal Digest,
>can i do it too? mine will be on "groundwater remediation".

I would like to say that I am NOT tired of Mr. Mishra's posts. I have not responded to any of his articles because I have tended to agree with his analysis; it would be nice if there were alternate views to argue with other than "you have a Western bias" or "you ramble too much" [which I sometimes think myself :)]. So what if he has a Western bias? We all have biases, so identifying or purporting to identify the bias of a writer is essentially meaningless, *especially* if this identification contributes nothing towards critiquing the ideas themselves. Let him have whatever bias he has, and let's express our (dis)agreement with the ideas themselves! WE TOO will have our biases in our disagreements with his
ideas, but there's nothing wrong with that. The only people without biases are DEAD ones!

If you would like to write lengthy posts about groundwater remediation, please feel free to do so. I have no objections. However, it is likely that fewer people will be able to understand your vocabulary and the concepts involved; social issues are inherently more accessible to readers than technical topics. Anyone who gets bored with your writing or is simply not interested in GROUNDWATER REMEDIATION will skip over your posts, as no doubt I myself would. You could also do this with Mr. Mishra's posts about Women and Hinduism! It only takes about 4 seconds to click down a page [ok, so with Mr.Mishra's posts it might be 6 pages :-) ] or maybe 10 seconds holding the cursor down. I don't think that's too hard to do, though, and the rest of us who find them interesting could still read them at our leisure, print them out, show them to our friends, or whatnot...

*********************************************************************** Date: Sun, 30 Oct 1994 20:51:18 +0700 To: Nepal Digest <nepal-request@cs.niu.edu> From: Suman Kumar Manandhar <a94314@cs.ait.ac.th> Subject: Submission of article

To The Editor, The Nepal Digest

Dear Sir:

Here is a poem that I penned down. Hope you like it.

"A Success Story"
_______________

A remarkable man, though his story, I suspect, is a little vaunted, and his past created quite a furore

in the parliament house - anyway, he is a minister now, once a most wanted criminal, who, luckily, forayed

into politics. Brought up by an aunt and when she died, penniless and unaunted, he judiciously went on to join a band

of politicians. Now and again the Party needed cold cash, and its boss flaunted his weight for him; and it went unheeded

what Mr X did for a living: extortion and ransom. Some cadres complained (they were, later, hounded), others, wiser, remained silent. Now our handsome

Mr X became influential, to say the least; he rose slowly, but surely, and taunted the high command - with destiny his tryst

was now fixed: he won the election! Of late, some accusing fingers have remained, but undaunted he is busy framing policies of the state.

Suman K Manandhar a94314@cs.ait.ac.th

Asian Institute of Technology Bangkok, Thailand.
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