WEEKLY NEPAL MEDIA REPORT FROM 16 TO 22 MARCH

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KATHMANDU 000580

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC PGOV PREL KMDR NP
SUBJECT: WEEKLY NEPAL MEDIA REPORT FROM 16 TO 22 MARCH
2004

STATE FOR NP, AC, PM
STATE FOR IN/R/MR
STATE FOR SA/INS, PM/CBM, PM/PRO
STATE FOR SA/PPD

WEEKLY MEDIA REPORT (March 16 to 22, 2004)


1. MAOIST INSURGENCY

-- Massive attack in Myagdi district headquarters:
Maoist rebels launched a huge attack in Beni, Myagdi
district headquarters on Saturday night. The Maoists
took the District Police Office (DPO),Chief District
Officer and 39 security personnel. The Maoists
completely destroyed all administrative buildings
including the District Administration Office (DAO),
District Development Committee (DDC),District Jail and
District Court". The Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) said it
believes about 500 Maoists were killed and over 200
others injured in the exchange of fire. The army
spokesperson said that various weapons and
explosives including AK 47 rifle, were recovered from
the clash site". The Maoists, however, said they killed
about 150 security personnel in the clash. (Major
reports, 3/22)

-- Maoist radio station destroyed: Security forces have
ruined the Seti Mahakali Peoples FM Radio that was
brought into operation by the Maoists a month ago.
(Centrist "Nepal Samacharpatra, E/D, 3/21)

-- Scheme to kick-start in 3 Maoist-hit districts: The
government has selected three Maoist-hit Dang, Kailali
and Bardiya districts to implement its ambitious land
redistribution program and has initiated preparatory
work. (Centrist "The Kathmandu Post," E/D, 3/20)

-- Harassed journalists take refuge in Kathmandu: In a
disturbing fallout of Nepal's insurgency, at least 25
journalists have been displaced from their places of
work and residence over the past six months by both the
Maoists and the security forces, reported OneWorld.
(Pro-India "The Himalayan Times," E/D, 3/21)

-- Record number of disappearances in Nepal: Amnesty:
Since the breakdown of ceasefire in August, a record
number of persons have been "disappeared" by the
Maoists as well as the security forces, according to
Charan Kumar Prasai, former president of Amnesty
International - Nepal. (Centrist "Kantipur," V/D, 3/21)

-- Maoists ready for UN mediation: Maoist chairman
Prachanda has said his party is ready to hold talks
with the government under United Nations mediation.
"We can hold dialogue with the government with UN
mediation, even in the middle of the ongoing "People's
War," to respect the appeals made by various human
rights and civil society organizations,: Prachanda said
in an appeal released last night. (Media reports, 3/18)
-- Aid bodies threaten to pull out: The United Nations
(UN) and other foreign aid agencies have threatened to
pull out of the troubled country because their ongoing
development programs will be at risk as Maoists are
trying to extort money from their staff. "Our project
offices have been receiving letters from the
underground rebels demanding monetary assistance and
that's the reason why the UN is forced to issue a
public statement today, a UN official said. Besides
UN, the other aid agencies including the Department for
International Development (DFID),Technical Cooperation
of the Federal Republic of Germany (GTZ) and Swiss
Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC) published a
separate joint statement in newspapers Wednesday
stating that their development programs and staff are
increasingly being put under pressure by the Maoists to
provide forced donations. " However, the agencies have
resisted paying the rebels because it is against their
policy. (Media reports, 3/18)

-- Five for
eign wings in Maoist: Security Expert Tul
Prasad Sherchan has claimed that the five chief leaders
of the CPN-Maoist are under the control of five foreign
spy agencies. He said that Prachanda is operating
under the European Union and the Indian RAW controls
Dr. Baburam Bhattarai. He also said that Matrika Yadav
is controlled by South Block in India, Russia controls
Ram Bahadur Thapa alias Badal and Nanda Kishor Pun
alias Pasang is handled by China. (Pro-palace
"Rastravani," V/W, 3/17)
-- PM rules out foreign mediation: Prime Minister Surya
Bahadur Thapa Sunday iterated the government was ready
to talk to Maoists but ruled out foreign mediation.
Thapa categorically nixed the involvement of any
foreign country or even the United Nations in solving
Maoist insurgency, said activist Sudip Pathak of the
Human Rights Organization of Nepal (HURON) who led a
delegation of representatives of various civil society
organizations to the Prime Minister. (The Himalayan
Times, Nepal Samacharpatra, 3/16)

2. ELECTION TALK

-- Poll push a ploy, says Prachanda: "Prachanda has
blamed the government for seeking American support for
ensuring the political parties' participation in the
elections to be announced soon. "U.S. representatives,
from ministers to the ambassador, are knocking at the
doors of leaders of political parties to make sure the
parties participate in the so-called elections,'
Prachanda claimed". He also held the U.S. ambassador
responsible for neglecting Nepal's sovereignty by
visiting the Royal Nepalese Army barracks. "The U.S.
ambassador is visiting the army barracks, thus
humiliating Nepal's nationality and sovereignty,'
Prachanda said."(The Himalayan Times, 3/21)

-- Security authorities instructed for election
preparation: The government, through letters, has
instructed the security authorities in the districts to
prepare for the general elections immediately after the
Vijaya Dashami [Nepal's greatest festival in October].
(Centrist "Rajdhani," V/D, 3/20)

-- EC ready for polls: The Election Commission (EC) is
ready to organize elections at any time. Chief
Election Commissioner Keshav Raj Rajbhandari, taking to
media persons here Thursday, said the EC office-bearers
during their recent meeting with the prime minister
found that the government was in the mentality of
holding elections. (Major reports, 3/19)


3. GOVERNMENT

-- Selective ban on protests in Valley from Sunday: The
District Administration, Kathmandu has clamped a ban,
effective from March 21, on protest programs such as
processions, sit-ins and fasts at public roads and
areas, to maintain law and order. (Major newspapers,
3/20)

-- Foreign minister defends Nepal's human rights
record: Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Bhekh Bahadur
Thapa, Thursday defended Nepal's human rights records
in the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Commission
in Geneva. "If the situation in Nepal has been complex
and challenging, it is not because of the lack of
initiatives and commitments from the government,
rather, it is largely because of the threats and
violence created by Maoists." He also claimed that the
government has taken resolute steps through targeted
programs and institutional mechanism to protect and
promote the rights of vulnerable and marginalized
groups. (The Kathmandu Post and others, 3/19)


4. REFUGEE PROBLEM

-- EU seeks Indian help in refugee issue: A top
European Union (EU) official has urged India to lend a
whelping hand to resolve the issue of Bhutanese
refugees of Nepali origin that has strained ties
between the two nations. Paul Nielson, European
Commissioner for Development Cooperation and
Humanitarian Aid, emphasized the need for an early
resolution of the issue and warned that, otherwise, the
refugees could become a breeding ground for terrorists.
(The Himalayan Times, 3/21)

-- European pressure on Bhutan: The European Commission
has pressurized Bhutan to resolve t
he impasse of
Bhutanese refugees at the soonest. A delegation of the
European Commission during its visit to Bhutan has
raised the issue. Although the delegation had gone
there to take stock of their programs being run in
Bhutan, they also raised the issue of refugees. More
than 100,000 Bhutanese refugees have been languishing
in seven camps in eastern Nepal for the last 13 years.
(Leading dailies, 3/17)


6. NEPAL - U.S.

-- Rights protection rests more on government, U.S.
envoy: The United States Ambassador to Nepal, Michael

E. Malinowski, even while questioning the Maoists'
credibility to call for international assessment on
human rights, stressed that the government had bigger
responsibility in protecting the human rights of the
citizens. "The state cannot say since the Maoists are
violating human rights, why can't we, since the
government is not on the same plane as the Maoists,"
said the U.S. ambassador speaking to few journalists
Thursday after releasing an anthology of papers on good
governance in the capital. (The Kathmandu Post, 3/19)

-- Envoy to U.S. dies at 67: Royal Nepalese Ambassador
to the United States, Jai Pratap Rana passed away in
Washington Tuesday". U. S. Ambassador Michael E.
Malinowski expressed his heartfelt condolences on the
demise of Mr. Rana. "I personally, and on behalf of
the U.S. mission in Nepal, mourn the loss of this
valued friend and colleague and extend my sincere
sympathy to his bereaved family and His Majesty's
Government," a statement said. Seven while in
Washington he maintained cordial relations with the
U.S. Mission in Kathmandu, helping us better understand
Nepal's foreign policy interests and their domestic
context. (Major dailies, 3/18-19)

-- PM, U.S. official discuss bilateral ties: Deputy
assistant secretary, Bureau of South Asian Affairs,
U.S. Department of State, Torkel L. Patterson, paid a
courtesy call on Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa at
the latter's office in Singha Durbar on Tuesday-.
Patterson said that the democratic forces in Nepal
should come together to help the government fight the
Maoists. During his meeting with the PM, he advised
that the king and democratic forces should align and
compel the Maoists to come for talks and lay down arms.
He also said that only talks could resolve the problem
and every other problem in the country could be settled
through democratic exercise. (Spactime, 3/17)

-- Powell's message to Dr. Thapa: The U.S. Foreign
Secretary Colin Powell has sent a message to newly

SIPDIS
appointed Foreign Minister Dr. Bhekh Bahadur Thapa
wishing him a fruitful tenure in Nepal amid internal
conflict and terrorism. Powell has said that the U.S.
would extend cooperation in works in favor of human
rights, democracy and rule of law. America is ready
to provide assistance that would help control terrorism
and resolve conflict. (Kantipur, 3/16)


7. OTHERS

-- Abortion rights comes into practice: The Indra Rajya
Laxmi Maternity Hospital, Thapathali has started
counseling services on safe abortion. Soon, the
government will expand the service to other hospitals
around the country. The service complies with the
legal framework on abortion provisioned in the
legislation endorsed by the parliament two years ago.
(The Kathmandu Post, 3/20)

-- India for Janakpur-Jainagar railway service
expansion: Indian Ambassador to Nepal Shyam Sharan
Wednesday said that India is ready to help expand the
one and only Janakpur-Jainagar railway services in
Nepal. The 51 Kilometers long railway that links
Bijalpur of Mahottari district and Jainagar of India
has shortened its service to 27 kilometers from
Janakpur to Jainagar two years ago. (The Kathmandu
Post, 3/18)

-- Enact laws to check piracy: American professor
James P Chandler said that Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR) is also a human right as any other right which
needs to be protected by the state. According to him,
intellectual
property is the creation of an individual
and it is the property of the creator, which is why the
government should protect it by formulating necessary
legislation. "Since the IPR is a creation of an
individual, one cannot run his or her business without
protecting it. He was speaking at a workshop on
Intellectual Property Rights jointly organized by the
American Center and Kathmandu School of Law (KSL) at
Bhaktapur today. (The Himalayan Times, 3/17)

MALINOWSKI