Old soldiers fade away

Nepalis do not see the Gurkhas in quite the same light as the British do

THIS week Joanna Lumley, a British actress, received the most extravagant of welcomes in Nepal. She was mobbed at the airport, met the prime minister and president and was lauded by the speaker of parliament as a “daughter of Nepal”. Her reception was a thank you for heading a campaign that persuaded the British government to change its mind and allow United Kingdom residency to Nepali Gurkhas who had served in the British army but had retired before 1997. The moral case was attractive: if someone is willing to die for a country he should be allowed to live in it. The rhetoric that accompanied the campaign was striking, too: it celebrated the martial races of the Himalayan foothills, who are plucky and loyal.

But given that Ms Lumley’s success means that thousands of relatively rich Nepalis will leave a badly governed country, the reception she received might seem strange; indeed, it puzzled some Nepalis. But it is, perhaps, no odder than the position of the Gurkhas in their own country.

The Nepali name for a Gurkha is “lahure”, after the city of Lahore where Gurkhas regiments once served. The name is now applied to the roughly 10% of Nepalis who work abroad. In 2008 their remittances amounted to 17% of national income, one of the world’s higher rates. Almost every poor family has one of these new “lahures” and every middle-class family has members who went to study abroad and may never return. To this exodus may now be added up to 35,000 “pre-97” Gurkhas and their dependents now living in Nepal.

That is bad news for the economy and especially for towns such as Dharan which have large ex-Gurkha populations. British army pay and pensions have given Dharan a relatively prosperous air. The manager of a bank on the high street and many of the Gurkhas who turned up to greet the victorious British campaigner said the local economy is bound to suffer.

Few Nepalis feel strongly about Gurkhas’ complaints of unequal treatment by the British. The soldiers come almost exclusively from a few ethnic groups—and only 230 were recruited last year. This makes them merely one subculture in a country of 100-odd castes and clans, some of whom are at each others’ throats, where the government is unstable. The common attitude is one of slight mockery, expressed in condescending jokes about the Gurkhas’ supposed naivety and unruly wives and children.

“They are not connected to all Nepalis, but they are part of Nepali identity and whenever a Nepali does well abroad we are always proud,” says Gunaraj Luitel, a writer. The old Gurkha is a familiar figure in the villages where many Nepalis grew up. They helped introduce foreign ideas when they returned from service abroad and perhaps assisted the spread of Nepali as a national language. Now, sadly, they have come to represent something new: the desire of Nepalis to live and work outside their country.

The Economist

Nepal, Maoists must probe civil war abuses, says UN

KATHMANDU, July 29 (Reuters) - A U.N. human rights envoy urged Nepal's government and the Maoist former rebels on Wednesday to probe human rights abuses in the civil war that ended in 2006, saying not a single abuser had been punished.

Both government forces and the former rebels were blamed for abuses including arbitrary arrests, torture, disappearances and killings during their decade-long conflict that killed thousands of people.

Richard Bennett, chief of the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal, said both sides must cooperate with "credible, competent, impartial and fully independent investigations".

"The victims of these violations and their families deserve no less," he said. "They have the right to know the truth and to a remedy, and they should be at the heart of everyone's concerns."

The Maoists announced a ceasefire in early 2006, signed a peace deal later that year and emerged as the biggest political group in last year's election for a special assembly that doubles as the parliament. Both the government and the Maoists, as part of the landmark peace deal, agreed to investigate abuses but little progress has been made.

"Today I am forced to repeat that no one has been brought to justice for a conflict-related offence," he said. "The situation is no better when it comes to politically related crimes committed since the peace agreement; impunity prevails."

There was no immediate comment from the government or the Maoists.

Ghurkhas flock to greet Ab Fab actress Lumley

By Claire Cozens (AFP)

DHARAN, Nepal — Thousands of Gurkha veterans and their families gathered in eastern Nepal on Tuesday to salute Joanna Lumley, the actress who led a campaign for them to be allowed to settle in Britain.

At a packed rally in Dharan town hall, Lumley was greeted with traditional music, marigold garlands and banners reading "Long live Joanna" and "We love Joanna".

Since she arrived in Nepal at the weekend, she has been feted by the former British army fighters -- many of whom have trekked long distances to thank her for her successful efforts to force a change in government policy.

Scores of veterans, proudly displaying medals on their chests, waited to catch a glimpse of Lumley on her visit to Dharan, a town which has a large Gurkha community and has long been a recruiting centre for the British army.

She told the rally that her father had been a British major in the Gurkha Rifles, and that as a child she had visited sick soldiers in what is now Malaysia.

One seriously ill Gurkha gave her a small bottle of perfume that he feared he would not live long enough to be able to give to his daughter, she said.

"I never forgot his generosity," she told the adoring crowd. "I will never forget your generosity and today I bring to you, instead, my heart."

In one of many emotional moments, an 84-year-old widow whose Gurkha husband was killed in the Burma campaign of the Second World War presented Lumley with shawl.

Also among the gifts presented to the actress was an engraved silver kukri ceremonial knife.

"This has been such a remarkable day," she told crowds at an earlier stop in Mechinagar, where children were given the day off school to mark her visit. "The warmth of your welcome touches my heart."

Organisers said many veterans have travelled on foot to reach the towns that Lumley is visiting on her week-long trip to Nepal, where rural communities are often inaccessible by road.

Lumley will also tour the eastern district of Jhapa, home to two of the Nepalese ethnic groups that have traditionally contributed large numbers of men to the Gurkha ranks.

The 63-year-old star of television show "Absolutely Fabulous" -- who is far more famous here for her role in the Gurkha campaign -- has been dubbed "a daughter of Nepal" by locals.

The Gurkhas have been part of the British army for almost 200 years and more than 45,000 have died in British uniform. Around 3,500 currently serve in the army, including in Afghanistan.

After a climbdown in the face of the campaign Lumley fronted, the government announced in May that all Gurkha veterans who had served at least four years in the army could apply for residency.

Previously, only those who retired after 1997 had been eligible.

The Indian-born Lumley became a rallying voice for the men she called the "bravest of the brave" after joining the campaign in 2007.

Heavy monsoon rains leave 22 dead in Nepal

KATMANDU, Nepal — Flooding and landslides brought on by two days of heavy monsoon rains in Nepal have left 22 people dead and several more missing, officials said Tuesday.

Home Ministry official Iswor Regmi said the death toll from the rains that began over the weekend could rise as reports pour in from remote villages, some of them several days' walk from the nearest town or telephone.

In the worst incident, at least 13 people were killed in a landslide in Takdoo village early Monday, chief government administrator Talasi Gautam said. He said rescuers were still digging through mud and debris searching for victims.

The village, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) northeast of Katmandu, is at least two days' trek from the district capital, and the continuing rain was making rescue efforts difficult.

Separately, six Hindu pilgrims were swept away while trying to cross the swollen Kamal river in the country's southeast, Regmi said.

He said the other three confirmed deaths were in separate floods or landslides.

Every year, hundreds of people are killed by landslides and flooding during this Himalayan nation's monsoon season.

China presses Nepal to crackdown on Tibetans - group

By Gopal Sharma

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal, under increasing pressure from China, was cracking down on Tibetan refugees despite centuries of shared culture with Tibet, the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) said on Tuesday.

Nepali authorities have regularly broken up protests by Tibetan exiles and arrested them for protesting against China's crackdown on demonstrations in Tibet.

The Washington-based group said Tibetan refugees were "increasingly demoralized" as Nepal "relinquishes its historic and sovereign interests in response to incentivized political pressure from Beijing and its sympathizers".

ICT said "pre-emptive arrests of Tibetans, ID checks and house searches" by authorities were contributing to a "widespread sense of fear and insecurity" among the exiles.

"Nepal's political leadership is betting that the internal benefits of assuaging China in the cause of oppressing Tibetans will be greater... than the traditional legal and historical concepts," Mary Beth Markey, Vice President at ICT said.

Nepali officials did not comment immediately but the impoverished nation considers Tibet as part of China, a key trading partner and aid donor.

Kathmandu says Tibetan refugees are free to live in Nepal but cannot carry out any anti-China activities.

Nepal is home to more than 20,000 Tibetans who fled the Himalayan region after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.

About 2,500 flee Tibet every year and come to Nepal on way to India where their temporal leader, the Dalai Lama, lives.

121 Breeding Tigers Estimated To Be Found In Nepal

The first ever overall nation-wide estimate of the tiger population brought a positive ray of hope among conservationists. The figures announced by the Nepal Government's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) shows the presence of 121 (100 – 194) breeding tigers in the wild within the four protected areas of Nepal. The 2008 tiger population estimate was jointly implemented by the DNPWC, Department of Forests (DOF), WWF, National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) with support from Save The Tiger Fund (STF), WWF-US, WWF-UK, WWF International and US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

The 2008 nation-wide tiger population was initiated on 15 November 2009 in the Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) of Nepal both inside and outside the protected areas of Nepal. [TAL encompasses the Terai region of Nepal and into tiger range states across the border into India.]

"To obtain reliable population estimates of wide ranging species like the tiger, it is important to undertake the survey simultaneously in all potential habitats," says Dr. Rinjan Shrestha, Conservation Biologist with WWF Nepal. Previous studies had been undertaken in different time periods and at different spatial scales.

"To derive information on both abundance and distribution of tigers, the current survey employed two methods - Camera Trapping method inside the protected areas and Habitat Occupancy survey both inside and outside the protected areas."

According to WWF Global Tiger Network Initiative, the wild tiger population is at a tipping point. Tigers are experiencing a range collapse, occupying 40 per cent less habitat than was estimated just one decade ago. The estimated number of tigers in important range countries is frighteningly low, with a recent government census suggesting there may be as few as 1,300 tigers left in India, the species' stronghold. And tigers are facing an epidemic of poaching and habitat loss across their range.

The main reason for the decline of tiger populations has been attributed to poaching and illegal trade. This is linked to the illegal international trade in tiger parts and derivatives (skin, bones, meat in some cases although not reported in Nepal) and use in traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM). Apart from these, sporadic cases of retaliatory killing from irate communities have been reported. Other important reasons of tiger population decline are habitat shrinkage and fragmentation due to human intervention, loss/decline of prey species.

"The tiger numbers have increased in Chitwan but decreased in Bardia and Shuklaphanta," said Mr. Anil Manandhar, Country Representative, WWF Nepal.

"In spite of the decade long insurgency, encroachment, poaching and illegal trade, the present numbers is a positive sign, but we can't remain unworried. The declining numbers in western Nepal has posed more challenges, needing a concerted effort to save this charismatic endangered species focusing on anti-poaching and illegal wildlife trade."

The Government of Nepal has approved and launched the 'Tiger conservation Action Plan 2008- 2012'. A comprehensive management plan has been devised in which the target is to increase the population of tigers by 10 per cent within the first 5 year period of the plan implementation.

"Tigers can not be saved by the effort of a single individual or a single organization," said Mr. Gopal Prasad Upadhyay, Director General, DNPWC. "The transboundary relation with India needs to be strengthened further and all organizations should work together to conserve tigers."

No arms deal with India: Nepal PM

Nepal's Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Sunday dismissed reports in the Nepali and Indian media that his government was on an arms-shopping spree in India, saying they were "baseless rumours".

Summoned by a parliamentary committee Sunday to clarify his coalition government's stand on making fresh arms purchases from India and other internal issues, the communist leader said his government would not do anything to endanger the ongoing peace process.

Nepal also rejected speculation that his government was planning to clamp president's rule in the republic.

"According to the prime minister, no agreement has been signed with the Indian government to purchase arms," Nepal's foreign affairs advisor Rajan Bhattarai said.

The controversy arose after Nepal's Defence Minister Vidya Bhandari went to New Delhi on a week-long visit last week. Though described as a visit for receiving medical treatment at New Delhi's Apollo Hospital, Bhandari met her Indian counterpart A.K. Antony as well as Indian politicians like Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani.

Bhattarai said the subject of "resuming military assistance might have cropped up during the meeting between the two defence ministers but no agreement was signed".

"If it's imperative, then Nepal would of course buy arms," Bhattarai said. "However, the prime minister has said that it would be done only after political consensus."

India had armed Nepal with its indigenously manufactured Insas group of firearms during the 10-year Maoist insurgency in Nepal to restore law and order as well as control the circulation of arms from other western sellers.

However, it stopped the sale, made at a 70 percent subsidy, in February 2005 to show its anger at King Gyanendra, who ignored New Delhi's advice to stage an army-backed coup and seize absolute power.

Bhandari's New Delhi visit has created a furore in Nepal with the Maoists, now the main opposition party after a brief stint in power, warning that any arms purchase would derail the peace process.

The UN also cautioned both the Nepal government and Maoists last week, saying any move by either to make fresh recruitment or replenish their arsenals would violate the peace agreement.

New Delhi for Pak-Bangla train via India, Nepal

In a bid to strengthen intra- regional connectivity and unite hearts of people of South Asia, India has proposed a demonstration train between Bangladesh and Pakistan via its territory and that of Nepal.

The Indian proposal for running a trial train from Pakistan to Bangladesh via India and Nepal was welcomed by the SAARC member states at the meeting of their Transport Ministers in Sri Lankan capital -- Colombo- yesterday.

The ministers agreed that the objective of providing connectivity is not just about upgrading transport links, but to unite the hearts and minds of the people of South Asia, officials said.

India and Bangladesh had resumed their rail service last year after a gap of 43 years, with the run of Moitree Express from Dhaka to Kolkata.

A war in 1965 between India and Pakistan, of which Bangladesh was a part until 1971, stopped the cross-border passenger train service which covers a distance of 538 kms, with 418 kms in Bangladesh and 120 kms in India.

Train links between India and Pakistan have also been operational.

The Indian delegation at the meeting was headed by R P N Singh, Minister of State for Road, Transport and Railways.

The second meeting of the SAARC Ministers of Transport yesterday was preceded by the third meeting of SAARC Inter- Governmental Group on Transport on Friday.

Sri Lanka, being the present Chair of SAARC, presided over the meeting, which reviewed progress in implementation of decisions of the first meeting of SAARC Transport Ministers held in August last year.

Minister Singh said India was conscious of its "asymmetrical" responsibility in the SAARC and had played a lead role in negotiations through offers of training programmes, among other things.

New Delhi also furnished status on upgradation of corridors identified within India and proposed new programmes for strengthening intra-regional connectivity.

Gurkhas' hero Lumley on Nepal trip

Joanna Lumley is leaving for a trip to Nepal, where she is expected to be welcomed as a heroine by thousands of Gurkhas and their families.

The Absolutely Fabulous actress's role in a campaign to allow those who fought for Britain to settle here was considered instrumental.

Lumley, whose late father was an officer in the Gurkha regiment, said a great injustice had been righted when the Government finally relented in May and said all Gurkha veterans with four years' service would be allowed to move to the UK.

Lumley and Gurkha Justice campaigner Peter Carroll are leaving Heathrow on Saturday night and large crowds are expected to greet them when they arrive in Kathmandu at 3pm local time on Sunday.

"I understand there will be a huge, huge reception at the airport," Mr Carroll said. "It's almost like a head of state visiting."

Mr Carroll said he expects to be completely overshadowed by Lumley, although the Folkestone councillor is well known in Nepal for launching the campaign.

He approached Lumley after a woman in Kent tapped him on the shoulder and suggested he ask her to get involved, and he said: "The rest is history."

The group will meet president Dr Ram Baran Yadav and PM Madhav Kumar Nepal on Monday morning before they address a meeting at the city hall of Kathmandu.

They will have afternoon tea with the British ambassador to the country, Dr Andrew Hall, before laying a wreath at a war memorial near the Embassy.

Lumley will also visit Jhapa and Dharan to meet Gurkhas, Pokhara to hold talks with members of the charity the Gurkha Welfare Trust and also Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha.

Nepal Gurkhas plan hero's welcome for 'Ab Fab' star

KATHMANDU — Nepal's Gurkhas are planning a hero's welcome for British actress and campaigner Joanna Lumley when she makes her first-ever visit to the Himalayan nation on Sunday.

Thousands of the soldiers and their families are expected to turn out to greet the 63-year-old star of TV show "Absolutely Fabulous", who spearheaded a campaign for the British army veterans to be allowed to settle in Britain.

Although she has never been to Nepal, the actress's impassioned lobbying earned her the adoration of the Gurkhas, who are describing her visit as a "homecoming".

"We are proud and honoured to have her in our country. She is truly a daughter of Nepal," said Krishna Kumar Rai, vice-president of the Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen's Organisation (GAESO).

"She has done us, the British army veterans, an unforgettable favour -- she has given us justice."

Britain announced in May that all Gurkha veterans who had served at least four years in the army could apply for residency after a government climbdown in the face of Lumley's campaign. Previously, only those who retired after 1997 had been eligible to apply.

The Indian-born actress, whose best-known role was as the cocaine-snorting fashionista Patsy in the hit comedy "Absolutely Fabulous", had become a rallying voice for the men she called the "bravest of the brave".

She has said that her father, a British major in the 6th Gurkha Rifles during World War II, would have been "overwhelmed with shame and fury" at Britain's treatment of Gurkha veterans.

"I don't have the words to describe how happy I am that Joanna Lumley is coming to Nepal," said Falklands War veteran Gyanendra Rai, who is now hoping to move to Britain after having his first application turned down in 2006.

Rai, who was seriously wounded in the 1982 Falklands campaign, was one of several ex-Gurkhas to bring a judicial review against the British government's decision to refuse him permission to settle there.

The former soldier said he plans to be at the front of the crowd at Kathmandu international airport to greet Lumley on Sunday. "She is like a goddess to the Gurkhas," he told AFP.

During her six-day trip to Nepal, Lumley will meet the country's president and prime minister as well as visit three towns with large Gurkha communities.

Organisers say they expect thousands of veterans to travel to meet her, many of them coming on foot from remote areas of the country where road connections are limited.

"Our main aim is to meet all the Gurkha veterans and to give any necessary help and encouragement to those who want to come to Britain" said Dhan Gurung, a British-based ex-Gurkha accompanying Lumley on the trip.

The Gurkhas have been part of the British army for almost 200 years and more than 45,000 have died in British uniform. Around 3,500 currently serve in the British army, including in Afghanistan.

"If Joanna Lumley was not there, the disparity and discrimination would not have ended for us," GAESO's Krishna Kumar Rai told AFP.

"We would have had to fight for a very long time to be treated like a British soldier."

By Claire Cozens (AFP)

U.N. council extends its Nepal mission but wants out

(Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Thursday extended the mandate of the U.N. mission in Nepal for another six months but urged the government to resume a stalled peace process to allow the mission to leave in January.

Under a 2006 deal that ended a decade-long civil war between the government and Maoist rebels in the Himalayan state, the United Nations supervises compliance by the former combatants with an agreement on their arms and armies.

The 250-person U.N. mission, known as UNMIN, has arms monitors based at camps for former Maoist fighters where weapons are stored and at a weapons storage site in a Nepal army barracks.

But a political crisis since the Maoists walked out of the government in May in a dispute over their attempt to fire the country's army chief has stalled the peace process.

A report last week by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the crisis had prevented UNMIN from completing its work because of a failure by the Nepalese parties to agree on the future of the more than 19,000 Maoist fighters in the camps.

The Security Council had originally hoped UNMIN would wind up in July, but Nepal asked the United Nations this month for a further extension, a request supported by Ban.

The council resolution passed on Thursday agreed to prolong UNMIN until Jan. 23, but called on Nepal's government to take measures to allow the mission to finish its job by then.

It said current arrangements for monitoring arms and armed personnel were intended as "temporary measures, rather than long-term solutions, and cannot be maintained indefinitely."

"It is our hope ... that in the coming period the government and parties will take the peace process forward, creating the conditions for the mission to complete its mandated tasks," said the U.N. envoy to Nepal, Karin Landgren.

"Critical political decisions need to be taken soon on the modalities and the number of Maoist army personnel to be integrated into the security forces," she told reporters.

Nepal says to rebuild royal massacre palace

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal will restore the house in which a popular king and almost all his family were gunned down at a family dinner eight years ago, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal said.

Popular King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and seven other royals were killed in 2001 by a drugged and drunk Crown Prince Dipendra, who was angered by his parents' refusal to let him marry a women he loved.

He later turned the gun on himself, according to an official report.

Birendra's brother Gyanendra, who succeeded him, ordered the demolition of the house, Tribhuvan Sadan, where the massacre took place. Only a small brick wall now stands.

"The Tribhuvan Sadan must be rebuilt. It will be restored to its old position," the Prime Minister said on state-run Nepal Television late on Wednesday, after a visit to the pink pagoda-roofed palace that was turned into a museum after the monarchy was abolished last year.

The massacre was a turning point in Nepal's history as the unpopular Gyanendra fired the government and gave himself absolute power in 2005.

His direct rule began to crumble after deadly protests the following year that brought the Maoists, who began a decade-long civil war against the monarchy in 1996, into the political mainstream.

The former rebels won a surprise election victory last year, quickly abolished the 239-year-old monarchy and briefly headed a coalition government.

In May, the Maoists quit the government after President Ram Baran Yadav refused to endorse a cabinet decision to sack the country's army chief, plunging the Himalayan nation into a fresh political turmoil.

Nepal mulls toilets-for-passports scheme

KATHMANDU — A remote region of Nepal is hoping to improve local sanitation by asking everyone who applies for a citizenship card or passport whether they have a toilet at home, an official said Thursday.

Authorities in the rural midwestern district of Surkhet say only one in three households there has a toilet, below the national average of 45 percent, while the district headquarters has only one public toilet for 44,000 people.

They say there is a lack of awareness of the health risks related to open defecation, and are hoping the proposed scheme will help to eradicate the practice.

"We decided we have to motivate and put pressure on people to build toilets in their houses," regional sanitation engineer for Surkhet, Prem Krishna Shrestha, told AFP.

"Of course, we cannot deny them their right to citizenship. The idea of the programme is to make sure that people understand the value of having a toilet in their houses.

"So when someone comes to get a passport or citizenship card, the officials will ask if they have a toilet in their house."

The proposal comes as Nepal is struggling to deal with a diarrhoea outbreak that has reportedly killed around 150 people in a remote western region.

Disease outbreaks are common during the monsoon, when floods mean water sources can easily become contaminated.

The government has promised to eradicate open defecation by 2017, but Shrestha said it was well behind schedule on the building of new toilets.

"Nepal should be building 320,000 toilets a year and records show only around 100,000 to 125,000 toilets are being built. We have a lot of catching up to do," he said.

Post-election optimism fades in Nepal

KATHMANDU — When Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal stood for prime minister last August, his party pronounced it a "golden dawn" for Nepal after 10 years of civil war.

Nepal's unpopular monarchy had just been abolished, and the revolutionary leader's transformation from warlord to democratically elected premier was hailed as a fresh start for the Himalayan nation.

But less than a year later, the sun has set on the Maoist government and the prospects for peace and prosperity in Nepal look as distant as ever.

A coalition of rival parties took power following the fall of the Maoists in May over the issue of integrating their fighters into the army -- a key tenet of the 2006 peace agreement.

But without the support of the biggest party in the parliament, the new administration is struggling to tackle crippling fuel and food shortages, rampant corruption and growing fears over security.

The United Nations warned this month of an "alarming" rise in kidnappings for ransom in Nepal, saying the volatile political situation and absence of surveillance mechanisms were allowing criminals to act with impunity.

Daily life in many parts of the country has been heavily impacted by protest strikes, some of them violent, hampering efforts to rebuild a country still struggling to recover from the long civil war.

More than three years after the war ended, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Nepal, Wendy Cue, said little had changed for many people.

"A lack of development was both the cause and the consequence of the conflict," she told AFP.

"Three years on, people are still waiting for the peace dividend."

A diarrhoea epidemic that has killed more than 100 people in recent weeks in a remote part of western Nepal due to a lack of clean water and basic medical facilities has highlighted the huge challenge the new government faces.

The first reports of the outbreak were in May, but emergency teams were not dispatched to the area until July, prompting accusations of government mismanagement.

Commentators say the political infighting that followed the fall of the Maoist-led government has focused attention on events in the capital at the expense of the isolated rural areas that suffered most during the war.

"What we have here is a crisis of governance -- a weak state that has no control over much of the country," said Aditya Adhikari, comment editor of the Kathmandu Post daily.

Adhikari pointed to a subsequent radicalisation of groups representing ethnic minorities outside Kathmandu that have long felt excluded from national politics.

"Groups in the Terai have already begun to form parallel systems of governance and semi-militant forces," he said, referring to the southern part of Nepal worst hit by ethnic unrest in recent years.

"The current government hasn't the legitimacy to address their concerns because it excludes the Maoists, and the ethnic groups are themselves sceptical of negotiations with this government," he added.

The Terai is important because it runs along the border with Nepal's main trading partner, India, and is home to 48 percent of the country's population as well as the bulk of its industry and food production.

The World Bank in its latest report on Nepal warned of a proliferation of armed groups in the Terai in the past two years and said the resulting violence had caused many government officials to retreat to district headquarters.

"There is a danger that tensions between diverse political and social groups in the Terai could deteriorate," it said in the report released last month.

"If that occurs, the damage to Nepal's main trading routes, investment and livelihoods could be far worse than during the 'People's War', which was largely concentrated in Nepal's hill regions."

The government has pledged to strengthen law and order, and the new budget this week provided more funding for the country's historically weak police force.

It also promised to alleviate poverty in a country where the average annual income is just 473 dollars and tackle double-digit inflation and an energy crisis that led to power outages of 16 hours a day in the capital this winter.

But many here believe little can be achieved without the involvement of the Maoists, who have already said they will oppose the new government's plans.

There are also increasing international concerns over the lack of progress in the peace process, launched when the war ended in 2006.

The mandate of the UN Mission in Nepal, charged with overseeing the peace process, expires on July 23 and is expected to be extended for a further six months at the request of the Nepalese government.

But there is little sign of any progress on the highly sensitive issue of integrating 19,000 Maoist fighters still confined to camps into the army.

"There was an expectation that the difficult part was going to be holding the election," said Sarah Levit-Shore, Nepal country director for the Carter Center NGO which provided international observers for the 2008 polls.

"Instead, the country has seen new challenges, and the need for parties to work together in good faith is critical."

UN Chief laments slowdown on key elements of Nepal's peace process

Progress on key elements in Nepal's peace process have slowed down or stalled altogether owing to the country's recent political crisis, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said here on Monday, proposing a six-month extension of the United Nations mission to continue assisting with remaining tasks.

"The two major tasks at the current stage of the peace process are the integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist army personnel and the drafting of the new constitution," Ban said in his latest report on the request of Nepal for UN assistance in support of the peace process.

He notes that efforts to advance on both these fronts slowed with the onset of the crisis sparked by the resignation of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ("Prachanda") in early May, which occurred one day after the Chief of Army Staff -- who he had fired-- was reinstated.

A senior leader of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML), Madhav Kumar Nepal, was elected Prime Minister on May 23 and subsequently formed a new coalition government with the support of 21 other political parties but without the participation of the Maoists.

"The modest progress witnessed in some aspects of the peace process during the first quarter of 2009 has stalled against a backdrop of mistrust and a further deterioration of relations among key stakeholders, notably between UCPN-M [Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist] and the other major parties and between UCPN-M and the Nepal Army," the secretary-general said.

In particular, he noted that while there were promising signs of progress with regard to resolving the future of the Maoist army personnel, efforts have remained at a "standstill" since late April.

"A planning process should be initiated to address in parallel the commitment contained in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Interim Constitution to democratize and determine the appropriate size of the Nepal Army, while ensuring that the institution reflects the diversity of Nepal and is imbued with the values of democracy and human rights," he said.

Meanwhile, the task of drafting the constitution has continued to move forward, albeit with numerous hurdles.

"There is near unanimity that it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to meet the prescribed time frame of May 2010 for the promulgation of a new constitution," Ban said, strongly encouraging progress in this area, based on consensus among the main political actors and the wider public.

He adds that political leaders in Nepal have expressed the view that the presence of the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) is needed until the integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist army personnel is resolved. Therefore, he recommends that the UN mission's mandate be extended for a further six months, until Jan.23, 2010.

Established following the signing of the 2006 peace deal by the government and the Maoists to end the country's decade-long civil war, UNMIN has been assisting with key tasks, such as monitoring of the management of arms and armed personnel of the Maoists and the Nepal Army.

Insecurity fuels property boom in Nepal's capital

KATHMANDU — Former Miss Nepal Malvika Subba had a successful career in television before she gave up showbusiness for the distinctly less glamorous job of selling housing.

"This is where the money is," the former actress and presenter told AFP in her plush new office in downtown Kathmandu.

"When I was offered a job marketing real estate, I said yes straight away, because it looked interesting and I could see that business was booming."

Subba is head of sales and marketing at Nepalese property developer Shangri-La Housing, which builds and sells luxury apartments -- until recently a virtually unknown concept in Kathmandu.

As the global credit crunch has sent housing markets around the world reeling, Kathmandu is experiencing a surprise property boom as wealthy Nepalese seek a safe haven for their money -- and themselves.

"Many people tell us that it is not safe outside the capital and that they live in constant fear," said Subba, who believes insecurity and investment are the two biggest drivers of the capital's housing market.

"People see property as a good investment opportunity."

Kathmandu's population exploded during the decade-long civil war between the Maoists and the army as people flocked to the relative safety of the capital.

The influx pushed up land values in the city. The Nepal Land and Housing Association, which groups many of the country's estate agents, says land prices have risen by 300 percent since the height of the Maoist insurgency in 2003.

"Land became a valuable commodity," said Chiranjibi Subedi, the government's top planning official for Kathmandu.

Subedi said the influx had continued since the end of the conflict in 2006, with many property buyers citing continued instability in their home districts as their primary reason for moving to the capital.

"Insecurity seems to be the main driver of internal migration into Kathmandu since the conflict," he said.

"The number of proposals for new high-rise buildings and apartment complexes just keeps on growing."

Government figures show the number of new apartments built in Kathmandu rose more than three-fold last year to 3,385 from 1,088 in 2007, as high land prices and poorly enforced planning laws made building upwards more attractive.

There are currently more than 250 high-rise blocks being built in the capital, according to the planning ministry.

Wealthier residents are increasingly opting for apartments over houses, citing security and ease, despite prices of up to 12,000 rupees (160 dollars) per square foot in one of the world's poorest countries.

"The building is guarded and you can trust the neighbours. It's also convenient because you don't have to worry about maintenance," said Juna Manandhar, 35, who lives in an apartment block in an upscale area of Kathmandu.

For Dinesh Shrestha, 29, owning an apartment offers "a blend of privacy and community," and is also an investment. "Land prices never go down," he said.

Shangri-La's Subba said many of her company's apartments were being snapped up by Nepalese people living abroad who, similarly, view them as a good investment.

But some experts believe prices are now simply too high to be sustainable.

"The real estate boom in Nepal is purely speculative," said Sandeep Gautam, editor of the English-language monthly New Business Age.

"The economy is shrinking and people's purchasing power is declining. (The market) can?t support this kind of aberrant growth in any sector for long."

Planning official Subedi said 70 percent of apartments in Kathmandu currently stood empty, suggesting those who have bought purely as an investment have been unable to let their properties.

The rise in property prices is fuelled partly by the lack of alternative investment opportunities in Nepal, where political instability has long hampered economic development.

But Gautam points out that Nepal's gross domestic product is falling, and says the country's banks are too heavily invested in property.

"Some banks have up to 70 percent loan exposure in real estate. The banks have invested in both the buyers and the builders," he said. "You do the math."

AFP