No need of UNMIN: Nepal Army

http://news.oneindia.in/2010/08/21/armychief-wants-exit-of-un-mission-innepal.html

Nepalis arrested

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Police-Seeks-Help-of-Nepali-Associations/articleshow/6383934.cms

Funny but true

http://www.hindustantimes.com/86-yr-old-Nepali-weds-43-yr-old-for-son/Article1-589372.aspx

Funny but true!!

http://www.hindustantimes.com/86-yr-old-Nepali-weds-43-yr-old-for-son/Article1-589372.aspx

Prabal Gurung tastes US success

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5icUh8ZSu4bOsxwFfsuQcpyey6ieQD9HMPV2O1

Kung Fu nuns!!

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2003009,00.html

Sherlock Holmes returns - from Nepal

More than 80 years after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the last Sherlock Holmes story, the taciturn, relentless and utterly fascinating sleuth is back again - and this time from Nepal.

House no 583 Museum Marg in Kathmandu is as different from 221 B Baker Street as Dr John Watson is from Ted Riccardi. Yet it is the latter - an American scholar and Indologist - who has assumed the mantle of Watson, the chronicler of most of Holmes' adventures.

From his adopted home in Kathmandu, the 73-year-old has brought Holmes back from the grave in his first work of fiction, 'The Oriental Casebook of Sherlock Holmes'.

Narrating the British detective's fascinating exploits in Tibet, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and even the 'Dutch Indies', the book was originally published by Random House in 2003, but has now been brought to Nepal by the Kathmandu-based Himal Books.

To scholars and linguists, Riccardi needs no introduction.

Former director of the Southern Asian Institute in the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia, and professor emeritus in the Department of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures, Columbia University, he also served as counsellor for cultural affairs at the American Embassy in New Delhi in the 1980s.

The nine stories in 'The Oriental Casebook' purportedly originated when Holmes was presumed to be dead after an encounter with Prof Moriarty in the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland.

'Holmes, unbeknownst to the world at large, travelled the globe locked in mortal combat with some of his most implacable enemies,' says the preface.

The roamings take him to Tibet, where the Dalai Lama is revealed to be actually a little British boy, to Calcutta where Holmes earns the gratitude of Lord Curzon by solving a double murder, to Nepal where he solves the nearly 1,500-year-old murder of a king from the inscription on a pillar at the famed Chhangu Narayan temple, and farther.

Paradoxically, Riccardi wrote the oriental adventure of Holmes, regarded as a misogynist, as a birthday gift for his wife Ellen.

'We were staying in the Tibet Guest House in Kathmandu and it was my wife's 27th birthday,' he explains.

'I needed a 27th birthday gift and thought of writing a Sherlock Holmes story. I decided to take the missing years from 1891 to 1894 when Sherlock Holmes could have been wandering through Asia.'

For days, he locked himself up in his room with a typewriter to keep him company - computers had not been discovered yet - refusing to let an intrigued Ellen see what he was doing. 'It's meant to be a secret,' he would tell her.

When he finally presented her with 'The Case Of The Vice-Roy's Assistant' - which is based in Kolkata - she was stunned. 'Did you really write it?' she asked in disbelief.

The second story, 'Murder In The Thieves Bazaar', was inspired by a Nepali writer.'Paribandha', meaning circumstantial evidence, was written by Pushkar Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana, the first Nepali translator of the concise Oxford Dictionary.

In Rana's story, a young man is charged with murder when he is innocent. The circumstantial evidence is against him and the court finds him guilty.

'When I read the story, I thought, why don't I rewrite it and bring in Sherlock Holmes to prove his innocence?' says Ricardi. 'After I wrote the new version, I began re-reading Conan Doyle's 'Boscombe Valley Mystery' (in which the son is suspected of killing his father though he is innocent). I then realised Pushkar Shumsher must have been inspired by the Conan Doyle story, and I, in turn, was inspired to do a Sherlock Holmes story through him!'

Riccardi has a second Holmes book in the pipeline. New York's Pegasus will publish 'Between The Thames And The Tiber', a collection of 12 stories set in Italy.

'I chose Italy because that's the place most British people from colonial India went after they retired,' Riccardi explains. 'They could not adjust to the cold of England any more as well as the loss of the privileges they had. So, many headed for southern Italy.'

There's a third Sherlock Homes book that he is working on, tentatively called 'The Owl Of Minerva And Other Stories'.

'Though I put lots of historical characters, the history is entirely mine,' Riccardi warns. 'I did little switches, though not enough to upset anyone. I have alluded to that in the preface: the reader who looks to these tales for historical consistency will be disappointed.'

Nepal to ban smoking in public places

KATHMANDU — Nepal is to ban smoking in restaurants, bars and other public places and outlaw all tobacco advertising to try to deter young people from taking up the habit, the government said Tuesday.

A new anti-smoking bill will also make it illegal for anyone under 16 to smoke, and introduce compulsory health warnings on cigarette packets, health ministry official Bal Sagar Giri told AFP.

"More and more young people are being lured by attractive tobacco advertising. That has to end," he said.

"It is high time we had a strict enforcement of law that regulates tobacco use and punishes offenders."

Giri said the bill, currently being debated in parliament, would also introduce fines of 5,000 rupees (70 dollars) for individual offenders and 100,000 rupees for tobacco companies.

The government estimates that 15,000 people die every year of smoking-related diseases in Nepal, one of the world's poorest countries.

Globally, tobacco kills five million people annually, according to the World Health Organization, with deaths expected to hit 10 million a year in two decades, 70 percent of those being in developing nations.

In 2006, Nepal's Supreme Court ordered the government to ban smoking in public places and outlaw tobacco advertisements in broadcast media, but the ruling has never been implemented.

The new bill bans smoking in all enclosed public places including government offices, schools, hospitals and restaurants.

NEPAL: Water crisis intensifies

KATHMANDU, 31 May 2010 (IRIN) - Access to safe drinking water is deteriorating across parts of Nepal, activists say, despite the prevailing monsoon season from May until September.

According to the Federation of Drinking Water and Sanitation Users Nepal, a national network advocating water and sanitation rights, half the country now faces drinking water shortages.

Although a study has yet to be conducted on the current scenario, water experts claim more than 20 districts in both the hills and Terai areas of the country have been badly affected.

“This situation could affect a large number of families who have already been reeling under the immense water shortage situation over the last many years,” said Ajaya Dixit, director of the Nepal Water Conservation Foundation.

According to government statistics, more than 4.4 million people in the Himalayan nation do not have regular access to safe drinking water in rural and urban areas, be it via piped water, wells, rainwater or bottled water.

“With water sources drying up, erratic rainfall and poor management of water resources, the problems are worsening every year,” said Prakash Amatya from the NGO Forum for Urban Water and Sanitation.

Public health concerns are increasing as a result. Already, more than 10,500 children die before their fifth birthday from diarrhoea, mainly due to inadequate access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, according to WaterAid. More than 80 percent of diseases are the result of unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation, according to its 2009 report, End Water Poverty campaign journey in Nepal.

Worsening water crisis

Villagers in remote districts such as Dadeldhura, Doti, Surkhet and dozens of others in western Nepal, all more than 500km from the capital, are already suffering, social workers say.

“A lot of people are taking desperate measures by spending more than five hours every day to fetch water from far-off rivers,” said Anju Karki, a healthcare volunteer in Doti.

The government has more than 50,000 healthcare volunteers who work closely with the rural communities and are also a major source of information for NGOs, media and government where there is limited access.

Apa Sherpa, California teen break Everest records

Mountaineering legend Apa Sherpa made it to the top of the world highest peak, Mount Everest, Saturday morning for the 20th time, breaking his own previous record.

According to officials at Mountaineering Department, Apa conquered the world’s highest mountain at 8:34 am along with several other climbers. The expedition team reached atop the 8,848-meter tall peak by taking advantage of a break in the weather.

Apa and his fellow climbers of the Eco Everest Expedition had set out to the Mt. Everest in April with the aim of clearing 15,400 pounds garbage scattered in the Himalayan peak.

The 50-year old mountaineer guide also hoisted a Nepali flag imprinted with the slogan of Nepal Tourism Year 2011 on the top of the Mt. Everest in order to spread the message of tourism year. Nepal expects to attract over 1 million tourists in the tourism year.

Apa made the first successful ascent of Everest on May 10, 1990, and set foot atop the summit twice in 1992 and 1997. He has been climbing the highest peak regularly since 1990 except in 1996 and 2001.

Though Apa announced his retirement citing family reasons after completing his 12th summit in 2002, he could not resist his temptation to scale the coveted peak for long time and stepped again atop the Everest for the 13th time in 2003.

Meanwhile, a 13-year-old American became the youngest climber to ever summit Mount Everest on Saturday.

Jordan Romero's journey was tracked through GPS coordinates on his blog, logging his team's ascent up Everest, which is 29,028 feet (8,847 meters) above sea level.

"Their dreams have now come true," a statement on Jordan's blog said. "Everyone sounded unbelievably happy."

Before Saturday, the youngest climber to scale Everest was 16-year-old Temba Tsheri of Nepal.

"I know you would like to hear from the boy himself, but he is currently flat on his belly knocked out," a member of Jordan's climbing team said in a message posted Saturday on his blog. "The effort he put out this last more like 48 hours is -- you're not going to believe the story when you see it and read about it."

Romero left for the peak from the Chinese side of the mountain after Nepal denied him permission on age grounds, according to nepalnews.com.

Before starting out, Romero, of Big Bear, California, said he wanted to climb Everest to inspire more young people to get outdoors.

"Obese children are the future of America, the way things are going," he said on April 9 in Kathmandu. "I am hoping to change that by doing what I do: climbing and motivational speaking."

With a smile, he added: "I am doing this a little for myself, too, to do something big."

Jordan now has climbed six of the seven highest peaks on seven continents, known as the Seven Summits.

"This is not an isolated vacation," said Paul Romero, Jordan's father, before the two embarked up Everest in Nepal. "This is a lifestyle."

Romero's family started tackling the Seven Summits in summer 2005. He was just 9 when they climbed 19,341 feet (5,895 meters) to the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

There is a debate about whether the tallest mountain in Oceania is Kosciuszko in mainland Australia or Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia, so Romero and his family climbed both.

The only peak left for him to climb after Everest is the Vinson Massif in Antarctica, which is 16,067 feet (4,897 meters). A trip there is planned for December.

Nepal: Dissonant Integration

By Anshuman Behera

On May 10, 2010, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal's political advisor Raghuji Panta made it clear for the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) leadership and for all other who have been demanding for the resignation of the Prime Minister (PM), that no such outcome was possible until there was a clear agreement on the integration of Maoist combatants with the Nepalese Army (NA). Panta added, further, "There should be an agreement on the number of Maoist combatants before the Prime Minister could mull his resignation... The Prime Minister has no compulsion to resign just because the UCPN-M stopped its protests."

The statement came just as the Maoists called off their "indefinite" general strike which lasted six days (May 2-May 7). The end of the strike was followed by a statement by the Chairman, UCPN-M, Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda, in an interaction with intellectuals and civil society representatives on May 12, where he emphasised that the integration of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was possible within four months. He added, further, "We will dismantle the barracks of the Young Communist League (YCL, the militant youth wing of the (UCPN-M) within four-five days. We are ready to break the relation of the Party with the cantonments (where PLA cadres are located)". These commitments have evoked some hope and a great deal of scepticism at the political classes in Kathmandu.

The integration of the PLA with the Nepalese Army (NA) has evidently become the principal factor of contestation between UCPN-M and other political formations in Nepal, particularly the principal parties, the Communist Party of Nepal- Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) and the Nepali Congress (NC). After the fall of the Monarchy, the laying down of arms by the Maoists, and the agreement for the establishment of a democratic setup and a republic between the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) and the Maoists, the PLA issue has remained the core of contention in evolving any national consensus.

The understanding between the SPA and the Maoists on the modalities and regulation of PLA combatants, and their verification, has passed through three different agreements: the Agreement on Monitoring of the Management of Arms and Armies of November 28, 2006; the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of November 21, 2006; and the SPA-Maoist Agreement of November 7, 2006. The role of the United Nations in regulating the Army and PLA combatants has been emphasised in these, and both the SPA and the Maoists have agreed on this through the joint letter to the United Nations (UN) of August 9, 2006. According to this last document, PLA combatants would remain in the designated camps and the UN would verify and monitor them. The temporary camps, as agreed to by both parties were established at Kailali, Surkhet, Rolpa, Nawalparasi, Chitwan, Sindhuli and Ilam.

Once the agreement on the PLA had been hammered out, the Maoist combatants were located in the cantonments, and the Government, along with the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) took charge of the camps. On February 25, 2007, the Government agreed to provide Nepali Rupees (NR) 50 million for the management of the Maoist cantonments, along with a daily allowance of NR 60 to each PLA combatant. Within the duration of a little over one year, on July 18, 2008, the ‘Division Commander’, Tej Bahadur Oli, of Dasharathpur in Surkhet cantonment, charged the Government with not releasing funds for the combatants for more than 11 months. "As the Government has not released funds," he declared, "we are managing our livelihood by taking loans." It is significant that, between August 18, 2008, and May 4, 2009, a Government headed by Prime Minister Dahal aka Prachanda, the Maoist supremo, was in power. Even over this period, there was insufficient release of funds, perhaps demonstrating the indifference of political elites across party lines towards the conditions of the rank and file fighters of the PLA. There are suspicions, moreover, that the Maoists may have sought to create a situation that forced the early integration of the PLA combatants into the NA.

Despite the apparent deadlock over the issue, there have been a number of initiatives to speed up the integration process, so that the peace process can be pushed to its logical end. On October 27, 2008, the Government formed a five-member special committee to oversee Army integration, under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Bamdev Gautam. The other members of the Committee included Defense Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa, Madheshi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) leader Mohammad Habibullah, and Minister for Peace Janardan Sharma. On October 28, 2008, Gautam stated that ‘homework’ for the integration of the Maoist combatants had already begun. He asserted that the Special Committee would complete Army integration "right on time". The Special Committee for Supervision, Integration and Rehabilitation of Maoist Combatants, on September 1, 2009, had decided to complete the process of integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants within six months. "We have decided to extend the tenure of the technical committee under the special committee for the next three months effective from today [September 1]," NC leader Ram Sharan Mahat told reporters in Singhadurbar after the meeting, adding, "Beginning Monday [September 7, 2009], the Committee will complete its work within six months." Subsequently, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on January 5, 2010, presented a 112-day Action Plan, proposing April 30, 2010, as the deadline for the completion of integration and rehabilitation of UCPN-M combatants. The Deputy Prime Minister expressed confidence that the Nepali Congress, which had refused to join the Special Committee, would rethink its decision.

On March 16, 2009, the Army Integration Special Committee (AISC) decided to constitute a Technical Committee for the Integration and Rehabilitation of the PLA combatants with the Nepal Army. The AISC meeting held at the Prime Minister's Office at Singhadurbar (Parliament) decided to create the Technical Committee, since crucial tasks relating to the integration could not be carried because the AISC was a political, and not technical, committee.

Again, on January 6, 2010, the AISC started deliberations on proposals tabled by Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, with the objective of finishing all works related to the Maoist combatants, including their integration, by April 30, 2010.

The integration process has, however, failed to reach any logical conclusion, with every initiative stalled by the lack of consensus among the political parties and their growing mutual distrust.

Indeed, on July 18, 2008, Peace and Reconstruction Minister Ram Chandra Poudel declared that the PLA could be integrated into any national security organs. Poudel insisted that integration of PLA combatants with security agencies would ‘complicate’ the overall security situation. Joining the chorus, on September 3, 2008, Nepali Congress leader, Ram Sharan Mahat, declared that the PLA should not be integrated into the national army ‘at any cost’. He threatened to take ‘strong action’ if PLA combatants were integrated into the national Army.

On September 25, 2008, Arjun Narsingh Khatri Chhetri, spokesperson of the NC, warned that the country would face a new round of conflict if the Government attempted to integrate the PLA with the NA in ‘violation’ of peace pacts and earlier agreements.

More recently, on January 19, 2010, Defense Minister Bidhya Devi Bhandari stated that all the decisions the Prime Minister had made could not be implemented, and that her Ministry was not obliged to integrate Maoist combatants with the NA. Expressing her dissatisfaction over the failure to include the Defense Ministry and NA representatives in the AISC, Bhandari argued that, since it was not mentioned in the Comprehensive Peace Accord, the integration of former Maoist fighters into the national Army was ‘not compulsory’, even if the AISC decided on the modalities of such integration.

The unwillingness of all political formations, except UCPN-M, to implement the proposals for PLA integration is rooted in the apprehensions that, if a substantial number of Maoist combatants were inducted into the NA, there was significant risk of political subversion of the Force in its entirety.

The Maoists, nevertheless, are no less responsible for the delay, and have created a great deal of ambiguity around their plans for integration, even as their political postures and statements have fanned fears. On their own statements, it is clear that, once the PLA has been inducted into the national Army, their plans for the seizure of power would be easier than they ever have been. On May 3, 2009, Prachanda, addressing PLA combatants in a meeting at Shaktikhor Cantonment in Chitwan, declared that the Party had deceived all into believing that the number of PLA was 35,000, when it was never actually more than 8,000. Thus, the PLA had grown as a result of the peace process, rather than been reduced as had been widely assumed. He added, further, that apart from the the PLA, which had already become a "regular army", the Party had also formed the YCL, comprising thousands of youth, "who now add to our strength". The Maoist Chairman also revealed that a significant share of the money intended for "our martyrs" in villages throughout the country and for the PLA in cantonments, would be used by the Party to prepare for a final revolt to "capture the state": "You all know that if we have enough money in our hands we can prepare a good battle plan. So, the Party needs a good amount of money for the revolt." He stated, further, that though the Party may appear to have again reached a compromise (with the state and other political parties), "if you look deeply then you will know how seriously the Party is preparing for the ultimate revolt". Claiming that PLA combatants were "politically aware", he said, even the entry of a small number into the Nepalese Army was enough to establish a complete Maoist control over the Army.

Such declarations can only have hardened the resistance to integration among other political formation. There were, moreover, numerous instances of the involvement of PLA cadres in breaches of the various agreements intended to govern their conduct. Some of these included:

December 20, 2006: Over two dozen people – including Policemen and civilians – sustained injuries after some 300 PLA combatants from a satellite camp attacked an all-party meeting at Katari Bazar in Udaypur District.

September 14, 2007: PLA cadres came out of their cantonments in Arunkhola of Nawalparasi and demonstrated for an hour, demanding the implementation of the 22-points raised by the Maoists.

October 3, 2007: PLA cadres from the ‘Third Division’ at Shaktikhor in Chitwan District staged a blockade of the East-West Mahendra Highway when the Police prevented them from carting timber into their camp at Shaktikhor.

March 13, 2009: PLA cadres from Jit Smriti Brigade indiscriminately attacked a rally organised by locals of the Kalyan VDC-3 in the Surkhet District protesting the ongoing PLA raids in the village. Following an attack on a Maoist combatant by some locals over a dispute during Holi (the festival of colours) on March 11, PLA cadres from Jit Smriti Brigade repeatedly raided houses under the Kalyan Village Development Committee (VDC), assaulting villagers in acts of reprisal.

August 4, 2009: Organising a Press conference at Damak, the Kochila State Committee of the Matrika Yadav-led CPN-Maoist said that PLA fighters of the First Division Cantonment had abducted two of its District leaders, Santa Rai and Sharan Rai, from Damak in Jhapa District on August 3. Santa was the Chairman of the Jhapa Committee whereas Sharan was the assistant coordinator of the Party's ‘security branch’. Both were former PLA combatants who defected to the Yadav-led CPN-Maoist.

August 14, 2009: Some 200 PLA combatants came out of their cantonment and assaulted locals in the Kailali District. The assailants, belonging to the Bahubiryodha Brigade in Sahajpur, attacked 36 locals at Shantipur in the Nigali Village Development Committee-1 area. The victims alleged that they could not complain immediately after the incident since the PLA personnel had threatened them with ‘dire consequences’ if they informed the Police and media. Trouble reportedly broke out when locals questioned four PLA combatants who were consuming alcohol at a shop in Shantipur.

November 23, 2009: Police arrested Narendra Tamrakar, PLA ‘commander’ of Masuriya-based cantonment, on the charge of abducting a girl, Kalawati Tamrakar (18), in Dadeldhura District. Narendra was caught from Ajayameru VDC-7 on the same day. According to eyewitness accounts, seven men, including Narendra, had grabbed Kalawati and took her away in broad daylight. Deputy Superintendent of Police Chakra Bahadur Singh said that the other six men involved in the abduction were on the run and a Police team has been mobilized to search and arrest them. Kalawati was handed over to her family.

PLA cadres are also reported to routinely leave their respective cantonments, carrying arms and destructive weapons.

The activities of the YCL have given grounds for more urgent fears, since widespread intimidation and extortion across the country – and including capital, Kathmandu – has been reported.

Given the fractious relations between political formations in Nepal, the tardy process of Constitution drafting, and widespread brinkmanship, expectations of any early integration of the PLA with the NA may well be belied, even as any permanent resolution to the crisis in Nepal remains elusive. While the other political formations remain largely obstructive and directionless, the Maoists continue to push the envelope through tactics such as the disruptive strikes of May 2010, expanding and consolidating their cadres, and positioning themselves for an eventual takeover.

The only tentative prospect that this outcome may be averted arises from the possibility that this process will take a great deal of time, and that, in the intervening years the Maoist leadership will be ‘co-opted’ by the corruption of Nepal’s parliamentary democracy, even as the rank and file of the Party lose their taste for combat.

There is no cost to wishful thinking, but the price eventually to be paid is often prohibitive.

Anshuman Behera is a Research Assistant for the Institute for Conflict Management. This article first appeared at the South Asia Terrorist Portal - SATP - (http://www.satp.org) - produced by the Institute of Conflict Management.

Everest climbers to get free Nepal visas

KATHMANDU (Reuters Life!) - Foreign mountaineers who have climbed Mount Everest and another peak will get free Nepali visas for two years, part of a scheme to boost tourism in the Himalayan nation, a senior government official said.

More than 4,000 climbers have scaled the 8,850 metre (29,035 feet) Everest summit since it was first climbed by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa in 1953. Some 700 of these foreigners are said to be still alive.

"We will waive the visa fees for them to visit Nepal in 2010 and 2011 part of the Nepal Tourism Year plan," Ranjan Aryal, the most senior bureaucrat in the tourism ministry told Reuters this week.

Himalayan Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest, has designated 2011 as the year to boost tourism. It plans to receive one million visitors next year, up from nearly half a million now.

Tourism accounts for 4 percent of the gross domestic product but travel officials say political unrest, frequent general strikes and shutdowns of transportation and roads had hit the industry.

Officials said nearly 200 foreigners who have climbed Mount Dhaulagiri, the world's seventh highest at 8,167 metres (26,794 feet), would also get free visa this year and in 2011 as Nepal marks the 50th anniversary this week of the first ascent of Dhaulagiri by a Swiss-Austrian expedition.

Climbers will also get a 50 percent discount in climbing fees for Dhaulagiri for the rest of 2010 and all of next year as part of the celebrations, another official said.

Each foreign climber has to pay $5,000 to the government as royalty for climbing Dhaulagiri.

After Maoist Protests, Nepal Faces a Murky Future

Not long ago, unprecedented change seemed to be sweeping the mountainous nation of Nepal. Following the end of a violent civil war in 2006 and a historic election in 2008, the Himalayan kingdom, ruled for decades by the almost divine right of its monarchs, became a secular republic. Maoist rebels, who once preached armed struggle and proletarian revolution, donned suits and went about promoting capitalist industry. But since then, Nepal's fortunes have hardly improved. Indeed, for many Nepalis, the country's dream of transformation has turned into an interminable nightmare.

Last week, traffic in Kathmandu was bullied off the streets as tens of thousands of Maoist protesters hoping to topple the current government barricaded stretches of the capital's main road on May 4. Countless businesses were forced to shutter, costing Nepal's meager economy an estimated $300 million over the six days of the demonstrations. The strike was only lifted on the night of May 7 after widespread anger and counter-protests — as well as reports of dysentery and diarrhea among tired Maoist activists — apparently convinced the Maoist leadership to back down.

But the way forward is as uncertain as ever. After waging a decade-long war against the royalist state that saw the deaths of over 13,000 people, the Maoists became the driving force of a peace process meant to usher in a new democratic era for Nepal. In a landmark April 2008 election, they won the majority of seats and formed the government that would, in theory, draft a new constitution and steer Nepal away from the great inequities of its monarchical past. Yet little was achieved in a country riven by political factions and feudal enmities; last May, the Maoists backed away from power when their firing of the country's army chief, a longtime foe, was blocked by other parties in government.

Opponents have questioned the Maoists' ability to truly renounce their militant past — a fear made all the more real by recent fiery proclamations of Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the Maoist leader better known by his nom de guerre, Prachanda, meaning the "fierce one." On Saturday, the day after lifting the general strike, he thundered to a mass rally in Kathmandu that the strike that had crippled the nation for a week "was only a dress rehearsal... We will put on the real show in the days to come." Since the strike has been called off, there have been reports of fresh protests and disturbances.

The Maoists have refused recent overtures to sit down to talks with the government, an ungainly coalition of 22 parties patched together to replace the Maoist-dominated administration. Critics, the Maoists chief among them, say the present regime is weak, corrupt and lacks a popular mandate. Dinanath Sharma, a Maoist spokesman, calls it "unnaturally formed. It's undemocratic and against the spirit of the peace process." Many Maoist supporters who flocked to the capital to participate in last week's lockdown have no intention of disbanding. "I will stay in Kathmandu as long as the movement continues," says Ashok Shrestha, a Maoist party worker from the west of the country, now camped out with colleagues in the corridors of a shopping complex in the capital.

Key to the conflict has been the fate of thousands of Maoist soldiers still housed in U.N.-monitored cantonments across the country — according to various agreements, they are expected to integrate with the same Nepali Army they once bitterly opposed. The deadline for the process has passed and it has yet to happen. Both sides accuse the other of having their own agendas for delaying this vital step toward political unity: the Maoists see themselves arrayed against an old guard eager to return to the royalist era; opponents think the Maoists ultimately do not want to shed their fatigues for civilian life and democratic politics. Pradeep Gyawali, a prominent politician within the government, speaks darkly of the Maoists' intentions. "This strike was a trial run for an urban uprising," Gyawali says, adding that Prachanda's cadres received inspiration from the success of the recent mass agitations in Thailand and Kyrgyzstan that convulsed the politics of both countries.

Meanwhile, the country teeters toward a precipice. Nepal's elected assembly was supposed to have ratified a new constitution by May 28. But the parties, including the Maoists, are nowhere close to an agreement by that date, after which the interim charter that in essence underpins the whole state of affairs in the fragile nation will expire. It's a surreal and unsettling prospect for most Nepalis, who had high hopes for the much-vaunted peace process. "The political parties are steeped in petty interest," says Lokraj Baral, a leading Kathmandu-based commentator. "They have all forgotten the crucial task of drafting a constitution. They lack commitment to the larger interest of the country."

Nepal is in desperate need of broad-mindedness. Sandwiched between rising economic giants in India and China, the country is one of the poorest and worst performing in the world, with chronic food and power shortages and a steady drip of its 28 million population departing for menial jobs in the Gulf countries and Southeast Asia. It's not surprising that, with such entrenched poverty and political dysfunction, the grandstanding Maoists have attracted so vociferous a following. "None of the political parties looked after us, but the Maoists seemed honest," says Tilak Sirali, a 42-year-old laborer who left behind six children in his destitute village in the east to join the strikers in Kathmandu. "I came here with the hope that poor people like me will not have to suffer anymore."

But the Maoists' actions have only deepened the sense of crisis gripping Nepal. Krishna Sitaula, a party elder of the centrist Nepali Congress, hopes that last ditch talks in the coming weeks "can bring back the country from the brink." Foreign governments, a host of international organizations and NGOs as well as Kathmandu's civil society are all applying pressure on the various parties. If this fails, darker days loom. Says Sitaula: "A full-fledged confrontation is very likely."

Source: Time Magazine

Popular pressure spurs Nepal Maoists to end general strike

Nepal's Maoists ended a six-day general strike that had angered citizens and prompted 10,000 people to demonstrate in Kathmandu Friday. The move may signal their willingness to adopt a more conciliatory political stance.

Nepal's Maoists ended a six-day general strike Friday amid pressures to ensure that the increasingly unpopular strike did not further undermine their standing among the general population.

Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who goes by the name Prachanda, said in a press conference late Friday that Nepalese citizens should not be inconvenienced any further. He also said an end to the strike would deprive the government of opportunities to engineer clashes among Nepalese citizens.

“We have postponed the shutdown, but have not ended our other protests against this government,” he said.

But analysts said the Maoists' decision was forced by increasingly irate citizens. The strike disrupted food supplies and limited access to medical services. Clashes broke out in the capital with bused-in Maoist supporters. And Maoists came under fire for unleashing a conflict-era-style extortion campaign to feed the crowd, and commandeering private schools to shelter them.

By week's end, the upheaval appeared to have undermined any sympathy for the Maoists from the largely neutral citizens of Kathmandu, a group whose participation has been instrumental in all regime changes in Nepal’s history. Farmers and dairy owners were decrying the shutdown by throwing on the highways vegetable and milk that they could not take to the markets. On Friday, more than 10,000 people participated in a “peace gathering” in Kathmandu, and in Lalitpur district people overturned a truck carrying Maoist cadres and beat them up.

Ending the strike, some analysts say, may signal that Maoists are moving to adopt a more conciliatory approach that could change Nepal's troubled political landscape.

"The decision by the Maoists to ease the lives of ordinary citizens is a clear indication that they are feeling the heat," says columnist and lawyer Bhimarjun Acharya. “This is their response to the unpopularity of the shutdown and the consequent retaliation by locals against Maoist supporters."

“The Maoists made a mistake in trying to portray this shutdown as analogous to the nationwide protests in 2006,” Mr. Acharya adds, referring to the 19 days of nationwide protests in 2006 that forced King Gyanendra to relinquish executive authorities and kick-started the peace process. “Popular support comes from good agenda. This time the agenda is very personal."

Strike aimed to oust prime minister

The shutdown was meant to force Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal to step down and allow Maoist chairman Prachanda to lead a new government. “The second unspoken agenda of the shutdown was to shift the blame for the Constituent Assembly’s incompetence on ruling parties,” says Acharya. The assembly, elected in 2008 as part of the peace process, has until May 28 to draw a new constitution.

But a power struggle since May last year, when Prachanda’s coalition government collapsed over the sacking of an Army chief, has hindered the assembly’s work, making it impossible for the assembly to meet that deadline.

Yubaraj Ghimire, former editor of Kathmandu Post daily, says the strike cost the Maoists more than just popular support. It also cost them the recognition as a political force they enjoyed since 2006.

“More than anyone, the shutdown affected the farmers and daily wage earners who the Maoists claim to represent,” Mr. Ghimire says. “A half-hearted response will not help Maoists regain the respect they have lost from the grassroots."

Before Friday evening, the Maoists appeared intent on prolonging the strike, as calling it off without some face-saving result would demoralize their supporters who have spent days on the streets beaten down by the sun and pre-monsoon drizzle in Kathmandu. In the press conference Friday evening, Prachanda said he would hold a mass gathering in Kathmandu on Saturday to explain his decision.

Low-key government stand

The government took a low-key approach to handling the shutdown, directing security personnel not to use lethal force and to intervene only to control clashes. The strategy appeared to be to wait for the protesters and their leaders to tire out.

With more than simple majority support in the parliament, the prime minister is constitutionally entitled to continue to head the coalition government.

But a prolonged shutdown could have tested the prime minister’s competence, says Narayan Wagle, editor of Nagarik daily, as his government’s inability to ensure that Nepalese citizens enjoy their rights to live normal lives could have turned the tide against him.

Nepal faces yet another critical crossroads

May is when Nepal must decide to remain a competitive multiparty democracy or turn into a state slipping irrevocably into ultra-left quicksand fashioned by Maoist former rebels.

After being unable to muster a simple majority to support a no-confidence vote in parliament against the current government, the Maoists are set to launch an indefinite nationwide shutdown from May 2 in a bid to bring Madhav Kumar Nepal's government to its knees.
The decision by former Prime Minister Prachanda, supreme leader of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), to rally masses in the streets has created a climate of fear in Kathmandu where people are hoarding essentials and silently tolerating an extortionate campaign by the Maoists to feed and lodge their cadres during the shutdown.
The scale of the campaign, rampant in rural areas during a decade of armed conflict, was unheard of in Kathmandu.
But hundreds of thousands of Maoist cadres have already gathered from neighboring districts in Kathmandu, which will be the center of Maoist protests this time.
Several cadres have been arrested for possessing knives, while one Kathmandu-bound cadre was arrested in possession of a hand grenade, indicating the protests may turn violent.
The U.N. Mission in Nepal has called for an investigation and appropriate disciplinary action against the cadre.
The government that was formed after Prachanda's coalition collapsed last May over his sacking of the country's army chief is in a fix.
''Relenting to Maoist pressure and handing over the reins of the government to Prachanda will mean a permanent Maoist takeover,'' says Narayan Wagle, editor of the influential daily Nagarik.
The timing of the protests explains Wagle's argument.
The Maoists are set to enforce the shutdown just weeks before the expiry of the May 28 deadline for settling the future of more than 19,000 Maoist former combatants and promulgating a new Constitution.
Prachanda's plan, analysts say, is to form a new government under his leadership before May 28, exploit the chaotic post-May 28 scenario to prolong his government's life as long as he can and consolidate his party's grip on political life in Nepal.
''The Maoists already hold the lower class physically hostage,'' Wagle says. ''And with their repeated protests and shutdowns, they have achieved a psychological victory over the tired middle and upper-middle classes that are arguing that relenting to Maoist pressure is a far better option than facing indefinite shutdown.''
Premier Nepal, who is in Thimphu attending the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation summit, has said he is willing to step down if Nepal's fractious political parties can agree on a prime ministerial candidate other than Prachanda.
But the premier said that out of humility, Wagle says. ''He represents 22 political parties in his coalition and has to abide by their decision. If the 22 political parties refuse to relent, the other option for the government is a crackdown.''
So far, the government has indicated it will choose the second option.
Despite the ''show of humility'' by the premier, a moderate communist leader who comes from the country's third largest party, his government has issued directives to the Nepal Police, the Armed Police Force and the Nepal Army to remain on a high alert.
On Thursday, soldiers were seen drilling in Kathmandu, simulating a crackdown on protesters.
Ishwor Pokharel, general secretary of Premier Nepal's Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist), argues the Maoist demand only they should lead a government by virtue of their being the largest party in parliament holds little ground.
''Under Nepal's parliamentary system, one needs simple majority to form a government. Being the largest party isn't sufficient,'' he said. ''And the Maoists had a chance to govern, which they squandered.''
Wagle said if the government intends to safeguard democracy, it must not relent.
''Under a Maoist government, Nepal might remain a competitive multiparty system, but it will not be a competitive multiparty democracy,'' he said.
And Premier Nepal is likely to return from Thimphu to Kathmandu an emboldened man.
During a 30-minute meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Indian House in the SAARC village on Thursday, Singh pledged continued Indian support to Nepal's government, according to the Nepal's National News Agency.
That could mean a further hardening of positions in Nepal.
''The best course for the country would be to form an all-party government. But with Prachanda's insistence that only he should lead such a government and his decision to confront government forces, that option is also unlikely to be explored,'' Wagle said.
The power struggle has overshadowed Nepal's peace process.
The special assembly elected in April 2008 as part of the process aimed at settling the future of Maoist combatants and writing a new constitution by May 28 has few attendees these days.
Prachanda led a 10-year armed conflict against government forces until 2006, demanding the abolition of monarchy and a new constitution.
The special assembly where Maoists have the biggest presence abolished the country's 240-year-old monarchy in May 2008, but Prachanda's order last year to sack the army chief united rival parties, including those in his own coalition, against him and President Ram Baran Yadav countermanded the order.
Since then, Nepal's peace process has progressed at snail's pace with the Maoists focusing more on toppling the government than settling the future of their combatants and writing a constitution.

==Kyodo

South Korean Is First Woman to Scale 14 Highest Peaks

Climbing on all fours after 13 grueling hours, a diminutive South Korean woman, Oh Eun-sun, reached the summit of one of the Himalayan giants on Tuesday to lay claim to being the first woman to scale the world’s highest mountains.
In keeping with her country’s intense pride in its athletes, she pulled out a South Korean flag, raised her arms and shouted: “Hurray! Hurray!”

“I would like to share this joy with the South Korean people,” Oh, who is 5 feet 1 inch, said after reaching the summit of Annapurna in central Nepal.

South Koreans — who watched her climb because it was broadcast live by an accompanying camera team — hailed her as a national hero.

A message left on the Web site of the broadcaster KBS said: “All our people watched each step of your climb. You have demonstrated our country’s greatness all over the world.”

Annapurna was the last of the 14 peaks taller than 26,247 feet (8,000 meters) that Oh needed to climb to make history. She reached the summit — 26,545 feet above sea level — 13 years after she scaled her first Himalayan mountain, Gasherbrum II, in 1997.

“We recognize her achievement as the first woman climber to scale all the highest mountains in the world,” said Ang Tshering, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, according to The Associated Press.

Oh’s closest rival, Edurne Pasaban of Spain, scaled Annapurna this month but has yet to reach the 26,330-foot-high Mount Shisha Pangma.

Pasaban has raised questions about whether Oh actually reached the summit of Mount Kangchenjunga, the world’s third-highest peak, last year.

“Her sherpas told me that she didn’t reach the summit because of bad weather,” Pasaban told The Times of London recently.

In the absence of an international mountaineering body, Elizabeth Hawley, an 86-year-old American mountaineering journalist, is considered the final arbiter on such disputes. She agreed last week to record Oh’s ascent of Kangchenjunga as “disputed,” pending an investigation.

Oh, 34, scaled 4 of the 14 peaks last year but retreated several hundred feet from Annapurna’s summit because of bad weather.

On her historic climb, she was carrying a photograph of Ko Mi-young, her rival and fellow South Korean, who plummeted to her death last year while descending from Nanga Parbat, the world’s ninth-highest peak. Ko had climbed 11 of the 14 peaks.

“She showed us what challenge means,” Lee Myung-bak, the president of South Korea, said of Oh in his congratulatory message. “I am proud of her.”

Oh was bound to receive a hero’s welcome home in South Korea. Mountain-trekking is a national hobby in the country, where 70 percent of the land is mountainous.

Fewer than 20 people have made it to the top of the 14 peaks that are at least 26,247 feet high, including three South Korean men.

In recent weeks, the South Korean news media gave almost daily updates on Oh’s condition. On Tuesday, KBS showed hours of live coverage.

Nationalism looms large in sports in South Korea, a country obsessed with making a mark on the international scene. Kim Yu-na, the figure skater who won this year’s Olympic gold, is a national star.

News reports about sports stars winning world championships brim with patriotism. Reporters often ask the athletes to “say something to the people back home,” and they always thank “the people and the fatherland” before mentioning their family and loved ones.

“When life was hard and we were tired, sports have encouraged us with good news,” said Ko Dong-guk, one of hundreds of TV viewers who left congratulatory messages on the KBS Web site.

Maoist strike closes thousands of schools in Nepal

A strike called by former communist rebels shut down more than 8,000 private schools across this Himalayan nation over demands that school authorities reverse a decision to increase fees.

The student wing of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), the former communist rebels, warned the schools to stay closed or face violence until the new fees are withdrawn.

Surya Krishna Shrestha of the Private and Boarding Schools of Nepal, which decides school fee rates for its member schools, said more than 1 million students were forced to stay at home Monday.

Initial reports said a handful of schools that defied the strike call and opened were attacked, Shrestha said. Buses and buildings of these schools were vandalized, he said.

Private schools make up about 30 percent of the total schools in Nepal. Government-run schools remained open.

This academic year, private schools increased fees by an average of 25 percent. The Maoists' affiliated student union have insisted that hte fee increase was unfair and that it took place without appropriate input from consumer groups.

Education Ministry spokesman Lekhnath Poudel said the government was urging the two sides to resolve the differences through talks and reopen the schools. Poudel said the government was willing to mediate the dispute if invited to do so, but that it did not have the authority to intervene.

The Maoists gave up a decade-old armed revolt in 2006 to join a peace process. Since then they have confined their fighters in U.N.-monitored camps, joined mainstream politics and contested elections in 2008. They emerged as the largest political party and briefly led a coalition government before withdrawing to lead the opposition.

Passportgate makes Nepal cancel deal with India

KATHMANDU: After the 1950 Peace and Friendship Treaty that Nepal wants to scrap and the Integrated Mahakali Treaty for river-water sharing that Nepal’s parties say are against national interests, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal met his “Passport Gate” on Sunday, being forced to convene a late-night cabinet meeting and cancel a controversial new deal with India to print new Nepali passports.

Information and communications minister Shankar Pokhrel, who is also the spokesman of the coalition government, told waiting journalists at the end of the emergency meeting that the contract to Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India would be cancelled and the government would call for new bids following the advice of a parliamentary committee.

The passport debacle marks a blow against Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala, who is accused of “illegally” halting an earlier tender process to force the government into handing over the contract for printing 3 million Nepali passports to the Indian company. Koirala’s chances to assume her father Grija Prasad Koirala’s mantle as the leader of the Nepali Congress party will receive a serious setback with the passport climbdown.

It also shows up India’s Nepal policy in a poor light yet again. The passport contract was discussed by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna himself and the ministerial involvement, when it was common knowledge that a tender process was already in place, shows the Indian establishment’s chronic tendency to become dubiously involved in deals.

The Nepal government had floated a global tender and shortlisted four foreign companies to prin machine-readable passports. However, the tender process was stopped on the insistence of the Foreign Minister and given to the Indian state undertaking despite it quoting a higher rate and despite the Public Accounts Committee of parliament asking the government to follow the tender procedure.

The issue is now in court as well after two individuals filed public interest litigation applications separately. The Supreme Court will begin hearing them from Monday when it has asked the prime minister and foreign minister to appear before it.

The Maoists too have grabbed the opportunity to embarrass the prime minister and called a Nepal bandh Monday to protest against the deal with India. It was not known immediately whether they would still go ahead with the protest. The former guerrillas are also demanding the ouster of Nepal over the debacle.

Calif boy, 13, aims to be youngest on Everest

KATMANDU, Nepal — At age 13, Jordan Romero is headed to Mount Everest in an attempt to become the youngest person to scale the world's highest mountain — and complete his goal of climbing the highest peaks on all seven continents.

The teenager from Big Bear, California, was busy Saturday with his father Paul and stepmother Karen packing mountaineering gear and planning details of their expedition with three Sherpa guides who will accompany them.

The team leaves Katmandu, Nepal's capital, for China on Sunday and then will travel to the base camp on the Chinese side of the 29,035-foot (8,850-meter) mountain.
Jordan has already climbed the highest peaks on six other continents and hopes to reach Everest's summit in May.

"I just wanted to do something big, and this was something I wanted to do for myself. It was all about the experience and I just happen to be 13 at this time," Jordan told The Associated Press.

The record for the youngest climb of Everest is held by Temba Tsheri of Nepal, who reached the peak at age 16.

Jordan, who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa when he was 10 years old, says he was inspired by a painting in his school hallway of the seven continents' highest summits.

Everest, however, will be his first over 8,000 meters (26,240 feet).
"This will be a big leap, but we have been training for the altitude," he said.
His father and stepmother have also accompanied him on his previous climbs.

Jordan said he would not take any unnecessary risks and would turn around if they encounter problems like bad weather. He said he has read about past disasters on the mountain that have claimed many lives and has learned lessons from them.

"This may be the first of many attempts," he said. "It could take a couple of years, but I am determined to do it. If I don't reach the summit this time, I will try next time."

"I do feel ready," he said. "I feel very prepared emotionally, and definitely physically."

While he is acclimatizing at the base camp before the May push to the summit, Jordan plans to do his algebra homework, some book reports and write a journal about his experiences.

Apa Sherpa to Climb Everest for 20th Time

Nepali mountaineer Apa Sherpa, world record holder for 19 ascents of Mt. Qomolangma, is now attempting for his 20th ascent.
Popularly known as "Super Sherpa," Nepali hero Apa is back in Nepal to climb the mountain, also known as Everest, from Nepali side, but this time he is not climbing to the top of the world to keep world record and fame.
"I am climbing Everest 20th time not for personal name and fame, " said Apa in an interview with Xinhua on Tuesday.
"The major reason that I'm summitting Everest this time is to raise global awareness about the impact of climate change over Himalayas," said Apa who is summitting Everest as a Climbing Leader of Eco Everest Expedition 2010.
After successfully leading two sessions of Eco Everest Expedition held in 2008 and 2009 respectively, Apa is again leading Eco Everest Expedition 2010 for the third time with the noble reason of cleaning up garbage on Mt. Everest. This is the third time Asian Trekking in Nepal is launching Eco Everest Expedition.
After summitting the Everest 16 times in May 2007, Apa is leading Eco Everest Expedition till the date to clean garbage left by previous expeditions.
"New expedition teams are much aware and they don't leave any garbage they bring with them," he added.
"This time I'm climbing Everest for the shake of my country. Since, Himalayas are melting day by day due to global warming and climate change, it's time to save our Himalayas," he added.
According to Apa, as snow-clad white mountains are melting due to climate change, parts of the white mountains have turned into dark rocks.
"Appearance of dark rocks over white mountains have made mountaineers' way to Everest much tougher to conquer their destination," said Apa, comparing the past and present of Everest.
Apa first reached the summit of Mt. Everest on May 10, 1990 with a New Zealand team led by climber Peter Hillary, son of Edmund Hillary.
Before leaving Nepali capital Kathmandu for the Eco Everest Expedition on Tuesday, Apa said that the expedition may take two months. But the team is hoping to return by May 29 to mark the International Everest Day.
Meanwhile, the Eco Everest Expedition 2010 once again focuses on climbing in an eco-sensitive manner, bringing old garbage, and all human waste produced on the mountain down to base camp for proper disposal.
The expedition will also be using the highly successful alternative energy solutions like the parabolic solar cookers and the SteriPENs for water purification.
"In 2008 expedition the Eco Everest Expedition team brought down 965 kg of garbage including 65 kg of human waste.
In 2009, the team brought down 6,000 kg of garbage under the " Cash for Trash" program which included 700 kg of wreckage of an Italian Army helicopter crashed between Camp I and II during the Italian Everest Expedition in 1973," Apa told Xinhua.
Moreover, Eco Everest Expedition 2010 team plans to collect and bring down 6,000 kg of garbage from Camp II and below under the " Cash for Trash" program.
Similarly, the expedition aims to bring down 1,000 kg of garbage from above Camp II under the "Cleaning up Everest" program. Cleaning the trails at 6,500-meter and above will need a special team of 10 Sherpas who will dig out frozen garbage as well as clear up garbage found on the route.
The collected garbage will be ferried down to Base Camp where it will be sorted into biodegradable and burnable which will be handed over to the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee for proper disposal, according to Apa.