Suspected Maoist insurgents detonated an explosive device Friday morning at a school in Dailekh district in far-western Nepal, where 204 10th graders were sitting in for their School Leaving Certificate exams, the Kantipur daily reported.
Clockwise from top left:

1. SLC answer sheets and question papers in the classroom after the blast.
2. Students injured in the blast udergoing treatment at a nearby hospital.
3. Students heading towards the district headquarters as they refused to sit in for the exam after the blast.

Photo: Harihar Singh Rathaur

There is a saying in Nepali “नाङ्लो देखाएर हात्ती तर्साउने” (to scare away the elephant with a disc shaped winnow). That’s how Home Minister Kamal Thapa, one of King Gyanendra’s top lieutenants in the Royal government, seems to be hoping to quash the upcoming people’s mass movement. That much is evident from a recent press release issued by Mr. Thapa’s Home Ministry.

With the SPA sponsored general strike and “showdown” just round the corner, the royalists are getting jittery. So, in an apparent bid to boost morale and also be seen as a hero in the eyes of both his master and the rank and file in his camp, Mr Thapa has issued stern warnings against anyone trying to support the movement. Mr. Thapa is effectively saying to the general public, “Stay inside the house; for if you come out, you may not return home in one piece. We’ve got the guns and we will not hesitate to use them against anyone seen to be siding with the Maoists.” Mr Thapa has also instructed anyone who does not hail from the Kathmandu valley to defer travel to the capital and to carry full identification documents if travel they must. The army issued a separate statement claiming it’s got credible intelligence that an armed special task force of the Maoists has entered the valley to try to blend in with the SPA demonstrators. Read the rest of this entry »

John Narayan Parajuli

A Fair trial means a fair approach too. Milosevic’s death has put spotlight on the workings of the international tribunal in Hague.

Slobodan Milosevic was no angel. Implicated in some of the most heinous crimes in history, he had been fighting his battle before an international tribunal in the Hague. The law was taking its course, until death enigmatically intervened. Read the rest of this entry »

MEDIA MISSION WARPS UP ITS SIX-DAY NEPAL VISIT

Mission Statement by International Organisations

International Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression Mission to Nepal

25 March 2006

The freedom of expression and press freedom situation in Nepal has not improved since the ‘International Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression Mission’ previously visited the country as a group in July 2005. The intimidation, harassment, attacks and detention of media professionals, particularly in the districts, have continued. Furthermore, government pressure on independent media, especially through ‘one-door advertisement policy’, and self-censorship as a result of the actions of the national authorities, security forces and combatant parties have increased. Read the rest of this entry »

By HB Kham

Normally it does not seem to be so big issue if we look at from news worthy angle. But things may get compounded and in the long run Bagale’s dismissal and coverage in one of the biggest private publication may harm its reputation.

Suppose police force was making insidious ploys against this publication and according to the pre-planned ploys they sent Bagale to enter the compounds of the media house and reported his complaints. Then what might happen? Read the rest of this entry »

The royal government of Nepal has finally proven its democratic credentials  by raiding the houses of UML leader Madhav Nepal  and his two brothers; confiscating their communication equipment and taking the UML leader into custody on trumped-up charges. The vestiges of the obsolete autocratic Panchayat polity, who currently rule Nepal with the support of the King’s army, seem to be under the delusion that they can hold on to power a little longer by suppressing the voice of dissent. I would not even call it suppression; for it is in fact a sign of desperation.  The despot and his cronies may appear to be “waving but [in fact they are] drowning”. Read the rest of this entry »

कृष्ण अधिकारी

रोल्पाको थवाङ स्थित शहिद स्मृति नमूना प्राथमिक विदालयका प्रधानाध्यापक अनुलाई आजकाल एउटै चिन्ताले पिरोहल्न थालेको छ । त्यो हो ‘जनवादी शिक्षा’ बालबालिकालाई कसरी सहज ढंगबाट पठनपाठन गराउने ।

माओवादीले आफ्नो ‘राजधानी’ भन्दै आएको रोल्पाको थवाङमा २०६१ फागुन देखि जनवादी स्कुल संचालन गरेका छन् । ४ देखि १३ वर्षका ४९ बालबालिकालाई जनवादी शिक्षा पठाउन रोका र उनका अन्य २ सहयोगी लागि परेका छन् ।

तर पर्याप्त प्रशिक्षण र पाठ्यपुस्तकको सम्म व्यवस्था नहुादा जनवादी शिक्षाको उद्देश्य पुरा गर्नका लागि बालबालिकाहरु लाई दिइने ज्ञान र त्यस्तो ज्ञान प्रदान गर्दा प्रयोग गर्ने विधी र अनुभवहरु उद्देश्य अनुसार बालबालिकाहरुले पाएका छन् या छैनन् भन्ने कुरामा प्राध्यापक अनु आफै प्रष्ट भइसकेका छैनन् । Read the rest of this entry »

Ram Bahadur Bomjon, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances on March 13 after “299 days of mediation without food and water”,  reappeared briefly some 3 Km southwest of the forest at Ratanpuri, Bara, on Sunday (March 19). The ‘Buddha Boy’ reportedly vanished after reappearing for half an hour. This picture was captured from a video footage of Bomjon’s reappearance made available by Om Namobuddha Committee on Monday.

Photo: Upendra Lamichhane

WONDER IF THIS COULD BE THE RIGHT FORMULA FOR ALL MY WOES? King Gyanendra reads the label on a medicine bottle during an inspection tour of the Armed Police Force Hospital named after him at Balambu, Kathmandu on Monday.
Photo: Bikash Karki via Kantipur

Crown Prince Paras and Princess Himani left for Vienna, Austria on Sunday reportedly on a honeymoon trip just to get a little respite from the political turmoil in the country.

The young couple’s retinue comprises Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey, and about two dozen officials with the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation.

The cost of the trip has also made the headline. The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has released about Rs 60 million to finance the visit to Austria and unofficial visits to UAE and France. Read the rest of this entry »

By S. Green

Finally the much awaited result comes out: The 7-party alliance and Maoists are able to give continuity to the 12-point accord, with renewed commitment to it. Both sides agree that the 12-point accord is the real basis for the resolution of the current conflict. Strategically, the 2nd release postpones the issue of constituent assembly (CA) in the sense that both sides maintain difference in their stance of its details, which they hope to work out in future meetings. This move is to give continuity to the movement without a possible confusion between the two sides for the time being. What the 7-party alliance and Maoists are saying is, “Let us deal with the king first, and then we deal with our difference about the details of the CA later.”

Consequently, in their renewal of the 12-point accord, the Maoists on Sunday have called off the on-going road blockade that has crippled life in the country for the last six days and has left its roads empty. They have also called off a nationwide strike they had announced from April 3, which roused fears that the King would crack down on all the announced protests then and hurt the movement. Read the rest of this entry »

Maoists torch two tankers carrying milk along the Prithvi Highway at Belbhanjyang, Tanahun, just hours before lifting the nationwide economic blockade. The rebels called off their blockade of the district and zonal headquarters with effect from March 20. The Maoists say all their strikes and protest programmes were lifted in view of developing and intensifying the joint movement for democracy in line with the 12-point understanding reached with the seven-party alliance.

Photo: Ghanashyam Khadka via Kantipur