Bhumika Ghimire

Here is the press release by OHCHR which has made Mr Mahara mad. Poor guy..he thinks that all “black-deeds” of the Maoists will be buried like his murder victims once he has the power.

UNITED NATIONS

OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER

FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN NEPAL

Press Release-27 June 2006

OHCHR URGES THE INVESTIGATION AND PREVENTION OF SERIOUS HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES BY CPN-M

At a meeting with the CPN-M leadership on 23 June 2006 and in a subsequent letter of 26 June, OHCHR raised its concerns regarding a series of abductions and killings attributed to CPN-M cadres in the Central Region, which have resulted in the deaths of nine individuals since 3 May 2006. It also raised the cases of two individuals who were reportedly abducted in Kathmandu and severely beaten in Kavre. In most of the cases, the victims were accused of “crimes” or “offences” and were apparently under investigation. In some of those cases, local CPN-M leaders had accepted responsibility and had apologized. OHCHR remains concerned, however, that civilians continue to be abducted and held by the CPN-M in spite of repeated expressions of concern by OHCHR.

During the meeting with OHCHR, the CPN-M leadership gave assurances that such killings are not CPN-M policy and that the CPN-M takes these cases very seriously. It also stated that investigations will be carried out and that any CPN-M cadres found responsible will be punished. Read the rest of this entry »

Who gonna manage them comrade?

Just two days after US ambassador James F. Moriarty expressed doubts over Maoists that the present situation suits them and they can revive the October Revolution in the country, Maoist supremo Prachanda has proposed to put the Nepali Army and “People’s Liberation Army” under the same command after formation of an interim government.

“We are ready to put the armed forces of both sides under a single command when a government is formed as per the new interim statute and the Prime Minister of the day will be the supreme commander of the combined army,” Prachanda said.

That sounds great! But supreme comrade, who will be the PM of the day? You?  If yes then all Moriarty’s doubts will be true. And If not then how can we expect your brainwashed militia to accept the command from any other prime minister.

Will the Maoists forgive the forces for killing their friends and families?

Comrade, by now you should have realized the political axiom that it is easy to talk and put all blames on others but it is always difficult to do something. “’If talks fail, there will definitely be an October Revolution of its own kind in Nepal,” you told us and you also believe that bringing UN to manage arms and weapons is ‘useless’. So it seems to us, the ordinary people, that you are already surrounded by massive doubts. So where do expect to lead us with you yourself spinning around in doubts? Read the rest of this entry »

Senior Leader of the CPN-UML, Bamdev Gautam, planting paddy siblings during the Rice Plantation festival, also known as “Ashar Pandhra”, at Bungmati village on Thursday.

Photo: Narendra Shrestha via Ekantipur

A Nepali student from St. Cloud University, Minnesota has gone missing in the small town of Estes Park, Colorado since the last four days. She was working at an ice cream shop in Estes Park. The last time she was seen was when she left for her job from her apartment complex. The law enforcement agencies are working on this case. Meanwhile, we have been trying to disseminate this information to as many people as possible.

Name: Pratishtha Budathoki
Last Seen: June 18th, 2006
Age: 20 years
 
Pratishtha Budathoki, student from St. Cloud University has been missing since June 18th, 2006 from Estes Park, Colorado. Police has been notified and her picture has been posted all over the town. Please contact us or at the number below if you have any information.

Contact:
Ajay Pradhan 720-732-6141
Manish Kharel (970-420-9198)
Estes Park Police Department: 970-586-4000

How safe is Nepali sky?

Nepal’s skyways are by no means busy, nor are the airports crowded with frequent fliers, but air disasters are frequent in Nepal. Aging fleets, hostile mountaneous terrain, overloading, and daredevil pilots are some of the reasons behind these disasters.

The national flag carrier, Nepal Airlines’ fleet of over-two-decade-old Canadian-built Twin Otters with the same old flight equipment still service Nepal’s remote mountain destinations. Private airlines aren’t any better. Barring a few, most private airlines have been operating similar types of old aircrafts - some of them with zero flight hour engines. Necon Air’s grounded fleet of Avros and Cosmic Air’s grounded Fokker 100s are just a couple of examples.

Cosmic was operating those planes till the leasing company put pressure on the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, CAAN, to ground them.

Security personnel recover bodies of passangers killed in the Yeti Airlines flight to Jumla that crashed just before landing at Jumla airport on Wednesday killing all nine on board, including 3 crewmen.
Photo: Navaraj Shahi via Kantipur

Local residents gather at the crash site.
Photo: Navaraj Shahi via Kantipur

King Gyanendra and Maoist rebel leader Prachanda, the instigators of many killings, attacks and arrests of journalists, were removed today from the Reporters Without Borders list of Press Freedom Predators because the king has ceded power to parliament and government, and Prachanda signed a political accord with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala on 16 June undertaking to respect democracy and press freedom.

“The press freedom predators have been defeated or forced to accept the rules of democracy and pluralism in Nepal,” Reporters Without Borders said. “But we will continue to monitor developments. A journalist has just been threatened by Maoist cadres in Chitwan. This is unacceptable under the terms of the accord signed by Prachanda.” Read the rest of this entry »

Updated…..

Students of the Amrit Science College (ASCOL) protesting against the transfer of Inspector Aabhusan Timilsina on Thursday. Timilsina faces action from Valley Police Office for handcuffing a top royalist Bharat K. Singh along with his two sons at Lainchour on Tuesday night. According to a police source, Timalsina was being made a “scapegoat” under direct pressure from the royal palace.
Photo: Narendra Shrestha via Ekantipur

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President of World Hindu Federation and a top palace loyalist Bharat Keshar Singh, along with his two sons-Ajaya Keshar and Ananta Keshar, was beaten badly by the locals and students at Lainchaur on Tuesday night. 

The enraged locals also torched their Toyota Corolla car, registration number Ba 1 Cha 6689.

Eyewitnesses said a scuffle between the Singh brothers and locals ensued after the car hit a motorcycle parked in front of Malla Hotel. As the Singh brothers began scolding and beating up the motorcycle owner, Angdawa Sherpa, over 3,000 people gathered at the site.

The situation turned worse after dozens of students from Amrit Science Campus hostel joined the locals at the site. Eyewitnesses said the students turned violent soon after they learnt that Bharat Keshar, a close aide to the king, had beaten a youth. The agitated locals beat up the Singh brothers, leaving them seriously injured.

Following the incident, Bharat Keshar and his sons had rushed inside Malla Hotel for safety. The mob pelted stones at the hotel and burnt down Singh’s car left near the hotel gate.

Police patrols that reached the site handcuffed Singh and his sons and took them outside the hotel premises. The mob pelted stones at Bharat Keshar while he was being taken outside the hotel. He was seriously injured in the incident. The locals beat up the trio even after they were put in a police van.

Police said Bharat Keshar was taken to the Army Hospital, Chhauni while his sons were placed in custody at Kathmandu District Police Office (KDPO), Hanumandhoka.

Now Bharat Keshar Singh including other royalists must have realized the power of people. With their heydays gone, they have to surrender to the civilians, otherwise they know what to expect from the people!

The police inspector, who handcuffed Singh yesterday, has been transferred from the Area Police Office, Durbarmarg to District Police Office, Hanumandhoka.

Followup news   (english) (nepali)

Angadawa receives death threat from Bharat Keshar Singh’s men

Bharat Keshar Singh is being taken towards the hospital after being beaten by locals and students at Lainchore, Kathmandu.
KANTIPUR PHOTO: NARENDRA SHRESTHA

Ajaya and Ananta, sons of Bharat Keshar Singh, are being beaten by angry students and locals at Lainchore, Kathmandu on Tuesday night.
KANTIPUR PHOTO: NARENDRA SHRESTHA

A private car belonging Bharat Keshar Singh is set ablaze by locals and students at Lainchour in Kathmandu on Tuesday.
PHOTO: NARENDRA SHRESTHA

File photo, taken on May 30, 2006, 8:40 PM; Lansing, MI, USA, altitude 860 ft - The sun was hidden behind the clouds most of the day and it was already dark, but then the rain stopped at around 8:30 PM and - lo and behold - there was sunshine again, and a rainbow too.

The sun set at 9:08PM on that day, but it was twilight till 9:42 Pm.

For today (June 19, 2006), Length of Day (time between sunrise and sunset) is 15h 20m and Length Of Visible Light is 16h 30m.

President of CPN Maoist (PLA Cheif) Puspa Kamal Dahal (aka Prachanda) talks to journalists following a 11-hour-long “historic summit meeting” with PM GP Koirala at the latter’s official residence at Baluwatar on Friday, June 16, 2006. Prachand is flanked on the left by Maoist second-in-command Dr Baburam Bhattarai and on the right by CPN-UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, government chief negotiator and Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula and former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba.

Photo: Bikash Karki/Kantipur

[ The following is a paper presented by Suman Pradhan at a symposium entitled “Nepal Briefing: A Social, Political, and Economic Update” held at the Northern California Center of the Asia Society in San Francisco on June 14, 2006. The program was part of the Asia Society’s ongoing Country Briefing Series and was organized in association with the Nepal Association of Northern California ]

I have been asked by the program organizers to give a brief historical overview of Nepal’s political turmoil. I thank the organizers for this opportunity, but I also want to stress that I am not an expert, merely an observer of events. And even so, I have not been able to observe recent events back home, ensconced as I have been at Stanford. So even before I begin, I apologize for any shortcomings in my presentation.

I’d like to begin with an anecdote. I recall a moment 11 years ago when I was a young reporter at The Kathmandu Post newspaper. I had written a news report on a mass rally organized by Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP). The NSP, as many of you know, represents the Madhesis of Nepal who have historically felt excluded from the mainstream. They inhabit the south and share the language and culture of our southern neighbour. My report dwelt with some of the grievances felt by the NSP, namely their demand for more representation in government and bureaucracy. The news was not published. My senior editors felt “it was too inflammatory, and that it risked upsetting the communal harmony of the country.” And this was at a time when Nepalis of all stripes were crying hoarse over the ill-treatment of Nepali-Bhutanese in Bhutan. We just failed to see how the two issues, different on the surface, were actually one and the same.

Fast forward now to the present. Almost all news organizations in Nepal today compete with one another to report the latest grievances, view-points, demands of the various political parties, ethnic, religious and linguistic groups. No stories of this nature are killed by editors these days. Indeed, Nepal is witnessing a spirited debate on all these fronts. How the times have changed. And for this, you have to credit the Maoists. While there are many questions over the Maoists’ true intentions and their ultimate goal, while they have shown themselves to be brutal in numerous instances during the conflict, one cannot deny that they have given voice to the hitherto unspoken grievances felt by Nepal’s excluded communities. More than their weapons, it is this that has helped the Maoists become a potent political force today. It is sad that Nepal’s excluded communities had to ally with a violent group to bring their grievances to the fore. That need not have happened, if only our political parties and our leaders had addressed these issues from 1990. Read the rest of this entry »

Hundreds of left-leaning, anti-monarchy students at Kathmandu’s Amrit Science College burned an effigy of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala on Thursday, 15 June 2006. The students were angered by Koirala’s public remarks a day earlier in which he said he was in favour of a ceremonial role for the King.
PHOTO: NARENDRA SHRESTHA/Kantipur

Some enterprising Austrian Über-geeks have created a Telnet stream with, believe it or not, live ASCII footage of the 2006 World Cup matches being played.

Simply fire up a command prompt and type “telnet ascii-wm.net 2006” and you’ll find a live “video” stream from 10 minutes before kick-off.

If you get “too many connections…” message, try the mirror “telnet diego.ascii-wm.net 2006″. For instructions on how to fire up a telnet session on different operating systems, go to http://ascii-wm.net/ and click on the “HOW-TO” link on the bottom left.

You might also wanna have a look at this ping pong game in GIF http://www.geocities.com/schmoe64/pong.gif