#532 17 - 23 December 2010 16 pages Rs 30

Representatives of the 27parties focus on the task at

hand while debating whetherto extend the term of the High

Level Taskforce, Sunday

hatever the motivationsof those demanding aparliamentary session,

and those in governmentopposing it, the fact remains that

Getting down to businessthere�’s a lot of work pending. Inthis sense alone, the President�’saction to call for a session from19 December cannot really befaulted.

This does not mean thehonourable members of the CAwill actually achieve much, withdecisions largely relegated to thehead honchos of the three

political parties. But a caretakergovernment that doesn�’t even carefor the niceties of parliamentaryprocess is rather less than agovernment. Let the games begin.

Microfinance is one way to tacklepoverty household by household.

In Nepal�’s energy-starved economy,every little bit counts. Does windpower make the grade?

Nobel winner Elinor Ostrom inconversation with Kanak Mani Dixit

Wp12

p13

p15

ON THE WEBwww.nepalitimes.com

TALKING BUSINESSGood write up (�‘Business Reporting�’,Ashutosh Tiwari, #531). These tipswill be of substantial help to peoplewho want to improve the level ofjournalism focusing on the businessenvironment of Nepal.

As a serial entrepreneur, I wouldwelcome more quality business/economic analyses and reporting inour media rather than politicalramblings that go on and on and grabthe headlines instead these days. Yourpoints are good advice to anyjournalism reporter or student whowants to focus on business reporting(and help focus on Nepal�’s positivesrather than negatives)

Ujwal Thapa, http://whynepal.com

SOLUTIONS FOR THE SYSTEMA system is greater than the sum of itsparts (�‘Better, not good�’, PrashantJha, #531). Despite the machinationsof the multiple actors, the 2006 systemhas been able to adapt and lock invarious group interests. Thesuccesses of Madhesi parties are anobvious example. What is necessarynow is that missing component:justice.

There are potential methods tomanage this contradiction of peacewithout justice in the 2006 transitionalsystem. The Special Security Planshould have been balanced by either atruth and reconciliation commission ora commission on the disappeared.This policy would have been acombination of both coercion andjustice mechanisms.

One of the main causes ofinstability in the 2006 system are thetwo armies. I can�’t provide an answeron how to manage that intractableproblem. However, a just peace, andthus a lasting peace, cannot occurwithout a decision on the final status ofthe two-army problem.

Yes, the system has failed toprovide tangible benefits in the form ofunemployment. But all is not lost.Creative policies could be used toreconstruct the relationship betweenNepal and the transnational Nepaliproletariat. Embassies with a sizablelabour attaché that assists the NepaliWorkers Abroad (NWA) could behelpful. Giving the NWA a voice byextending voting rights could be aninteresting idea. NWA keep our countryafloat; they deserve a direct say in itsaffairs.

The absence of institutionalcoherence is another problem. Ideally,the parliament should have been thestrongest body in the system �– the voiceof the system. The constituent assemblyshould have been the venue to discussthe future of the state and not newspapercolumns, street demonstrations, orridiculous speeches. Nepal�’s mostimportant institutions are relegated tothe background in national discourse.They need to be yanked back to the frontof the line. Using Prashant�’sterminology, the organised force to fillthe vacuum in the 2006 transitionalsystem is the constituent assembly/parliament itself.

Factors such as geography, ethnicdiversity, settlement patterns, wealthinequality, resource scarcity, andgeopolitics may mean that no one groupwill have enough leverage to control thestate for quite some time. Therefore, theapt strategy for all actors within thesystem would be to go back to theconstituent assembly and finish thatimportant work.

Battisputali

The author is right that anarchyseems to be gaining ground in thecountry especially in the south.The ones who are mostly benefiting fromthis are the corrupt politicians includingthose who thrive solely on ethnicity

based vote-bank politics, andcriminals.

The leaders, who keep on chantinghow things have improved, seem farremoved from the reality and hardshipsthat the common people are facing dayto day due to the lack of any economicopportunities, the rampant corruption,and the lawlessness that pervadessociety.

Without any economicopportunities at home, thousands ofpeople are forced to leave the countryeveryday to look for work abroad, andwithout their remittances and financialcontribution it is difficult to imaginehow the country would fare. In thiscontext it is ironic that the writer shouldstill be talking about governmentlargesse. The belief that thegovernment�’s job is to providelargesse is one of the main causes ofcorruption in the country and is theremnant of a feudal mentality thatplagues our intelligentsia and politicalleaders. It is the government and thepolitical parties that are dependent onthe people�’s largesse and not the otherway around.

The government should insteadfocus on providing law and order to thepeople, so that private citizens canoperate their businesses in a safeenvironment; and they can lead theway towards economic development ofthe country. Similar examples can beseen in many countries including inIndia in the last decade. If Nepalicitizens can successfully work abroadfor the development of other countries,there is no reason they cannot do it intheir own country provided the rightenvironment can be created.

All that the government has to do,besides ensuring law and order, ismake sure it keeps up with thenecessary infrastructure andappropriate economic policiesnecessary for growth.

Blaming others can only take youso far, but unless the political leaderscan be held accountable by the people,things can only get worse. Forexample in many parts of the Madhes,the pahadiyas were blamed by theMadhesi politicians for many of theproblems of the region and were drivenout. Has that really helped to improvethe economic and social plight of thecommon citizen there? There is morelawlessness now and more corruption.Unless you happen to be a politician orone among the elite few who spendsmost of his time in Kathmandu, thecommon man in the Madhes probablydoes not feel his economic or socialcondition has changed much.

That some of the Madhesipoliticians want to provide voting rightsto people without proof of citizenship isanother example of flouting the law thatcan only breed more lawlessness andanarchy in the region.

The intelligentsia, media, andpeople in general should stopexempting their leaders fromaccountability based on similarideology, ethnicity or party affiliations.Doing so will encourage only morelawlessness and anarchy, and theultimate losers will be the people.

Anil

17 - 23 DECEMBER 2010 #532

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2|EDITORIAL

Q. Were the police right to arrest Paras Shah?

Weekly Internet Poll # 532

Q. How much should the minimum wage beincreased by?

Weekly Internet Poll # 533. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.com

F or the optimistic, and without seeking tojeopardise the principle of �‘innocent until provenguilty�’, this could be a landmark week for Nepali

law and order. And by some happy coincidence, theaccused represent a former member of the legislatureand the executive, a member of the judiciary, and amember of the former de facto executive.

Ex-minister Govinda Raj Joshi of the NepaliCongress may have thought he had beat the rap when in2006, the Special Court quashed the charges ofembezzling close to Rs 40 million laid against him bythe Commission for the Investigation of Abuse ofAuthority. The Supreme Court has just ruled that theSpecial Court erred in absolving Joshi, who will nowonce more face charges of corruption.

Supreme Court justices have had a torrid time oflate. The recently nominated Girish Chandra Lal waslambasted for having used his discretion to limit jailsentences for two rhino poachers to five years. Now it�’sJustice Rana Bahadur Bam�’s turn to be accused ofimproper conduct for having released repeat offenders �–later involved in Bhaktaman Shrestha�’s abduction �– onvery low bail instead of sending them into custody.

If Chief Justice Ram Prasad Shrestha has his way,Joshi will end up behind bars, and Bam will lose hisplace in the Supreme Court. Bold moves, indeed, andones that will set groundbreaking precedents.

But it is perhaps the third case, that of former crownprince Paras Shah, that constitutes the boldest move ofall.

Paras Shah�’s arrest for allegedly firing an illegal

pistol following an altercation with Bangladeshi national(and Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala�’s son-in-law)Rubel Chaudhary is hugely significant. It represents thefirst time the Nepali state has attempted to hold a Nepaliroyal to account for his actions. Granted, he will most likelypay a fine at most, and then promptly leave the countryunder a cloud. But it also demonstrates how far someformer royals are removed from the Nepali public andnorms of civilised behaviour, and how much slimmer theirchances are of being resurrected, even as a ceremonialinstitution. This, despite the best efforts of former kingGyanendra and Paras�’ wife, Himani.

Ironically, Shah has received support from theMaoists, who are accusing the government of�‘politicising�’ the issue, and suggest that India might haveorchestrated the whole affair. However murky thebackgrounds of both protagonists in the incident are, bothShah and Chaudhary initially told the media that theformer fired a pistol, though not at the latter, but in the air.This is indisputable. Even if Chaudhary had provokedShah, which seems unlikely given the erstwhile prince�’slong-standing reputation for violence, there is nojustification whatsoever for the use of firearms. To defendsuch an action is extremely poor judgment on the part ofthe Maoists.

The only other people to be protesting the arrest ofShah are of course diehard royalists and RPP-N cadres,whose leader Kamal Thapa met with Maoist ChairmanDahal a few months ago to discuss how to form a�‘nationalist alliance�’. This is clearly what has promptedthe Maoist response, but it only reinforces the fear of theother political parties that the royalists and Maoists sharelittle more than an opportunistic nationalism and a love ofauthoritarianism. The government, for its part, hasalready distinguished itself by taking Shah into custody,and should allow due process to be followed rather thangive in to political pressure and street protests.

We all know the Maoists have plenty of reasons tocriticise Nepali Congress and UML. This doesn�’t meanthey can�’t agree with them on anything. At the end of theday, we�’re all on the same flight. When someone startsshooting, you�’re better off worrying about holes in thefuselage, not who�’s shooting their mouth off.

Total votes: 1,630

WHO�’S BAD?

KIRAN PANDAY

17 - 23 DECEMBER 2010 #532 OP-ED|3

PLAIN SPEAKINGPrashant Jha

THIS WEEK

N epal�’s national politicaloutcomes aredetermined by a dozen

or so individuals in Kathmandu.A candidate who lost from twoconstituencies became the PM. Acabinet with most ministerseither rejected by the electorate ornotorious for their open loot ofthe exchequer has been at thehelm for 20 months. Andmultiple rounds of voting for aPM have not thrown up a result�– primarily because many partieswere not allowed to exercise theirfree will due to extraordinarypressure from forces outsideparliament.

A caretaker governmentprorogued the House and wouldrather not face parliament again.Policies are formulated to suitdifferent interest groups in themost opaque manner possible.Last year, the government andthe speaker ganged up to refusedebate on the presidential actionto reinstate the army chief in theHouse. The main oppositionparty spent months blockingparliament only to return to it,

and recently indulged in somemanhandling of senior ministers,violating basic norms of humanconduct and parliamentary ethics.Directives by House committeesoften go unheeded.

If this is how parliamentarysupremacy fares in democraticNepal, the fate of the rule of lawcannot be much better.

Girija Prasad Koirala taught avaluable lesson to most of Nepal�’spresent-day politicians.Corruption enables you to build avast patronage network, which isessential for political survival andpower. And once you are inpower, or even on its periphery,there is little chance of the lawcatching up.

From Madhav Nepal, who tookcharge of UML�’s institutionalfinances, to KP Oli, who beganinvesting in private businesses, toPK Dahal, who can smell abusiness opportunity from adistance �– all have internalisedthis lesson well. Each Nepalipolitician is way richer than hewas in 2006. Some are generouslike Koirala was; others are stingy.But none have to end upaccounting for the sources of their

wealth, or face any legal liability.This extends to big businessesthat have defaulted on loans; thescores of bureaucrats who paymillions to get lucrative postingsbecause they are sure of thedividends; and media ownerswho have multiple businessinterests but never revealconflicts of interests.

In the districts, there areclever mechanisms to bypass anyprocedures that pose an obstacleto siphoning off public funds.Indeed, expect a surge in violencein the next few months aspoliticians rush to spend fundsbefore the fiscal year ends andbattle it out. The authorities will

remain silent witnesses or be apart of the nexus. It is not merelyin cases of corruption, but inenforcing order andimplementing welfare schemesthat the law is most conspicuousin its absence.

Democracy as it exists inNepal suits the politicians andbusinessmen, enmeshed with oneanother, perfectly. As scholarDeepak Gyawali pointed outrecently, it is the tradingcomprador bourgeoisie class,which thrives on shortages, thatcalls the shots in Nepal�’s newpolitical economy. A weak,discredited state is an asset. TheInternational Crisis Group makes

a similar argument, showing howdifferent private interests benefitfrom the mess in Nepal�’seducation, health, publicsecurity, and employmentsituation. It goes so far as to say,�“Large sections of Nepal�’seconomic and political systemrest on the solid foundation ofstate non-delivery.�”

When the Maoists expose theinfirmities of the �‘so-calleddemocratic system�’, they do havea case. But even if their diagnosisis partially correct, they do havequite a prescription �– and the oneoffered by Kiran and company isinfinitely worse than the problemitself. Indeed, the abrupt end ofthe parliamentary session broughthome the value for many,especially the Maoists, of howformal institutions are a checkagainst the government. ParasShah may get away but the state�’saction has sent a symbolicmessage about equality before law,a case about which Maoists havebeen ambivalent given theirpartnership with the �‘royalistnationalists�’. The success ofNitish Kumar in neighbouringBihar, on the other hand, is allabout how building up ademocratic and functioning stateis essential to preserving law andorder and to creating multipleopportunities for livelihood andgrowth.

So in its present avatar,do not blame the people ifloktantra breeds more contemptthan hope.

Hollow loktantraOne does not have to be a Maoist to see thehollowness of Nepal�’s liberal democracy

Tara Air crashThe remains of an aircraft owned by Tara Air have been foundscattered over a mountain in Okhaldhunga along with the bodiesof those onboard. The 9N-AFX Twin-Otter plane had gonemissing on Wednesday, minutes after it left Lamidanda airport inKhotang. The plane took off at three in the afternoon with 22people onboard, three of whom were crew members, and lostcontact with the traffic control tower five minutes into its flight.There are no survivors. Rescue missions are in the process ofbringing back the victim�’s bodies to Kathmandu.

Paras Shah arrestedFormer crown prince Paras Shah was taken into three days ofpolice custody for �‘terrorising�’ Rubel Chaudhary and his familyat Tiger Tops Resort in Chitwan. Government attorneys will file acase in the Chitwan�’s District Administration Office on Thursday.Police interrogated Shah on Wednesday in the presence ofgovernment attorney Gita Prasad Timilsina and Shah�’s attorneyGanesh KC.

Power downNepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has increased power outagehours from 38 hrs a week to 56 hrs from Wednesday, citing asignificant drop in the water levels of major rivers. According tothe new schedule, there will be eight hours of daily power cutsfrom now on. On 28 November, NEA increased power cuts to 38hours a week after the turbines of Mid-Marsyangdi HydropowerProject had to be shut down for repair and maintenance. NEAofficials say power cuts are likely to increase further because ofthe increasing gap between the demand and supply of power.Daily energy demand amounts to 500MW during the day and850-880MW in the evenings, while supply is around 680MW.

President summons HousePresident Ram Baran Yadav has summoned a session of theLegislature-Parliament at 1pm on 19 December, Sunday. �“Thesession has been called as per Article 51 (3) of the InterimConstitution of Nepal and in response to a petition made by 187members of the Legislature-Parliament to call a session of theLegislature-Parliament but without entering into the subjectmatters mentioned in the petition,�” the Office of the Presidenthas said.

The Legislature-Parliament Secretariat has requested allmembers of the Constituent Assembly to be present at thesession. The Secretariat has requested the Chief DistrictOfficers of all districts to inform the CA members from thedistricts about the upcoming House session.

17 - 23 DECEMBER 2010 #5324|LABOUR

What is the current situation ofNepali migrant workers?

Purna Chandra Bhattarai (JointSecretary, Ministry of Labour): Onlyabout 2 per cent of those who go abroad towork are skilled manpower, 23 per cent aresemi-skilled, and 75 per cent are unskilledlabour. Though Nepalis are authorised towork in 108 countries, 95 per cent go to theGulf and Malaysia, about 90 per cent ofthis through informal channels. About400,000 youths enter the labour marketevery year. Formal and informal annualremittances, which make up about 30per cent of the GDP, amount to more thanthe national budget.

Ganesh Gurung (member, NationalPlanning Commission): We are in apost-conflict situation now, but until weaddress unemployment, we are notaddressing one of the root causes of theconflict. Millions work abroad, but eventhe manpower recruitment sector employsabout 350,000 people within Nepal.

Shengjie Li (Director, ILO Nepal):The Second National Labour Force Survey2008 indicates about 21.1 per cent ofhouseholds have at least one memberliving and working abroad. From 1993 to2007, the volume of remittance increasedby 30-fold, with a major impact onreducing poverty. In spite of contributionsto family income and GDP, many migrantworkers, especially women, face variousproblems, including abuse and trafficking.Another negative impact is the brain drain.And there is serious difficulty inreintegrating migrants into society whenthey come back. The skills they learnabroad have not been utilised forproductive work.

Som Luitel (lawyer, Safe Migration

Network): The foreign employment sectoris fraught with fraud. Over 700 cases offraud have been filed at the foreignemployment department but there is nonational policy to address the issues ofmigrant workers. The government has setup a foreign employment board tocompensate returnees duped by recruitingagencies but it lacks a clear strategy.Recruiting agencies are organised, butmigrant workers are not, and struggle everystep along the way, from finding an agencyto securing decent jobs abroad.

Shaktida Singh (UNIFEM): The issuesof Nepali women migrant workers �– thereare 200,000 abroad �– don�’t fall within theformal framework of migrant workers.There is no specific policy for them. Theyare at high risk as they mostly go throughinformal channels, rather than formalsectors such as industry and constructionwhere insurance and other facilities areguaranteed. Most women work as domestichelp, are undocumented, and aren�’taffiliated with labour unions. Theycontribute up to 15 per cent of totalremittances, but there is no legal protectionavailable for them.

Keshav Badal (legal advisor,GFONT): Migrant records are confusing.We keep records of those who go abroad butthere is no record of returnees. We calculatethe remittance they bring in but don�’t haveany account of how much we have spent togo abroad. And we are also sending skilledpeople abroad, who rich countries have notinvested in. It�’s time to raise the issue of ahuman resource development fund thatrich countries contribute to in exchange forsupplying them with skilled manpower.

Hansaraj Wagle (first vice chair,Nepal Association of ForeignEmployment Agencies): The manpower

agencies themselves have to look forinternational openings to send migrantworkers. We don�’t have direct linkswith employers. Therefore, we have togo through middlemen, whose fee istaken from migrant workers. But wecannot show the details of such dealsto the government, so migrant workersare being charged high fees by someagencies. Manpower agencies have tokeep a Rs 5 million deposit on hand tocompensate workers who have returnedbecause they didn�’t get the jobs theywere promised. But despitecontributing so much remittance,manpower agencies are not recognisedfor their work. Instead they have to facethe charge of cheating aspiring migrantworkers.

What needs to be done to protectthe rights of Nepali migrantworkers, and to manageremittances productively?

Keshav Badal: Migrant workers haveto cross a number of hurdles and areduped before they fly out. They shouldbe informed about the jobs they areapplying for, the salary and benefits, aswell as the risks. As far as insurance isconcerned, the government has grantedmanpower agencies a license to cheat.Migrant workers should only have topay a lump sum rather thaninstallments that amount to muchmore, and undocumented workersshould also be included somehow.

Madan Mahat (former vice chair,Nepal Association of ForeignEmployment Agencies):Government should facilitate traveland have labour attachés in destinationcountries, which could reduce the risk,particularly for women. We should

With formalremittancesfrom the3 million Nepalimigrant workersacross the globereaching Rs 262billion in 2010, it�’sno exaggeration tosay foreignemployment is thebackbone of theNepali economy.Himalmediaorganised aroundtablediscussion onmigrant labour lastweek. Excerpts:

develop an online system of allstakeholders through which we can accessinformation on workers and monitortheir situation.

Shaktida Singh: We cannot bar themovement of people. If they see betteropportunities abroad we cannot stopthem, but if women could earn Rs 5,000-6,000 here they would not leave. Thesocial costs to families are high. Foreignemployment should be made an option,not a forced choice.

Purna Chandra Bhattarai: We havedecided to send women abroad only afterthe recommendation of the Nepaliembassy. We have also raised the issue ofestablishing an embassy in Saudi Arabia.We have been lobbying for insurance andthe implementation of the ILOconvention on migrant workers. Thegovernment has been drafting foreignemployment regulations and is reviewingmigration policy, and is working on ascheme to utilise remittances better. Weare also planning to decentralise theforeign employment board, and develop adatabase of job opportunities.

Shengjie Li: There should be a tripartitemechanism of the government, recruitingagencies, and workers�’ organisations toimplement the ILO convention, whichensures safety of migrant workers. Wehave been helping in capacity building bytraining government officers, labourattachés, trade union representatives, andprivate recruiting agencies. The NAFEAcode of conduct should be put inpractice, and NAFEA should develop agrading system for recruiting agencies.The government should encourageworkers to use legal channels to sendremittances and develop an economicmechanism to utilise these funds.

Helping workers abroad

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

17 - 23 DECEMBER 2010 #532 BUSINESS|5

Spencer Lo, senior marketingmanager at Sony Singapore, was intown recently to launch Sony�’s nextgeneration of 3D entertainmentsolutions. Nepali Times talked to himabout the growing market here forelectronic goods:

Nepali Times: How is Sony�’s marketin Nepal, a country with a smalleconomy?Spencer Lo: Nepal is a rising market.The consumers here are keen to ownnew and innovative technologies andso the market is expanding. We willintroduce new products according tothe demands and interests of Nepaliconsumers.

At what rate is the Nepali marketgrowing?Our sales volume in Nepal is growingyear on year. Sony Singapore is veryhappy with the market growth here.

Where does Nepal�’s market standregionally?India is the largest market in theregion, considering its area,population and its swift economic

InternationaloutreachParkwayHealth, a private healthcareprovider based in Singapore, has opened anew patient assistance centre inKathmandu. The centre will help patientsaccess specialist medical care inSingapore. There are 39 ParkwayHealthPatient Assistance Centres across theworld.

New bankCivil Bank, the country�’s 30th commercialbank, opened this week. The bank haspaid-up capital of Rs 1.2 billion. It aims toopen 15 branches within two years.

Dell’s ownDell has opened an authorised showroomin Maitighar. The store will showcase Delldesktops, laptops and other products.

Candy delightJaya Confectioneryhas launched �‘Enjoythe Great taste ofGreen Mango�’ for itsproduct CandyMan

Kaacho mango, priced at Rs 1.

�“Nepal is agrowing market�”

growth. After India, the markets in allSouth Asian countries are growing ata similar rate.

Sony�’s products seem to be relativelyexpensive, compared to otherelectronic goods.Our prices are based on the quality ofour goods. When a consumerpurchases a Sony product, he canrest assured that he has a completeguarantee on its utility. Sony mayappear expensive in comparison tolow-quality electronic goods, but isnot over-priced in terms of quality.

Branded wearJeanswest, an Australian demin brand,has opened a showroom in Civil Mall,Sundhara. Jeanswest jeans, jackets,sweaters, t-shirts and accessories will beavailable at the store.

Double coolSamsung has introducedRF67DEPN, a twincooling French doorrefrigerator. Samsung�’spatented Twin Coolingtechnologyindependently cools therefrigerator and thefreezer, maintainingproper humidity levels ineach compartment and

preventing the mixing of odours betweenthe storage compartments. Samsung nowhas 24 refrigerators priced betweenRs 16,990 to Rs 154,990.

Right answerSampurna Tuladhar won the AutomobileQuiz organised by GO Automobiles.Tuladhar took home a HP Presario laptop.The quiz was part of a promotion of GOFord�’s cost of ownership campaign forFord Figo.

17 - 23 DECEMBER 2010 #5326|NATION

n this climate of mistrust,you have to wonder ifNepal�’s high and mighty

agree on anything at all.Surprisingly, there is one

such issue: not bringing humanrights violators to book.

We have had fourgovernments (including the twoheaded by the late GP Koirala)since the success of People�’sMovement II in 2006. But nosincere attempt was made to forman effective Truth andReconciliation Commission and aCommission on the Disappeared.All we have seen are cosmeticattempts by each of thegovernments towards setting upthe commissions.

Both sides involved in thedecade-long Maoist insurgencyhave found something in thedraft bill or its terms of reference(ToR) to object to, thus thwartingthe exercise to deliver justice tovictims. The most recent activityregarding these two bodies (that

is, bills on them) was in Aprilthis year, when parliament wasdiscussing the drafts.

It suits both the Maoists and

the national army to scuttle anymove towards the formation ofany such body, or to limit it to anineffectual commission that will

Insisting that digging up the past willjeopardise the future is dishonest

Aiding impunityMY TAKEDamakant Jayshi

not be able to deal with grossabuses of human rights andcrimes against humanity,finding the whereabouts ofthose forcibly disappeared bythe state and the Maoists, andrecommending action againstthe perpetrators.

The stance of the NepaliCongress and CPN-UML is notsurprising either. Their fear ofthe Maoists�’ not-so-hidden-goalof imposing one-party rule inNepal has rendered them unableto take concrete steps to punishthose who committed humanrights abuses by the state. Theyare under pressure from thearmy top brass to either ignoreor go slow when it comes toaddressing human rightsviolations.

So all we have is lip service.There are hundreds of

families who want to knowwhat happened to their lovedones who never returned home,people who want to knowwhether any punishment willever be meted out to those whokilled their kith and kin by

terming them either Maoists orspies of the government.

It�’s a given that anyone whosays that we, as a nation, cannotafford to dig up past abuses, letalone prosecute the accused,have not had their loved oneskilled, tortured, disappeared ormaimed for life. When the heatis on and parties findthemselves unable to defendtheir morally repugnant positionon the delay in ensuring justiceto victims of the conflict, theypoint out that any (serious)attempt to book those involvedwould harm the ongoing peaceprocess. This is a silly notion.

The Comprehensive PeaceAccord that spelt out the formalend to the insurgency does haveprovisions on addressing grossabuses of human rights. It alsospecifically mentions setting upa high-level Truth andReconciliation Commission(TRC) and making public,within 60 days of the agreement,the whereabouts of people whowere made to disappear or werekilled,conveying the details to familymembers. The agreement wassigned on Nov 21, 2006. To arguethat setting up the TRC and theCommission on the Disappearedwould rupture the peace processis dishonesty, and only aidsimpunity.

The government, the army,and the Maoists have got awaywith it because there has notbeen enough pressure on themfrom Nepal�’s now fractured,biased and partisan civil society,human rights organisations whoare afraid to bring attention toatrocities by Maoists, and theinternational community.

All we have are occasionalprograms to mark days such asHuman Rights Day andInternational Day of theDisappeared, and then it isbusiness as usual. Impunityremains unaddressed. Itwarrants repetition, over andover: think about those peopleand families still waiting to hearthe last word on their lovedones.damakant@gmail.com

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717 - 23 DECEMBER 2010 #532LIFE TIMES

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athmandu sees many cycle ralliesand there was yet another lastmonth. This one was special �– it

marked the launch of the first-ever Nepalibicycle company, Chain.

Behind the giant glass window of thestore in Ekantakuna, rows of cycles are linedup dutifully, awaiting new owners. On closerinspection, one sees many have little green�‘Sold�’ stickers on them. Over 125 of the BMXand mountain bikes available have been soldin the last couple of weeks.

Rupesh Man Shrestha of Epic bikes, apartner in Chain, says, �“There was an obviousgap in the market between high-priced modelsand the cheap but low-quality bikes. We�’reaiming to fill that gap.�” Imported cycles canset you back a minimum of Rs 38,000, whileit�’s likely the pedals will drop off the Rs6,000-10,000 Chinese models in a fewmonths.

Shrestha has 13 partners, includingoutdoor sports instructors, long-time bikeenthusiasts, a dental surgeon, an exporter oftraditional handicrafts, a socially responsibletravel agent, an architect, and a rock star �–1974 AD�’s Nirakar Yakthumba. The commonthread is entrepreneurship, and wanting tomake a difference.

The architect, Prabal Thapa, explains howthe idea was born. �“We often go out cyclingand after a number of rides together, wethought we�’d try to see if we could make a

If Chain has its way, you�’ll be powering your way in andaround the city on a bicycle before too long

Chain reactionRICHARD BULL living out of this.�” Like so many good ideas,

�“it�’s a way of combining business andpleasure.�”

The BMX is aimed at kids but it�’sstandard competition size and good for adultkids too. Neson Bajracharya, 16, is consideringbeing Nepal�’s first BMX bike champion, andapproves of Chain�’s cycles: �“They lookcool.�” He�’s from Gyanodaya School, whereChain�’s not-for-profit, pro-cyclist sisterorganisation Chain Inc. has built a pumptrack. A girl next to Neson says she can do�“endos and jumps�”. When asked if she hasever gone to ground while attempting stunts,she scowls, �“No, I don�’t fall off!�”

Chain�’s �‘Jomsom�’ mountain bike does allit�’s meant to do; I take it out for a short rideand try my best to break it, and fail. The gears(and other critical components) are all

trustworthy Shimano from Japan and a gearchange is just a single click of the trigger. TheV-brakes feel solid, something especiallynecessary in Kathmandu. The bike weighs atotal of 14.5kg, just half a kilo more than mymuch pricier bike �– I am resentful. The frontsuspension is perhaps a bit soft, but if youhave never ridden a bike with proper frontsuspension, you won�’t complain �– itsmoothes out the potholes and leaves youreyeballs level in your head. At Rs 22,000,Jomsom is very good value.

Markus Illömaki from Finland ridesfrequently with one of the many groups ofguys who head out to the trails in the valleyearly every morning. �“The frame looks strong.The wheels are ok and if the spokes are kepttight, then you can expect it to last. It�’s aperfect city bike.�” Jomsom is not really

Kdesigned for tough, rocky trails and isprobably not going to win any races (but thenbikes don�’t win races, riders do, and all ridersstart somewhere.) But that is all immaterial,as having a good bike in Kathmandu opensup a new world of experience.

It means freedom from most jams, frombeing manhandled into public transport,from petrol shortages, and from paying goodmoney to bad taxi drivers. A personal urbanfavourite is the fast downhill from Pulchokto Bagmati Pul, and holding on to a tempofor the ride back up, but best is headingbeyond the Ring Road onto small tracks anddiscovering greenery, fresh air, and greatviews. The Kathmandu Valley has world-class trails in abundance.

But riding in Kathmandu has an obviousdark side. While cycling is environmentallyfriendly, for the cyclist, the main roads ofKathmandu are far from being a friendlyenvironment. Cyclists here have to toleratebeing run off the road by pushy microbusesand impatient motorbikes. Chain Inc. meansto push a pro-cycle agenda. �“We�’re trying toget it to schools, encourage going to work bycycle, and be a voice for cyclists and non-motorists,�” says Prabal Thapa of Chain Inc�’smission. And in light of the city�’s fixationwith monstrous looking motorcycles,Raj Gyawali may have a crucial point whenhe says: �“We want to make cyclingsexy�…that�’s why we have a rock star in theChain team!�”

PICS: KIRAN PANDAY

nepalitimes.comCycle city #413

8|LIFE TIMES 17 - 23 DECEMBER 2010 #532

Photo Exhibition by GemunuAmarsinghe. till 11 January, 11amto 2pm, Tuesdays closed, PeaceMuseum, Madan PuraskarPustakalaya, Patan Dhoka

Let�’s talk about ART baby! acollaborative solo from the seriesof Artivities by artist SujanChitrakar. Starts 17 December,3.30pm, Siddhartha Art Gallery,Babar Mahal Revisited, 4218048

Winter Art Collection, works byJapanese and Nepali artists.19 December to 24 January,Kathmandu Contemporary ArtsCentre, Jhamsikhel, 5521120

Art exhibition, paintings by theassociate students of KathmanduUniversity, Centre for Art andDesign. Inauguration 3pm, Till19 December, 10.30am to 5.30pm,Saturdays closed, Park Gallery,Pulchok, 5522307

Under One Sun Festival, livemusic, photo exhibitions and artinstallations. Till 17 December,9am to 8pm, Basantapur DarbarSquare, www.photocircle.com.np

Nature Hike in Shivapuri NationalPark, organised by ChandraGurung Conservation Foundation,guided bird watching and plant

exploration program also included.18 December, starts 7am, ShivapuriNational Park gate, Tickets: Rs 700,Rs 350 for students, 9851041325

Screening of �‘The Other Guys�’, acomedy starring Will Ferrell andMark Wahlberg. 17 December,5.30pm, Lazimpat Gallery Cafe,Lazimpat

Christmas by the fire place,surprise visit from Santa withgifts for all, turkey with all thetrimmings and a free glass ofhot mulled wine. Festive Menufrom 24 December to1 January, Kilroy�’s Restaurant,Thamel, 4250440/41

Christmas Kids Carnival, enjoya splendid family day with lotsof fun, food and entertainment.18 December, 10am to 4pm,Soaltee Crowne Plaza,Tahachal, Ticket: Rs 800 foradults and Rs 600 for kids(inclusive of five gamecoupons, welcome drink andone snack)

Pre-Christmas party at NewOrleans, complete with turkey,folk and fusion music, andsinging on acoustic guitar.18 December, 6.30pm, NewOrleans, Thamel, 4700736

Christmas celebrations at Yak& Yeti, Christmas carol singing,22 to 24 December, hotel lobby,

EVENTS CHRISTMAS EVENTS

MUSIC

DINING

Boudha Stupa Restaurant & Café,enjoy wood-fired pizza with asuperb view of Boudha stupa andfree wifi, candlelight dinneroptions are also available for theromantics every full moon night.Boudha, 2130681

Cosmopolitan Café, located in theheart of Basantapur, this cozy caféoffers arguably the best chickensizzlers in town. Basantapur(along Kathmandu DarbarSquare), 4225246

Singma Food Court, for the bestSingaporean and Malaysiancuisine in town. Pulchok, 5009092and Bhatbhateni, 4411078,foodcourt@wlink.com.np,www.singma.foodcourt.com

Christmas Eve dinner, with lavishfood and live music, 24 December,Sunrise Café, Rs 1,600 plustaxes, Exclusive 5-course candle-lit dinner, 24 December, ChimneyRestaurant, Rs 2500 plus taxes,Christmas brunch, December 25,Sunrise Café, Rs 1,200 plustaxes, Christmas hi-tea, a fun-filled event for the children fromBal Mandir with magic show andgift hampers, 26 December,Poolside Garden, 4248999

Christmas Eve Celebration atGokarna Forest Resort, one nightaccommodationwith alavish ChristmasEve Dinner, aglass ofsparklingwine, andbreakfastthe nextday. 24December,Gokarna, Room rate Rs 11,000Nett, Dinner only Rs 3,500 perperson, 4451212,sales1@gokarna.net

Music, Art and Healing Concert: InMemory of Vidhea Shrestha.18 December, 3pm to 6pm, Moksh,Jhamsikhel

LIFE TIMES|917 - 23 DECEMBER 2010 #532

Lazy Gringo, fail-safe Mexicanrestaurant. The lemonade withrefills is what won us over, butthe food is mighty fine.Jawalakhel, 2110517

Momotarou, nestledinconspicuously amongst thestreet shops of Thamel, thisrestaurant serves Japanese foodthat is top value formoney. Extravagant tasteyet humble inpresentation. Thamel,Bhagawatisthan 4417670

Vesper Café, has quaint outdoorpatio good for leisurely weekendbrunch. Jhamel

Himalayan Java, this Thamelestablishment, more known for itscoffee, serves excellentsandwiches too. Tridevi Marg,4422519

Toni Hagen Fellowship 2010, theToni Hagen Foundationannounces post graduatefellowships for students of naturaland social sciences. Applicationdeadline 24 December,commencement of fellowship 15January, 2011, Toni HagenFoundation c/o HimalAssociation, Patan Dhoka,5542544, www.resourceshimalaya.org

AmarJyoti Foundation, providessupport through scholarships inart and sports, elderly daycareand grief recovery. 9851023958

ANNOUNCEMENTS

10|HAPPENINGS

IMAGES OF WAR: Sri Lankan war photographer Gemunu Amarasingheopened his exhibition of photos from the Sri Lankan conflict at MadanPuraskar Pustakalaya on Friday. The exhibition is titled 'People inBetween' and will run for a month.

KIRAN PANDAY

HI-TECH: A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official displays four categories ofmachine-readable passports at a function organised Sunday. Theministry will issue the passports 26 December onwards.

17 - 23 DECEMBER 2010 #532

KIRAN PANDAY

DEEP REFLECTION: Installation art for the 'Under One Sun' festivalorganised by UNHCR in Basantapur to mark its 60th anniversary. Thefestival featured music, street drama, photos, and installation art.

WEEKEND WEATHERby NGAMINDRA DAHAL

FRI SAT S U N

18-6 18-5 20-3

KATHMANDU

WEEKEND WEATHERby NGAMINDRA DAHAL

KATHMANDU

A huge sub-continental high pressure systemsits over northern India, side-tracking the westerlyjet-stream. This has brought in air from thesouthwesterly direction, and with it smog fromthe Indo-Gangetic plains. Combined withKathmandu Valley�’s own smog, this has reducedvisibility at Kathmandu airport to less than 400mevery morning, causing delays in flights. Expectthis to continue. Clear skies with hazy sunshinemeans the ground doesn�’t warm up enough,leading to a steep drop in night temperatures.The inversion level this year is 2,500m, and thisis due to the lack of moisture during theprolonged winter drought.

ccording to the WorldHealth Organization(WHO) there will be 10

million new cases of tuberculosis(TB) this year in the developingworld. But the good news is thateffective therapy will prevent thedeaths of many of these patients.However, by the time the sickpatients are diagnosed andtreated, they will have infectedmany others in their community.Indeed, this �‘failure of

Game changein Tuberculosis?

A

DHANVANTARIBuddha Basnyat, MD

KIRAN PANDAY

when a few days ago, WHOendorsed the GeneXpert device, arapid test for TB, as �“a majormilestone for global tuberculosisdiagnosis�”.

Unlike the Ziehl-Neelsentechnique, GeneXpert does notneed an expert to prepare asputum slide and look for a bugunder the microscope. This newmolecular approach is morestraightforward. After the patientspits into a cup, the sample isplaced in an �‘espresso�’ machinethat examines the sample�’s DNAto see if it contains the geneticsignature of TB. A simple,reliable �‘yes�’ or �‘no�’ answer isavailable in two hours.Importantly, GeneXpert can alsodetermine within two hours ifthe bacteria is resistant torifampicin, the most effective ofthe four-drug cocktail prescribedfor TB. This allows treatment toaccount from the outset forresistant bacteria, and to tailortherapy accordingly.

However, the initial costs ofabout US$30,000 for the machineand at least US$20 for tests aredaunting for the developingworld. Unskilled workers cancarry this test out with minimaltraining, but electricity isrequired. From hospitals in Biharto the well-appointed HindujaHospital in Mumbai, greatsatisfaction has been expressedabout the usefulness andaccuracy of the device. But thecost continues to be an importantissue, regardless of the scientificenormity of the breakthrough.

interruption�’ continues to keepthe global epidemic of TB aliveand well. Prompt diagnosis isthus key to treating andpreventing the spread of TB.

Unfortunately, the techniquesof TB diagnosis are antiquated.The most widely used method totest sputum ( �‘khakar�’ in Nepali)for the TB bug is called the Ziehl-Neelsen stain, which is a 125-year-old technique. If TB was stillprevalent in the Western world,there would surely have beenmajor new breakthroughs indiagnostic techniques, butbasically TB is a poor man�’sdisease. So it was welcome news

SOCIETY|1117 - 23 DECEMBER 2010 #532

S

he initial disparagement that met Pushpa Kamal Dahal�’sannouncement last week that he would turn universities intobarracks �“if the regressive elements do not stop plotting�” against

the Maoist Party seems to have swiftly been replaced by the chatter overthe shooting incident implicating ex-prince Paras in Chitwan.

Not one to miss a chance to grab the headlines, his party pouncedonce again on the �“regressive elements�” by claiming that the shootingincident was engineered by India, and the person who was allegedlyshot at should be investigated because �“it involves the issue ofnationality.�”

It would seem that resorting to Tea Party extremism, and hoping forthings to become true if you repeat them a hundred times, isunbecoming for the largest party in the country. Is this an indication ofthe immaturity of our politics?

2011 will mark five years since the Maoists left the �‘jungle�’. In 2006,Dahal was seen in Kathmandu for the first time, and his arrival wasgreeted with a mix of trepidation and excitement. He had led a war thathad cost 13,000 lives, but his party had also fought for the peopleignored by the state and the ruling elite in Kathmandu. �“Will he be ahero or a villain,�” a commentator asked at the time. �“It will depend onwhat he can deliver in Nepal�’s future set-up,�” was the answer.

Five years is a substantial time if you are among those who like toget things done. That is how long it took to build the atom bomb, theAchilles�’ heel of modern international relations. It took the same timeto build the first space shuttle. Historians say it took even less time tobuild a pyramid, although admittedly the Pharaohs used thousands ofslaves.

The point is it is possible to lead change that can have lastingeffects into the future in five years. Dahal led his party through acomfortable election victory, and led a government with some clearindications of success like a surge in national revenue collection. Buthe lacked agility in situations that required teamwork. Yet he didsomething unheard of in Nepali politics, and resigned from thegovernment after losing a tug-of-war over the dismissal of the armychief.

Almost everyone agrees the Maoists won the election because theypromised change from the same old politics. But with a lack of visionand an outdated ideology, they seem to have lost their edge throughcomplacency, unable to compete in the realm of realpolitik, andcontinually resorting to threats of violence.

As with other parties, the Maoists�’ mode of operation now seems tobe to create enough noise to keep the people on top busy without doinganything for those at the bottom. Dahal�’s contribution in the past fiveyears, especially in the last couple of years, has been to feed the noisein that echo chamber. Of late it is the laughable endorsement of theargument that India staged the shooting incident in Chitwan.

When a party's leader leadership fails to make a government workand starts losing the support of his peers, it is time for him to resignand make way for a new leader. This is an opportunity for Dahal to takethe high road, and resign once again. This solution is simpler than thewar we have been promised.

Alone in theecho chamber

POLITICALLYCRACKEDIndu Nepal

Like all parties, the Maoistscontinue to create enough noiseto keep the people on top busywithout doing anything for thoseat the bottom

T

KIRAN PANDAY

17 - 23 DECEMBER 2010 #53212|ECONOMY

While microfinance has been very successfulin the Tarai, the challenge now is to move tothe hills and the mountains. �“Institutions arereluctant to go to these areas because of thehigh cost of operation,�” says Shankar ManPradhan of the Rural MicrofinanceDevelopment Centre (RMDC), a wholesalelender to microfinance institution. Settlementstend to be more scattered in the hills and theoptions for income-generating activities to betaken up with the help of loans are fewer thanin the Tarai.

Nonetheless, microfinance institutionsare beginning to acknowledge this servicegap and some are now taking the initiative toextend their services into more difficultterrain. RMDC has been trying to incentiviseorganisations to begin work in the hills byproviding loans with interest at only 2 percent. Co-operatives like Himchuli Krishi,Hatemalo and Kasthuri have already takenup the gauntlet and are now working in thevillages of Kalikot, Accham and Jajarkot.

icrofinance institutions in India�’s AndhraPradesh suffered a huge blow after legislationwas passed that prevented them from deploying

any agents for the recovery of loans. It was meant toaddress allegedly coercive actions the institutions hadundertaken to recover loans from borrowers.

The legislation followed reports in October this yearof over 80 suicides in the state, triggered by high interestrates and aggressive debt collection techniques bymicrofinance institutions. While it was taken to stopexploitation of poor borrowers, the legislation has in turnmeant borrowers have stopped paying loans, cripplingthe microfinance industry.

Muhammad Yunus, the Bangladeshi economist whowon the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his GrameenBank�’s pioneering work in microfinance, admitted thereputation of microcredit had been tarnished due toIndian commercial companies that charge high interestrates and allegedly use heavy-handed tactics to collect

wenty-seven-year-old Kamala Pariyar(pictured above) of Lamatar owns atailor�’s shop with three sewing

machines and a cupboard of cloth for herclients to choose from. Until six years ago,Pariyar would spend her time looking forsewing jobs at other tailors�’ businesses. Withhelp from DEPROSC, a microfinanceinstitution, she has started out on her own.

�“I started with a loan of Rs 10,000,�” saysPariyar. �“Now the earnings from my shop areenough for my household expenditures, mychild�’s school fees, and I have savings as well.

Small is beautifulThe success of microfinance in Nepal servesto remind us that poverty needs to be battledhousehold by household

PAAVAN MATHEMA I am much happier.�”Pariyar is one of the 1.7 million Nepalis

who have benefited from the unique conceptof microfinance. Known popularly as�‘banking for the poor�’, the core idea behindmicrofinance is the provision of collateral-free, small loans that aim to reduce povertyamong borrowers.

�“Microfinance is an instrument againstpoverty,�” says Harihar Dev Pant of NirdhanUthan Bank. �“And I would say that we inNepal have been able to successfully replicatethe model of microfinance to reach itsobjectives.�”

While it was the government thatintroduced microfinance to Nepal with the

establishment of the Grameen DevelopmentBank in the early 1990s in each of the fivedevelopment regions, it is the private sectorthat is now surging ahead with microfinanceinitiatives. A recent regional conference onmicrofinance hosted in Kathmanduindicated that Nepal is performing wellcompared to the rest of South Asia. AfterBangladesh and India, Nepal has achievedthe most in terms of clients, servicesprovided, and institutional development.

Microfinance services here are providedchiefly through microfinance developmentbanks, NGOs, and cooperatives. Theseinstitutions operate in over 55 districts,extending financial services to those who did

not have access to them earlier. Average loansize is Rs 15,000, usually to be paid backover the period of a year. Institutions claiman impressive recovery rate of over 98 per cent.

Cases of default are rare because insteadof servicing individual clients, microfinanceinstitutions in Nepal form groups ofborrowers. In the absence of collateral againstloans, it is the group that acts as the guarantorand a borrower feels morally obliged to payhis or her loans back on time. Microfinanceinstitutions, recognising that financialmanagement is especially difficult for thoseunused to banks, go step by step with theirclients. They first provide prospective clientswith financial training, then monitor themclosely through monthly meetings. �“When amember of a borrowers�’ group is unable topay, everyone pitches in,�” says Lok HariKoirala, who works with DEPROSC Nepal.�“This instills a collective sense ofresponsibility.�”

Microfinance institutions have plans forexpansion, but the difficulty seems to lie infinding stable sources of funding for loans.While there are regulations in place thatrequire commercial banks to allocate3 per cent of their total advances to deprivedsectors, not all of this money reachesmicrofinance. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) is nowseeking to establish a �‘MicrofinanceDevelopment Fund�’. �“This fund will act as awholesale lender and create specialprovisions for this sector,�” says Gopal PrasadKaphle, Executive Director of the MicroFinance Promotion and SupervisionDepartment in NRB. The central bank isintroducing Microfinance Act that willintegrate all microfinance institutions undersecond-tier institutions for regulation andmonitoring. NRB has also open doors formicrofinance institutions to collect publicfunds.

The challenge now is to ensure that theprofit motive does not affect the commitmentof those investing in microfinance in Nepal.Social responsibility is key to microfinance,and those implementing it should ensure thetragedy of Andhra Pradesh (see box) is notrepeated here.

T

High finance

repayments. �“It�’s a complete detour and nothing but aquitting of the mission of microfinance,�” Yunus said,responding to the crisis. �“The original microcredit conceptcannot be blamed for their faults.�”

Mission driftM

HANDS FULL: DEPROSC clients in Lamatarmeet monthly to pay their installments, checkon savings, and share experiences.

17 - 23 DECEMBER 2010 #532ENERGY|13

ven advocates of renewableenergy gave up on theprospect of wind power in

Nepal when the two 10KW windgenerators in Kagbeni andMustang were blown away in1989. The damage extendedbeyond that to the generators. Inthe years to come, no seriousefforts were made either to repairthe plant or to set up otherprojects on such a scale.Complications with other windprojects reinforced the idea thatwind power was not viable inNepal.

So it was no less than abreakthrough when in 2009 agroup of students from anengineering college in Kathmanduset up a 2KW wind turbine, usingtheir own resources. The turbinethat stands tall on the roof ofKathmandu Engineering Collegein Kalimati (pic, above) generatesenough electricity to power thecomputer lab and library of thecollege and is much morepowerful than most windturbines set up by the governmentand NGOs across the country,most of which produce 200-600Wfor lighting purposes only.

�“It took us little more than a

month to set up the turbine. Weused locally available materials,some of which even came fromthe junkyard, and built a fullyfunctioning wind power plant ata very reasonable price. Wewanted to prove that wind powercan work in Nepal,�” says AmritSingh Thapa, who led the group.The same year, they went on to setup the tallest turbine in Nepal, a1.5KW generator at a resort inLakhuri Bhanjyang, and nowThapa heads a private companythat promoteswind energy.

According to a study by theAlternative Energy PromotionCentre (AEPC), Nepal has thepotential to generate 3,000MWfrom wind energy, with theKathmandu Valley alone capableof producing 70MW. On average,Nepal gets 18 hours of wind everyday and at least two good windydays a week, and in some placeslike Kagbeni, 200MW could begenerated from a single plant.Along with private firms anddevelopment organisations, thegovernment too has showninterest in tapping into thisresource.

With the declaration of 2009

ore than 60 per cent of Nepal�’spopulation has no access to

electricity. Only 33 per cent, mostly in urbanareas, is supplied power from the grid, and7 per cent derive electricity from alternativeenergy sources. For the rest it is perpetualdarkness once the sun goes down.

Given the power shortages in thecapital, remote rural areas have a long waitahead. Where micro-hydropower plantsare not feasible either, the grid could takedecades to arrive.

But Thanatole, a small Magarsettlement, in Nawalparasi, is proving thathydro isn�’t the only renewable energysource on the block. Wind and solar powerin Hurhure Danda (pic, left) is generating600W of electricity for the 45-householdcommunity, which uses this power forlightingand to charge mobile phones. �“Itwould have taken at least another 10 yearsfor this village to be connected to the grid.Projects such as these, albeit small in

as alternative energy year, thegovernment announced a programto generate 20MW of electricityfrom wind energy in and aroundthe Kathmandu Valley throughpublic-private partnerships.There are also plans to build amodel wind farm of 500KW andprovide assistance to small-scalewind turbine manufacturersgenerating less than 10KW. Butthough a 20MW wind project isin the pipeline, governmentofficials say the focus for the timebeing will be on smaller ruralprojects of a few hundred wattsrather than utility-scale projects.

Many experts rightly pointout that wind or solar power cannever be an alternative forhydropower, especially in acountry like Nepal. But relativelyquick and easy installation canmake wind power plants afeasible option for placesunconnected to the grid wheremicro-hydropower plants are notpossible. �“The government�’spolicy is to promote wind powerin places where wind can beharnessed and communities canbe given some respite before thegrid can make it there,�” AEPC�’sNarayan Adhikary explains.

RUBEENA MAHATO

Ridingthe wind

Wind power hasreceived someinterest fromthe privatesector, and thegovernmentseemsinterested, butdata andpolicies areneeded to drawin investors

Solar-wind hybrid system inPyuthan, 400W, built byKrishna GrillsWind power plant in Pyuthan,1.5KW, built by AEPC18 wind turbines across thecountry, 200-600W capacityeach, built by Practical Action10 turbines in Nagarkot, 1KWeach, built by the Nepal ArmyWind turbines in KathmanduEngineering College andLakhuri Bhanjyang, 2KW and1.5KW, built by Amrit SinghThapa and friends

Energy villagescale, will at least ease their immediatepower needs,�” says Surbir Sthapit ofHICODEF, which has been implementingthis project with the support of PracticalAction.

The project is not without its problems.The wind turbines have been acting up andthe community is relying solely on solarfor the moment. �“Mostly problems arise dueto poor manufacturing and the lack of properrepair and maintenance in remote areas,�”Pushkar Manandhar of Practical Actionsays. �“But because we have installed ahybrid system, one system can providecontinuous supply when there are problemswith the other.�” Practical Action has built18 wind turbines across the country.

Hurhure Danda is also being developedinto a model energy village. There are plansto set up ten biogas plants and providevillagers with improved cooking stoves thatminimise indoor pollution and are moreenergy efficient.

The private sector, on theother hand, is also eyeing urbanareas as a potential market. �“Weare looking into building a windpower plant near the KathmanduValley. And unlike thegovernment, we want to gobeyond a few kilowatts,�” saysThapa. Ram Poudel, lecturer at theInstitute of Engineering inPulchok, says that technicallythis is not a problem, �“In placeswhere wind readings are high,wind power can be more costeffective than other renewablesources. As much as 10MW ofelectricity can be produced ineight months if all conditions aremet, which is of course muchquicker than hydropower,�” hesays.

The private sector says thegovernment should at least createan investment-friendlyenvironment for companieswilling to invest. �“The nationalwind policy, the draft of whichwas prepared months ago, has notbeen finalised,�” says Thapa.

Nischal Shrestha of KrishnaGrill Engineering Works,Mandikhatar, echoes this concern.�“We know that there is animmense possibility for windpower but investors will notmove forward unless there areproper policies and provisions inplace.�” Adhikary concedes: �“Withthe data we have now, it will bevery hard to draw in foreigninvestors.�”

Wind systemsin Nepal

E

M

nepalitimes.comWind turbine in LakhuriBhanjyang

17 - 23 DECEMBER 2010 #532 4|LABOUR

What is the current situation ofNepali migrant workers?

Purna Chandra Bhattarai (JointSecretary, Ministry of Labour): Onlyabout 2 per cent of those who go abroad towork are skilled manpower, 23 per cent aresemi-skilled, and 75 per cent are unskilledlabour. Though Nepalis are authorised towork in 108 countries, 95 per cent go to theGulf and Malaysia, about 90 per cent ofthis through informal channels. About400,000 youths enter the labour marketevery year. Formal and informal annualremittances, which make up about 30per cent of the GDP, amount to more thanthe national budget.

Ganesh Gurung (member, NationalPlanning Commission): We are in apost-conflict situation now, but until weaddress unemployment, we are notaddressing one of the root causes of theconflict. Millions work abroad, but eventhe manpower recruitment sector employsabout 350,000 people within Nepal.

Shengjie Li (Director, ILO Nepal):The Second National Labour Force Survey2008 indicates about 21.1 per cent ofhouseholds have at least one memberliving and working abroad. From 1993 to2007, the volume of remittance increasedby 30-fold, with a major impact onreducing poverty. In spite of contributionsto family income and GDP, many migrantworkers, especially women, face variousproblems, including abuse and trafficking.Another negative impact is the brain drain.And there is serious difficulty inreintegrating migrants into society whenthey come back. The skills they learnabroad have not been utilised forproductive work.

Som Luitel (lawyer, Safe Migration

Network): The foreign employment sectoris fraught with fraud. Over 700 cases offraud have been filed at the foreignemployment department but there is nonational policy to address the issues ofmigrant workers. The government has setup a foreign employment board tocompensate returnees duped by recruitingagencies but it lacks a clear strategy.Recruiting agencies are organised, butmigrant workers are not, and struggle everystep along the way, from finding an agencyto securing decent jobs abroad.

Shaktida Singh (UNIFEM): The issuesof Nepali women migrant workers �– thereare 200,000 abroad �– don�’t fall within theformal framework of migrant workers.There is no specific policy for them. Theyare at high risk as they mostly go throughinformal channels, rather than formalsectors such as industry and constructionwhere insurance and other facilities areguaranteed. Most women work as domestichelp, are undocumented, and aren�’taffiliated with labour unions. Theycontribute up to 15 per cent of totalremittances, but there is no legal protectionavailable for them.

Keshav Badal (legal advisor,GFONT): Migrant records are confusing.We keep records of those who go abroad butthere is no record of returnees. We calculatethe remittance they bring in but don�’t haveany account of how much we have spent togo abroad. And we are also sending skilledpeople abroad, who rich countries have notinvested in. It�’s time to raise the issue of ahuman resource development fund thatrich countries contribute to in exchange forsupplying them with skilled manpower.

Hansaraj Wagle (first vice chair,Nepal Association of ForeignEmployment Agencies): The manpower

agencies themselves have to look forinternational openings to send migrantworkers. We don�’t have direct linkswith employers. Therefore, we have togo through middlemen, whose fee istaken from migrant workers. But wecannot show the details of such dealsto the government, so migrant workersare being charged high fees by someagencies. Manpower agencies have tokeep a Rs 5 million deposit on hand tocompensate workers who have returnedbecause they didn�’t get the jobs theywere promised. But despitecontributing so much remittance,manpower agencies are not recognisedfor their work. Instead they have to facethe charge of cheating aspiring migrantworkers.

What needs to be done to protectthe rights of Nepali migrantworkers, and to manageremittances productively?

Keshav Badal: Migrant workers haveto cross a number of hurdles and areduped before they fly out. They shouldbe informed about the jobs they areapplying for, the salary and benefits, aswell as the risks. As far as insurance isconcerned, the government has grantedmanpower agencies a license to cheat.Migrant workers should only have topay a lump sum rather thaninstallments that amount to muchmore, and undocumented workersshould also be included somehow.

Madan Mahat (former vice chair,Nepal Association of ForeignEmployment Agencies):Government should facilitate traveland have labour attachés in destinationcountries, which could reduce the risk,particularly for women. We should

With formalremittancesfrom the3 million Nepalimigrant workersacross the globereaching Rs 262billion in 2010, it�’sno exaggeration tosay foreignemployment is thebackbone of theNepali economy.Himalmediaorganised aroundtablediscussion onmigrant labour lastweek. Excerpts:

develop an online system of allstakeholders through which we can accessinformation on workers and monitortheir situation.

Shaktida Singh: We cannot bar themovement of people. If they see betteropportunities abroad we cannot stopthem, but if women could earn Rs 5,000-6,000 here they would not leave. Thesocial costs to families are high. Foreignemployment should be made an option,not a forced choice.

Purna Chandra Bhattarai: We havedecided to send women abroad only afterthe recommendation of the Nepaliembassy. We have also raised the issue ofestablishing an embassy in Saudi Arabia.We have been lobbying for insurance andthe implementation of the ILOconvention on migrant workers. Thegovernment has been drafting foreignemployment regulations and is reviewingmigration policy, and is working on ascheme to utilise remittances better. Weare also planning to decentralise theforeign employment board, and develop adatabase of job opportunities.

Shengjie Li: There should be a tripartitemechanism of the government, recruitingagencies, and workers�’ organisations toimplement the ILO convention, whichensures safety of migrant workers. Wehave been helping in capacity building bytraining government officers, labourattachés, trade union representatives, andprivate recruiting agencies. The NAFEAcode of conduct should be put inpractice, and NAFEA should develop agrading system for recruiting agencies.The government should encourageworkers to use legal channels to sendremittances and develop an economicmechanism to utilise these funds.

Helping workers abroad

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

17 - 23 DECEMBER 2010 #53216|BACK SIDE

www.

nepa

litim

es.c

omIS

SN 1

814-

2613

CDO Regd No 194/056/57 Lalitpur, Central Region Postal Regd. No 09/066/67

N o, the Evening Standarddid not get an exclusiveon the Chitwon Pistol

Incident, the headline refers toBritish Army �‘Para-commandos�’implicated in killing non-combatants in Helmand. But theLondon tabloid does evoke thepast and the future.

NC and UML of course pouredout righteous anger at the royalex-highness carrying out HawaiiFire at Tiger Tops in order tomask their own inability to endthe political deadlock. Butconspicuous by their muted reaxwere the Baddies. That figures,since the Mau Mau are also thetype that shoot first and talklater. Several of their rank andfile, including a CA member, whodidn�’t just brandish weapons butactually murdered half a dozenpeople, are walking around thestreets in broad daylight.Apprehending Paras Sircar wouldmean the comrades would have to

A bunch of sorry asses

be booked as well.

Although Rubel Bhai passedhimself off as a victim in all this,the skeletons have started rattlingin his closet as well. He may havebeen better off not going to the

press at all with the storythat the Clown Princetold him to stick it upwhen he refused to go on anight safari. It nowappears that he is theSenior Vice-Chairman andActing President of theextremely dubious WorldPeace and EconomicDevelopment Organisation(WPEDO), registered inDhaka, which has an HQshaped incredibly like anocean-going liner inDhanmondi called ChistiaPalace. And guess whoWPEDO�’s Executive VicePresident is: none other

than our very own Suzie Wongand her dotter Melanie Koirala.All three have been listed as �“Dr�”on the website(www.wpedo.com), which hassince been deactivated.

One after-effect of the trigger-happy prince brandishing apistol at the son-in-law of theforeign minister is that it seemsto have patched up the brewingrow in the NC over partyleadership. By coming outswinging Sushil Da may havebought time on his ownappointment fiasco. JhusilKoirala immediately used theopp to going around parleyingwith party leaders to create aunity front and by Friday we mayactually have a full-fledgedHouse session on this. Not bad tosee them agreeing on at leastsomething for a change. At leastwe know now how to get thekangresis to start workingtogether: let loose Paras to pissoff Suzie Q. The Prince and thePrincess are our insurance policy,let�’s keep them around just incase things get totally out ofhand. May Pashupati and Allahhave mercy on these spoilt

royalties.

Comrade Fierce One is downwith �“a little bit of typhoid�”according to his secretary-cum-body guard-cum-receptionist-cum-computer operator-cum-heirapparent son Prakash. The DearOne seems to have ticked offMakunay by not passing on thePM�’s phone to Dad. MKN calledPKD from Brussels a little beforemidnight, forgetting the timediff. Here is the transcript:

MKN: Hello.Prakash: Who�’s this?MKN: I am Nepal.Prakash: The country or theperson?MKN: The prime minister.Prakash: Oh yeah? And I amVladimir Illyich. Don�’t you knowwhat time it is in Nepal? Youthink you can run the country?Go away, Dad�’s sleeping. (Hangsup noisily).

Long and short of it is thatMKN is not on speaking termswith PKD for the moment. AndMakunay has stopped makingphone calls himself, and lets hisPA call. The quote of the weekmust be the prime ministeradmitting on his return fromBelgium: �“The reason I have beentravelling so much is because itdoesn�’t matter whether I am inNepal or not.�” What has he beendrinking, the truth serum?

So Himal Sharma has beenelected the president of the AllNepal Federation of StudentUnions (Revolutionary) during ageneral convention in which theChief Guest was the son andsuccessor of the SenderoLuminoso leader, Prof AbimaelGuzman, aka Comrade Gonzalo.(�“Long live the solidarity of thepeople of Nepal and Peru�”). Hemay be the boss of kranticurrystudents, but Himal is 40 yearsold, with four grown-upchildren, one of them in medicalschool in China. In his campaignspeech he proposed all Maoistleaders take their children out ofprivate schools, which didn�’tmake a lot of people happy. Andthen his boss Comrade Chairmanturned up and threatened to turnall schools in Nepal into�‘barracks�’ and all school childreninto �‘gorillas�’.

Compared to these buffoons,Dr Baburam�’s remarks at a booklaunch this week organised bythe Nepal-China Society in thecapital actually sound quitelogical. BRB said (exact quote):�“Buddhism is actually quiteclose to Marxist ideology. LordBuddha held very progressiveviews.�” Ahem. ComradeBuddha didn�’t go aroundkilling 16,000people, butthat�’s a minorpoint.

ass(at)nepalitimes.com

#532 17 - 23 December 2010 16 pages Rs 30

Representatives of the 27parties focus on the task at

hand while debating whetherto extend the term of the High

Level Taskforce, Sunday

hatever the motivationsof those demanding aparliamentary session,

and those in governmentopposing it, the fact remains that

Getting down to businessthere�’s a lot of work pending. Inthis sense alone, the President�’saction to call for a session from19 December cannot really befaulted.

This does not mean thehonourable members of the CAwill actually achieve much, withdecisions largely relegated to thehead honchos of the three

political parties. But a caretakergovernment that doesn�’t even carefor the niceties of parliamentaryprocess is rather less than agovernment. Let the games begin.

Microfinance is one way to tacklepoverty household by household.

In Nepal�’s energy-starved economy,every little bit counts. Does windpower make the grade?

Nobel winner Elinor Ostrom inconversation with Kanak Mani Dixit

Wp12

p13

p15

14|FROM THE NEPALI PRESS 17 - 23 DECEMBER 2010 #532

Tapendra Karki in Rajdhani, 13 December

Income levels have increased in Goruchaur inJumla following the provision of road accessunder the Karnali highway project. Locals workedon construction of the road, and now they arereaping the benefits: they can take their productsto market and also purchase goods at cheaperprices.

Since the Nepal Army (NA) took onresponsibility for construction, a 44-kmunsurfaced road has been completed from Nagma.Before, animals had to be used to transport goodsto Surkhet, and charges were Rs 15 per kg. Now,costs have fallen to Rs 4 per kg. �“The road hasmade our lives much easier. Now we can transportthe potatoes, apples, beans and other fruits andvegetables grown here to markets in Surkhet,

Nagarik, 13 December

Student unions of several political parties havedemanded that Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC)reverse the recent fuel price hike. In a jointstatement, they warned that they would launch aprotest program if NOC did not comply.

The statement points out that instead of makinginternal improvements to eradicate irregularities,corruption and criminalactivities, NOC hasincreased prices at theexpense of consumers. Itargues that it is notjustifiable for NOC toannounce a bonus for itsemployees and on the otherhand, increase prices citinglosses for the corporation.

NOC has announced anincrease of Rs 3 in petrol,diesel, and kerosene, and aRs 75 increase on LP gascylinders. Last year, NOC was forced to reverseits decision to grant bonuses worth almost Rs 200million to its employees, following profits of Rs3.39 billion.

Although NOC has taken no initiative to makeinternal improvements, it blames fuel traders for itsloss. However, the management of the corporationhas been importing less oil from Raxaul, which is

PluralismKrishna Gopal in Kantipur, 14 December

Road to prosperityNepalganj and India,�” says Panna PrasadUpadhaya, a local from Kanaka Sundari. �“The armyhas constructed the road for us, now Karnali hasbeen declared a zone for fruits.�”

The contractors for the road were unable towork during the conflict years, which was why theNA took on the project. According to NA, all workswill be completed within this fiscal year.

Sanjay KC, a technician at NA, says the roadwill be extended to Gamgadi in Mugu. In additionto the highway, 700m of smaller roads that willlink several adjoining villages are also underconstruction. An investment of Rs 21 million willbe required to complete the project but thegovernment has allocated only Rs 8.75 million forit. Completion of the project will grant road accessto the residents of Dolpa and Mugu as well,leaving Humla as the only Karnali district withoutaccess.

Price hike woescloser and works out cheaper, and more fromBarauni. It costs Rs 9.13 extra to transport oil fromBarauni and a study by NOC shows that 250 litresof oil per tanker are stolen during the process. Buteven after employees submitted a file at theCommission of Abuse of Authority, no action hasbeen taken in this regard.

In response to the protests, NOC has releaseda statement to clarify its decision. It has claimedthat because of increase in the international prices

of crude oil, the domesticprices had to be increased.The corporation�’s lossesreached a high of Rs 43million after theinternational price rose toUS$90 per barrel. However,the statement does notmention the cost price thatNOC pays in India. Inaddition, when theinternational price haddropped to $40 per barrelearlier, NOC still

maintained the price it had announced when therate was $75 per barrel.

The corporation has not invested in improvingits technical capability or in quality controlmechanisms. When losses occur NOC seeks totransfer costs to the consumers �— but it makes noeffort to give profits back to consumers when it isin the black.

INTERVIEW|1517 - 23 DECEMBER 2010 #532

Kanak Dixit: Though Nepal�’s heritage isancient, including in managing commonproperty resources such as forests andwatercourses, we seem always bent onabandoning our successes. Weexperimented for five years with localgovernance, drawing on the legacy ofparticipatory management, but now that hasbeen killed off. Community forestry is underfire. One gets the feeling that some of ourdecision-takers and opinion-makers areblind to our heritage.

Elinor Ostrom: Well, that�’s not unusual.Scholars all over the world greeted GarettHardin�’s 1968 article on �‘the tragedy of thecommons�’ with enthusiasm because it isvery easy to presume that everydayfarmers, fisherfolk, and those managing theforests are trapped and cannot break awayfrom overexploiting resources. It�’s sad,because in Nepal there is an incrediblehistory of communities doing fabulous work.There are state solutions and marketsolutions that are talked about, and theoptions given are either privatisation orgovernment takeover, but you have to lookat the Nepali example of local governance.Together with scientific knowledge, youhave to respect indigenous knowledge.

KD: For decades in Nepal�’s modern era, wehave been seeing fields leading up to shrub-land, then forests. It was only from the1990s onward that we began to notice sharpdelineation between fields and forests, like,shall we say, in the postcards ofSwitzerland. Are we seeing proof of thesuccess of community forest management,where the transfer of responsibility alsobrings about these sharp demarcations?

EO: I think so. I have seen how localcommunities, when they are given realownership, have the incentive to try to getas much of the forests planted andproductive. When there are harvestingrights, for non-timber products, firewoodand timber, you create long-term interests.But when there is conflict or if governmenttakes things away, it is not always easy forforests to recover. When highly degradedforests are handed back, it is difficult for thecommunities to nurse them back to goodhealth. You have to remember that some ofNepal�’s forests were managed by villagers

�“Rebuild the t-r-u-s-t�”

well into the 1970s and 1980s, and onlythereafter came under government control.

KD: While researching the common poolresources of Nepal, I wonder if you havefollowed our experience with the electedVDCs and DDCs. Today, not only are thereno elections, this local governmentmachinery is completely corrupted with aso-called �‘all-party mechanism�’ in place.This is the opposite of what elected localbodies are supposed to be, but even thedevelopment agencies are quiet as localgovernment is denied.

EO: I know more about the Panchayat years.Back then, the villages had a lot more powerand capacity because they had remainedoutside the reach of government. When Ifirst started doing research in the middlehills, in areas where the central governmentwas not very active, the locals had to dothings themselves or they wouldn�’t getanything of value. So there was a lot of self-organising going on in irrigation, forestryand other areas.

KD: Your work serves to remind us of aprevious reality, which existed in placeseven during the Panchayat era.

EO: Yes, but of course it was not perfectbecause one doesn�’t find people governingthemselves in ways that are always fair andefficient. Community management systemscan succeed or fail. If it is for yourself, yourchildren and grandchildren and your friends�’grandchildren, you have an incentive to dosomething better. But there are problems.Hetereogeneity can be a challenge in aforest governing unit, in terms of the existingdivisions by caste, wealth or ethnicity, eventhough this does not automaticallyguarantee failure. It is true that the castestructure did not make success uniform inthe community-managed system.

KD: We are at a point in Nepal where asense of failure pervades the landscape.The long-standing political confusion hasmade the public at large despondent.

EO: You have such rich heritage! I starteddoing research here sometime in the late1970s and early 1980s and I was reallyimpressed with what I saw out in the

villages. Compared to government-runirrigation systems, the farmer-managed oneswere more efficient and equitable. They weregenerating higher harvests, there was morewater getting to the tail-end users.Remember, they do not use fancy systems �–these are logs and mud canals that controland divert the water, employed with greatingenuity. In the Rapti Valley, there were 85irrigation systems giving farmers threecrops a year. Engineers came in,disregarded these so-called primitive works,and recommended a huge irrigation systemto be funded by the Asian DevelopmentBank. It would have ruined the localcommunities, but fortunately there weresome alert scholars who were able to stopthe project. In another place in Rapti, adevelopment agency came in and built overthe existing farmer-managed irrigationsystem. Production went down.

KD: How unique are we in Nepal, in terms ofputting in place misconceived infrastructureand ignoring local traditions?

EO: This is not unusual, you see a lot of it inAfrica, for example. Development workerscome in and often disregard the ingenuity ofthe local people. The mentality is, �“We havethe engineering, we have knowledge, we candesign, we will tell them what to do, and theycan learn.�” This really undercutscommunities with rich heritage of indigenousknowledge in managing the commons. But inrecognising the local communities, youcannot employ one-size-fits all solutions.Uniform decentralisation of forest or watersystems through a single piece of legislationfrequently does not work. Managingirrigation for 10 farms from a creek isdifferent from the expensive headworksrequired to serve 300. There will be differentdesign requirements for systems in theTarai, hills and upper hills. Rules and waysof management must fit individual situations,and we must get the young people torecognise that there is something to learnfrom college textbooks as well as from theirheritage. Development work does requirerigorous research and analysis, butsometimes local communities are able to doa lot on their own.

KD: In the public discourse here, we talk alot about community forestry but not about

KIRAN PANDAY

Last week, 2009�’swinner of theNobel MemorialPrize for EconomicSciences, ElinorOstrom, visitedNepal for awhirlwind four-day tour of thecapital. She spoketo Kanak ManiDixit about Nepal�’shistoricallysuccessfulcommunitymanagement of itsresources.

farmer-managed irrigation.

EO: (Showing surprise) But it is one of thesuccess stories of the world! I have workedwith Nepali colleagues, who have studiedboth irrigation and forestry very seriously.We have a database of over 250 sites both offarmer-managed and �‘agency-managed�’irrigation systems, and the former are moreefficient, equitable and productive.

KD: As a researcher focused on rural Nepal,how do you feel about what villagers had togo through during the conflict?

EO: It�’s terrible, and the tragedy is thatpoverty only gets worse when you have asituation in the villages where you fear to goout to do anything. The big finding from ourwork in this country and around the world, ismy favourite five-letter word �– �‘t-r-u-s-t�’. Ifyou�’ve gone through a civil war, thatdestroys trust, and rebuilding it is very hard.

KD: How do we rebuild that trust?

EO: It�’s kind of step-by-step, and a lot canhappen in the villages through initiationssuch as farmer-to-farmer training. Somefarmers from Sindhupalchok whose irrigationsystems were not working very well weretaken to Palpa, where many of the systemsare effective. The sharing that the farmers ofPalpa did with those from other parts helpedbuild on the social capital and knowledgethat was already there.

KD: There are two themes I take away fromthis conversation �– one, that we can use thesocial capital that exists in rural Nepal torebuild trust that has evaporated.

EO: It won�’t happen fast, but it�’s essential.

KD: And the other, that people workingtogether will reduce poverty.

EO: As long as they work together onsomething manageable, then they can besuccessful. And as long as we recognisethat there are multiple ways of doing things.

KD: One last question: does Nepal have ashare in your Nobel Prize in Economics?

EO: Yes, indeed! The villagers of Nepal do!

17 - 23 DECEMBER 2010 #53216|BACK SIDE

www.

nepa

litim

es.c

omIS

SN 1

814-

2613

CDO Regd No 194/056/57 Lalitpur, Central Region Postal Regd. No 09/066/67

N o, the Evening Standarddid not get an exclusiveon the Chitwon Pistol

Incident, the headline refers toBritish Army �‘Para-commandos�’implicated in killing non-combatants in Helmand. But theLondon tabloid does evoke thepast and the future.

NC and UML of course pouredout righteous anger at the royalex-highness carrying out HawaiiFire at Tiger Tops in order tomask their own inability to endthe political deadlock. Butconspicuous by their muted reaxwere the Baddies. That figures,since the Mau Mau are also thetype that shoot first and talklater. Several of their rank andfile, including a CA member, whodidn�’t just brandish weapons butactually murdered half a dozenpeople, are walking around thestreets in broad daylight.Apprehending Paras Sircar wouldmean the comrades would have to

A bunch of sorry asses

be booked as well.

Although Rubel Bhai passedhimself off as a victim in all this,the skeletons have started rattlingin his closet as well. He may havebeen better off not going to the

press at all with the storythat the Clown Princetold him to stick it upwhen he refused to go on anight safari. It nowappears that he is theSenior Vice-Chairman andActing President of theextremely dubious WorldPeace and EconomicDevelopment Organisation(WPEDO), registered inDhaka, which has an HQshaped incredibly like anocean-going liner inDhanmondi called ChistiaPalace. And guess whoWPEDO�’s Executive VicePresident is: none other

than our very own Suzie Wongand her dotter Melanie Koirala.All three have been listed as �“Dr�”on the website(www.wpedo.com), which hassince been deactivated.

One after-effect of the trigger-happy prince brandishing apistol at the son-in-law of theforeign minister is that it seemsto have patched up the brewingrow in the NC over partyleadership. By coming outswinging Sushil Da may havebought time on his ownappointment fiasco. JhusilKoirala immediately used theopp to going around parleyingwith party leaders to create aunity front and by Friday we mayactually have a full-fledgedHouse session on this. Not bad tosee them agreeing on at leastsomething for a change. At leastwe know now how to get thekangresis to start workingtogether: let loose Paras to pissoff Suzie Q. The Prince and thePrincess are our insurance policy,let�’s keep them around just incase things get totally out ofhand. May Pashupati and Allahhave mercy on these spoilt

royalties.

Comrade Fierce One is downwith �“a little bit of typhoid�”according to his secretary-cum-body guard-cum-receptionist-cum-computer operator-cum-heirapparent son Prakash. The DearOne seems to have ticked offMakunay by not passing on thePM�’s phone to Dad. MKN calledPKD from Brussels a little beforemidnight, forgetting the timediff. Here is the transcript:

MKN: Hello.Prakash: Who�’s this?MKN: I am Nepal.Prakash: The country or theperson?MKN: The prime minister.Prakash: Oh yeah? And I amVladimir Illyich. Don�’t you knowwhat time it is in Nepal? Youthink you can run the country?Go away, Dad�’s sleeping. (Hangsup noisily).

Long and short of it is thatMKN is not on speaking termswith PKD for the moment. AndMakunay has stopped makingphone calls himself, and lets hisPA call. The quote of the weekmust be the prime ministeradmitting on his return fromBelgium: �“The reason I have beentravelling so much is because itdoesn�’t matter whether I am inNepal or not.�” What has he beendrinking, the truth serum?

So Himal Sharma has beenelected the president of the AllNepal Federation of StudentUnions (Revolutionary) during ageneral convention in which theChief Guest was the son andsuccessor of the SenderoLuminoso leader, Prof AbimaelGuzman, aka Comrade Gonzalo.(�“Long live the solidarity of thepeople of Nepal and Peru�”). Hemay be the boss of kranticurrystudents, but Himal is 40 yearsold, with four grown-upchildren, one of them in medicalschool in China. In his campaignspeech he proposed all Maoistleaders take their children out ofprivate schools, which didn�’tmake a lot of people happy. Andthen his boss Comrade Chairmanturned up and threatened to turnall schools in Nepal into�‘barracks�’ and all school childreninto �‘gorillas�’.

Compared to these buffoons,Dr Baburam�’s remarks at a booklaunch this week organised bythe Nepal-China Society in thecapital actually sound quitelogical. BRB said (exact quote):�“Buddhism is actually quiteclose to Marxist ideology. LordBuddha held very progressiveviews.�” Ahem. ComradeBuddha didn�’t go aroundkilling 16,000people, butthat�’s a minorpoint.

ass(at)nepalitimes.com