News from Nepal

Talking to Nepali reporters in New Delhi — where he went to attend the 14th SAARC Summit — PM Koirala, albeit in a roundabout way, said that there was no chance of king Gyanendra being active during the CA elections.

When asked "What will you do if king Gyanendra tries to disrupt the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections?", Koirala replied with a question of his own, "Do you mean ‘king Gyanendra’ or ‘Gyanendra’?"

Koirala also said, "Forget the king, let's talk about Gyanendra."

"I can not talk about the issues of CA right now; we need some “spice” to create an environment for the CA and NC will provide the “spice”."

When asked about NC unification, Koirala said that in the present condition, unification was necessary, not only of the two Congress parties but among all the eight parties.

He also revealed that talks were being held with NC-D President Sher Bahadur Deuba regarding NC unificaiton.

"When I managed to get united even with the Maoists, of course unification with NC-D will happen," said Koirala.

The PM also said that Nepal's prestige among the international community had increased as the peace process was moving ahead positively.

Stating that the peace process was yet to reach a conclusion, Koirala expressed his commitment that he would make it (peace process) reach a final destination within his tenure.

Answering to a query regarding the Terai problems, PM Koirala said that he was ready to hold talks with concerned groups to resolve the Terai problems and would begin the needful consultations with all concerned as soon as he returns to the capital.

PM Koirala, who is scheduled to return to Nepal tomorrow, met Bangladesh's provisional government's Chief Advisor Fakrudhdhin Ahmed this morning.

Koirala is also scheduled to meet Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee and former Indian PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee later today.

According to Deputy Examination Controller Sundar Shakya, two were arrested by the police in Dhanusha while they were trying to enter the examination hall here in Dhanusha on the pretext of examination supervisors.

Laxman Prasad Shah and Ranjit Kumar Jha — who had entered the examination hall in of Kanya Primary School with the identity card of Raj Kishore Yadav — were discovered by the district examination monitoring team and were handed to the police, said Shakya.

Similarly, four examination supervisors have been suspended for acting against the rules of SLC examinations.

Among the suspended supervisors, two are from Shishu Gyan Nikunja Primary School and one each from Kanya Primary School and Aurahi Primary School.

According to our local correspondent in Sankhuwasabha, a student and a security guard have been suspended there.

The SLC examination — also known as the ‘Irongate” — began Wednesday at 7:30 am this year. Altogether 178,952 girls and 189,726 boys are appearing for the exam monitored by 33,225 teachers, officials and security personnel. Of the examinees, 292,287 are regular and 76,391 are exempted students.

The Ministry of Education and Sports informed that 1,186 centers have been set up across the country.

Of the total examinees, 102, 207 are from the eastern, 119, 216 from central, 77, 472 from western, 38,989 from mid-western and 30,794 from far western regions respectively.

Deputy Examination Controller Sunder Shakya said that all the centers are fully prepared for the examination. "All necessary materials have reached the respective centers and so have the resource persons, including 11,860 security personnel," he said. Earlier, SLC questions used to be prepared from class nine and 10 courses.

'SLC Guideline 2007' issued by the ministry said that though the examination is three hours long, differently-able students will get additional 90 minutes.

In the 20-minute long discussion, both the prime ministers — who are currently in New Delhi, India to attend the 14th SAARC Summit — concluded that both parties need to be more “serious” in finding a long-term solution to the refugee issue.

During the meeting, Bhutanese PM Wangchuk vowed to resolve the refugee crisis by the next ministerial meeting of the two countries.

Koirala and Wangchuk also agreed to hold a secretary-level meeting soon.

The Bhutanese PM was positive at resolving the refugee imbroglio by the forthcoming ministerial meeting, PM Koirala’s foreign affairs advisor Dr Suresh Chalise quoted Koiaral after the meeting as saying.

PM Koirala also urged his Bhutanese counterpart to finalise the issue before 2008, when Bhutan would attain full democracy.

Koirala said that if the issue was resolved before the instatement of democracy in Bhutan, the refugees could also participate in the Bhutan democratization process and that it would also improve Bhutan’s image in the international committee.

Wangchuk assured Koirala that the upcoming ministerial level meeting between the two countries would find a concrete solution to the problem.

Moreover, Wangchuk also expressed commitment on behalf of Bhutan that his government would be more “serious” regarding the issue, Dr Chalise said.

Chalise added Koirala, who discussed the process of repatriation and third-country settlement of the Bhutanese refugees with Indian and US leaders, today talked to Wangchuk only on the repatriation process.

Meanwhile, PM Koirala met Sri Lankan President Mahindra Rajapaksa this afternoon and is scheduled to meet Maldives’ President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in the evening.

Likewise, a meeting of foreign ministers of the SAARC countries is underway in New Delhi to prepare a memorandum regarding the agreements made during the summit and previous ministerial meets.

In the memorandum, issues like formation of a common mechanism against terrorism, Open University, regional food store and commitment to help – made by the observer nations – will be included, a foreign ministry source said.

After the closing ceremony for the summit, at 5pm today, the memorandum will also be made public.

Thapa had gone to the CIAA office this afternoon in answer to a summons by the CIAA.

Earlier, Thapa had been issued a summons letter on March 28 which ordered him to report to the CIAA within eight days of issuance of the letter.

The High-Level Probe Commission (HLPC) formed under the coordination of former Supreme Court justice Krishna Jung Rayamajhi to investigate atrocities and corruption committed during the royal regime had recommended action against Thapa, finding him guilty of misappropriating funds worth around Rs 20 million during his tenure as the CoAS.