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Himalayan News Service Kathmandu, November 27:

Policemen and officers from the Ministry of Communication and Information tonight raided the studio of Radio Sagarmatha, a community FM radio station run by Nepal Federation of Environment Journalists(NEFEJ). This is the second night raid by the ministry in FM stations after the Media Ordinance was promulgated. The incident took place when Sagarmatha was about to air the BBC programme, being up-linked by the FM station. BBC Nepali Service was scheduled to broadcast Maoist leader Prachanda’s interview with BBC. “At 9.20 pm a group of government officials, who arrived at the studio with policemen, seized raided some equipment and arrested five of our staffers,” said Bhupendra Basnet, the general secretary of NEFEJ.
The team reporters Punya Bhandari, Dipak Aryal, Dipak Raj Pandey and Durga Karki and a technician Rajendra Rijal and have been taken to Lalitpur District Police Office. Karki was released being a female and also because the police station did not have a separate room to lodge women. General Secretary of Federation of Nepalese Journalists Mahendra Bista said
that the incident is another example of state terrorism, done on the pretext of implementing the so-called media ordinance. He said that the journalists were arrested on he charge of “supporting the terrorist” even when the FM station had discontinued broadcasting the BBC programme. “This is another example of the state’s mid-night terrorism. The government
has attacked another free radio and taken away its equipment. The government must return the equipment,” he said. He also added that FNJ would soon announce a protest programme.

Razen Manandhar

Kathmandu, November 26: Nepal has decided to express concern and seek compensation for deterioration of country’s natural resources due to emission of harmful gases by the industrialised nations at an international conference that begins on Monday. As many as 189 countries are participating in the Conference of Parties of United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to be held from November 28 to December 9 in Montreal, Canada. Joint-secretary of Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, Lok Darshan Regmi, will represent Nepal in the conference. His agenda: how can Nepal benefit from the Clean Development Mechanism. “I will raise the issue of making the industrialised countries compensate us for the deterioration of our resources, caused due to climate change,” he told The Himalayan Times before leaving the country. He said poor families in Dolakha and Solumkhumbu had to be evacuated due the possibility of bursting of the mountain lakes, which is a direct fallout of climate change caused by the emission of harmful gases into the atmosphere. He claimed that scores of mountain lakes are on the verge of bursting due to the effects of climate change. “We have not harmed the earth. Rather, we have conserved the world environment by following traditional life style, practicing eco-friendly technologies and growing trees. We need to be paid as per the provision of Kyoto Protocol,” he said. The Kyoto Protocol, effective from February 12, has a provision that the industrial countries should reduce carbon emission and if that is not possible must pay the countries or institutions that have played a prominent role in growing trees or sequestrating carbon, thus earning carbon credits for lowering the amount of harmful gases in the atmosphere. Regmi says Nepal recently set a record in developing community forests through people’s efforts, earning carbon credits that can be sold in the carbon trading market. Regmi informed, “We will ask the Clean Development Mechanism executive board to accept carbon credits generated by non-renewable sources of energy like bio-mass projects as well.”

Kathmandu, November 20:

Minister for Environment, Science and Technology Prakash Koirala today announced that he would hold a national conference to mark “National Unity Reconciliation Day” on December 30 and 31 and also on January 1, under the ageis of the National Reconciliation Forum Nepal.
Koirala also issued a press release, stating that a meeting held on November 19 had decided so.
Koirala, a son of BP Koirala, who was expelled from the NC for “anti-party” activities, has set up a 13-member central preparation committee, under his convenorship.
Former state minister Mani Lama is co-convenor and other members are Mahesh Komorcha, Harendra Bahadur Shrestha, Dinbandhu Aryal, Narasingh Malla, Man Bahadur Chand, Hema Dhakal, Umesh Prasad Shah, Ghananath Ojha, Prem Narayan Koirala, Tika Dutta Pokhrel and Dhundi Raj Ojha.

Kathmandu, November 20:

Around 500 tailors working in 40 tailoring centres in the Kathmandu Valley have decided to stage a hunger strike from Tuesday if their employers fail to meet their demands by tomorrow.
Today, they announced another series of protest programmes against their “stubborn and undemocratic” employers. The tailors are on a strike for a week now, but the employers have turned deaf ears to their demands.
“We waited for a week. If we are not heard till tomorrow, we will sit for 12 to 24-hour sit-in and hunger strike,” said Dinesh Nepali, chairman of the Nepal Free Tailors’ Association at a press meet here today.
The association had put forth its demands to the Nepal Cloth Merchant and Tailoring Association (NCMTA) on September 27. The demands included issuance of identity cards, appointment letters, equal wages, record and attendance, and increment in pay. The tailors have also demanded that the employers stop harassing tailors, including facilities like sanitation, communication, clean drinking water and toilet. They had also served an ultimatum that if their demands were not met by November 11, they would launch further protest plans.
On November 15, the NCMTA held a meeting with its members and informed the protesting tailors that they would provide temporary identity cards, can discuss on increment, sanitation services are there and supported that the tailors should not be harassed. But it added that since the nature of job is temporary, they could not provide permanent jobs to them.
Addressing the press meet, rights activist Professor Kapil Shrestha said the demands of the tailors were genuine and of simple nature.
Dalit leader Padam Lal Bishwokarma said the exploited tailors should seek support from the
trade unions to have their demands fulfilled. “It seems that the executive head and the employers have come to an agreement to exploit poor people going beyond legal limits,” he said.
Ganesh Niraula, treasurer of the Trade Union Congress, expressed full support of all trade unions in the tailors’ fight for their rights as guaranteed by the Labour Act of 2048 BS. “We extend our solidarity. If needed, all 300,000 labourers will take to the streets. And we also make sure that we are ready to mediate talks with employers,” he said.
NCMTA chairman Balkrishna Khadgi told this daily that there was no chance of negotiation with the owners of the tailoring centres. “I’m trying to negotiate, but most of the employers have made up their minds either to hire them as they are or close the business,” he said.

Kathmandu, November 19:

Chief Election Commissioner Keshav Raj Rajbhandari today said recognised political parties, which have won three per cent of votes in former elections, will be able to register their parties 15 days ahead of the municipal elections to be held on February 8. The deadline for the party-registration process ended yesterday and the seven major political parties, who have decided to boycott the elections, did not register themselves. The number of candidates contesting the polls are yet to be finalised for the 4,146 seats, in which 1,942,000 voters will exercise their franchise in 1,394 booths in 43 districts.
Addressing an interaction at the Reporters’ Club here, Rajbhandari said the ‘recognised political parties’ will be given a chance to register themselves with the EC till 15 days prior to the elections. “We don’t want any major political party to be left behind,” he said. Rajbhandari said that as the code of conduct of the polls is in operation, no government official will be transferred or promoted in any of the 43 districts. Though voters’ identity cards have been distributed in all the districts organising the polls, those still not receiving them can cast their votes by producing their citizenship certificates, land-ownership cards, teachers’ identity cards and government staffers’ identity cards. People may also use other documents that identify them duly attested by the executive officers of municipalities. Media persons can use their press cards for voting, he said. Rajbhandari added that the EC allows international bodies to observe the elections. However, he added that there has not been an instance earlier when such observers have monitored municipal elections.