Forget CA revival, Prez tells parties

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TheHimalayan
T I M E S
A THOUGHT FOR T ODAY
Whatever the mind can conceive and believe,
the mind can achieve.
—Dr. Napoleon Hill
Consensus foremost
If the present trend in Nepali politics continues,
there is a slim chance of finding a suitable outlet to
the present political impasse. The need of the hour is
for the holding elections for a new Constituent Assembly
which can double up as a parliament. It is unrealistic
to believe that the option of reviving the CA
for a short period to write a constitution after leaving
out the contentious issues will solve the problem.
First and foremost, reviving the defunct CA is not legal
as per the Interim Constitution. Moreover, it is futile
to believe that this is the panacea for the problems
besetting the country at this very delicate transient
period. The CA had been given more than sufficient
time to come up with a new constitution, and
the former lawmakers failed much to the dismay of
the Nepali people who believed that the lawmakers
would deliver. Instead, Nepal politics mostly revolved
on as to which political party should lead the government.
It seemed the major political parties were obsessed
with holding on to power and having their
men at the helm of powers no matter what.
The country is now making do with a caretaker
power for over four months now, and in that period
no substantial achievements have been made on the
political front. It is agreed that a national unity government
could only be able to hold free and impartial
elections. So, the demand of the time is for forming
such a government which
alone would be able to do
It is high time the this. The Maoists are for
political parties heading the government
with their man holding
achieved the the post of prime minister
elusive consensus desperately. It is evident
that they have every in-
by overcoming tention of manipulating
hurdles in the the elections when they
are held and coming to
form of rigid
power through coercion
stances
and inciting fear among
those who are to exercise
their franchise. Anyway, no matter who heads the
government that would carry out the elections, it
should be one of consensus having the backing of not
only the political parties but also the people.
This is now time for the political parties, the major
ones in particular, to achieve the much touted consensus
which so far seems to be proving elusive with
the political parties standing rigidly to their stances.
They should rise above their partisan interests with
the interest of the common people and the country
uppermost in mind. There can be no doubt that unless
a consensus is reached about forming a national
unity government, the holding of authentic polls will
not be possible. Hence, it is in the interest of all the
political leaders concerned to keep this in mind to
reach consensus by exhibiting more flexibility. They
go around making such a commitment but they fail
to deliver when the time arrives to translate them
into reality. To the layman it appears that the major
political parties are merely attempting to have their
people in power, which they perceive would give
them an edge while holding elections. This is indeed
very unfortunate for then the validity of the polls
would be questionable. Only polls held under a national
unity government can guarantee impartiality
and fairness and provide the much needed fresh
mandate for drafting the republican constitution.
Nothing moving
Announcements and declarations hardly make
much sense unless they are backed up by
adequate homework and judicious planning. Also,
without the appropriate strategies they are bound to
fall flat. This is what is happening with the Investment
Year 2012-2013. The government seems to have
spun the idea of observing the Investment Year
without a list of the requirement to make it a
success. Now, the Doing Business Report 2013,
published by the World Bank, shows Nepal ranking
108th out of 185 economies. It reports that not even
one reform was initiated to facilitate in doing
business. Though the Investment Year had the intention
of luring foreign direct investment, no such development
has taken place at all thanks to the apathy
of the government.
Taking into consideration the rather unfriendly
business climate in the country, foreign investors are
wary of stepping into this domain. Moreover, the
government is only paying lip service without any
concrete steps to impress the foreign investors to
make investments. At this rate, the only thing the
country has earned is another year to be observed
sans any real thrust.
• LETTERS
CA not
required
Shakti Basnet (UCPN-M) has
stated recently that the single
ethnic federalism would not
fragment the country if the
people are able to own the
nationality of the country.
Basnet seems to be doubtful
whether the people would be
able to own the nationality of
the country or not by taking
the road of single ethnic
federalism. If the single ethnic
federalism would result in the
incapability of the people to
own the nationality of Nepal,
the country would fragment.
I do not think that Nepal
should take this risk. Nepal
should take a U-turn from the
federalism. Instead, a rigid
guarantee of the proportional
representation of all the 103
ethnic communities in all the
organs of the state in the
Republic should be made. This
would cure the age-old
marginalization of the
marginalized ethnic
communities.
I would also like to opine
that the country need not
spend again to buy track-suits
for the lawmakers because the
direct ratification by the
supreme people of Nepal on a
very vibrant republican
constitution drafted by a
committee of Nepalese and
foreign experts, through a
national referendum would
be most democratic, surest,
quickest, least expensive and
the least risky way ahead to
give a very urgent birth to the
constitution. Nepal neither
needs the reinstatement of the
RAM KUMAR KAMAT
Sangita Chaurasiya of
Taulihawa Municipality
Ward-4 in Kapilvastu qualified
to be a citizen of Nepal
by birth when the new Citizenship
Act 2006 and the Interim
Constitution 2007 incorporated
the provision for
citizenship by birth. Her father,
who also became a citizen
by birth, was unaware of
the ‘one time’ provision of
the law and hence failed to
secure citizenship for his
daughter. There are many
others who suffer Sangita’s
fate. There are many cases
where children of naturalised
citizens waited for
30-35 years to become citizens
of Nepal. I know a family
where the elder brother
became a citizen of the
country by birth before the
end of 2037 BS, the cut-offdate
mentioned in the 1964
citizenship act, but his
younger brother waited for
almost 25 years to become a
citizen of this country. The
younger brother could have
acquired a naturalised citizenship
upon reaching 16
years of age, but he did not
do so because he never considered
himself a foreigner.
In order for one to qualify
for naturalised citizenship,
one has to renounce his/her
previous citizenship which
was not the case with this
man, and there is reason to
• TOPICS
SANTOSH KC
Food during the holidays
spurs the feeling of warmth,
comfort, and the sense of belonging.
Families together at the
table, sharing dishes helps bring
out traditions to the forefront.
We associate our family foods
with our happiness. We associate
our food with the caring of
others. We can give the gift of
food to those we love and for
friends to cherish. We influence
each other with the food we eat,
the food we make, and the foods
we give. We will continue to feel a
sense of connection as we draw
on our personal lives as we share
our memories with all those
around us. Our connection with
food is as special as a gift
dead CA nor any new CA.
Laxmi Bhakta Manandhar,
Kathmandu
Quality counts
For the past few decades the
pass percentage of the school
leaving certificate (SLC) was
only 33 per cent, now the
authorities have fixed the
passing score of 40 per cent.
at the basic level (grade 1 to 8)
and secondary level ( grade 11
to 12) to enhance student
performance. I support the
move. But, only securing
the minimum marks or
percentage doesn’t help
students compete in an
international way. So, the
decisions that the committee
has made is a genuine one. But
there lies a problem, I think it
will be difficult for many
believe that there were
many others who were in
similar situation. A big sigh
of relief for this category of
people came when the new
Citizenship Act and the Interim
Constitution incorporated
provision for citizenship
by birth. But the problem
of those who became
citizens by birth is not over
yet. The man became a citizen
by birth post-2006. He
has three children born before
he became a citizen by
birth. Therefore, his children
do not qualify for citizenship
of this country under
the existing laws.
Nepali laws guarantee citizenship
by descent for
those children whose parents
became citizens before
they were born, but it is not
clear what will be the status
of those children who were
born before their parents
became citizens by birth.
Human rights activists put
the number of such children
to be around three lakhs.
The constitution and the
citizenship act stipulate that
these children whose father
and mother were citizens of
Nepal at the time of their
birth are entitled to be citizens
of Nepal, but many
continue to face hurdles
due to ambiguous legal provisions.
Citizenship rules
stipulate that the CDOs of
the concerned district can
award naturalised citizen-
wrapped at Dashain time.
It is safe to say that food influences
our lives by being ingrained
in our lives. It taps directly
into the pleasure centre of
our brains. It makes us emotional.
It guides our decision about
how we live our lives. To be honest,
it is the fibre that makes fabric
to our lives. Food is an important
part of our lives. Not only do
we need to eat in order to live:
food also has social and cultural
relevance for all of us. The influence
of food on lives is deeply ingrained,
so deeply in fact that
our very existence depends on
every aspect of food. The average
person cannot survive more
than a few days without some
sort of meaningful nutrition. We
all understand and acknowledge
Food unites
• BLOG SURF • CARTOON
Youth issues...
RICHA BHATTARAI
Our country is in the phase of political transition
and even the new constitution is
being made. the new constitution will be
made on participatory approach in order to
include the real voices of the people and to
make the real citizen feel their ownership towards
this issue. i had even attended some
programs regarding the youth issues in the
upcoming constitutional assembly. the main
problem i find is the recognition of youths in
the decision making process and in the planning.
though youths are considered to have
high potential and high energy, their energy is
being wasted in fulfilling the mere interests of
certain parties and political leaders. they are
considered to be the physical strengths but
never the mental backbone. that’s why, youths
are always seen in the streets but never in the
position. the constitution needs to define who
the youths are!!! what is their age bar? we do
not need a new Nepal where the person in
white beard and an old age stick is considered
to be youths.—richabhattarai.blogspot.com
The international obligation
Focus on guaranteeing citizenship
students to secure this modest
pass marks of 40. It will not
make much difference to the
overall pass rate. However, if
the student, teachers, and all
the stakeholders would
come together then only this
new decision can be beneficial
in the long term.
Implementation is needed
than just making a new policy.
More than the pass percentage
alone, the overall quality of
education needs to be
upgraded instead of making
these window dressing.
Moin Uddin. Ghattekulo,
Kathmandu
Be prepared
The Nepalese women team
which went to play in China
for the ACC tournament came
up with a really shameful
Not having citizenship means one cannot
get employment in formal sector, cannot
attend university in some cases; and cannot
acquire driving license or own property.
Without citizenship, one cannot avail the
government’s health programmes,
insurance and banking services
ship to the children of
Nepali mothers married to
foreigner citizens if these
children have resided in
Nepal and have not acquired
citizen of their father’s
country. In practice,
such children continue to
face difficulties in acquiring
Nepali citizenship. Sharad
Bheshwakar of the Nepali
national cricket team is one
example. The Hague Convention
on nationality 1930
this fact. Therefore, having food
readily available is always in our
conscious and subconscious
thoughts. From the minute we
are born, food plays a huge part
in our lives. In cave men times
men were hunters, women were
gatherers, and have times really
changed? Men may not necessarily
whack some poor animal
over the head any more to sustain
their own and their families’
lives, but most still see themselves
as the main provider.
Food is a corner stone of our
world and will increasingly become
more so. Food is the one
thing that we all have in common.
No matter a person’s
colour, religion or social background
we are all linked together
with either our love of good food
states that the contracting
states agree to accord nationality
to a person who
would otherwise be stateless
and this provision remains
the core concept of
other international instruments
that were adopted
subsequently by the United
Nations.
Article 15 of the UN Human
Rights Declaration
(UDHR) states that everyone
has the right of nation-
or by our own dislike of bad
food. We call all recall a moment
as a child when the thought of
going round to grandma’s house
meant being able to have a bowl
of ice cream to cheer us up.
Food fuels our bodies and our
moods. It provides the energy
and nutrients that our cells need
to function properly. With the
current emphasis on dieting,
people are more aware of what
food they eat do to their bodies.
The food smells and sparks
memories vivid with feelings of
warmth and happiness. When
we are getting to know someone
new, try asking them what their
favourite meal is. We never know
what we may find out when
someone starts talking about
food’s role in their life.
performance as it lost to
Bangladesh heavily by 9
wickets, just after being
defeated to Sri Lanka by 20
runs. Both teams are
test-playing ones and they
really showed that Nepal
needs to make special
preparations if it really wants
to prove itself as a competitive
team as it’s already out of the
league stage right now. It
seems that the road ahead is
highly challenging. So, Nepal
should make a high-quality
preparation before going to
such a tournament.
Pratik Shrestha,
Buddhanagar, Baneshwor
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012
ality. No one shall be arbitrarily
deprived of his nationality
or denied the right
to change his nationality.
Similarly, Article 7 (1) of
the Child Right Convention,
which Nepal is a party to,
states that the child shall be
registered immediately after
birth and shall have the
right from birth to a name,
the right to acquire a nationality,
and as far as possible,
the right to know and be
cared by his or her parents.
Article 7 (2) of the convention
says state parties shall
ensure the implementation
of these rights in accordance
with their national
law and their obligation under
the relevant instruments
in particular where
the child would otherwise
be stateless.Article 24 (1) of
the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights
(the ICCPR) states that every
child shall be registered immediately
after birth and
shall have a name. Article 24
(2) further adds that every
child has the right to acquire
nationality. Although government
bureaucrats agree
that there are many genuine
citizens who have failed to
acquire Nepali citizenship,
they do not accept that
statelessness is a problem
and even if it is, it is not a big
problem.
Dhanapati Commission
had concluded that 3.4 mil-
Letters to this column should be addressed to
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Post Box 11651,APCA House,
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email: edit@thehimalayantimes.com,
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lion Nepalis lacked citizenship.
In 2007, when citizenship
laws were amended
and citizenship teams were
dispatched to almost all
parts of the country, 2.6 million
citizenship certificates
were distributed. The UN-
HCR continues to say that
800,000 people (deducted
from the figure of 3.4 million
people who acquired citizenship)
are stateless. Government
officials have refuted
the UNHCR’s claim saying
statelessness and not
having citizenship are two
different issues. The
Supreme Court has observed
in public interest litigation
in recent years that
citizenship is a sensitive issue
and the provision relating
to it are incorporated as
per the country’s national
interest which cannot be
denied. Our citizenship law
should not be liberal. But it
is also equally important
that we not forget our international
obligation. Not
having citizenship means
one cannot get employment
in formal sector, cannot attend
university in some cases;
and cannot acquire driving
license or own property.
Without citizenship, one
cannot avail the government’s
health programmes,
insurance and banking services.
People without citizenship
will remain nonpersons.
• THT 10 YEARS AGO
Axe on political
appointees soon
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28, 2002
The Chand cabinet has decided to cancel
all the political appointments
made by the previous governments. “The
policy decision of the council of ministers
cancels all political appointments
put in place by previous governments,” a
high level source told The Himalayan
Times today after a cabinet meeting. This
decision in effect retires chairmen of all
the government-run institutions who
were appointed on political considerations.
The vacant posts, including high
level positions in a number of public corporations,
commissions and committees,
will gradually be filled, said a source
close to the government. The meeting
also decided on some transfers at the secretary
level. According to sources, Bhanu
Prasad Acharya, secretary at the ministry
of industry, commerce and supplies, has
been transferred to the ministry of finance.
Lok Bandhu Karki, secretary at the
ministry of water resources, is shifted to
the ministry of population and environment,
secretary Lab Kumar Dahal from
the ministry of education and sports to
the ministry of industry, commerce and
supplies. Chuman Singh Basnet has been
appointed acting secretary at the ministry
of education and sports, the sources
said.The cabinet also took stock of the
current law and order situation.
CIAA grills Khadka
Cases filed against
Chaturvedi,Khanal
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 28, 2002
The Commission for the Investigation
of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) today interrogated
former home minister and
Nepali Congress (Democratic) general
secretary Khum Bahadur Khadka on
charges of financial irregularities. This is
the second time that it has questioned
Khadka on his decision concerning the
Rs 170 million Rapti river control project,
when he was water resource minister
three years ago. The interrogation will
continue tomorrow. “The CIAA asked me
several questions concerning the decision
on Bakraha river project,” he told reporters
after the five-hour long grilling.
Khadka refused comment when asked
whether the move was politically motivated.
He said: “I’ve nothing to comment
on this.” The CIAA also filed cases against
two high-ranking officials at the Special
Court, on the same case, demanding 30
days police custody. The CIAA on Friday
had raided the houses of R P Chaturvedi,
executive chairman, Royal Nepal Airlines
Corporation, and AnandaKhanal, joint
secretary at the ministry of physical planning
and works, and taken them under
detention. The hearing will begin tomorrow.
aying that the final decision on the
Rapti river project was taken at the ministerial
level, he said those involved in taking
the decision should be held responsible
as per their status. Chaturvedi said
that they had been cooperating with the
CIAA. “It’s unfortunate that we were taken
in,” he said. Before detaining the two,
the CIAA had interrogated Chaturvedi
five times, and Khanal six times.