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Subscriber’s copy #188 19 - 25 March 2004 24 pages Rs 25 KISHORE NEPAL EYE CONTACT in KAWASOTI A world-class eye care centre in his township along the East- Kathmandu is giving thousands of West Highway, west of the Nepalis the T gift of sight, Narayani River, used to be a and Nepal quiet, peaceful place. Farmers and has emerged traders came here to make phone as a major calls and buy newspapers. They sat exporter of artificial intraocular eye lenses. If only there were more along the streets, drinking tea, cornea donors. p 12-13 talking politics. Nothing really exciting ever happened here. Like a lot of other districts in Nepal, Nawalparasi has changed in Weekly Internet Poll # 128 Q. Does a banda help or harm the organiser? the past three years. The local vocabulary is full of new words like ambush and search opera- tion. But the most dreaded word is bepatta. Total votes:1,002 These days, the only people Weekly Internet Poll # 129. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.com who come to Kawasoti are those Q. Should the political parties take part in looking for a missing son or hus- elections if the government announces dates? band. Shanti is from Deurali village, SUBHAS RAI Apartment and has been searching for her Newly converted long stay two- husband who was abducted by an bedroom apartment. En suite bathrooms, kitchen, spacious living room/ dining armed group several days ago. room. Room maid service, Air This seems to be my fate, I conditioning, cable TV, roof terrace, in a pleasant quiet location. Swimming pool have wept so much I have no tears and Summit Club Membership facilities. left, she says. Shantis husband is Rates negotiable. a teacher, he was neither a Maoist For further information please call Uday or Rabindra on nor a government employee. He 55 24 694/ 55 21 810. was sleeping when they came and dragged him out of the house at three in the morning. Someone in a tea shop in her village told Shanti her husband may be in police custody in Kawasoti. That is why she has come here. At the police station, an officer asked her to wait. Two hours later, another policeman appeared and told her: He is not here, he may be Bepatta in Bharatpur or in Kathmandu. Laxmi and Bhagawati have similar stories of disappeared husbands. Getting no help from Relatives of Nepals disappeareds bear unending pain the police, they are desperate to tell their stories to a visiting reporter, In Kawasoti, Belauti Khanal has at least one disappeared member. the desperate search, the lack of but Laxmi and Bhagwati could not nothing left to feed her family. This is new kind of terror for us, answers. utter a single word. Tears welled Groups of Maoists keep coming by says Karki. The families live in Next week in Geneva, at the up in their eyes, and they stared and there is nothing left. They dread of armed gangs that roam the UN Commission on Human silently at the ground. threaten to kill my husband and villages at night. Rights, the spotlight will be on The horror is unending. A children if we dont feed them, The villagers cant tell whether Nepal in a debate expected to be young man who called himself a Belauti says. The next day the the armed men are soldiers or initiated by the Swiss govern- Maoist who was trying to rape a soldiers come and harass and abuse Maoists. Their uniforms are simi- ment. Both the Maoists and the neighbourhood girl recently, and us. Sometimes they are worse than lar, says Ishwari Pande, ex-DDC government are sure to be Dewaki Tiwari tried to protect her. the Maoists. chairman. So is the method: the censured for atorcities. l In retaliation, a group of Maoists Prem Bahadur Karki used to be midnight knock on the door, a killed Dewakis young son and vice-chairman of Deurali VDC near sleeping husband or son dragged Editorial p2 destroyed her house. here, and says every household has off into the darkness by armed men, Reversing gears 2 EDITORIAL 19 - 25 MARCH 2004 #188 Published by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd, Chief Editor: Kunda Dixit Desk Editors: Trishna Gurung, Jemima Sherpa Design: Kiran Maharjan Web: Bhushan Shilpakar Advertising: Sunaina Shah [email protected] Subscription: Anil Karki, [email protected] Sanchaya Kosh Building, Block A-4th Floor, Lalitpur GPO Box 7251, Kathmandu, Nepal Tel: 01-5543333-6, Fax: 01-5521013 [email protected], www.nepalitimes.com Many little steps Printed at Jagadamba Press, Hatiban: 01-5547018 REVERSING GEARS The abortion bill was a giant leap, but many more t has finally dawned on the current rulers in Kathmandu that the small steps are needed to make motherhood safe I only path to legitimacy is representation sanctioned by the people. It is never too late to learn that lesson. ersistent advocacy efforts by abortions in hospitals, illegal woman said. Isnt it true? I told The political party leadership smells a rat in the government’s womens reproductive rights abortions in hospitals, and unsafe her she was partly right. Parlia- election talk. It is convinced the polls are a ploy by the king to buy P time. That may be true, but can’t be an excuse to dismiss elections activists and strong research and costly operations by private ment has passed the bill, but it outright. findings eventually convinced the providers continue. still needs the kings approval. It When King Gyanendra sacked Sher Bahadur Deuba on 4 October government to reform Nepals It was late in the afternoon at a is a formality, but we cant legally 2002, he invoked the constitution saying that a prime minister who abortion laws two years ago. rural health camp in western perform abortions until then. couldn’t hold elections as planned did not deserve to stay in power. The challenges in coming years Nepal last year when a woman She was downcast as she left Now, the tables are turned. Can his royal government deliver on the came in hesitantly. She looked the clinic without another word. polls it is about to announce? Or is it banking on things getting so much uncomfortable and unsure. I was The sadness in her eyes haunted worse that it will never have to answer that question? GUEST COLUMN If the Maoist blockades are a sign of things to come, it will not be Aruna Upreti used to this, most women have me and I hoped that she easy to hold elections. Even if multi-phased polls are held, the process never spoken about their intimate wouldnt seek some illegal and is sure to be considerably unfree and unfair. As we have seen this will be a very different: health problems with anyone. I untrained quack to terminate her week, all it takes is to set five buses on fire to bring the entire central disseminating information about am pregnant, she told the nurse, pregnancy and put her life in part of the country to a grinding halt. The security forces can do little the new law and about safe who asked her if she wanted to danger. more than hover overhead in choppers. abortion to doctors, health make sure. The nurse turned to me once There couldn’t be a more difficult time to hold polls. The only ques- workers, advocates, law No, said the woman, more we were alone: We health tions are: how and what kind? There seems to be no other way out of enforcement officials and loudly this time and meeting the workers dont know anything the present trilateral deadlock. The Maoists could seize the opportu- nity to put up a political front, the king could get a face-saving way to politicians. We have taken one health workers eyes. I want you about making abortion legal. We invoke Article 127 once more and take himself back to a pre-October giant leap toward saving thousands to help me get rid of it. knew there was a discussion Fourth position, and the parties could go back to the people. of women from unsafe abortion in The nurse explained that it going on in Kathmandu, but no This country has been blundering on the wrong road for the past Nepal each year, but many more was illegal. The woman turned to one ever told us the law was two-and-half years. We can get back on the peace highway by little steps still need to be taken to me and said: But I heard that the passed. reversing gears and undoing the wrong turns of the past by: begin improving the maternal government passed a law saying Having worked for more than l Setting up an acceptable election government made up of all parties mortality crisis in Nepal. (See: abortions could be done in a decade as a reproductive rights l Set dates for staggered local and national elections l In that period, renegotiate a monitored ceasefire Double loading, #184) hospitals. activist, researching, writing and l Conduct credible elections for new parliament As long as young Nepali That is definitely not true, lobbying the government to have l Negotiate a sustainable peace mothers dont have access to the health worker told her abortion legalised, I believed we l Debate and implement constitutional changes adequate nutrition, basic health abruptly. The woman looked had made an enormous impact services, minimum supplies of crestfallen. For a moment I was when parliament passed the bill. The alternative is to keep on this blood-soaked cotton wool and IV fluids in far- unsure who to deal with first, the But if my co-worker in this clinic road till god knows when.

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