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A fire that broke out at Faces lounge in Thamel last night around 10 :30 was brought under control this morning. The fire that engulfed the building for nine hours also destroyed the popular Pligrims Book House that is housed in the same building and the adjacent Sisha Cafe and Terrace Bar and other shops.

It took more than nine hours for firefighters from Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur to douse the blaze that is believed to have destroyed property worth millions of rupees.  There have been no reports of serious injuries.

The cause of the fire is yet to be confirmed.

Books that were destroyed by the fire. Credit : Nepal Army

Nepal Army carry rescue operation after the fire in Thamel was doused this morning. Credit : Nepal Army

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Dorje Gurung, the Nepali teacher detained in Qatar last week, returned to Kathmandu on Monday night after an intense behind-the-scenes lobbying by human rights groups, diplomats and his friends around the world.

Gurung taught chemistry in the Qatar Academy where a 12-year-old Qatari student accused him of insulting Islam last month. He was fired by the school, and later detained. His classmates in Nepal and the United States launched a Facebook page which immediately got more than 2,000 likes as well as an online petition which brought thousands of signatories from around the world.

HOME SWEET HOME: Dorje Gurung hugs his mother and is welcomed back to Nepal on Monday at Kathmandu airport after being released from detention in Qatar. Photo: Alka Shrestha

But in the end, it appears to have been quiet, low-key diplomacy that brought about Gurung’s release. Said one civil society activist involved: “It was a really complex effort on multiple fronts, many that had nothing to do with each other.”

Friends and campaigners were torn between going into a full frontal attack to embarrass the Qatar government and get Gurung’s release, or lobbying behind-the-scenes to put subtle pressure on the highest levels of the Qatari hierarchy. Campaigners said full-scale publicity through the international media and social networks could have backfired.

In the end, the Qatari government also decided not to court international publicity, and quietly dropped the charges to release Gurung. There may have been much more international publicity if Gurung had been a westerner, but within Nepal social network sites have also pointed out that although Gurung got domestic media attention there are hundreds of other Nepali workers who are in detention in Qatar.

On landing back in Kathmandu on Monday, an emotional Gurung thanked everyone who campaigned on his behalf for the “gift of freedom”. He said he wept when his colleagues from the Qatar Academy came to get him when he was released from prison on Sunday.

Gurung, who taught science in Nepal and in various international schools around the world, is now with his family in Nepal. He has said he wants to start a school for underprivileged children in Nepal.

Public statement by Dorje Gurung after his release:

I still can find no words to thank you enough, words that sufficiently express my own and family’s gratitude, for the gift the thousands of you have given me. The gift of freedom! (Ask any of my friends and colleagues Qatar Academy who received me upon my release yesterday afternoon—I was just a wreck. All I could do was cry and bawl.)

Many who know me well know firstly that I don’t make promises easily, certainly not publicly, and secondly that any promise I make i don’t make lightly. As today is an exceptional day and in appreciation of your incredible thoughts and actions, I’m going make a promise to you all, to my amazing friends, teachers, colleagues, students and well wishers around the world and to myself.

A promise to make every effort to make this gift of freedom worth the time and effort you invested in winning it for me.

Read more:

Dorje Gurung in Doha News

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The Annapurna Post, 5 May

A few organisations and individuals have been strongly opposing the Constitutional Council’s decision to nominate former chief secretary Lokman Singh Karki as the chief of the Commission the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). The manner in which they are challenging the move it seems like Karki is the single biggest threat to democracy in Nepal. However, if this is the case then the foundations of our democracy must be very fragile.

It is important to understand the motive of the media houses who consider themselves  agenda setters of the country and other individuals who are against Karki becoming chief. Why are major national dailies dedicating entire front pages to Karki’s issue? These stalwarts of democracy accuse Karki of suppressing the 2006 Jana Andolan. But why didn’t they speak out when other suppressors of the people’s movement were promoted to high posts in the government and police?

Another accusation is that Karki was appointed by the then royal regime. Good god our memory. The same TV station run by a media house which so vehemently opposes the appointment of Karki as CIAA chief was inaugurated by former crown prince Paras Shah. Media owners who once were submissive to the royal regime have now suddenly turned revolutionary and Karki has become a prime target for them.

However, the real reason behind the attacks is that these people who have amassed untold wealth by ransacking the treasury and evading taxes are scared they will be punished if Karki comes to power. Karki had said during a speech that if he becomes CIAA chief, he would take immediate action against defaulters who have stolen from the government and even internationally renowned businessmen would not be spared. No wonder a certain section of society is terrified by the prospect of losing their ill-gotten money.

Although the media is trying to portray the current situation as a result of differences within the four-party mechanism, Karki was selected through a unanimous decision by the mechanism. UCPN (M) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal recommended him and others like the UML, NC, and UDMF agreed on it.

What is most unfortunate is that even the esteemed Supreme Court is getting dragged into the controversy. However, media houses who are so proud of their freedom today must not forget the role the SC played to protect them during the difficult days of the royal regime. Protesting against the judiciary for not allowing reporters who wear t-shirts is harmful because the SC might not be able to defend the media in the future.

The time has come to see if the CJ-led government can stand up against the threats from a few media houses. If it fails to appoint officials under pressure, then it will prove itself to be a spineless institution.

Nepal’s interim constitution guarantees the right to information to all citizens. Why cannot Karki hold the post of CIAA chief? Nepalis are eager to find out more. If his appointment is blocked because of intimidation from a handful of individuals and organisations who have plundered the state exchequer, then it will be a mockery of the democratic norms of this country. We don’t think having Karki as chief will in anyway endanger the fundamental values of democracy.

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