Hundreds of people gathered at Baluwatar today morning to mark 100 days of the Occupy Baluwatar movement. It began as a campaign demanding justice for Sita, a  female migrant worker who was robbed and raped by immigration officials and has now snowballed into a larger platform calling on the government to put an end to gender violence and impunity.

The chants grew louder but with each passing day the victims demanding justice are becoming disillusioned by the state’s apathy. “What are we supposed to do now except waiting,” said Sita’s father who is enraged by the dillydallying.  While police constable Parsuram Ram Basnet and Somnath Khanal of Department of Immigration (DoI) have been arrested, section officers Tika Pokhrel and Ram Prasad Koirala involved in the robbery are still on the run.  Director General Suresh Adhikari and Director Lekh Raj Pokhrel of DoI were also implicated in the case and since then have been transferred from the DoI. No action has been taken against them.

Similarly, the case of Chhori Maiya Maharjan who has been missing for more than a year now also remains in limbo. Despite continuous pressure the police hasn’t been able to arrest the accused or take the investigation forward. The organisers of Occupy Baluwatar along with the victims have been demanding that the Ministry of Home Affairs make public the status of the departmental inquiry.

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Growing up in the Afghan refugee camp in Peshawar, Pakistan, Raees Ahmadzai never expected cricket to take him so far. During his short but successful international career, the right-handed batsman also captained the national side. After retiring in 2010, he began to coach the Afghan A team and became a chief selector for the Afghanistan Cricket Board. Nepali Times caught up with Ahmadzai before his team defeated Nepal in the ACC T20 finals in Kathmandu.

How do you explain Afghanistan’s remarkable rise in the game?

Like I said the early years were very difficult. We had very little experience and exposure so we lost a lot of matches. But our players were extremely professional: they devoted all their energy to the game and learnt quickly. Also the government has provided us tremendous support. Almost every school today has a cricket team or coaching classes. Out of 34 provinces in Afghanistan, at least 31 have official teams that play in domestic leagues and local competitions are encouraging younger players. We have good grounds in Jalalabad, Kabul, and Kandahar. When we started in 2001, we ranked 87 out of 122 on ICC’s ODI rankings and today we are in 12th position, so I think it’s gone quite well.

What are your thoughts on Nepali cricket?

It was incredible to see thousands of Nepali fans coming to support their home team. Like Afghanistan there seems to be a lot of local cricket going on and the players will definitely improve from this experience. However, there is still a long way to go before Nepal can start playing with top international sides. Improving current facilities and infrastructure and building better cricket grounds outside Kathmandu should be a priority for cricket authorities. We visited an academy near Tribhuvan University, but were very sad to see its state. Also, school-level cricket needs more attention. Our players are playing regular, professional cricket day in day out. Nepali players could do very well with the same.

For the full interview, please check the upcoming Nepali Times issue.

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Carter ended his four-day-visit to Nepal on Monday to fly on to Rangoon, and said Burma could learn from Nepal during its transition to democracy.

Former US President Jimmy Carter arrived in Burma on the first anniversary of by-elections in which Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD party won nearly all the seats it contested. Monday also saw further cautious moves towards democracy by the state with the ban lifted on private media. However, Burma’s transition has been marred by religious riots and no let up in the ethnic insurgencies in the north.

Former US president Carter holds a press conference in Kathmandu. Photo: Bhrikuti Rai.

“Perhaps the most important lesson that Myanmar (Burma) can learn from Nepal’s example is the progress it has made in eliminating discrimination against minority groups. Every citizen should be guaranteed his or her right to vote, regardless of ethnicity,” he said, in a response to a question from the Nepali Times.

Carter added that he would meet both President Thein Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi during his trip to Burma and they will discuss the 2015 general election. Representatives from the Carter Center are expected to attend as international observers in the run-up to the elections, as well as during the elections itself and after the results are known.

The ethnic conflict in Myanmar has the unwelcome distinction of being the longest running in the world, as well as one of the bloodiest. Beginning shortly after Burma gained independence from the British in 1948, the ethnic minority groups of the Karen, the Shan, and the Rohingya continue to wage armed conflict against the majority-Burmese authorities as of 2013.

The government of Myanmar recently took the first steps of transitioning towards a democracy in 2008, holding elections in 2010. Civil rights icon Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been held under house arrest for 15 years, was released in that same year. Despite these gains, it remains to be seen if Myanmar can hold free and fair elections which do not disenfranchise any ethnic minority groups in 2015, as hoped for by the Carter Center.

Sulaiman Daud

President Carter answers questions in Kathmandu

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Former US president Jimmy Carter his stance on the 2008 CA election at a press conference in Kathmandu on Monday afternoon. “While the election might not have been perfect, it adequately represented marginalised groups and I still stick to what I said about the 2008 CA elections: they were free and fair,” explained Carter, who was the first international observer to declare the elections ‘free and fair’.

Former US President Jimmy Carter maintained his stance on the 2008 CA elections at a press conference in Kathmandu on Monday afternoon. “While the election might not have been perfect, it adequately represented marginalised groups and I still stick to what I said about the 2008 CA elections: they were free and fair,” explained Carter, who was the first international observer to declare the elections ‘free and fair’.

Carter expressed unhappiness regarding the failure of political parties to draft the constitution. “It is disappointing that the constitution couldn’t be drafted through political consensus in the last four years, but I hope the country will go to polls by the end of this year,” he said.

During his four day visit, Carter met leaders of major political parties – both for and against elections – to gauge their views on  upcoming polls. Highlighting the kidnapping of three Election Commission officials by CPN-Maoist activists in Nuwakot, Carter emphasised that those obstructing elections should be brought to justice.

“Resorting to violence to achieve political goals is unacceptable,” he states. Carter also said that he hoped the agitating parties would eventually comply and be part of the election.

While there are still uncertainties regarding what might happen after the election, Carter stressed on the need to hold local elections immediately. “Local elections are long overdue and they need to take place immediately after national elections,” he said.

He also expressed the need for greater gender equality in Nepal especially when in issues like granting children citizenship through their mother and violence against women. “Leaders need to ensure equal citizenship rights. Women shouldn’t be made to go through so much trouble just to provide children citizenship,” he said.

The former president assured the Carter Centre would be closely observing the polls to ensure fair elections. He left for Myanmar on Monday evening after completing his Nepal visit.

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Mohan Baidya chairman of CPN-Maoist has refused to hold talks with the four parties and the government unless the Interim Election Council led by Khil Raj Regmi is replaced. Speaking at a program in Bhaktapur on Saturday, Baidya said that CPN-Maoist would agree to meet the parties only if they scrapped the eleven point agreement among four political parties that led to formation of the Interim Election Council.

“Amidst the election drama, the four party syndicate has excluded 23 fringe parties including us,” said Baidya. He stated that the amendments made in the Interim Constitution by the four parties to pave way for the Chief Justice to head the cabinet was another “coup” in Nepal’s history.

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President Ram Baran Yadav appointed five commissioners for the Election Commission on Sunday.

Acting on the recommendations made by the Interim Electoral Council of Ministers, the president appointed Nilkantha Uprety as chief commissioner and Dolakh Bahadur Gurung, Ayodhi Prasad Yadav, Ila Sharma, and Rambhakta PB as commissioners.

On Saturday afternoon, the president had met with IECM Chairman Khil Raj Regmi to inquire over the legality of appointing former commissioners Uprety, Gurung, and Yadav, and the government sent a clarification the same evening.

The government also announced that it will announce an election date after holding consultations with the EC.

In January, the EC had become empty after the terms of Gurung and Yadav finished.

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President Ram Baran Yadav met with Interim Electoral Council of Ministers (IECM) Chairman Khil Raj Regmi on Saturday to discuss recommendations for the Election Commission.

On Friday, the president had asked the IECM to send a written explanation whether Article 128 (3 and 7) of the Interim Constitutional would allow three former commissioners to be re-appointed at the Election Commission.

Following discussions on Saturday, the IECM is now expected to send a written reply explaining that it would be constitutional to appoint all the recommended names.

Of the five recommendations made by the IECM to the president on Wednesday, three of them – Nilkantha Uprety (as chief commissioner), Dolakh Bahadur Gurung, and Ayodhi Prasad Yadav – have all served full terms at the EC. The other two are Ila Sharma and Rambhakta PB.

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