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Deuba calls for joint efforts in TB control

Thimi (Bhaktapur), Feb 24 (RSS):

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba inaugurated the eighth national workshop on the tuberculosis control programme at the National Tuberculosis Centre today.

Some 600 people including district health officers, public health officers, tuberculosis and leprosy workers and representatives of national and international NGOs are participating in the three day seminar jointly organised by the Health Ministry and the JICA National Tuberculosis Control Project.

Tuberculosis experts from SAARC member countries, Japan, Norway, Germany, France and the United Kingdom are also participating in the workshop.

In his inaugural address, Prime Minister Deuba underlined the need to attain success in TB control through joint effort as in the case of national immunization day.

Our services should reach all remote rural areas, he said stressing the need to make the flow of information in TB control more affective.

He appreciated the cooperation the Japanese government has been extending to Nepal in TB control work for the past 10 years.

From the chair, Assistant Health Minister Suresh Chandra Das emphasized the need to identify TB patients in rural areas as many such patients remain unidentified.

Japanese ambassador Tomohiko Yanase said Tuberculosis has after many years emerged as a serious problem in the developing countries. The directly observed treatment (DOTS) short course has been quite effective in TB control in Nepal, he observed.

Director of the National Tuberculosis Centre and the SAARC tuberculosis centre Dr Dirgha Singh Bom disclosed that three million additional TB cases are recorded every year in the SAARC region and the World Health Organization has agreed to support TB control programmes in South East Asia.

Acting health secretary Dr Durga Prasad Manandhar, director general of the department of health services Dr Kalyan Raj Pandey, JICA resident representative Masao Watanabe, team leader of the Tuberculosis Control Project Dr Katsunori Osuga, scientific director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Prof Donald Enarson, WHO representative Dr Bill Piggot and Dr DB Pradhan of Nepal anti tuberculosis association spoke about the effectiveness of DOTS.


Tussle between UML factions continues

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Feb. 24:

Tug of war between the two factions of CPN-UML continues in its central committee meeting that began Sunday. As a counter move against Bamdev Gautam faction, which is seeking ouster of incumbent general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, the pro-Madhav Nepal group today registered a set of written charges against Bam Dev Gautam. Mr. Gautam had registered a charge sheet against general secretary Nepal Sunday and sought his resignation.

Ishwar Pokhrel today registered the counter charge sheet against Gautam. The charge sheet accuses Gautam of creating division in the party, deviating from party principles, tarnishing the party image among the supporters and the people, instigating workers and supporters against the central leadership and party decision.

"These irresponsible activities promoted by some elements within the party leadership have polluted and weakened the organization," says the written charge put forward by Mr. Pokhrel, warning that the self centered attitude would push the party backward and ultimately lead to collapse.

Pokhrel also accused Gautam of being involved in corruption and financial irregularities during the nine month period of CPN-UML government. "If we can not maintain strict financial discipline, how can the party boost morale of the workers and supporters," he said.

Pokhrel charged that former deputy general secretary and the current standing committee member for working at his petty interest instead of larger interest of the party and the nation.

Another central leader who spoke at today's meeting was Mod Nath Prashrit. Prashrit defended general secretary Nepal and accused Mr. Gautam of hatching conspiracy against the party organization. "There is no justification behind the demand of general secretary's ouster at a time when the sixth national convention is coming very soon', Mr. Prashrit said.

Today's move came as the counter move against the Gautam's group which registered a written charge sheet Sunday demanding the resignation of general secretary Nepal. In his charge sheet, Mr. Gautam accused Mr. Nepal of creating groups within the party and being unable to lead the party properly.

Mr. Gautam's camp that has been seeking general secretary's ouster includes C.P. Mainali, Radha Krishna Mainali, Sahana Pradhan, Jhala Nath Khanal, among others. Gautam camp wants Mr. Jhala Nath Khanal to be the next general secretary of the party. Gautam camp also wants to remove Mr. Ishwar Pokhrel and Pradip Nepal, both central committee members, from the party's central secretariat. Those who want Mr. Nepal's continuation as general secretary are Bharat Mohan Adhikari, Amrit Bohora, K.P. Sharma Oli, Ishwar Pokhrel, Mod Nath Prashrit among some others.

Both camps claim their majority in the central committee. The final decision is expected Wednesday. Chairman Man Mohan Adhikari is against any move that creates split in the party and has been calling upon all to discourage any attempt against party unity. However, both Nepal and Gautam camps have ruled out the possibility of division in the party, irrespective of the outcome of the central committee meeting.


Nepal supports extension of NPT: Lohani

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, Feb 24:

Diplomats, policy-makers and experts from more than 25 countries gathered in Kathmandu to discuss nuclear disarmament for creating peace in Asia and the Pacific region. Participants in the three day meeting on ëNuclear Disarmament in the Post-CTBT Era emphasized the need for forging regional consensus on topical and important issues like peace and disarmament.

Participants also exchanged views concerning the entry into force the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) prohibition in production of nuclear weapons and other materials like explosive devices. The meeting also aimed to discuss the preparatory process of the Nuclear non-proliferation treaty review conference scheduled to be held in 2000.

The Ninth Regional Disarmament Meeting started today in Kathmandu under the aegis of United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament Affairs in Asia and the Pacific.

The meeting will explore priorities in the field of nuclear disarmament after the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) by the 50th General Assembly session held last September.

Addressing the opening session of the programme, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Lohani reiterated the commitment of Nepal for peace and disarmament.

ìNepal is making efforts for disarmament. We are in the process of ratifying the Chemical Weapons Convention and have supported indefinite extension of NPT.

Nepal has already signed CTBT which will come for ratification in time. We are also strong supporter of micro-disarmament,î Dr. Lohani said. A durable peace can reliably be founded on the pillars of international understanding, equality, justice and development.

It must be consistently nurtured and reinforced with cooperation, transparency and mutual confidence among actors at national, regional, and global levels, he said and added it demands a new culture of security built on lower reliance on arms and higher element of mutual cooperation and confidence.

He said unprecedented progress in transport and communication has what was once a large world reduced to a global village in our time. So have the deadly weapons and their delivery systems that can precisely hit the targets and kill and injure millions of people half a world away. It is ironic that human beings have spent so much of scarce resources to destroy this one world many times over, but so little to fight its poverty and underdevelopment, Minister Dr. Lohani viewed.

ìNepal believes, nuclear weapons due to their devastating potential, are practically unusable. But that does not preclude the possibility of accidents or of their desperate use as weapons of last resort.î Dr. Lohani further said that exorbitant cost and complexity involved in producing, storing,maintaining and destroying, them raise serious doubts about nuclear safety even in peace times. These weapons should, therefore, receive priority in disarmament agenda.

An uneasy peace at the global level, interspersed with regional hostilities, has become the hallmark of the post war era.

The Asian- Pacific region like some others has its share of discords and security problems. And Ethnic diversity, territorial disputes, developmental inequities and social injustice, further aggravated by colonial legacies and cold war cracks have sown the seeds of mutual distrust.

The deep distrust renders the region susceptible to conflicts. Dialogues are a fundamental necessity to reverse the situation and create a climate of trust in the region. Disarmament is a key ingredient of regional dialogues, he said, however it can hardy be addressed in isolation of global disarmament.

Mr. Prvoslav Davinic, Director of Centre for Disarmament appreciated Nepalís efforts towards establishing peace in the region. Mr. Davinic said the meeting would help strengthen the move for regional understanding towards maintaining peace in the region.

He said that the experts from different nations would exchange their views about openness and transparency in military matters, regional security and the illegal flow of small weapons. He expressed belief that the regional meeting would gather diverse views about maintaining peace in the region.

Regarding the objective of the regional meeting held here, Mr. Davinic said a wide participation from various countries has given a fillip to the disarmament campaign. However, the meeting will be very informal which would help built better understanding and develop a common consensus. Approximately 35 participants from government, academic and research institutes and non-governmental organisations mainly from Asia and the Pacific region participated in the three day meeting.

The Centre for Disarmament Affairs in New York had decided to convene this meeting here on February 11.

The New York based office of Centre for Disarmament Affairs has three regional offices in Latin America (Lima of Peru), South Africa and Asia- Pacific. Its regional office established in Kathmandu in 1989 has already held such regional programmes in the past.


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