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spotlogo2.jpg (6318 bytes) VOL. 24, NO. 10, SEPT 10 -  SEPT 16  2004 ( BHADRA 25, 2061 B.S. )

BUSINESS SHUTDOWN


Under Stress

Riots and shutdown throw businesses out of gear

By A CORRESPONDENT  

Billions of rupees worth of properties of private individuals and business companies were destroyed on September 1 riot. The manpower companies alone have claimed losses in the excess of one billion rupees thanks to the targeted vandalism.

All this has come at a time when the Maoists had imposed shut down of 12 major industries in the country. The industries have remained out of business for the last three weeks. And there is no immediate sign that they would reopen soon.

Mob rule : recurrent event
Mob rule : recurrent event

Instead, the Maoists have threatened to close down other 35 industries if their demands are not met by September 10.

The efforts by rights activists and civil society to reopen the closed industries have not borne any fruit yet. Four human rights activists Daman Nath Dhungana, Padma Ratna Tuladhar, Malla K.Sundar and Sudip Pathak have issued a joint statement terming the closure of the 12 industries as inappropriate. The statement has said that the closure has not only directly affected the livelihood of thousands of workers but also indirectly affected hundreds of thousands of others. They urged to end the impasse through dialogue.

Even the labor unions of the 12 industries that have remained closed for the last 21 days due to Maoist threat have said they will organize agitation if the industries are not opened soon. They have criticized the government for not taking enough initiatives to open the industries. They have also criticized the Maoist-affiliated All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF) for putting the livelihood of thousands of workers at risk in the name of pressuring the government.

The pro-Maoist ANTUF has demanded, among others, that the government make the whereabouts of their arrested leaders public.

On the other hand, the whole business and industry sector of the country remain shaken after the mob attacks against business interests. Particularly worrisome is the attack against manpower agencies. According to Nirmal Gurung, president of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA), around 315 offices of manpower agents were vandalized by the mob.

The manpower agencies have already stated that it would take them at least one month to be able to be back in their normal operation. The government has assured the manpower agencies that it would issue passports for free in lieu of those destroyed during the attack. Likewise, thousands of Nepalese youths who had completed their process for working overseas are living in uncertainty as all their documents and passports were burnt during the attack. The businessmen and entrepreneurs have complained that the mob attack and the subsequent impotency of the government to control it could severely affect the business environment and investment climate in the country.

The president of the FNCCI Binod Bahadur Shrestha has said that the government’s assurances to provide adequate security to the business enterprises in the wake of Maoist-threat have turned out to be a hollow promise.


Students In A Fix 

Over 700,000 students of around 3000 private and 2000 public schools in Kaski, Chitawan and many other districts of the western region have been denied the right to education following the Maoist imposed indefinite closure of educational institution in the ‘Gandak region’.

Hundreds of students, teachers and parents took to the streets in Pokhara on Monday (September 6) to pressure the Maoists to open the schools and to urge the government to take necessary steps to ensure the same. The pro-Maoist All Nepal National Free Students Union – Revolutionary (ANNFSU-R) has called for the shutdown in the protest of the arrest of its leaders by the security forces.

The closure has affected schools and colleges of Kaski, Chitawan, Parbat, Arghakhanchi, Rupandehi, Syangja, Palpa, Nawalparasi, Lamjung, Gorkha and Tanahun districts.

The Maoists had imposed the closure demanding the whereabouts of their two leaders arrested by security forces. Meanwhile, the chief district officer of Kaski has made the whereabouts of the two Maoist workers public on Monday (September 6) evening after discussions with the human rights activists, parents and school organizations.

According to the spokesperson of the Education Ministry Laba Prasad Tripathy, the demands put forth by the ANNFSU-R do not only concern the ministry. “Their demands are also political, which needs to be handled by the government in a wholesome manner.

Amid the uncertainty, the parents have called for help from human rights activists to open their schools. “Open the schools and stop the closure. That is all we want,” said a frustrated parent.


|| Cover Story || Deuba's India Visit || Communal Harmony || Business Shutdwn || Riot Effects || Kathmandu Riot || Economy ||
|| Fnj Response || Perspective || Folk And Modern Songs ||
View Point || Editor's Note || The Bottom Line ||
|| News Notes || Briefs || Quote Unquote || Off The Record || Letters || Opinion
|| Book Review || Past Issues ||


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