lets Israel's ongoing military attacks on the people of Gaza.

lets Israel's ongoing military attacks on the people of Gaza.

View the Union's 'End Israeli Occupation' policy

Israeli military forces have killed over 540 Palestinians and injured more than 2,450 in the last ten days. Many civilians have been amongst the dead and wounded, including women and children. Targets have included the Islamic University campus, schools, the United Nations Relief & Works Agency buildings (killing 8 students and wounding 19), many mosques and an ambulance. According to the UN, over 13,000 Palestinians have been forced to flee their homes. 4 Israeli citizens have been killed in the last ten days by rockets fired from Gaza.

The Gazan people were already suffering a crippling humanitarian crisis before Israel’s military offensive began. For more than a year Israel has closed Gaza’s borders, which has prevented food, vital medical supplies and other basic necessities entering Gaza. Since the beginning of Israel’s attack, this crisis has deepened. International aid organisations have been unable to enter Gaza with sufficient medical and food supplies to treat the wounded and feed the starving – threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

On New Year’s Eve, Israel defied calls from international leaders, rejecting a proposal from France (as EU President) for a 48 hour ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators around the world have demanded an end to Israel’s violent assault. On 3rd January, 50,000 marched through the streets of London and several hundred gathered outside Sheffield Town Hall.

What can I do?

Join our Campaign

The Students’ Union is working with the Palestine Society, Sheffield Palestine Solidarity Campaign and others to raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to campaign for Israel to stop its assault. For up to date information of how you can get involved with our campaign and support the people of Palestine please contact palestine@sheffield.ac.uk or join the facebook group ‘Sheffield Students Against Israel’s Attack on Gaza’

Demonstrate

Hundreds of thousands of people have joined demonstrations across the world to make their voices heard. A national demonstration has been called on Saturday, 10th January in London (see below). Sheffield Palestine Solidarity Campaign will be holding a vigil outside the Town Hall every Saturday at 12:00pm until the killing stops. We will tell you about future plans for protests.

Contact your MP

Demand that they push the government and/or their party to clearly condemn the attack on Gaza. Find your MP at www.theyworkforyou.com

Monitor the media

Newspapers, TV channels and radio stations have given biased accounts of Israel's attack. They have understated the hugely disproportionate nature of the death toll and favoured Israeli spokespeople over Palestinian ones. Phone in to complain or write a letter or email. TV and radio have laws governing balanced reporting, especially the BBC, so they have to take your concern on board.

See the ENGAGE guide for more information on how to do these things and more.

Dire Electricity Crisis in Nepal : Darkness grows beneath the Everest

Electricity has been playing a game of cat and mouse in Nepal . Out of the 24 hours, it is on only for 16 hours. Nepalese are forced to live without electricity for 8 hours, six days a week – 48 hours per week. Just imagine yourself living without electricity for such a long time in New York , Seoul , London and Sydney , and then realize how much the Nepalese are suffering. Is Nepal returning towards the Stone Age? Well, this is Nepal, a nation with huge hydropower potentials (this is limited to the papers only), where the electricity supply has been overrun by simple of simplest demand of a meager 720MW peak load demand and this has led The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to rationing power (load shedding) to its customers all over Nepal. Never- ending Political uncertainties, terai unrest, acute fuel shortage, and now this mammoth electricity crisis has stolen smiles from the face of ordinary Nepalese, whose nation had started producing energy from water resources through Pharping hydro power plant much ahead than China. But look at Nepal today and look where China today is terms of energy security. Fearing the possible future power crisis, China is investing $125 billion in power plants over the next five years and another $130 billion in distribution paths for the power they produce according to the media reports. But China is a big and populous nation, and it needs these massive investments to keep the nation floating, you might argue. Yes, it is, but yet it shows how serious is China about its future power needs. In the interim, let us turn back to Nepal . The recent load shedding has not sprouted all of a sudden. The possible occurrence of the load shedding had been forecasted by the experts few years ago, but the government, completely occupied by other complex issues such as signing the peace deal with the Maoists turned deaf ear towards these forecasts. They either did not care or did not have the necessary vision to solve the energy problem. And on top of this they are giving lame excuses about the weather. It’s the best option chosen by them because if you blame the weather, then the weather won’t retaliate back. What a scapegoat the authorities have chosen. There is a shortage of power during winter and recent load shedding suggests the need for storage projects as the system is dominated by run- of- the river projects. Thus, instead of blaming the weather, had they build storage projects then this inevitable would been at least minimized. But unfortunately it was not to be so. Normal life has been crippled by the load shedding. Ordinary people have to make plans according to the schedule of the electricity, a perfect example of man being the servant of the technology. You want to study but you cannot because there is no light; your computer never works when you want it to; your refrigerated goods get rotten; in the kitchen rice cooker is just a show pot; your TV is just another useless tool; every now and then you get irritated by the power failure and economically speaking constant blackouts deteriorates your production level and hampers your country’s economy. The power cuts in Nepal are not good for its growth. Lower productivity means higher costs for finished goods and people will feel that in their pockets when they visit the market. So what’s going on? And why isn’t it getting sorted out? The problem is grave: shortage of supply caused by a huge rise in demand. Nepalese businesses, enterprises, communications, industries, education and service sectors have been so much hit that overall capacity utilization of the industrial units due to load shedding has come down to about 40-50 per cent. This has already crippled Nepalese economy and this is not a good sign for a nation that is trying hard to sprout out from the vicious circle of poverty. In the midst of this electricity drought, you feel depressed at times. And you feel like immigrating abroad. You curse your government, your leader and your fate and you want to go, where there is light, 24 hours a day. But wait, it is not just Nepal where power is a problem. There is massive power problem is South Africa . And in recent months there have been endless reports of shortages in various countries such as Cuba , Argentina , some African nations, Iraq , Bangladesh , India , and in Thirteen Chinese provinces. And not to forget Queens, a city in New York , and its 100,000 or so people who were left to live without electricity for nine days in 2006. And experts fear that there is every chance of Britain being next South Africa if immediate action is not taken. The reason is simple: Out of 59 coal-powered plants, 15 or so are out of order according to the reports. Meanwhile, we don’t need an expert to tell us that electricity demand is soaring all over the world and there is a narrowing gap between usage in the developing and the emerging world. The reality is right before our eyes. Electricity demand has risen all over the world and it will continue to rise. British Petroleum forecasts electricity demand to double by 2030, and now the Kyoto protocol is encouraging countries to focus on alternative power generation. Regionally speaking, just imagine how much power is needed to afloat the Chinese – Indian economy? Together China and India are the home to world’s 40% population and this means world need’s more energy than it thinks to roll these nations. Imagine, how much power is needed for every family in China and India , and remember, economically they are growing dramatically. In the year 2007, India grew by 8.5% and China by 11.4%. These are good signs but also remember that growth means more prosperity and more prosperity means more power consumption. Hence, considering so, Nepal needs less power than these rising giants. Judging by the GDP growth of its last five years which hovered around an unhealthy average of 2.1 %, and given the political crisis, there are every chances of its economy hovering around that average for years to come. Thus, there shall be a slight change in our total winter peak load demand of 720 MW as of today. But Nepal will surely grow in the future and for Nepal to grow, energy security is the ultimate precondition. In the course of time, our economy will definitely creep toward a healthy average of 3.5 – 4%, given that our political uncertainties are solved. Hence, if prompt action is not taken today, then Nepal will suffer from massive power cuts in the future too. Nepalese policymakers and leaders must wake up from their slumber to solve this mammoth crisis because Nepal has the prime resource needed to generate the electricity - water. There is some comfort in the fact that Nepal has more than 6000 rivers and majorities of them are capable to turn the turbine and generate electricity. What Nepal needs is capital and there is a dearth of capital in Nepal hence considering so Nepal needs foreign investment. But finding investors is not easy and even if you find one, they may abstain from investing in the hydropower because it is costly and time consuming. They got to wait for several years to refill their invested capital and then few years more for profit. And there is this never ending political uncertainty in Nepal followed by our lackluster policy. Being pessimist is a waste of time, so let us think from an optimistic point of view. But even so the picture is not that rosy. Take this example for instance, recent figures show that 154 MW of energy in Nepal is generated by private sectors, and the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) 400W. And add to these figures another 80MW which is in the process of being added from India . That leads to the total of about 634 MW. Or in other word, Nepal ’s total electricity capacity is 634 MW. But the problem for Nepal is this: During the winter season, the peak load demand for Nepal is estimated at about 720 MW whereas the production is only half the total demand. There is a huge difference between its supply and demand. It’s not that Nepal is running out of the solution. We have some reliable and lasting solution but for this we have to wait. But for how long, no one knows. And in the long run, as Keynes said we all are dead. You might say, why this heights of pessimism. The truth however is this: No ones knows the fate of much published and talked about hydro power projects such as West Seti (720 MW), Upper Karnali (300 MW), Arun III (400 MW), Tamakoshi (309 MW), Budhi Gandaki (660 MW), Likhu (125 MW) and Super Marsyangdi (275 MW). Let’s play a mind game. If you add these all, then it would lead to 2789 MW. That’s a healthy increase from 634MW or 554 MW (minus 80MW expected from India ) and we can sustain somehow with this increment at least for a decade or less. But these scenarios are now limited to the papers only. No one knows when these projects shall be completed as these projects in aggregate require huge investments and time. But unfortunately Nepal doesn’t have both of these privileges. And what makes the future scenario gloomy is the current policy strategy framework. No one knows what the government’s Electricity policy is nor does one know the real motive of the NEA. And the investor’s policies are also debatable on various grounds and the risk - political, social or infrastructural - remains enormous. All this means that load shedding won’t go away any time soon. Article by: Bhuwan Thapaliya

Salient Features of Fiscal Budget 2008-2009

The First budget of the Republic Nepal is Passed by the Parliament. Here I am trying to present a brief information about the important features of the budget presented by Finance Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai.

The Jawaharlal University, New Delhi Graduate Nepal’s first Maoist Finance Minister Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai had read out a more than two hours lengthy “3.5-billion-dollar Fiscal Budget-2008-09”, at the Constituent Assembly-that has been limited so far to act as a legislative body let alone drafting the all important Constitution in a mere one and half years period remaining.

Nevertheless, the Maoists’ highly ambitious budget which has been increased by 39.7 % than the previous year promises to cancel debts of the poor and provide allowances to the so far neglected group and regions in the country and allocates big chunk of budget in Education.

Total Budget: 236 Billion

Regular Expenditure: 128 Billion

Capital Expenditure: 98 billion 310 million

Projected Revenue Sources:

Current Source: 129 Billion

Foreign Assistance: 65 billion

Foreign Loans: 18.07 Billion

Revenue Deficit: 41.11

Budget Allocation (Sector wise)

Education: 38 Billion 980 million (Rupees)

Health: 15 billion 580 million

Women: 32 billion 910 million

Electricity: 12 billion 690 million

Road Infrastructure: 12 billion 910 million

Irrigation: 5 billion 800 million

Agriculture: 5 billion 910 million

Tourism: 97.8 million

Populist Slogans

“Make our Village Better and Beautiful”

“In clean water lies Nepal's power”

"New Nepal, Learned Nepal"

"Cooperatives in every village, food storage in every house"

''Know Letters, Be Civilized"

"Slogan of Drinking water: Taps in the Villages".

"New Nepal, Secured Nepal and New Nepal, Healthy Nepal"

Price goes up in:

Custom duty and excise duty on alcohol, cigarette, and tobacco have been increased.

Vehicle Import tax has been increased

House/Land registration fee in Kathmandu has been increased to support the “Clean Bagmati Campaign”

Price goes down in:

Import of Vehicle for Disabled people

Women Salary Tax

Import of CFL lamp

Vat in Hydro Electricity

Industrial tax for Industries employing five hundred Nepali workers

Some Salient Features of the Budget

• Monthly Allowance of 500 rupees to people above 60 years belonging to the group of endangered ethnicities, dalits, Single Women and Karnali Zone and others who are above the age of 70
• Monthly Allowance of 1000 rupees for fully handicapped and disabled and 300 rupees for partially handicapped
• Debt waiver up to the principal amount of Rs. 30 thousands, and full interest due and all kinds of penalties on the loan amount of above Rs. 30 thousands up to Rs. 100 thousands.
• Salary Increase of all classes of the government employees by Rs. 2 thousand per month effective from 17 September, 2008
• Movement against corruption control
• Various programs will be carried out to utilize the property of former kings and royal families for the benefit of general public
• The village development grant will be increased ensuring a minimum of Rs. 1.5 million and a maximum of Rs. 3.0 million
• Compensation will be provided to the physically deformed people, and the martyrs of the people's war, people's movement and Madhesh movement
• Production of 10,000 MW hydro powers in the next 10 years
• Tourism Revolution within few years
• Special emphasis will be placed to extend north-south road and railways to accrue due benefit from the rapid economic development of the two big neighbors: India, and China.
• Ease the supply of petroleum products, the monopoly of Nepal Oil Corporation will be ended momentarily and a Regulatory Agency will be set up
• Provide immediate relief to the affected people from food crisis and to help farmers to increase food production, Rs. 1 billion 225 million has been earmarked
• A High Level Scientific Land Reform Commission will be formed for the abolition of feudal land ownership and production relations
• The load shedding in the industrial corridor will not be ended. To ensure uninterrupted power supply, initiative will be taken to establish a thermal plant on public-private partnership near dry ports in Biratnagar and Birgunj
• Foreign investment will be encouraged for the exploration of minerals where feasibility studies have been already completed. Multinational companies will be invited for the exploration and extraction as well as production of petroleum products.
• The legal provision of not requiring licenses for the production up to 1 MW hydro power projects will be extended up to 3 MW.
• The construction of Upper Tamakoshi- 456 MW, Upper Trishuli A-60 MW, Rahughat– 30 MW and Naumure 245 MW, totaling 791 MW, will be started this year. Likewise, necessary works will be initiated to start the construction of Upper Trishuli 3 B - 40 MW, Tamor-Mewa - 110 MW, Upper Seti - 127 MW, Dudhkoshi - 300 MW, Tamakoshi 2 and 3 - 500 MW, West Seti - 750 MW, totaling 1827 MW from both the government and private sectors
• A free of cost operation service will be provided through Martyr Gangalal Heart Center to prevent heart disease of the children below the age of 15, of the senior citizens above the age of 75, and of all endangered ethnic citizens. Likewise, a free of cost service for the dialysis of kidney will be provided through National Kidney Center to the endangered ethnic citizens, and to the senior citizens above 75 years of age
• More than 91 percent people shall have access to primary education in the current Fiscal Year
• Constructing new airports of international and regional level and developing an intensive triangular tourism infrastructure between Kathmandu, Pokhara and Lumbini thereby causing a tourism revolution in the next couple of years
• The construction of Kathmandu-Terai Fast Track Road under BOOT will be initiated with high priority from this fiscal year

Army integration: The toughest job facing post-conflict Nepal

The world has witnessed many countries passing through transitions from war to peace. Transitions often reach their climax during the ordeal of integrating two formerly conflicting armies into one.Nepal, a South Asian country that reeled under a bloody war for about a decade, is now confronting the issue of integrating the two powerful armies - the government's Nepal Army and the Maoist People's Liberation Army (PLA)- which had been in armed conflict with each other until a cease-fire two years ago. The national army has some 95,000 professional army personnel and the Maoists have 20,000 battle-hardened guerrillas. As a part of the peace process, the government and the Maoists invited the United Nations to jointly monitor both their armies in cantonments. The issue of integration is further complicated by the number of parties involved: the formerly rebel Maoists headed by Prachanda, the new prime minister and head of government, the Nepal Army (that was formerly in conflict with Prachanda), and the newly emergent Madhes. The Madhes live in a region of southern Nepal that borders India and are seeking autonomy and representation in the army dominated by non-Madhesis.The parties are still at odds on integration and the UN is helpless, as it has no mandate to step in on this sensitive issue. In fact, the issue has become increasingly complex, and understanding this complexity is necessary before reaching any decision on army integration. As of now, there are five major issues and drawbacks to which the parties need to give serious thought. The first is the parties' immature policy of avoiding discussions on army integration by an act of continuous deferral. As the issue always tends to be the bone of contention, the conflicting parties choose to defer it contentiously for the sake of (hallow) consensus. And now, none of the peace agreements can clearly speak on the issue.Second, the parties never gave any thought to what will be the arrangements for balancing defenses once the king, who headed the national army, was abolished. What if the supreme commander of the Maoist PLA wins the election and gets the authority to "use and operate" the national army as well? The reality today is the king is gone, the Maoists have a majority and they have the power to use both armies. A challenging situation for the other democratic parties! In fact, this miscalculation prevented the parties from having a clear road map for integrating Maoist combatants. Third, while wrangling over powers, the political parties in the constituent assembly ended up giving almost absolute power to the Maoists. Some of the parties were cajoled into supporting the Maoists by passing a parliamentary proposal, which allowed the Maoists a monopoly in the National Defense Council. It became a problem only when the Maoist-led Council lost faith in the state army. Under such a condition, any Maoist unilateralism in dealing with army integration would invite a disaster because that would provoke the national army to step in.Fourth, the parties, after the abolition of monarchy, gradually broke away from the alliance that they had forged to fight against the king in 2005 and began misinterpreting what was already agreed upon. In between the period of the 2005 New Delhi pact and the 2006 Nov. 22 peace agreement, the parties changed their mood. The distrust of the Maoists has increased and the word "integration" mentioned in the first agreement was replaced by "possible integration" when it came to the Nov. 22 agreement. Fifth, the country's politics took a U-turn in the post-April Movement days when a new force emerged from the southern plain along the border with India: the Madhesis. Their genesis itself is described in terms of their revolt against the Maoist excesses. They have demanded regional autonomy and an equal representation in the national army. The Maoists and the other parties have committed to ensure them these rights. This would demand a complete change in army integration statistics.Given these complexities, the Maoists would do better if they realized this and took into confidence the two equally compelling forces: the existing national army and the dissent voices from Madhes. Prime Minister Prachanda's recent remarks said that he would complete the task of army integration within six months, however, a provocative response from the Chief of Nepal Army demonstrated that the integration will not be easy.If Prachanda insists on integration, then he should also explain how that won't impact the national army's neutrality. More importantly, the stakeholders should make it clear what "integration" exactly means. For the problem is that "integration" is interpreted only in terms of entry into the national army. If we consider their integration in educational, economic and social sectors, 90 percent of the problem will be solved. These alternatives could be sought by forming a high-level committee on integration comprising of representatives from all groups, including the newly emerged parties in the Madhes and the national army.

Artical by

Kamal Raj Sigdel

Where are they ???

Where are they? A National Conference on Enforced Disappearances in Nepal Disappearance in Nepal: In the later years of armed conflict, Nepal was defamed as the country with highest number of disappearances. The UN Working Group of Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances (UNWGEID) reported that Nepal was the country with the highest number of reported enforced disappearance cases for 2002 and 2003. According to the report of ICRC, more than 1000 people have been disappeared during armed conflict. NHRC report reveals that 645 people are still disappearing. Further, the families of disappeared citizens claim that there are about 5000 people missing. The ten-year conflict in Nepal resulted in thousands of temporary disappearances through the practice of unofficial detentions both by the security forces and the Maoists. Although the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture require the state to protect the liberty and security of the person in several ways, it has not been translated into practice in Nepal. Over the period of armed conflict, more than 15000 people lost their lives, thousands displaced, and about 1500 people disappeared. In the beginning years of armed conflict, the case of disappearance was comparatively less. But after the declaration of the state of emergency in 2001, the cases of enforced disappearances increased significantly. Me and Disappearance Campaign: I am also one of the active members of the Campaign against Disappearance. I have generated the concept of "The trans country cycle rally" from Jhapa in the eastern region to Kanchanpur in the far-western region which was organized in January through February 2008. During that rally we met more than 2oo families of the disappeared. Finding them in the everlasting agony I was very much worried on the issue. So, I strongly put the idea of the conference in the Anual General Meeting of COCAP (the organization which is handling the campaign). The AGM passed the agenda and now we are preparing for the conference. National Conference on Disappearance: Proposed national conference is planned as a follow-up of the previous campaigns on the issue of disappearance. The main aim of the conference is to contribute towards ending the culture of enforced disappearances in Nepal by linking the families of the disappeared citizens with policy makers, development communities and the government to take appropriate action to publicize the condition of the disappeared citizens and bring the perpetrators into the process of law. During the previous campaigns, COCAP volunteers collected case studies, prepared documentaries and reports on the issue. Moreover COCAP volunteers organized signature campaign, street dramas, press conference, and interactions with the families of the disappeared citizens. Objectives: 1. Link the families of the disappeared citizens with policy makers, civil society actors and the government. 2. Create citizens' pressure to government and policy makers to take the disappearance as an urgent issue to be addressed. 3. Make concerned parties responsible in observing the real condition of the families of the disappeared citizens and provide them with the compensation. 4. Put pressure to take appropriate actions to those involved in such inhuman act of forcing people to be disappeared and to end impunity. 5. Put pressure on the concerned authorities to form a high level commission about the issue of disappearance. 6. Put pressure to ratify and enforce international treaties relating to disappearance. Participants: The national conference is attended by the families of the disappeared citizens, leaders of political parties, government authorities and policy makers. The participants also include the members of constituent assembly, civil society leaders, journalists, volunteers, intellectuals, local NGOs and INGOs and organizations dealing with the issue of disappearance. It is expected that about 600 people will participate the conference. 1. 200 members of disappeared families from various parts of the country 2. 100 Constituent Assembly members 3. 100 volunteers 4. 150 participants including the civil society leaders, other various organizations, students, journalists, intellectuals political parties and their sister organizations 5. 50 from organizers Conference Modality: The national conference is a collective effort of various organizations, individuals and volunteers. About two dozen civil society organizations have been involved in organizing the conference. The cost of the conference will be shared by individuals, organizations and interested donor organizations. Since it is a collective effort no donations more than NRS. 50,000 will be accepted form national organizations. However, international donor agencies can contribute maximum up to NRS. 100,000. Venue: Staff College, JawalaKhel, Lalitpur

Date :Sep 19 2008

Time : 11 am onwards

I would like to invite you too.