| NEWS |
Posted
on 04-Sep-01 09:33 AM
TIME: The last government collapsed because of its inability to deal with the Maoist problem. Do you think you have full support to go ahead with the talks?
Deuba: I don't blame the last government for their failure to solve the Maoist insurgency. My approach is different: I want to solve the problem of Maoist violence through dialogue.
TIME: Why do you believe you can solve it?
Deuba: Because the Maoist leaders have also expressed their willingness to enter into negotiations. Therefore I don't want to doubt their intentions.
TIME: The speed with which you made your offer and the speed of the response from Comrade Prachanda suggests you and he had been in contact recently.
Deuba: No, I don't have personal contact with Prachanda. There is an intermediary.
TIME: Have you been in touch with Prachanda in recent days through the intermediary?
Deuba: I am trying to. Yes.
TIME: When are the talks likely to begin?
Deuba: I would like the talks to start as soon as possible. I cannot fix a date immediately.
TIME: Have you had any indication from the other side when they would like the talks to begin?
Deuba: I'm not sure of their position on this. But I am hopeful we can begin quickly.
TIME: Will the talks be between you and Prachanda or at a lower level?
Deuba: That has yet to be finalized. It depends upon them. I am prepared to go anywhere and at any time to reach a settlement to this problem if that is what the other side requires.
TIME: The terms Prachanda set included the release of prisoners on both sides. Has this process begun?
Deuba: That process will also begin as soon as possible. I don't know who is in prison. We will have to see their list.
TIME: Why do you think the Maoists want to talk now?
Deuba: I don't know precisely but they have wanted to talk to the government for the last 18 months. I don't know if anything has changed. Only time can tell. We will only know when the talks begin.
TIME: The Maoists seem keen to turn Nepal into a republic. Do you think the Nepali people will accept this?
Deuba: The Nepali people will not agree to that. They will never accept a republic. That is a reality and the other side knows it.
TIME: Have you discussed through the intermediary what the Maoists want in terms of an interim government or a constituent assembly to change the constitution. Are these things that you are willing to accept or negotiate?
Deuba: The Maoists' statements suggest they are flexible on the issue of a constituent assembly, and I hope we will not get stuck on this point. My party and other political parties are not in favor of a constituent assembly because we believe we already have a workable constitution.
TIME: Is there a timetable for the talks?
Deuba: It might take some time (to organize). Maybe six months, two years, three years...
TIME: Is there any pressure on both sides to come to an agreement quickly?
Deuba: Only to the extent that violence will not solve our problems.
TIME: If these talks fail, what options do you have?
Deuba: I am hopeful, therefore I won't talk about failure. I don't want to consider the prospect of failure.
TIME: You seem confident the talks will succeed?
Deuba: I will pursue the talks with the fullest sincerity. I shall be flexible right to the end.
TIME: Will your political party back you?
Deuba: My predecessor (Congress Party chairman and former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala) has assured me that he will support me.
TIME: Is Parliament unified in its approach to the Maoists and the need for talks?
Deuba: I am trying to meet with opposition parties in Parliament to create some form of consensus. I would like to deal with the Maoist problem with a national consensus behind me.
TIME: Do you think you will get one?
Deuba: I will try very hard. I am confident.
TIME: Six years ago when the Maoists first put their demands to the government, did you envisage it would lead to the insurgency and the state Nepal is in today?
Deuba: No. Maoist violence is a result of economic, social, political, ethnic and caste injustices. There is poverty, and we have a strong caste system that is inflexible. Many boys and girls are unemployed. There is no health care, no education, no employment, and therefore they feel very neglected. The Maoists came into the picture and shook the tree.
TIME: That suggests that the government failed and the Maoists stepped into the vacuum?
Deuba: I agree. The government did not address these problems when they should have immediately after the restoration of democracy (in 1990). We now have to address the problem. Unless we deal with the causes there will always be trouble. Even if we reach an agreement with the Maoists the problem will remain and will be taken up by someone else.
TIME: But has the government got enough resources to deal with these problems?
Deuba: No. And that is another problem. But we are sincere in wanting to address these problems.
TIME: What is the status of the army at Rolpa (in Western Nepal) where troops were sent to rescue 70 policemen taken by the Maoists? To outsiders it looks as if there is a standoff.
Deuba: We have a national army; it is not a foreign army. But it is not taking any action. Since we are keen to hold talks with the Maoists we cannot order the army to intervene in this situation.
TIME: Did the previous government issue any order for the army to take action?
Deuba: I am not aware of any.
TIME: Some local newspapers have criticized you for delaying your swearing in as Prime Minister and that of your cabinet until your astrologer named an auspicious day?
Deuba: It is Nepal's tradition and culture; every Prime Minister consults his astrologer for an auspicious day to be sworn in. I am the 11th Prime Minister in 11 years to have done so.
TIME: Is corruption a problem in Nepal?
Deuba: Yes.
TIME: And how will you contain it?
Deuba: I would like to establish a mechanism for transparency.
TIME: Would it have support in Parliament?
Deuba: Yes. Nobody would dare say 'No.' (Laughs).
Write to TIME at mail@web.timeasia.com
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| NEWS |
Posted
on 04-Sep-01 12:14 PM
September 4, 2001 Posted: 11:15 AM EDT (1515 GMT)
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CHICAGO, Illinois (Reuters) -- Communications equipment supplier Motorola Inc. unveiled breakthrough technology on Tuesday that blends the low-cost virtues of silicon computer chips with speed-of-light optics to create faster chips.
Motorola said its research arm has found a way to combine silicon, the basis of most computer chips, with gallium arsenide, an alternative chip-making material, to create an optical chip that is durable, cost-effective, and runs at higher speeds.
Silicon-only chips, used in computers and other electronic devices, tend to be durable and cheap, but electronic circuits tend to slow down any optical features that travel at the speed of light.
By contrast, gallium arsenide chips, which are often used in DVD video players, communications equipment and lasers, are 40 times faster than silicon chips; but they are also fragile and expensive.
University research groups and semiconductor companies have been racing to develop a chip that combines the two.
"What we've fundamentally done is change the whole foundation of the high-tech industry," Dennis Roberson, Motorola's chief technology officer, told Reuters in an interview ahead of the announcement.
"What we're now able to do is to marry the best characteristics of silicon ... with the high performance and optical characteristics of (new materials)," Roberson said.
While the Chicago-area based company may be best known for finished products, such as wireless phones and antenna equipment, Motorola also has a long history of developing semiconductor technology for use in its communications products.
Because Motorola has filed more than 270 patent applications for this technology, other semiconductor firms such as Intel Corp., Texas Instruments Inc. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will likely need a license from Motorola to use it in their chips, an analyst said.
"They're onto something big. The thing that gets me excited about this is there's a huge amount of potential for being able to put silicon and gallium arsenide and other materials like that on the same chip," said Steve Cullen, principal analyst of semiconductor research for Cahners In-Stat Group.
"The long-term potential for this thing is being able to bring the computing power of silicon and the communications capability of gallium arsenide together," he added.
Roberson said he expects that chips created with this technology will initially replace more expensive gallium arsenide chips.
Just as fast
The silicon-gallium arsenide wafer is one-tenth the cost of a pure gallium arsenide wafer, but it performs just as fast, he said.
Consumers could see the prices of some electronics equipment, like DVD players, fall as a result.
In the second stage, the new chips may be used in products that currently use silicon chips, Roberson said.
In personal computers, for example, the new chip would allow manufacturers to better integrate communications functions.
Eventually, Motorola expects the new chip to spawn the invention of new electronics equipment.
Motorola also plans to develop and license chips partially made from indium phosphide and gallium nitride, compounds that fall in the same category as gallium arsenide.
The silicon-gallium arsenide technology is still in its development stage, but power amplifiers for cell phones using this technology could be available as early as 2002.
Other potential markets include data storage, lasers for products such as DVD players, medical equipment, radar, automotive electronics, lighting and photovoltaics, Motorola said in a statement.
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| NEWS |
Posted
on 04-Sep-01 12:30 PM
The elevation of Prince Gyanendra as King of Nepal presents India with a tricky problem. The new monarch is said to favor closer ties between Kathmandu and Beijing, a scenario that fills foreign policy wonks in New Delhi with dread. Successive Indian governments have striven to keep Nepal out of the Chinese sphere of influence; they succeeded mainly because of the slain King Birendra's instinctive pro-India stance. But Gyanendra is a different proposition.
From Nepal's point of view, the smartest thing for the new King to do would be to keep his options open, and advise the country's elected government to do likewise. The mountain kingdom is probably better served by its relationship with democratic India than with totalitarian China. Unlike Pakistan, Nepal isn't in the market for sophisticated missile and nuclear technology, which are China's principal offerings of friendship. But, like many Nepalis, Gyanendra is known to resent New Delhi's supercilious attitude towards its small neighbors.
In its foreign policy stance and utterances, India often acts as if it is South Asia's Big Brother, with the "little countries" --Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka -- expected to hop to its whims. It is no coincidence that the people of all these countries tend to be deeply suspicious (if not resentful) of India's interests and intentions. That explains why the shaven-headed rioters in Kathmandu chant "Death to India" along with other slogans as they vent their grief over last Friday's massacre. Instinctively, they believe Big Brother must somehow be embroiled in the killing of their royals.
If he is as astute as his late brother, King Gyanendra must continue to hold out the possibility of a friendship with China, if only to keep India guessing and hold New Delhi's attention. When you're dealing with Big Brother, you use whatever leverage you can.
For India, the tragedy in Kathmandu is as good an opportunity as any to reappraise its relations with Nepal. As of this writing, the Indian government has greeted Gyanendra's coronation with caution. It is a good idea for India to keep a low profile while the Nepali people grieve -- and while the air is rife with rumors and conspiracy theories. But as they work on new position papers and diplomatic initiatives, the foreign policy establishment in Delhi should know it cannot take this little country for granted.
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