June 23, 2006

Constituents of the Seven Party Alliance have started voicing their discontent over the manner in which the government led by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala reached deal with the Maoist chairman Prachanda. They have criticized the lack of internal discussions among themselves prior to inking the deal with far-reaching provisions like the dissolution of the House of Representatives. The meeting of the Standing Committee of the Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) has expressed deep concern over few provisions in the deal. At the meeting, which was held on Saturday (June 17), most of the members raised objection at the lack of adequate discussion among the alliance members on issues such as framing of interim statute and dissolution of the parliament. The party also took a serious exception to the manner in which Home Minister Krishna Sitaula secretly traveled to Sikles to meet Prachanda. "There is a suspicious process whereupon PM is mobilizing his Home Minister and the Maoists are also agreeing to it," said a UML member, adding, "If they go ahead without consulting seven parties, the agreement will not be fruitful." The member also said that they objected to the holding of secret meeting between the PM and Prachanda. Meanwhile, a delegation of Nepali Congress (NC) leaders led by its general secretary Ram Chandra Poudel met with Sitaula - the chief government negotiator - to complain about the decision to dissolve the parliament. They also regretted the decision to form interim government without finalizing the issue of arms management. Likewise, the meeting of central committee and parliamentary committee of the NC (Democratic) has also expressed concern over the decision to dissolve the parliament. Furthermore, general secretary of Nepal Sadbhavana Party (NSP-Anandidevi) Hridayesh Tripathy, who is an incumbent minister in the current cabinet, expressed dissatisfaction at the lack of participatory approach in the formation of interim statute drafting committee. "On such a serious issue, there should have been discussions among all the eight parties," he said. President of Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) Pashupati SJB Rana also expressed concern at the lack of adequate homework prior to reaching the deal. He said the issue of management of arms should have been made the most important one. On the other hand, Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP) issued a statement complaining at the manner in which the government has been working without consulting with SPA constituents. Kantipur daily reports.

Swiss Official Hails Pact Between Govt, Maoists

The Swiss Special Adviser for peace building in Nepal , Gunther Baechler, said the eight-point peace pact between the government and the Maoists was a breakthrough in peace and constitution-building process. "Individual leaders of both sides have shown a remarkable political will to settle the conflict
peacefully, which indicates that the peace process is going to be successful," Baechler told a press conference. Comparing Nepal 's case with other conflict-hit countries, he said, "Parties to the conflict had to be forced to the talks table, to be guided through the process with help of a mediator. Not so in Nepal where both sides came on their own and that makes a huge difference." The Himalayan Times daily reports.

House Adjourned Till July 2

The current session of the House of Representatives has been adjourned till July 2 after forming its Special Committees, Special Security Committee and Special Parliamentary Hearing Committee. Meanwhile, regulations related to the functioning of the cabinet was also tabled at the House on Thursday (June 15). The regulations give full authority to the cabinet in taking major decisions including the appointment of ambassadors; appointment and resignation of the army chief; appointment, posting promotion and resignation of Nepalese Army Colonel and the officers who are above the rank of Colonel. It will also decide on mobilizing the NA to any peace keeping missions and in other operations. Likewise, the authority to appoint, transfer top officials of police and other security agencies will also be exercised by the cabinet. All draft bills to be presented in the House of Representatives by the government and the treaties and agreements to be signed with foreign government will be presented in the cabinet. It will issue the ordinances and will decide on granting award, decoration and amnesty. Leading dailies report.

Maoists Kill A Student

Maoists have killed a student who had been abducted six days ago in Lisankhu VDC of Sindhupalchowk district. The body of Bishal Tamang, 19, a student of grade ten at the local school, was found buried at Nigale jungle. Local villagers held a rally and raised slogans against the Maoists for Tamang’s killing. They have announced blocking off Lamosangu-Jiri road section on Friday in protest. The villagers claim that Tamang was killed by 14 th battalion of the Maoists. Tamang was abducted following a clash between locals and Maoists in a local fair in Hyangdanda. Kantipur daily reports.

Koirala Stresses On Ceremonial Monarchy

Arguing that all forces should be given spaces for the sake of long lasting peace, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala said his party would opt for a purely ceremonial monarchy. “The King should also be given a breathing space. If you push him to the wall, in this transitional stage, the nation may not head towards the direction that we want,” Koirala told cadres of his party in Biratnagar on Wednesday (June 14). He said that all forces should be given proper spaces for the sake of lasting peace. If they are not given those spaces, he added, they would get frustrated and the consequent could not be in the nation’s interest. “At present, the King, the parties and the Maoists have all come under one umbrella. If this umbrella closes, there is no place to run for either of the forces,” he said. When cadres asked for clear policy of Nepali Congress (NC) on the procedures of constituent assembly, Koirala said that he would not be able to reveal all as the dialogue with Maoists was going on. “We will first put our issues at the negotiating table. If we publicize our stands before the talks, then there would be no going back,” he said. Prime Minister and president of NC Koirala also said that he has already talked with the United Nations regarding the management of Maoist army. “The UN has shown its willingness to help in this regard. But the Maoists need to provide information about the number, size and strength of their army first,” he added. Meanwhile, following Koirala’s remarks that space should be given for ceremonial monarchy, Maoists took out a rally criticizing him in Rajbiraj. Kantipur daily reports.

All Acts Pertaining To Army Being Revised

The government is revising all Acts and Regulations related to the Nepalese Army (NA) to make them relevant to the declaration of the House of Representatives 2006. For this purpose, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has begun the drafting process of new laws as well as amending the “provisions with autocratic and outdated language” in the existing Acts and Regulations of the Army. “We are studying the provisions in the four Acts and 25 Regulations related to the Army to revise them as per the changed context,” said Bhupendra Poudel, the spokesperson at MoD. “The Army will be consulted for technical provisions while other experts will also be consulted in the process of drafting those laws,” said Poudel. So far the government has not allocated any budget, neither formed any special committee to revise these laws. “Soon we will have such a team,” the ministry officials said. The Himalayan Times daily reports.

Eight Nepalese Killed In Kashmir

A gang of militants shot dead nine persons in a remote village called Trenj in Indian-administered Kashmir on Monday. Of them, eight have turned out to be laborers from Nepal . They were killed after being abducted from a construction site. Militant belonging to Hijbul Mujahideen killed the workers who all hailed from Morang district in eastern Nepal . Kantipur daily reports.

Reporter Faces Maoist Threat

A reporter has faced stern warning from the Maoists for writing about the story of extortion in Chitwan. Kantipur reporter Binod Tripathi received threatening calls for the story regarding the Maoist drive to raise Rs 50 million of donation in Chitwan. Maoist district secretary Abinash called him in his cell phone and warned him. “You do not seem to know how to write news about a political force that carries weapons. Come to Chitwan, we will teach you,” the caller told Tripathi who is in Kathmandu for the last few days. Claiming that they were not extorting, the caller also asked Tripathi repeatedly to reveal the source of his news. When Tripathi declined to do so, he was even labeled as supporter of regressive forces. Meanwhile, Federation of Nepalese Journalists Kantipur Chapter has issued a statement expressing strong objections over the Maoist threats to its reporter. Kantipur daily reports.

SC Orders Stopping Of Smoking In Public Places

The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the government to make appropriate laws to ban smoking in public places. Responding to a writ petition filed by Pro-Public, the apex court bench comprising of judges Anup Raj Sharma and Rajendra Prasad Koirala ordered the government to frame necessary laws within a year. The bench also instructed the government to take necessary actions to ban the advertisements of tobacco-based products from print media. The bench has also ordered the government to define what comprises of public places. The bench also instructed the monitoring section of the apex court to monitor the implementation of its order. Nepal Samacharpatra daily reports.

New Hassles In Deal With China

Less than three months after China agreed to provide duty free access to Nepalese exports, new hassles have emerged threatening to derail the deal. Of late, China is saying that it wants to provide a joint duty free facility to seven Least Developed Countries (LDCs) including Nepal . Likewise, it has also demanded that there should be 40 percent Value Addition. This stricter provision in the Rules of Origin is different than what Nepal has been demanding. Nepal has been requesting for only 30 percent value addition. Furthermore, there also seems to be lack of agreement on the list of products that would be provided duty free access. Nepal has requested such facilities for 1500 products to which China has not given any commitment yet. The deal had been reached during the visit of Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan. Kantipur daily reports.

ADB, UNICEF To Fund Education For All Program

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have pledged support for the Education for All (EFA) Pool Fund from the next year. They made this promise during the EFA and Secondary Education Support Program review mission held here last week. The recent commitment, by two donors in the core funding group, has relieved the government, which had been worrying how to bridge a shortage of fund the EFA would face at the end of its five-year program that began in 2004. The EFA program, which would cost $814 million, is expected to fall short by $ 250 million at the end of its first five-year term. At present, there is a pool fund of $150 million while the government had planned to raise $174 million, including the fund it expected to receive from the European Commission, which later opted out. An official at the Ministry of Education and Sports, requesting anonymity, said the ADB has expressed commitment to provide $30 million for the remaining term of the EFA and the purse of the fund to be provided by the UNICEF is yet to be discussed, but it is a huge relief for the government. The Himalayan Times daily reports.