Thakur Announces New Party
Madhesi leaders from various parties, who had only last week resigned from the parliament as well as their parties, have announced the formation of a new party called Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party. The party is led by Mahanta Thakur. Amid a special function held in the capital, Friday (Dec 28), Madheshi leaders formally announced the new party and also unveiled its concept paper. "I announce the formation of Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party," said Thakur. "Our aim is to achieve republican, democratic, federal Nepal and Terai-Madhes - One Province with right to self determination," Thakur added. He said the new party is not against Constituent Assembly but would like to see concerns of Madhesi people addressed first. He said the new party was formed to liberate the Tera-Madhes region from internal colonial rule. He said the new party calls for separate administration and rule in the region. He said those who labeled the campaigners of the new party as secessionist were not understanding the problem and not willing to provide legitimate rights to the people of the region. Compiled from reports
Maoists Send List Of Their Ministers
The Maoist chairman Prachanda has submitted a list of his party's ministers, on Saturday (Dec 29) as they prepare to rejoin the cabinet. According to Maoist spokesperson Krishna Bahadur Mahara, the Maoists have decided to send the same team and are quite ready to rejoin the cabinet. "We are ready to join the government. We are now only waiting for the call from the Prime Minister," Mahara told media. He said four Maoist ministers including Mahara (Information and Communication), Dev Gurung (Local Development), Hisila Yami (Works and Physical Planning), and Matrika Yadav ( Forest and Soil Conservation) will be appointed ministers again. Khadga Bahadur Bishwakarma (Women, Children and Social Welfare) will be replaced by Pampha Bhusal – who had earlier been picked as ambassadorial nominee for France but who could not receive the necessary approval from the host country. Besides, two more Maoist leaders Padam Rai and Nabin Bisjwakarma have also been proposed as State Ministers. The Maoist ministers had resigned from the cabinet on September 18 following differences with other alliance partners. The Maoists have agreed to rejoin the cabinet following last Sunday's 23-point agreement among seven parties. Compiled from reports
India , UN Welcome Pact
The Indian government has welcomed the decision among the seven political parties to hold Constituent Assembly (CA) elections by mid-April 2008. In response to media queries on the signing of 23-point agreement by seven parties, Sunday, the spokesperson of Indian Ministry of External Affairs said "that the decision among the seven political parties to hold Constituent Assembly (CA) elections by mid-April 2008 is an encouraging development in the right direction." The spokesperson noted that the agreement accorded CA elections the central importance. "He also said that the exercise of the people's right to elect a Constituent Assembly in a free, fair and fearless manner is the best way to enable the people of Nepal to choose their own future. He expressed the hope that all concerned will work towards maintaining the new deadline for CA elections," states a press release issued by Embassy of India in Kathmandu . Likewise, Ian Martin, chief of United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), said on Monday that he welcomes the important agreement reached by seven parties. "I must also welcome the fact that they have reached important agreements to reinvigorate implementation of the peace process and recommit themselves to the election of the Constituent Assembly. They have rightly recognized that this requires action on many fronts as well as the setting of the new election date. I should particularly like to welcome the decisions to form a monitoring committee for the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and other agreements, which it is part of UNMIN's mandate to assist, and to reach a consensus on running local bodies, which I believe is essential to create the conditions of public security conducive to the election," he said at a medal parade program held to honor the Interim Task Force. Compiled from reports
Parliamentary Committee Presses For Free Energy From West Seti
The House Committee on Natural Resources has taken strong exception to non implementation of its earlier directive to the government to press for ten percent free energy instead of equivalent royalty from the proposed 750 MW West Seti hydropower project. The Committee, on Thursday, raised objection to Minister of State for Water Resources Gyanendra Bahadur Karki at the government's failure to abide by its directive since last six months. In his response, Minister of State Karki has said that the Ministry has formed a taskforce to find out how it can implement Committee's directive. The promoters of West Seti , an Australian company called SMEC has been saying that it is unable to provide free energy from the project. Nepalnews.com reports END
Bheri Death Toll Reaches 16; 28 Still Missing; Rescuers Continue Search Efforts
The death toll from bridge collapse in Mehelkuna of Surkhet district has reached 16 with one more dead body being recovered a day after the tragedy on Wednesday (Dec 26). Rescue teams had resumed search operation to find people who had gone missing after a suspension bridge collapsed, Tuesday afternoon, in Bheri River in far-west Surkhet. Twenty-eight persons are still said to be missing. Surkhet's Chief District Officer Anil Kumar Pandey said the 32 injured (20 women and 12 men) in the Bheri bridge tragedy were admitted in Surkhet Hospital . The suspension bridge over the Bheri River at Shobhaghat near Mehalkuna bazaar, Surkhet district had collapsed at 2 pm Tuesday afternoon due to overload throwing hundreds of people into the river. The bridge was built only last year. A huge crowd of people were passing through the bridge to attend the local fair at Subaghat when the bridge collapsed. Meanwhile, the government has expressed deep sorrow over the Bheri bridge tragedy and has promised to form a high-level team to investigate what caused the incident. Issuing a statement Wednesday, the Home Ministry said that the government will provide compensation to the tune of Rs 25,000 to the families of those who fell victim in the tragedy and also promised to bear the medical expenses of the injured people. Compiled from reports
All Top Leaders Will Be Elected, Claims Nepal
The UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal has said that the parties would not field their candidates in constituencies contested by top leaders. Talking to reporters in Biratnagar on Wednesday (Dec 26), he said there would be unity among seven parties during the polls. He also did not rule out leftist alliance. Leading dailies report
Imperialists Trying To Split Nation, Says Prachanda
Maoist chairman Prachanda claimed on Wednesday (Dec 26) that the imperialists are hatching a conspiracy to split the nation in the name of empowering the ethnic people. Addressing a program organized by the Maoist-affiliated Kiratee National Liberation Front Nepal (KNLFN) to felicitate its advisors and trainers, Prachanda claimed that the Maoists had to agree on the mixed election system to safeguard other "important achievements." "We have not abandoned the demand of the fully proportional electoral system. We were compelled to agree on 40 and 60 percent weightage for two electoral systems -- first past the post and fully proportional systems -- just because we wanted to take the peace process ahead," he said. On the occasion of 114th birth anniversary of Mao, he recalled quotes of Mao, who had told late king Mahendra that Nepal will be independent and prosperous only when the indigenous nationalities are made sovereign. Prachanda said only the unity among all the Nepalis can counter the conspiracy of the imperialists and reactionaries. "During the 10-year-long people's war, we never witnessed any incident of ethnic conflict," he claimed. He added that the final battle is yet to be fought but that battle will be fought on ideological grounds. "For the first time, our constitution has incorporated the word republic. The constituent assembly would approve the proposal for a republic," he said. "We are close to victory," said another influential leader of the party Ram Bahadur Thapa 'Badal'. He said a conspiracy is being hatched to divide the people and prevent the party from achieving victory. He requested the KNLFN to support the 'storm' about to come in the near future. Talking to reporters following the function, Prachanda said his party will join government within Thursday or Friday. Leading dailies report
Poudel In New Delhi , Meets With Mukherjees
The Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Ram Chandra Poudel met with India 's Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday (Dec 26) in New Delhi . After his meeting with Mukherjee, Poudel told reporters that India has suggested separating the political and criminal issues in Madhes, according to Kantipur daily. "The political and criminal activities should be separated. Political issues should be dealt politically and criminal activities should be strictly controlled," Poudel elaborated the Indian viewpoint to the reporters. He said that India has pledged full support to control criminal activities in the border region even as it suggested that political issues be dealt with by Nepali political parties themselves. Poudel also met with Indian Home Minister Shivaraj Patil on Wednesday. Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon also called on him in the morning. Poudel has gone to New Delhi in the wake of fresh 23-points pacts among the seven parties. Compiled from reports
11 Maoist Fighters Join JTMM-J
Eleven Maoist People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers on Wednesday (Dec 26) rebelled and joined the Jwala Singh led Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM-J). The PLA men from Khairmara and Solu-Salleri brigades led by Solu-Salleri brigade commander Shikhar left the Maoist saying that there was no intra-party justice. JTMM-J's Siraha district in-charge Bhairav Singh confirmed that 11 PLA men had joined the Morcha after revolting from the Maoist. The former PLA men who are learnt to be all of Madhes origin also brought along few weapons with them. Nepalnews.com reports
China Welcomes Pact
China has welcomed the recently signed 23-point agreement among the seven parties and their commitment to hold the constituent assembly elections by mid-April. In a statement, the spokesperson of the foreign ministry of China Qin Gang said, " China welcomes the progress of the peace process in Nepal ." The statement further reads, "As a good neighbor and good friend of Nepal , we sincerely hope to see Nepal press ahead with the peace process so as to realize political stability and economic development. It conforms to the fundamental interest of Nepal and benefits regional peace and development." The spokesperson said that the Chinese government adheres to the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs, respects the Nepali people's choice for their own social system and way of development, and will continue to play a constructive role in promoting peace and stability of Nepal . Compiled from reports
