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VOL. 27, NO. 38, June 06 , 2008 (Jestha 24 2065 B.S.)
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MEMBERS OF THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY (CA) were sworn in amid a ceremony at the Birendra International Convention Centre (BICC), which will house the 601-member Assembly, Tuesday (May 27) afternoon. Kul Bahadur Gurung, 73, of Nepali Congress, who chaired the swearing in ceremony as the eldest member of the CA, administered oath to 567 members at the Sagarmatha Hall of the BICC. The CA members were allowed to take oath in their mother languages. While most of them were in informal attire some CA members from Madhesi and indigenous communities appeared in their traditional costumes. 26 CA members are yet to be appointed by the cabinet, five persons had won double seats while the CA Court has barred two winners, UML's Bisam Lal Adhikari and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum's Sarat Singh Bhandari, from taking oath as the writ petitions accusing of them of irregularities in the election are yet to be decided. However, Baban Singh, the independent winner from Rautahat constituency-1, who is sought by the police on a number of criminal cases, also took his oath.
PALACE AUTHORITIES PUT UP the national flag at the Narayanhity palace where the royal flag used to fly until this morning (May 29). The flag hoisting was done at 7:40 pm without any formal ceremony. The royal flag was removed from the main building this morning. There were protests in and around Durbar Marg from early morning demanding that the government put up the national flag at the palace.
THE UNITED STATES HAS CONGRATULATED the people of Nepal on the declaration of federal democratic republic by the Constituent Assembly. "The United States of America congratulates the people of Nepal on the Constituent Assembly's first step in defining a new, democratic Nepal with the declaration of a republic on May 28," a press statement issued by the American Embassy said. Describing the implementation of republican order as "another exciting milestone in Nepal's democratic development", the US government further stated, "We encourage the representatives of the CA to continue their work to fulfill the peoples' desire for peace, democracy and development in Nepal." The congratulatory statement came hours after the State Department's deputy spokesman Tom Casey said the Bush administration had 'withheld' comments on the new development in Nepal. "There's been a political transition. There have been elections. The new government is in place and moving forward. We have had some conversations with those officials, in part to verify that some of the efforts that we can make, in terms of being able to provide humanitarian assistance and other programs, are going to be able to move forward," Casey had told reporters, adding, "Certainly, it's a situation we continue to watch. And we continue to urge forward political developments in that country." Meanwhile, Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon has congratulated the Nepali people on the historic first meeting of the Constituent Assembly that has transformed Nepal to a federal democratic republic. "The people of Nepal have clearly spoken for peace and change through the April 10 Assembly election," he said in a statement. The Secretary-General has encouraged all parties to continue working in a cooperative manner and to form a new government as soon as possible. Similarly, his special representative to Nepal Ian Martin also congratulated the people of Nepal on the achievement of convening the historic Constituent Assembly. "The United Nations is proud to have assisted in the election of the most inclusive body Nepal has yet known," he said adding, "Its democratically-elected representatives have the solemn responsibility to prepare a new constitution as well as to act as an interim legislature during this next important phase of Nepal's peace process, and to fulfill the people's aspirations for sustained peace, economic and social progress, democracy and human rights."
MAOIST CHAIRMAN PRACHANDA, along with senior leader Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, met with a senior American official. In what could be the first such contact with high-level State Department official, Prachanda held talks with the visiting US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Dr Evan A. Feigenbaum on Monday (May 26) evening in Nayabazaar. Emerging out of the meeting, Prachanda said he discussed issues regarding constituent assembly, republic declaration and development programs. "He inquired about the republic, government formation, constituent assembly and our focus on development programs. We told him that we want to build democracy in a new way. We have a new approach to development," Prachanda told reporters. In an apparent reference to US branding them terrorist, Prachanda said, "We also told him that though we have been in the peace process for a long time, you still do not have positive outlook towards us." "He also had lot of questions regarding the YCL," Prachanda said, adding, "This is also an issue raised by other political parties and we have already proposed to end its paramilitary character like staying in a barrack and so on," he said. The US official has already met with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and other political leaders.
