Illegal Everest climb?

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 10 May: Could somebody have climbed Mount Everest Thursday from the south in Nepal the same day Chinese climbers carried an Olympic torch to the top of the world from the north in Tibet?
The climbers from Nepal would have had to steal the climb as they were banned from climbing the 8848 meters high peak until today Saturday.
Nepal permitted climbers from the south to proceed to the summit after the peak was climbed by Chinese.
Army and police were keeping a close watch of activities of 31 expedition members pinning them at the second camp located at 6,200 meters.
‘There are still some people who try to interfere with our activities. There were some people we hadn’t expected. Out climbing torchbearers saw their lights. But we managed to overcome their interruptions,” China News Service quoted head of the climbing team Li Zhxin as saying.
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King favours referendum to decide monarchy

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 10 May: The palace and the king want a referendum to decide monarchy, Saptahik Janasatta reports quoting an unnamed palace source.
Seven parties cannot decide the future of the 238-year-old institution.
“Nepali people are experiencing a crisis with the decision of seven parties on monarchy and a federal structure. It’s not for seven parties to decide monarchy’s future and it should be decided by the people through a referendum,” the newspaper said in its Saturday editions.
“The king personally favours this,” the newspaper added.
Maoists are insisting the first meeting of the CA should declare a republic.
The process isn’t even clear.
Dr Baburam Bhattarai said in a recent interview Maoists pushed the declaration of a republic by the first CA meeting because of hassels that could later emerge.
Bhattarai also said monarchy has become ‘a trouble’ and asked the king for ‘help’ and ‘cooperation’ in declaring a republic.
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UNMIN preparing to leave

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 10 May: UNMIN Chief Ian Martin has confirmed his entire team is preparing to leave when its two-year tenure end mid-July.
The tenure was extended six months when the first mandate ended in 2007.
Maoists, waiting to form a post-election government, said UNMIN won’t have any role in the touchy issue of the integration of Nepal and PLA.
With the 10 April CA election, the role of UNMIN in monitoring the controversial election is over and UN election observers have started packing their bags.
The second role for the UNMIN was the management of Maoist combatants and their arms in which the UNMIN failed miserably.
UN couldn’t retain the combatants in the camps and they campaigned actively for CPN (Maoist) candidates in elections with arms leaving 28 cantonments and satellite camps..
The UNMIN admitted it was helpless to contain the fighters in the camps.
Many combatants remained outside camps with hidden arms or disguised as members of the YCL which was used to coerce election.
Rival parties now want it banned for future cooperation.
But here the CPN-UML and Congress must bear responsibility for agreeing to contest elections while the Home Minister Krishna Prasad Koirala and his boss Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala let loose Maoists on the country without even attempting to curb their excesses.
Martin told Kantipur TV he has told his employees to seek alternative jobs as the mandate is ending.
India, a non-permanent member of the UN security council, said the UNMIN must quit in July while Nepal’s other neighbour and a permanent council member, has remained silent.
But a US embassy official said this month there’s still a role for UNMIN in Nepal.
Maoists said the UNMIN should go even as the UN said it wanted a broader mandate than only monitoring elections and supervising arms and combatants.
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Illegal Everest climb?

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 10 May: Could somebody have climbed Mount Everest Thursday from the south in Nepal the same day Chinese climbers carried an Olympic torch to the top of the world from the north in Tibet?
The climbers from Nepal would have had to steal the climb as they were banned from climbing the 8848 meters high peak until today Saturday.
Nepal permitted climbers from the south to proceed to the summit after the peak was climbed by Chinese.
Army and police were keeping a close watch of activities of 31 expedition members pinning them at the second camp located at 6,200 meters.
‘There are still some people who try to interfere with our activities. There were some people we hadn’t expected. Out climbing torchbearers saw their lights. But we managed to overcome their interruptions,” China News Service quoted head of the climbing team Li Zhxin as saying.
Nnnn


King favours referendum to decide monarchy

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 10 May: The palace and the king want a referendum to decide monarchy, Saptahik Janasatta reports quoting an unnamed palace source.
Seven parties cannot decide the future of the 238-year-old institution.
“Nepali people are experiencing a crisis with the decision of seven parties on monarchy and a federal structure. It’s not for seven parties to decide monarchy’s future and it should be decided by the people through a referendum,” the newspaper said in its Saturday editions.
“The king personally favours this,” the newspaper added.
Maoists are insisting the first meeting of the CA should declare a republic.
The process isn’t even clear.
Dr Baburam Bhattarai said in a recent interview Maoists pushed the declaration of a republic by the first CA meeting because of hassels that could later emerge.
Bhattarai also said monarchy has become ‘a trouble’ and asked the king for ‘help’ and ‘cooperation’ in declaring a republic.
Nnnn

UNMIN preparing to leave

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 10 May: UNMIN Chief Ian Martin has confirmed his entire team is preparing to leave when its two-year tenure end mid-July.
The tenure was extended six months when the first mandate ended in 2007.
Maoists, waiting to form a post-election government, said UNMIN won’t have any role in the touchy issue of the integration of Nepal and PLA.
With the 10 April CA election, the role of UNMIN in monitoring the controversial election is over and UN election observers have started packing their bags.
The second role for the UNMIN was the management of Maoist combatants and their arms in which the UNMIN failed miserably.
UN couldn’t retain the combatants in the camps and they campaigned actively for CPN (Maoist) candidates in elections with arms leaving 28 cantonments and satellite camps..
The UNMIN admitted it was helpless to contain the fighters in the camps.
Many combatants remained outside camps with hidden arms or disguised as members of the YCL which was used to coerce election.
Rival parties now want it banned for future cooperation.
But here the CPN-UML and Congress must bear responsibility for agreeing to contest elections while the Home Minister Krishna Prasad Koirala and his boss Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala let loose Maoists on the country without even attempting to curb their excesses.
Martin told Kantipur TV he has told his employees to seek alternative jobs as the mandate is ending.
India, a non-permanent member of the UN security council, said the UNMIN must quit in July while Nepal’s other neighbour and a permanent council member, has remained silent.
But a US embassy official said this month there’s still a role for UNMIN in Nepal.
Maoists said the UNMIN should go even as the UN said it wanted a broader mandate than only monitoring elections and supervising arms and combatants.
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