Three children burnt alive

Kathmandu, 14 Oct: Three children were burnt alive to death while they were playing in a shed at a village in Panchthar Sunday.
They were aged two, three and five years.
Villagers couldn’t save them when fire suddenly erupted.
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CPN-UML opposed Maoist people’s republic

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 14 Oct: CPN-UML central committee Monday vehemently opposed Maoist plans to declare Nepal a people’s republic like other hard-line communist states.
“Efforts to declare a people’s republic is to push an extreme leftist view by force. At a time when efforts are afoot to draft a new constitution, rumours to declare a republic are an effort to create obstacles,” General Secretary Jhalanath Khanal said.
Opposition is significant because CPN-UML is a constituent of the Maoist-led government.
Main opposition Congress is already opposed to the Maoist design; Congress threatened to come out on the streets to oppose the Maoist objective.
The committee approved the political report of Khanal.
Interestingly, Finance Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai reportedly said in Washington only children and grandchildren of the current generation can declare Nepal a communist state.
“We won’t accept the old multi-party system. But we’ll accept multi-party system,” Bhattarai reportedly said in Washington DC Sunday, according to Rajdhani.
“Whether it be the totalitarian rule of the king or the 20th century communist rule of communists in China and Russia, such rule is not possible now,” Bhattarai said, according to Naya Patrika.
“Communists who attempted to impose one-party rule yesterday collapsed. We’ll not repeat that mistake,” Bhatatrai said, according to Naya Patrika.
A debate is on-going on the CPN (Maoist) whether to opt for a people’s republic to a democratic federal republic.
A hard-line faction led by Mohan Baidya Kiran is pushing for an immediate people’s republic for which the party fought a blood 11-year civil war which claimed 13,000 lives.
The committee agreed to the proposal to expand the Youth Force which is fighting the Maoist YCL.
The central committee opposed Khanal’s proposal to dissolve the present central committee ahead of the party general convention in the capital from 16 to 21 March 2009 in an effort to strengthen his position in the party.
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Congress to launch national awareness programme from Biratnagar

Biratnagar, 13 Oct: Nepali Congress will launch a two-month nationwide national awareness campaign for peace and democracy from Biratnagar, the hometown of Girija Prasad Koirala, from 25 October, Annapurna Post reports.
Congress President Koirala will launch the campaign.
Koirala Monday opposed Maoist efforts to integrate the Nepal Army and PLA.
“The present government is efforting the integration of Nepal Army and PLA –an act which will politicize army,” Koirala told reporters in the capital.
Koirala added Congress won’t join a maoist-led government.
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CA delegation in Berlin

Kathmandu, 13 Oct: A CA delegation to study German federal structure arrived in Berlin Sunday, the Nepali embassy said.
The delegation, which represents major parties in the assembly, will proceed for Switzerland 19 October.
The delegation includes experts, senior officials and rapporteurs.
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