Prachanda faces two-pronged attack

By Bhola B Rana


Kathmandu, 24 Nov: Barely three months after assuming office, CPN (Maoist) and the government led by its Chairman Prachanda is facing a strong two-pronged frontal attack from within the party and the other national parties, including coalition partners.
The Dahal government has been charged for ‘revisionism’ to preserve the status quo after declaring a federal democratic republic.
Party organization chief Mohan Baidya Kiran is leading a stiff call supported by nearly half the 1,000 delegates to declare an immediate Stalinist hard-line people’s republic to prevent a repetition of the downfall of communists like in Chile or Indonesia.
The party is continuing the debate in neighbouring Bhaktapur Monday.
Prachanda is trying to buy time by attempting to refer the debate between his transitional republic and people’s republic to a general convention in June 2009.
Meanwhile, main opposition Nepali Congress has hyped criticism charging the CPN (Maoist) is an anti-democratic party which can’t be trusted or supported.
The opposition threat of non-cooperation with government has created uncertainty propelling fears a constitution may not be drafted by the June 2009 deadline to end the current transitional phase from monarchy to a republic.
The country is governed by what is called an interim constitution imposed by unelected members of parliament and amended at will to suit immediate party interests.
As Koirala launched a jihad against Maoists, the Nepali Congress has come out publicly in support of the Nepal Army against which a hate campaign was launched during the royal regime before April 2005 to defame a state army that founded modern Nepal with King Prithvi Narayan Shah the Great 238 years ago.
“Maoists have no right even to talk of army integration now as they are responsible for violating the agreements while breaching understanding on political consensus,” Koirala charged in Nepalgunj Sunday.
The party has launched what it calls a national awareness campaign-- in effect a jihad against Maoists—for anti-democratic and authoritarian tendencies.
Democracy is under threat with government under Maoists, Koirala charged.
But Koirala built an alliance with exiled Maoists in India to put democracy on firm roots after a royal takeover before 2005 amid protests from a sizeable section of the party that opposed a working arrangement with extreme communist Maoists.
Koirala ignored the warnings from within the partybof aligning with Maoists to topple monarchy to protect and promote democracy.
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Global recession won’t impact Nepal

Kathmandu, 24 Nov: Global recession won’t immediately impact Nepal which isn’t linked to the world economy..
But it could reverse flow of remittances home by workers.
These are the findings of a IMF study team made public Sunday
An IMF study team headed by Brian J. Aitken said the annual 2008/09 budget announced by Finance Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai was ambitious while appreciating ‘impressive steps’ to meet revenue collection targets.
“But there is still risk that if planned revenue fails to materialize the sustainability of the budget could be threatened,” the team said.
IMF assessment team asked Nepal Rashtra Bank to tighten monetary policy to prevent risks pose by lending tfor rel estate development.
A collapse of real estate prices will negatively impact banks.
“The biggest shot-run concern is rapidly growing real estate price. Given the large exposure of the financial sector to real estate, a decline in real estate prices would have negative effects on banks and ultimately on output growth,” the team said.
The group estimated as many as 160 financial institutions investing in real estate.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

“I’ll fulfill my commitment [to draft a constitution] even from hell.”

(GP Koirala pledging to complete writing the constitution by June 2009, Nepal Samacharpatra, 24 Nov.)

“I have never criticized the UNMIN. I only objected to the studied silence of the UNMIN when the Maoist leaders entered parliament with UN tagged weapons.”

(GP Koirala, The Himalayan Times, 24 Nov.)