Basanta panchami observed

Kathmandu, 20 Jan.: Basanta or Shri panchamai was observed Wednesday offering puja at Sharashwati temples.
Wednesday also marks the onset of spring as well.
President Dr Ram Baran Yadav is scheduled to listen to the citation of Basanta sharawan at Hanuman Dhoka.
Toddlers were initiated into writing.
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Lumbini, Rapti anchals closed down

Kathmandu, 20 Jan.: Rashtriya Janamorcha protesting a federal structure Wednesday closed down Lumbini and Rapti anchals.
The communist opposition party which supports government from the opposition bench says a federal structure will disintegrate the nation.
The party has been conducting a phased nation-wide protest.
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Indian army chief visiting Mustang

Kathmandu, 20 Jan.: Visiting Indian Army Chief Gen Deepak
Kapoor, on the second day of his four-day Nepal visit, is paying a flying
visit of Mustang.
Nepal Army runs a mountain warfare training institute in the district north of the Himalaya adjoining Tibet.
NA has agreed to impart mountain warfare training to Indian army officers there.
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Indian army chief arrives

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 20 Jan.: Indian Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor arrived Tuesday on a four-day visit marking the resumption of ties between the armies of Nepal and India snapped following a royal takeover five years ago.
Kapoor arrived one day after Foreign Minister SM Krishna ended an official Nepal visit.
The resumption of ties between the armies of the two countries was
confirmed with the resumption of supplies of non-lethal military
hardware ahead of Kapoor’s visit protested by Maoists who say
it is against the spirit of a comprehensive peace agreement.
Military supplies were suspended five years ago.
The visit demonstrates New Delhi’s firm support for the government of
Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal.
But USA and Great Britain still continue to ban export of military hardware of Nepal.
India is Nepal’s main weapons supplier and the resumption comes at a time when supplies of bullets were depleted.
Gen Kapoor is being conferred the title of honourary general of Nepal Army by President Dr Ram Baran Yadav.
The Indian army chief comes immediately after Army Chief
Gen Chatraman Singh Gurung concluded an official India visit.
Gen Kapoor visits Nepal at a time when main opposition Maoists
Have launched an anti-Indian campaign allegedly for intervening
in Nepal’s political affairs.
The Indian army chief is in Nepal when Home Minister Bhim Rawal is
in India discussing security issues with his counterpart
P Chidambaran.
Rawal is being assisted in talks by chief of Nepal Police,
Armed Police Force and chief of the National Investigation
Department.
Lt Gen Toran Jung Bahadur Singh received Gen Kapoor soon after he alighted from a special aircraft carrying the Indian army chief.
The supreme court asked Nepal Army not to implement a decision
promoting him to Lt. Gen pending a final decision of the court
where a complaint has been registered.
Singh has been charged for rights violation.
Maoists Tuesday greeted Kapoor with black flags on arrival and staged a sit-in in front of the Indian embassy.
Maoists protested the Indian army chief’s suggestion they shouldn’t be
integrated en masse in Nepal Army as well as the resumption of arms supplies.
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Defence minister challenges authority of PM

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 20 Jan.: Defence Minister Mrs Bidya Bhandari, considered as the only man in the cabinet Tuesday issued another challenge to
Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and the special committee
for supervision, integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants.
Bhandari, the widow of Madan Bhandari, said she won’t implement
a decision of the committee where stakeholders or Nepal Army isn’t represented.
She issued the gauntlet to the government chief after she refused to handover
Maj Niranjan Basnet to Kavre district court on pressure of UN and several western embassies.
Maj. Basnet was sent back from the Nepal Army peacekeeping contingent from Chad by UN without consulting the country contributing peacekeepers.
Basnet has been cleared by a military court for rights violation during the Maoist insurgency; but rights activists have registered a charge against him in Kavre district court.
Premier Nepal succumbed to international pressure and ordered Bhandari to
send Basnet to the civilian court- an order she defied.
“Even if the special committee for supervision, integration and rehabilitation chaired by the prime minister decided to integrate Maoist combatants in Nepal Army, the decision won’t be acceptable to the defence
ministry.
“Not a single Maoist combatant will be integrated in Nepal Army. The special committee doesn’t have the authority and right on integration of army. It’s work is only to supervise and integrate Maoist combatants,” she told reporters at her office.
“Why will I accent a decision of a committee where the defence
ministry and army isn’t represented? I have to sign decisions
related to the army? Why should I sign?” she asked.
“Nowhere is it written in the comprehensive peace agreement Maoist combatants will be integrated in Nepal Army,” Bhandari said adding ,” In the name of pleasing a power center a flawed decision to integrate
combatants in the national army shouldn’t be taken.”
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HLPM meets

Kathmandu, 20 Jan.: The first meeting of the high-level political mechanism [HLPM] under fire from political parties but supported by UN and several western governments was held Tuesday.
Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal was to be invited member didn’t attend.
Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala, Chairman Prachanda and UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal are its member while Koirala is coordinator.
It formed a six-member task force to prepare the mechanism’s terms of reference.
Arjun Narsingh KC and Krishna Prasad from Nepali Congress,
Vice-chairman Narayankazi Shrestha and Deb Gurung from
UCPN (Maoist) and Bharat Mohan Adhikari and Yubaraj Geywali from UML are the task force members.
HLPM meets again Friday to consider the report of the task force.
Koirala and Khanal asked Prachanda to call off the anti-government and anti-president Maoist protests.
KC said more parties will be inducted in the mechanism after the
ToR is drafted.
“We’re ready to end the protest is parties are ready to address our demands,” Prachanda said.
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No US assurance to Prachanda

Kathmandu, 20 Jan. Visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Patrick Moon Wednesday didn’t give Maoist Chairman Prachanda firm assurance Washington would take UCPN (Maoist) off its terrorist list.
Prachanda requested his party be taken off the US list at a meeting with Moon Tuesday.
Moon said USA would take a decision on a report of the US embassy.
Moon asked Prachanda to honour past commitment.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

“UML is nobody’s private limited company where anyone can act unilaterally on his whim and fancy. The formation
of the HLPM should have been discussed in the party.”

(UML leader Jhalanath Khanal, Annapurna Post, 20 Jan.)