UML parliamentary party meet starts

Kathmandu, 18 April: The prolonged parliamentary party meeting of the UML which is leading the government continued Sunday.
Seventeen lawmakers are scheduled to speak at Sunday’s session after with Chairman Jhalanath Khanal and beleaguered Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal will respond to points raised by lawmakers.
The party has 109 members on the 601-member parliament.
A sizeable section in the party has demanded the resignation of the prime minister to make way for the formation of a national government with Maoists.
The meeting is also discussing the party strategy after 28 May when a constitution has to be promulgated to institutionalize a republic which has already been declared.
With only 40 days remaining to promulgate the constitution, it’s unlikely the deadline will be met.
Major parties have deep differences on fundamental principles to be incorporated in a constitution.
Nepal is entering an uncertain future.
There’s been opposition to calls for the extend by parliament the extension of the two-year tenure of the constituent assembly which also ends 28 May.
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MJFN preparing for a decisive anti-govt. movement

Kathmandu, 18 April: Second-ranking leader of the MJFN Jayaprakash Prasad Gupta said his party is preparing for the third phase of a decisive movement against the government in terai.
The movement will be launched after complete reports are received from the districts, he said.
The party said government hasn’t implemented two separate agreements on regional demands.
MJFN is close to Maoists.
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Military personnel involved in gruesome Palpa murders

Kathmandu, 18 April: Military personnel were involved two months ago in the murders of four members of a family, Kantipur reports from Palpa.
Tara Balami, the chief suspect, is in police detention.
His three accomplices are escorted by military officers to the police office for investigation.
Those killed were Yam Kumari Bagale, 56, her 26-year-old son Tulsi Gharti, his son and daughter.
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Three parties agree to extend UNMIN tenure

Kathmandu, 18 April: The three major political parties—the UCPN (Maoist), the Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-UML—have agreed to revise the current mandate of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) while also extending its tenure, The Kathmandu Post reports.
The tenure of the UN body expires on May 15. “The three parties have agreed o revise UNMIN’s mandate in the changed context,” NC leader Ram Sharan Mahat said today [Saturday]. ‘However, our opinion differs from that of the Maoists on the issue of monitoring of Nepal Army,” he said.
The NC and the UML are in favour of withdrawing the monitoring of the army by UNMIN. However, the main opposition party, the Maoists want the army monitored until the peace process is completed.
Such a move will require the revision of the peace agreements between the government and the Maoists as they contradict the comprehensive peace agreement and the agreement on monitoring and management of arms and armies.
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“Persons I like the most are King Birendra, BP, Sushila Aama and Samrat [with whom she is engaged].”

(Manisha Koirala, Kantipur, 18 April)