DELAYED MAOIST CC MEETS THURSDAY.

Kathmandu, 2 Dec.: The delayed meeting of a Maoist central committee to be held Thursday has again been rescheduled, the party said.
It has be held Friday.
The meeting will discuss the out come of the 6th Gorkha plenum that concluded Sunday.
The plenum has empowered the central committee to hammer out internal differences on party approaches to move ahead amid a prolonged political deadlock as the country’s biggest communist party.
If the committee can’t hammer out differences, the schism will be taken to a general convention.
Chairman Prachanda and Vice-chairmen Dr Baburam Bhattarai and Mohan Baidya have present concept papers with differing perceptions.
Baidya’s is the most radical urging immediate people’s war while Bhattarai has adopted a ‘moderate’ line pushing a communist line by completing the peace process and writing a constitution.
India has sent troubleshooter Prof. S.D.Muni to talk with Maoists who discussed whether India is the ‘main enemy’ at the Gorkha plenum.
Muni, said after holding discussions with Chairman Prachanda, the party’ hasn’t identified India as the party’s principal enemy while saying publicly New Delhi is preventing CICPN(Maoist) entry into Baluwatar and Singha Durbar.
Muni implicitly issued a public warning no ruler in Nepal hs lasted long in power with what he called ‘anti-Indian’ rhetoric.
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TWO KILLED, 25 INJURED IN RUPENDHAEHI

Kathmandu, 2 Dec.: Two persons killed and 25 were, injured, two seriously when a passenger hit a parked vehicle on the Mahendra Highway at Debdaha in Rupendhaehi overnight.
The passenger bus was heading for the capital.
An employee is Kathmandu municipality was killed.
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PRACHANDA-LED TASK FORCE MEETS

Kathmandu, 2 Dec.: A high-powered Chairman Prachanda-led task
force to reduce or hammer out differences on 230 contentious points
for inclusion in a constitution to institutionalize a declared
republic met Thursday.
The seven-member committee met only briefly Wednesday without top leaders.
There was no agreement on Maoist proposal for compulsory military traning for 18-year-olds for national defence.
Other parties said the idea would push militarization when the need eas social and economic development.
The task force has reached broad agreement on 50 issues with
differences on eight themes.
The body has to report to Chairman Subash Nemwang by 11 December.
Prachanda claimed Wednesday the force has helped narrow differences between parties and added Maoists have adopted conciliatory and flexible approaches after the Gorkha plenum.
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NC CWC MEET CONTINUES FOR FIFTH CONSECUTIVE DAY

Kathmandu, 2 Dec.: NC central working committee (CWC) is meeting for the fifth consecutive day Thursday to discuss widespread opposition
to President Sushil Koirala’s recommendation to nominate Ram
Chandra Paudel and Krishna Prasad Shitaula general secretary.
Most of the 50 elected central committee members have opposed the nominations.
Paudel is an incumbent vice-president while Shitaula was a close collaborator of Girija Prasad Koirala who brought Maoists into the political mainstream.
Shitaula is controversial in the NC for his previous close link with
Maoists.
He negotiated the 12-point peace agreement in New Delhi with Maoists on behalf of Koirala and as his home minister overlooked the excesses of the communist party ahead of the 2008 constitunt assembly elections swept by UCPN (Maoist).
Following the communist victory, Shitaula is now a first Maoist
critic.
Central leaders have suggested meetings of CWC should be suspended temporarily for consultations to appoint party office bearers through understanding.
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PRESIDENT HOLDS DDISCUSIONS WITH MADESH LEADER

Kathmandu, 2 Dec.: President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav Wednesday held discussions with TMLP Chairman Mahanta Thakur amid a
continuing political deadlock and crisis.
They discussed convening a session of parliament, elections for prime minister, the peace process and constitution drafting.
The ceremonial president earlier held discussions with leaders of UCPN(Maoist), NC, UML and Speaker Subash Nemwang.
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MOTHER OF BHUTANESE KING COMING

Kathmandu, 2 Dec.: Ashi Tshering Yangon, the mother of the Bhitanese king, is arriving Sunday 5 December for an essentially pilgrimage.
She’ll visit Lumbini, the birthplace of The Buddha, and offr prayers and worship at Syambhunath, Bhaudha and Pharping.
She is one among four wives of former King Jigme Singye Wangchuk who oversaw the forcible eviction of more than 100,000 Bhutanese of Nepalese ethnicity from his Buddhist nation in an ethnic cleansing drive.
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UNMIN WELCOMES APPOINTMENT

Kathmandu, 2 Dec.: UNMIN Chief Karin Landgren Wednesday welcomed the appointment of Retired Lt. Gen. Balananda Sharma
Coordinator of the secretariat of a special committee headed by the prime minister for integration, resettlement and supervision of 18,000 plus former PLA fighters.
“The agreement reached between the parties yesterday [Tuesday]
on the appointment of the coordinator of the secretariat is a welcome development that I hope will give renewed impetus to implementation of the four-point agreement,.
‘In particular, I urge the parties to focus on the key goal of the
special committee, namely to implement and rehabilitate the Maoist army personnel,” she said in a statement.
UNMIN withdraws from Nepal by 15 January 2011.
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US OFFICIAL ARRIVING

Kathmandu, 2 Dec.: US Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Dr. Alyssa Ayres arrives Thursday.
She’ll hold discussions with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sijata Koirala Friday.
She assumed office August.
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A NORWEGIAN AGAIN IN TOWN PUSHNG PRO-MAOIST LINE

Kathmandu, 2 Dec.: A Norwegian government official in again in town openly pushing a line that will help Maoists even as the peace process
has hit a roadblock.
He’s pushing downsizing the Nepal Army (NA) even as Maoists openly
push a violent communist takeover—a move that will encourage violent takeover by toppling the state.
The suggestion to weaken the NA comes as there was other insurgencies brewing in the hills and terai.
Norwegian government Special Envoy Tore Toreng held discussions with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala Wednesday.
Norwegians from far-off Scandinavia land in the country just at crucial moments when internal differences escalate.
‘I met Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal recently and he conveyed to me that UMIN will not stay here after mid-January. All the responsibility that is currently being carried out by the UNMIN will be handed over to the Special Committee Secretariat. I advised him for a smooth landing of the
peace process here,” Koirala quoted the visitor as saying.
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US ENVOY CONVEYS CONCERN TO KOIRALA





Kathmandu, Dec 1 - US ambassador to Nepal Scott H DeLisi Wednesday called on Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sujata Koirala at the Foreign Ministry and expressed his government’s concern over the leakage of a confidential report on Nepal by WikiLeaks website, The Rising Nepal reports.
"Nepal-US ties will not deteriorate due to the leaked documents," DPM Koirala quoted the US ambassador as saying.
DeLisi said that the report was an official statement of his government’s policy on Nepal and would therefore not affect the existing relationship between them.
He ruled out that it reflected his government’s policy on Nepal in any manner.
The US envoy said that his country was for peace and stability in Nepal.
The meeting also dwelt on the ongoing political development in the country.
(Note: The ambassador met a government minister for the first time after assuring in a statement there’s won’t be further leaks. The leaks on Nepal haven’t been published in details yet.)
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FATE OF 25 INGOs UNCERTAIN

Kathmandu, 2 Dec.: An ego clash between the Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Sarv Dev Prasad Ojha and the Member-Secretary of the Social Welfare Council Dr Chhewang N Lama has put in jeopardy the future of more than 35 international non-governmental organisations operating in Nepal, Lekhnath Pandey writs in The Himalayan Times.

Some of the affected INGOs have been operating their projects on health, women, and children.

Minister Ojha, who is also the Chairperson of the SWC, had suspended member-secretary Dr Lama and two other SWC officials in early October, accusing them of committing irregularities. He has submitted a proposal before the Cabinet to dismiss the trio. However, the cabinet is yet to approve it.

Ojha represents the Tarai Madhes Democratic Party in the CPN-UML-led ruling coalition.

Dr Lama, who was appointed during UCPN-M-led coalition government, however, has been regularly attending office despite the minister’s action. “Our term should have been renewed by September, but due to conflict between the ministry and the council, we may have to suspend all our operational programmes,” a country representative of a renowned INGO told The Himalayan Times.

Around 250 INGOs are registered with the SWC, most of them operating in Nepal. Their terms fall in three categories: bi-annual, tri-annual and five-yearly. Since their terms have to be renewed by December-end, more than 35 INGOs awaiting ministry’s approval have been left in limbo.

Two of the oldest INGOs, International Nepal Fellowship and United Mission to Nepal, have been operating programmes under health and social welfare sectors after temporary approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. INF and UMN, operating since 1952 and 1954, respectively, had to turn to MoFA after they failed to get their terms renewed following due process.

According to a provision of law, the SWC has to submit renewal report to the ministry for approval. It’s only after the ministry’s approval that SWC completes the renewal process. A senior official at the SWC confirmed that they had already submitted the list of INGOs seeking term-renewal to the ministry. Frequent attempts to contact Member-Secretary Dr Lama went in vain.

Minister Ojha said affected INGOs’ terms would not be renewed unless those suspended were replaced. “The cabinet must approve my proposal, otherwise no INGO will get extension,” he threatened. He, however, denied that the trio’s suspension was part of political vendetta.
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LIMBUWAN RECRUITMENT FOR STIR

Kathmandu, 2 Dec.:: Sanghiya Limbuwan Rajya Parishad affiliated to Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch, The Himalayan Times reports from Dharan.

has mobilised 5,000 cadres to raise Rs 50 million for its ‘decisive movement’ for a Limbuwan state.

According to SLRP Chairman Kumar Lingden, cadres have fanned out in Sunsari, Morang, Jhapa, Ilam, Panchthar, Taplejung, Terhathum, Sankhuwasabha and Dhankuta districts for the purpose. He said the decisive movement is the only way to counter anti-federalist forces that have started conspiring against federalism. “Each cadre will raise Rs 1 lakh. We will use the amount in a transparent manner and get it audited taking the people of Limbuwan into confidence.”

He claimed that the cadres were not forcing anyone to contribute for the cause.

“We will use the amount to cover lodging, fooding and transportation expenses of the cadres to be mobilised for the movement,” said SLRP central committee member Dil Kumar Limbu. SLRP, which is demanding a Limbuwan autonomous state consisting of the nine districts across the Arun river, said it will bring at least 2 lakh people on the streets at the district headquarters for the movement.

It has already made public a series of programmes, including general strike and hunger strike, for the movement. The Limbuwan front has threatened to form a Limbuwan state government of its own if the new constitution does not guarantee such a state.
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