REVOLT IN UML AS MAJORITY COMMUNIST GOVT. TAKES OVER

By Bhola B Rana

Kathmandu, 17 Feb.: A revolt is brewing Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal’s UML as Nepal’s first communist majority government prepares to takeover Singha Durbar.
The UML standing committee is again meeting Thursday after Premier Khanal, who is also the party chairman, disregarded the committees earlier directive not give ‘security-related ‘ ministries to Maoists and amend a controversial seven-point secret agreement between the chairmen of UML and UCPN (Maoist).
Critics led by former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and KP Oli said Khanal signed the agreement with Maoist Chairman without the party’s knowledge and consent.
Even Bishnu Pandel, minister without portfolio, opposes the agreement that secured the premiership for Khanal with Maoist support.
Oli, Paudel and Secretary Shanker Pokhrel were denied entry into the official residence of the premier at Balauwatar Tuesday as they went there in a group to register their disappointment with Khanal who awarded the home ministry to Maoists.
The trio registered their protest at being denied into Baluwatar and awarding the home ministry with Khanal at Singha Durbar Wednesday.
Maoists will have direct command over Nepal Police and Armed Police Force (APF) with the control of the home ministry. The combined police forces match Nepal Army’s strength of 80,000 personnel.
Former King Gyanendra opposed the then NC government’s decision to give the home ministry control over the newly created APF formed to fight the Maoist insurgency without mobilizing the stat army, according to Bibek Shah in his book ‘Maile Dheykheko Durban.
Shah was the king’s military secretary.
This time around, Maoists haven’t demanded the defence ministry portfolio after Prachanda was forced out of office as premier following a direct standoff with the Nepal Army 21 months ago.
Maoist standing committee is also meeting Thursday to finalize its government team to head 11 ministries.
Foreign governments will now have to deal with Maoists who have been awarded the foreign ministry portfolio as well.
CPN (Samajbadi) that split from CPN (ML) of CP Mainali has decided to send two representatives to government. Mailali charged Maoists for splitting the party.
With a majority in the 599-member parliament, the communist-dominated government can pass any legislation’ Khanal and Prachanda will now attempt to get a two-third majority in government by inducting other parties.
The prime minister and Prachanda have asked other parties to join the administration to give it a national character for completing the peace process and constitution drafting.
NC has developed a 14-party coalition against the communist government that yet to take full shape.
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OFFICES PADLOCKED IN KOIRALA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

Kathmandu, 17 Feb.: Striking workers at the premier BP Koirala Memorial Hospital in Dharan gifted by India Thursday padlocked offices of administrators at the premier hospital.
Services have been affected after technicians demanded tools and equipment to provide services,
Employees have pressed for job security and salary hike.
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DARJEELING RESIDENTS FLEE TO NEPAL

Kathmandu, 17 Feb.: Residents of Darjeeling have fled from the hill district of West Bengal to bordering villages in Ilam after a crackdown by Indian security forces on activists of Gorkhaland movement.
The activists of Gorkhaland have upped protests after three persons were shot dead during a movement for a homeland of Nepali-speaking people.
Ilam residents said people fled across the border for security and to move to the Indian plains transiting Nepal.
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SUNSHINE AFTR TWO-DAY RAIN

Kathmandu, 17 Feb. The sky over the Valley cleared Thursday morning after two days of continuous spring first rainfall.
Lightning killed at least two persons and several persons were injured in nation-wide rain and snowfall.
Hilltops around the Valley were white with snow as temperatures fell.
The Valley recorded 38.6 mm rain if two days.
The rain eased power cuts Tuesday and Wednesday but the 14-hour daily load-shedding will resume Thursday.
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KRISHNA PRASAD BHATTARAI ADMITTED TO ICU

Kathmandu, 17 Feb.: Former Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, 87, was Wednesday transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) at Norvic Hospital.
The only surviving founder member of NC from which he quit after the party adopted a republican agenda is the only surviving member of the country’s oldest political party.
Bhattarai was admitted to hospital after suffering bronchitis, chronic renal failure and conjunctive heart failure, according to Dr Shyam Bahadur Pandey.
The former premier was transferred to the ICU after breathing difficulty and is in a ventilator, Dr Bharat Rau said.
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NEPALI JAILED FOR 8 YEARS IN CAMBODIA

Kathmandu, 17 Feb.: D.P. Paudel, 44, was sentenced Wednesday by a Phnom Penh city court to a eight year jail sentence, Xinhua reports.
The Nepali was convicted for a terrorist act for threatening to attack US, Australian and British embassies.
The Chinese news agency said Paudel was entered Cambodia illegally.
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FIRST MINISTERIAL FOREIGN VISIT

Kathmandu, 17 Feb.: In the first foreign ministerial visit, Minister without portfolio Ganga Lal Tuladhar flies for New Delhi Thursday to attend a conference of least developed countries sponsored by India.
Tuladhar is from UML.
The foreign ministry has been set aside for Maoists who are yet to send a team to join the government of Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal elected by parliament two weeks ago.
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TURKISH FORIGN MIINISTER ARRIVES

Kathmandu, 17 Feb.: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu arrived Wednesday for consultations.
Davutoghu is holding consultations on a UN conference on least developed countries to be hosted by Turkey later this year.
Nepal chairs of the 45-nation group in the UN.
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GOMA AIR TO START OPERATIONS

Kathmandu, 17 Feb.: Goma Air is beginning chartered and cargo services in the eastern hills using Surkhet as base Thursday with two single-engine Cessna Caravans.
A third is joining the fleet in the next three to four months.
Two aircraft were bought for $2.5 million.
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SEVEN-POINT DEAL AGAINST DEMOCRACY; LEADERS





Kathmandu, 17 Feb.: - The seven-point agreement reached between the UCPN (Maoist) and the CPN-UML is against the consensus-based politics, the comprehensive peace accord and the constitution, said speakers at a programme organized here on Wednesday, RSS reports.
They were speaking at a programme organized by the Collective Campaign for Peace and Democracy.
On the occasion, President of the Nepali Congress, Sushil Koirala said it is not only the democratic forces that are concerned by the seven-point agreement, it has been protested against by all quarters.
Stating that nobody can do away with the democracy established in the country, Koirala said the Nepali Congress did have some shortcomings in governing the state but it has never compromised with any side in matters of democracy.
President of the Rastriya Janashakti Party, Surya Bahadur Thapa said the seven-point agreement is not only counter-productive

to constitution making but also an ‘objectionable document’.
He was also of the view that the new Constitution cannot be promulgated until a clear policy was brought to conclude the peace process.
Likewise, President of the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (Democratic) Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar said it was the failure on the part of the bigger political parties to take an honest initiative for national consensus that has always invited instability in the country.
The goal of peace and new constitution cannot be achieved unless the bigger parties work honestly for it, he added.
President of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Pashupati Shumsher JB Rana said the parties should agree on the remaining fundamental issues in the constitution making so that the task is completed on time.
President of the Tarai Madhesh Loktantrik Party, Mahantha Thakur said the democratic forces should unite against the Maoist strategy and develop their own strategy to move ahead accordingly.
President of the Sadbhawana Party, Rajendra Mahato also emphasized on the need for unity among the democratic forces for democracy and for drafting a democratic constitution.
President of the Rastriya Janamorcha, Chitra Bahadur KC said the bigger parties lack the spirit of serving the country and people by staying outside power and added that the seven-point agreement was just a result of power greed.
At the programme chaired by outgoing President of Nepal Medical Association, Dr Kedar Narsingh KC, President of Human Rights Organization of Nepal (HURON), Sudip Pathak said the programme was organized to understand the approach of the parties to democracy, human rights, constitution drafting and the peace process.

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WONEM LACK EQUAL RIGHTS





Kathmandu, Feb 16 - The right to citizenship is linked directly to the national identity of an individual which guarantees the person access to all kinds of rights provided by the state, Arpana Adhikari writes in The Rising Nepal.
However, several of the preconditions set by the High Level Task Force on Citizenship for women to gain citizenship has deprived some women of enjoying equal rights as guaranteed by the state.
Various women’s rights activists have been regularly advocating for the equal rights of women regarding citizenship. Though 20 years have passed since Nepal ratified CEDAW, (the universal declaration for the elimination of gender discrimination), the enactment of laws regarding citizenship for women has not yet properly been addressed, women’s rights activists said.
The extended tenure of the Constituent Assembly is drawing to its completion, but the CA members have continued debating the same issue- whether citizenship should be provided to a person on the basis of the citizenship of his or her mother.
As per the existing law, both the father and mother should be citizens of Nepal for an individual to attain citizenship on the basis of lineage.
Likewise, if any Nepali woman marries a man of foreign nationality, the person marrying the Nepali woman must reside in Nepal for at least 15 years before obtaining citizenship through a naturalization process. But the same provision does not apply in the case of a foreign woman who gets married to a Nepali man. She can obtain citizenship only two years after she renounces the citizenship of her previous country.
Similarly, a person, whose father’s whereabouts are not identified, may be granted citizenship by descent but in practice the word "father not identified" must be inscribed upon the citizenship certificate. This tag is likely to cause detriment to the individual for the rest of his or her, the rights activists said.
The high level task force further decided that if a person’s father is of foreign nationality, then the person shall obtain Nepali citizenship through a naturalization process. It further proposed a provision that a person willing to be the prime minister or head of security forces must possess a naturalized citizenship. This provision is inappropriate and discriminating, they added.
Speaking at a programme, Anil Kumar Jha of Nepal Sadhbhawana Party said, "A person must be able to get citizenship easily on the basis of the identification of his mother or his father and must not face any procedural hurdles."
Sarita Giri, Chairperson of Nepal Sadhbhawana Party (Anandi Devi) claimed that such regressive arrangements on citizenship issues were a glaring example of gender-based discrimination. The country, which has ratified the CEDAW declaration, should immediately scrap such discriminatory provisions, she added.
She urged that a person should obtain citizenship regardless of whether both parents are Nepali citizens.
Govinda Chaudhari of CA of Terai Madhesh Loktantrik Party said all the laws on citizenship are

discriminatory regarding the people of the two geographical regions such as the Terai and mountain. Due to this law, the landless, dalits and marginalized Madhesis were earlier deprived of access to citizenship, he added.
Ramesh Lekhak of the Nepali Congress said that all political parties should rethink the provisions and discriminatory laws and should be more concerned about making gender friendly laws through healthy discussions and dialogue.
Urmila Aryal, a CA member from the CPN-UML said that the women CA members of her party were playing a vital role in ensuring equal rights regarding the citizenship issue in the new constitution. All female CA members must be united in discouraging any attempt to ratify the discriminatory provisions by the state authority, she added.

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