BILLOT EXTEND CA TENURE BENG PRESENTED IN PARLIAMENT SUNDAY

GOVT. BILL TO EXTEND CA TENURE BEINGPRESENTED IN PARLIAMENT SUNDAY

Kathmandu, 22 May: A bill to extend the tenure of constituent assembly (CA) by one year after 28 May through 9th amendment of article 64 of interim constitution which has been registered in parliament secretariat by government, is being presented in parliament Sunday for discussion and vote.
Speaker Subash Nemwang has held discussions with main political parties to present the bill for voting 26 May two days before the tenure of the CA ends
Government is holding hectic discussions with opposition political parties to collect the two-third support needed for its support.
Until now it only has majority support in the legislature.
Main opposition NC, the second biggest party, opposes the extension without Maoists guaranteeing. the completion of the delayed peace process by Tuesday
Only two days remain for government to meet the NC demand
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9 TIBETANS ATTEMPTING TO ENTER CAPITAL ARRESTED

Kathmandu, 22 May: Nine Tibetans attempting to enter the capital illegally through Baharabishe along the Arniko highway linking Nepal and Tibet were nabbed by police overnight.
They’ve been delivered to Immigration Department
China seeks such illegal entrants be returned home while USA is putting intense pressure on Nepal to permit Tibetans to transit onward to India
Washington says Nepal has given an unwritten assurance to permit the transit by Tibetans.
Beijing has asked Nepal to reinforce monitoring of Nepal-Tibet to stop the flight of Tibetans.
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MAN HELD WITH EXPLOSIVES IN CAPITAL

Kathmandu, 22 May: Maitee Limbu, 44, was arrested Saturday from Gangabu in the capital; with an improvised bomb ,100 grams gunpowder and detonators
Limbu hails from Letang-2, Morang.
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HOME MINSTRY TO WTHDRAW STRIKES

Kathmandu, 22 May: Home ministry, in a statement, has asked all strikes be withdrawn
The call comes amid daily regional and national strikes to press government to fulfill demands, including the promulgation of a constitution by 28 May.
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MADESH FRONT PUBLIC MEET ENDS

Kathmandu, 22 May: Public meetings of the three-party Madesh front to press demands ahead of 28 May concluded in Biratnagar Saturday.
MJFL, TMLP and NSP launched the public meetings Mahendranagar in the far-West. this month
The thrust of the meetings is not to extend the assembly tenure after 28 May highlighting regional Madesh demands amid threats of strikes if they aren’t met.
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INDIA SAYS IT’S IN MOST TROUBLED NEIGHBOURHOOD

Kathmandu, 22 May: India lives in the most ‘troubled neighborhood’ in the world, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said on Saturday and asked security forces to raise the vigil along the country’s border, PTI reports from New Delhi.
“As I have always said, we live perhaps in the most troubled neighbourhood in the world.
:In this troubled neighbourhood there are countries with governments that are extremely fragile and all this increases the level of threat to our security and our defense,”he said at an investiture ceremony of the Border Security Force (BSF) here which guards the country’s frontiers along Pakistan and Bangladesh,
Without taking the name of any neighbours, Mr Chidambaram said: We therefore call upon all our security forces to defend our Independence, our sovereignty and our security.”
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GOVT. FINALIZES PROPOSAL FOR PEACE, CONSTITUTON DRAFTING

Kathmandu, 22 May: The prime minister and the chiefs of two major ruling coalition partners -- UCPN (Maoist) and Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF) -- have come up with a proposal for completing the twin tasks of constitution writing and concluding the peace process, Thira L.Bhusal reports in Republica..

They have come up with a proposal for concluding the peace process in 12 weeks and a 46-week calendar of events for accomplishing the task of constitution writing.
After finalizing matters among the three leaders, Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal and Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal have intensified talks with other parties, including the main opposition Nepali Congress, to get their consent for the proposal.

The prime minister, the Maoist chairman and MPRF Chairman and Deputy Prime Minister Upendra Yadav finalized the proposal during a one-hour meeting held at the prime minister´s residence at Baluwatar and then decided to float it for discussion with other political parties.

They have decided to adopt the integration modality proposed earlier by the Nepal Army (NA). The NA has proposed formation of a separate directorate, inducting Maoist combatants and personnel from government security agencies including the NA itself. As per the proposal, the directorate will be under the NA.

"On the number of Maoist combatants to be inducted into security agencies, the leaders have reached an understanding to settle on an agreeable number between six to eight thousand," the prime minister´s press advisor, Surya Thapa, told Republica.

The leaders have also decided to offer a golden handshake package to Maoist combatants who opt for rehabilitation. "They will be given a sum ranging from Rs. 500,000 to 1 million depending on rank in the Maoist army," Thapa said.

According to him, the ruling parties have decided to conclude the task of categorizing the combatants on the basis of those opting for integration and those for the rehabilitation package, within 10 to 15 days after the government´s special committee endorses the proposal.

On setting integration norms, the proposal is for finalizing some issues related to combatant eligibility -- such as age, academic qualification and marital status, through understanding among the major political parties.

On the constitution writing front, the ruling parties have committed themselves to preparing the first integrated draft within one month after extending the Constituent Assembly (CA) term and to promulgating the new constitution within 46 weeks after renewal of the 601-member CA.

The ruling parties decided to intensify bilateral as well as multilateral talks with other political parties to forge consensus over the proposal.

Maoist Chairman Dahal had reached NC President Sushil Koirala´s residence at Maharajgunj directly from Baluwatar to seek the consent of the main opposition party to the proposal.

The prime minister later held a 45-minute meeting with NC parliamentary party leader Ram Chandra Paudel, General Secretary Krishna Sitaula and central member Minendra Rijal at Baluwatar. "The leaders emphasized the need for concluding the peace process by consensus after holding further bilateral as well as multilateral talks among the major parties," Thapa said.

Prime Minister Khanal also talked to UCPN (Maoist) Vice-chairman Narayankaji Shrestha and Co-chairman of Nepal Janashakti Party Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani over the matter.

Thapa said the prime minister is also holding talks with UML senior party leaders including former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, General Secretary Ishwar Pokharel and KP Sharma Oli, among others.
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