UPENDRA YADAV SAYS NO DISUPTE IN JOINING GOVT.

UPENDRA YADAV SAYS NO DISUPTE IN PARTY ON JOINING GOVT.

Kathmandu, 1 May; Refuting charge of second raking MJFN leader Jayaprakash Prasad Gupta, Chairman Upendra Yadav said Sunday there’s no dispute in the party to join an expanded government of Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal this week.
He said party central committee has taken a decision on the issue.
Yadav asked main opposition NC to join government while talking to reporters in Biratnagar.
Gupta alleged in Sunsari Saturday the party has taken no decision on joining the communist government of Maoists/UML led by Khanal which is being further expanded this week.
MJFN has been allotted four ministries, including foreign ministry.
Yadav will also be the third deputy prime minister in the Khanal government.
Nnnn

10 KARMAKANDS OF RATO MACHINDRANATH COMPLETED

Kathmandu, 1 May: Ten rituals or ‘karmakandas’ of Rato Machindranath was completed in Pulchowk, Lalitpur, Sunday.
The festival is the country’s longest.
The chariot of Rato Machindranath is towed through Patan, Lagankhel and concludes at Jawalakhel.
The rituals were completed before towing starts.
nnnn


TWO PERSONS WHO ATTACKE ENERGY MINISTER WITH KHUKRI APPREHENDED

Kathmandu, 1 May: Two persons who attacked Energy Minister Gopendra Bista with khurkis the day he was appointed has been apprehended, Naya Patrika reports.
Rupak Shrestha and Pramod Rokka, two top members of a gang of looters in Gungabu area, have been arrested along with others.
According to police source, the khukri persons were looking for Raja basnet when they attacked mistakenly Bista.
nnnn

NO BUDGET BEFORE 28 MAY

Kathmandu, 1 May: Government won’t be able to present a budget before 28 May, Nagarik reports.
Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal informed Speaker Subash Nemwang Saturday.
Government was preparing to announce the advance budget 23 May.
According to a senior source, the speaker told the prime minister there should be agreement with the main opposition NC and other parties on an advance budget.
In reply, Prime Minister Khanal said he won’t increase disputes.
Khanal told the speaker he had initiated discussions and would move ahead only with agreement.
Nnnn

WIKILEAKS CONFRIM DEEP DANISH, EU INVOLEVEMENT IN NEPAL’S CHANGE FROM MONARCHY TO REPUBLIC

Kathmandu, 1 May: India and EU countries had discussed the idea of a Constituent Assembly (CA) and ways to restore democracy in Nepal with the inclusion of the Maoists in a new constitutional framework as far back as March 2005, barely a month after the royal takeover of Feb. 1, the same year. The agenda of the CA entered mainstream discourse in the nation only after the April movement in 2006 that forced then King Gyanendra to retreat, John Narayan Parajuli writes in The Kathmandu Post. .

At that time, a senior Danish official clearly foresaw that Nepal was headed towards being a republic and urged the participants of the meeting to create a “constitutional process for “everyone” — including the Maoists — to discuss a future constitution,” according to a US embassy cable sent on April 1, 2005 from New Delhi.

“At a March 31 meeting of EU and ‘likeminded’ countries hosted by Danes, EU member states’ representatives evinced surprising optimism about the potential for constituent assembly and constitutional changes to resolve the impasse in Nepal,” said the cable released by WikiLeaks.

The meeting chaired by the Danish embassy “coincided with the visit to South Asia of Susan Ulbaek, Head of the Danish MFA’s (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Asia Department, which gathered ambassadors from Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, the European Union, and Canada (all accredited to Nepal), and representatives of the UK, France, Finland and Norway.”

In the meeting also attended by political officers from the US embassy, Ulbaek recounted her meeting with MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) Joint Secretary of Nepal and Bhutan desk Ranjit Rae the same day. Ulbaek seemed surprised by the mention of CA from Indian officials. New Delhi’s position was “very close to the Danish view on Nepal,” she told the gathering of the EU and US diplomats. American officials were aware that the Indians were not averse to the idea of the CA, but left it to the Nepali actors to decide on it.

“Ulbaek added that Denmark and the MEA had agreed that political parties were key to restoring democracy because they were ‘the most democratic forces there’ and that the Government of India was in the forefront working with them because ‘the number 2 and number 3’ in each are here in New Delhi.”

Working with political parties was the only way to avoid having to back either the king or the Maoists, the cable reported.

Ulbaek said that neither the king nor former crown prince Paras had the trust of the people and suggested that ‘we’re heading toward a republic’ in Nepal. She said that Nepal needed a new constitutional process that would include the Maoists and that the international community needs to assist Kathmandu. Several attendants voiced that were impediments to “this approach, including the loyalty of the RNA to the King, and the political parties’ poor record in government in the past.”

The Americans were surprised by the “optimism” of the EU representatives about both the “capability of the political parties to fill a central governing role, and willingness of the Maoists to permanently abandon the insurgency.” Washington had been critical of the Maoists then and was openly advocating an alliance between the King and the parties.

The EU countries chided the US government for not explicitly suspending lethal military aid arguing that US policy “formulations gave hope to the King that a suspension could be avoided.”

The meeting also deliberated on the need for Nepal to accept international human rights monitors, appointment of Special Rapporteurs, and strengthening of the National Human Rights Commission.

Subsequent pressure from the international community led to the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the then royal government and OHCHR in the third week of April in 2005.

The meeting also raised the issue of putting pressure on Bhutan to repatriate the first batch of 200 refugees. “Ulbaek suggested that the “Friends of Bhutan” needed to remind the RGOB that Bhutan may be let “off the hook” on verification of refugees because of instability in Nepal, but it was important for them to begin by accepting the roughly 200 identified Category 1 refugees,” according to the cable classified by US ambassador to India David C. Mulford.





The breakdown

• The agenda of the CA entered mainstream discourse in the nation only after the April movement in 2006 that forced then King Gyanendra to retreat

• New Delhi’s position was “very close to the Danish view on Nepal

• American officials were aware that the Indians were not averse to the idea of the CA, but left it to the Nepali actors to decide on it

• The EU countries chided the US government for not explicitly suspending lethal military aid
Nnnn

• HOME
LETTERS
ET CETERA
GOLD IMPORT PLUNGES 93 PERCENT
-
Kathmandu, 1 May: Nepal’s gold import has declined by a whopping 93 percent. The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)’s latest macroeconomic report shows that Nepal imported gold worth Rs 2.62 billion in the first eight months of current fiscal year, whereas the figure during the same period last year stood at Rs 37.46 billion, The Kathmandu Post reports.

The massive decline in gold import, according to bullion traders, is due to quantitative restriction on import that the government has enforced since last year. The import had touched an all time high in the last fiscal year when Nepal imported gold worth Rs 41.63 billion, an increment of 151.24 percent.

Such was the surge in the import that the government was forced to increase the import duty on gold and impose a ceiling on sales. The dramatic rise in the import of the precious yellow metal last year was one of the major reasons behind the huge Balance of Payment (BoP) deficit that the country experienced in FY 2009-10.

The government currently allows only commercial banks to import 15 kg of gold per day. Normally, the domestic market consumes 30-35 kg of gold per day, but with the soaring price, the demand has come down by 50 percent, according to traders.

The price of the metal has increased by over 30 percent compared to last year. In the domestic market, the prices of gold and silver set an all time high on Friday because of soaring investors’ preference for the metals. On Friday, the precious yellow metal touched Rs 42,451 per tola (11.664 gm) mark, while silver price stood at Rs 1,350 per tola. Gold, which was traded at Rs 36,095 per 10 gm on Sunday, increased by Rs 300 per 10 gm on Friday. On Tuesday, the price slumped to Rs 35,795, the lowest mark over the week. The price of silver also settled at Rs 1,157.50 per 10 gm after tumbling to the week’s lowest of Rs 1,097 per 10 gm on Wednesday. On Sunday, silver was traded at Rs 1,140 per 10 gm.

According to Manik Ratna Shakya, general secretary of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (Negosida), weak US dollar in the international currency market stimulated the demand for gold and silver for investment options. “Recently, US dollar touched the 11-month lowest mark against Euro.

Therefore, investors in the international market are shifting towards gold and silver for investment,” said Shakya. “Weak dollar coupled with the political turmoil in the middle-east and Japan disaster is fuelling the demand for gold and silver.”

Comparatively, the demand for silver is high in international market due to the ongoing process of Japan’s recovery. “The price of silver since last Janaury surged by almost 70 percent, while the price of gold increased by just 30 percent,” said Shakya, adding that the silver price might rise further.

In the international market, the yellow metal was traded at $1,533 per ounce, while silver at $49.05 per ounce on Friday.
Nnnn



POLICE IN DARK BOUTCAPITAL ARMED GROUPS





Kathmandu, 1 May: The police are still clueless about the armed gangs involved in three separate shooting incidents khukuri attack on Minister for Energy Gokarna Bista in the capital. Even though police probe teams are active, there is still no sign of breakthrough, The Rising Nepal reports.
The series of shootings, and Khukuri assault on the newly appointed minister Bista took place in the core areas of the capital within the period of two and half weeks- from March 24 to April 12.
Indian national Anjani Kumar Chachan, 42, was fatally shot by unidentified gunmen on April 10. The leather bag trader was assaulted at Khichapokhari at the heart of the city.
Maheboob Aashif, 37, a Pakistani national, was injured in a shooting at Maharajgunj on April 14. He was working at the visa section of the Pakistan Embassy in Kathmandu.
Prem Maharajan was shot dead by armed assailants at Teku of the capital on March 24. He worked at a car battery shop in the area.
Asked about the progress of the investigation, police have the readymade answer, ‘investigations are underway’. But they have failed to gather concrete evidence till date, let alone nabbing the criminals.
Talking to The Rising Nepal, Nepal Police spokesperson and Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Nava Raj Dhakal said investigations by the concerned probe teams are continuing. "But till date no concrete results have been achieved," Dhakal said.
Speaking about Chachan shooting case, Dhakal said that he was not the actual target of the assailants, but was shot at by mistake.
A police officer at the Metropolitan Police Range, Hanumandhoka said that the gunmen had actually targeted a Hundi (unregistered remittance undertaking) agent, but wrongly fired at Chachan due to identity mistake.
Pakistani national Aashif was shot at while he was heading to his office on April 14. On this case, the police clues say that a dark skinned assailant probably from the Terai region had opened fire.
The assailants are known to have gathered information about Aashif and timing of his passing through the route, said police officer requesting not to be named. During the attack, Aashif was riding a motorcycle with registration number Ba 16 Pa 9045.
"Until some concrete results are traced, we can’t say more than ‘investigation is underway’," DIG Dhakal said. He, however, maintained that sooner or latter all the culprits involved in these criminal incidents would be nabbed.
Regarding Khukuri attack on Energy Minister Gokarna Bista, Metropolitan Police Range and Superintendent of Police (SP) Kedar Rijal claimed that the attackers might have left the capital valley some days ago after the police intensified their search operations.
"We are inching closer towards the criminals through gradual inquiries and arrests of dozens of suspected gang members," SP Rijal said.

nnnn