MAOIST LEADERSHIP TRIES TO PLACATE PLA AMOD REVOLT IN PARTY

MAOIST LEADERSHIP HOLDS MEET WITH PLA COMANDERS

Kathmandu, 8 June: Amid challenges within the party questioning a decision of Chairman Prachanda and office bearers to disarm former PLF fighters for security duty of top leaders and return them to the 3rd division in Chitwan, a crucial meeting with commanders began in the capital Wednesday.
Office bearers are also attending the meeting.
Several dozen commanders are participating in the meeting that’s being held after reports surfaced not all fighters reported to the division with all 96 weapons verified by UNMIN which withdrew 15January after a failed four-year mission.
Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya is leading the rebellion against the Prachanda decision.
Maoists said Tuesday all weapons and fighters were sent to Chitwan from the capital.
The Maoist boss faces a challenge to implement his decision lauded by other parties to complete the peace process.
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UML STANDING COMMITTEE STARTS

Kathmandu, 8 June: A meeting of the standing committee of the UML leading a communist majority government with Maoists started at a resort north of the capital to discuss internal party dispute, sharing of responsibilities, review of government work and other issues.
A meeting Monday was called off abruptly after top leader and former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal had to fly to Dhaka for a conference.
He has returned to attend the meet.
A row has broken in the party has broken out publicly.
A faction led by Nepal and KP Sharma Oli is pressing the resignation of Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal, who is also party chairman.
Khanal’s closeness with Maoists is being challenged.
The meeting will also review the five-point tripartite agreement between the Big Three.
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PLA FIGHTERS THREATEN TO RAISE ARMS





Kathmandu, 8 June: Members of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), who were providing security to the Maoist leaders since the beginning of the peace process after returing to the third PLA division camp Tuesday here at Shaktikhor have warned of raising arms if the peace process failed, The Rising Nepal reports from Chitwan.
"We have returned with hopes it will make if easy for the peace process to conclude the peace process. If the process breaks down in the middle of its way, we will again carry the arms," Jivan Rokka, a PLA member who was deputed as Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda’s security guard said upon his arrival at Shaktikhor.
We have come here as per the direction of the party on the basis of political agreement, he said, adding, we were providing security to the hero of the republic, if anything happens to him, we are ready to raise the arms.
Another of Prachanda’s security guard , Meera Khati, said that she was ready to do any work if that helped to conclude the peace process. "We were happy to provide security to the party leaders. We hope that the government’s security personnel will not make the leaders feel our absence," she said.
Two microbuses carrying arms and the PLA personnel used for the security of the Maoist leaders arrived at Shaktikhor at 10 Tuesday morning. A total number of 27 PLA members under the command of Shantu Darai entered the PLA third division camp.
Earlier, five PLA personnel had returned to the camp. The arms have been kept here following registration.
PLA third division commander Darai informed that the arms would be used for the security of the camp and that they would not be put in the container. "Out of 92 registered arms, some would be kept in the other camps while some will remain here. These will not be put in container. These may also be used when necessary," he said.
He, however, did not mention the number of arms being brought to Shaktikhor.
A police team of the Special Taskforce led by inspector Mahesh Basnet had escorted the vehicles that carried the PLA arms and armies to the camps.
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MONSOON LIKELY TO BREAK NEXT WEEK
Kathmandu, 8 June: The "favourable" movement of south-easterly winds along the Bay of Bengal to the eastern region of Nepal hints at timely monsoon rains in the country, an official at the Meteorological Forecasting Division (MFD) said on Tuesday, Pragati Shahi reports in The Kathmandu Post
While normally, the monsoon enters Nepal on June 10, it takes a week's period to scurry throughout the country.
Rajendra Shrestha, senior meteorologist at the MFD, said the activity favouring the arrival of the monsoon has already set up in the lower level of the atmosphere, while the set up is likely to take shape in the upper atmosphere in a couple of days. This will ensure the much needed monsoon rains in the country, he said.
India received this year's monsoon rains three days ahead of the normal date of June 1 along the southern coast of Kerala. The rains originated at the Arabian Sea.
Though the monsoon activity is favourable in Kerala and Maharasthra in India, activities favouring the south-easterly wind movement that reaches the Himalayas and then enters the eastern region of Nepal is "a little weak" causing a slight delay in the rains.
Earlier, weathermen had said the country will experience normal monsoon this year with its arrival around the second week of June. Though the expected date of arrival of the rains is June 10, it may vary for "four to five days up or down."
Meanwhile, almost all parts of the country received brief thundershowers to heavy rainfall on Tuesday. "However, the thundershowers are part of the favourable monsoon activities," Shrestha said.
Monsoon accounts for around 80 percent of the total annual rainfall in the country and a majority of farmers are dependent on the rains for agriculture.
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INSTITUTIONAL DEPOSITORS ASKED NOT TO WITHDRAW DEPOSITS
Kathmandu,8 June: Providing a much-needed relief to banks and financial institutions (BFIs) facing a protracted liquidity crunch, the High-Level Financial Sector Reform Committee headed by the finance minister on Tuesday decided to request institutional depositors not to withdraw their deposits from BFIs immediately, The Kathmandu Post reports.
The decision came a day after People’s Finance Company closed its transactions due to liquidity crisis. Apart from bad corporate governance, closure of the company’s transactions has been attributed to the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)’s and Rastriya Beema Sansthan (RBS)’s plan to withdraw their maturing deposits.
The central bank, one of the key institutional depositors, has itself decided not to withdraw its deposits from B and C class financial institutions despite maturity. It holds around Rs 9 billion in these financial institutions.
Reports that the central bank is preparing to withdraw all its deposits in B and C class financial institutions resulted in huge deposits withdrawal by other key institutional depositors. “The committee decided to request all institutional depositors not to withdraw their fixed deposits for the time being,” said NRB Deputy Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari.
As the country’s key institutional depositors are government-owned entities, it is believed that they will comply with the committee’s request. Employee’s Provident Fund, Citizen Investment Trust, Army Welfare Trust of the Nepal Army, Nepal Telecom and Rastriya Beema Sasthan are some of the top intuitional depositors.
Due the prolonged liquidity crunch, inter-banking lending rate is hovering around 10 percent and the repo (central bank providing liquidity by taking treasury bills of BFIs) rate at around 10 percent.
The NRB recently decided to issue repo twice a week to ease the liquidity crisis. According to NRB Spokesperson Bhaskarmani Gyawali, the central bank will issue repo worth Rs 4 billion on Wednesday.
The committee also decided to inject the amount lying in the government’s pension account in the market. “There is around Rs 5 billion in the pension account,” said Adhikari, “The committee has decided to bring the amount in the market.”
The committee also decided to simplify the refinancing mechanism by easing the provision for refinancing from the central bank. “We have already prepared a draft of the special refinancing provision,” said the NRB official. The central bank will adopt flexibility in non-performing loan (NPL) level, credit-to-deposit ratio and areas where BFIs can lend with the refinanced amount.
Low government spending has also affected the liquidity situation in the banking system. Finance ministry has said it will be able to spend only 60 percent of the development budget. The ministry has estimated that Rs 30 billion will be frozen. As of May 20, only Rs 45.48 billion in cash has been spent from the capital expenditure heading, whereas the total allocated amount stands at Rs 102.61 billion.
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NC TO SEEK LEGAL COURSE TO WARN GOVT.
Kathmandu, 8 June: Peeved at government’s some of the ‘arbitrary’ decisions, especially its move to transfer the budget, the Nepali Congress is all set to seek legal intervention.

Stating that the budget transfer was tantamount to corruption, the main opposition party today decided to move the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority tomorrow [Wednesday], Prakash Acharya writes in The Himalayan Times..

NC’s parliamentary party committee meeting today finalised a complaint letter seeking CIAA intervention to stop the government from transferring the budget to some NGOs and projects. According to NC, the government decision to post budget from one programme to another was politically motivated.

“Budget transfer by violating financial procedure, law and regulations, and that too at a time when the fiscal year is drawing to a close, will subject the funds to massive corruption. So, CIAA must intervene and stop the misuse of state coffers,” said an NC source quoting the complaint letter. NC said CIAA had to check government irregularities as per the precedent set by the anti-graft body last year.

“The arbitrary decision to transfer the budget could lead to huge corruption and misuse of funds,” said Mahendra Dhoj GG, secretary of NC PP’s working committee. “The transferred budget could be used to appease party cadres. For instance, Rs 5.7 million has been transferred for the construction of party office of the Unified CPN-Maoist in Nuwakot. But the budget has been transferred saying ‘for the construction of an academy’.”

Meanwhile, two delegations led by party Vice-President Ramchandra Paudel and General Secretary Prakash Man Singh today called on Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal and urged him to immediately stop budget transfer and arbitrary appointments, promotion and transfer of officials in government offices and universities.
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UML YOUTH LEADER BASNET THREATENS JURNOS
Kathmandu, 8 June: Parshu Ram Basnet, prime accused in the attack on Biratnagar-based correspondent for Republica and Nagarik dailies Khila Nath Dhakal, has warned local journalists to withdraw a written complaint lodged against him and his two aides, Amar Khadka reports in Republicafrom Biratnagar.

Basnet has threatened dire consequences if the complaint is not withdrawn.
“He (Basnet) called me today, saying the complaint can be withdrawn even after it lands in the office of the government attorney and warning us to take it back,” journalist Gokul Parajuli told a gathering of fellow journalists Tuesday. “He said he has given us a chance to withdraw the complaint and asked us to think about it (withdrawing of complaint).”

Bikram Niraula, Morang district chapter president of the FNJ, had filed a written complaint Monday against Basnet and aides Rohit Koirala and Manoj Rai at the District Police Office (DPO), Morang. Although police on Tuesday arrested Koirala, Basnet and Rai are still absconding. Local journalists picketed the District Administration Office (DAO) on Tuesday.

On Sunday night, Rai and his inebriated friends had brutally assaulted Dhakal for a news story in the Republica and Nagarik dailies about an attack by Youth Force (YF) cadres on a police van in the premises of Morang district court. Dhakal was taken to an isolated spot by Koirala, apparently at Basnet´s behest. While Basnet is Morang district president of the YF, Koirala is Biratnagar in-charge of the CPN (UML)´s youth wing.

Last Wednesday, a mob of YF cadres had tried to kill Abhishek Giri, who has been in judicial custody for allegedly killing his friend-turned-foe Karan Yadav a year ago in public and in broad daylight in spite of heavy police security. Basnet was also injured in that attack allegedly carried out by Giri´s henchmen.

Although Basnet has maintained that the attack by the YF was meant to pile pressure on the courts not to let Giri off the hook, knowledgeable sources say Basnet´s intention was to murder Giri so that he would not divulge secret details about him in court. Basnet, Giri and Yadav were partners in a contract business. Their relations soured after Giri broke away from Basnet and Yadav.

At an interaction held Tuesday, Mohan Kaji Neupane, eastern regional coordinator of FNJ, said the attack on Dhakal was an outright criminal act. He said journalists will launch agitations against any political force that moves to protect the criminals involved in attacking Dhakal.

Ameet Dhakal, editor-in-chief of Republica daily, said that every journalist should boycott all those who indulge in criminal activities under the protection of political parties. Narayan Wagle, editor-in-chief of Nagarik daily, lauded the courage demonstrated by local journalists in lodging a written complaint against the perpetrators and exerting pressure on the administration to nab them.

CPN (UML) protects Basnet

Parshu Ram Basnet, who had instructed Koirala and Rai to ´finish off´ Republica scribe Dhakal, was at the Morang district office of the YF all day Monday when a complaint was lodged against him. Rishikesh Pokhrel, who oversees all sister organization of the CPN (UML), has confirmed Basnet´s presence in his office.

Sources said Basnet had attended his office for an hour even on Tuesday. Upon instruction by Morang district president of the CPN (UML) Binod Dhakal, Pokharel had called a meeting to calm tensions created by the attack on Dhakal. But the meeting failed to take any decision as most of the members did not turn up.

Maoist spokesman denounces attack

UCPN (Maoist) Spokesman Dinanath Sharma has denounced attack on journalist Khilanath Dhakal by a group of Youth Force (YF) members.

"The incident of a journalist being attacked by the members of the prime minister´s own party´s youth organization is very serious. Such an incident gives very wrong message to the people," said Sharma while addressing the parliament meeting on Tuesday.

He urged all the political parties to instruct members of their sister organizations to refrain from being involved in provocative activities. "I urge the political parties to refrain from such activities," he said.
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