OUTGOING PM KHANAL GETS EXPENSIVE GOVT.CAR AS A GIFT

UPDATE OF DEVELOPMENTS FOR PM ELECTION

Kathmandu, 27 Aug.: Leaders of UML and a front of five Madeshbadi leaders began a crucial meet Saturday to discuss their support either for NC Vice-President or Maoist Second Vice-chairman Dr. Baburam Bhattarai in Sunday’s election for prime minister.
UML and the front haven’t taken a final decision on the vote
Paudel needs the support of the UML and the front to increase his difficult chance for victory in Sunday’s election.
NC has to convince UML to withdraw its present support for Maoists who helped elect Khanal to power February this year.
Factions in the UML chaired by Caretaker Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal are divided in their support for NC and Maoist candidates.
Paudel and Bhattarai Saturday sought support of RPP-N Nepal at separate meetings with Chairman Kamal Thapa who said his party would support the party that restores the national status of Ptirhvi Narayan Shah the Great—the first Shah king and founder of modern Nepal.
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BOMB PLANTED AT SCHOOL PREMISES

Kathmandu, 27 Aug.: A string bomb was discovered at Janata Higher Secondary School in Bagdula, Pyuthan, Saturday.
It wasn’t immediately known who planted the bomb.
The device was discovered ahead of a meeting school teachers of Rapti at the school premises.
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LIGHTNING STRIKE DISRUPTS COMMUNICATIONS AT NP HEADQUARTERS
Kathmandu, 27 Aug.: A lightning strike Thursday disrupted more 200 telephone connections at Nepal Police Headquarters, Spokesman DIG Binod Singh said.
STD and ISD services of all departments were disrupted.
Communications will be restored by Sunday, Singh said.
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NEPSE LOSES 6.72 POINTS
Kathmandu, 27 Aug.: Nepse closed at 346.93 points losing 6.72 points at the end of weekly trading Thursday.
Average daily trading dropped 26.88 percent and commercial bank shares prices fell 2.85 percent.
Hydropower sub-group gained 1.1 points.
Sanima Bikash Bank announced seven percent cash dividend for shareholders from profit in the last fiscal year.
Unilever Nepal Ltd. announced a 590 percent cash dividend.
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EXPENSIVE VEHICLE FOR OUTGOING PM KHANAL AT GOVT. EXPENSE

Kathmandu, 27 Government is arranging an expensive vehicle for outgoing Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal for personal use from Chameliya hydro power project, Kantipur reports.
Arrangement has been made by energy ministry for the vehicle purchase and it will be made available to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.
The Toyota Prado is being purchased for Rs.12 million through a ministry-level decision.
Former Prime Ministers Pachanda and Madhav Kumar Nepal are also riding vehicles provided by the same project.
(Note: The latest revelation comes amidst much acclaimed and widely published report vehicles of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) given to former ministers had been recalled.)
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AMICUS CURIAE CHARGED
Kathmandu, 27 Aug.: A former attorney general while arguing in the Supreme Court on behalf of a writ petition seeking annulment of the Constituent Assembly term extension today charged the amicus curiae with not playing its role of advising the court in a proper manner under the influence of the political parties, The Himalayan Times reports.

The apex court that has been testing the legality of CA term extension concluded the hearing today.

Former attorney general Shushil Pant even went on to say that the amicus curiae had turned into ‘friend of the party’ from ‘friend of the court’ by defending the ‘political parties that have misused their constitutional authority’.

Panta’s argument today came in the wake of revelation that the political parties had capitulated to the amicus curiae and the latter obliged by defending them in the court.

A member of the amicus curiae, who refused to admit in clear terms, though said the leaders (of the political parties) did express their concern with the amicus curiae, as the subject under discussion was a matter so crucial. “No one consulted me though,” constitutional lawyer Tika Ram Bhattarai, told THT. “After the President told the parties to go through the text of the (SC) verdict, it was but obvious that they were serious about ongoing SC hearing.”

The apex court in the last few days witnessed heated discussions among the amicus curiae, government lawyers and petitioners whether the decision (of Parliament and parties) to extend the CA term frequently was constitutional. A five-member special bench led by Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi is reviewing SC’s May 25 verdict in which it had said CA term can be extended only for six months. A final verdict is scheduled for Sunday.

Panta’s strongly worded counterargument today followed arguments by Hari Krishna Karki and Mukti Pradhan, both amicus curiae members, who said the apex court should not hit at CA and instead should play a role of a guardian. Karki is affiliated to the CPN-UML and Pradhan to the Unified CPN-Maoist and both had demanded that the apex court maintain judicial restraint by letting CA to do what it wants to as far as its term extension is concerned.

Constitutional lawyer Chandrakant Gyawali, who was also pleading on behalf of writ petitioners, said the CA term extension was ill-intended, full of fraud and against the constitution and that the move lacked rationale. “The apex court must not give bonus life to CA,” argued Gyawali. However, he dropped a caveat saying, “If SC upholds the extension, the power will be shifted to SC, which also will be against the spirit of the constitution, as people had elected CA only for two years to complete its job of drafting a constitution.”

Challenging the extension of the CA term, advocate Bal Krishna Neupane and Hindu activist Bharat Jangum had filed the writ petition seeking an apex court intervention.
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SAF FORMED IN NEW DELHI





Kathmandu, 27 Aug.: India Friday announced the setting up of the South Asia Forum (SAF) to facilitate greater regional economic integration and people-to-people contact in the region, The Rising Nepal reports from New Delhi.
Foreign Secretary of India Ranjan Mithai inaugurated the Forum amidst a function in New Delhi.
New Delhi will host the first meeting of SAF on 8-9 September 2011. The two day meeting will try to generate new ideas for facilitating greater regional economic integration among the SAARC countries.
"The forum is intended to be a clearing house for out-of-box ideas for facilitating regional economic integration," said Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai
A 14-member delegation from Nepal will be participating in the meeting. Foreign Minister of Nepal, Foreign Secretary Durga Bhattarai, Joint secretary of South Asia desk, representative from Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), representatives from Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), representatives from Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Executive Director of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Prachandaman Shrestha, CA member Sapana Malla Pradhan, former Speaker Damanath Dhungana, Prof Krishna Khanal, Ratneshwar Lal Kaystha and journalist Sita Ram Agrahari will be in the team.
SAF was set up with an aim to promote the concept of a South Asian community and the idea of a South Asian economic unity. Leaders of South Asia decided to set up SAF at the 16th SAARC summit held in Thimphu last year.
The theme for the first SAF would be ‘Integration in South Asia: Moving Towards a South Asian Economic Union.’ The Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will provide support for the Sept 8-9 meeting of the forum
The meeting is being hosted in New Delhi ahead of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit that is taking place in Male of Maldives on 10-11 November.
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OPINION


CHINA’S GOODWILL TOWARDS NEPAL





Kathmandu, 27 Oct.: A 60-member high-level delegation headed by special envoy of Chinese President Hu Jintao returned to Beijing last week after wrapping up a three-day goodwill visit to Nepal. The visit took place at a time when Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal had stepped down, and a new process for the election of the prime minister had begun,Yuba Nath Lamsal writes in The Rising Nepal.
The visit of the Chinese delegation led by Zhou Yongkang, Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and also secretary of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, had been worked out long ago through the diplomatic channels of both the countries. However, the timing of the visit had given rise to speculations in the media and political circle of Nepal. Some even linked the visit of the Chinese team with the process of government formation in Nepal.
A day before the Chinese team was to embark on the Nepal visit, Prime Minister Khanal suddenly stepped down. In the eleventh hour, the Chinese government did not feel appropriate to postpone the visit. Had the visit been postponed, it would have sent a different meaning, which may not have been in the interest of the bilateral relations. Thus, the delegation went ahead with its prior schedule. And the delegation had nothing to do with the newly emerged political developments in Nepal.
Message
The visit of the Chinese team was aimed at further cementing the bilateral relations and probing new areas of cooperation between the two close neighbours. Given the close proximity and fine tract record of their bilateral relations, it would not be wise to raise any question on the motive and intent of the Chinese team. But the size of the delegation and high profile of the team members have definitely given special meaning and impression in the intellectual circle of Nepal that China attaches greater importance to the relations with Nepal in the changed national and international situation.
China does not have any favourite political force in Nepal. Beijing treats and respects all political parties and forces of Nepal in equal terms and manner. What has concerned China is the increased and intensified interference and meddling in Nepal by some external forces. Past experiences have shown that external forces and powers played an active role even in the process of government formation in Nepal. Even now when the process of formation of a new government has begun, some external forces have become extra active to ensure that a particular candidate and political party or parties command the rein of government in Nepal. It is the business of the Nepali people and parties to decide the nature and character of the government here, not of foreigners. Unfortunately, this is the case with Nepal, which is definitely a matter of concern for a genuine neighbour like China.
In the present globalised context when the world has been reduced to a narrow small global village, the events and developments in one country have impact on other countries. The developments that unfold in Nepal have their repercussion and ramification on other countries particularly our immediate neighbours - China and India.
In such a situation, the concerns of a neighbour can well be justified. As long as the matter remains within the diplomatic limit, it may be called a neighbourly concern. If any country crosses the diplomatic boundary and tries to interfere in the internal affairs of another country, it would not be tolerable to the citizens of any country as well as for other neighbouring countries.
However, China, so far, has kept itself away from the internal problem and politics of Nepal. But it has given a loud and clear message that Beijing would not tolerate if the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbour comes under threat. This is a warning to those forces and elements which are trying to meddle in Nepal’s internal affairs and politics.
China has its long-cherished foreign policy objective. China’s foreign policy is based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence or ‘panchaseel’, which includes non-aggression and non-interference in other countries, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries in the world. Nepal, too, adheres to the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence which are the cardinal tenets of the non-aligned movement.
In principle, Nepal strictly maintains a non-alignment and friendly relation with all countries in the world. This is a policy of Nepal right from the Panchayat era, which was given continuity after the 1990 political change and also in the present republican Nepal.
In the case with Nepal, China has strictly adhered to this foreign policy goal and wants good neighbourly relations. China knows well that instability and insecurity here will have an impact on its territories.
China has made tremendous progress on the economic front and wants similar progress and development in its neighbourhood. Guided by this noble idea, China has been more forthcoming to invest and help Nepal. Beijing has thus shown interest in investing in Nepal’s infrastructure, energy, communication and tourism sector, which would ultimately contribute to lifting the people of Nepal out of poverty and backwardness.
This message was conveyed by the Chinese leaders during the recent visit to Kathmandu. However, Nepal seems not to have taken up this issue with great seriousness. Currently Nepal is heavily preoccupied with its own internal problem. As a result, not much attention seems to have been given to its foreign policy and international relations. The intention of China to help Nepal in a huge way is a big opportunity for Nepal.
Nepal, currently, is suffering from an acute power crunch. China has shown interest in investing in Nepal’s water resource and hydro-power development. China has money, expertise, capability and experience in hydro-power development in a difficult terrain like that of Nepal. If we are able to win the trust of China, we can bring huge Chinese investment and develop some mega hydro-power projects through which Nepal can not only be self-sufficient in energy but also earn huge foreign currency by exporting surplus electricity.
South Asia is suffering from a power shortfall, and other countries of the region, including India, may be willing to buy Nepal’s electricity. This would also help meet the growing power demand in India and other South Asian countries, which would be beneficial for both Nepal and other countries in the region.
But Nepal does not have a specific China policy to win the trust of Beijing. Although not spelt out specifically, there has been a deficit of trust due mainly to Nepal’s wavering foreign policy priority and unnecessary tilt to a particular country. Nepal considers China as a neighbour like any other country in Asia. In fact, this cannot be an appropriate foreign policy for Nepal. China and India are our two immediate neighbours, with whom Nepal shares a border, history, culture, religion and a long legacy of trade and friendship.
These two countries should occupy special priority and place in our foreign policy formulation. China is more important especially when it comes to Nepal’s survival strategy. China has never been a security problem for Nepal. Instead there are instances that China has come to Nepal’s rescue at difficult periods in history. Moreover, Nepal’s relationship with China is as old as our ancient civilisation. Thus, China is and should be an important country for Nepal from which we can learn and benefit a lot.
China has its own priority and interests in Nepal. But it in no way wants to interfere in Nepal’s internal affairs. It wants to be a partner in Nepal’s development efforts. Beijing wants stability, peace and prosperity in Nepal, for which China is ready to extend meaningful and constructive cooperation. This message has been expressed by Chinese leaders and officials at different forums and different occasions. The head of the high-level delegation that recently concluded its visit to Nepal, too, spelt out this message with great clarity.
Security interest
China definitely has security interests in Nepal. It does not want Nepal to be an unstable country, which would have its fallout on its own territory - Tibet. China knows well that some elements and forces are active in creating instability in Nepal so as to instigate trouble in Tibet. China is, therefore, cautious to ensure that such a situation does not occur in Nepal. It is with this motive that Nepal and China have recently signed a deal on security sector strengthening.

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