FIRE AND ICE REOPENS IN THAMEL

FIRE AND ICE REOPENS AFTER SECOND FORCED CLOSURE 10 AUGUST

Kathmandu, 22 Sept.: Fire and Ice reopened Thursday after a forced second closure from 10 August by striking Maoist restaurant workers.
The popular eatery specializing in pizzas re-opened following an agreement between workers and management.
The restaurant adjacent to SAARC headquarters along the approach road to Thamel, a popular jaunt of tourists, is located south of the Keshar Mahal.
The eatery opened with the onset of the busy autumn tourist season
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NC CAUGHT IN QUANDRY
Kathmandu, 22 Sept.: The Nepali Congress, it seems, is in a perilous position; if not between the devil and the deep blue sea, then may be between the party president and the senior leader, with factionalism between the camps led by them growing by the day, Prakash Acharya writes in The Himalayan Times..

Of late, dispute has surfaced over whether to dissolve the working committees of party’s sister wings, with both the factions — and their leaders — trying to have control over them.

Party President Sushil Koirala and senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba today held separate gatherings of their supporters at their residences and decided to move ahead with their stances.

The Koirala camp decided not to withdraw the party’s decision of dissolving the working committees of party’s sister wings and move ahead with the idea of forming preparation committees for their fresh conventions. The Deuba faction, however, concluded that it would continue with its protest against party’s Central Working Committee decision yesterday to dissolve the central bodies of four sister organisations — Nepal Tarun Dal, Nepal Women Association, Nepal Adibasi Janajati Sangh and Nepal Prajatantra Senani Sangh.

Factionalism in the party is at its peak in the last four years since the section led by Deuba — Nepali Congress (Democratic) — decided to come back home and merge with the mother party NC. The party, since its merger in 2007, has held its first general convention but its sister wings are yet to do so, resulting in struggle among the leadership to hold control over the organisations.

With growing infighting, the grand old party is once again in predicament.

The Deuba faction yesterday had even boycotted the CWC meeting to protest the decision. Since the Deuba camp holds sway in party’s sister wings, it wants to go for fresh conventions keeping the current central bodies intact.

For the past three days, both Koirala and Deuba supporters have been staging relay hunger strike and fast-unto-death on the premises of party headquarters in Sanepa.

Deuba, including other central leaders from his camp, today reached the party headquarters to boost the morale of his supporters who are on a hunger strike. “The party leadership has unilaterally dissolved the sister organisations and breached the agreement reached between me and late Girijababu during the merger of NC and NC (D). We will not tolerate it; it’s undemocratic way of running the party,” said Deuba, but hastened to add that he did not want the party to split.

CWC member Krishna Chandra Nepali, who is close to Koirala, however, said, “Boycotting the CWC meeting and defying its decision is not a democratic practice.”

NC Vice-president Ramchandra Paudel, General Secretary Krishna Prasad Sitaula and several other leaders today reached Sanepa and requested both the groups to end their strikes, but they refused to oblige, saying they will continue the protests until their demands were met.

The bone of contention

Koirala’s call

• Dissolve sister wings

• Form preparation committees for general conventions

• Supporters on fast-unto-death

Deuba’s demand

• Continue with sister wings

• Hold fresh conventions with existing bodies

• Followers on hunger strike.
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MADESHI PARTIES UNSTABLE, OPPORTUNISTIC: UML LEADER GEYWALI
Kathmandu, 22 Sept.: The UML leader claimed that the present government is by all means engaged in deriving cheap popularity rather than making headways for peace and statute‚ which are the actual need of hour, Janardan Ghimere reports from Gulmi.

GULMI: CPN-UML Politburo Member Pradeep Gyanwali on Wednesday has called Madhes-based parties unstable and opportunist.


Speaking at a press conference organised by Press Chautari Nepal in Tamghas of Gulmi Gyanwali stated that as Madhesi parties are always concerned in political horse-trading to grab power, the groundwork of the incumbent government itself appears weak and fragile.

The UML leader also claimed that the present government is by all means engaged in deriving cheap popularity rather than making headways for peace and statute, which are the actual need of hour.

While saying the 4-point deal reached between the UCPN-Maoist and the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) a controversial and paradoxical agreement forged merely for grabbing lucrative ministries, the former minister Gyanwali allegorically said, the temperament of Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal is like that of cabbage’s leaves, which keep on regenerating with the climatic changes.
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