PM SUMMONED BY PARLIAMENTARY SUB-COMMITTEE

PM SUMMONED BY SAC

Kathmandu, 6 Sept.: State affairs committee (SAC) of parliament has summoned Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai for the first time to depose before it.
The committee sent a letter to the government chief to brief the committee on the peace process and security situation.
The committee meets Sunday.
nnnn

UML STUDENT WING CLOSES DOWN FAR-WEST DISTRICTS

Kathmandu, 6 Sept.: A UML student closed down far-West districts of Banke, Bardiya, Bank and Surkhet Tuesday
A vehicle was damaged for defying the bandh early reports said.
Students are demanding investigation into the death of Bshni Shahi last week.
Shahi died while undergoing treatment in the capital.
UML is now in the opposition after the downfall of the government of Prime Minister Jhalanath Khaaal, who is also UML chief.
Nnnn

LINGO OR POLE FOR INDRAJATRA PULLED TO HANUMAN DHOKA MONDAY

Kathmandu, 6 Sept.: The lingo or pole was pulled to Hanuman Dhoka Monday from Bhotahiti accompanied by panchebaja band, Guruju to paltan andraj khadga.
The pole will be erected front of Kumari Ghar to herald the start of the festive season and Indrajatra
The lingo is pulled every year to Basantapur Square from Salleri ban in Naya Bhyangyang 10miles north of the capital.
Nnnn

TAAN HAS NEW CHIEF

Kathmandu, 6 Sept.: Mahendra Singh Thapa has been elected chief of Trekking Agents Association of Nepal (TAAN) Monday by a 33rd annual general meeting.
A `new 15-member working
committee was also unanimously elected.
Thapa is managing director of Ecuador Expedition.
Nnnn

TWO CHILDREN SWEPT AWAY BY SWOLLEN RIVULET

Kathmandu, 6 Sept.: Two children –Chanamati Bholin and Sitamaya Waiba—were swept away by swollen Bakaiya rivulet north of Makwanpur Monday.
Their bodies were recovered downstream.
A search was launched after their friends at a school alerted nearly settlements.
nnnn


MEDIA GOOGLE

‘Let’s not search for a person with a magic wand to ressssolve allissuess.”

(Former PM Jhalanath Khanal, Kantipur, 6 Sept.)
Nnnn


PRACHANDA SPEAK





Kathmandu, Sept 5, Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Parchanda’ Monday said that the major political parties should concentrate on concluding the peace process and completing the draft of the new constitution in the extended three months term of the Constituent Assembly.
Addressing the 4th anniversary of ABC Television here, chairman Prachanda said that the present political deadlock could be resolved and the political parties could move ahead if they adopted positive attitudes instead of engaging in blame games.
Referring to the intra-party rift in his party as a continuous political challenge, Prachanda said that he would move ahead by focusing on peace and constitution in accordance with the mandate given by millions of people.
He said that the failure in completing the peace and constitution process might be extremely dangerous for all. "All parties will drown as the passengers of the same boat," he said.
He also made it clear that leaders were elected by the people and the people could not elect the failed leaders again.
Urging all to end the political deadlock via colossal efforts, he pointed out the need for heading towards the path of success rather than wasting time in mentioning the unsuccessful and successful stories of the past.
Claiming that the political parties were close to consensus on the topics of election system and form of governance, he said that there will be clear achievement on peace and constitution process within the extended three months. If parties failed to achieve it within three months, the people would decide on this matter, he added.
Vice chairman of CPN-UML Bam Dev Gautam said that the present collation was suitable for resolution of the problems,

adding that it consisted of the Maoist and Madesh-based parties, around which major disputes were centralized.
As Nepali Congress (NC) represented a different class, the problems could not be solved without dragging NC in the consensus process, Gautam said.
"We all should be united for peace and constitution," he pleaded.
Speaking at the same function, NC general secretary Prakash Man Singh said that NC had the bottom-line of not joining in the government until the arms of Maoist combatants were placed under the government control.
Claiming that the new constitution could not be promulgated before completion of the peace process, he said that all parties should stay under norms and standards.
Chairman of Rastriya Jana Morcha Chitra Bahadur KC claimed that the historical achievements of the people’s uprising could not be protected and political parties would fail to operate their parties if the same situation continued for long.
He said that consensus should not signed to grab the power.
At the function, human rights activist Padma Ratna Tuladahar, Dr. Renu Raj Bhandari, forerunner of the civil society Shyam Shrestha, CPN-Unified central committee member Ganesh Shah, and NC leader Dr. Narayan Khadka were also present.

Nnnn






CALL FOR EARLY LOCAL ELECTIONS





Kathmandu, 6 Sept : Political leaders and development experts Monday pointed out the need to hold elections of the local bodies at the earliest possible, The Rising Nepal reports.
No local election has been held since 1997 and, from 17 July, 2002, the local bodies are running their affairs without elected representative.
At an interaction programme entitled "Elected Local Governments for Effective Local Governance" organized by NGO Federation, the experts claimed that the delay in holding the election was a major reason for the weak local governance.
"It is urgent to hold local elections to address the problems at the local level," said Ambassador of European Union, Alexander Spachis, adding that the EU had already held discussions with the Election Commission of Nepal on a support programme for electoral assistance.
"Free and fair elections are also a key ingredient of sustainable peace," said Spachis.
Good governance was one of the three focal areas of EU cooperation in Nepal for the period 2011-2013.
"We believe that strong, democratic, accountable and transparent institutions are development of any country," said Spachis.
Spachis said that local bodies in Nepal were not functioning and added that they lacked transparency, accountability, prompt delivery and citizen’s participation.
Spachis informed about a project called "Strengthening participation of civil society organizations to
improve economic and

public finance governance in Nepal" that is funded by the European Union and implemented by NGO Federation Nepal.
"The project has a duration of 3 years of close to Rs 50 million which will be launched at 11 districts," said Spachis.
Daya Sagar Shrestha, representative from NGO Federation of Nepal, said that vacant posts of VDC secretaries in many VDCs were a problem faced by the country at present.
Shrestha informed that the Interim Constitution 2007, the 5th amendment, says that the government of Nepal shall form district municipal and village level interim bodies with the consensus of political parties active at the local level to operate until election of the local bodies are held.
"It is high time that we held elections of local governments," said Shrestha.
Various development experts and representatives from the civil society also presented their views about the local bodies.
Nnnn


US EMBASSY ASSESSMENTS ON NEPAL LEAKED BY WIKILEAKS AND PICKED UP BY NEPAL MEDIA TUESDAY
Kathmandu, 6 Sept.: When Nepal's controversial king Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah handed over power to a resurrected parliament on April 24, 2006 and faced the abolition of his throne, it might not have been entirely the thought of his subjects' wellbeing that prompted the move, reported the Times of India website on Monday, The Himalayan Times reports.

While royalists say the monarch, who had seized power through a bloodless coup the previous year, stepped down because he wanted to avert the bloodshed that would have occurred had the army been asked to take on the crowds demanding the restoration of democracy, the real reason could be that the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) was running out of ammunition.

In February and March 2006, days before the 19 days' peaceful protests that paralysed the royal regime started, the RNA's arsenal had started dwindling alarmingly after its main arms suppliers, India, the US and UK, stopped providing arms the previous year to show their disapproval of the royal coup, according to the latest Wikileaks revelations.

In February, the then RNA master of ordnance Major General Prakash Bahadur Basnyat had informed the US Embassy in Kathmandu, once the army's staunch supporter in its anti-Maoist terror campaign in Nepal, that the RNA had only 16,800 rounds of ammunition for its 16,000 M-16 guns. Also, for the 25,000 Insas firearms given by India at a 70 percent subsidy, it had only 130,000 rounds of ammunition left.

The dire crisis was reconfirmed to the Americans by the then army chief, Gen Pyar Jung Thapa, when the US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia, Donald Camp, visited Kathmandu in March. Camp then shared the information with the then Indian ambassador to Nepal, Shiv Shankar Mukherjee.

Mukherjee, in turn, was reported as saying that even if the foreign governments had increased the supply of arms ten-fold, the RNA would have failed to tackle the Maoist insurgency because it was corroded by corruption, poor leadership and low morale.

The Indian envoy said the cutting off of Indian arms assistance did not deter the RNA because its top guns were against buying guns on a government-to-government basis where there was little chance of kickbacks. Instead, they favoured buying arms on the black market with "senior officers enriching themselves with funds set aside for procurement", the leaked cables said.

The cables also said that at the meeting on March 11, 2006, Mukherjee had told the Americans that the RNA officers had told the Chinese to "up their invoices for small arms by 30 percent".

The later cables also indicated that the Americans were keeping close tabs on the Maoists after they signed a peace pact. One of the cables focused on Maoist chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda's growing girth, saying that he smoked and drank and took little exercise.
Nnnn
DR. RAWAT WAS ABDUUCTED FOR PRACHANDA CHECKUP
Kathmandu,6 Sept.: Dr. Bharat Rawat, a noted cardiologist based in Kathmandu, was summoned for a surprise check up on Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal in 2007, prior to the 2008 CA elections, according to a US embassy cable, leaked by whistleblower website Wikileaks, The Himalayan Tmes said in another report Tuesday.


SUBJECT: NEPAL: HEART DOCTOR EXAMINES MAOIST CHIEF

Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons 1.4 (b/d)

Cardiologist Gets Request He Can’t Refuse

1. (C) Dr. Bharat Rawat, a prominent cardiologist who works at Norvic Escorts International Hospital in Kathmandu, told the Ambassador recently that he had received a request that he could not refuse from the Maoists not long ago. According to Dr. Rawat, a group of Maoists had shown up at his office and insisted that he go with them. At first, Dr. Rawat said, he had feared for his life. He explained to the Ambassador that the medical profession had been the frequent target of Maoist extortion demands. Doctors who had failed to pay had suffered dire consequences. In his case, after traveling across the city, he had found himself in a modest building.

To his surprise, he was ushered in to see the Maoist chief, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachanda. Prachanda asked him to perform a physical. Dr. Rawat demurred, saying he did not have any of his instruments, and offered to see Prachanda in his clinic. Prachanda rejected that option and insisted on being seen then and there. Dr. Rawat reported that he hurriedly contacted an assistant and urged the aide to bring him a general medical kit so he could conduct an exam.

Prachanda Appears Healthy

2. (C) Dr. Rawat stated to the Ambassador that Prachanda appeared to be generally healthy. That said, Prachanda himself acknowledged that he both smoked and drank and was not getting enough exercise; as a result, Prachanda was carrying more weight than he should. The cardiologist admitted that he did not have the advantage of being able to do any blood work or to conduct other more complicated tests, and hoped to see Prachanda at his clinic someday to conduct a more thorough test.

3. (C) Dr. Rawat has a very good reputation as a professional, and the Mission has referred patients to him on numerous occasions. He strikes us as a reliable source of information. As for Prachanda’s health, his expanding waistline over the past year has been obvious to even the most casual observer. With King Gyanendra having lost his position as Head of State since the adoption of the Interim Constitution in January and Prime Minister and de facto Head of State G.P. Koirala in very poor health, Prachanda, who is 52, may be looking to his future. If he wishes to become Nepal’s first President, as some observers here suggest, he will need to stay healthy.

MORIARTY
nnnn