UPDATE ON DEATH OF MUKTIRAM DAHAL
Kathmandu, 9 Oct. Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai us attending Sunday’s funeral of Muktiram Dahal, father of Maoist Chairman Prachanda.
The funeral at Debghat in Chitwan planned for Sunday morning at 8.30 in the morning has been delayed.
Dahal died of pneumonia.
The funeral of Chandra Kala Bhandari,83, mother of late UML General Secretary Madan Bhandari was held Saturday at Debghat.
He died in the capital Saturday of brain hemorrhage
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KAMAL THAPA SAYS JUST CHANGING A DRIVER ON A BAD ROAD WON’T CLEAR HURDLE
Kathmandu, 9 Oct.: RPP-Nepal Chairman Kamal Thapa
said a’road chosen is bad and just changing the driver” won’t deliver results.
Thapa said Saturday before proceeding for New York to participate in a seminar on South Asian security.
The RPP-Nepal chief was giving his comment on the election of Bhattarai as prime minister more than one month ago in parliament.
He said Nepal is suffering now from the ‘fundamental mistakes of the past’ creating the present deadlock.
Thapa. A keep sportsman, will participate in tennis tournaments in New Delhi and Bangkok before returning home in four weeks.
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MAOIST FIRST VICE--CHAIRMAN BAIDHYA REJECTS UNCONDITIONAL ASSETS RETURN
Kathmandu, 9 Oct.: Senior Vice-chairman of UCPN (Maoist) Mohan Baidya on Saturday reiterated that the land and property seized by the Maoists during the insurgency will not be returned at any cost under present circumstances.
He claimed that the government’s decision to return the seized land and property would not be implemented.
“If the government stubbornly uses force then there will be resistance,” Baidya told journalists at Khajura, Banke.
He said the Maoist seized land, property and weapons during the insurgency at the cost of blood.
Baidya argued that alternative arrangements must be made for the families who are currently using the seized the land and property before returning the property to the owners.
He claimed that the Maoist central committee meeting never decided to return the seized land and hand over the keys of the arms containers.
“How can the Maoist-led government implement something which was not decided by the party’s central committee?” questioned Baidya.
He demanded that the government must correct its decision of handing over the keys of arms containers and returning the seized land.
Baidya opined that UCPN (Maoist) has arrived at a critical juncture. “So far, I have not had to speak publicly regarding the party’s decisions but now I feel forced to speak as the party is at a critical juncutre,” said Baidya.
He stated that rift within the Maoist party has come to surface. “Intra-party rift used to remain intra-mural but now it has spilled out in public,” added Baidya.
Baidya said his faction is not seeking an alternative to the present government rather it is trying to correct the government.
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FORMER MAOIST FIGHTERS THREATEN REVOLT
Kathmandu, 9 Oct.: Maoist ex-combatants have warned that they will revolt if the government fails to conclude the task of integrating and rehabilitating them, Dil Bahadur Chhatyal reports in Republica from Dhanghadi.
They demanded an appropriate role for themselves through completion of the integration and rehabilitation process. They also expressed dissatisfaction over the Maoist leadership, stating that the party has been keeping them in the dark.
“We have been living as prisoners for the last five year. We can´t live like this. So, we have started to discuss about alternatives if the task of integration and rehabilitation does not get concluded,” said Battalion Commander Tanka Timsena at the Talbanda Seventh Battalion.
He said that the party leadership must be clear about their stance on ex-combatants. “We need some role. The party must be clear if we should revolt again, if not they should conclude the task of integration and rehabilitation,” added Timsena.
The ex-combatants said that they were losing hope as there was no progress in the integration and rehabilitation process so far.
“We have come from a war background. Even in the battlefiled a way is managed for escape but we are surrounded from all sides,” stated Timsena.
Another battalion commander, Naresh Mahara, accused the political parties of not being interested in resolving the issue of integration and rehabilitation of ex-combatants.
Similarly, Assistant Comander Hikmat Malla warned the political parties not to consider their patience as a weakness.
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MAOIST CHIEF ASKED TO TAKE TOUGH STACE AGAINST CRITICS
Kathmandu, 9 Oct.: Even as the UCPN (Maoist) readies itself for a two-day national conclave, party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal is under pressure from his own supporters to take disciplinary action against the hardliners in the party for violating party discipline and acting against the party’s official decisions., Kamal Dev Bhattarai writes in The Kathmandu Post.
The conclave that will begin on October 16 will, among other things, solicit suggestions to mend fences between the different factions in the party.
Leaders close to Dahal, including Post Bahadur Bogati, Barsa Man Pun, Agni Sapkota, Haribol Gajurel and Hemanta Prakash Oli, have urged Dahal to seek a clarification from the Mohan Baidya camp in the upcoming Central Committee (CC) meeting.
The CC meeting, which has been deffered due to the escalating factional fight, is likely to take place sometime this week, though the date has not been fixed. The hardliner faction led by Vice-Chairman Baidya has been organising street protests against the party’s official decision to hand over the keys of the arms containers to the Special Committee. The faction also accuses Dahal and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai of leading the country towards “Sikkimisation” and, thereby, hurting the national sovereignty by signing the four-point agreement with the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha that led to the formation of the current coalition.
The establishment faction—led by Dahal and Bhattarai—has termed these activities of the Baidya faction
as “anarchic” and a gross violation of the party’s official line of peace and constitution.
Politburo member Agni Sapkota said the CC meet will seek a clarification on the growing “anarchism.”
“The CC meet will hold serious discussions on the party’s norms, values and procedures and take necessary steps,” Sapkota said.
Meanwhile, the national conclave will solicit suggestions on managing the intra-party rift, besides training the cadres on the party’s official line and strategy.
However, the Baidya faction is already in a mood to boycott the conclave. It is arguing that the decision to hold the meet was taken without consultations in the party. The faction has termed it a ‘factional’ meet.
Maoist Secretary CP Gajurel, considered close to Baidya, said the conclave is not officially organised by the party. He said it was a gathering of a faction.
According to Sapkota, the party leadership has already directed cadres to come in contact with the party by October 15 for the training. Leaders from the Dahal faction say it is not a factional meeting but the party’s official programme and that they have invited leaders and cadres from the rival factions.
“The conclave will also discuss ways to manage the intra-party rift and take the dissenting views to the General Convention,” Sapkota said. According to him, the party is mulling running different forums to hold discussions and also provide ample room for the differing views that may be put forth by the Baidya faction.
The party had earlier called the CC meeting on Sept 30, but it was put off indefinitely. The Baidya faction had objected to Dahal’s move to cancel the CC meet which was expected to take a final call on the party’s disputed issues which has paralysed the party, ultimately affecting the peace and constitution drafting processes.
The Baidya faction had boycotted the party’s Standing Committee meet that was slated for October 4, stating that they will attend the CC meet only. The Dahal-Bhattarai camp says the CC will be held immediately after the conclave.
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KULEKHANI RESEVOIR OVERFLOWS AFTER FOUR YEARS
Kathmandu, 9 Oct.: Water level in the Kulekhani Reservoir that feeds two power projects—the 60-megawatt Kulekhani Hydropower Project (KHP)-I and the 32-megawatt KHP II—has gone up to the maximum level in four years, Pratap Bista writes in The Kathmandu Post from Hetauda.
The water level in the reservoir, the only storage-type project of the country, is now beyond its capacity—1,530 metres. The level was recorded at 1,530.36 metres on Saturday afternoon.
Keeping in view the increasing water level in the reservoir, the KHP management has kept sand-filled sacks on the dam so that the reservoir can store an additional 50 cm of water. They did the same in 2007 when the water level went up beyond reservoir’s capacity.
Rabindra Mahaseth, the chief of the KHP, said the level is the highest in the reservoir in the past four years. He said the level went up as both the power projects remained shut since October 3 due to the closure of almost all factories and industries in the country during the Dashain festival. “We have placed sand-filled sacks on the dam that will help store additional 50 cm of water in the reservoir. The water came up to 36 cm till Saturday noon,” Mahaseth said. According to him, the water level will gradually decrease once the power projects resume operation with the resumption of factories and industries after the Dashain holidays.
The KHP management said the water increases 5-8 cm daily during the Dashain holidays. Nepal Electricity Authority earlier said the increased water level in Kulekhani that feeds around 92-MW to the national grid will be crucial in minimising the power crisis during the dry season this year.
NEA officials also say power cut hours will go down for now due to the increase in the water level in Kulekhani.
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