DELAYED MAOIST CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEET TO DISCUSS INTRA-PARTY DIFFERENCES

DELAYED MAOIST CENTRAL COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS SWELLING PARTY DIFFERENCES

Kathmandu, 3 Nov.: Maoist delayed central committee is being held Thursday afternoon amid fresh differences in the UCPN (Maoist) that is being led by the party with support of Madeshbadi parties.
The central committee has been repeatedly postponed following differences on a four-point agreement with Maoists to secure majority of the government of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai in parliament
with the support of the terai-based parties.
A faction led by First Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya charged Prachanda and Bhattarai for signing the accord by sidelining the party.
The premier, who is second vice-chairman of UCPN (Maoist) has now aligned himself with his party push to push their agenda sidelining Badya who first forced Prachanda to give up his prime ministerial ambitions paving the way for the election of Bhattarai as party chief.
The delayed central committee has been empowered to take a
decision of the four-point agreement.
The crucial central committee will also review a bilateral agreement with India during Premier Bhattarai’s India visit to protect Indian
investments in Nepal; The agreement has been called a sellout.
The Baidya faction is also registering uts opposition to the
seven-point agreement between ruling parties and opposition
NC and UML to conclude the delayed peace process and constitution
drafting.
Party officials are meeting ahead of the central committee at
two in the afternoon.
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CABINET DISCUSSING MALDIVES SAARC SUMMIT

Kathmandu, 3 Nov.: A cabinet meeting in underway Thursday
to approve Nepal’s participation in a SAARC summit
being hosted by Maldives 10/11 November.
Prime Minister Babauram Bhattarai is leading the Nepali team.
The foreign visit will be the premier’s third after assuming office two months ago.
Premier Bhattarai first visited New York in September to
address an annual UN general assembly session and the India in October.
The cabinet Thursday is also discussing the agenda for the
South Asian regional summit normally held once a year.
Nepal is hosting the next summit after the Maldives meet; Nepal has hosted the summit twice.
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BODY BEING FORMED TO MANAGE PASHUPATI OFFERINGS OF DEVOTEES

Kathmandu, 3 Nov.: Offerings at Pashupatinath temple, the holiest Hindu shrine in Nepal, will now be managed by a body to be formed in one month.
A decision to form a body to manage the unaccounted
offerings was taken by a meeting of Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) chaired by Culture Minister Gopal Kirati, who is also
chairman of the Trust.
A seven-member committee headed by member-secretary Sushil Nahata gas been formed with treasurer Narottam Baidy, officials of the
culture ministry and four other persons to suggest a body.
Offerings were managed in the past by the temple’s Bhattas and Bhandad’s amid demands for transparency in management of offerings.
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AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTATION TO COST Rs 10 BILLION

Kathmandu, Nov 3: If preliminary estimate of the government is anything to go by, Tuesday´s peace deal on integration, rehabilitation and voluntary exit of Maoist combatants -- which brought cheers to 26.5 million Nepalis -- has straightaway created a financial burden of around Rs 10 billion on the
Government, Milan Mani Sharma writes in Republica..

The cost incurred on the management of combatants is a capital investment as it brings good to the country by raising optimism, improving investment confidence and industrial environment. But as the government has not made any budgetary allocation for such a purpose, Prime Minister´s Office has instructed the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to instantly approach donors for financial support.
"We will soon formally request with the development partners for the support as we have little scope in the existing budget to meet the integration and rehabilitation cost, which is estimated to add up to Rs 10 billion," said a senior MoF official.

Such a liability has been generated as the peace deal has pledged three major offers for managing combatants. First, the government will integrate up to 6,500 Maoist combatants in the national army. Second, it will provide rehabilitation package in a range of Rs 0.6 million to Rs 0.9 million to a combatant depending on his rank. Rehabilitation package includes the cost of training. Third, it has offered cash incentive in a range of half million to 800,000 million rupees to combatants eager to escape integration as well as rehabilitation package.

The number of Maoist combatants in cantonment was numbered at around 19,500 in the past, but the government believes the number is less now as some of the combatants have left the cantonment while others are facing actions for criminal activities.

"Nonetheless, we believe the slot allotted for integration will be completely fulfilled," said Rameshwore Prasad Khanal, economic advisor of the Prime Minister. The government further anticipates that it might need to offer rehabilitation and exit package, which have been promised in two tranches, to 12,500 combatants.

Though the prevailing recruitment cost estimates, which include annual salary, army gear and accessories including weapon and trainings, suggest recruiting an armyman exerts a financial burden of Rs 300,000 on the government, the government believes integration will jack up the cost by just around Rs 100,000.

"That is because we were already paying some Rs 100,000 in annual perks to a combatant and they will not need weapons as well," said a senior MoF official, estimating that integration process will exert additional burden of around Rs 650 million on the national treasury.

Likewise, officials estimate rehab cost will probably average at Rs 700,000 per combatant, and thus the rehabilitation package will generate another extra-budgetary liability of around Rs 9 billion.

"We will request the development partners to pledge the support either in the form of budgetary support or through the Peace Trust Fund," said the MoF official. Though bilateral donors like United States have denied support for direct handover of cash to combatants, the government is hopeful European countries will respond to its call positively.

"We are in a crucial phase of peace process. How the donors respond to our request will test the reliability of donors as well," said the source.

Some of the officials like Bodh Raj Niraula, chief of Budget Division, MoF, opined the government might need to come up with Supplement Budget to arrange the finances. But Khanal opined that might not be necessary as the government will not need all the money now.

"Foremost and immediate liability that the government will need to fulfill will be ´payment of money to Nepal Army´, as going by the peace deal, the process of integration will start immediately after December 1," said Khanal. "Otherwise, rehab packages can be implemented in a phasewise manner."

Besides, the government can buy time by offering initial tranche of committed package, and manage the rest through the budget of next fiscal year.
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DISSATISFACTON RIFE BUT LIMITED OPTIONS FOR PLA

Kahmandu, 3 Nov.: There seems to be a major dissatisfaction among the PLA rank and file over the mandate of the Nepal Army (NA) directorate, but the PLA personnel, who have been languishing in the camps for nearly four years, don´t seem to have many choices
Either, Kiran Pun writes in Republica.

Based on what they were promised by the party leadership, the combatants had expected to be integrated into the NA wing armed, unit-wise, and with combat roles.

But the peace deal signed by the major parties on Tuesday came as a disappointment, if not as a shock, to a sizable number of combatants.

The deal, which doesn´t fulfill the key promises made to them by the party leaders, has left them in a dilemma.

“We are neither comfortable going back home with the promised money nor can we join the NA directorate under such humiliating conditions,” said a PLA division vice-commander who is close to party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

For another division vice-commander from the Dahal faction, returning home with the money amounts to a “humiliating defeat”, not through the strength of the “enemy” but through the “surrender” of the higher-ups.

“We will fight and die, but we won´t surrender. It is our bottom-line that the PLA should be integrated into the state forces armed, unit-wise and with combat roles,” said another vice-commander who is close to Dahal. “What does this peace deal mean except a document of surrender?” he questioned.

But vice-commander from first division Hari Bahadur Shrestha, who is close to Maoist Vice-chairman and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, said he is largely satisfied with the deal. “Not all the promises made by the leadership have been addressed in the deal. But it is still okay,” he said.

Udaya Chalaune, who is vice-commander of the third division and close to party hard-line leader Mohan Baidya, says he doesn´t want to comment on the deal.

“It makes no sense commenting on the deal as the whole spirit of the deal is against what we PLA personnel learned over the years,” says Chalaune.

Nep Bahadur Tharu, who is vice-commander at the seventh division and is close to Dahal, summarizes the dilemma in the cantonment this way: “River has burst its banks, and it is yet to see which course the river flows.”

However, the number and rehabilitation packages as agreed in the deal seem to be okay for the combatants. “In fact, the rehabilitation package and the number are not problems for us,” says Chalaune.

But there are some division commanders and vice-commanders from the party establishment, including Santu Darai, security chief of Dahal, who have welcomed the deal.

All the seven division commanders and a majority of 16 division vice-commanders are from the party establishment. But not all of them have supported the deal.

In fact, the party largely accepted the model and integration norms presented by the Nepal Army. Dahal fully accepted the non-combat mandate of the NA directorate, though there are some concessions on the integration norms. The peace deal has agreed to give one level bonus on the education qualification requirements of the combatants, assume three years younger than the real age of the combatants and dismiss the marital status impediments.

The PLA commanders, however, argue that the peace deal has the provision for recruitment, not integration, as each combatant, bereft of his arms, is required to meet certain criteria to enter the directorate.

“Now joining the directorate depends on individual choice, and it is recruitment, not integration. So it is still uncertain how many will join the directorate,” said a division vice-commander.

Maoist PLA Chief Nanda Kishore Pun dismissed the claim that the integration deal is humiliating for the PLA, but argued that his party made certain sacrifices.

“It is a matter of give and take, and the Maoist party has made a sacrifice during the process,” Pun said.
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