US EMBASSY WELCOMES LANDMARK AGREEMENT

US EMBASSY WELCOMES ‘LANDMARK’ AGREEMENT

Kathmandu, 2 Nov.: US embassy Tuesday night welcomed what it called a ‘landmark’; agreement to end the delayed peace process and
constitution drafting between three ruling and opposition parties
and a front of Madeshbadi parties.
“We welcome today’s landmark agreement by the political parties to move forward on the peace process, including on the integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants.
“We encourage all those involved to move quickly to implement the agreement, and we remain committed to supporting the process as appropriate.
“ We commend all parties involved for their statesmanship and leadership in forging consensus in this crucial area, which marks a critical step forward in completion of the peace process,” the embassy said.
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CHHATH ENDS WITH EARLY MORNING WORSHIP OF THE SUN

Kathmandu, 2 Nov: Chhath festival ended Wednesday with the second worship of the rising sun Wednesday morning,
The festival is observed manly in the eastern and central terai
regions.
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NEPAL TO PLAY MALAYSIA IN OPENING MATCH OF ACC
TWENTY20 CUP

Kathmandu, 2 Nov. Nepal will play Malaysia in the opening match of the ACC Twenty20 Cup in Kathmandu 3 December.
A schedule of the third ACC Twenty20 Cup from 1 to 11 December was released Tuesday.
Nepal is in Group B with Malaysia, UAE, Bhutan and Saudi
Arabia.
Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Oman ,Kuwait and Maldives are in
Group A.
Top three teams of the tournament will qualify for the 2012ICc Worldd Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.
The top three teams, except Afghanistan, and six associate and
affiliate teams join six countries with ODI status from 2009 to 2012.
The countries are: Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya,
Netherlands and Scotland.
The countries will play in the 16-nation ICC Twenty20
Qualifier in UAE in 2012.
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TEXT OF 7-POINT AGREEMENT
Kathmandu, 2 Nov.: Here’s the text of the7-point
agreement published in Republica.
National consensus is a must to take the peace process to a logical end and complete the task of writing the new constitution.

So, as per the Comprehensive Peace Agreement 2006 and various other understanding between the political parties at different times, the following understanding has been reached to compete the remaining task of constitution writing and move forward as per the politics of national consensus.
1. Integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants

a) Existing records of the Maoist combatants residing in cantonments will be updated.

b) The number of the Maoist combatants to be integrated will be 6,500 at the maximum. Integration will be done under a directorate of Nepal Army and 65 percent of the personnel of the directorate will come from Nepal Army while remaining 35 percent from the Maoist combatants. The directorate will have the mandate of carrying out development related activities, forest conservation, industrial security and crisis management.

c) Combatants of the Maoist army opting for integration will have to meet the standard norms of the security agency on an individual basis. However, the existing recruitment policy on age bar, educational requirements and marital status will be made flexible. In this regard, one level in the educational requirements fixed for a specific post of the security agency will be relaxed. Similarly, age bar has also been relaxed up to three years of the maximum age set for entry into the security agency.

d) The rank harmonization of the Maoist army opting for integration will be done as per the standard of the security agency. Integration of the Maoist combatants into the security agency will be done in such a way that it does not bring any negative consequences in the career development of existing officers and other ranks.

e) Maoist combatants opting for integration will get responsibilities in the security agency after completing bridge course and training.

f) All the weapons stored in cantonments will automatically come under the government´s ownership once the process of integration begins.

2. Rehabilitation of Maoists combatants

a) An alternative package of education, training and vocational opportunity will be provided to combatants opting for rehabilitation. Depending on the nature and timeframe, the cost of the package will vary from Rs 600,000 to Rs 900,000.

b) Depending upon their responsibilities, the combatants opting for voluntary retirement and cash instead of the package will be categorized into four levels and those falling in the highest category will get Rs 800,000 while remaining three levels in the descending order will get Rs 700,000, Rs 600,000 and Rs 500,000 respectively. The amount will be made available in two tranches in two fiscal years. A formal decision to this effect will be made at a meeting of the Special Committee within two days.

3. Group division

The task of dividing the combatants opting for integration and those for rehabilitation will begin after the Special Committee takes a procedural decision in this regard within seven days and will be completed by Nov 23.

4. Formation of commissions as agreed earlier

a) As per the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the bill on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Commission to Investigate Forced Disappearances would be endorsed by parliament after building consensus in the spirit of reconciliation. These commissions would be formed within a month.

b) The legal cases of the conflict era would be looked into as per the letter and spirit of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Interim Constitution, 2007.

5. Relief packages for the conflict victims

Relief packages would be made available without discrimination to the kin of those killed and disappeared, maimed, displaced and those whose properties were damaged in the armed conflict. The relief packages to be distributed after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement would be provided equally and without discrimination.

6. Implementation of past agreements and building an environment of trust

a) The UCPN (Maoist) would take an official decision to return the private and public properties seized by the party during the armed conflict to the rightful owners for their use by Nov 23. Due compensations would be paid to the owners for the loss caused by the seizure of properties.

b) The rights of the peasants would be guaranteed as per the letter and spirit of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, Interim Constitution 2007, and scientific land reforms.

c) The paramilitary structure of the YCL would be dismantled, while all the public and private properties seized by the YCL would be returned to the rightful organizations and individuals by Nov 23.

d) Vehicles used by the Maoists and recorded at the Transport Management Department as per the earlier agreement would be regulated as per the existing rules and regulations by Nov 23. Unregistered vehicles would be seized.

e) The local administration would monitor - and enforce if necessary -- the implementation of the agreement on returning the seized properties to the rightful owners. The political parties should cooperate with the government for its implementation.

7. Constitution writing and national consensus government

a) In order to take the ongoing peace process to a logical end and to complete the task of writing a constitution, the ongoing dialogues among the political parties will be continued. For that, a high level political mechanism will be formed.

b) The process of writing the new constitution will be accelerated. In order to make recommendations on state restructuring, a team of experts will be formed immediately on the basis of consensus in Constituent Assembly and the process of formulating a draft of the new constitution will be initiated within a month.

c) In line with the progress made in the peace process and constitution writing, the process of formulating a national consensus government will move ahead.
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