PRACHANDA HOLDS JOINT DISCUSSIONS WITH PM BHATTARAI, MOHAN BAIDYA

PRACHANDA HOLDS DISCUSSIONS WITH PM, MOHAN
BAIDYA

Kathmandu, 14 Dec.: Maoist Chairman Prachanda held hour-long discussins jointly with Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai and Mohan Badya at his residence
Bhattarai and Baidya are party vice-chairmen.
The discussions were held one day after Secretary CP Gajurel
predicted an imminent split in UCPN (Maoist) leading the government.
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MAIN CONSTITUTION DRAFTING COMMITTEE MEETS

Kathmandu, 14 Dec.: A main constitution drafting committee meeting underway headed by Nilambar Acharya is discussing agreements landd differences so far on themes to be included in a proposed constitution.
The committee is also reviewing agreements at a sub-committee meet chaired by Maoist Chairman Prachanda Tuesday on a mixed election system and voting rights for 18-year-olds.
The sub-committee discusses differences on themes to be
included in a basic law.
The main committee hopes to prepare a draft of a proposed constitution based on agreements so far.
Differences have been narrowed down to 20 themes.
Efforts are ongoing to record progress I constitution drafting by 30
December.
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STRIKE IN EASTERN REGION CONTINUES FOR FOURTH DAY

Kathmandu, 14 Dec.: A strike closing down nine eastern
districts continued for the fourth day Wednesday with shortages
of essential goods reported.
Talks between government and strike sponsors are expected later n the day.
Strike sponsors are demanding representation in a state restructuring commission.
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SUPREME COURT REGISTRAR DOESN’T ACCEPT
CONTEMPT CHARGE AGAINST LAW MINISTER GUPTA

Kathmandu, 14 Dec.: A contempt of court charge against Law Minister Brijesh Kumar Gupta wasn’t registered at the supreme court Tuesday.
Registrar Nahakul Subedi didn’t register the charge filed by an advocate./T
The court didn’t register the charge
Under section 27 (2 ) of a court procedure chapter of Mulki ain
The advocate attempted to file the charge accusing the minister for contempt when he reportedly said in the last three months after his appointment as minister, he received bribe offers from candidates to be nominated judges.
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PREMIER WEN’S VISIT DEFRRED FOR INTERNAL CHINESE REASON CLAIMS FOREIGN MINISTER SHRESTHA

Kathmandu, 14 Dec : Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao’s visit to Nepal has been put on hold for the time being owing to his busy schedule with domestic affairs, The Rising Nepal reports.
"The Chinese ambassador to Nepal met with us today [Tuesday] and informed that the Chinese Prime Minister would be too busy to visit our country in this month and urged for fixing the visit date a little later," Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha informed The Rising Nepal Tuesday.
The visit of the Prime Minister of the northern neighbour was to take place within December.
"The preparation in relation to the visit will go on. Some time ago, an advance team from China had arrived here as a part of the preparation while the Chinese negotiating team is still here. Only yesterday, we held discussions and made some understanding with the negotiating team. And we have plans to meet within this week and fix the exact date of the visit," DPM Shrestha said.
After returning from his
visit to China a few weeks ago, DPM Shrestha had informed that the exact date for the visit of the Chinese Prime Minster would be fixed through diplomatic channels of the two neighbours. Different reports had it that the Chinese PM would visit Nepal from Dec 20 to 22.
"We had an understanding to fix the date through diplomatic channels and make it public from both the sides on the
same day. Now the Chinese

side has urged for holding the date fixation for the time being. Hence, this is neither the postponement of the visit nor the cancellation," DPM and FM Shrestha said.
The DPM said that he was also informed that the Chinese Prime Minister’s visit to Myanamar was postponed due to the Chinese PM’s busy schedule at home as the end of the Chinese fiscal year was nearing.
He said that during the meeting, the Chinese ambassador to Nepal, Yang Houlan, appreciated the preparations on the part of Nepal for the visit of Chinese Prime Minister Wen
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COMBATANTS FOUND REHABILITATION UNATTRACTIVE; PLA
COMMANDER

Kathmandu, 14 Dec.:, Out of the total 17,002 Maoist combatants whose regrouping completed till Sunday, only six opted for the rehabilitation package offered by the government. This comes as a shock to the government officials and foreign donors funding this crucial part of peace deal, Bhimsen
Thapaliya/ Purusottam Khatri report n The Rising Nepal.
Why have the combatants found this scheme unattractive whereas the two other options-integration and voluntary retirement- have occupied the lion’s share of preference?
"The combatants discarded the idea of rehabilitation package because they did not see certainty and future prospects in this scheme," said PLA First Division Commander Yam Bahadur Adhikari.
This package promises to provide training and help further the education of the combatants. But it lacks certainty about the future employment, said Adhikari while asked to comment based on the opinions of the combatants.
Being trained for a profession or being educated does not guarantee employment in Nepal as so many educated and trained people are already unemployed. They know this reality and feel that they will end up being jobless if they embraced the rehabilitation package, Adhikari said.
If you look at management of post-conflict situation in other countries you see that combatants who were excluded from integration were guaranteed employment. For example, in South Africa, those who were not integrated were given foreign employment, teaching jobs and jobs as agricultural technicians. In our case, according to commander Adhikari, the scheme simply failed to be attractive.
When major political parties signed the seven-point agreement on November 1, they agreed to integrate 6,500 Maoist combatants into a new directorate of the army. But during the regrouping, the number of combatants preferring to be integrated has gone over 9,600. The UCPN-Maoist has demanded that the number of combatants to be integrated should be increased to 9,000 in the new scenario.
"The signatories of the seven-point pact should rethink over this debatable issue. Either the number should be increased from 6,500 or those who are deprived from integration against their will, should be compensated," Adhikari said.
Nepali Congress and CPN-UML leaders have already rejected the Maoist proposal of increasing the combatant number to be integrated.
The army is reiterating its norms and standards while admitting any personnel, but a big question is whether it will be flexible in the case of Maoist combatants who will be joining the army under a special political arrangement.
"Nepal Army has its own norms and standards regarding admission of personnel. In case of special government decision, however, there may be rethinking," said Brigadier General Ramindra Chhetri, spokesman of Nepal Army.
Some of the combatants opting for integration include injured and physically challenged while some of them are former army deserters joining the PLA during the insurgency. Some army officials were reported in the private sector media saying that deserters will face action. However, army spokesman Chhetri said that there is no clear record of the army deserters. Unless we specifically check the record, this remains undetermined, he said.
Commander Adhikari said that a combatant cannot be rejected for integration on ground of being injured or disabled because there are disabled people already serving in the army.
Regarding the integration of the disabled and injure combatants, Chhetri said that it depends on the decision of the Army Integration Special Committee (AISC) and the government.
Regarding the army deserters who want to be integrated, Adhikari said that there were army deserters who joined PLA and PLA deserters who joined the army during the insurgency. This should be no hurdle for integration, he said.
It is wrong on part of the Baidhya faction of the Maoist party to call combatants to choose voluntary retirement scheme over integration, said Adhikari. If the combatants left behind their weapons and went away with cash in hand, it is as good as accepting the disarmament, demobilization and Rehabilitation (DDR) model, he added.
This is an idea to escape without completing the Constituent Assembly’s task of peace and constitution. There is a new ray of hope in the people that the nation will get a new constitution in six months. People will not support any idea that goes contrary to this hope, Adhikari said.
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PPP MUST FOR TRADE
Kathmandu, 14 Dec.: The need of partnership between government and private sector was emphasised in order to make Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) 2010’s effective and fruitful. The Himalayan Times reports.

The participants of a workshop on ‘Capacity Building and Participation of Private Sector in NTIS Implementation’ organised by Eastern Chambers of Commerce and Industry expressed the need of government promoting market and providing support to the farmers and producers for NTIS implementation.

The workshop especially focused on the issues that need to be remedied for the promotion of products and services eastern region specialises among the products recognised under NTIS 2010 like red lentils, cardamom, tea, steel and iron products, health and educational services.

Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) 2010 has identified 19 products and services having maximum export potentials. According to the strategy, the government will develop national development plans under its regular budget to promote the export climate for the selected products.

Seven agro-based products — large cardamom, ginger, honey, lentils, tea, noodles, medicinal and essential oils are in the list. Similarly, five industrial products — handmade paper, silver jewellery, iron and steel, pashmina, and wool products — also featured in the list of 19 items that includes seven service areas tourism, labour, health, education, IT and BPO, engineering and hydro-electricity.

In addition, NTIS has also identified top ten market destinations for each of the potential products and services where these 19 products are supposed to do well.

“To bridge the balloning trade gap, there is a strong need of strategic planning to promote the prodction and marketing of these products,” expressed newly appointed Consulate General for Kolkata Chandra Kumar Ghimire.

The stakeholders stressed on to focus more on providing support market development of orthodox tea in order to meet the increasing demand. For the cardamom plantation to flourish, the farmers suggested the government to completely replace the infected cardamom plants with healthy ones. As for red lentils, the stakeholder strongly held the view point that enough is not being done in the area of expanding the farming of the lentil.

The government has also been requested to provide direct support for the iron and steel products for the sustainable promotion.
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FAREWELLFOR FORMER PLA FIGHTERS AT ALL 28 CANTONMENTS SATELLITE CAMPS
Kathmandu, 14 Dec.: The Special Committee will organise farewell programmes for the PLA combatants opting for voluntary retirement in all 28 cantonments as its secretariat has agreed to do so, Phanndra Dahal writes in The Kathmandu Post..
The Special Committee Secretariat has tentatively finalised modalities of the discharge programme and wants the political leadership to decide the date of releasing combatants opting for voluntary retirement. The PM-led SC will hire buses to ferry the fighters from the cantonments to the towns close to their home and also provide travel allowances to them.
“The combatants will be returning to their communities from the camps and they should themselves take their belongings from the cantonments to home. Thus, we have recommended that the farewell ceremonies be held in all cantonments,” said Sanandan Prasad Kurmi, a member of the Special Committee Secretariat. He also confirmed that there has been an agreement to make payments to the combatants opting voluntary retirement through individual bank accounts.
The committee on Sunday had instructed the secretariat to formulate an operation plan to implement integration and the voluntary retirement programme with timeline. In response, the secretariat held a meeting at the Gokarna Forest Resort on Tuesday and discussed the way forward.
The Maoist representatives have stressed that the process of releasing fighters opting for voluntary retirement and those choosing integration should start together. They have said that the number of combatants opting for integration would drop down once the senior rank to be conferred on them is decided at the political level.
“We have suggested that both voluntary retirement and integration programmes should commence simultaneously. We have also stressed that rank determination should be settled to complete this process,” said Chandra Prakash Khanal “Baldev,” another secretariat member, also the PLA spokesman.
Non-Maoist members in the secretariat have maintained that they do not have the mandate to take decision on ranks. The issue will be decided by the Nepal Army or should be resolved at the senior political level, said a member seeking anonymity.
More than 9,600 combatants opted for integration and over 7,200 fighters picked voluntary retirement during the regrouping process that concluded early this month.
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PARTIES PUSH UNITY GOVT. BY DEC END
Kathmandu, 14 Dec.:Confident that some of their conditions would be met soon, top leaders of the Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-UML have said they hope to join a new national unity government led by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai by the end of December, Kamal Raj Sigdel. Bhadra Sharma report in The Kathmandu Post.

They, however, ruled out any possibility of transforming the current government into a national unity one.
Though Bhattarai had long been claiming that he would lead the next consensus government by bringing the NC and UML on board, the opposition parties had so far been reticent on the issue.
“Talks have begun and they are moving in a positive direction,” said an NC leader, seeking anonymity. “However, the unity government, if formed, will not be an extension of the incumbent government but a new one under the current leadership.”
NC leaders said the party leadership is optimistic about joining the government following
assurance from Bhattarai and the Maoist leadership that they are positive on meeting two major conditions—vacating the cantonments along with handing over of weapons and “effectively” scrapping the four-point deal singed with the Madhesi Morcha.
Sources said Bhattarai, who met NC leader Ram Chandra Poudel at his residence late on Monday night to discuss government formation, assured the latter that the cantonments would be vacated “very soon” with the return of the combatants opting for voluntary retirement to their homes.
During the meeting, Bhattarai requested NC’s support for a unity government and Poudel put forth the two conditions.
NC sources said Bhattarai is also positive on forming a new Cabinet instead of extending the current one to address NC’s stand to not join the government formed on the basis of the four-point deal between the Maoists and the Morcha.
The internal row over the candidacy in the NC—between senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba and Vice President Poudel—is also one of the factors pushing the NC leadership closer to joining a Bhattarai-led unity government.
NC leaders close to party President Sushil Koirala said if everything goes on well, General Secretary Krishna Prasad Sitaula is likely to lead the NC in the next government with the posts of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Home Minister, while Poudel would remain outside.
UML leaders also concede that both the NC and the UML are prepared to tie up and join the unity government under Bhattarai. “We have not ruled out the possibilities of accepting the Baburam-led unity government. But we cannot join the government formed based on the four-point deal; it has to be a new one though under the same leadership.”
Leaders in the Deuba camp, including Bimalendra Nidhi, however, are totally cut off from the ongoing negotiations.

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