ACHARYA COMMITTEE APPROVES BIG THREE REQUEST

ACHARYA COMMITTEE APPROVES REQUEST OF THE BIG THREE UPDATE
Kathmandu, 29 Jan.; The main constitution drafting committee
headed by Nilambar Acharya agreed to a request of three major parties to extend by another 14 days 12 February to resolve differences on
four themes to be incorporated n a constitution by 28 May.
Despite existing and new differences between the bIG Three, Maoist Chairman Prachanda said after the meeting, “The constitution will be promulgated on time.”
“Serious discussions were held,” he said.
The Acharya committee meet will be forwarded to Speaker
Subash Nemwang.
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PM,. PRACHANDA MEET
Kathmandu, 29 Jan.: Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, who is also
party vice-chairman, discussed promised retirement of former Maoist fighters who have opted for to voluntarily leave 28 camps and cantonments, with Party President Prachanda Sunday.
Bhattarai, who is chairman of a special committee for integration, resettlement and supervision of former fighters, agreed to send home former fighters who opted for retirement.Tuesday.
The process will take 12 days.
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OPPOSITION AGAIN DISRUPTS PARLIAMENT
Kathmandu, 29 Jan.: Parliament was again obstructed by
opposition NC, UML and smaller parties.
The session was adjourned until Wednesday.
The opposition is pressing government to revoke a cabinet decision to legalize seizure of people’s assets during the 10-year insurgency by Maoist parallel governments.
Supporters of the UCPN (Maoist) are coming out of the streets
of the capital Sunday supporting the abnet decision asking for its implementation.
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PM URGES GOOD GOVERNANCE

Kathmandu, Jan 28, Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai Saturday said that negative thoughts, inferiority complex and feeling of insecurity had affected the economic development process, The
Rising Nepal reports.
At a meeting with Society of Economic Journalists of Nepal at his official residence in Baluwatar, Dr. Bhattarai said that the government had brought action plans on good governance and economic prosperity to minimize the disappointment among the people.
He said that the economic development could not make desired progress in the past due to political reasons and erroneous laws.
He said that there was no alternative to unity among the political parties on the issues of economic development.
"The political change will not sustain if the fruits of development are not taken to the people," he said, adding that the political leadership should think about it.
Stating that the government had been giving top priority to peace, constitution, good governance and economic prosperity, Dr. Bhattarai said that an environment for good governance and economic prosperity would be created.
He reiterated that he would not compromise with good governance while admitting that the action plan on good governance was the continuity of the previous programme.
He also informed that preparations were underway to monitor the government activities from the Office of the Prime Minister.
He stressed the need of making social justice an indicator of progress in a country like Nepal where the gap between the haves and have-nots was wide.
He said that the mere growth of 3 to 4 per cent would take the country nowhere.
"We have to increase the investment in certain sectors and the BIPPA was signed with India for the bigger economic growth," he said and added that a similar investment agreement would be inked with China.
UCPN-Maoist was not against foreign investment, he said, adding that foreign capital and technology were a must until the country could stand on its own.
He admitted that the government could not properly invest the internal capital, remittance and liquidity of the banks.
He also pointed out the need of government investment in public enterprises. However, he opposed the idea of giving subsidy to the Nepal Oil Corporation.
"The subsidy should be utilized to provide relief to the people and in hydropower or alternative energy production," he said.
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NEPAL ASKS INDIA TO STOP RACKET

Kathmandu, 29 Jan. , The Government of Nepal has urged the Government of India to stop the racket operating in India that is involved in preparing fake documents for Nepalis going abroad, RSS reports.
This request to the Indian government was made in the Home Secretary level bilateral talks between Nepal and India in New Delhi last week. The Nepali side brought the issue in the talks stating that the trend of preparing fake Nepali testimonials in India for Nepalis going abroad has increased recently.
The home ministry authorities discussed the issue with the Indian officials last week in the context of increasing incidents of Nepali workers going for foreign jobs through India were confronted with different problems owing to the fake documents that they procured with the rackets operating in India.
The documents of several Nepalis going abroad for foreign employment via India were found to be fake and it was confirmed through information gathered that these documents were prepared in India.
During the talks, the Nepali side requested the cooperation of the Government of India in controlling this crime.
Assistant spokesman of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ekmani Sharma said the Nepali side raised the fake documents issue with priority in the secretary level talks and both sides agreed to check the illegal immigration with the use of fake travel documents through the transit points of both countries.
India has also agreed to consider Nepal’s request to India regarding resolution of the problem faced by the Nepali pensioners while going to collect their benefits in India.
The Nepali side had urged the Indian side to end the compulsion for the Nepali citizens who have retired after working for different companies and private and public services in India to go to India to collect their pensions.
At the meeting, agreement has been reached to strictly curb illegal activities as cross-border crime, smuggling, human trafficking, drug trafficking, among others, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Also, Nepal and India agreed in the meeting to immediately remove the inconveniences faced by the citizens in their movement in the border region.
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39 BRDER PILLARS MISSING IN SUNSARI ALONE
Kathmandu, 29 Jan.: Of the 283 border pillars erected in the border between Bihar of India and Nepal’s Sunsari district, 39 have been found to be missing, RSS reports from Ithari.
As per the study of the Armed Border Security Force Sunsari, they were lost from the places of their establishment.
They were lost as people of Bihar and Sunsari of Nepal made houses by pulling them down and cultivating, said the Armed Police.
The 39 pillars are lost out of the 22 Jange (large) pillars, 147 medium sized and 114 small pillars in the Dasgaja border area.
People of both sides have encroached the no man’s land and especially the Indian side has been forcibly cultivating and growing crops. They also build huts there and dry cow-dung cakes to use as fuel. (
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PRESSURE ON GOVT. TO OPEN MORE EMBASSIES
Kathmandu, 29 Jan.: With the population of migrant Nepali workers rapidly increasing in the Gulf region and Nepal's growing interactions in Asia and Europe, the government is under pressure to open new missions abroad to serve the interest of its
Nationals, Anil Giri reports in The Kathmandu Post..
Three panels--one parliamentary and two under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA)--have strongly recommended opening up new diplomatic missions. Nepal, with 32 diplomatic missions abroad, has a policy of adding new ones in countries where the population of Nepali nationals crosses the 5,000 mark.
The MoFA is under immense pressure to open missions in Bahrain and Oman, where population of migrant Nepali workers has crossed the 10,000 mark. The Nepali mission in Saudi, which looks after some 300,000 Nepalis, is overloaded after it was assigned also to look after affairs in Oman and Bahrain.
Missions in three Saarc countries--Bhutan, the Maldives and Afghanistan--are high on the agenda.
Last year, Nepal opened diplomatic missions in Kuwait, Brazil, South Africa and Canada. "There is a general impression that opening new missions is unnecessary expenditure. This is not true. Most of our missions are earning well through consular and visa services," the official said.
"Any stable government can take a call on this and we can readily open three-man missions to begin with," the official added.
Another MoFA official said Singapore is another country on the priority list.
"After India and China, Singapore is the largest port for Nepal. More than 15,000 Nepalis are working there," the official said. "While Singapore and Nepal have direct air link, the former's new policy to attract medium-level work force could lure more Nepalis," the official said. Among Spain, Turkey, Italy and Norway, the government is studying which country to prioritise in setting up its mission. But one in Spain appears more urgent as the Nepali population there is more than 50,000.
Opening of two Consulate General's offices in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Guangzhou in China is also on the cards.
In a recent interaction with select journalists, Foreign Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha said he would prioritise the recommendations of various internal and external panels in establishing new foreign missions.
"We have felt it is a pressing issue and are working on it although the process is lengthy. I cannot say at the moment how and when we will do all these," said Foreign Secretary Durga Bhattar
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LOAD-SHEDDING AFFECTS INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION
Kathmandu, 29 Jan.:The 14-hour daily load-shedding has forced industries based in the Bara-Parsa Industrial Corridor, the country’s largest industrial base, to slash their production by 60 percent, Bhusan Yadav writes in The Kathmandu Post from Birgungj.
14 more dayus,.
Prachandal said will be promulgated on time.
Until magh 29 on four issues.
Serpoudiscisson prachanda.
State restcturing commission rpot not recived.
Request will be made

Pm and prachand ladiscussed fareleee of Maoist to start Tuesday
Parliament agailn obstructed.adourted until Wenesday.
According to industrialists, power shortage coupled with diesel crisis has hit them hard. They say they are receiving much less amount of diesel than their normal requirement. “Industries that require around 7000 litres diesel daily are getting only 3000 litres,” said an industrialist.
Rushi Unnithan, executive director of Jagdamba Steels, said his factory has slashed operation to 10 hours a day from the regular 20 hours. “Our factory used to produce 1,280 tonnes of iron rod daily, which now has come down to only 500 tonnes,” said Unnithan.
The power shortage and fuel crisis, according to Ashok Temani, president of the Birgunj Chambers of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), has already forced five iron factories to shut down their operation. “There is no environment to run industries,” said Temani. “The government is only busy collecting revenue.”
Due to the energy crisis, nine cement factories and seven iron factories in the corridor are struggling to run under their normal production schedule. The cement factories having daily production capacity of 15,000 sacks have been producing just 3,000-5,000 sacks for the last few weeks. Mahendra Agrawal, sales manager of Jagdamba Cement, said his company is struggling to supply cement as per the market demand.
With domestic producers forced to cut down their production, domestic steel and cement manufacturers fear that Indian products might acquire bigger market share in the local market. “With domestic manufacturers having larger market share unable to cater to the demand, Indian brands might get hold of the local market,” said Bishnu Agrawal, promoter of Rajesh Metal Craft.
Agrawal’s fear is logical as domestic cement and steel manufacturers have been forced to reduce production by 60 percent.
BCCI has urged the government to import additional 12 MW power from India by repairing Birgunj-Raxaul transmission line. “The repairing of the transmission line will cost only Rs 400,000,” said Temani. Industrialists have also demanded to bring into operation the 14-MW diesel plant in Hetauda.
Arun Mahato, head of Birgunj Power Distribution Centre of Nepal Electricity Authority, said NEA has held talks with Bihar Electricity Board to restart the Birgunj-Raxaul transmission line. According to Mahato, import of the 12-MW electricity from Raxaul could bring down power shortage in Birgunj by three hours a day.

INTERVIEW

PM SEEKS MAOIST REPRESENTATION IN NEW ARMY DIRECTORATE


Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, who is also the head of the Special Committee, has decided to immediately begin the process of sending home the combatants opting for voluntary retirement and completing the process in the next 12 days, and then moving ahead with the integration process.

The constitution drafting has come to a standstill, and according to media reports there have been some exercises for changing the government to bring in a national consensus government. Bhattarai talked to Republica´s Post B Basnet and Madhav Dhungel in this context. Excerpts:

Immediately after you were elected prime minister, you promised to prioritize peace, constitution, good governance and economic prosperity along with a relief package for the people. Five months on, how do you evaluate your performance?

Yes, following my election to the helm on August 28 by the legislature-parliament, I had stated after doing some rational thinking that the task of this government would be peace, constitution, good governance and economic prosperity along with relief to the people. Afterwards I modified things a bit and set my priority on peace, constitution, good governance and economic prosperity. I have put in my best efforts for the achievement of my goal.

But you did not achieve anything substantial.

You have got to be ambitious. As poet Laxmi Prasad Devkota stated: “The only objective worth taking up is to touch the moon.” Without setting a lofty ambition, you won´t achieve anything important. In fact, the stalled peace process has received momentum after I took over at the helm. The categorization process for Maoist combatants is over. Similarly, we are bidding adieu from January 31 to those opting for voluntary retirement and are subsequently taking the process of integration forward. There are ups and downs in the process.


The subcommittee under the Constitutional Committee (CC) has also garnered consensus on many issues, and discussions on other contentious issues are underway. The long overdue State Restructuring Commission was also formed and it is submitting its report to the government on Monday. As far as the remaining two agendas - good governance and economic prosperity - are concerned, I have launched some immediate relief packages. But we have not been able to focus on these issues. A detailed plan for good governance and economic prosperity was launched on January 25. We think the move will definitely make people feel the change.

Will the task of sending home those opting for voluntary retirement begin on schedule? Your party chairman, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, has stated that he will not empty the cantonments without the parties reaching consensus on governance system.

Definitely! Rest assured. In fact, that was not a condition (the party set). We could have made things worse. We had stated that it would be better if the integration process and the task of sending home those opting for voluntary retirement moved simultaneously. Since more combatants than the agreed number have opted for integration, we said it would be better to settle the issue before sending home those choosing voluntary retirement. It was not a condition per se.

Do you have the full support of the party leadership for sending the combatants home?

There is no point taking the process ahead without the support of the party. Any political leader, especially a communist one, works with the full support of the party. This is a general principle.

When will you wrap up the process of sending home the combatants choosing voluntary retirement?

We estimate that the process will take 11 to 13 days from the starting date. After bidding them adieu, we will hold some talks on the rank harmonization of commanders and a bridge course for the combatants. And then take the integration process ahead.


Is it true that your party has demanded the position of chief or deputy chief of the Nepal Army Directorate?

We have already agreed on the formation of a directorate that will have participation from Maoist combatants. If there is representation of the combatants at the policy-making level, which is called headquarters or directorate, that will create an environment of trust for completing the process. Without that, we may not be able to create a conducive environment. So it will be better to represent both sides at the directorate

When will the contentious issues of system of governance and state restructuring be settled?

There are some important issues including system of governance, state restructuring and electoral system. There is a calendar of events to settle these issues by Sunday, and the parties are holding discussions for a consensus. If the issues are not settled, they could be transferred to the House and consensus sought later.

Will not the process of endorsing the issues for now through a majority vote complicate matters? Will it not increase the chances of derailing the process?

I have also been for consensus on the major issues from the very beginning. But the Maoists alone cannot make that possible. The Nepali Congress (NC) in particular has clung to the same old parliamentary model, though the other political parties are flexible on the issue. I believe both sides will backtrack from their respective stances and find a middle point.

What will be the middle ground?

As we are adopting federalism, we will definitely give substantial powers to the local governments. So it will be better to adopt a system of direct election of the president for a strong and stable government. I was the coordinator of the committee formed to draft our election manifesto during the CA election, and we had floated direct election of the president. As a student of political economy, I think we cannot develop the national economy without a stable government. So we have to go for direct election of the president.

We also cannot reach an agreement if each of the parties sticks to its own demand. So, the last phase of discussions is focused on a mixed model of popularly-elected president and a parliament-elected prime minister who will share power. Some have also floated direct election of the prime minister. But the model is not so much in practice and I don´t think it will be appropriate for Nepal.

There have been concerns that the system you have proposed will lead to regime crisis due to tussle for power between the parliament-elected prime minister and directly elected president?

The system is working well in France; it is also in practice in Sri Lanka. So, it is not a model that doesn´t work. There are challenges in every system. What we need is a stable government that can take important decisions.

There must be constitutional checks and balances to stop a president from turning into an arbitrary ruler. We can formulate mechanisms to prevent a president from becoming despotic.

It will take time for us to adapt to democratic culture as we have passed through feudal, despotic rule. There have been massive changes in the people´s awareness level brought about by the 60-year long (democratic) movement, and decade-long insurgency.

There are problems, but I am optimistic. The way the Nepali society has changed over the years means we can overcome the new ordeals.

Let´s change the topic. To what extent has your party supported you?

I have got the party´s support till date. Due to internal disputes, one political group within our party could not participate in the government. As the party has been united again by the last central committee meeting, we will reshuffle the government to accommodate the political group that is outside the government now.

We will also induct other parties into the government to create an environment for concluding the peace process and constitution drafting.

But there are reports of behind-the-door exercise to change the government. Is it not true?

I don´t see the possibility of change in government leadership. History will not pardon anyone if the next four months are spent changing the government as in the past three or four years. It is not good to play the game of government shuffling.

I believe that there will be a national consensus government under my leadership which will lead the peace and constitution drafting process.

But the leaders of your won party are demanding your resignation.

Such statements are made just for public consumption. The truth is that nobody is in favor of my resignation. Changing the government now will have negative consequences.

Were you not mindful of the consequences of legalizing land transactions done under the arbitration of your party during the conflict period?

It was not an issue to be blown up and used for disrupting the peace and constitution drafting process.

There were informal land transaction papers signed during the conflict period, which were not legally binding. So we had to solve the problem. But that led to unnecessary misunderstanding. The people´s government has already been dissolved, so there is no point in reviving it.

Following the objections from the parties, we had clearly stated that the decision would not be implemented. Let´s make an alternative arrangement to solve the problem of land transaction and I will withdraw the decision. I have already proposed that during a three-party meeting.

The student wing of your own party forced a shutdown against your decision to hike the price of petroleum products. How do you take that?

It is very unfortunate. We import all our petroleum products from abroad and it is our largest import. We imported petroleum products worth Rs 75 billion last year and the figure may reach Rs 100 billion this year. The government provides around Rs 2 billion in subsidy every month, which adds up to Rs 20 billion. How can we run the state, giving Rs 20 billion as subsidy for petroleum products? We could invest that money in a hydro plant generating 100-150 megawatt.

It is unfortunate that there is no tradition of talking to students this way. The price hike led to a kind of competition among the student organizations. The energy of youths should rather be directed toward safeguarding the political achievements made so far and moving on ahead.

The government has filed a petition at the Supreme Court (SC) to reconsider its earlier decision against any CA term extension. What will happen if the CA term is not extended and the peace and constitution drafting process doesn´t move ahead?

We must formulate a constitution within the deadline and I don´t want to guess the consequences of failing to do so. The government has filed the petition not just for the extension of the CA. The SC decision was flawed; it violated the principle of separation of powers and of the jurisdictions of the executive and legislature. So the petition was filed demanding a review.

The members of the State Restructuring Commission nominated by the NC and UML have stated that they will not agree to any decision taken by majority vote and there seem to be sharp differences whether or not the Commission should recommend ethnicity-based federalism. How will the government resolve the dispute?

It is not consensus if you put forward your rigid stance and ask for the others´ consent. There can be an alternative under which the members can send their individual recommendations on contentious issue. We would also like to tell the Commission that the final decision will be taken by the CA. Such disputes are not necessary and I have already said so to the Commission members.

What is your take on ethnicity-based federalism?

Ethnic, regional and linguistic differences and socio-economic capability will be the basis for state restructuring and there is consensus on this. It is already settled that identity will be taken as the primary factor and capability as a secondary factor. There is no need for further debate on the issue.

Is it possible to promulgate the constitution while putting the contentious issues on hold?

Why do that? State restructuring along the lines of federalism will be an integral part of the soon-to-be-drafted constitution. The new constitution should be promulgated in its entirity.
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