PM BHATTARAI RETRACTS GOVT. DECISION UPDATE

PM BHATTARAI RETRACTS GOVT. DECISION UPDATE
Kathmandu, 22 Jan.: Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai assured top leader of the
Big Three Sunday morning government won’t implement a decision to legalize a
decision to legitimize decisions of Maoist parallel governments to; seize assets durilng the 10-year insurgency.
The move has been opposed by 17 parties.
Bhattarai took the decision even as he and party Chairman defended the decision in Chitwan Saturday.
The government chef asked parties to cooperate to write a constitution and conclude the peace process.
Opposition Sunday obstructed parliament for the third successive time Sunday protesting the government decision and asking the ruling parties to correct the official decision.
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.DIG KOIRALA ARRESTED, CONFESSES KILLING WIFE
Kathmandu, 22 Jan.: APF DIG Ranjan Koirala confessed to killing his
wife who had gone missing, Kantipur FM reports.
Koirala has been taken to Kathamandu district court after his arrest from Thankot Sunday.
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PROTESTS CONTINUE AGAINST PRICE HIKE
Kathmandu, 22 Jan. Student protests against government hike in prices of POL continued in the capital and rest of the country Sunday.
A vehicle was vandalized in the capital.
Protests were held in front of government campuses in the capital for one hour from nine in the morning.
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UML CHIEF KHANAL SPEAK
Kathmandu, 22 Jan.:: CPN-UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal has said his party was not against the peace and constitution drafting process, RSS reports from Ilam..
Speaking in a news conference organized by the Press Chautari, Ilam chapter this morning, he said the UCPN (Maoist) being the largest party in the Constituent Assembly (CA) should play an important role in concluding the peace process and the constitution writing.
The UML chairman also called on the Maoist to honestly implement the past agreements with other parties. Khanal said accomplishing the task of peace and constitution writing in the remaining four and half months’ time is the need of the nation.
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MEDIA GOOGLE
"He is a very good friend of mine so the meeting with him was personal, not an official one.o say that it would have been alright to officially meet Menon at his office.
Even if it had been an official meeting, it would not have mattered as Menon is a very important person of the Indian government. One should not think that only ministers and deputy prime ministers are seniors. We should hold some meetings rising above the issue of protocol."
(Deputy Prime Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachedhar, The Kathmandu Post, 22 Jan.)
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14 SATELLITE CAMP CLOSURE RECOMENDED
Kathmandu, 22 Jan.: The Secretariat of the prime minister-led Special Committee has suggested vacating at least 14 satellite cantonments sites housing the former Maoist combatants by bidding farewell to those opting for voluntary retirement, Phanindra Dahal writes in The Kathmandu
The proposal recommends relocating the combatants choosing integration into seven main and seven satellite cantonments after the farewell process is carried out. Currently 9,705 combatants opting for integration and 7,365 combatants choosing voluntary retirement live inside the seven main and 21 satellite camps located across the country.
Maoist representatives have registered their reservation on the proposal prepared by the Secretariat last month. They have obstructed the farewell process stressing that issues like rank determination and bridge course should be settled at the political level before dealing those “technical issues.”
The proposal backed by the non-Maoist representatives of the Secretariat recommends continuing one main and one satellite cantonment in seven places for combatants opting for integration.
The proposal says each of the camps can accommodate 500 to 750 combatants and recommends that the government hire buses for shifting the combatants to the selected camps. If the recommendation is endorsed by the Special Committee, satellite camps located in Yaangsila and Danabari under the First Division of the PLA, Ilam will be vacated.
Similarly, Belsot and Ranibas under the Second Division (Sindhuli), Bhutaha and Rashauli under the Third Division (Chitwan) and Saina Maina and
Ramnagar under the Fourth Division (Nawalparasi) will be vacated after the discharge process.
Satellite cantonments located in Masina and Gairigau under the Fifth Division (Rolpa), Gumi and Kholtepani under the Sixth Division (Surkhet) and Gorange and Sahajpur under the Seventh Division (Kailali) will be non-existent.
Discussions are going in the Special Committee Secretariat that the land housing the camps can be handed over to the government or the rightful owners.
The proposal submitted to the Special Committee on December 21 states that the satellite cantonments should be handed over to the Nepal Army (NA) or the Armed Police Force (APF). The cantonments and installations inside them, if located in barren land, can be presented to the NA or the APF.
The Secretariat has recommended that the Special Committee ask each of the seven main cantonment sites to furnish details of the land, houses, electricity and drinking water inside it.
It also recommends that the government acquire weapon storage containers once the process of integration of combatants into the NA progresses.
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22 FAMILIES WAITING FOR TO COLLECT BODIES OF LOVED ONES
Kathmandu, 22 Jan.: Nearly 70 bodies of Nepali migrant workers are waiting in various Gulf countries and Malaysia to be repatriated back to Nepal. Most of these countries require exit visa even for a body, RGOshan Sedhan writes in The Kathmandu Post..
Statistics at the Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) show that 50 bodies are awaiting exit visa from Saudi Arabia, while 20 bodies are lying in Malaysia, the UAE and other countries.
The Saudi Arabia law bars repatriation of corpses without the no-objection certificate from the government while others are awaiting court’s order to that effect, according to Foreign Employment Promotion Board (FEPB).
Sthaneshwor Devokta, the executive director of FEPB, said hurdles in bringing the bodies include anonymity of employers, police cases and court cases faced by the workers before death.
“The legal process to bring a corpse home is complicated and it delays the process,” said Devkota. It is mandatory for respective employers to take ownership of the body before getting the government’s permission for repatriation.
Many migrant workers leave their original employer due to various reasons. This puts them in a legal limbo as labour laws in most of these countries forbid change in employment without permission from the original employer. “Besides bodies of workers who were illegal, corpses of those killed in road accidents face a lengthy legal procedure for repatriation,” said Devkota.
According to MRC, workers’ own faults or ignorance expose them to greater risks. The MRC is responsible for bringing home the body of a migrant worker.
According to officials, it costs around Rs 150,000 to bring a body from Malaysia, Qatar and the UAE, and around Rs 500,000 from Korea.
The latest report of the Department of Foreign Employment shows most deaths occur due to murder, suicide, road accident and workplace accident.
Stakeholders say amendment to the law governing migrant workers in host countries, proper orientation to workers before their foreign trip and legalisation of illegal migrants can benefit the foreign job seekers.
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