MAOIST DISPUTE; MOHAN BAIDHYA FORMING JOINTFRONT THURSDAY WITH SMALL PARTY SUPPORT

MAOIST DISPUTE
MOHAN BAIDHYA FORMING JOINTFRONT WITH SMALL PARTIES
Kathmandu, 22 March: Mohan Badhya group is forming a joint front by joining hands with small parties, Annapurna Post reports.
A meeting with parties at the office of Maoist Class Organizations Wednesday at Kupamdole, Lalitpur, decided to form the frost; amongst the parties present were
those headed parties of Matrika Yadav and Mani Thapa.
A meeting Thursday will decide the front’s name, leadership and network.
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BIMALENDRA NIDHI DEFIES WHIPORDER NOT TO LEAVE THE CAPITAL
athmandu, 22 March: Senior NC leader Bimalendra Nidhi and lawmaker left
for a Scandinavian country this week despite a party whip ordering lawmakers
not to leave the country duringa fluid ituation.
Chief Whip Laxman Ghimere said while issuing the whip said a meeting of
parliament could be called on short notice to vote on major issues and asked
members of parliament not to leave the capital until 27 May..
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UN PRESENTS CRITICAL NEPAL RIGHTS REPORT AT INTERNATIONAL MEET
Kathmandu, 22 March:: United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Wednesday warned that Nepal would be placed in the list of those breaching international treaty obligations if the country goes for amnesty for conflict, The Kathmandu Post.
era crimes, The Kathmandu, Post reports.
Pillay was presenting a report to the 19th session of the United Nation Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva. All those who spoke after Pillay presented the report expressed concern about the recent political agreement between major parties in Nepal to go for amnesty on crimes committed during the conflict through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Commission of Inquiry into Disappearances.
UK and Swiss representatives at the HRC echoed Pillay and urged Nepal’s political parties to make sure that the transitional justice mechanisms meet the international standards.
The representatives also said the closure of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal was unfortunate as many things remain to be done. They urged the Nepali government to cooperate with the OHCHR headquarters in Geneva to complete the unfinished business on the human rights front. Speakers also questioned the delay by Nepal in formulating a specific law on witness protection as promised during the Universal Periodic Review last year. Nepal’s Permanent Representative to the HRC in Geneva, Shankar Bairagi, said bills, including on the TRC, Disappearence Commission and witness protection, are in the process of discussion.
The report presented to the HRC said Nepal’s peace process continues to move ahead, although slowly. It added that some progress has been made in improving human rights. The most significant step, according to the report, is
the passage of the new Untouchability Act.
However, it pointed out that some obstacles remain in ensuring the human rights framework. “Lack of accountability for human rights violations, whether perpetrated during the conflict or after, remains entrenched. During the year, there were moves to withdraw cases from courts and efforts to provide amnesties and pardons, including within the framework of future transitional justice mechanisms”, the report said.
It also urged “the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms consistent with international standards and ensuring that national human rights institutions are based on legislation that is fully consistent with the Paris Principles and able to properly fulfill their respective mandates”. The report further urged the government “to ensure that cases of serious human rights violations move expeditiously through the criminal justice system without political interference in the work of the judiciary. Furthermore, political efforts to withdraw such cases from prosecution, or to allow for amnesties or pardons of such cases, must cease”.
Major concerns
Recent understanding to go for general amnesty
Withdrawal of criminal cases in breach of laws
Delay in formulation of laws on witness protection
Impunity still endemic
Not a single perpetrator of HR violence has been punished
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MAOIST COMMANDERS ASKED TO STAY IN CAPITAL
Kathmandu, 22 March: UCPN (Maoist) has asked top PLA commanders to remain in the Capital until a breakthrough in the army integration process, The Kathmandu Post reports.
Around four dozen commanders, including the heads of seven divisions, were invited to Kathmandu by Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal last week. Commanders of all the seven divisions are still in the Capital, awaiting a decision on the peace process, according to PLA Spokesperson Chandra Prakash Khanal “Baldev.”
“The party leadership has told us that they will hold discussions with us before finalising the deal. The commanders will return to their stations once there is agreement on the integration process,” Khanal said. According to him, junior commanders have returned to their respective cantonments.
The commanders have been piling pressure on the party leadership to ensure one post of a brigadier general, who will be pensioned off after the integration process moves positively ahead. Dahal has said that conferring a rank of a colonel on the PLA would end the stalemate on the ranks to be offered to the combatants.
While the Maoists are demanding two colonels and six lieutenant colonels in the Nepal Army’s general directorate, opposition parties have said they can only provide one colonel’s post to the combatants.
NC leader and Special Committee member Ram Sharan Mahat said there has been no agreement to confer the ranks on combatants through a political decision. “We are saying that the Maoists should immediately start the integration process. We can demonstrate flexibility once they enter the process,” he said. “Bargaining on ranks without first starting the integration process is unacceptable to us,” he added.
Meanwhile, the prime minister-led Special Committee is scheduled to meet on Thursday to discuss the integration process.
“Prachanda must take a firm decision. He adopts policies to appease hardliners in his party,” Mahat said. “We have to seek an alternative to the current government if the deadlock over integration continues.”
PLA Spokesperson Khanal, who is also a member of the Special Committee Secretariat, said chances of breakthrough in Thursday’s meeting are slim.
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DETAILS OF BAIDHYA, PRACHANDA MEET

Kathmandu, 22 March:
The dissenting faction of the ruling UCPN-Maoist has turned down the reconciliatory offer of the establishment faction to hold a Central Committee (CC) meeting and resolve the newly surfaced differences between the two factions, The Rising Nepal reports.
"I told the chairman that there is no use of holding another CC meeting in the context that the decisions of the previous CC meets have been put in limbo," Maoist senior vice-chairman Mohan Baidhya Kiran, who leads the dissenting faction, informed the reporters after he met with Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ at the latter’s residence in Lazimpat on Wednesday.
Kiran had reached Prachanda’s residence after holding a meeting with leaders behind him at Kupondole-based office of the Newa state committee of the party.
Earlier, on Tuesday the CC meeting of the establishment faction had decided to call the CC meet of the party to sort out problems and keep party unity. The meeting had entrusted the chairman with responsibility to hold discussions with Kiran and fix the date of formal CC meet.
The chairman informed me about the decisions of the meeting of his thought group and asked me for the date of the CC meet and I responded that if the CC was for resolving the present problems by implementing the previous CC decisions, it is ok otherwise calling the CC will be just meaningless, Kiran said after the hour-long meeting.
He, however, said that he would hold discussions with the other leaders (of his thought group) and inform the chairman about holding the formal CC meet.
Kiran said that his faction still upheld the five agenda it raised in the recent press meet. The faction had on Saturday organized a press meet to announce it policy of mass mobilization for dignified army integration, pro-people constitution, people’s democracy, people’s livelihood and consensus government.
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BIG THREE COMMITTED TO ENDRACIAL DISCRIMINATION
Kathmandu, 22 March: Senior leaders of big three political parties Wednesday expressed their solidarity and commitment to address the genuine demands and issues of dalit
community in the new constitution, The Rising Nepal reports.
Chairman of UCPN-Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dhahal ‘Prachanda’, CPN-UML Chairman, Jhalanath Khanal and Vice-president of Nepali Congress, Ramchandra Poudel expressed their joint commitments in 20-point demands forwarded to the leaders at a function organized to mark the 47th International Racial Discrimination Elimination.
The function was organized by Joint Dalit Political Struggle Committee.
The 20-point demands include ending racial discrimination in practical life, 10 per cent extra reservation seats for dalits and adoption of inclusive policy while recruiting employees in government offices, and among others.
Addressing the function, Chairman Prachanda stressed joint commitment and solidarity against ending racial and caste-based discriminations for the freedom of dalit community.
Prachanda said that both racial and caste-based discriminations could be abolished within a month if the political parties came up with joint commitment for the same.
He also voiced for having the provision of special rights for real freedom and independence of Dalit community.
CPN-UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal said that the racial discrimination

could be abolished from the country within 25 years. Political parties have no other option to write a new constitution within May 27, he added.
NC leader Poudel said that racial discrimination could be abolished within a year. Dalits need increased representations in decision making positions and political posts. Socio-economic agendas cannot be separated from politics, he added.
"Racial discrimination could be abolished from the country if the political parties and concerned stakeholders initiated a grassroots level campaign against discriminations, " Poudel said.
General Secretary of CPN-ML CP Mainali said that dalit community alone cannot address the problems of dalit freedom as it needs equal efforts from political parties.
Lawmaker and member of Joint Dalit Political Struggle Committee Khadga Bahadur Basyal said that new constitution should not discard the genuine issues and demands of the dalit community.
Earlier, different seven sister organizations affiliated to the struggle committee, different dalit NGOs, human rights organizations and dalit student unions organized a rally in the capital.
The rally was converged into discussion meeting after going around the city.
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TRANSPORT ENTREPRENEURS TOLD TO ABIDE BY
11-POINT DIRECTIVE

Kathmandu, 22 March: With the increase in the public transport fare, the government has urged the transport entrepreneurs to strictly abide by the 11-point directive on transport, RSS reports.
The Department of Transport Management increased the public transportation fare by 4.25 to 8.14 per cent effective from Tuesday as per the scientific standard of the transport fare prepared two years back.
Even the transport entrepreneurs were pressing government to hike the fare following the recent price hike in the price of petroleum products.
After the hike in transport fare, the bus and micro bus operative in Kathmandu Valley and in the short-route have increased the fare by 58 paisa in the existing minimum fare. However, the transport
entrepreneurs began taking more than the specified increment.
The government has urged the entrepreneurs to compulsorily post the fare hike rate in the vehicle, manage minimum two helpers to driver in

the long-route bus, said Spokesperson at the Department, Buddhi Bahadur Khadka.
Similarly, as per the 11-point directive, the transport entrepreneurs need to compulsorily provide discount to students, arrange seats to disabled persons with discount on fare, pay transportation tax on time, not to overload the vehicle, and provide tickets to the long-route passengers.
The driver and helpers to him must bear identity card, and heed minimization of road accidents.
Earlier, the government had hiked the bus fare in September, taxi fare in October and truck fare in November.
Meanwhile, the Department of Transport Management said the number of new vehicles registered before mid November is 1.2 million across the country.
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