GOVT. EFFORT TO END EXTENDED FAR-WEST REGION CLOSURE SATURDAY Kathmandu, 12 May: Negotiators from government and nine districts of the far-West demanding a greater united region opposing Maoist plans to bifurcate the region are being held in the capital Saturday after the arrival Friday of a 22-member negotiating. The three-member government ministerial negotiating team is headed by Deputy Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Shitaula. The extended regional protest tuned violent Friday. More than three dozen persons were injured in prolonged clashes Friday as Tharus demanding a separate province incorporating Kailali and Kanchanur clashed with activists of greater far-West region. The extended closedown of the region has created shortages of essentials in the region. nnnn NEPALI WOMEN BOXERS Kathmandu, 12 May: Women boxers Saraswati Rana and Dina Gurung will compete Saturday in the AIBA Women World Boxing Championship in Qinhuangdan, China. Rana from Armed Police Force ( APG) is participating in the 60kg category and Gurung in the 75kg weight cattgory. Rana and Gurung are hopefuls for the London Olympics 2012. nnnn. NPC PLAYS INDIA’S MOHAN BAGAN IN FRIENDLY MATCH Kathmandu, 12 May; Nepal Police Club (NPC) will play Mohan Bagan, an old Indian club, in a friendly match at Dashrath Ranghashala in the capital Saturday. National League Champion NPC lifted the British Gurkha Cup last month. nnnn : SOUTH KOREA SENDS BACK 18 WORKERS WITH FAKE PASSPORTS Kathmandu, 12 May: South Korea — the most lucrative job destination for Nepali foreign job aspirants — barred 18 Employment Permit System (EPS) workers from entering the country in 2012, The Himalayan Times reports. They were asked to return from the airport as their passports were found to be fake, said EPS Nepal. According to EPS Nepal, South Korea expelled two job aspirants in January followed by two in February, three in March, nine in April and two in May. “The highest number of EPS workers using fake passports was found in April,” it said, adding that the case also included reentry to South Korea by using different passports. South Korea does not accept EPS aspirants who have previously worked as illegal migrants and does not allow them to reenter the job market. Nepalis working in South Korea earn about $ 1,000 (Rs 84,000) which is at least four times more than other popular job destinations — Gulf countries and Malaysia. The average salary in Gulf countries is around $ 250 (Rs 21,000) and in Malaysia it is $ 300 (Rs 25,200) according to the recently hiked minimum wage in those destinations. About 8,000 Nepalis have been working in South Korea under the EPS hiring system which began in 2008. About 12,000 Nepalis who passed the Test of Proficiency in Korea are waiting for their turn to be hired. nnnn 45 INJURED IN KALALI CLASHES Kathmandu, 12 May: Tension reigned supreme in Kailali today after clashes broke out between supporters calling for undivided far-west and Tharu activists pitching for a separate state for them. More than 45 people were injured, Shivaraj Bhatta writes in The Himalayan Times from Dhangadi.. Clashes flared up after undivided far-west campaigners torched a tractor carrying Tharu activists who were heading to Dhangadhi to take part in a mass meeting. The far-west region, which has been bearing the brunt of a long-drawn strike by those pressing for undivided far-west for the last 15 days, saw the issue of federalism taking an ugly turn today. The Joint Tharu Struggle Committee today had slated a mass meeting in Dhangadhi calling all the Tharus living west of Chitwan to participate. The first clash occurred when undivided far-west campaigners stopped Tharus from heading to Dhangadhi from Kanchanpur near Trinagar on the Nepal-India border. Scores of Tharu activists were injured, four — Raj Kumar Rana, Basmati Rana and Lamani Rana of Kanchanpur and Janakraj Awasthi —seriously. They have been admitted to Seti Zonal Hospital. And another clash followed in which six policemen, five of those supporting undivided far-west and nine Tharu activists were injured at Muda Bazaar in Kota Tulsipur VDC along the Mahendra Highway after undivided far-west supporters torched a tractor belonging to Tharus. Labli Kunwar, Saraswati Kunwar, Patak Shahi and Jagat BK of undivided far-west campaigners and Jayaraj Chaudhary, Suresh Chaudhary and Pujanlal Chaudhary of Tharu activists were wounded in the clash. Suresh Chaudhary (27) of Baliya, Gidhiniya has received serious injury on his head, said a Tharu activist Madhav Chaudhary. He has been referred to Nepalgunj for further treatment. DSP Dhansingh Airee and other policemen who were also hurt in the clash are undergoing treatment at Sukhad-based Ghodaghodi Hospital and Lamki-based Lalratna Hospital. TJSC had earlier slated a mass meet at Traffic Chowk in Dhangadhi, but supporters of undivided far-west descended on the area in huge numbers as early as 8:00 am and occupied the place, in the biggest demonstration by them so far. As a group of Tharu youth were marching towards the site where they had slated their programme earlier, police lobbed tear gas shells and charged baton. TJSC then decided to hold their programme at Park Chowk in Dhangadhi. Yet another clash erupted between the two groups in Mahendranagar, Kanchanpur, this evening. Police fired three rounds of tear-gas shells. Despite clashes at different places, Tharus succeeded in holding their programme. Tharu leaders, including Raj Kumar Lekhi, Laxman Chaudhary, Hari Chaudhary and Horilal Chaudhary, addressed the programme. Laxman Tharu has been reported to have been injured after police roughed him up when he reached Seti Zonal Hospital to enquire about other injured. The local administration had deployed around 1,500 security personnel in Dhangadhi today in view of possible clashes. nnnn UML CHIEF KHAMAL VENTS IRE AT UML LAWMAKERS FOR ETHNIC PROVINCES Kathmandu,12 May: CPN-UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal has strictly instructed the party lawmakers to abide by the party decisions and instructions while voting on issues of the constitution in the Constituent Assembly and warned them of stringent disciplinary actions if they breached the party´s directives, Tirtha L. Bhusal writes in Republica.. Khanal while issuing directives to CPN-UML lawmakers at the party´s parliamentary party meeting on Friday morning came down heavily on members lobbying for ethnicity-based federalism. "UML lawmakers involved in campaigns that are against the party´s stated policies and decisions will be subjected to disciplinary actions. If needed, the party will not hesitate to take harsh decision and no member will be spared," a lawmaker present at the meeting quoted Khanal as saying. Taking strong exception to some UML lawmakers´ involvement in the campaign for identity-based federalism, Khanal presented himself quite aggressively at the meeting. "The harsh language our party chairman used at the meeting is quite unusual," the lawmaker said. "It seemed that he was annoyed by some of our friends´ activities in favor of caste-based federalism," said a lawmaker. He issued clear instructions to UML lawmakers to cast votes for mixed-ethnic model of federal system in which provinces will be named after multicultural identity and not on the identity of a single caste. He informed that the UML standing committee´s latest decision is to stand for eight-province model based on common identity of mixed identities such as Gandaki-Tamuwan-Magarat and not singular identity such as Tamuwan or Magarat. Khanal said the party will take initiatives to incorporate the eight-province model into the list of questions to be voted on in the CA. If the new provisions are not incorporated into the list and the voting is conducted only on the provisions proposed by the CA thematic committees, the UML will vote for the six-province model on federalism. The majority of the CA´s state restructuring committee passed the Maoist-proposed 14-province model while the NC-proposed six-province model has been incorporated as a proposal voted by the minority in the thematic committee. "The chairman has clearly instructed us to vote for eight province if it is included in the list. If not, we will vote for six province but we are not allowed to vote for 14-province model or any other ethnicity-based federal model," said UML´s Krishna Prasad Sapkota. On system of governance, Khanal directed the party lawmakers to stand for the UML´s official proposal in which the directly-elected prime minister will be the chief executive head of the government and the parliament-elected president will be ceremonial head of the state. The chairman told the lawmakers that the UML will not vote for the directly-elected executive president at any cost. Khanal expressed his anger at the party´s parliamentary party meeting a day after a group of UML lawmakers allied with leaders from Madhes-based political parties, Maoists and other caste-based groups vowing to fight for ethnicity-based federalism. He took strong exception to the statement signed by some UML lawmakers including Prithivi Subba Gurung, Kiran Gurung, Ranadhwoj Limbu, Dal Bahadur Rana and Bhagawati Chaudhary along with Maoist and Madhesh-based parties on Thursday. They vowed to fight for delineating independent provinces based on singular identities such as Limbuwan, Khumbuwan, Magarat, Tamuwan. "I have a strong objection against the act of UML lawmakers joining such a movement and expressing their commitment in writing to fight for caste-based federalism even as we have rejected it. I direct the UML party rank and file to shun such activities otherwise the party will obviously take a disciplinary action against those involved in such activities," a leader quoted him as saying. According to the leader, Khanal was seriously annoyed because the UML lawmakers joined hands with the Maoists and Madhes-based political parties with whom the UML has had a bitter relationship in national politics. "Had there been alliance with some social groups, it may have been tolerable for the chairman," said the leader. Nnnn BIG PARTIES FACE CHALLEGE ON MAINTAINING DISCIPLINE DURING VOTING ON FEDERATION Kathmandu, 12 May: While a large number of lawmakers who have grouped themselves under different ethnic, women as well as other caucuses in the Constituent Assembly (CA) have challenged to defy party directives if they feel the directives go against their respective communities the major political parties differ over whether CA members are bound to follow the party whips, Republic writes. While the UCPN (Maoist), the largest party in the CA, has said the lawmakers are free to cast their votes on various provisions of the new constitution as per their conviction, leader from the Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN UML have said lawmakers are obviously bound to abide by the instruction of their respective parties. Maoist Chief Whip Dev Gurung said though the lawmakers must follow their respective parties’ whips when it is issued in connection with the business of parliament, the same lawmakers in their role as CA members are not compelled to follow party whips. “Party whip is applicable only in legislature-parliament but not in CA. So all lawmakers are free to ast their votes as per their own independent conviction,” Gurung told Republica. However, NC Chief Whip Laxman Ghimire and UML Chief Whip Bhim Achaya differ with Gurung. Both the leadersargued that a lawmaker elected from a particular party’s ticket must obey his/her party’s decision and instructions. “How can a party member elected through votes cast for a particular party and election symbol can disassociate himself from the party’s decisions and instructions?” argued Ghimire. Acharya echoed Ghimire. Any organized member of UML as per the party’s basic rules is bound to abide by each and every decision of the party. “So these issues fall under the broader political discipline and there should be no confusion at all,” he explained. However, he was quick to add that leader from the parties will struggle till the end to avoid voting as it would invited intra-party divisions. He said the leaders are not for imposing whips on lawmakers as far as possible. However, UML lawmakers Prithvi Subba Gurung, who also heads a cross-party caucus, said they are not obliged to abide by the party whips in the CA. “Representation from ethnic communities in the CA was deemed necessary because party representatives alone are not enough,” Gurung told Republica adding that lawmakers must not be confined only to party rules Nnnn