INDIGENOUS LEADERS SEE CHALLENGES AFTER 9-POINT DEAL Kathmandu, 24 May: A day after Indigenous Nationalities Joint Struggle Committee and government signed a nine-point agreement that promised to introduce the issues raised by the committee--including their demand for ethnicity-based federalism--in the Constituent Assembly (CA), leaders from indigenous nationalities said that they still see challenges ahead to establish their agendas, Gani Ansari writes in Republica.. "We have just entered into a process. Political parties have agreed to take up our issues, but it has to be addressed at the Constituent Assembly," ethnic rights activist Malla K Sundar told Republica. [breakl] He stated that they are not ready to term the nine-point agreement as an achievement in view of the opposition of Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML to the formation of single identity-based federal provinces as promised in the Tuesday´s agreement. "This is the time to see whether or not NC and UML will come out in support of the aspiration of indigenous peoples, Madhesis, and other backward communities that constitute 70 percent of the population of the country," Sundar said. General Secretary of Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (Nefin) Aang Kaji Sherpa said they were aware of the government´s poor record when it came to implementing agreements. "We have signed agreement with the government in past as well, but they have not been implemented," said Sherpa, adding, "We will launch struggle programs, especially, to exert pressure on NC and CPN-UML." Sundar said that they have not concluded their struggle programs yet. "Though we have called off our general strike, our movement is still going on." When asked about their victory rally in the capital, a day after signing of the agreement with the government, Sundar sought to downplay it as a gathering held to inform peoples about the nine-point agreement. Chairman of Tamsaling Nepal Rastriya Dal Parshuram Tamang, on the other hand, is hopeful about the fulfillment of their demands. "We [indigenous and Madhesi lawmakers] have strong position in the CA. Ultimately, NC and CPN-UML will be compelled to address our demands," said Tamang, adding, "If they don´t address our concerns, they´ll lose their existence." Chairman of Nefin Rajkumar Lekhi said he was not satisfied with Tuesday´s agreement saying it did not incorporate all of their demands. "I did not sign the nine-point agreement as I had some reservations," Lekhi added. According to Nefin, the umbrella organization of Indigenous nationalities, indigenous people constitutes 37.2 percent of the total population of the country. As per the organization´s record, there are 18 nationalities in the Himalayan regions, 19 in the Hilly region, 11 in the Tarai region amd 8 nationalities in the inner Tarai region. nnnn ________________________________________ INTERVIEWS INDIGENOUS LEADERS SEE CHALLENGES AFTER 9-POINT DEAL Kathmandu, 24 May: A day after Indigenous Nationalities Joint Struggle Committee and government signed a nine-point agreement that promised to introduce the issues raised by the committee--including their demand for ethnicity-based federalism--in the Constituent Assembly (CA), leaders from indigenous nationalities said that they still see challenges ahead to establish their agendas, Gani Ansari writes in Republica.. "We have just entered into a process. Political parties have agreed to take up our issues, but it has to be addressed at the Constituent Assembly," ethnic rights activist Malla K Sundar told Republica. [breakl] He stated that they are not ready to term the nine-point agreement as an achievement in view of the opposition of Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML to the formation of single identity-based federal provinces as promised in the Tuesday´s agreement. "This is the time to see whether or not NC and UML will come out in support of the aspiration of indigenous peoples, Madhesis, and other backward communities that constitute 70 percent of the population of the country," Sundar said. General Secretary of Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (Nefin) Aang Kaji Sherpa said they were aware of the government´s poor record when it came to implementing agreements. "We have signed agreement with the government in past as well, but they have not been implemented," said Sherpa, adding, "We will launch struggle programs, especially, to exert pressure on NC and CPN-UML." Sundar said that they have not concluded their struggle programs yet. "Though we have called off our general strike, our movement is still going on." When asked about their victory rally in the capital, a day after signing of the agreement with the government, Sundar sought to downplay it as a gathering held to inform peoples about the nine-point agreement. Chairman of Tamsaling Nepal Rastriya Dal Parshuram Tamang, on the other hand, is hopeful about the fulfillment of their demands. "We [indigenous and Madhesi lawmakers] have strong position in the CA. Ultimately, NC and CPN-UML will be compelled to address our demands," said Tamang, adding, "If they don´t address our concerns, they´ll lose their existence." Chairman of Nefin Rajkumar Lekhi said he was not satisfied with Tuesday´s agreement saying it did not incorporate all of their demands. "I did not sign the nine-point agreement as I had some reservations," Lekhi added. According to Nefin, the umbrella organization of Indigenous nationalities, indigenous people constitutes 37.2 percent of the total population of the country. As per the organization´s record, there are 18 nationalities in the Himalayan regions, 19 in the Hilly region, 11 in the Tarai region amd 8 nationalities in the inner Tarai region. nnnn ________________________________________ ________________________________________ NO NEED TO EXTEND CA SAYS MOHAN BAIDYA The government has registered a bill seeking yet another extension of the Constituent Assembly term. What will be your position on the bill if put to vote? We will discuss this issue with all the parties. We will also ask the chairman (Pushpa Kamal Dahal) and Baburam (prime minister) why they took the decision without discussing the issue in the party and without garnering support from other parties. We will then decide our move. In your opinion, should the CA term be extended? There is no reason to extend the CA term unless there is any change in the existing situation. If the term extension was necessary, the UCPN (Maoist) should have consulted other political parties and worked out a political solution. There should be no confusion that we are for a pro-people constitution. So, they should have sought views from other parties. Unfortunately, they did not. What would be the alternative to term extension? Let us find out an alternative to term extension through consultation with other parties. We should find out a political solution through consensus. So, should the CA be dissolved? Seeking alternative should not mean dissolution of CA. There is a need for consensus among all parties. How can the term be extended without consulting other parties? If Chairman Dahal decides to move ahead without your support, what will be your faction´s move? I do not want to say what we would do in that situation without consulting my comrades. But, it is necessary for us to take our position on the issue soon. nnnn ________________________________________ THARUS CALL OF BANDH WITH 10-POINT AGREEMENT WITH GOVT. Kathmandu, 24 May: The banda imposed in 22 Tarai districts for 21 days has come to an end after the government inked a 10-point agreement with the agitating Tharu Joint Struggle Committee (TJSC) on Wednesday, RSS reports. The TJSC called off all protest programmes including the banda (general shutdown) after the agreement. Talks team coordinator from government side Minister for Peace and Reconstruction, Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, said the 10 point agreement made with the TJSC would be incorporated in the new constitution which would ensure the rights of Tharu people. The struggles waged for rights could be addressed through dialogue, he added. As per the agreement, proportional and inclusive electoral system would be adopted with minimum 60 percent in the proportional system while 40 in the direct election; proportional and inclusive representation based on the ethnic and gender population would be ensured in each state body. Similarly, constitution would be promulgated by May 27 with the federalism based on ethnic identity. Those detained by the police in course of struggle would be released unconditionally, cases against them, if any, scrapped, and injured ones provided free treatment by the government. The government would provide monetary assistance to the Tharu museum as compensation for the vandalism. TJSC talks team coordinator Chandra Bahadur Tharu said the talks with government was very positive and the Nepal banda called in the name of TJSC was called off to implement the agreement from today. Peace Minister Rayamajhi, and Minister for General Administration Surya Man Gurung signed from government side while various Tharu leaders and Constituent Assembly members including Chandra Bahadur signed from the TSC side. Nnnn MINIMUM TEMPERATURE 20 DEGREES CELSIUS IN CAPITAL Kathmandu, 24 May: The minimum temperature of 20 degrees Celsius was recorded in the capital Wednesday morning. The mercury will hit 32 degrees Celsius in the afternoon as summer sets in. NEPALI RUPEE SLIDES AGAINST US DOLLAR Kathmandu, 24 May: The Nepali rupee has hit new low against the US dollar. Nepal Rashtra Bank (NRB) fixed the floating exchange rate at Rs. 88.23 to one dollar. The exchange rate of the Nepali currency is fixed against the Indian rupee with one Indian rupee fetching Rs.1.60 Nepali rupee. The Nepali currency became cheaper against the greenback with slide in the value of the Indian rupee against the dollar. nnnn RECORD CURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUS Kathamandu, 24 May: Nepal has a record Rs. 41.94 billion current account surplus compared to a deficit of Rs. 15.20 billion the same period the previous year because of increased remittance, increased earnings from tourism and foreign grants, Nepal Rashtra Bank (NRB) said Wednesday. Remittances increased 36.5percent to Rs. 248,18 billion in nine months until mid-April, the central bank said. Inflation reached 7.5 percent in mid-April with 17.8 percent hike in prices on on-food items. Food prices also increased... Trade surplus during the period reached Rs. 284.6 billion—a 18.4 percent increase compared to the previous year. Nnnn PRESIDENT INAUGURATES BUILDING OF ARMY MEDICAL COLLEGE Kathmandu, 24 May:: President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav Wednesday called for joint efforts by political parties to promulgate the new constitution by May 27 even as the time was running out, The Rising Nepal reports. Referring to the government decision to seek extension of the tenure of the Constituent Assembly by three months, he said that the government and other political parties should cooperate with one another for the promulgation of the new constitution within the deadline. President Dr. Yadav said this after inaugurating the newly constructed building of the Nepalese Army Institute of Medical Sciences at Bhandarkhal, Kathmandu. Mentioning the series of ethnic-based protests by different groups and the trend of announcing general strikes, Dr. Yadav said, "None of the communities or classes are Madhesi, Himali and Pahadi, we all are first Nepali." Dr. Yadav urged the political parties, especially Nepali Congress, CPN-UML, UCPN-Maoist and Madhesi Front to produce a timely constitution for the sake of the country, its people and democracy. He also expressed his concerns about massive deforestation in Terai Chure areas for the past few years. He urged the government to take steps to fully authorizing either Nepal Army or the Armed Police Force to protect Nepal’s forests. Dr. Yadav said in the past five years, a total of 96,000 hectares of forest areas had been denuded. Chief of the Army Staff (CoAS) Chhatra Man Singh Gurung, giving his concluding remarks, said the Nepalese Army Institute of Medical Sciences was opened for fulfilling the need of quality health services to the general public and generating quality doctors. He said the institute, spread over nearly 100 ropanies of land, was built in nine months. The Nepalese Army Welfare Fund spent a total of Rs. 2 billion for the construction of the building. At the function, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula, medical doctors, Dr. Arun Sayami, dean of TUTH, vice-chancellor of Tribhuvan University Prof. Dr. Hira Bahadur Maharjan, high ranking army officials and civil servants were also present. nnnn DETAILS OF WRITS ASKING SUPREME COURT TO OVERTURN GOVT. DECISION TO EXTEND ASSEMBLY TENURE Kathmandu, 24 May; Three separate writs were filed at the Supreme Court Wednesday against the government proposal seeking extension of the Constituent Assembly term by three months, The Rising Nepal reports. Advocate Balkrishna Neupane and one Bharat Mani Jangham filed a writ demanding a stay order on the constitution amendment process. They also demanded action on the government under the contempt of court provision. Three lawyers Raj Kumar Rana, Chandra Lal Shrestha and Jagadev Chaudhari filed another writ making the same demands. The third writ filed by advocate Kanchan Krishna Neupane also filed the writ with similar demand saying that the government move violated the Supreme Court order. The defendants in the cases are Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Parliament and CA Secretariat, Speaker Subas Nembang, UCPN-Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, among others. Advocate Kamal Prasad Itani also filed a separate contempt of court case against the Prime Minister Bhattarai and Deputy Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula. Meanwhile, Nepal Bar Association (NBA) strongly objected to the government move. Organising a press meet, NBA president Prem Bahadur Khadka said the bid to forcefully add the tenure of the CA was meant to violate the constitution, the law and the verdict of the Supreme Court. nnnn