SECOND DAY OF PROTESTS OF INDIGENOUS NATIONALITIES, BROAD MADESHFRONT Kathmandu, 21 May: Monday is the second day of joint nation-wide protests of an umbrella group of indigenous nationalities and broad Madeshi front of Upendra Yadav pressing for a federation with identity. Sunday’s protest targeting journalists in the capital was violent. Parliament and the constituent assembly sessions which couldn’t be held Sunday have been re-scheduled for Monday. The two groups have called a continuous three-day strike. nnnn TWO DEAD, SEVERAL MISSING ON EVEREST Kathmandu, 21 May: The world’s highest mountain claimed two more lives today, bringing this season’s death toll to four on the Mount Everest, Rajan POkhrel writes in The Himalayan Times. According to Tilak Ram Pandey, Liaison Officer, Department of Mountaineering at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Shriya Shah, a Canadian Non-Resident Nepali and Dr Schaff Erich, a climber from Germany, lost their lives while descending from the top of the Mount Everest. “Shah died near Everest summit, while Schaff breathed his last at the South Cole,” Pandey told THT over phone from Everest Base Camp. Shriya, who was born in Kathmandu in 1979 and grew up in Mumbai, was the owner and president of SOS Splash of Style Inc, a company recognised as the exclusive importer of Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s ‘Khazana’ products in Canada. Meanwhile, Song Won Bin from South Korea, a Chinese climber and a Nepali Sherpa guide have been missing since Saturday. “Fellow climbers are searching for them,” Pandey said. Though the cause of the deaths are still unknown, Pandey said high winds, difficult trail and high-altitude have made this season’s climbing attempts more difficult and challenging. “It takes nearly 5 to 7 hours to summit in normal days but the climbers are struggling for up to 15 hours this time,” Pandey said. According to him, at least five climbers, including two Chinese, who suffered a number of injuries, were airlifted from Base Camp this afternoon. “Some five teams have cancelled their summit plans,” Pandey said. Nearly 25 teams have deferred their attempts to May 25/26 due to unfavourable weather. The route to Everest will be closed till May 24, he added. Earlier, 10-time Everest summiteer, Karsang Namgyal Sherpa and two-time summiteer Namgyal Tshering Sherpa were killed while they heading to the Mount Everest in last week of April. nnnn NO THREE PARTY MEET SUNDAY, BEING HELD MONDAY Kathmandu, 21 May: The inter-party negotiations on resolving thorny disputes in constitution writing and expediting the statute drafting process have yet again faltered even as the Constituent Assembly (CA) tenure expires within a wee, Tirtha L. Bhusal writes in Republica.. Top leaders from three major political parties -- UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML -- couldn´t convene a scheduled three-party meeting on Sunday let alone advance the statute drafting process ahead. Leaders from the major parties were scheduled to hold talks on Sunday morning and it was cancelled as UML leaders were absent. The meeting was then rescheduled for 5 pm, but the UML leaders didn´t attend the talks in the evening as well. Leaders involved in the negotiations said UML leadership refrained from talks accusing the UCPN (Maoist) and the government leadership of duplicity - inciting the agitating ethnic groups to intensify protests on one hand and "staging a drama of talks" with other parties on the other. UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal and other leaders from the party didn´t turn up at the meeting despite Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and NC President Sushil Koirala´s pleas over the phone for Khanal to attend the talks. Pradeep Gyawali, chief of UML´s publicity department, confirmed the party leaders stayed away from the talks saying that there was no point holding negotiations until the Maoist leaders give continuity to their duplicity. Gyawali said Dahal made a volte-face from the three-party understanding on adopting 11-province state restructuring model and it was only few days back that Dahal suggested leaders of agitating ethnic and indigenous communities to take to the streets to counter those who were protesting the ethnicity-based federalism. "There is a correlation between Dahal´s recent provocations of ethnic leaders and the unruly protests taking place today [Sunday]," Gyawali told Republica. "What is the point of holding inter-party negotiations if the Maoist leaders incite ethnic conflict?" "Preparing ground for state of emergency" UML Secretary Shankar Pokharel claimed the incidents during demonstrations on Sunday indicated the Maoist leaders and the government were preparing ground for state of emergency in the country. He said there was a political penetration into the demonstrations with an intention to flare up the protests with the involvement of government leadership and the Maoists with a plan to impose state of emergency. Pokharel also said that the Maoists were for provoking the agitating groups instead of properly addressing the aspirations of various social groups who aspire their rights be ensured in the new constitution. "Who should we hold talks with when the government itself acts as an agitating party?" asked Pokharel. Top UML leaders hold internal meeting While evading inter-party negotiations, the UML standing committee members gathered at the official residence of Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel, who is also the party´s general secretary, at Pulchowk to chalk out the party´s future course. Party chairman Jhalanath Khanal, former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, KP Sharma Oli and Bamdev Gautam, among other gathered at Pulchowk and were busy in intra-party discussions until late night. (Note: Talks are scheduled again Monday morning.) Nnnn NEFIN PRECONDITIONS FOR TALKS WITH GOVT. Kathmandu, 21 May: The government has asked the agitating Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN) to call off the ongoing strike and come for negotiations. But NEFIN has set conditions for the talk with the government, Republica writes.. Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Top Bahadur Rayamajhi issued the call for talks on Sunday after NEFIN strike crippled normal life in the capital and other parts of the country. But NEFIN President Raj Kumar Lekhi said they could not sit for the talk with the government unless the government created conducive environment for talks. "The government should release over 100 supporters and ensure treatment of over 100 supporters who were injured by the police on Sunday. We want to hold talks with the three major parties and the Chairperson of the Constituent Assembly as the government alone cannot address our demands," Lekhi told Republica. He further said that the strike would continue as scheduled on Monday and Tuesday despite calls from the government to call off the strike. nnnn ________________________________________ SUPREME COURT RULES PERSOSNAL CHOICE FOR WORSHIP AT PASHUPATINATH SHOULD BE LRESPECTED Kathmandu, 21 May: The Supreme Court today directed the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, and the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) to honour the devotees’ wish to make offerings as per their wish during puja,, The Himalayan Times reports.. A division bench of Justices Kalyan Shrestha and Gyanendra Bahadur Karki issued the order in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Rajiv Sinha Raju, who sought a mandamus order in the case. The directive further said religious sentiments would be hurt if the followers think their offerings were not forwarded as per their wish. According to the apex court, the followers have the right to forward their offerings to the temple the way they want because the existing rules do not forbid any person to reach the temple. However, the Bhandaris have been dumping the offerings at a pot outside the temple. The apex court has directed the PADT management to reconsider its action, which might leave the devotees dissatisfied. The petitioner has claimed that Rule 78 and 79 of the rules relating to Pooja and Management of the temple have barred the followers from sending offerings as per their wish. Nnnn