CHINESE AMBASSADOR EXPRESSES CONCERN WITH MAOIST CHAIRMAN Kathmandu, 6 June: Chinese Ambassador Yang Houlan held hour-long discussions Tuesday morning with Maoist Chairman Prachanda at the latter’s residence. The Chinese envoy called for understanding between parties and expressed concern with developments in Nepal. They discussed recent political developments including planned rallies of government and opposition supporters after announcement of 22 November elections of constituent assembly (CA). nnnn NC, UML WOO WESTERN DIPLOMATS Kathmandu, 6 June:he Nepali Congress and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist have begun meeting foreign diplomats based in the capital, hoping that those tilted towards UCPN-Maoist will see their point of view, Ram Kumar Kamat writes in The Himalayan Times. NC President Sushil Koirala interacted with the representatives of European Commission here today. An NC source said his party interacted with the EU diplomats mainly because ‘some of the diplomats from EU and Scandinavian countries are tilted towards the UCPN-M’. The source said some of the European diplomats were using their clout to cajole the opposition parties into joining the Baburam Bhattarai-led government in order to transform it into a national unity government. The source also said some of the NC leaders, who were under the influence of European countries, had began to advocate that joining Bhattarai-led government would help manage current crisis or else country could witness further polarisation. “Out bottom-line is that Bhattarai should quit to pave the way for the formation of a new consensus government,” NC leader Arjun Narsingh KC told this daily. He said his party would interact with foreign diplomats on a regular basis to let them know what was happening because they were genuinely concerned about Nepal’s peace and stability. “We cannot say that the foreign diplomats are intervening in our domestic affairs. They have genuine concerns on which we can always interact,” KC added. The UML, which is in league with the NC to force the PM out of power through street protests, also organised an interaction with 24 foreign diplomats, mostly from European countries. The UML clarified its position on the issues of constitution, circumstances that led to the dissolution of the CA and the purported mistakes committed by the ruling alliance. “We told them that there is no alternative to consensus and collaboration,” said Rajan Bhattarai, a member of UML’s foreign department. Bhattarai said his party felt the need to clarify its position to the foreign diplomats because they were well-wishers and friends of Nepal and were concerned about the current political issues. He emphasised that the party ‘did not seek foreign intervention’. Bhattarai said the diplomats were told the PM should have amended the legal and constitutional provisions before announcing polls. Sarvendranath Shukla, spokesperson for the Tarai Madhes Democratic Party, a partner in the current coalition government, said the NC and UML who welcomed SC’s stay order on the proposal to extend the term of the CA by three months, had no right to oppose the declaration of fresh CA elections because that was the only option left for the government. He ruled out opting for the option of referendum. Nnnn NT TO GET STRATEGIC PARTNER SOON Kathmandu, 6 June: The Finance Ministry has initiated the step to pave the way for Nepal Telecom (NT) to bring in a strategic partner, The Himalayan Times reports. The ministry is planning to form a six-member committee to prepare a bidding document and contract paper to introduce the strategic partner, a source at the ministry said. “The ministry is trying to prepare all the documents by the end of June.” The committee will be led by an official at Financial Comptroller General Office, he said, adding that representatives from the Finance Ministry, Ministry of Information and Communications, and Nepal Telecom will also be included in the committee. The ministry is trying to complete the preparation of bringing a strategic partner for Nepal Telecom before the end of the current fiscal year so that the company can initiate the process of bringing a strategic partner from the beginning of next fiscal year, the ministry source said. However, the execution of the plan is tougher than envisioned, he said, adding that this is not the first time such a commitment has been made by the government. nnnn