SUSHIL KOIRALA MEETING PRESIDENT MONDAY Kathmandu, 4 June: NC President Sushil Koirala is holding discussions with Ceremonial President Dr.. Ram Baran Yadav Monday to discuss reinstatement of a constituent assembly that was elected for a two-tear term but continued for four years. NC, under Sushil Koirala, is demanding restoration ‘ for a short term’ to promulgate a constitution; Sushil is repeating to what his predecessor Girija Prasad Koirala did. Girija pressed King Gyanendra with the help of other parties and the so-called ‘international community ’ to restore an elected parliament illegally and nominate members who are elected persons. The move led to a crisis and an unelected parliament finally toppled the king. The latest NC move coves after the party launched a signature drive Sunday to restore the CA; sixty-one former lawmakers have joined the drive so far. Former NC legislators are meeting colleagues of other parties to join the signature as a campaign against the government CA dissolution and call for fresh assembly elections 22 November. President Yadav has so far maintained a distance from being involved in a dispute government and opposition. Nnnn UML PRESIDENT KHANAL MEETING DISTRICT LEADERS MONDAY Kathmandu, 4 June: UML district presidents are holding consultations with party Chairman Jhalanatah Khanal Monday. UML district presidents have arrived in town from their constituencies. The meeting comes amid a threat of a split in the party over Creating ethnic provinces opposed b establishment. 2 DEAD, 24 INJURED IN DHANUSHA BUS ACCIDENT Kathmandu, 4 July: Two persons died and 24 others were injured in a bus accident at Dhanusha Monday morning. Six among the injured are serious. The bus was heading for the capital from Ilam. nnnn. ADBL DEMANDS RS.15M FOR DISINVESTMENT Kathmandu, 4 June: A sub-committee formed to initiate the process of offloading 30 percent government stake in Agriculture Development Bank Limited (ADBL) has asked the Ministry of Finance to provide US$174,000 (Rs 15.46 million) as a fee to conduct asset valuation of the state-controlled bank and hold roadshows aboard to attract foreign investors, Republica.. The sub-committee, during a recent meeting, decided to carry out asset valuation of the category ´A´ financial institution through an international firm and is planning to rope in foreign strategic partner by holding promotional campaigns in “few countries”, names of which have yet to be finalized. The current plan to divest ADBL shares is in line with the capital restructuring plan prescribed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) - under the second phase of the Rural Finance Sector Development Cluster launched in 2004 - which, among others, had identified the need to shed the stake owned by the government. The government currently owns 51 percent stake in ADBL - the second largest domestic bank in terms of asset. Of the remaining 49 percent share, 30 percent has been issued to the public, another 14.14 percent was distributed among its debtors in 2007, and 5.86 percent of the shares are allocated for the bank´s staff. Once the latest divestment plan wraps up, the government will have 21 percent share in the financial institution. Walter Silva, an international divestment consultant appointed by ADBL, has valued 30 percent bank equity at Rs 1.27 billion to Rs 1.41 billion as of April 12, with each share priced at Rs 140 to Rs 155. The figures were derived based on income approach, which focuses on projected cash flow to shareholders of the bank. The market value of each share of the bank, however, stands at Rs 134, according to Tuesday´s report of Nepal Stock Exchange. Although these figures provide a glimpse on the bank´s present worthiness in the market, the asset valuation to be conducted by an international firm will determine the value of 30 percent stake to be shed by the government. But even after the final value is derived, “the dynamics of an auction process should drive participants to offer their best offer,” says the report prepared by Silva. As of now, the government is optimistic about attracting a foreign institutional investor to replenish its capital as it has been continuously generating profit and has brought down its non-performing loan to 8.44 percent of the credit portfolio as of mid-April from 47 percent in 2003. “The bank is not in the red as in the past and has a wide network, not only in urban centers but in rural areas as well,” an official of the Ministry of Finance said. ________________________________________ EC WANTS CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT FOR 22 NOV. CA POLLS Kathmandu, 4 June: A week after the government announced an election to the Constituent Assembly, the Election Commission (EC) Sunday officially made it clear that it would not be able to hold the election scheduled for November 22 until the Interim Constitution and other related laws are not amended immediately, Gani Amsari writes in Republica. The EC officials informed their position through a letter to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers. They also met President Ram Baran Yadav. "We clearly told the president if the interim constitution was not amended and other election related acts are not reformed, the EC cannot hold the election on the date set by the government," Election Commissioner Dolakh Bahadur Gurung said after meeting the president. According to Gurung, the EC on Sunday sent formal letter to the prime minister´s office regarding ´necessary´ amendments to election related laws and acts. The election commissioners had already informed its position to Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai on Friday . Gurung also said understanding among political parties was a must for a new election . "We told the president that the political parties must reach an understanding for the new CA election to create favorable environment to hold the election on schedule," he added. According to the EC officials, acts on the CA election, Election Commission and election to the members of the constituent assembly should be amended in order to hold the new election. The Article 63 (7) of the interim constitution states ´´for the purpose of the election of the Constituent Assembly, every citizen of Nepal who has attained the age of eighteen years on or before the last day of the month of Mangsir of the year 2063 (15 December 2007) shall be entitled to vote, as provided in law´´. "So, if this is not amended, hundred of thousands eligible voters will be barred from voting," said an EC official who wanted to stay anonymous. Similarly, Article 142 (5) states ´´ a petition with the support and signature of at least ten thousand voters shall be required for the purpose of registration of a party for election. Provided that this provision shall not apply to the parties represented in the Interim Legislature Parliament´´. The article also needs to be amended as there is no longer the Interim Legislature Parliament. Likewise, Article 63 (3) (a) states ´´The members elected on the basis of first-past-the-post electoral system consisting of one member from each of the two hundred and forty election constituencies delimited by the Election Constituency Delimitation Commission constituted pursuant to Article 154 A, based on the population fixed by the national census preceding the election of the Constituent Assembly, while treat an administrative district as an elected district, and, as far as possible, maintaining the same proportionality between such districts and the number of members´´. "We have recently carried out new census. So, if we want to make it basis for the new election, we must amend this article," said the official. Nnnn ________________________________________ ________________________________________ FURTHER DETAILS OF UML CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEET Kathmandu, 4 June: The central committee meeting of the CPN-UML did not conclude Sunday as the deliberations from the central members on the political document presented by party chair Jhalanath Khanal were not ended, The Rising Nepal reports. The meeting will also continue Monday Chairman Khanal presented the document on current political situation, including the dissolution of Constituent Assembly, election announcement, resignation of Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, formation of a national consensus government and the issues raised by the Janajati leaders of his party. However, the Janajati leaders including vice chairman Ashok Rai, alternative politburo member Prithvi Subba Gurung and others were not present in the meeting. Instead of attending the central committee meeting, Gurung was threatening to desert the party in Pokhara stating that the party did not want to address the issues of Janajatis. According to KP Oli, the meeting would continue until all members could express their views on the party chairman’s document. A politburo meeting Saturday decided to form a commission on state restructuring in a bid to prevent the party from splitting as its leaders of ethnic background were threatening to quit the party and form a separate political party claiming that the party was against the identity-based federalism. Party’s indigenous and Madhesi leaders including Rai and politburo members Prithivi Subba Gurung, Ram Chandra Jha, Mangal Siddhi Manandhar and Bijay Subba had warned that they would quit the party if the leadership continued to ignore the "sentiments" and concerns of its Janjatis and Madhesi leaders. Meanwhile, addressing a function in Pokhara Sunday, Gurung accused leader Oli and general secretary Ishwor Pokhrel of dissolving the CA. He also said that the UML would soon become a party of Brahmins and would garner seven per cent votes in the next CA elections. Meanwhile, former Constituent Assembly (CA) member and UML leader Rabindra Adhikari said he would not file his candidacy in the next CA election on the moral ground if it is held to elect 601 members. Speaking at a programme in Pokhara Sunday, Adhikari said he had no right to ask for vote as the CA elected earlier expired without promulgating the new constitution despite surviving for fours years. He also apologized to his voters for failing to promulgate the new constitution. Adhikari also said that holding CA election on 22 November was impossible and stressed the need of political consensus to resolve present political and constitutional crisis. nnnn RULING MAOIST AND MADESH MORCHA DECIDE TO GO TO PEOPLE AGAINST NC, UML Kathmandu, 4 June: The ruling parties have decided to go to the people with programmes to counter the blame of the parties like Nepali Congress and CPN-UML that the Constituent Assembly was dissolved due to the ruling UCPN-Maoist and United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF), The Rising Nepal reports.. The ruling parties made such a decision by holding a meeting on Sunday evening at Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai’s official residence at Baluwatar. The decision of the ruling parties to launch counter programmes comes at a time when the NC and UML along with other fringe parties have already announced protest programmes. "We have decided to go to the people to check all the rumours the NC and UML are spreading among the people. They are blaming us for the dissolution of the CA and we have to inform the people about the truth" said Mahendra Ray Yadav, chairman of Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party, Nepal, a constituent of UDMF, after the meeting. He said that the concrete set of programme would be made after holding discussion with the other parties supporting the government. "We will discuss the matter with the 19 parties supporting the government. We will also discuss this with the pro-federal forces including indigenous peoples, civil society, intellectuals and journalists." Yadav said that they dwelt on organizing a mass meeting in the capital city on June 11. He said that the meeting decided to discuss with the NC and UML for forming a national consensus government and that the government would in itself take the initiative for this purpose. "We also talked about preparation for making the new CA election a success as there is no other alternative than to holding the election." Acting Chairman of Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (Republican) and Information and Communications Minister Raj Kishor Yadav said extensive discussions would be held among the pro-federal forces and the nineteen parties in the government to prepare a common concept on agenda. Minister Yadav attended the meeting leading the UDMF, an alliance of the Madhes-centric parties in the government. Also, the meeting decided to hold an interaction with people from diverse professions including civil society where the top leaders of the Maoist party and the UDMF would express their views about who were responsible behind the CA dissolution, Minister Yadav said, adding that the ruling coalition would hold a mass gathering in the capital. He added that the views of the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML to shun November 22 election were against democratic norms and values. The NC and UML need to act in a cooperative way for the political way out to the country, Minister Yadav said, adding that Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal opined at the meeting that the CA was dissolved due to the disagreement of the NC and UML on federalism with identity and constitution with federalism. Moreover, the coalition parties decided to cement their relations and reach the people with pro-people agenda. The meeting was of the stand that present government would be changed into the national consensus government by incorporating other parties. Nnnn INTERVIEW Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai took time off from his busy schedule and spent this weekend at a resort in Dhulikhel. Reading and writing was what he did for relaxation. In an interview with Republica’s Kosmos Biswokarma and Kiran Chapagain, PM Bhattarai seemed adamant that resigning from his position is not an option without the basis for the future understanding between the parties. But the interview started off with what he read during his quiet stay at Dhulikhel and what he derived from the books he read. EXCERPTS: Did you read any particular book while in Dhulikhel? Books related to eastern philosophy and to the Mahabharat. Did you draw any message useful to the present political situation from those readings? The present transition needs to be managed properly. The transition has been prolonged after the failure to promulgate the constitution on May 27. The country may face a risk of being stagnant and plunging into a conflict. I have been pondering how the political leadership should move ahead and how the people should be kept united by addressing their aspirations in this situation. It has been over four years the parties have been stressing on national consensus. The major political parties have announced to hit the street demanding your resignation. What are you pondering over? What you should understand is that there is no alternative to the present government under my leadership that meets the provisions laid out in the Interim Constitution and the international practice. So everyone should think how much it will be in the best interest of the loktantra if the present government steps down, creating political and constitutional void. But you have already become a caretaker prime minister? There is no word as such ‘caretaker’ in the Interim Constitution. The word has been used only in spoken language. This government will continue to be the legitimate government until another legitimate body comes into existence as per the existing constitution and international practice because it was formed by the elected Legislature-Parliament and it was in the office at the time when the Constituent Assembly was dissolved. So it cannot be a democratic thinking to create a vacuum by pressing the government to step down. I urge political parties to give a thought to that situation as well. It is natural for political parties to make such a demand in a democracy. I have found that those political parties who have stood for state restructuring, and economic and social transformations have supported this government. But those political parties who failed to adopt new thinking on state restructuring and those who possess backward-looking thinking on economic and social transformation have become naturally dissatisfied [with this government]. You became prime minister last August with sole mission of completing the peace and constitution writing processes. Don’t you think that you lost moral ground to continue office in view of the fact that both the processes remained unfinished by May 27? You should look at the efforts made for the peace and constitution and the achievements made after I became prime minister, rather than putting forth a moral question at me. The peace process, especially the integration of [the Maoist] army which is the most important part of the peace process and had remained largely stalled, was driven almost near to conclusion, though not concluded fully, during my prime ministership. You should not take it as a worthless achievement. We had almost completed constitution drafting process. Unfortunately, the process could not be completed due to some CPN-UML leaders who could not discard their traditional mindset, especially in regards to the issue of state restructuring. Consequently, the constitution writing process could not be completed though it was at the last stage. I should not run away from the responsibility given by the constitution. The constitution has bestowed all the executive powers on the present government as it was in the office at the time of the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly. You blamed the NC and the UML leaders for the failure to draft the new constitution. But it was your party that withdrew from an agreement reached among political parties on May 15. What do you have to say in this regard? We did not backtrack from the agreement. The agreement could not be endorsed [in the form of the constitution] from the Constituent Assembly as 320 members objected to it in writing. But your party had backtracked from the agreement before the 320 members objected to it. It was not possible in loktantra to push the agreement that was supposed to be endorsed by two-thirds majority members but was objected by majority members. There was a need to review the agreement by all the parties but the Nepali Congress and the UML were not ready. Consequently, the CA dissolved. Our party never withdrew from the agreement. Before the 320 CA members objected to the agreement, Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal asked Janjati leaders to take to the streets and exert pressure against the agreement. Don’t you think this was the point from where the parties started to mistrust each other in the aftermath of the agreement? This is wrong. It is illogical as well. If the NC and UML CA members used to obey what Prachanda said, we would have invited them to join the Maoist party. The NC and UML leaders have old mindset and the Madhesi, Dalit and Janjati from their parties have risen to contest such mindset. The problem is not with the Maoist party, but with the NC and the UML. The present crisis is the result of the old and status-quoist mindset of the NC and the UML, especially with regard to state restructuring. The pending bill to amend Article 64 could be used to amend the Article 82 and thus create an alternative mechanism in the Constitution to complete the unfinished tasks of the constitution writing. Why were you and your party, especially the establishment faction, not ready to go for that option? It was not possible to create a parliament through an indirect way in the context of the Supreme Court stalling the process of extending the term of the Constituent Assembly. We had discussed this option as well. But some members with legal background suggested us not to go for such an option, arguing the court might stay even such a move. Then the option was dropped. Just ahead of the cabinet that announced the date of the election, you had called the leaders of NC and UML for a meeting at your office to discuss possible ways to save the CA. But you did not come out for the meeting until the election decision was made. It is false. You should identify who obstructed constitution writing process. The talks broke down after NC and UML opposed caste-based federalism and the Madhesi and the Janjati vowed to reject the constitution without federalism. Then I had proposed imposition of a state of emergency to extend the term of the CA and had even told the leaders that I was ready to own all the discredit such a move would invite. But the NC and the UML leaders, except Sher Bahadur Deuba, opposed such move. It was already 10:30 pm then. In such a situation, I had only one option left—declaring the election. It is true that I had talked with the leaders over phone before the cabinet to ask them whether there were any options left. It was not even possible to declare the state of emergency from procedural point of view as three to four procedural steps were to be completed before declaring the state of emergency. Then I consulted the attorney general and the law secretary in this regard though I got no clear cut answer from NC and UML. In this situation, there was no alternative to declaring the election. You could have declared the election after consulting NC and UML even after the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly. If the elections were not announced before the midnight [of May 27], it would have invited a constitutional controversy. There would have been a controversy over who should announce the election. Then CA Chairman Subas Nembang had cautioned about the constitutional crisis the country could face if election were to be announced and had asked the leaders and you to amend the constitution before moving such a move. Why did you not heed his advice? That was wrong. I cannot divulge details in my capacity as the prime minister. History will evaluate the irresponsible role played by political leaders and the CA Chairman. Why was not the meeting of the CA called after consensus became elusive? We were supposed to go to Baneshwor straight from Baluwatar and had called CA chairman about this, but we were told that there might be violence in Baneshwor if we went there. Was there any understanding on multi-identity-based federalism after the meeting with women, Dalits and Janjatis on May 27? We had proposed mixed identity-based federalism but some UML leaders strongly opposed that there should be no caste-based federalism. Even Janjati leaders were ready to agree on mixed identity-based federalism. Are you saddened by the demise of the Constituent Assembly? I claim no one is as sad as I am over the dissolution of the CA. But this emotional thing has no meaning. It is fact recorded in the history that I played the main role in establishing the agenda of the Constituent Assembly in my party and the Nepali politics though my party helped establish the agenda in Nepali politics. So, perhaps, no one in Nepal is as sad as I was in Nepal over the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly. Some have argued that the CA can be reinstated through political decision to complete the unfinished tasks of constitution writing. In my opinion, such a move would not be appropriate as the Constituent Assembly was dissolved owing to wrong thinking of some leaders and lack of wisdom. Though election is a democratic practice, many argue that time is not ripe to hold yet another CA election. It is the parties and the people who hold election. If they create an environment for the election, it is possible. The country cannot move ahead without consensus among political parties. Why not facilitate it by making way? Constitutionally speaking, there is no alternative to this government. Will loktantra be strengthened by inviting political and constitutional crisis? Isn’t it my responsibility to safeguard loktantra and constitution at this critical juncture? Will it be an appropriate move to run away from the responsibility? The Mohan Baidya faction of your party has floated the idea of completing the unfinished tasks of the constitution making through a roundtable meeting. What is your take on this issue? This is an extra-constitutional process. I do not think time has come to give it a thought. Solution should be sought from within the constitution. Those friends [the Baidya faction leaders] do not like this process. It is natural for them to try to take this process out of the constitutional bounds. But I hope NC and the UML will chose the constitutional process, which is the election. While NC, UML and the Baidya faction have been demanding for your resignation, you have been stressing on election. Why? You have been raising the issue of my resignation with emphasis. Will it be beneficial to invite a constitutional crisis? You seem to be trying to imply that my resignation will solve the present crisis but it is wrong to ask questions with that intention. The main thing is to seek a solution that is in the best interest of loktantra and constitution. For this I have taken initiatives. How hopeful are you that the initiatives bring results? I am hopeful. There is no alternative to consensus. You have been stressing on consensus and trying to make a point that consensus should not be forged in exchange for your resignation. Are we right? Consensus should be acceptable to all. Consensus should not be conditional. I am ready to sit for talks but there should not be any precondition. I am ready to make sacrifice. What do you mean by sacrifice? Consensus should safeguard loktantra and achievements made to date. The sacrifice can be anything towards that end. nnnn