ANOTHER BANKER ARRESTED Kathmandu, 9 July: Raju Kumar Pradhan, general manager of General Finance, was arrested Sunday from Kalalki Sunday by Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) for allegedly misappropriating Rs 78.25 million. Legal action is being initiated against him under a banking office act. Finance company board members lodged a complaint against Pradhan. Nnnn MEDIA GOOGLE ‘The Newar community is the most over-represented group in the workforce of international agencies in Nepal, reveals a survey held four years ago. A newly-released report of the Social Inclusion Action Group shows that Newars alone accounted for 28.3 percent of the Nepalis employed in the 30 agencies surveyed.’ (Report in The Kathmandu Post, 9 July) ‘It would be better to go for parliamentary elections and draft a constitution before going to people, as there was no provision to go for another constituent assembly election.) (MJFN Chairman Upendra Yadav, The Himalayan Times, 9 July) Nnnn FRESH CONROVERSY OVER FIGHTER AGE TO COMPLICAE ISSUES Kathmandu, 9 July: Fresh controversy over the age of former Maoist combatants aspiring to join Nepal Army is likely to complicate matters and delay the PLA integration process further, Phanindra Dahal writes in The Kathmandu Post.. Officials involved in the selection process said the age of around 25 percent of the 3,123 verified combatants remains doubtful and that it is likely that many of these were actually minors when the cut off date (2006) was agreed upon. The former combatants and the Maoist party, however, say that there should not be any controversy over “minor issues that could humiliate the aspirants.” The integration process has been stalled for the past three days with the government failing to resolve the row. The Army is reluctant to integrate the former combatants, citing a clause in the arms monitoring deal signed by the then Seven Party Alliance-led government and the CPN-Maoists. Clause 4.1.3 of the Agreement on the Monitoring of the Management of the Arms and the Armies (AMMAA) says that combatants born after May 25, 1988 would be subject to automatic discharge. The former combatants claim that there is a shortfall of only a few days or months from the cut-off date mentioned in AMMAA and their birth records maintained by UNMIN. Some former combatants, the Maoists argue, had supplied fake personal details to conceal their identities as they were not sure the war was over and this should not be considered a point to disqualify them. Fresh controversy over the age of former Maoist combatants aspiring to join Nepal Army is likely to complicate matters and delay the PLA integration process further. Officials involved in the selection process said the age of around 25 percent of the 3,123 verified combatants remains doubtful and that it is likely that many of these were actually minors when the cut off date (2006) was agreed upon. The former combatants and the Maoist party, however, say that there should not be any controversy over “minor issues that could humiliate the aspirants.” The integration process has been stalled for the past three days with the government failing to resolve the row. The Army is reluctant to integrate the former combatants, citing a clause in the arms monitoring deal signed by the then Seven Party Alliance-led government and the CPN-Maoists. Clause 4.1.3 of the Agreement on the Monitoring of the Management of the Arms and the Armies (AMMAA) says that combatants born after May 25, 1988 would be subject to automatic discharge. The former combatants claim that there is a shortfall of only a few days or months from the cut-off date mentioned in AMMAA and their birth records maintained by UNMIN. Some former combatants, the Maoists argue, had supplied fake personal details to conceal their identities as they were not sure the war was over and this should not be considered a point to disqualify them. Maoist leaders expressed hope that Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai will be able to take the Army leadership into confidence and resume the selection process. “The number of combatants willing to go for integration has already gone down. The process should not be delayed just because of technical issues like dates of birth,” said Maoist Politburo leader Janardan Sharma. “Those who were minors in the past have already reached the right age now. So, there should not be any problem in recruiting them.” PLA commanders caution that the level of frustration in cantonements is growing as the integration process is being executed like a recruitment. “Parties have failed to internalise the spirit of the peace process. The process is very humiliating and no one is ready to give space to the People’s Liberation Army and its contribution,” said Second Division Commander Suk Bahadur Rokka. Coordinator of the Special Committee Secretariat Balananda Sharma said the process would have been smoother had combatants with “controversial” ages opted for voluntary retirement. “There requires a new political decision to make corrections in the age. It would be better if they go for retirement,” said Sharma. According to information collected by UNMIN, platoon commander Kali Bahadur Aidi is born on August 18, 1986. The former combatant of the sixth division in Dasrathpur has August 18, 1992 as the birth date in his citizenship. Aidi would be a child soldier if his date of birth in the citizenship is to be taken into account. The seven-point deal signed on November 1 commits to execute the integration process on the basis of information verified by UNMIN. A source in the selection panel claimed that the Maoist party’s nomination of candidates going for integration is the main reason for the current deadlock. “Dissatisfied combatants have shouted slogans in the camps, claiming that there was favouritism and nepotism during the selection process,” he said. Nnnn MICROWAVE LINK ALONG MID-HILL HIGHWAY- Kathmandu, 9 July: Nepal Telecom (NT) is preparing to set up an Alternative Microwave Radio Relay Network along the 1,776-km Mid-Hill Highway, which will work as an alternative route to provide uninterrupted service if the existing system is obstructed, Ramesh Shrestha writes in The Kathmandu Post. The microwave radio relay technology is used for transmitting digital and analog signals such as long-distance telephone calls between two locations. The state-owned telecom company said the move was initiated as the installation of the mechanism on this route would be cost effective. “This will be a cost-effective project as we will have to install only one tower in the Western part,” said Jiban Ratna Shakya, deputy managing director at NT. “Our estimation has showed that we can develop the network using the existing towers with some modifications.” The planned microwave network will also help NT offer telecom services to the proposed 10 cities to be developed by the government along the Mid-Hill Highway. NT already has an East-West optical fibre connection developed in 2001 along the East West Highway, but it started work on the alternative microwave link keeping in mind the cost-effectiveness. NT is conducting a survey to ascertain the estimated cost of the network. In the initial phase, NT will conduct the survey in the Western part for the connection between Kathmandu and Dadeldhura. The network will pass through two dozen mid-hill districts. Shakya said the quality of NT’s service would improve after the traffic is transmitted through the alternative route. “We will send and receive call traffic from this route too, which will reduce congestion on existing routes,” he added. NT’s alternative microwave network is not the only project focused on this route. The government has also been planning to set up an optical fibre connection along this route using resource available at the Rural Telecommunication Development Fund. The optical fibre extension project planned by the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) is aimed primarily at taking high speed broadband internet services to all districts. However, the plan is under consideration at the Ministry of Information of Communications for last nine months. “Our recommendation has remained undecided, affecting the plan to complete the optical fibre expansion by 2014,” said a senior official at the NTA. nnnn