MEDIA GOOGLE "We are dealing with the refugees on humanitarian grounds and our moral human rights obligations.” (Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Narayan Kazi Shrestha in The HImalayaan Times reportedly telling top US diplomat Nepal no party to any international convention on refugees, 12 Sept.) NANCE MINISTRY STALLS BUDGET FOR UNGA TEAM Kathmandu, 12 Sept.: The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has cold-shouldered a request by the Foreign Ministry to release Rs 10.7 million to cover the expenses of the Nepalese delegation to the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), citing the one-third budget situation in the country, Kosh Rak KOirala writes in Republica.. Officials said the Finance Ministry has expressed inability to release the budget as they are required to limit government expenses to one-third of the total expenditure incurred last fiscal year, as per an ordinance passed earlier. The foreign ministry has already spent the one-third budget allocated for the ministry. Finance Ministry officials said they are under pressure to limit expenses as they are not authorized to spend more than one-third of the total budget although the government has huge cash reserves. "The one-third budget situation has its own limitations. What we have been saying is whether or not all government agencies are going to act responsibly in this kind of special circumstance," said Joint Secretary Lok Darshan Regmi, who heads the Budget Division at the Finance Ministry. A Nepalese delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Narayankazi Shrestha is scheduled to leave for New York on September 22 to attend the UNGA. MoFA officials, however, said preparations for the trip have not started as the ministry is yet to get the budget sanctioned by the Finance Ministry. The delegation led by Minister Shrestha will include eight member leaving from Nepal and six others who will join them in New York. "We have sought consent from the Finance Ministry for the necessary expenses," said Joint Secretary at the Foreign Ministry Niranjan Man Singh Basnyat, who is also the chief of protocol. With the political parties failing to reach consensus, the current Baburam Bhattarai government had failed to introduce a full budget for fiscal year 2012/13. As differences persist among the parties despite a series of negotiations, there are fears that the government will not be able to meet even essential expenditures in the coming months. nnnn ________________________________________ INDIAN POLICE FREE KINGPIN OF ABDUCTION, KILLING Kathmandu, 12 Sept.: Indian police have released the mastermind in the abduction and subsequent killing of a 10-year-old Nepali boy despite the existence of ample evidence against the culprit, it is learnt, Sher Bahadur KC writes in Republica from Butwal.kV weitesfrom . According to a Nepali police source, a joint police team from India and Nepal had arrested Ramesh Yadav from Mumbai on December 21 last year. Ramesh is the mastermind in the addution for ransom and subsequent killing of Diwakar Yadav, the son of Rupendehi businessman Parashuram Yadav. However, Nautanwa police post in India released Ramesh within a week of his arrest and without further investigations, acccording to a police source. “While recording his statement at the police station, Ramesh had conceded that he had Diwaker kidnapped to collect a huge ransom, but the child was killed amid misunderstanding among the kidnappers”, said a police officer at District Police Office Rupandehi who was involved in the investigations. “ He had also named another person involved in the heinous crime”. A video recording of Ramesh´s statement is safe with Nepali police. Ramesh was the one who had repeatedly called the boy´s famliy and demanded Rs 7.5 million in ransom. “Releasing the accused within a week of arrest despite his confession to the crime can have many implications,” another police officer said. It has added to police suspicion that there might be money behind the release or may be there will be a long list of arrests if investigations are pursued further. “It seems Indian police wanted to dismiss the case”, the police officer said. Indian police had rejected pleas from Nepali investigating officers to carry out investigations of the crime from the Indian side as the victim was taken to India after abduction and killed there. Nepali police and the Indian side had a heated debate at a meeting of border security officers of both countries held in Bhairahawa after the Nepali side requested the Indians to cooperate in curbing cross-boarder crime. The Indian police superintendent of boardering Maharajganj district had assured further investigations into the Diwaker case. Indian police recently initiated cases against the culprits after an Indian court directed them to conduct investigations. Diwaker´s family had knocked on the court doors and on July 22 and Maharajganj Court had directed Indian police to investigate the case properly. Parashuram Yadav had lodged a First Information Report at Brijmand police post of Maharajganj district in India, categorically naming 11 persons involved in his son´s abduction and killing. Diwakar was abducted while returning home from Nepal Nalanda Higher Secondary School in Bhairahawa on June 5 last year. Police investigations show that he was taken to India by Duryodhan Yadav, a distant maternal uncle. Indian nationals Ramesh Yadav, Jhinak Yadav, Anshu Singh, Tulla Musalman,Mansur Alam Musalman, and Srawan Pandey along with Nepali citizens Duryodhan Yadav, Alam Churihar, Barkat Ali, Kudarat Ali and Arman Musalman are accused of the crime. A Nepal Police team had recovered the boy´s body from Badahari village in Utter Pradesh of India on January 27, nine months after the abduction. Diwaker could not escape his fate although his family paid out Rs 1.1 million. nnnn ________________________________________ WAY CLEARED FOR APPOINTING SUPREME COURT JUSTICES Kathmandu, 12 Sept.: Judicial Council (JC) headed by Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi today said there will be no problem in appointment of Supreme Court justices due to protocol problem between Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai and Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi if the President invokes Article 158 of the Interim Constitution, The Himalayan Times writes.. “The hierarchical issue has already been resolved,” Jiwan Hari Adhikary, Secretary, JC said. “If President Ram Baran Yadav invokes his authority in removing constitutional difficulties in relation to parliamentary hearing, the hierarchical issue between the Prime Minister and Chief Justice would not affect appointments.” The Cabinet yesterday decided to recommend to the Head of State to invoke Article 158 to appoint Supreme Court Justices, chiefs and members of various constitutional bodies even without conducting mandatory parliamentary hearing as per Article 155 of the Interim Constitution. Stating that the Prime Minister has already signed the minutes of the Judicial Service Commission while appointing Supreme Court Registrar and officials under the Ministry of Law and Justice as an ex-officio member of the Commission and also given the green signal to the JC to take decisions with the capacity of law minister, Adhikary said the issue would not affect the JC’s affairs. According to him, the PM has already sat in a few informal meetings of the JC, so the protocol problem will not have any serious impact if the political problem is resolved. “The Chief Justice who is the ex-officio chairman of the JC and the PM who also looks after the law portfolio have signed in the same line in the minute to maintain their current hierarchal status as the PM is one rank senior than the CJ in the official pecking order,” he added. In the Commission’s minute, Regmi signed on the left of the minute and Bhattarai signed on the right side. The established tradition says those who sign on the right hand side are senior to the signatory on the left. “The chief Justice is the Chairman of the Judicial Council, therefore he must sign on the right side,” former Justice Krishna Jung Rayamajhi who is also a former JC member said. “The Prime Minister has only signed in his capacity as law minister, therefore he does not mean senior than the Chief Justice while performing tasks of the Judicial Council,” Rayamajhi added. Nnnn CALL TO INVOKE ARTICLE 158 TO FILL VACANCIES Kathmandu, 12 Sept.: Opposition can have its say, but the government must have its way. That’s the opinion of the legal experts on the government’s request to the President to invoke Article 158 of the Interim Constitution to remove hurdles to fill key posts in the constitutional bodies, The Himalayan Times writes. Advocate Bhimarjun Acharya said invoking Article 158 in extremely urgent situation is justifiable. “State cannot remain in vacuum. This is a serious issue so other parties need to support the government’s decision to fill vacancies by invoking Article 158. But the government should not use the article frequently,” Acharya added. He argued that the provision of Article 158 that requires constitutional changes to be approved by the Parliament within a month too could be amended. Another advocate Borna Bahadur Karki said though political consensus would be ideal, it could not be an excuse to oppose or scuttle government’s recommendation to invoke Article 158. “It is the government that runs the country and not the opposition. In the absence of the Parliament, it was okay for the government to invoke ‘remove difficulties clause.’ All constitutions have such provisions that can be used when other avenues are not available,” Karki added. Advocate Surendra Mahato said, “Any changes in the constitution as per Article 158 require approval of the Parliament within a month, which is not possible at this stage. This recommendation, therefore, is a political recommendation rather than a constitutional one,” Mahato said. The opposition, on the other hand, is opposed to the government’s move. CPN-UML Secretary Shankar Pokhrel said at an interaction here today that despite President’s reservations, the government was trying to bring one after other ordinances and was spoiling the atmosphere of consensus. He said if the ongoing talks did not yield any result by September 15, they would not settle the issues on the street itself. “We have announced a stir from October 5,” Pokhrel added. He argued that the government could urge the President to invoke Article 158 only if the Parliament existed and the government had the consent of other political parties for the same. Nepali Congress leader Prakash Sharan Mahat said the government was trying to tighten its grip on army, police, judiciary and constitutional bodies through ordinances. Mahat said the Unified CPN-Maoist’s disregard for provisions of the Interim Constitution was guided by its attempt to capture state power. Minister of Peace and Reconstruction Top Bahadur Raymajhi countered this by saying, “Politics is all about gaining state power. We cannot quit power just because the opposition wants that,” Raymajhi added. nnnn