UPDATE FRIENDLY MATCH BETWEEN NEPAL, BANGLADESH POSTPONED Kathmandu, 18 Sept.: Sunday’s friendly football match between Nepal and Bangladesh has been postponed because of rainfall. The field is waterlogged. A second match has been scheduled for Thursday. Nnnn SINGLE IDENTITY-BASED –BASED FEDERALISM NOT A MAOIST AGENDA ITS LEADER CLAIMS Kathmandu, 18 Sept.: UCPN (Maoist) leader Gopal Kiranti said the issue of single identity based federalism was not raised by his party, The Kathmandu Post reports. “The issue of single identity was raised by caucus of Janjati lawmakers. Maoists have always been saying federal states,” said Kiranti during an interaction organised by Kirant Rai Journalists’ Association on Monday. He remarked that the Constituent Assembly was dissolved without delivering the constitution after the Janjati caucus took up the issue of single ethnicity based states strongly. He said that the UCPN (Maoist) would never give up the issue of identity-based federalism. But the party’s future would come to an end if the party gave up on the issue. “Our [UCPN (Maoist)] agenda is ethnic federalism based on identity,” said the Maoists. Leader Kiranti said that no one can escape without establishing identity based federalism for the liberation of oppressed ethnic communities. “That is why a new front would be forged with the to-be-formed new party led by Ashor Rai and Ram Chandra Jha, among other leaders,” said Kiranti. He stressed that a communal awareness and agitation should gain momentum. nnnn NEPAL CONTESTING FOR SEAT IN ESCOSOC Kathmandu, 18 Sept.: Nepal is making all the running in getting membership of the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for 2013-15. The ECOSOC, one of the principal organs of the United Nations, is the last remaining candidacy of Nepal in the UN platform, Anil Giri writes in The Kathmandu Post.. To secure membership, Nepal had withdrawn its candidacy from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) last year. Officials hint at Nepal’s high chances to win ECOSOC membership as the government is sending two senior diplomats to New York this week for an intense lobbying and preparing a strategy among the UN member states. The elections are likely to take place at the end of October on the sidelines of the 67th UN General Assembly. With the resignation of Nepal’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Gyan Chandra Acharya, early this month, the New York based Nepal’s mission, has urged the government to send Foreign Secretary Durga Bhattarai and chief of the UN Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Dipak Dhital, to the US to prepare for the upcoming crucial elections. “We must win the elections. So we have decided to send our diplomats to New York,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha told the Post before leaving for China. Both diplomats will stay till the elections to prepare a poll strategy and reach out to the Nepal’s friendly countries and muster votes to win the bid, said MoFA officials. Nepal needs at least 129 votes to win the race. “As of now 80 nations have assured support to Nepal. An intense lobbying in New York is necessary to win the bid. Our diplomats will try to woo African and members of Least Developed countries,” said sources. Out of a total of 11 seats allotted to the Asian countries, four are vacant this year and five countries, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kuwait, Nepal and Saudi Arabia are in the fray for a three-year term. The ECOSOC, established by the UN Charter, coordinates the economic, social and related work of the United Nations and the specialised agencies and institutions. Its seats are allotted based on geographical representation with 14 set aside for African nations, 11 for Asian, 6 for Eastern Europe, 10 for Latin America and Caribbean countries and 13 for Western European and other states. Previously, Nepal was elected as a member of the ECOSOC during 1980-1982 and 2001-2003 and also served as its vice-president in 1982 and 2003. “Since we do not have our permanent representative to the UN ahead of the UNGA, the foreign secretary will help the Nepali team there,” MoFA Spokesperson Arjun Bahadur Thapa said. nnnn