ONE KILLED IN BAGLUNG JEEP ACCIDENT Kathmandu, 27 Dec.: One person was killed and 10 others were injured overnight in a jeep accident at Righa VDC-9, Baglung. king, here in the district on Wednesday night. The jeep was going to Kharwang from Baglung bazaar. Nnnn Country in conflict if no consensus within a week: KC nnnn COUNTRY WILL BE DRAGGED INTO CONFLICT WITHOUT RESOLUTION OF CRISIS SAYS KC OF NC Kathmandu, 27 Dec.: Nepali Congress (NC) central member Arjun Narsingh KC has said that there is no alternative to go for fresh election by forming a national unity government under the NC leadership, RSS reforms Mangalbare, Ilam. . If consensus was not reached within a week, elections could not take place in coming April-May and then the country will slide into conflict, leader KC said this at a press meet organized by Nepal Press Union, Ilam, this morning. He made it clear that the NC would not forge consensus on the reinstatement of CA, participation in the present government and substances of constitution. ´Congress will not go to the government by compromising the party ideals for power. However, government leadership from outside the ruling alliance could be discussed´, he further said, adding the Congress would not go back from its claim for government. Leader KC also accused the Unified CPN (Maoist) of being responsible to bring the country to political and constitutional vacuum, commenting that the Maoist recent remark of building consensus on substances of constitution within four days is merely a tactic to extend its stay in the power. He pointed out the need of forming national unity government under the NC leadership to hold free and fair election in the country. KC ruled out any chance to join the incumbent government and warned that the Baburam Bhattarai-led government would be swept away through struggle. Leader KC is set to inaugurate the general convention of Nepal Teachers´ Union, Ilam. nnnn . MANAHARA LANDOWNERS CLASH WITH DEVELOPERS Kathmandu, 27 Dec; The clash between the Manohara land Integration Project and Thimi municipality has put the landowners in the project area in trouble, RSS reports from Bhaktapur. . The landowners are facing difficulty due to dispute between the project and municipality on road standard. Though the project had proposed the expansion of two-metre road along the eastern border of Divyaswori 4 b and 5 b under the project area up to eight metres, it was fixed to four metres based on the recommendation of landowners and tillers. The landowners have now faced tough time when the municipality halted approving of land map with four-metre of road saying the criteria of eight-metre was enforced by the municipality in 1999. The project is implemented under the joint venture of Kathmandu Metropolitan City and Thimi municipality. Thimi municipality has served the project as the vice-chairperson. The criteria set by the municipality-implemented project could not be changed, said the Thimi municipality sources. Nnnn FLIGHTS CANCELLED TO MANANG UNTIL MID-FEB. Kathmandu, 27 Dc.: Cold has forced cancellation of all flights to the Himalayan district of of Manang north of the world’s tallest mountain range. Flights have been cancelled until 12 February. nnnn . DETAILS OF PRESIDENT DR. YADAV TALK WITH HIS INDIAN COUNERPART Kathmandu, 27 Dec.: Citing India’s deep rooted ties with Nepal, India’s President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said New Delhi will continue to do its best to assist the neighbouring nation in its socio-economic development, agencies report from New Delhi. It is in India’s interest that Nepal progresses as a stable, secular, democratic republic, Mukherjee said welcoming his Nepali counterpart Ram Baran Yadav at Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Wednesday. Mukherjee said that people of India consider him a great friend and value his long-standing support for Indo-Nepal relations. “India attaches the highest priority to further strengthening its bilateral relations with Nepal in every sphere,” Mukherjee was quoted as saying by a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson in a press release. The Indian President said India’s relations with Nepal are deep rooted and unique with no parallel. “As a close friend and neighbour, India will continue to do its best to assist Nepal in its socio-economic development,” he said. “It has always been India’s endeavour to support peace, stability and prosperity in Nepal, in accordance with their wishes,” he said. President Yadav thanked Mukherjee for the welcome and hospitality extended by the Government and people of India. President Yadav said Nepal and India are closely connected with each other. Nnnn INTERVIEW WITH DPM NARAYAN KAZI SHRESTHA IN REPUBLICA UCPN (Maoist) Vice-Chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha wears many hats these days. He is a member of the party’s four-man team negotiating with opposition forces to break the prolonged logjam. As Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, he has come to be noted for his initiatives to strictly implement the diplomatic code of conduct governing high-level meetings between government representatives and foreign dignitaries, as well as for his vocal disagreements on foreign policy matters with the rest of the Bhattarai Cabinet. Republica’s Kosh Raj Koirala and Mahabir Paudyal caught up with Shrestha to discuss a range of issues, including the President’s current India visit. You are a member of the four-man Maoist team negotiating with opposition forces. What solution do you propose to end the current crisis? First, it is vital to take transitional politics to its meaningful end. This is the historical responsibility of political forces. At present, the only way of doing this is through new CA polls by May 29, 2013. But for this we need to be able to come to an understanding on national consensus government, make arrangements for new polls and create the bases for drafting new statute through new CA. We need to forge consensus toward this end in the next few days. The PM has been insisting opposition forces join the current government for a short period before leadership can be handed over to Nepali Congress. But opposition forces have made PM’s resignation a precondition. In this situation, how will the impasse end? Our first priority is to transform current government into national consensus government and allow it to conduct polls. Thus if the opposition forces, mainly NC and UML, join this government, so much the better. The best bet would be to let this government decide on issues related to new polls before NC takes over the reins. This would be constitutionally right and relatively easy. But our bottom line is ensuring new CA polls. So we are open to other options if there is guarantee of new statue by new CA. If this is guaranteed, government leadership should not be an obstacle. Of late party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal seems flexible on new government even while the PM seems adamant in his stand. This seems to be creating a rift between the PM and the chairman. Is that the case? We have differences in the party on some political matters and how we should move ahead. We should acknowledge such differences and take it naturally. But our party is firm in its stand that the current government should be allowed to hold polls and the opposition forces should join it. So there is no difference between party line and PM’s stand. But the party does not consider that only the current government can hold polls. I do not see much difference between the party chairman and the PM. Nor has the PM put the chairman into a difficult situation. Is it not true that PM’s rigid stand has put the chairman in a difficult spot? The chairman has been acting in line with the party’s official stand. So there is no reason why there should be any rift between the PM and the chairman. Even after the party’s split earlier in the year, UCPN (Maoist) is still believed to be faction-ridden, divided among one faction headed by you, one by chairman Dahal and one by PM Bhattarai. There is no denying that there are differences among us in terms of ideology. So naturally there are different viewpoints on several issues between myself, the PM and the chairman. But regarding the key political roadmap and action plan, we have no differences at all. To tell you the truth, at no other time has there been such strong unity among us on key political issues. But this is not to say we do not have differences on other issues. The differences were there before, they are there now and some differences will remain even in the future. But we are against factionalism of any kind. Factionalism will be inimical to consolidating unity. There were also speculations that you even thought of quitting owing to differences in the cabinet. As you may know, party decision is greater than individual decision in the party system. Thus unless the party endorsed my resignation, it would hold no meaning. The party would not allow me to resign and I abided by the party decision. Let us change topic. You have been working toward strict diplomatic code of conduct when it comes to meetings between foreign visitors and diplomatic heads and key political actors and government ministers. How effective has it been? I have found that the code of conduct have been well observed by concerned stakeholders. Yet it is also true that leaders in responsible portfolios do not seem to have taken the issue seriously. The main political leaders, former prime ministers and other ministers do not seem to have understood the significance of observing code of conduct while meeting foreign dignitaries. Thus I have been calling on them to be serious about maintaining diplomatic norms. It has come to the light that your strict stand on maintaining protocols has angered the President and the US Ambassador to Nepal. I spoke to the President in private before I made the issue public. I reminded him that diplomatic code of conduct should be strictly followed. I told him it is vital for the head of the state to observe the protocols. And I requested him to go through foreign ministry’s channels if he wishes to confer with foreign dignitaries. He had taken my advice in good spirit. But there have been some problems. If he had taken my suggestion seriously as he had promised, perhaps I would not have made the issue public. I reminded him of the gravity of the issue once again. And this time around, he has assured me that he is really serious about foreign ministry’s concerns. As regards the US Ambassador, he has confided to me that he is really appreciative of the foreign ministry’s stand on maintaining protocols. So I don’t think I have disappointed the ambassador either. There is also an allegation that you did not play a constructive role in arranging for the PM’s visit to China. This is completely untrue. As much as I tried to make Chinese PM’s visit to Nepal possible, I have also tried to arrange for Nepali PM’s visit to China. I have taken this initiative not only through formal channels and diplomatic correspondence with Chinese government, I have done all that a foreign minister could do to make our PM’s visit to China possible. It looks like you oppose virtually every agreement that the PM endorses. Is that the case? We have had differences on many issues which have become public. There is nothing to hide about it. I object to any decisions that can have long term repercussions on national interest. I have been telling the party and the prime minister that I am not going to stay a spectator to policies that have serious consequences on national issues. It is said that your approach to dealing with India is different to that of the PM. Regarding India, my position is clear. India is our neighbor and we should maintain good diplomatic relations with it. Anti-Indian stand can never be the foundation of our foreign policy. Having said this, I also believe Nepalis should be able to decide on issues of national importance themselves. And that any deals with India should keep national interests and Nepali people at the center. My concern is that there should be no external interference in Nepali’s right to self-determination and independence. Thus there may have been some differences between the PM and myself on this. But Nepalis have fought for decades and sacrificed thousands of lives for the sake of national independence and integrity. We cannot compromise on this at any cost. You were opposed to the BIPPA treaty and have expressed your opposition to the proposed modernization of Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) immigration system by India. Where do you disagree with the PM in this? I have spoken a lot about my reservations about BIPPA. In fact, I was opposed to it even at the time of signing of the agreement in Delhi. In TIA’s case, there is no denying that our immigration system needs to be urgently upgraded. This is related to our national security as well. Likewise, it is natural for India to want to keep the international airport of the country with which it shares open border in order. But I still believe that the project should be carried out through internal resources. We should not depend on our neighbor for such a sensitive project. After all, it’s not even a large project. We must complete the project but on our own initiative. How do you assess India’s role in Nepal’s political affairs? First, we should not blame others for our problems. That does not solve anything. If the political forces in Nepal are bold enough, no one can meddle into our internal affairs. So we are to blame for this situation where we have come to believe that there can be no meaningful political solutions without external interference. The situation is such that even if the political parties are successful in breaking the current logjam, people will suspect India’s hand. This is really sad. There is a lot to do to correct this misperception. But it would be best for our neighbors to stay away from our internal affairs to dispel doubts on their true intent. PM Bhattarai is said to be enjoying New Delhi’s backing even now. Meanwhile, the President is currently in India on an official visit. There are speculations that the President will come back to Nepal with India’s message on breaking the logjam. What is your view on this? I do not want to comment much about it. It is necessary for us to assure the people that we do not rely on external forces to solve our problems. As for President’s India visit, as a sitting foreign minister and a leader of a responsible political party, I had suggested to the President that this would not be the right time for the head of the state to go on six-day foreign visit, especially while he has been active in bringing political forces together and asking them to forge consensus. I had told him that as someone playing the coordinator’s role to break the political impasse, he should stay back. I even suggested that he could go to Benaras for one day, if he must. Second, there is the question of reciprocity. We cannot take the President’s visit in negative light. But this is his third visit since he became President, while neither the Indian head of the state nor the Indian head of the government has paid a visit to Nepal for over a decade. I had requested the President to consider this aspect as well. How do you assess the concerns of the broader international community on political development in Nepal? I have found them really positive about our success in settling the issue of army integration. But they seem to be disappointed at the slow progress in constitution making. They want Nepal to get a constitution through new CA. They want to see the end of political deadlock at the earliest. Indian media seems to be worried about growing Chinese assertiveness in Nepal. How do you view this development? I do not see it that way. China considers Nepal a good neighbor. It has no other interest than to see prosperous and stable Nepal. China wants Nepal to maintain good relationship with India as well. Chinese officials and delegates have shared this concern with me. Finally, do you see any hope of the current deadlock ending by the time the President returns Saturday? Let’s hope so. But as I said, it all depends on whether the political parties will be bold enough to come to consensus by the time. But given the urgency, there is no other way as well. Nnnn RAPED INDIAN GIRL IN SINGAPORE FOR TREATMENT Kathmandu, 27 Dec.27: A young woman who was gang-raped and assaulted on a moving bus in the Indian capital was flown Thursday to a Singapore hospital for treatment of severe internal injuries that could last several weeks, officials Said, AP reports from Singapore.. The 23-year-old student, who is in critical condition, arrived in Singapore on an air ambulance and was admitted to the Mount Elizabeth hospital, renowned for multi-organ transplant facilities. The hospital said in a statement that she was admitted to the intensive care unit "in an extremely critical condition." It said "she is being examined and the hospital is working with the Indian High Commission (embassy)." The Dec. 16 rape of the woman and her brutal beating triggered widespread protests in New Delhi and other parts of the country and calls for the death penalty for the perpetrators of rape. It is punishable by up to life in prison. All six suspects in the case have been arrested. The rape has highlighted the extensive harassment that Indian women face daily in cities and towns, ranging from unwanted hands being placed on them to being blamed for causing the sexual violence. Even rape victims rarely come forward to complain because of the social stigma. Many women say they have structured their entire lives around protecting themselves and their children, and restricting their movements to avoid being molested. In a written statement, the Indian High Commission, or embassy, said it has received "many offers to help" the woman, who is "receiving full medical attention." Her family is also being provided all assistance" by the embassy, it said. The nearly daily protests in the heart of New Delhi following the rape have been frequently quelled by police using tear gas and water cannons. One policemen died of injuries suffered in the clashes. Police said she was traveling with a male friend in a bus when they were attacked by six men who took turns to rape her. The men also beat the couple with iron rods, stripped them of their clothes and threw them off the bus on a road. They were found by bystanders before being rushed to New Delhi´s Safdarjang Hospital. The bus, which was empty except for the attackers and the couple, drove through the city for hours during the assault, even passing through police checkpoints. Press Trust of India quoted hospital medical superintendent, B.D. Athani, as saying Wednesday night that the woman suffered severe intestinal and abdominal injuries. She underwent three surgeries and parts of her intestines were removed, he said. He said the Indian government, "based on the advice of a team of doctors," made arrangements for her to be shifted to Singapore´s Mount Elizabeth hospital because it has state of the art multi-organ transplant facilities. Also, the travel time of 5 ½ hours from New Delhi was considered less arduous. "With fortitude and courage, the (woman) survived the aftereffects of the injuries so far well. But the condition continues to be critical," he was quoted as saying. "The treatment (in Singapore) might take longer." The woman was on ventilator support during the 10 days she was at Safdarjang Hospital. Press Trust of India said the Indian government will bear all expenses of the woman´s treatment. Doctors have described her as "psychologically composed and optimistic about future." It said her condition worsened late Wednesday after her pulse plummeted briefly, and that periodic bouts of infection were also a source of concern. nnnn