ACCHAM CLOSED DOWN TO MOURN DEATHS OF 31 BUS PASSENGERS Kathmandu, 13 Jan.: Accham is closed Sunday to mourn the deaths of 31 bus passengers killed in Doti Sunday; thirteen were injured. Twenty-dead were from Accham. A meeting is being held in Mangalsen district headquarters. nnnn APF DEFEATS BAUDHA UPDATE Kathmandu, 13 Jan.: APF Sunday defeated Baudha 3-0 in the martyrs memorial A division football league championship. Baudha has already been relegated MORE CPN MAOIST CONVENTION TO CONCLUDE MONDAY Kathmandu, 13 Jan.: A general convention of CPN Maoist is to be extended until Monday. The convention described as the seventh was to conclude Sunday. Nnnn CPN MAOIST ADOPTING PEOPLE’S REVOLUTION POLICY Kathmandu, 13 Jan.: After being heavily criticized by the cadres of the party, the prominent leaders of CPN-Maoist have committed to pass the line of people's revolution, The Kathmandu Post reports. Addressing the ongoing General Convention of the party, Vice Chairman CP Gajurel and Secretary Netra Bikram Chand committed to endorsing the people's revolution. "Be ready. We respect your voice. The party is ready for the revolution," Gajurel said to the cadres. During the closed session, the cadres had pressurized the leadership to clarify the work plan. They had claimed that their break away from UCPN (Maoist) would not make sense if they were to return back to parliamentary politics. Supporting Gajurel, Secretary Chand further said that the UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai betrayed the sentiments of insurgency. He said that their major agenda for break up was to opt for a revolution and they would do so. "But, we will not betray you. We were ready to kill or be killed during the insurgency. We are still ready to write our names in the list of martyrs," said Gajurel. nnnn PM REITERATES WAR-ERA CRIMES CANNOT BE INVESTIGATED Kathmandu, 13 Jan.: Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai has defended the government’s decision to halt the investigation of journalist Dekendra Raj Thapa’s murder, saying all the war-era cases cannot be investigated, The Kathmandi Post reports from Lalitpur.. Referring to the ongoing investigation into the involvement of five Maoist cadres in the murder of the Dailekh-based scribe, PM Bhattarai stated that if all the cases are investigated separately, the ongoing peace process would be derailed. He reiterated that all war-era cases should be settled by forming a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), a transitional justice mechanism envisaged by the Interim Constitution and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). Talking to reporters at a programme organised by the Revolutionary Journalists Association, Lalitpur, on Saturday, the prime minister said not only the Maoists, but also leaders from the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML would face action for their involvement in conflict-era cases. “If all such incidents are investigated, none of us, including Congress and UML, would escape punishment,” said the PM, adding that he would have no objection if the TRC punishes the people involved in serious conflict-era abuses. While noting that his intention was not to protect the people involved in serious crimes, Bhattarai said if war-era cases were investigated on individual basis, it would not ‘benefit anyone’ and ‘put the peace process in peril’. However, journalists and right activists say those who were involved in serious human right violations like the murder of Thapa should be prosecuted and the proposed TRC cannot settle the cases that are not directly related to the then state and the warring party. The PM’s remarks come at a time when the media fraternity has heavily come down on him for issuing an order to halt the process of recording statements of the murder accused. nnnn