PM VISITS LAINCHAUR THIS YEAR TO REMEMBER MARTYRS Kathmandu, 29 Jan.: Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, ministers and senior government officials unlike last year, placed wreaths at a memorial for martyrs at Lainchaur next to the British embassy Tuesday. The premier remembered four martyrs who ere hanged at different point in the capital for opposing their 104-year regime. The government head last year went to Kirtipur to observe the day remembering communist leadership. Nobody knows how many martyrs there are now. The Postal Services Department was forced last year to delay release of first day covers because it did not have biographical details on persons in whose names Postage stamps were issued on political party pressure. nnnn.. . FIRE AT NEPAL LUBRICANTS Kathmandu, 29 Jan.: Property worth million gutted to cinder after a fire has broken out in Nepal Lubricants at Chhata Pipra in Pathalaiya Industrial Corridor Area last night due to an electric shock, RSS reports from Parsa.. But, the fire was brought into control with the help of locals, security forces and a fire engine, said Area Police Office Jitpur. No human casualty was reported in the incident. nnnn CPN-MAOIST TO REVIVE COMMAND SYSTEM OF PEOPLE’S WAR Kathmandu, 29 Jan.: After adopting "people´s revolt on the foundation of people´s war" as its political line through its general convention, Mohan Baidya´s CPN-Maoist is planning to revive the insurgency-era organizational structure in the party, Kiran Pun writes in Republica.. At the central committee meeting of the party which is under way at the party´s head office in Buddha Nagar, leaders are holding discussion to change the existing bureau system into command system. Under the system, power will be centralized in the commands, which will be headed by top leaders. The meeting which started on January 20 is still continuing with gaps. "Discussion is underway to set up command system," Santosh Budha Magar, a central committee member, told Republica. Now there are eight bureaus including six geographical and two non-geographical and these are headed by politburo members. The Eastern, Central, Western, Madhes, Far-Western and International bureaus were headed by Khadga Bahadur Bishwakarma, Hitaman Shakya, Indra Mohan Sigdel, Kul Prasad KC and Dharmendra Banstola, respectively. Likewise, the non-geographical bureaus -- publications and publicity, sister wings and fronts -- were headed by Pampha Bhusal and Narayan Prasad Sharma, respectively. Under the bureau system, the state committees are more powerful than the bureaus. There are 14 state committees including geographical and non-geographical state committees. Once command system is implemented the bureaus will be dissolved but state committees will be retained, according to a top leader. "Discussion is under way to form between three and four commands," said another central committee member. During the insurgency period, the then CPN (Maoist) had formed various commands, sometimes three, sometimes four and sometimes five in number. The party had formed Eastern, Central and Western Commands with top leaders as heads of the commands. The party had also formed a Valley Command and a Prabas Command [for Nepalis domiciled abroad]. Nnnn MARTYRS DEVALUED Kathmandu, 29 Jan.:: As the country celebrates Martyrs´ Day on Tuesday amidst various functions, family members of those who sacrificed their lives for people´s liberty and rights in the course of various political struggles find it a hollow occasion for paying lip service to the martyrs, Republica reports.. The kin of the martyrs complain that the decision of each successive government after the political change in April 2006 to declare as martyrs those dying from both political and non-political causes has not only undermined the contribution of the genuine martyrs, but also devalued the very term ´martyr´. “Neither have the political parties, once coming to power, been able to pay due heed to achieving the cause the martyrs readily sacrificed their lives for, nor have they been able to accord proper recognition to the martyrs who fought for the betterment of the country and its people,” complained J B Dhaulakoti, chairman of Martyrs and Injured Citizens Coordination Committee. Dhaulakoti, whose father Hasta Bahadur was killed in Surkhet during the referendum held in 1980, said it is really disappointing to find even people with questionable backgrounds declared martyrs by the governments formed after 2006. “We had set criteria for declaring martyrs, in a report submitted to the then government. But no government paid heed to our suggestions,” added Dhaulakoti, who was also a member of the Mod Nath Prashrit-led committee. The Prashrit-led Committed formed in December 2009 had recommended that a person must have fought for truth and righteousness to qualify for martyr status and his/her fight must not have served any personal or vested interest so that the person honored with martyrdom will be seen as someone having common appeal among the masses. The committee, likewise, recommended that someone qualifies to be a martyr only if he/she chooses death over life when offered the choice. Sukra Raj Shastri, Dharma Bhakta Mathema, Dasharath Chand and Ganga Lal Shrestha are regarded as the first fours martyrs. They were hanged in 1941 for challenging the then Rana oligarchy. Though it was expected that the criteria set by the Prashrit Committee would discourage the practice of declaring individuals martyrs under street pressure and encourage the honoring of only those who sacrificed their lives in the cause of nation and people, this could not happen. The governments formed since have continued declaring martyrs on a ´random´ basis. According to the Home Ministry, altogether 101 people have been conferred martyrdom after the success of the people´s movement in April 2006. Besides that, over 7,000 Maoist leaders and cadres were declared martyrs by the Pushpa Kamal Dahal government in 2009. This list does not include recently declared martyrs since, including Supreme Court Justice Rana Bahadur Bam and four persons killed in a bomb explosion in Janakpur in May 2012. Officials at the Home Ministry said that after the political change in 2006, it has been normal for a victim party to seek martyrdom in every incident involving death as this would fetch them Rs 1 million. The government would be compelled to confer the honor as political parties bow to pressure from relatives or support groups launching indefinite strikes and protests. Instead of discouraging the practice of declaring martyrs on such random basis, political parties seem to be only supporting the practice. The current Maoist-led government had formed a separate panel under Nawa Raj Subedi to determine criteria for martyrs as the recommendations of the Prashrit Committee did not include those killed during the Maoist insurgency. A section of political leaders admits that there were weaknesses on their part while declaring martyrs. “There must be broad consensus among political parties and civil society on the definition of martyrs. It is very unfortunate to see the random way of declaring someone a martyr,” said Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (Democratic) leader Jitendra Dev, who was also a member of the Prashrit Committee. “I am disappointed to see the recommendations of our committee ignored by the government.” Martyrs declared post-April 2006 • Janaandolan II Martyrs: 25 • Tarai Madhes Martyrs: 30 • Civil Servant Martyrs: 13 • Financial Institution Martyrs: 3 • Local Body Martyr: 1 • Teacher Martyrs: 6 • Agriculture Council Employee Martyr: 1 • Nepal Police Martyr: 1 • Armed Police Force Martyr: 1 • Religious Martyrs: 4 • Corporation Employee Martyrs: 4 • Limbuwan Movement Martyr: 1 • Journalist Martyr: 1 • Justice Rana Bahadur Bam • Four persons killed in Janakpur bomb blast Nnnn