SENIOR CHINESE FUNCTIONARY CONTINUES NEPAL VISIT Kathmandu, 25 June: In the presence of Chairman Khil Rj Regmi and former Foreign Minister and Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi two agreements are being initialed Tuesday. China will extend an equivalent of Rs.4 billion financial help for the 19 November constituent assembly elections and construction of an Armed Police Force (APF) training academy. China seeks deployment of an effective security force to effectively man the Nepal-Tibet to curb any activities by pro-Tibet forces from Nepal. Yang arrived Monday heading a top Chinese delegation which returns home Tuesday. Yang hill also hold discussions with Vice President Paramananda Jha An inaugural ceremony of the Kathmandu Ring Road Renovation Projec will be held at Hotel Soaltee.. The10.5km eight-lane highway is being improved from Kalanki to Koieshwor and will be completed in 44 months. Nnnn THREE OF 33 AGAINST ELECTIONS Kathmandu, 25 June: Three of the 33 disgruntled parties that are against the scheduled November 19 election have put forth five preconditions to join the poll Process, Toka R.Pradhan writes in The Himalayan Times.. The CPN-Maoist, Federal Socialist Party and Federal Democratic Front-Nepal have in a recent meeting fainalised their demands. The three forces have decided that an all-party political conference should be the point of departure for the next political course. According to Rajendra Shrestha, General Secretary, FSP, CPN-Maoist leaders have also agreed on accepting the Khil Raj Regmi-led interim election government but only if a decision to that effect is taken through an all-party political conference. “But the conference should find an alternative to current Regmi-led dispensation if the conference goes for changing the government,” Shrestha said. The demands include dissolution of the High Level Political Committee that comprises four major forces only, withdrawing the 11-point four-party agreement and 25-point presidential decree and adopting 60:40 ratio for proportional and first past the post seats in CA. They are also to demand that the election process should move forward only after taking the consent from the dissenting forces. Shrestha said the three forces have also put forth their demand that voting rights be given to all the Nepali people living abroad, which the parties think could also be arranged. Addressing a book release programme in the Capital today, CPN-M Chairman Mohan Baidhya said his party never said that it would boycott the election. “Our party is ready for talks if the ongoing election procedure is halted for now and all the parties and stakeholders are invited for dialogue,” Baidhya said. He reiterated his party’s stance that the 11-point agreement and 25-point proposal on removing the constitutional hurdles should be scrapped and that the incumbent dispensation led by Khil Raj Regmi should be replaced by a government led by a political party/parties. Claiming that his party is not totally against the idea of election, Baidhya said that his party would be forced to launch stern protests if the trend of politics of negation continued. But when asked, CPN-M Secretary Dev Gurung said he was not aware of any agreement reached with FSP and FDFN in relation to joining the poll process. He said his party was for seeking an easier way to draft a new constitution through an all-party political conference., Nnnn : NC, UML WOO PARTIES Kathmandu, 25 June:: Nepali Congress and CPN-UML have dropped a hint that they would show maximum flexibility to reach a compromise on all contentious issues related to the Constituent Assembly election but removal of the Khil Raj Regmi-led government, prakash Acharya writes in The Himalayan Times.. The two parties are doing the groundwork to make the disgruntled parties take part in the CA poll process, and they seem to be positive about agreeing on the demands of CPN-Maoist and other fringe parties, according to sources who told this daily that they, however, would not accept the demand of forming a new ‘political government’ by unseating the incumbent Regmi-led dispensation. NC President Sushil Koirala and UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal today made an understanding to hold talks with the CPN-Maoist and other agitating parties, the sources said. During 45-minute-long meeting held at the residence of NC leader Dip Kumar Upadhayaya in Magargaun in Bhainsepati this morning, Koirala and Khanal agreed to do the most to get the disgruntled parties, particularly the CPN-M, on board. “If we remove the Regmi-led government, we will be back to pre-March 13 situation. So no one should think about change of guard at this time. We are ready to be flexible on other issues raised by agitating parties,” NC leader Upadhayaya said, adding that if the disgruntled parties wanted a new ‘political government’, then they should come up with a better alternative that could be acceptable to all. Upadhayaya said the two leaders were ready to increase the ratio for proportional representation in the CA and deal with other demands with maximum flexibility. “We are ready to have an agreement on make the agitating parties take part in the election process in a respectable manner by showing maximum flexibility,” he said. Koirala meets Baidhya NC President Sushil Koirala on Monday met CPN-Maoist Chairman Mohan Baidhya and Secretary Dev Gurung at his residence in Maharajgunj. During the meeting, Koirala conveyed to the CPN-M leaders what he had discussed with CPN-UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal earlier in the day. According to sources, the CPN-M leaders said they would hold internal consultation on the proposal and respond later. — HNS nnnn