CPN MAOIST

CPN MAOIST FIXING AGENDA FOR TALKS WITH GOVT. PARTIES

Kathmandu, 5 Aug.: CPN Maoist Maoist Vice-chairman CP Gajurel said talks will be held om oys five-point demand for participating in constituent assembly elections after

receiving an amended third invite Sunday from the four-party HLMP behind the government.

A formal decision will be taken after the party holds talks with coalition partners also opposed to the 19 November vote.

Monday;ss meeting with fix an agenda for talks as well.

Opposition alliance is meeting Monday to adopt a formal position on talks.

Government has sent separate letter inviting CPN Maoist for talks.

The opposition has demanded fresh consensus on elections, dismissal of the KHil Raj Regmi government, a roundtable conference and scrapping of 11 and 25-point agreements negotiated by HLPM constituents to appoint Regmi government.

Opposition demands have bee rejected except reconstituting mechanism to

 include opposition.

Demand for a round table conference has also been accepted.

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NEPAL’S MMC IN SEMIFINAL OF BHUTAN FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT

Kathmandu, 5 Aug.: Nepal’s MMC has reached the semifinal of the

King;s Cup football tournament in Thimpu Bhutan Sunday.

The club defeated another Nepali club Machindra 1-0.

Three Nepali teams are participating in the tournament..

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MPRF-N DEMANDS SETTLEMENT OF TONTENTIOUS ISSUES

BEFORE NOV. POLLS

Kathmandu, 5 Aug.: Stating that the new Constituent Assembly (CA) may also see its demise without promulgating a new statute, Madhesi People´s Rights Forum-Nepal (MPRF-N) Chairman Upendra Yadav has proposed settling all contentious issues in the new statute before holding fresh polls, Kpsh Raj Koiirala, Jivesh Jha write in Republica..

In an exclusive interview with Republica on Sunday, Yadav said political parties represented in the erstwhile CA should sit together to resolve the contention issues so as to ensure promulgation of the new statute through the people´s representative body. “We had completed almost 90 percent work on constitution writing in the erstwhile CA. There is no guarantee that the new CA will deliver a new constitution unless the remaining 10 percent contentious issues are resolved beforehand,” he said.

Yadav argued that the parties should either hold an all-party political conference or make a similar arrangement to settle the remaining contentious issues. “Draft constitution prepared this way could be endorsed through the elected body,” he said. “This will not only provide opportunity for people to see the draft constitution before it is endorsed but also guarantee its promulgation through the people´s representative body.”

Yadav also said that once a draft constitution is prepared by all the political parties represented in the erstwhile CA there is no need to hold fresh CA election. “We can go to the people with draft constitution once it is ready. Then we do not necessarily need to go to the fresh Constituent Assembly election,” he said. “People´s representatives elected through the parliamentary election could endorse the draft constitution.”
The proposal comes in the wake of leaders of various parties floating various proposals on drafting the new constitution.

While NC leader Dr Shekhar Koirala has proposed entrusting independent experts with the responsibility of drafting the new constitution and holding a referendum to settle the contentious issues, senior leader of CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal has argued that referendum should be the last resort if parties fail to reach consensus within six months after election of the new CA.

Yadav, however, is against the idea of holding a referendum and has said that referendum on contentious issues may lead to disastrous consequences. “Referendum on such issues in a least developed country like ours may invite disaster and divide the people. And it would take a very long time to bridge such a divide,” he added.

Yadav further claimed that referendum on contentious issues would not help resolve the problems. “We had a referendum in 1980s on whether people wanted improved Panchayati system or multi-party system. Though improved Panchayati system was favored by the people then, this did not solve the problem permanently,” he said. “Political change was inevitable in 1990.”

Yadav argued that parties must prioritize dialogues to arrive at consensus on the contentious issues of the new statute. “Referendum is not the solution,” he added.

The erstwhile CA dissolved without promulgating a new constitution as major political parties differed over issues related to number of federal states, their names and system of governance. “I think five or six federal states are best suited to our country,” he said.

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GOVT. INTEGRATED SERVICE CENTER FOR EVEREST CLIMBERS AT BASE CAMP IN OFFING Kathmandu, 5 Aug: The government is planning to establish Integrated Service Center (ISC) at the Everest Base Camp to better manage expedition teams attempting to reach to the summit of the tallest peak on earth, Kriti Bhuju writes in Republica.. Purna Chandra Bhattarai, joint secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA), told Republica the center would come into before the spring of 2014. “The center will provide all necessary facilities to mountaineers. It will also coordinate and regulate expedition teams, help conduct rescue operations, look after garbage management, and investigate claims for different records made on Everest,” Bhattarai said. The government decided to establish the center as per the report submitted by incumbent Chief Secretary Lila Mani Paudel, who led the civil servants´ expedition to Mt Everest, in 2011. “We will deploy experts from different sectors like communications and meteorology, among others, at the center so that mountaineers and their supporting staff can get all the information related to mountain safety under one roof,” added Bhattarai. According to sources, the Tourism Industry Division under MoCTCA is working on the financial part before submitting a proposal to the finance ministry for budget allocation. “We are also planning to bring in the private sector as well for finance management. So, it ma take some time for the project to start,” he added. Though the government has made it mandatory for expedition teams to take along a government employee as liaison officer, expedition operators say such officers take allowances but do not reach the base camp. They say illegal activities in mountaineering are increasing because of such tainted officials. According to Bhattarai, officials deputed at the center will work as liaison officers. Bhattarai also said the government is also committed to control all sorts of activities aimed at creating record that hampers the prestige of Mt Everest. The ministry is also working on to control commercial activities on Everest including the base camp.

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