Prachanda Breathes Revolt Fire
Prime Minister and Unified CPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Saturday (Feb 14) said the party will not always be engaged in the peace process. The party will move in a different manner in order to embrace change through revolt, he said at a program organized in Lalitpur Saturday. "Stressing which way is better for continuing revolution, we have been trying to present ourselves in a different way for peace process, Constituent Assembly and constitution-drafting process." "We should realize that current condition will not prevail for long and we also should prepare ourselves seriously for the next situation," he added. However, he did not elaborate on what would be the "next situation". The rebel-turned-premier said the Maoists are in a complicated state of revolution adding that they are different from what they appear. PM Dahal also accused coalition partner CPN-UML of being revisionist. Compiled from reports
CA Teams To Travel To Districts Later This Month
Forty teams of Constituent Assembly (CA) members will leave for the districts from 27th February to collect public opinion as part of the constitution-making process. CA chairman Subas Nemwang Saturday (Feb 14) finalized the name list of the CA members traveling to the districts. The name list was finalized following discussion at a joint meeting of the Civic Relation Committee and Public Opinion Collection Committee. Chief whips and whips of the parties in the CA also participated in the meeting held at Singha Durbar. Spokesperson of the CA Secretariat said minor changes have been made in the list prepared by the Secretariat and that the CA members would be sent mostly to their home districts. According to him, the questionnaire prepared by the committees for collecting public opinion will be finalized on Sunday. However, CA chairman, vice-chairperson and heads of the parliamentary parties will not join them. During the tour, the CA members will interact with ordinary citizens and representatives of various sections of the society on how to prepare an inclusive constitution. Compiled from reports
Nepse On Revival Mode; Gold Gains Ground
This past week Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) was on revival mode. It gained 15.43 points to reach 671.49 points from last week's closing of 656.06 points. Despite huge primary issues of Rs 300 million each of two commercial banks that totalled Rs 600 million the secondary market this week performed satisfactorily. Meanwhile, the weak Nepali rupee against the US dollar and fluctuating international market have pushed the price of gold up to Rs 27,800 per tola (11.664 grams) on Friday. Gold gained Rs 685 over a week from last Friday's closing of Rs 23,150 per 10 gram. Leading dailies report
PLA Comes Under AISC: Prachanda
Prime Minister and chairman of Unified CPN-Maoists, Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has said that the Maoists' People's Liberation Army (PLA) has come under the Army Integration Special Committee (AISC). Addressing the PLA function, Thursday (Feb 12), he said, "In principle, you have already come under the jurisdiction of AISC." With his government facing widespread criticism from different sides, Prime Minister Dahal said his party is ready to pay any kind of price to fulfill the people's aspiration for peace. Addressing the 14th anniversary of the "People's War" the Maoist fought against the state and the 8th People's Liberation Army (PLA) Day organized at Pariwartan Smriti Brigade under the 4th Division of the Maoist PLA in Nawalparasi district, PM Dahal claimed that conspiracies are being hatched to topple the Maoist led-government and called on all sides to unite to defend the gains of the peace process. He also said that the "era of peace" has started in the country while requesting the PLA army to "make sacrifices" for the sake of peace. In the function the PLA had staged a parade in the honor of PM Dahal. Defense Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa, Finance Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai including senior ministers from the party as well as Maoist party's organizational head Mohan Baidya, senior leaders Narayankaji Shrestha and others had participated in the program. President Dr Ram Baran Yadav had earlier declined to attend the function. Similarly, foreign envoys had also not attended the function but representatives from United Nations Mission in Nepal and United Nation Development Fund were present at the program, reports said. Compiled from reports
India Conspiring To Divide Nepal: Baidya
Senior Unified CPN (Maoist) leader Mohan Baidya has accused neighboring nation India of conspiring to divide Nepal. Speaking at a program organized in the capital, he claimed that India is trying to disintegrate Nepal using Madhes as a weapon. Baidya, hard-line Maoist ideologue, accused India of using Madhes issue into its benefit and inciting elements into wrong doings. He said that his party will struggle against anybody who tries to disintegrate Nepal. The meeting of the central secretariat of the Maoist party has already decided to entrust party chairman Prachanda to formulate policy regarding Madhes following discussions and interactions with all the stakeholders.
CIAA Sees The Need To Rein In NGOs
The primary anti-graft body of Nepal, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) is preparing to the office of the prime minister and council of ministers asking them to make legal provisions to control corruption in non-government organizations. Investigative reports prepared by the Social Welfare Council shows many cases of "corruption and illegal activities" among NGOs, said a CIAA statement. The anti-graft body said the existing legal provisions are only for auditing and monitoring NGOs and not adequate to take action against them. There should be legal provisions to control "corruption and immoral activities," as the activities of NGOs are matters of public concern, the statement said. Against this backdrop, the anti-graft body decided to write to the office of the prime minister and council of ministers to promulgate effective laws in this regard, the CIAA said.
Unified CPN-Maoist Passes New 'Communism' Statute
Unified CPN-Maoist has passed its new statute with an objective to reach communism all the way through socialism. The party endorsed the new statute after the unification of party with the CPN-Unity Center Masal. The newly approved statute mentions that the party will lay the foundation for attaining its objective of communism by drafting a new people-oriented constitution. The new statute was passed after the lawmakers expressed their views on the statute draft tabled at the meeting, Amik Sherchan informed. The statute has a provision that party's chief leader and deputy leader can be removed through the vote of confidence. Likewise, as per the statute the party leader should convene a parliamentary meeting within fifteen days if one fourth of the parliamentary leaders demanded for the same.
Tourist Arrivals Tumble By 15.8 PC
Tourist arrivals in the country via air in the month of January 2009 have decreased by 15.8 percent to 21,944 in comparison to the same month last year, according to figures released by Immigration Office, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). However, the entire South Asian region has gained positive growth except for arrivals from India. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have registered growth by 6.6 percent, 13.3 percent and 29.9 percent respectively. But, India witnessed a negative growth of 17.6 percent in the month. Similarly, other Asian countries including China, Singapore and Thailand have maintained the upward trend with 48.8 percent, 30.3 percent and 29.8 percent of growth respectively. However, arrivals from Japan and South Korea have witnessed negative growth in the arrival figures by 20.7 percent, and 54.9 percent respectively. The entire European markets except for Belgium (31.8 percent) and Denmark (27.8 percent) registered negative growth in comparison to the same month last year.
Nepal, Finland Ink Agreement
With an aim to give new boost to mutual cooperation, the government of Nepal and the Republic of Finland inked a bilateral agreement. It is learnt that the agreement will stimulate investment in respective countries. As per the agreement, investment shall not be confiscated or nationalized. The prime tenets of the agreement are to allow, encourage and promote investment as well as to ensure returns on investments in an equitable manner. Finance Secretary Rameshwor Prasad Khanal and Dr Paavo Väyrynen, Minister of Foreign Trade and Development of Finland signed the agreement. Dr Väyrynen along with his team had made a short trip to Nepal at the invitation of Finance Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai.
Disqualified Combatants To Be Rehabilitated
A meeting of the Army Integration Special Committee (AISC) has decided to ask the international organizations including the United Nations to support for the rehabilitation of more than four thousand Maoist combatants who were disqualified by the United Missions in Nepal. According to Nepali Congress leader Dr Ram Saran Mahat, who is also a member of AISC, the first meeting of committee chaired by the Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' decided to send the disqualified combatants to their respective villages as soon as possible. UNMIN had already asked the Maoists to release more than four thousand disqualified combatants from the UN-monitored camps. "The meeting also decided to request the international bodies for their support to rehabilitate them in the society," Mahat said. The AISC has also approved its code of conduct.
WFP Warns Of Severe Food Insecurity
The World Food Program (WFP) has said that there is an indication of poor to moderate winter crop yield in some parts of the Mid/Far-Western hills and mountains due to insufficient rainfall, according to media sources. A report released by the WFP stated, "If no rain occurs in February, production could considerably decrease, further deteriorating the food security situation from June onwards," Over 26,000 people are highly food insecure in Dolpa, Jumla and Mugu districts where cases of acute child malnutrition have been reported. Several areas in the hills and mountains of the Mid/Far-West are highly or moderately food insecure because of the poor to moderate summer crop production - making people more dependent on purchased food. Though food security has improved in flood-affected areas of western Terai, 40,000 people are still highly food insecure and need support for their rehabilitation, the WFP report further added.
