MOD Asks To Stop NA Recruitment Process

The Ministry of Defense has asked the Nepali Army (NA) to stop the recruitment process, reports Kantipur daily. The Ministry wrote a letter to army headquarters on Wednesday (Dec 24) ordering it to suspend the process. On Friday, army chief General Rookmangud Katawal had met with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' to tell him that the NA was merely filling the positions that had become vacant and had not violated the agreements by doing so. He had said that it would be difficult to stop the process midway. But the PM is reported to have told him not to complicate the issue. Earlier, UNMIN chief Ian Martin had issued a statement asking both NA and Maoists not to recruit saying that would violate the agreements. Two months ago, NA had opened applications for 2884 positions for which it received 50,000 applications across the country. According to chief of NA's legal section brigadier general BA Kumar Sharma, Martin has misinterpreted the agreements. He doubted the intention as the process was dragged into controversy two months after it was initiated. "We are not making new recruitments. We are only filling vacant positions. If vacant positions are not filled regularly, the NA will be empty in ten years. Is it what Martin wants?" he asked. After the peace agreement, NA has already filled vacant positions twice. This time, one of the Maoist commanders Baldev had warned that they, too, would start recruiting new combatants if the NA did not stop the process. He claimed that there were talks with the PM to open recruitment for 16,000 combatants. Subsequently, Martin issued the statement. Nepalnews.com reports

Petro Price Reduced Again

In the wake of continued decline in the price of oil in international market, Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has further reduced the price of fuel in domestic market. Effective from Saturday (Dec 27) , the NOC has reduced the price of petrol by Rs 5 per liter, aviation fuel by Rs 5 per liter and diesel and kerosene each by Rs 1 per liter. With the reduction, the petrol (in Kathmandu valley) will now cost Rs 80 per liter, diesel and kerosene will cost Rs 59 per liter while aviation fuel will cost Rs 85 per liter. Likewise, the NOC has also reduced the price of cooking gas by Rs 50 per cylinder. Each cylinder of cooking gas will now cost Rs 1150. Compiled from reports

MJF Has Not Decided To Pull Out Of Govt, Says Gupta

 

Senior leader of Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) and agriculture minister, Jaya Prakash Gupta, has made it clear that his party has not decided to pull out of the government. "The party has not taken any such decision and the issue has not been discussed at any level of the party," Gupta told Nepal FM. Gupta also dismissed reports that he and two other MJF ministers - Renu Yadav and Bijay Gachchhedar – had submitted their resignation to party coordinator and Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav. Apparently annoyed by party's publicity department chief B.P Yadav's claim in media reports that the three ministers had already put in their papers, Gupta reacted, "B.P Yadav has been making irresponsible comments. There is no need to go after rumors he has created." He also said B.P Yadav, a close of aide of the party chief Upendra Yadav, would face action for his irresponsible deeds. Compiled from reports

PM Complains About Journos' Reaction

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has said that though he feels that the attack of Himalmedia was 'sad,' the journos were over-reacting. He said he was surprised that the journalists decided to continue their agitation when he had instructed the Information Minister to do the needful to take action against culprits. "Why are they targeting a single negative incident by forgetting other positive ones? It gives me a feeling that journalists are a bit biased against Maoists," he said, speaking at a program in Butwal, Wednesday (Dec 24). He said that while a pro-Maoist journalist was killed in Dhangadi, the journalists had not reacted so angrily as they have now. Leading dailies report

Maoist Trade Union Leader In Defiant Mood

Amid strong reactions against the assault on Himalmedia, a Maoist trade union leader has said that first the Himalmedia should reinstate the sacked workers before they can consider taking action against those involved in the attack. "Otherwise, we will agitate," said Shalikram Jammakattel, president of All Nepal Trade Union Federation and a CA member. Even as CPN (Maoists) faces national and international condemnation for Sunday's violent assault on Himalmedia Publication House by its cadres, the head of the former rebel party's trade union Jammakattel has warned of "bigger attacks" against the same media in future if the "peaceful demands" to re-instate workers are not fulfilled. In an interview with Avenues TV's news based program Khabar Vitra ko Khabar Tuesday (Dec 25), Jammakattel, who is also a Maoist lawmaker, accused Himalmedia of having flouted "the orders" of both the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Labour to fulfill the "peaceful demands" for the re-instatement of two marketing staff, who he said were Maoist union leaders at Himalmedia. Both labor and communications ministries are run by Maoist ministers. Contrary to reports which said that workers associated with Maoists had attacked the offices and personnel of Himalmedia, Jammarkattel claimed that it was in fact Himalmedia journalists and staff who started attacking his "laborer friends" when they went there for a meeting on Sunday and were injured in the process. He said after being attacked they had no choice but to fight back for their own safety. Interestingly, the cover story published in the latest issue of Himal Khabarpatrika, which is believed to have sparked the attack on Himalmedia, is very critical of Jamakattel. The story claims Jammakattel heads the campaign of intimidation against businesses and free press and was involved in "extorting money from businesses, bombing and kidnapping owners who refused" in the past. Meanwhile, Young Communist League (YCL), which has also been blamed of carrying out concerted attacks on media persons and media houses, has vowed to expose "the ones who have demanded to disband the YCL". The Maoist-aligned youth wing reached the decision at the end of its two-day long central committee meeting Tuesday and comes at a time when there has been growing pressure from various quarters to disband the youth fronts affiliated to various parties that has increasingly become militant. On Monday, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had denied any direct involvement of Maoist party in the assault on Himalmedia and claimed that "some immoral agents" who have "infiltrated" into the Maoist party and ranks were in fact involved it. He has also expressed commitment that the government will probe the incident and take action against those involved in the attack. Compiled from reports

YCL To Vacate Camps From Industrial Areas

The Maoist-affiliated Young Communist League (YCL) has said that it will vacate the Balaju Industrial estate. They have removed their signboard from the area on Wednesday. "We have removed the signboard in order to set up camp elsewhere. We will go away as soon as we find new place to stay," YCL valley in-charge Sagar told Kantipur. The fresh YCL decision has come in the wake of written order by the Ministry of Industry for the YCL to vacate all the industrial areas within 35 days. The letter was sent a week ago by Minister for Industry Asta Laxmi Shakya. She had threatened to use force to empty the industrial areas if the YCL did not comply. Meanwhile, main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) has praised Minister Shakya's efforts to vacate industrial areas. "We praise the courage shown by the minister," said Laxman Prasad Ghimire, chief whip of NC. Kantipur daily reports

VDIS Aimed At Collecting Income Tax: FM

In a bid to dispel wide spread confusion over whether VDIS (Voluntary Disclosure of Income Source) is a property or income tax, Finance Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai said that the VDIS is designed to collect taxes on income. Speaking at an interaction program on tax revenue organized by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Dr Bhattarai made it clear that the government has introduced the concept of VDIS with an aim to collect income tax collectively from those who have not paid it earlier. "Similarly, the government's new rule of showing income source while purchasing automobile, land, and land and house worth over Rs 2 million, Rs 3 million and Rs 5 million respectively is targeted at discouraging investment in unproductive sectors," Dr Bhattarai further stated. He also said that the government would ensure legal security to those taxpayers incorporating themselves in the net of VDIS. Compiled from reports

New Recruitment Will Violate Agreements: UNMIN

Chief of the United Nations Mission In Nepal (UNMIN), Ian Martin, has said new recruitments by Nepal Army or the Maoist People's Liberation Army (PLA) would be a breach of agreements related to the peace process. In a press statement on Tuesday, Martin said he has already written a letter to Defense Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa reiterating that new recruitments by NA or PLA would run counter to the Ceasefire Code of Conduct, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Agreement on Monitoring the Management of Arms and Armies. Martin added that UNMIN had expressed this view to the previous government in the context of earlier reports of new recruitment by NA in 2007, and had also drawn the attention of the Defense Minister in the current government to its position. The UNMIN chief also mentioned that previous government had maintained that the Nepal Army could fill vacancies up to its standing strength at the time of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Martin's statement comes in response to fresh controversy after a PLA deputy commander said PLA, too, would open recruitments if the NA goes ahead with the ongoing recruiting process. Compiled from reports