Government calls protesting groups for talks

The government has called all the groups protesting in terai region for talks.

According to reports, Tuesday’s special meeting of the council of ministers called all groups protesting in terai region for talks to solve the impasse.

The cabinet also decided to give one million rupees to each person killed during the protests in Lahan district.

Two protestors have been killed during the protest programme held after the murder of a student, Ramesh Mahato, reportedly by a bullet fired by a Maoist cadre, during a rally called by the Madhesi Janadhikar forum.

The meeting also decided to provide free treatment facilities to all people injured during the protests in Lahan.

The meeting also approved the judicial commission formed by the Home Ministry to probe the Lahan incident.

The Home Ministry had formed a three member judicial commission headed by Judge of Patan Appellate Court Janardan Bahadur Khadka to probe the incident.

Monday’s meeting of the ruling seven party alliance and the Maoists asked the government to form high level commission to probe the Siraha incident and also provide appropriate compensation to the families of the deceased people.

Nepal to form probe commission to look into Lahan incident

Nepal's all-party meeting decided to recommend government to constitute a high level probe commission to investigate the Lahan incident on Monday.

The meeting was held at the Prime Minister's residence in Kathmandu on Monday.

Leaders of Nepal's eight political parties gathered for the meeting. They expressed deep regret over the death of Ramesh Kumar Mahato, a student and member of the Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF, also called as the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum), and incidents of vandalism and arson that took place in Lahan municipality of Siraha district which is some 150 kilometers to the southeast of capital Kathmandu.

Party leaders recommended the government to take stern action those involved in the death of Mahato and provide appropriate compensation to the family members of the deceased.

Speaking to the media persons following the meeting, Nepali home minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula said that considering the constituent assembly election as a primary objective of the present government, leaders of eight political parties expressed commitment to restore peace and good governance in the country.

Home Minister Sitaula also stated that he was on way to hold dialogue with the transport entrepreneurs to end the indefinite strike that had crippled the daily life throughout the nation.

CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal said leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) (formerly known as guerilla) Dev Gurung apologized for the fault of the CPN cadres committed in Lahan.

Ramesh Mahato was shot dead in a shoot-out breaking out on Friday when MPRF tried to stop the CPN' vehicles for violating the general strike in Lahan it had called.

The irked Lahan locals' vandalizing and torching public vehicles from Friday, which ignited indefinite nationwide transport strike from Sunday on. Meanwhile, MPRF torched government and CPN offices in south Nepal. Accordingly, local government clamped curfew in Lahan since Friday.

MPRF is a section of people in Nepali terai region with Indian origin

Former Nepal rebels begin handing over weapons

UN monitors were collecting weapons from former communist rebels at two camps in south Nepal and were expected to start in all seven such camps by next week, officials said Thursday.

Ian Martin, chief UN official in Nepal, said the registration and collection of the Maoist rebels’ weapons had begun Wednesday in camps at Chitwan and Nawalparasi towns. UN monitors were also ready to begin the task at the camps in Surkhet in west Nepal at an unspecified time, and in the remaining camps by early next week, Martin said.

He declined to say what types of weapons or how many of them had been collected so far from the first two camps. “The beginning of the registration process has gone smoothly,” Martin said.

The rebels have blocked journalists from camps where the collection had begun. However, UN officials in the capital, Katmandu, showed journalists video and photographs of the process.

Under an agreement between the rebels and government, the rebel fighters will be confined to the seven main camps and 21 smaller ones until a still-to-be-formed special assembly decides on their futures.

Nepal approves new constitution

Nepal has approved a new, temporary constitution to bring former rebel Maoists into an interim parliament and strip the king of his executive powers in favour of the prime minister.

The speaker of the lower house of parliament says the proposed interim constitution has been unanimously approved after no 'nays' were heard during voice voting.

The new parliament with 83 former rebel members is due to meet for the first time later today.

SC judges make 13-point recommendation on draft interim constitution

A full court meeting of the Supreme Court justices on Sunday came up with a 13-point recommendation for amendment in the draft of the interim constitution.

Concluding that some of provisions in the draft interim constitution run counter to the concept of the independence of the judiciary, the meeting decided to submit the recommendations to the Prime Minister.

The proposal states that the Chief Justice be appointed with the recommendation of the Constitutional Council, not by the Prime Minister as mentioned in the draft of the interim constitution finalised by the eight parties on December 16. The judges have also argued that the CJ should be named as the 'CJ of Nepal' instead of the 'CJ of the Supreme Court'.

The judges have also opposed the provision in the draft interim constitution, which bars retired judges from getting political appointments as well as the provision of impeachment of judges if they are found with mental or physical inability.

Similarly, another recommendation says that the provision of submitting the annual report of the judiciary to the Prime Minister, who will then present it to the parliament, be changed as it is against the concept of judicial independence. The report, it is proposed, should be publicised directly without submitting it to the Prime Minister.

CJ Dilip Kumar Poudel and most of the SC judges were present at the two-and-half-hour long meeting held at the Supreme Court. The judges had been discussing these issues since Thursday.

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No mid-June elections if Interim Statute is not issued soon: Election Commission

The Election Commission has said that the Constituent Assembly elections would not be possible by Mid-June this year if the Interim Constitution is not issued as soon as possible. Addressing a press conference at the commission’s office in the capital Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Bhoj Raj Pohkrel said that the Interim Statute was absolutely necessary for additional election laws and directives. Pokhrel also informed that training programmes regarding the elections would not be possible if the Village Development Committee (VDC) secretaries do not return to their respective villages by January 9. “The longer the interim statute is delayed, the preparations needed to hold the constituent assembly elections will fall behind further, “CEC Pokhrel said. Saying that collecting the electoral rolls for the constituent assembly elections was the most challenging task, the Commission has informed that the voters’ list could be prepared by the end of Chaitra (mid April) if the necessary voting laws were prepared in time. Meanwhile, the commission has started training election officials in the districts. The commission plans to deploy 4700 officials to train local election officials to collect the voters’ list. The commission has also informed that some 22,000 officials will be required to collect names from across the country for the voters’ list. At today’s press conference, CEC Pokhrel also informed that preparations were underway to use semi-transparent ballot boxes in the elections. Meanwhile, head of the UN team to assist in Nepal’s peace process, Ian Martin also discussed the different aspects of the constituent assembly election with the Election Commission officials today.

Another Janandolan if Interim Statute delayed, warns Prachanda

Maoist Chairman Prachanda has warned the government of another “Janandolan” if the Interim Constitution is not issued by the end of this Nepali month (January 14). The Maoist Supremo also disclosed that the government and the Maoists had already reached an agreement to issue the Interim Statute by Jan 9. Prachanda made the comment while talking to journalists in Dolakha district today. He also claimed that the Nepali people “would rise in rebellion” at their (Maoist) call if a situation is created where the constituent assembly elections cannot take place. “What I think is- let’s not say by January 9- but if the interim constitution is not issued, interim legislature not formed, by the end of this (Nepali) month (Jan 14), then we won’t be left with any other alternative; we will go for protests,” Prachanda said. Prachanda also said that he had come to Dolakha “to study the possibilities of developing economic models for the building of a new Nepal.” Saying that he was “positive” about the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project, Prachanda stressed the need for domestic investment in such projects. Prachanda who reached Dolakha on Wednesday toured district headquarters Charikot, Tamakoshi Bazaar, Mainapokhari and Jiri with his wife and children. During his tour, he interacted and took photos with the local people. Meanwhile, speaking at a different programme in Palpa district today, CPN UML leader Bamdev Gautam also warned that his party will withdraw from the government if the interim constitution is not promulgated by mid-January.

Speaking at an interaction programme organized by Press Chautari, Palpa, Gautam also stressed on promulgating the interim statute and holding constituent assembly election in time. He also said that the main objective of the constituent assembly election was to uproot the monarchy and that he would spread the same message in villages across the country.

A year of blogging

Parties, rights groups condemn arrest of civil society activists

Human rights groups and the political parties including the CPN (Maoist) have flayed the arrest of leading civil society activists from their peaceful sit-in programme in front of the Prime Minister's residence in Baluwatar Monday afternoon.

The CPN (UML), a key ally of the coalition cabinet, in a statement condemned the arrest of some 63 civil society leaders and asked the government to immediately release the arrested persons.

Likewise, Maoist spokesperson Krishna Bahadur Mahara said his party was 'angered' by the mistreatment and arrest of the civil society leaders, who were carrying out sit-in protest peacefully, demanding immediate promulgation of the interim constitution for timely election to constituent assembly.

"Our party strongly denounces such mistreatment and arrest of senior civil society leaders and demands their immediately release," Mahara's statement said, adding, "The government's attempt to silence the voices of the civil society has not only worried those advocating for democracy, peace and progress but it has also made the anti-constituent assembly elements happy."

The Maoist party also urged the government to gear up for promulgation of the interim constitution rather than engaging in such activities.

The Joint Forum for Human Rights and Peace (JFHRP) said the government action in the peaceful sit-in of civil society leaders have reminded of the brutality of erstwhile royal regime. A JFHRP press statement signed by 22 leading rights activists including Dam Nath Dhungana, Padma Ratna Tuladhar, Sindhunath Pyakurel, Gopal Sibakoti 'Chintan' Malla K Sundar and Dr Purna Kanta Adhikari asked the government to immediately release the arrested activists.

Likewise, Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) said the arrest of the civil society leaders mocked the democratic norms and the spirit of the people's movement in April 2006.

The Citizens Movement for Democracy and Peace, Unity Centre (Masal), Progressive Writers' Association and Rural Rehabilitation Organisation also flayed the arrest of civil society activists and called for their immediately release.

Police arrested 63 civil society leaders including Dr Devendra Raj Pandey, Shyam Shrestha, Dr Sundarmani Dixit, Mahesh Maskey, FNJ president Bishnu Nisthuri and Khagendra Sangraula from outside the PM's residence at around 11:00 am as soon as they started their sit-in.

Meanwhile, the arrested civil society activists who have been kept at the No. 2 Battalion of the Armed Police Force (APF) at Maharajgunj have said they would continue sit-in at the detention centre unless the Home Minister apologised for the police action in the peaceful demonstration.

"We have always been carrying out pressure campaigns and our movement will go on," Dr Pandey told media persons at the APF custody. nepalnews.com mk Jan 01 07