Deputy Prime Minister and coordinator of the army integration special committee, Bam Dev Gautam, has said the committee would not be dissolved, but it could be reconstituted by including members of the opposition parties in it.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bamdev Gautam
Speaking to reporters after a programme in the capital Saturday, Gautam, who is also the Home Minister in the Maoist-led coalition cabinet, said the special committee has not been able to start its work because efforts are still underway to forge political consensus on the army integration issue.

Referring to a recent comment of Vice President Parmananda Jha who described the special committee as being ‘unconstitutional’, Gautam said such views were unwarranted and indeed unconstitutional.

Only the Supreme Court can say whether the formation of the committee is constitutional or not, he added.

Trying to justify the government’s moves to improve security, chiefly the clampdown on the capital city’s nightlife, Gautam said through these actions the government wants to send a message to the international community that Nepal is a safe destination for visitors. nepalnews.com mk Nov 08 08

Republic Nepal’s first President Dr Ram Baran Yadav on Friday expressed his dissatisfaction over the ploys and dirty games that has tainted Nepalese politics, and said he believes his 12 years as a medical doctor was far more respectful than the 20 years he spent in politics.

“Doctors are far more respected [in the society] than those involved in politics,” he said speaking at an annual function of Dhulikhel Hospital Friday. “If I had known before that it [politics] will be like this then perhaps I would have continued to work as a doctor.”

Reminding late B.P Koirala’s popular saying that a country’s socio-economic situation would not be good if its political situation is bad, Dr Yadav stressed on the necessity to promote national unity by institutionalizing democracy.

“No matter where we live, what religion we follow and whatever caste and community we may belong to, at the end we are all Nepalese,” he said, “only if we institutionalize democracy that we brought through our blood and toil that the country would become one.” nepalnews.com ag Nov 08 08

Bhutan Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist) has demanded that Nepal government stop third country refugee resettlement program by the end of this year, reports said Friday.

According to the Kathmandu Post, the outfit which is waging an armed struggle in the Druk kingdom for the “respectful return” of the Bhutanese refugees, warned of launching agitation from within the refugee camps of Nepal if this demand of theirs is not met. nepalnews.com ag Nov 08 08

Members of opposition parties Nepali Congress (NC) and Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party (TMLP) have warned of obstructing the session of the Constituent Assembly (CA) from Saturday.

On Friday, speaking at CA, NC leader Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat said that they will obstruct the session if the government does not clarify about reports that Maoist commander Kali Bahadur Kham Magar is being protected even though he faces charges of killing one Ram Hari Shrestha.

He demanded that Defense Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal resign if it is proved that he met with Magar, as reported by some media.

The NC leader also demanded immediate return of seized lands and properties.

On the other hand, TMLP leader Hridayesh Tripathy asked the government to dissolve the special committee and reconstitute it as per the constitution and political understanding. He also threatened to block CA session, otherwise. nepalnews.com Nov 08 08

Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Janardan Sharma has said that the process of army integration will proceed as per the desire of the Maoist combatants, reports Kantipur daily.

“Integration will be as per their desire. The method will be fixed by the special committee,” he said in Nepalgunj.

Minister Sharma, who is also a former commander of Maoist army, is visiting the PLA cantonment in Dashrathpur, Surkhet to discuss about the army integration process.

He also said that government is considering ways of rehabilitating the combatants disqualified by the UNMIN.

“As they have military training, they cannot be left out just like that. They have to be given proper vocational training first,” he said. nepalnews.com Nov 08 08

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said Saturday that political quarters that want to maintain status quo are trying to pose hurdles in the peace process as well as the constitution-making procedure.

Though he didn’t point out at any party as ‘status-quoist’, Dahal was hinting at the main opposition Nepali Congress that has voiced fundamental differences with the Maoist-led government over the handling of the peace process, especially the composition of the special committee formed to oversee the army integration.

Addressing a function in the capital, PM Dahal said the government is determined to overcome the status-quoist and ‘anti-change’ forces and write new constitution on time and bring the peace process to a conclusion.

He also added that the Maoist-UML coordination committee would be a great help in ensruing the smooth functioning of the coalition government. nepalnews.com Nov 08 08

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has reaffirmed its support to the peace process in Nepal, urging the Nepal government and major political parties to cooperate in a spirit of compromise to ensure the peace process continues.

Speaking to the press on Friday, Ambassador Jorge Urbina of Costa Rica, which holds the rotating Council presidency this month, said the 15-member panel reaffirmed its support for the peace process in Nepal and welcomed the progress made so far.

Urbina said the Council members urged the Nepal government and the political parties to “work together in a spirit of compromise” to expedite the peace process and take the decisions necessary to allow the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) to carry out its work, a UN statement said.

Earlier, the head of UNMIN and the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Nepal, Ian Martin, briefed the Council on the most recent developments, particularly concerning the work of the mission.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Nepal last week to assess the peace process. During his meetings, he called upon top political leaders and government officials to forge ahead with rehabilitating and integrating thousands of Maoist ex-fighters as part of the peace process. nepalnews.com mk Nov 08 08

Girija Prasad Koirala
Former prime minister and president of main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) Girija Prasad Koirala has warned that the country will face a disaster if constitution is not written on time.

“If the new constitution is not written within two years, the peace and stability will be disturbed,” he told the visiting delegation of Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) at his residence in Maharajgunj, Friday.

“Otherwise, if there is delay, the country will have to face a disaster,” he said.

“We will exert necessary pressure to ensure that the constitution is written on time,” he added.

He also hoped that the new constitution will reflect the uniqueness and peculiarities of Nepal. nepalnews.com sd Nov 07 08

Terai Madhesh Loktantrik Party (TMLP) chairman Mahantha Thakur met Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Friday and asked him to include his party in the army integration committee.

During the meeting, Thaur is known to have complained that the ruling parties ignored other parties while forming the army integration panel and suggested the Prime Minister to take smaller parties into confidence.

The meeting between the TMLP chief and the Prime Minister came around the time when TLMP lawmakers speaking during the legislative meeting of the Constituent Assembly (CA) were warning of obstructing the House proceedings if the ruling parties went ahead with the army integration process without involving their party in the special committee.

Speaking during the special hour today, TMLP lawmaker Hridayesh Tripathi accused the ruling parties of trying to go ahead with the army integration process unilaterally, warning that TMLP would not allow the CA proceedings unless the special committee is reconstituted. nepalnews.com mk Nov 07 08

Nepalnews, which launched an ‘instructional’ cooking video guide to ethnic Nepalese cuisine 10 days ago, has put more such videos online.

The videos are step by step instructions on preparing a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes under such categories like fish, meats, soups, rice and porridge, appetizers and snacks and other such dishes.