Prachanda's War Against Nepal People
'' People's war just for the election '''I told him we had fought our 10-year people's war just for the election,' Prachanda said.
Nepal News
Nepal Maoists keen to establish ties with US
By IANS Friday June 15, 09:56 PM Kathmandu, June 15 (IANS)
Nepal Maoists' chief Prachanda Friday asked former US president Jimmy Carter to intercede with Washington to take his party off the US list of terrorist organisations.
Carter met the top leaders of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), which is outlawed in the US, marking the first public interaction between the rebels and an American citizen of his stature.
'I told Carter we would like to establish amicable diplomatic relations with the US,' Prachanda said after the nearly hour-long meeting. 'We are ready to hold talks with Washington at any level.'
The Maoist chief also said Carter wanted to know if the crucial election, postponed once, would be held in November.
'I told him we had fought our 10-year people's war just for the election,' Prachanda said. 'We want to have the election at the earliest since we will derive benefits from it.'
The Nobel peace prize laureate also asked Prachanda about the activities of the Young Communist League, the militant youth wing of the rebels, which had acquired a reputation for taking the law in its own hands.
However, after the meeting, Prachanda, who attended a public programme in Kirtipur town, expressed misgivings that it could be impossible to hold the election even in November in view of the deteriorating security situation.
In less than a week, four rebels have been killed in the Terai plains.
A local Maoist leader, Dasahrath Thakur, was killed Tuesday in Saptari district by a band of former Maoists, who have now begun waging a war on their former comrades.
On Wednesday, even as the guerrillas called a closure in Saptari in protest, two members of its militant youth wing, the Young Communist League, were killed in clashes in Rupandehi, allegedly by the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, whose leaders also met Carter Wednesday.
The killings continued Thursday when Jokhan Mansoor was gunned down in Bara district by the same band of renegade Maoists, the Janatantrik Terai Mukrti Morcha led by former Maoist Jwala Singh.
The Maoists' central committee leaders held an emergency meeting in the capital to discuss the fresh developments.
Chandra Prakash Gajurel, in charge of the party's foreign division, told the media after the meeting that his party would start a new agitation to combat the continuous attack on Maoist cadres. A committee has also been formed to chalk out the plan of action.
'We have discussed what our moves would be in the government and in parliament,' Gajurel said, without elaborating.
Carter meets Nepal Maoist leaders
By IANS Friday June 15, 07:17 PM Kathmandu, June 15 (IANS)
Former US president Jimmy Carter Friday met Nepal's top Maoist leaders, marking the first public interaction between the rebels, who are still outlawed in the US, and an American citizen of his status.
The nearly one-hour talks between the Nobel peace prize laureate and Maoist chief Prachanda and his deputy Baburam Bhattarai at the closely guarded Soaltee Crowne Plaza hotel in the capital gives the guerrillas the status of a political party in the eyes of the world.
Though immediate details were not available about the meeting, a private television channel said Prachanda had urged Carter to use his influence with the US government to remove the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) from the list of banned organisations in the US.
However, there was no official confirmation.
Going by Carter's conversation with other political leaders and dignitaries, the crucial November election, security situation and the role of the Carter Center that has been invited to observe the election, were the key points on the agenda.
On the third day of his four-day visit, made on behalf of the Carter Center, the high-profile visitor also met Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, chief of the Nepal Army Rukmangad Katuwal, head of the UN Mission in Nepal Ian Martin and Indian ambassador Shiv Shankar Mukherjee.
However, he has not met King Gyanendra since he is not considered a major player in the current peace process, the Carter Center said.
Soon after the much-anticipated meeting, the Maoists, whose central committee leaders held an emergency meeting in the capital Friday, announced they would start an agitation.
Chandra Prakash Gajurel, in charge of the party's foreign division, told the media after the meeting that the agitation was necessitated by the continuous attacks on Maoist cadres.
In less than a week, four rebels have been killed in the Terai plains.
A local Maoist leader Dasahrath Thakur was killed Tuesday in Saptari district by a band of former Maoists, who have now begun waging an internecine war on their former comrades.
On Wednesday, even as the guerrillas called a closure in Saptari in protest, two members of its militant youth wing, the Young Communist League, were killed in clashes in Rupandehi, allegedly by the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, whose leaders also met Carter Wednesday.
The killings continued Thursday when Jokhan Mansoor was gunned down in Bara district by the same band of renegade Maoists the Janatantrik Terai Mukrti Morcha led by former Maoist Jwala Singh.
'We have discussed what our moves would be in the government and in parliament,' Gajurel said, without further elaboration.
Nepal approves key poll law to calm ethnic groups
By ReutersFriday June 15, 04:15 PM By Gopal Sharma
KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's parliament has approved a law earmarking seats for women and ethnic groups in this year's constituent assembly elections, officials said on Friday, a move aimed at defusing ethnic protests.
The vote is due in November or December for the 497-member assembly, meant to draft a new constitution and decide whether to retain the Himalayan nation's monarchy or establish a republic.
Nepal's interim parliament, which includes Maoist former rebels, passed the law late on Thursday, allowing voters to elect 240 members to the assembly directly, speaker Subash Chandra Nemwang said.
Another 240 seats will be filled on the basis of proportional representation, with blocks set aside for different regions and traditionally marginalised groups as well as women, and some seats nominated by the government, he said.
"This is a very important law for the inclusion of marginalised groups like the Madhesis, indigenous nationalities, women and underprivileged areas," Nemwang told Reuters.
"The parliament passed the law unanimously. It is a very significant achievement."
At least 60 people were killed this year in protests by an ethnic Madhesi group demanding more government jobs and seats in parliament for people living in the southern plains.
Officials said 50 percent of the 240 seats set aside for proportional representation were meant for women.
From the rest, 31.2 percent will go to the Madhesis, 37.8 percent to indigenous groups, 13 percent to lower castes and the rest to other groups.
"This has now opened up a big way for us to begin preparations for the elections," Chief Election Commissioner Bhoj Raj Pokharel said.
The polls, due this month, were delayed after the commission said it needed more time to prepare.
"Now the government should decide the election date soon so that we can make all arrangements for the vote," he said.
The elections will be the culmination of a peace process under which the Maoists have laid down their weapons for U.N. monitoring and joined an interim government.
Their decade-long civil war against the monarchy claimed more than 13,000 lives and hit the aid- and tourism-dependent economy in one of the world's poorest countries.
Carter's schedule leak creates furore in Nepal
By IANS Friday June 15, 12:35 PM Kathmandu, June 15 (IANS)
Details of former US president Jimmy Carter's four-day itinerary in Nepal, kept tightly under wraps due to unprecedented security measures, have found their way in a maverick tabloid, creating a furore.
The Naya Patrika, a newly published tabloid regarded as being close to the Maoists, splashed full details of scheduled meetings, the time allotted for them and even the mobile telephone numbers of the senior officials meeting Carter, creating consternation among agencies coordinating the security arrangements for the visit that began Wednesday.
The local media has reported the Nobel laureate's meeting with Nepal Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, members of the Election Commission and the chief of the UN Mission in Nepal Ian Martin.
But the tabloid also reported meetings with Indian ambassador to Nepal Shiv Shankar Mukherjee and two leaders of a controversial Terai group, the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum.
It said the former US president, who has come to pledge his Carter Center's support for the crucial November election, would start Friday's consultations with the chief of the Nepal Army, General Rukmangad Katuwal.
It has also given details about the upcoming meeting between Carter and the Maoist leadership Friday, an encounter that is expected to be the cynosure of all eyes.
The daily said Carter would meet Maoist chairperson Prachanda and his deputy Baburam Bhattarai at the Rara suite of Hotel Soaltee Crowne Plaza, where the visiting dignitary is staying amid tight security.
The hour-long meeting, to be held from 2.30 p.m., would be the longest one during the 96-hour high-profile visit, the tabloid said.
It quoted Maoist leader Bhattarai as saying that the Maoist agenda would be to ask Carter to ensure that his government plays a positive role in the ongoing peace process.
However, though Washington regards the rebels as terrorists, the guerrillas have no plan to ask Carter to intercede to have the ban lifted, the daily said.
The detailed schedule it had published Thursday along with telephone numbers has caused an investigation to detect how the leak occurred, it reported.
Nepal gets right to impeach King
By IE Friday June 15, 02:08 AM
The interim Parliament in Nepal has given itself the right to impeach and remove the king if found guilty of creating hurdles in conducting elections to the Constituent Assembly by December 15.An overwhelming majority-281 in favour and only two against-adopted the amendment. A prolonged session of Parliament which continued till 11 pm on Wednesday also inserted a provision to remove the prime minister through a no-confidence motion, passed with two-thirds majority.
With yet another amendment that goes against the popular sentiment, government empowered parliamentary committees to veto, endorse, reject or amend the appointment of judges once their names are recommended by the judicial council.
Nepal empowers MPs to abolish monarchy before polls
June 14, 04:10 PM KATHMANDU (Reuters)
Nepal's embattled monarchy could be abolished before this year's constituent assembly elections if the king attempts to sabotage the vote expected to decide his future, officials said on Thursday.
Nepal is expected to hold elections in November or December for a special assembly to map its political future, including a decision on whether the Himalayan nation needs monarchy at all.
"If the parliament finds that the king is creating obstacles to disrupt the constituent assembly elections, a two-thirds majority of its members can vote to abolish the monarchy," parliament speaker Subash Chandra Nemwang told Reuters.
Nemwang said the interim parliament, which includes the Maoists, agreed late on Wednesday to change the provisional constitution and empower MPs to decide the fate of the centuries-old monarchy.
The monarchy's popularity has dipped since King Gyanendra took over absolute powers in 2005, only to bow to popular protests last year and step down. A new, multi-party government has since stripped him of nearly all powers.
Although the king has remained largely confined to the palace since he stepped down, some politicians and the Maoists fear the monarch or his supporters could create hurdles for the vote.
Elections were due to be held this month but the election commission said it wanted more time to prepare for Nepal's first national vote in eight years.
The polls are expected to cap a fast-moving peace process with the Maoists, who ended their decade-long civil war and joined the political mainstream.
More than 13,000 people were killed in the conflict before the Maoists agreed to hand over their weapons for UN monitoring under a peace deal with the government.
Nepal Maoists keen to establish ties with US
By IANS Friday June 15, 09:56 PM Kathmandu, June 15 (IANS)
Nepal Maoists' chief Prachanda Friday asked former US president Jimmy Carter to intercede with Washington to take his party off the US list of terrorist organisations.
Carter met the top leaders of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), which is outlawed in the US, marking the first public interaction between the rebels and an American citizen of his stature.
'I told Carter we would like to establish amicable diplomatic relations with the US,' Prachanda said after the nearly hour-long meeting. 'We are ready to hold talks with Washington at any level.'
The Maoist chief also said Carter wanted to know if the crucial election, postponed once, would be held in November.
'I told him we had fought our 10-year people's war just for the election,' Prachanda said. 'We want to have the election at the earliest since we will derive benefits from it.'
The Nobel peace prize laureate also asked Prachanda about the activities of the Young Communist League, the militant youth wing of the rebels, which had acquired a reputation for taking the law in its own hands.
However, after the meeting, Prachanda, who attended a public programme in Kirtipur town, expressed misgivings that it could be impossible to hold the election even in November in view of the deteriorating security situation.
In less than a week, four rebels have been killed in the Terai plains.
A local Maoist leader, Dasahrath Thakur, was killed Tuesday in Saptari district by a band of former Maoists, who have now begun waging a war on their former comrades.
On Wednesday, even as the guerrillas called a closure in Saptari in protest, two members of its militant youth wing, the Young Communist League, were killed in clashes in Rupandehi, allegedly by the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, whose leaders also met Carter Wednesday.
The killings continued Thursday when Jokhan Mansoor was gunned down in Bara district by the same band of renegade Maoists, the Janatantrik Terai Mukrti Morcha led by former Maoist Jwala Singh.
The Maoists' central committee leaders held an emergency meeting in the capital to discuss the fresh developments.
Chandra Prakash Gajurel, in charge of the party's foreign division, told the media after the meeting that his party would start a new agitation to combat the continuous attack on Maoist cadres. A committee has also been formed to chalk out the plan of action.
'We have discussed what our moves would be in the government and in parliament,' Gajurel said, without elaborating.
Carter meets Nepal Maoist leaders
By IANS Friday June 15, 07:17 PM Kathmandu, June 15 (IANS)
Former US president Jimmy Carter Friday met Nepal's top Maoist leaders, marking the first public interaction between the rebels, who are still outlawed in the US, and an American citizen of his status.
The nearly one-hour talks between the Nobel peace prize laureate and Maoist chief Prachanda and his deputy Baburam Bhattarai at the closely guarded Soaltee Crowne Plaza hotel in the capital gives the guerrillas the status of a political party in the eyes of the world.
Though immediate details were not available about the meeting, a private television channel said Prachanda had urged Carter to use his influence with the US government to remove the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) from the list of banned organisations in the US.
However, there was no official confirmation.
Going by Carter's conversation with other political leaders and dignitaries, the crucial November election, security situation and the role of the Carter Center that has been invited to observe the election, were the key points on the agenda.
On the third day of his four-day visit, made on behalf of the Carter Center, the high-profile visitor also met Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, chief of the Nepal Army Rukmangad Katuwal, head of the UN Mission in Nepal Ian Martin and Indian ambassador Shiv Shankar Mukherjee.
However, he has not met King Gyanendra since he is not considered a major player in the current peace process, the Carter Center said.
Soon after the much-anticipated meeting, the Maoists, whose central committee leaders held an emergency meeting in the capital Friday, announced they would start an agitation.
Chandra Prakash Gajurel, in charge of the party's foreign division, told the media after the meeting that the agitation was necessitated by the continuous attacks on Maoist cadres.
In less than a week, four rebels have been killed in the Terai plains.
A local Maoist leader Dasahrath Thakur was killed Tuesday in Saptari district by a band of former Maoists, who have now begun waging an internecine war on their former comrades.
On Wednesday, even as the guerrillas called a closure in Saptari in protest, two members of its militant youth wing, the Young Communist League, were killed in clashes in Rupandehi, allegedly by the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, whose leaders also met Carter Wednesday.
The killings continued Thursday when Jokhan Mansoor was gunned down in Bara district by the same band of renegade Maoists the Janatantrik Terai Mukrti Morcha led by former Maoist Jwala Singh.
'We have discussed what our moves would be in the government and in parliament,' Gajurel said, without further elaboration.
Nepal approves key poll law to calm ethnic groups
By ReutersFriday June 15, 04:15 PM By Gopal Sharma
KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's parliament has approved a law earmarking seats for women and ethnic groups in this year's constituent assembly elections, officials said on Friday, a move aimed at defusing ethnic protests.
The vote is due in November or December for the 497-member assembly, meant to draft a new constitution and decide whether to retain the Himalayan nation's monarchy or establish a republic.
Nepal's interim parliament, which includes Maoist former rebels, passed the law late on Thursday, allowing voters to elect 240 members to the assembly directly, speaker Subash Chandra Nemwang said.
Another 240 seats will be filled on the basis of proportional representation, with blocks set aside for different regions and traditionally marginalised groups as well as women, and some seats nominated by the government, he said.
"This is a very important law for the inclusion of marginalised groups like the Madhesis, indigenous nationalities, women and underprivileged areas," Nemwang told Reuters.
"The parliament passed the law unanimously. It is a very significant achievement."
At least 60 people were killed this year in protests by an ethnic Madhesi group demanding more government jobs and seats in parliament for people living in the southern plains.
Officials said 50 percent of the 240 seats set aside for proportional representation were meant for women.
From the rest, 31.2 percent will go to the Madhesis, 37.8 percent to indigenous groups, 13 percent to lower castes and the rest to other groups.
"This has now opened up a big way for us to begin preparations for the elections," Chief Election Commissioner Bhoj Raj Pokharel said.
The polls, due this month, were delayed after the commission said it needed more time to prepare.
"Now the government should decide the election date soon so that we can make all arrangements for the vote," he said.
The elections will be the culmination of a peace process under which the Maoists have laid down their weapons for U.N. monitoring and joined an interim government.
Their decade-long civil war against the monarchy claimed more than 13,000 lives and hit the aid- and tourism-dependent economy in one of the world's poorest countries.
Carter's schedule leak creates furore in Nepal
By IANS Friday June 15, 12:35 PM Kathmandu, June 15 (IANS)
Details of former US president Jimmy Carter's four-day itinerary in Nepal, kept tightly under wraps due to unprecedented security measures, have found their way in a maverick tabloid, creating a furore.
The Naya Patrika, a newly published tabloid regarded as being close to the Maoists, splashed full details of scheduled meetings, the time allotted for them and even the mobile telephone numbers of the senior officials meeting Carter, creating consternation among agencies coordinating the security arrangements for the visit that began Wednesday.
The local media has reported the Nobel laureate's meeting with Nepal Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, members of the Election Commission and the chief of the UN Mission in Nepal Ian Martin.
But the tabloid also reported meetings with Indian ambassador to Nepal Shiv Shankar Mukherjee and two leaders of a controversial Terai group, the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum.
It said the former US president, who has come to pledge his Carter Center's support for the crucial November election, would start Friday's consultations with the chief of the Nepal Army, General Rukmangad Katuwal.
It has also given details about the upcoming meeting between Carter and the Maoist leadership Friday, an encounter that is expected to be the cynosure of all eyes.
The daily said Carter would meet Maoist chairperson Prachanda and his deputy Baburam Bhattarai at the Rara suite of Hotel Soaltee Crowne Plaza, where the visiting dignitary is staying amid tight security.
The hour-long meeting, to be held from 2.30 p.m., would be the longest one during the 96-hour high-profile visit, the tabloid said.
It quoted Maoist leader Bhattarai as saying that the Maoist agenda would be to ask Carter to ensure that his government plays a positive role in the ongoing peace process.
However, though Washington regards the rebels as terrorists, the guerrillas have no plan to ask Carter to intercede to have the ban lifted, the daily said.
The detailed schedule it had published Thursday along with telephone numbers has caused an investigation to detect how the leak occurred, it reported.
Nepal gets right to impeach King
By IE Friday June 15, 02:08 AM
The interim Parliament in Nepal has given itself the right to impeach and remove the king if found guilty of creating hurdles in conducting elections to the Constituent Assembly by December 15.An overwhelming majority-281 in favour and only two against-adopted the amendment. A prolonged session of Parliament which continued till 11 pm on Wednesday also inserted a provision to remove the prime minister through a no-confidence motion, passed with two-thirds majority.
With yet another amendment that goes against the popular sentiment, government empowered parliamentary committees to veto, endorse, reject or amend the appointment of judges once their names are recommended by the judicial council.
Nepal empowers MPs to abolish monarchy before polls
June 14, 04:10 PM KATHMANDU (Reuters)
Nepal's embattled monarchy could be abolished before this year's constituent assembly elections if the king attempts to sabotage the vote expected to decide his future, officials said on Thursday.
Nepal is expected to hold elections in November or December for a special assembly to map its political future, including a decision on whether the Himalayan nation needs monarchy at all.
"If the parliament finds that the king is creating obstacles to disrupt the constituent assembly elections, a two-thirds majority of its members can vote to abolish the monarchy," parliament speaker Subash Chandra Nemwang told Reuters.
Nemwang said the interim parliament, which includes the Maoists, agreed late on Wednesday to change the provisional constitution and empower MPs to decide the fate of the centuries-old monarchy.
The monarchy's popularity has dipped since King Gyanendra took over absolute powers in 2005, only to bow to popular protests last year and step down. A new, multi-party government has since stripped him of nearly all powers.
Although the king has remained largely confined to the palace since he stepped down, some politicians and the Maoists fear the monarch or his supporters could create hurdles for the vote.
Elections were due to be held this month but the election commission said it wanted more time to prepare for Nepal's first national vote in eight years.
The polls are expected to cap a fast-moving peace process with the Maoists, who ended their decade-long civil war and joined the political mainstream.
More than 13,000 people were killed in the conflict before the Maoists agreed to hand over their weapons for UN monitoring under a peace deal with the government.
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