Senior leaders of the three major parties and of the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) have zeroed in to resolve the remaining contentious issues in the constitution making process.

The leaders of UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the UDMF have got down to serious homework gathering for a three-day residential deliberations at a resort in Hattiban, some 20 kilometers southwest of Kathmandu. Even security guards and private secretariat members of the leaders have been returned from the meeting site to allow the leaders to concentrate on the task at hand.

The resort has also been closed for any outside guests, media persons as well as general public.

The meeting began at 2 pm on Sunday. Though no formal announcement has been made of the developments so far, Maoist leader Dev Gurung said the first round of discussion among the senior leaders has been completed, and at present an intra-party discussion is underway.

The leaders will come back for a joint meeting on Monday where they will share their respective parties’ views, he said.

The Maoist party in the meeting has been represented by Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Vice-presidents Dr Baburam Bhattarai, Mohan Baidhya and Narayan Kaji Shrestha, General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa and leaders Dev Gurung, Hitman Shakya and Khim Lal Sapkota.

Likewise, NC President Sushil Koirala, Vice-president Ram Chandra Poudel, senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, General Secretary Prakash Man Singh and leaders Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, Bimalendra Nidhi, Arjun Narsingh KC and Dr Minendra Rijal are taking part in the meeting on behalf of Nepali Congress.

The UML is represented by Chairman Jhalanath Khanal, senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, KP Sharma Oli, Vice-president Bamdev Gautam, General Secretary Ishwar Pokharel, leaders Bhim Rawal and Surendra Pandey.

On behalf of the UDMF, President of MFJ-Democratic, Bijaya Kumar Gachchadar, Officiating President of MFJ-Republican, Raj Kishore Yadav, leader of Tarai-Madhesh Loktantrik Party, Hridayesh Tripathi, President of Tarai Madhesh Loktantrik Party, Nepal, Mahendra Yadav and President of Sadbhawana Party Rajendra Mahato are taking part in the deliberations.

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Some 518 business companies have been found using fake vat bills and evading tax worth Rs. 6.59 billion, confirmed the Finance Ministry.

Tankamani Sharma, Director General of Department of Inland Revenue, shared this information at a press meet on Sunday. Speaking at the programme, Finance Minister Barshman Pun vowed to take actions as per the existing law against the firms involved in tax evasion through the use of fake vat bills.

The Ministry, however, has not disclosed the name of any of the companies.

An investigation into the fake vat bills scandal had begun a year ago. The companies have been asked to pay tax they evaded along with fine within the next two months.

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The names of alleged VAT evaders are public. Now what?

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The technical issues of integration process of former Maoist combatants has been finalised by the Special Committee to be implemented on Saturday. The Special Committee had endorsed the proposal prepared by the task force of the Special Committee paving way to kick-start the integration process after the Nepal Army took charge of the cantonments last week.

According to the agreement, a general directorate will be set up in accordance with the seven-point agreement signed on 1 November last year. The new directorate will have four departments: infrastructure development, industrial security, forest and environment security and disaster management.

UML leader Bhim Rawal said that 65 per cent of the strength of the general directorate will be filled from existing security agencies and 35 per cent from the combatants. He said 30 per cent will be deployed in the directorate for national development, 20 per cent in the directorate for industrial security, 30 per cent in the forest and environment security directorate and 20 per cent in the disaster management directorate.

The parties have reached an informal understanding to appoint a lieutenant general to lead the general directorate and appoint a brigadier general to head each of the directorates.

The SC has also decided that combatants will get wavier on age by three years, education by one level for the ranks that will be considered based on the date of their enrolment in the PLA.

Those selected in officer and junior ranks will be given a compulsory three months of rank specific bridging course and a nine-month basic training to officer and seven-month to the juniors. The NA provides a 24-month training for officers and nine-month basic training for the juniors.

Similarly, the board to select combatants for officer ranks will be headed by Public Service Commission (PSC) chairperson or a member designated by him. It will also include a special class officer of the military service, first class officer of the Defence Ministry, three experts appointed by the Army chief and a first class officer of the Army as the member-secretary. The board for lower ranks will be headed by a second-class officer.

A maximum of 6,500 combatants will be integrated in the Nepal Army. However, given the initial reports of ongoing regrouping in different cantonments suggest the number might be much less. About 3000 ex-combatants have opted for voluntary retirement so far. Around 9,700 combatants had opted for integration in the last regrouping in January.

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Army in charge, 11 April 2012

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Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai has said the progress on peace process has moved irrevocably and history will not forgive the ones who try to disrupt it. In a televised address to the nation on Thursday, PM Bhattarai praised the Nepal Army and the Maoist Army for their understanding and flexibility shown in the integration process. “On behalf of the government and the nation I would like to thank you and congratulate you,” he said.

Seven months after Bhattarai was elected as the PM, the Maoist combatants were brought under the NA this week. Earlier on Tuesday, the NA took charge of all 15 cantonments . “The main task of integration is complete and the parallel militatary structure in the country has ceased to exist,” he said.

Bhattarai had promised to complete the peace process and constitution drafting within 45 days after being elected but was left wanting after the major parties disagreed on numbers, norms and the ranks in the integration of the combatants.  “The integration process has almost been completed. Only the technical aspects remain to be finalised,” he said. “It is a historical achievement and the we will not back out now.”

In a half an hour address to the nation, he gave a long a list of government activities and expressed his commitment to  constitution writing. “In capacity of the government head, I am ready to carry out all the responsibilities to promulgate the constitution within the scheduled date,” he said. He also emphasised on the need of national unity government comprising of the all major political parties to conclude the peace and constitution writing process. “Even though I was elected as the prime minister through a majority process, I am always in favour of national government,” said Bhattarai.

He also informed that the Commission on Disappearance and Truth and Reconciliation would be formed through due process within few weeks.

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An emergency meeting of the Special Committee on Tuesday has decided to bring all the remaining 15 cantonments under the Nepal Army. The decision to this effect was taken following a protest by the disqualified combatants, who have been demanding guarantee of integration of the selected combatants and appropriate compensation to the disabled.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, who also heads the Special Committee, had ordered the halt in the regrouping processes, considering a possible confrontation between the combatants in the cantonments. The disqualified combatants had prevented the committee officials from entering the cantonments.

The UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had proposed the deployment of the army to the cantonments during the meeting in the presence of top leaders of major four parties. The meeting endorsed a four-point decision and directed the government to make necessary arrangements for deploying Nepal Army personnel in all the 15 cantonments.

After the meeting the Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai called on the Nepal Army Chief Chhatraman Singh Gurung and directed him to implement the SC’s decision. He asked the army chief to work with the spirit of integration and assist in the peace process.

According to the agreement, security personnel of the NA, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police will be deployed to the Maoist cantonments under the leadership of NA. The SC teams will carry out regrouping of the combatants to select some 6500 combatants for integration and place the rest under the voluntary retirement scheme.

About 9,700 combatants had opted for integration in the last regrouping. Therefore, the government had given a second chance for the combatants who had opted for integration to choose between voluntary retirement and rehabilitation.
With handover of the Maoist combatants, arms and cantonments to NA, the Maoist party has become a full-fledged civilian party. However, the Maoist hardliners has termed the handover of the PLA combatants to Nepal Army as ‘betrayal’ and said they would protest against it.

This has further widened the fissure within the Maoist party. However, Netra Bikram Chand ruled out split of the party immediately. “The treacherous decision has put us in difficult situation working together,” he said in an interview with BBC Nepali.

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Tremors from the Indonesian quake on Wednesday afternoon were felt in Nepal. It lasted for about 8 seconds, prompting Kathmandu denizens to frantically call their homes and their villages.

Indonesian earthquake was measured 8.7 in Richter scale with epicenter at Sumatra. “Had it occurred in our country or near the country, it would have created havoc here,” says Deb Kumar Maharjan, a structural engineer at National Society for Earthquake Technology Nepal (NSET).

The quake intensity decreases as the distance from its epicenter increases. Nepal is 3,712 km away from Sumatra and it is highly unlikely to cause any damage. “What matters the most is the physical structure we have, not the intensity,” he says.

Nepal frighteningly lacks earthquake preparedness. City buildings are old and congested. They are not earthquake resistant. The government introduced the building code but it has hardly implemented.

The situation of village is naturally worse. A 6.8 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Nepal India border last September had destroyed about 1,000 houses in Taplejung and Utter Pradesh. “People still take it lightly. We better learn lesson from the past,” Maharjan said.

Nepal has witnessed devastating earthquake in the past. The earthquake of 1933 of 8.3 in Richter scale is the most powerful earthquake ever took place in Nepal. Second damaging earthquake measuring 6.6 in Richter scale occurred in Nepal with its epicenter in Udaypur in 1988 that had left 722 dead, 12,000 injured and destroyed physical structure worth million rupees.

Nepal is in seismic zone. According to the National Seismological Centre a 4.3 magnitude earthquake was measured at 8.37 am this morning with epicenter at Ghatal village in the border of Bajhang and Bajura districts. The centre has measured five minor earthquakes in four months beginning this year. “We can’t predict earthquake. Who knows when and how big quake is due to occur here?” says Umesh Prasad Gautam at the NSC

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Despite much reluctance and resentment from within the party, the Maoist leaders have finally convinced PLA commanders to move on with the regrouping process of former combatants.

Although the integration process should have begun on Sunday, it was delayed because cantonment commanders were in the capital preparing the final list of combatants opting for retirement and integration.

Two weeks ago, the political parties agreed to decommission Maoist camps and hand over the weapons to the government by 12 April. The Special Committee is conducting the final regrouping once again in which the ex-combatants will be given the option of voluntary retirement or integration.

After 7,365 ex-combatants opted for voluntary retirement in January, 9,705 combatants across 13 camps remain with only 15 cantonments to be vacated by the scheduled date.

By Tuesday the Special Committee Secretariat will handover cheques to 94 fighters who have opted for voluntary retirement in the Fifth Division of Rolpa Dahaban. “The process of voluntary retirement will begin from Tuesday in all cantonments,” said PLA spokesperson Chandra Prakash Khanal. “All the commanders will return by then.”

Although the maximum number of combatants to be integrated has been set at 6,000, the screening process is yet to be decided. The NC has been saying that combatants should be accepted according to NA’s recruitment standards, but the Maoists have been arguing that the ex-combatants are being integrated and so regular recruitment criteria should not apply. The Maoists want to select the combatants on their own so that the Nepal army does not disqualify them.

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