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India-Pakistan

Top Maoist leader's wife to defend Charles Sobhraj in court

2008-08-11

KATHMANDU: After a feisty French lawyer, a former Nepali attorney-general, and a legal adviser of Nepali caretaker Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, the wife of a top Maoist leader will now defend Charles Sobhraj against the charge of murder committed more than three decades ago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Sobhraj The 64-year-old former rogue, Oh.. is that what you call a psychopath and serial killer? who has hired some of the best legal brains in Nepal to rescue him from a 20-year jail term, is expected to make a personal appearance in the republic's Supreme Court on Sunday when his innocence will be pleaded by Laxmi Devkota, the wife of Maoist lawmaker Khimlal. Devkota has been roped in by Nepali lawyer Shakuntala Thapa, who has special ties with Sobhraj, being the mother of the 20-year-old high school student, Nihita Biswas, who created a sensation last month with the disclosure that she is engaged to Sobhraj, 44 years her senior. Devkota is taking up cudgels on behalf of Sobhraj, who has been imprisoned in Kathmandu's Central Jail since 2003, is bound to be politicised. A section of Nepal's media has been accusing the wily Frenchman of trying to cosy up to the Maoists, who could be heading the new government of Nepal, in a bid to derive extra mileage. His future mother-in-law Thapa is also a Maoist supporter. During his prison stint, Sobhraj claims he helped a Maoist member, once held incommunicado and blindfolded by the army, get medical treatment. He also hailed the Maoist victory in the April election and offered to pay for the education of a young Nepali woman who was thrown out of her home by her father for voting for the Maoists.

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India-Pakistan

Nepal PM asks Maoists to form new government

2008-05-25

The Maoists are one short step from having what they need to consolidate power and rule the country, and China is one short step from having a new front on India. KATHMANDU - Nepal's prime minister, Girija Prasad Koirala, has asked Maoist former rebels to form a new government after their election win, a minister said on Saturday, in a sign he will not impede the process. Koirala's call to Maoist chief Prachanda to press ahead ends a month of unclear signals from Koirala's side following the former guerrillas' unexpected victory in April. The move came after several Maoist leaders demanded the prime minister's immediate resignation to clear the way for them to form a new cabinet. He ignored the demands. "The prime minister has urged Prachanda to initiate moves to forge the necessary political consensus to form a new government as the biggest political party in the constituent assembly," Ram Chandra Poudel, the peace and reconstruction minister, told reporters after a meeting between the two leaders. "Prachanda will come up with a proposal now," he said. He did not give details on how the government might look. Although Koirala has been elected into the new assembly, it is unclear what position he will hold under a Maoist-led government. Some analysts said his long post-election silence could have indicated that he was negotiating with the Maoists for a suitable role. The former rebels do not have an absolute majority in the 601-member assembly. They are urging other political parties, including the centrist Nepali Congress headed by Koirala, to join a national coalition government headed by Prachanda. Many have refused. They say the former rebels have not given up the violent and intimidating practices honed during their decade-long war against the monarchy, despite striking a peace deal in 2006. Do tell. Someone at least understands what Maoists are like ... The Maoists say they hope to form a new government after the first meeting of the assembly next week, but it is unclear if it will be coalition or a minority government. That meeting is expected to declare an end to centuries of monarchy and turn Nepal into a republic, a key condition in the 2006 peace deal that ended the conflict in which more than 13,000 people were killed. The assembly will then begin work on a new constitution for Nepal, a job which is likely to take at least two years. Not that the Maoists will wait that long to consolidate power and open up the execution chambers and corrective labor camps.

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India-Pakistan

Nepal sets date to abolish monarchy

2008-05-13

Nepal's Government says its new constitution-drafting body will meet for the first time on May 28, when it is due to formally abolish the monarchy and declare the country a republic. The Maoists, who scored a surprise victory in landmark elections last month, have vowed that the monarchy would be scrapped during the first sitting of the assembly. The ex-rebels overturned all predictions in the April polls, winning 220 of the 601 seats in the constitutional assembly - more than twice the number of their nearest rivals and pre-election favourites, the Nepali Congress. "The prime minister has sent letters to all the participating political parties calling for the first meeting of the constituent assembly on May 28," Aditya Baral, adviser to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, told AFP. King Gyanendra's fall from power will mark the end of the world's only Hindu monarchy, which has been on the throne for 240 years.

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China-Japan-Koreas

Chinese rail link to Nepal via Tibet

2008-04-27

Filed under China, since that's what Nepal will be a part of in a few years ... KATHMANDU - China will extend its railway link from Tibet to Nepal's border in five years, Nepali officials said on Saturday, bringing the traditionally friendly nations closer and boosting trade and tourism. The tourists from Beijing have been demanding access to Nepal for decades now ... The rail link with China could help Nepal reduce its heavy dependence on its giant southern neighbour India for everything from oil to motor parts and medicines. Ai Ping, director general of China's international department, met Nepali Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala on Friday and told him that the rail link would be done regardless of what Nepal thinks bolster their diplomatic and trade ties, officials said. "They discussed the benefits of the project," Basanta Gautam, special secretary in Koirala's office, told Reuters. "The railway link should be complete in five years." China and Nepal share a more than 1,400 km (870 miles) border. The planned railway project would link Tibetan capital Lhasa with Khasa, a border town near China-Nepal border. "It will be an extension of the famous railway link between China and Tibet," Gautam said. Which coincidentially makes it easier for the Chinese to subjugate Tibet ... The 1,142-km (710-mile) rail link between China and Tibet opened in July 2006. The world's highest, it passes through spectacular icy peaks on the Tibetan highlands, touching altitudes of 5,000 metres (16,400 feet).

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China-Japan-Koreas

Chinese rail link to Nepal via Tibet in 5 years

2008-04-26

KATHMANDU: China will extend its railway link from Tibet to Nepal's border in five years, Nepali officials said on Saturday, bringing the traditionally friendly nations closer and boosting trade and tourism. The rail link with China could help Nepal reduce its heavy dependence on its giant southern neighbour India for everything from oil to motor parts and medicines. Ai Ping, director general of China's international department, met Nepali Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala on Friday and told him that the rail link would bolster their diplomatic and trade ties, officials said. "They discussed the benefits of the project," Basanta Gautam, special secretary in Koirala's office, said. "The railway link should be complete in five years." China and Nepal share a more than 1,400 km border. The planned railway project would link Tibetan capital Lhasa with Khasa, a border town near China-Nepal border. "It will be an extension of the famous railway link between China and Tibet," Gautam said. The 1,142-km rail link between China and Tibet opened in July 2006. The world's highest, it passes through spectacular icy peaks on the Tibetan highlands, touching altitudes of 5,000 metres (16,400 feet).

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India-Pakistan

Scrap treaty with India: Prachanda

2008-04-25

Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) leader Prachanda on Thursday demanded that the 1950 Peace and Friendship Treaty between Nepal and India be scrapped. Addressing a press conference after a meeting with the donor communities coordinated by the U.N. agencies in Nepal, Mr. Prachanda said: “We stand [by] our previous commitment that the 1950 treaty should be scrapped and many other treaties between India and Nepal should be reviewed in the new context.” Just about to make their move: oust the Indians and invite the Chinese in. In their 40-point memorandum submitted to the government before embarking on the path of armed insurgency in February 1996, the Maoists had demanded annulment of various treaties with India and review of other ties. Among the “discriminatory” treaties cited were the 1950 treaty and Integrated Mahakali Treaty. The memorandum had also demanded regulation of the Nepal-India border, banning entry of Indian vehicles into Nepal, closure of Gorkha recruitment, and ban on “vulgar” Hindi movies. However, Mr. Prachanda said his party wants to maintain a close relationship with all the countries and urged the United States to remove his party from its terrorist list. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s party — Nepali Congress — has started its crucial Central Working Committee meeting which will decide whether it will join the next government under the Maoist leadership. The CWC will also discuss the party’s poor showing in the CA elections held on April 10. Only half a dozen CWC members spoke at Thursday’s meeting. Opening the meeting, Mr. Koirala said there was no reason for the party to panic despite the defeat.

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India-Pakistan

Nepal Maoists extend lead in election

2008-04-14

So long, Nepal, nice knowing you. KATHMANDU - Nepal’s Maoist, former rebels Sunday extended their lead in the elections to choose a constituent assembly by winning nearly 60 per cent of the total seats declared so far. The Nepalese election commission said the Maoists had won in 59 of the 104 constituencies where results were declared by Sunday afternoon. Note to the Indian PM Manmohan Singh... when you left Indian policy on Nepal to your coalition partner Sitaram Yechury of the Communist Party, it is perhaps no surprise that he engineered a Maoist takeover of Nepal. When you blacklisted the king and refused to supply arms, you set in motion a chain of events that you will rue for decades. You now have a failed state on your borders, a Maoist hellhole where the Chinese PLA will have free reign. There will be Chinese troops on the other side of the Himalayas. They will occupy the high ground and look down on the gangetic plains of India. Mr. Singh, do you have any idea of what you have allowed? Nepali Congress of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and the moderate Communist Party of Nepal - Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN- UML) both had won 16 seats each, while an ethnic southern Nepal party - Madhesi People’s Rights Forum, had won in seven constituencies. The Maoists were leading in 56 of the 106 constituencies where counting was underway while the Nepali Congress was leading in just 17 constituencies, the election commission said. One person, one vote, one time ... Meanwhile, leader of the CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned as party chief taking moral responsibility for his party’s poor showing in the elections. Pre-election predictions had suggested that CPN-UML would become the single largest party in the constituent assembly. The party also said it would opt out of the government due to its poor performance.

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India-Pakistan

Bomb explodes in Kathmandu near planned electoral assembly venue

2008-04-07

A bomb went off in Nepal's capital of Kathmandu on Monday afternoon near a venue where a political gathering was planned, but only one person was injured, police said. An unidentified pedestrian was injured in the blast that occurred in the Baneswore area where members of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's Nepali Congress party were scheduled to gather, Senior Superintendent of Police Surendra Bahadur Shah said. "A police team has reached the site to initiate an investigation," Shah said. No group has claimed responsibility for the blast. Nepali Congress later in the day went ahead with the electoral gathering despite the explosion, the fourth to occur in the capital in the past four days. Nepal is electing a key Constituent Assembly on April 10 to cap a peace process with former Maoist rebels whose 10-year insurgency that ended in 2006 left over 13,000 people dead.

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India-Pakistan

I'll be Nepal's 1st prez: Prachanda

2008-03-28

Maoist chief Prachanda has claimed that he will become the first President of Nepal after the crucial April 10 Constituent Assembly elections, even as he expressed doubts over the prospect of polls taking place on schedule. In the eastern town of Rajbiraj, Prachanda claimed that his party Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) would get 150 seats out of a total of 300 seats in the direct election, and that he will become the first President of the Himalayan nation after the polls. He also was apprehensive over elections taking place on the scheduled date. "I am not confident that the CA elections will be held on the stipulated date," he said. Meanwhile, the daughter of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala Sujata Koirala, also a minister without portfolio, was apprehensive about the elections to the constituent assembly taking place at the stipulated time. She expressed concern over recent Maoist attacks against leaders and cadres of other political parties.

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India-Pakistan

Koirala to end monarchy, proclaim Nepal a republic

2007-12-23

KATHMANDU: The nearly three-month long paralysis gripping Nepal's peace process could now be coming to an end with PM Girija Prasad Koirala on Saturday giving in to the Maoists’ demand to axe the monarchy and proclaim the Himalayan kingdom a republic. After interminable negotiations between the ruling parties and the guerrillas, a tripartite meeting on Saturday resulted in an agreement, a senior politician said. Koirala, who also heads the Nepali Congress, the biggest party in parliament, on Saturday held prolonged parleys with Maoist supremo Prachanda and Madhav Kumar Nepal, chief of the second largest ruling party, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (UML). The three have reached an agreement to amend Nepal's interim constitution - which has left the kingdom's two-century-old monarchy in suspension - so that the country becomes a federal republic, UML leader Jhalanath Khanal told the media at the end of the meeting. However, the Maoists, who began waging a war on the Shah dynasty of kings from 1996 and working for a communist republic, would still have to wait for the actual end of monarchy. According to the tripartite agreement, the implementation will start after the twice-deferred constituent assembly election is held. If the elected assembly endorses a republic by a simple majority, only then will the king be stripped of his crown and become a commoner. Koirala, who had also been opposing the Maoist demand for a fully proportional electoral system, has now reached a compromise with the rebels to hold the polls employing a mixed system in which 60% of the seats will be chosen proportionally and the remaining 40 through straight contests. Saturday's agreement will be tabled before a meeting of the six ruling parties and the Maoists Sunday. If endorsed by them, the government will finally make a move in parliament to amend the constitution. It has already started taking over some of the properties King Gyanendra inherited from his slain brother Birendra to put them to public use. These properties are mainly 16 royal palaces, including the one in Kathmandu where the king and Queen Komal stay, as well as their winter resort. Everything now hinges on the critical election.

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India-Pakistan

Nepal PM's kin killed by unidentified gunmen

2007-12-22

(KUNA) -- Two relatives of the Nepal Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala were shot at in Biratnagar town on Friday, which resulted in the death of one of them. Unidentified assailants attacked Kiran Arryal, the brother-in-law of Koirala's nephew Shekhar Koirala, and his younger brother Ashish Arryal today in Nepal's Biratnagar town. Kiran was killed on the spot while Ashish has been admitted to a local hospital, news agency Indo Asian News Service reported quoting Nepal's state television. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Shekhar Koirala is a member of PM's Nepali Congress party and his close confidant.

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India-Pakistan

Nepal’s largest political party abandons support for monarchy

2007-09-27

KATHMANDU - Nepal’s embattled King Gyanendra lost his biggest hope for survival Wednesday after the country’s oldest and largest political party formally dropped its support for the monarchy in favour of federal republic. The move came a day after it united with its splinter group - Nepali Congress Democratic - in a move widely seen as an election strategy ahead on the polls in November. ‘We cannot give any more room for the king as the country moves towards a new era,’ Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, who is also the party’s president told reporters. He said the party’s decision was in line with the wishes of the people. Nepali Congress had been in favour of monarchy ever since its formation 58 years ago. Nepali Congress was the latest party to drop its support for the king who is seen as being deeply unpopular since he took control of absolute power in February 2005.

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