Nepal Timeline - 2012

January 1

The Army Integration Special Committee (AISC) decided to start voluntary retirement and rehabilitation of the former People's Liberation Army (PLA) combatants within a week. A meeting of the AISC held under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister (PM) took the decision to this effect. The voluntary retirement and rehabilitation of combatants, who had chosen these options during the regrouping process, will conclude in 12 days, AISC member Ram Saran Mahat said.

The meeting between the top brass leaders of the major political parties was put off for second time after the leaders failed make headway on the forms of governance. The meeting held at the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction dwelt on the report prepared by a taskforce, Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal informed after the meeting. He, however, added that the meeting would continue on January 3 as well.

As the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) leaders continue to present their views stressing on the need for keeping party unity intact in the Central Committee (CC) meeting, chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda showed his readiness to revise his political report to address the feeling of the rival faction led by vice chairman Mohan Baidya.

The Constitutional Committee decided to amend the constitution-drafting-calendar by extending the January 5 deadline to January 29 for completing the discussions on a report submitted by the dispute-resolution-sub-committee to resolve the contentious issues, mainly the form of the Governance.

The PM Baburam Bhattarai, who is also a vice-chairman of UCPN-M, met senior vice-chairman, Mohan Baidya to discuss ways to find common ground to keep party unity intact.

The ongoing CC meeting of the ruling UCPN-M for January 5 was put off until January 6 due to a bandh (shutdown) called by the disqualified Maoist combatants that has partially affected life in the Kathmandu Valley.

Nepal Army's (NA) bomb disposal team defused three explosives placed by an extremist group at Rajha Chowk along the Nepalgunj-Kohalpur road. The flag placed adjacent to the bomb suggests it to be the handiwork of Terai Janatantrik Madhesh Mukti Morcha (TJMMM) and a leaflet with its 'commander' Bharat Singh's signature has been recovered from the area.

Major opposition parties - the Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN-UML slammed the Government for slow implementation of the seven-point agreement signed on November 1 about pushing the peace and constitution-writing processes ahead.

Venting frustration on the Government and its failing report card, Madheshi Janadhikar Forum-Nepal (MJF-N) led by Upendra Yadav decided to withdraw its support to the Government coalition.

The UCPN-M chairman, Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda met Prime Minister and party's vice chairman, Baburam Bhattarai to assure that he is not seeking to replace him.

NC vice president, Ram Chandra Poudel said that the alliance of 16 parties is not meant against UCPN-M. Talking to reporters in Singha Durbar after the meeting of the 16 parties, Poudel said the alliance's aim is not to change the Government and neither does it want to sideline the Maoists.

Hardliners in the UCPN-M rejected a 'consensus proposal' prepared by party Chairman Prachanda, stating that Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai should step down immediately for consensus. Earlier in the morning, Dahal had dispatched a draft of the consensus proposal to Baidya. However, Dahal has assured Bhattarai that the present Government will continue for some time as the party lacks a credible plan B, while also trying to win over the hardliners by appearing to agree with their demands at least in principle.

Life in various Districts of eastern Nepal been affected by the bandh called by Eastern Tharuwan Kochila State Joint Council (ETKSJC). The group had called for the strike demanding Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Saptari, Siraha and Udaypur Districts be declared as Tharuwan and Kochila State. The group has put forward demands, including right to self-determination to the six Districts and implementation of a six-point agreement reached with the Indigenous Nationalities, among others. A bandh was also called by the group on January 3.

A meeting of the Constitutional Committee held at Singha Durbar in a bid to endorse the decisions taken by the Dispute Resolution sub-committee on the contentious issues in the new constitution. However, UCPN-M chairman, Prachanda, who heads the dispute resolution sub-committee, did not show up in the meeting while CPN-UML chairman, Jhala Nath Khanal left the meeting early.

Nepal Army (NA) defused a pressure cooker found at home of a cadre of Khambuwan Rastriya Morcha Samyukta at Sangpang Village Development Committee-9 (VDC-9) in Bhojpur District.

Anil Kumar Yadav aka Devram (23), the Saptari District coordinator of Samyukta Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha (SJTMM) announced his decision to come over ground. Yadav said he decided to come out in the public along with four home-made pistols in the context of the Morcha preparing to hold talks with the Government. The SJTMM is one of many Tarai-based outfits waging struggle against the State.

Even as the internal dispute in the UCPN-M appears to have subsided for the time being, the Mohan Baidya faction reiterated that it has not given up its stance for resignation of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai.

The Government of China agreed to pledge USD 119 million grant assistance to Nepal for the physical infrastructure development of the country.

The two-month long meeting of the Maoist CC, which was put off numerous times, ended with the party establishment and the hardliner Mohan Baidya faction agreeing to put aside their differences for the time being in order to avert a vertical split in the party.

NA defused five bombs planted at Manpur, Banke along the Nepalgunj-Gulariya road section. Leaflets and flags of JTMMM- Bhagat Singh were discovered at the site where explosive devices were fused to explode under specific conditions.

The CPN-UML formed a four-member 'task-force' headed by senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal to hold talks with other parties for timely conclusion of the peace process and the constitution-drafting.

The District Police office (DPO) arrested two persons belonging to JTMMM group with ammunition at Gadiyanpuruwa in Kamdi VDC-3 in Banke District. According to Police, the arrestees were identified as Dayaram Yadav (28) and Ram Das Yadav (26). Police found a socket bomb, two bullets of a pistol, two bullets of SLR and two rolls of electric wire from the arrested duo.

Meanwhile, leaders of the main opposition parties-- NC and CPN-UML-- walked out of a meeting called by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai to discuss issues related to the peace process and constitution-drafting. They walked out of the meeting protesting against the recent cabinet decisionto give legal-status to the land transactions approved by the "people's government" established by the Maoists during insurgency.

Separately, the Government has allocated over NPR 1.97 billion as the first instalment for the Maoist combatants who have chosen voluntary retirement.

The "People's Government" formed by Maoists during the decade-long insurgency had certified some 5,000 land transactions in the Salyan District alone, and UCPN-M led Government is all set to implement it legally,Most of war time transactions were conducted in Bafukhola, Shivarath and Bame Village Development Councils (VDCs) as they were Maoist base-areas during the conflict.

The Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) Chairman, Jhalanath Khanal warned the (UCPN-M) of dire consequences if the Government's decision of legalizing the transactions of properties during the conflict period is not revoked.

The United Kingdom has agreed to provide NPR 2.5 billion (20 million Pound Sterling) to Nepal Peace Trust Fund (NPTF) to support the ongoing peace process.

The UCPN-M Chairman, Prachanda, conceded at a closed-door party meeting that he made a mistake in compromising with the parliamentary parties on the issues of peace and constitution, and pledged he would no longer enter into any such consensus against the party´s fundamental principles. Dahal said that after the NC and CPN-UML pushed hard on PLA integration and constitution drafting issues and sought compromises one after another.

The opposition parties NC and CPN-UML said they will continue with their protest programs including planned boycott of House session until the Government scraps its recent decision to legalize land and property transactions carried out by parallel governments (called "people's government") run by the UCPN-M party during the decade-long insurgency.

A meeting of the Constitutional Committee (CC) failed to arrive at any agreement with UCPN-M faction remaining adamant on incorporating a provision for mandatory military training to citizens above 18 years in the new constitution.

The political advisor of Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, Devendra Poudel, said that the national consensus Government is not likely to be formed in the present scenario.

The Government will put on hold its controversial decision to legalize property transactions carried out by the Maoist´s "people´s government" during the insurgency period. The Prime Minister, Baburam Bhattarai, has made up his mind to put on hold his Government´s controversial decision that has led to obstruction in parliament by 17 parties demanding its revocation. The source said the Government will not revoke the cabinet decision but will simply send it to the cold freezer, never to be implemented again.

Prime Minister, Baburam Bhattarai, and speaker, Subas Nemwang met to discuss possible ways to address the demands of the opposition parties for resuming the meeting of the parliament. Seventeen political parties represented in the parliament including NC and CPN-UML have decided to continue obstruction in the House until the Government revokes its decision of legitimizing the transfer of ownership, use and transaction of the lands recognized by the then 'people's government' of the Maoist party.

The NC president Sushil Koirala launched a more outspoken broadside against the Maoists, saying the former rebels cannot be trusted anymore and that it won't make any difference to his party if they return to the jungle.

The opposition parties continued with parliament obstruction for the third consecutive day on January 22 against the Government's controversial decision to legalize the land transactions done under the arbitration of the erstwhile Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist's (UCPN-M) 'people's government' during the decade-long insurgency.

Senior leader of NC, Sher Bahadur Deuba accused Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai of airing an 'anti-national' statement. He slammed Prime Minister Bhattarai over his statement which says, "Unless we maintain equidistance between China and India, we will be compelled to cede our territory to one of the countries."

Leaders from the non-Maoist parties at the Constitutional Committee (CC) meeting of the Constituent Assembly (CA) on January 22 have expressed disappointment after UCPN-M Chairman, Prachanda, reportedly disowned the previous agreements reached at the dispute resolution subcommittee.

The bomb disposal unit of Nepal Army (NA) has defused a time-bomb placed at Chirauli Chok of Bhokraha Village Development Council (VDC-9) in Sunsari District. Pamphlets of Janatantrik Tarai Madhes Mukti Morcha (JTMMM) and its flags were recovered from the site.

Separately, top leaders of the big three political parties met at Nepali Congress vice-chairman, Ram Chandra Poudel's residence to discuss possible solutions to the current political deadlock, The leaders could not arrive at any understanding, but agreed to continue dialogue.

An IED planted inside a passenger bus by militant outfit went off in Tulsipur of Dang District in the morning. However, there were no casualties or any serious injuries in the incident. Police said that they have found leaflets of JTMMM, an outfit active in Terai area, inside the bus.

In a new turn of events within the UCPN-M, party Chairman, Prachanda has piled pressure on Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai for scrapping the Cabinet's decision to legalize the land transactions made through the parallel Government run by Maoist party during the period of conflict.

The Energy Minister Posta Bahadur Bogati while speaking at a program in Nuwakot said that the national consensus Government would be formed under the leadership of UCPN-M. Minister Bogati said that the possibility of forming the new Government under the leadership of General Secretary Ram Bahadur Thapa could not be ruled out.

General Secretary of the UCPN-M, Ram Bahadur Thapa has said that the party would not break up just because of ideological debate.

As pressure from hardliners in the party mounts, UCPN-M chairman Prachanda, refused to take back the Government's decision to legalise conflict-era property transactions without first finding an alternative arrangement. The transactions were made by the parallel government during the Maoist insurgency.

A cabinet meeting decided to extend the term of the State Restructuring Commission (SRC) by one week.

The Prime Minister-led special committee is all set to initiate the process to bid farewell to those UCPN-M combatants who opted for voluntary retirement during the regrouping process within three days. During the meeting held, Prime Minister, Baburam Bhattarai, directed his secretariat to initiate the process at the earliest to bid farewell to the combatants.

The Government registered an appeal against the Supreme Court administration's refusal to review its earlier decision of November 25 that put a final six-month cap on the extension of the CA tenure. The application filed by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai has cited three major precedents which show that the court can review even final decisions of its full bench.

Signs of a major rift in the SRC have surfaced, with two main opposition parties warning that they will not accept a report of the SRC due next week. . The parties,--Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML leaders issued the warning after some of their representatives in the SRC complained that the members representing the Maoist and the Madheshi parties were taking decisions "unilaterally".

Samyukta Tarai Janatantrik Mukti Morcha -- Azad (STJMM-A) group has asked the Government to meet its 11-point demands. The group's head Udaykant Mishra aka Azad made the demand. The demands of the group include declaring Tarai as reserved state, 50 per cent position at Government bodies allotted to Madheshi, compensation to the people dying in the movements, withdrawal of criminal cases against its cadres and integration of its military in Nepal Army.

Speaker Subas Nemwang filed a separate petition at Supreme Court (challenging court's refusal to register a petition seeking review on the SC's decision regarding the term of the CA. In his petition, Speaker Nemwang has also urged the court to hear the petition by a five-member full bench of the judges. The CA term extended for the 4th time will expire on May 28.The SC had refused to register the petition citing insufficient legal bases.

The CC has requested the CA to extend the deadline for forging consensus on disputed constitutional issues till February 12, The thematic committee responsible for preparing the first draft of the constitution unanimously took this decision.

At a time, when opposition parties are obstructing parliament, demanding that the Government scrap its decision to legalize war-era land transactions, 16 sister organisations of the UCPN-M have decided to hit the streets to press the Government to effectively implement the decision.

The process of discharging 7,365 UCPN-M combatants who opted for VRS during the recent regrouping process is set to begin from today.