Nepal & Bhutan Brief (1/15)

Internal Developments

Constitution Drafting:-

1. The year 2014 ended with very little hope for finalization of an inclusive constitution arrived through consensus amongst the major political parties. The year had begun with a great deal of optimism with members of the 2nd CA pronouncing strong determination to finalise the draft constitution in a year’s time that is by Jan 22, 2015 but ended in despair as the ruling parties and the opposition remained bitterly divided on most of the critical/contentious issues. The selection of five constituent Assembly Committee chairpersons in April through a process of consensus had given hope that the parties would meet the deadline this time but the euphoria did not last for long.

2. In an encouraging development, the committee to Study and Determine Constitutional Records prepared and submitted its report to the CA by the end of May, 2014, identifying the agreed and disputed issues on the basis of the achievement made by the first CA. After intensive discussions, the CA forwarded the disputed issues to the Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee for resolution, while agreed issues were sent to the Drafting Committee to begin the process of constitution drafting.

3. Another productive task was holding dialogue with various outfits and organizations to solicit their views in the Constitution drafting process. When the parties finally took up key disputes namely federalism, forms of government, Judiciary and electoral system, they failed to make substantial progress. The PDCC had, until September- end, to settle the outstanding issues but till date it has made no notable progress. If there was an agreement among the parties, the new constitution could have been possible through consensus by the January 22, 2015 deadline. A task force was also formed to settle the contention but if failed to sort out the issues.

4. These problems not withstanding, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala remains confident of promulgating the Draft Constitution before the January 22 deadline. He feels that the parties, with some give and take, will arrive at consensus. In the meantime eleven students’ unions staged a slumber rally, on December 22, to pile pressure on the lawmakers for timely promulgation of the new statute. As many as 601 students from 11 student unions lashed out at the Constituent Assembly members for their failure to forge timely consensus on the disputed issues of the Constitution.

Opposition Declares Protest:

5. The main opposition party, the Unified Maoist led 30- party alliance declared protest programme beginning January 3. 2015. The alliance consists of Madhesh based regional parties, some fringe parties represented in the Constituent Assembly and some ethnic groups. Among the 30 alliance parties, only 19 are represented in the CA. Their plan is to continue to pressurize the ruling alliance through peaceful demonstration and meetings at all the district headquarters, to heed to their demands. These will culminate in a nation wide ‘hartal’ on January 18. It may be recalled that the Unified Maoist led alliance has been demanding total consensus within the CA and outside on all issues of constitution drafting. The leaders of the ruling parties, on the other hand, maintain that total consensus between all stakeholders is impossible to achieve and therefore, the constitution will have to be promulgated through a two-third majority in the Constituent Assembly.

Govt. Plans Security for Promulgation of Constitution:

6. Apprehending some Law & Order problems in the event of the draft constitution being promulgated without consensus through the 2/3 rd majority route, Home Ministry has directed security agencies to remain vigilant to meet any eventuality. The ministry is preparing security plans for January 22 as the likely date for the promulgation. Surveillance has been beefed up in many Tarai districts while vigilance has also been stepped up in Kathmandu, particularly around the CA premises.

UML to Hold Cadres’ Meet in all 75 Districts:

7. CPN- UML has decided to hold cadres’ gathering in all districts, including major cities, on January 2 to make the party’s stance clear on the contentious issues in constitution writing. The gatherings will be addressed by important leaders of the party including UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli.

Formation of 4th Maoist Party:

8. Former CPN-Maoist Secretary Netra Bikram Chand officially announced the formation of a new party, the fourth Maoist group, to enter mainstream politics since the former rebels joined the peace progress in 2006. The Party formed a Central Co-ordination Committee, under Netra Bikram Chand, to finalise the new party’s guiding principle, organizational structure and strategies. An organizing committee has also been formed under Khaleda Bishwokarma to hold a general convention on January 7-10, 2015.

9. The new party, named the CPN- Maoist, declared “Nepali Congress and a regime of comprador bourgeois” as its “prime enemy”. Party leaders felt that it was the need of the hour to sustain the legacy of ‘people’s war’ after the UCPN (Maoist) and CPN- Maoist deviated from the principles of the original movement. The leaders claimed that the party could even go as far as undertaking an armed struggle in order to protect national unity, integrity, sovereignty and rights of the people. Nearly a third of the CPN- Maoist leaders, mostly young ones from the People’s Liberation Army joined the party. The party demanded nullification of all unequal treaties signed between Nepal and India including the 1950 treaty. It demanded an all party conference to resolve the contentious issues in the constitution drafting exercise.

Hindus under threat in Nepal: Thapa pounces on Christianity:

10. Kamal, Chairman of Rastriya Prajatantra Party- Nepal, currently leading a Mechi – Mahakali- Pasupati Nath Sankalpa Yatra to revive Nepal’s Hindu religious identity said, “There were only 25 Christians in the year 1951… now their population crossed the mark of 2.5 million. He added, “This is the gravest threat to Hindu religion”. The nine day long Yatra which began on December 24 will come to an end in Kathmandu, on January 2, 2015. He complained that under pressure from foreigners, the country was converted into a secular state. He emphasized that the new constitution must recognize the country’s religious identity. He further said that this issue should be settled through referendum.

Foreign Relations

China

Export to China Up 81.9% in Four Months:

11. According to a report on the current micro economic situation released by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), exports to China, Nepal’s second largest trading partner after India, jumped 81.9 percent in the first four months (mid- July to mid- November) of the current fiscal year. The total export to China stood at Rs. 1.18 billion during the review period. The export had fallen 27.1 per cent in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year 2013/14 to stand at Rs 651.4 million. The increase is attributed to a surge in the export of tanned skin, woolen carpet, handicraft items and ready made garments among other things.

Economic and Trade Committee Reviews Bilateral Trade:

12. The Eleventh Session of Nepal- China Joint Economic and Trade reviewed the development of bilateral trade, economic and technical assistance and economic co-operation between Nepal and China in the recent years. During the session held in the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing on 17-18 December, both sides expressed satisfaction on the accomplishments during the period and placed greater emphasis on enhancing the level of co-operation between the two countries. Both sides signed an MoU on jointly promoting the Silk Road Economic Belt under the framework of China- Nepal Joint Committee on Economic and Trade Co-operation and exchanged letters for providing living materials under the grant assistance for the northern hilly region of Nepal; and construction of two schools in Lamjung and Sindhupal Chowk. The Nepalese side requested for establishment of a branch of Chinese bank in Nepal.

Chinese Foreign Minister Visits Nepal:

13. On December 25, Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi arrived in Kathmandu on a three-day goodwill visit to Nepal. He was leading a seven- member Chinese delegation. Wang is the first senior Chinese official to visit Nepal after the election of the new Constituent Assembly last year. During the visit, Wang met his counterpart- Mahendra Bahadur Pandey and extended an invitation to him to visit China. Wang also requested Pandey to work out visits of Nepal’s President Ram Baran Yadav and Prime Minister Sushil Kumar Koirala to China at an appropriate time. The Chinese Foreign Minister also met Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Kumar Koirala. Wang Yi’s visit was mainly to convey to the Nepali leaders, officials, intellectuals and policy makers about the foreign policy of the new Chinese leadership, particularly President Xi Jinping’s vision about China’s neighbourhood. The Chinese Foreign Minister conveyed that China wanted Nepal to finalise the draft of its new constitution at the earliest by forging consensus, so that the country could move forward on the path of economic prosperity by attaining political stability. He reportedly expressed satisfaction at the strong relationship between India and Nepal and expressed the hope that Nepal would become a “bridge” connecting the communist giant to India and South Asia.

China augments annual assistance by 433 percent :

14. China has augmented its annual assistance to Nepal by 433 percent. An announcement to this effect was made after the meeting between the foreign ministers of both countries. China expressed strong commitment to increased co-operation in nine areas for overall development of Nepal. The major areas of co-operation include trade, investment, infrastructure, energy, capacity building, science and technology, agriculture, tourism, security, and law enforcement. The Chinese Foreign Minister expressed his willingness to support Nepal in the development of hydropower and power generation.

China Assures Rail Link with Nepal:

15. During bilateral talks, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed to expand its railway link up to Kerung and urged Nepal to conduct feasibility study so that the railway line could be extended to Kathmandu and beyond. The Qinghai–Tibet Railway reached Shigatse in August 2014 with the 253 KM track linked to Tibet’s second city and thereby the high elevation railway has reached closer to Nepal. Shigatse is 540 KM from Kerung, the nearest Chinese town from Nepal. The bordering Nepali district of Raswa is 35 Km, from there. Officials said, there is the possibility of Chinese assistance for expanding the rail network within the Nepali territory. During the meeting, the Chinese side also promised to build an alternative cargo route from Rasuwagadhi to Kathmandu. Both sides agreed to make optimum use of Arniko Highway, encourage tourism, and establish cultural centers in Nepal.

Sri Lanka

Nepal- Sri Lanka Air Links to Resume:

16. According to Tourism Ministry officials, direct air link between Nepal and Sri Lanka are set to resume after a break of two and half decades with Colombo-based carrier Mihin Lanka planning to begin services by February 2015. The low cost airline, owned by the Sri Lankan government, has officially applied for authorization to conduct daily flights between Kathmandu and Colombo.

Bangladesh

COAS Rana Meets Bangladesh Army Chief:

17. Nepalese Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Gaurav Shamsher JB Rana met the visiting Bangladeshi Army Chief General Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan at Nepal Army headquarters, Kathmandu on December 29. The two Generals discussed issues of mutual interest during the courtesy call. Gen Bhuiyan also attended a wreath laying ceremony at the Army Pavilion in Tundikhel and visited the Shivpuri- based Army Command and Staff College. General Bhiyan also called on Prime Minster and Defence Minister Sushil Koirala and discussed proposals aimed at enhancing bilateral relations between the two countries. Gen Bhuiyan had arrived in Kathmandu on a four day official visit at the invitation of the COAS.