W O R L D

Nepal begins release of child soldiers
Hundreds of former child soldiers of the Maoists' guerrilla force on Thursday were released from the UN supervised camps in Nepal as part of the landmark 2006 peace process, which has been stalled due to the deepening political crisis in the country.

Kashmir solution vital for regional peace: Zardari
The settlement of Kashmir dispute is vital for regional peace, President Asif Ali Zardari has said, adding that both are inextricably linked. The world focus today is on Pakistan, then together with Pakistan, the world has to talk about the Kashmir problem as well because only then can peace be brought to the region,” Zardari said

Consensus eludes political parties
Political mechanism to iron differences on Friday
A meeting of the top brass leaders of the major political parties, mainly the ruling Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the main opposition party Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (UCPN-M) ended inconclusively.

Prabhakaran’s father dies in army custody
The father of the former leader of the LTTE Velupillai Prabhakaran died due to natural causes at a Sri Lankan military base on the outskirts of Colombo on Thursday, Military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakara said. Thiruvendran Velupillai, 82, and his wife had been in military custody since they surrendered to the government after their son was killed on May 18 in a battle with the army in northern Sri Lanka.

Nepal begins release of child soldiers
Bishnu Budhathoki writes from Kathmandu

Hundreds of former child soldiers of the Maoists' guerrilla force on Thursday were released from the UN supervised camps in Nepal as part of the landmark 2006 peace process, which has been stalled due to the deepening political crisis in the country.

At the presence of the joint team of the government, Maoists and the representatives of United Nations Maoist Division Commander Suk Bahadur Rokka, alias Sarad, announced the noble process of discharging the disqualified former rebels’ combatants from the Dudhauli camp in Sindhuli district in central Nepal.

In the first phase, total 201 disqualified combatants, including 155 minors, were discharged by the Maoists who will be rehabilitated by the government with the support of donor community.

Though the Maoists had recruited them three-and-half years ago alluring that that they would be provided $100 monthly salary and given an opportunity to join Nepal Army, the Maoist Commanders, Nanda Kishwor Pun, alias Pasang, and Chandra Prakash Khanal, alias Baldev, sent off them from the camp on Thursday by handing over just Rs 22,000 as pocket money shattering their dream to join the national army.

Earlier, the United Nations Mission in Nepal had disqualified 372 combatants in Sindhuli alone saying that 278 were minors who were below the age of 18 and 94 personnel were recruited after May 25, 2006.

The Ministry for Peace and Reconstruction has planned to discharge total 4,008 Maoist combatants across the country, who were disqualified by the UNMIN on charge of being below the age of 18 and recruited after the cut of date of May 25, 2006, and rehabilitate them into society within next 40 days. Thereafter they will be provided skill development trainings and education to make their life self-dependence in the future.

Speaking at the programme, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Rober Piper said it was an important milestone in the ongoing peace process. “We hope, the discharge process of disqualified combatants will speed up other steps laid out in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement,” he said.

The discharge procedure is a part of an action plan signed in December 2009 by the government, Maoists and the United Nations Mission in Nepal at the presence of Radhika Kumaraswami of the UN Head Office.

The United Nations, which has enlisted the Maoists under 1612 Article of UN Convention on charging of using minors in the warfare, will be contacting the discharged PLA personnel to monitor their civilian life after the discharge.

Meanwhile, the UCPN-M on Thursday agreed in principle with the government to manage their 19,602 combatants within next 112 days.

The Maoist leaders agreed on the proposal floated by the Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal who also heads the special committee to monitor and workout to rehabilitate and integrate the Maoist combatants at a meeting.

The PM had presented an action plan to settle the protracted issue of Maoist combatant management last Tuesday.

According to the committee spokesperson, Madhav Ghimire, the meeting discussed the action plan for the rehabilitation and integration of Maoists combatants within the time frame of 112 days.

Kashmir solution vital for regional peace: Zardari
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

The settlement of Kashmir dispute is vital for regional peace, President Asif Ali Zardari has said, adding that both are inextricably linked. “The world focus today is on Pakistan, then together with Pakistan, the world has to talk about the Kashmir problem as well because only then can peace be brought to the region,” Zardari said while addressing the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir assembly in Muzaffarabad marking Self-Determination Day observed by Kashmiris every year.

Zardari described Kashmir as the “jugular vein” of Pakistan and said "soon" the time will come when “the world will take important decisions regarding Kashmir”.

“We have never objected to friendship between India and the US, but we know that we cannot change our neighbours, nor can they,” he said.

The president also endorsed the pledge made by the people of Kashmir of waging a 1,000-year war and said “this is a war of ideology that will be continued by coming generations”. The president said that democratic governments played a key role in moving forward on the Kashmir dispute.

“Whenever dictators took over, they worked for appeasement. We, from Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto to me and the prime minister have talked with India on equal terms”. When Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had spoken of waging a 1,000-year war, he had never said he would not do it through talks or negotiations, he added. Zardari said, “It is a sign of weakness of a developed democracy if India thinks that it can enslave a nation through force.”

The president said serving the Kashmiris was a duty for him. “To wage a war for the Kashmiris is our duty,” he said. “We can give our lives, but will not let any harm come to Kashmir,” he said as the joint sitting thumped desks.

It was the first visit to PoK by Zardari after assuming office and his observations surprised many as he is often attacked in Pakistan for being soft on India.

Consensus eludes political parties
Political mechanism to iron differences on Friday
Bishnu Budhathoki writes from Kathmandu

A meeting of the top brass leaders of the major political parties, mainly the ruling Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the main opposition party Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (UCPN-M) ended inconclusively.

At a time when the country’s peace process and constitution-drafting process was in limbo due to differences between the ruling alliance and the main opposition, the leaders, however, reached an understanding to form the much-talked-about high-level political mechanism to sort out their differences and guide the government forward.

Emerging from the meeting held at Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala’s residence this evening, Maoists’ Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda told journalists the leaders have agreed to form the mechanism on Friday.

But they failed to take any concerete decision in order to end the current political deadlock that emerged after the Maoists decided to take to the streets protesting against the government and thecontroversial move made by the President Dr Ram Baran Yadav last May. Immediately after the Prachanda stepped down from the government and before backing the UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal as new prime minister, Koirala had floated the idea of formulating a high-level political mechanism that may resolve all contentious issues among the political parties.

Some leaders from the UML, including Nepali Congress senior leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, had opposed Koirala’s proposal smelling a rat. Some of the political analysts dubbed Koirala’s proposal as mere strategy to take the government under his control in the pretext of monitoring its day-to-day business. 

Prabhakaran’s father dies in army custody
Chandani Kirinde writes from Colombo

The father of the former leader of the LTTE Velupillai Prabhakaran died due to natural causes at a Sri Lankan military base on the outskirts of Colombo on Thursday, Military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakara said. Thiruvendran Velupillai, 82, and his wife had been in military custody since they surrendered to the government after their son was killed on May 18 in a battle with the army in northern Sri Lanka.

Brigadier Nanayakkara said the father had been ailing for some time before he passed away but said he did not know the cause of death.

He said Prabhakaran's parents, who initially had been living in a camp for displaced people in the north, had been transferred to a military base on the outskirts of Colombo where the couple had been in "protective custody".Prabhakaran's wife and three children also were killed by the military in the final phase of the military operation against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebel group.

The government declared victory on May 19 over the rebels after the deaths of Prabhakaran and the other top rebel leaders. 

Spurned, NRI woman laces ex-lover’s curry with poison

London, January 7
A scorned Indian-origin woman in London has been accused of killing her ex-lover by lacing his chicken curry with a poison that finds a mention in ancient Indian mythology. Lakhvir Singh, 40, from west London, was driven to murder when she discovered that her long-term lover, Lakhvinder 'Lucky' Cheema, was planning to marry a 21-year-old woman he met at a temple in Southall, a court heard on Wednesday. Counsel for prosecution said the married mother of three killed Cheema on January 27 last year by sprinkling his chicken curry with aconite, known in Indian ancient texts as Halahal, the poison that mythology holds turned the Hindu god Shiva’s neck blue after he consumed it.

Cheema and his lover Gurjeet Choough fell ill within minutes of eating the curry, their bodies went numb and they started to vomit. An hour after reaching hospital, Cheema was dead. Gurjeet fell into a coma but survived because she had eaten less of the curry, whereas Cheema had had a second helping. — IANS