News update from Nepal, 29 September 2008 News Update from Nepal 29 September 2008 Security Deficit The growing sectarian and political strife has become an obstacle to democracy-building in Nepal. An unidentified gang killed a local Muslim in Kapilvastu, a health worker and two vil­lagers in Rautahat and Biratnagar. An armed outfit Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha(JTMM) killed a government officer of Parsa district. Kirant Janabadi Workers Party(KJWP), an un­derground outfit, detonated a bomb on the premises of a school at Dharan. One Maoist cadre was killed in a clash with CPN-UML in Taplejung. Repeated robbery threats forced two dozen locals at Rautahat district to flee the villages. In Sirha more than 15 CPN(Mao­ist) cadres and the District Police Officer were injured when a clash occurred between them and local people over the seizure of land by Maoists. On September 12, the government formed a three-member judicial commission to investigate the death of NC activist P. Khadka at police hands. On September 14, the police under the order of Home Minister Bam Dev Gautam had removed Maoists who were occupying the 16-room house of Biren­dra Sah in Sirha. Challenging this, Maoist Minister for Land Reforms and Management Ma­trika Yadav led a Maoist team to retake those properties. This event caused a rivalry be­tween Maoist and Madhesi Jana Adhikar Forum(MJAF) as the latter defends property rights while CPN(Maoist) wants to redistribute lands to the landless. When Prime Minister Puspa Kamal Dahal asked Yadav to apologize he turned down his resignation. The gov­ernment decision to cut off funds for ritual sacrifices of buffalos has been reversed as it pro­voked the anger of Kathmandu people. On September 28, Rastriya Janamorcha's anti­federalism strike hit life in Kathmandu. It believes that the move towards federalism will weaken the nation. A meeting of 14 armed non-state groups in Bihar, India, agreed to make Ram Bilas Yadav their chief. They rejected JTMM Singh and Goit group. Delicate Peace Process Despite the commitment of government to a common minimum program, the gap in per­spective remains wide. On September 21, Nepal Army Chief Rookmangud Katwal ruled out the possibility of the army inducting the Maoist combatants without meeting recruitment standards. He asserted,"The NA was and would always remain far from politics, but would not make any compromise with attempts against the country's territorial integrity." NC and MJAF maintained a similar attitude. The CPN-UML too considers that Maoists combatants have to resign from their party and undergo retraining for the integration in the NA. The special representative of UN Secretary-General in Nepal Ian Martin said,"No peace proc­ess can be said to be complete while there are two armies in one country and until the fu­ture of former combatants is decided. Peace process requires efforts to heal the wounds of conflict, to clarify the fate of those disappeared, compensate victims, enable the return of displaced persons to their homes and end impunity. He stressed on to remove the causes of past or future conflict through the consensus on a new federal constitution and by ad­1