News update from Nepal, 3 September 2007 News Update from Nepal 3 September 2007 Security Situation Prime Minister G.P. Koirala's direction to the chiefs of the security wings to begin work to make the Constituent Assembly(CA) elections a success has little effects. Nineteen armed non-state actors are carrying out violent activities due to the inability of the ruling parties to act. General strike, killing, kidnapping, communal riot, extortion and clash be­tween armed groups continue unabated. On September 2, three bomb blasts in the capi­tal city, Kathmandu, which killed two and wounded 19 people, demonstrate the fragile se­curity situation in the country. This year's heavy monsoon added another dimension to the problem. Flood and landslides caused the death of 200 people and affected 200,000 per­sons. Government has sought$1.5 million from the donors to assist flood victims. The Election Commission(EC) seeking security assurance for CA elections asked the leaders of the ruling political parties to go to the villages and run election campaigns. On August 30, Chief Whip of CPN(UML) said,"Mobilization of the Nepal Army(NA) would improve the security situation and create their ownership in the CA process and future constitution." NC(Democratic) lawmaker Purna B. Khadka also suggested the govern­ment to mobilize the NA now confined to barracks so that it does not have to appoint some 70,000 temporary policemen during elections. The CPN(Maoist), however, argues this is not possible unless the integration process of the People's Liberation Army(PLA) with the NA begins and the PLA is also deployed for the CA elections. Government’s Initiative On August 3, the parliament made public the Rayamajhi Commission Report which has recommended action against 201 individuals found guilty of suppressing the April 2006 movement. The coordinator of the commission K.J. Rayamajhi said,"The government made it public after it lost its importance." On August 3, the parliament passed a Bill amending the Civil Service Act 1993. This act guarantees time-bound promotion, seats reservation for discriminated people and back­ward regions and provides trade union rights. Of the total posts in the bureaucracy 33% will be distributed to women, 27% to Janajati, 22% to Madhesi, 9% to Dalit, 5% to the disabled and 4% to backward regions. The government employees up to the post of sec­tion officer can join a trade union. On August 6, it passed the Working Journalists Bill 2007 which states that media houses can keep only 15% journalists on a contract basis, journalists on contract are entitled to a provident fund, the government will form a 13­member committee to review and fix a minimum salary for them, ensures treatment com­pensation for working journalists, appoints the Press Registrar to supervise and monitor media houses and includes a mandatory provision for media houses to allocate 1% an­nual income for capacity building for journalists. Management found violating this act is liable to penalty. It also passed the Foreign Employment Bill 2007 which requires deposit­ing property worth US$ 4615.85 in cash and a bank guarantee to get an operating li­1