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Maoists set pre-conditions for third round of talks
Kathmandu, July 28: Maoist rebels have set preconditions and given a five-day ultimatum to the government here on limiting the Royal Nepalese Army within a five-km area and releasing of their leaders for holding third round of talks.
Kathmandu, July 28: Maoist rebels have set preconditions and given a five-day ultimatum to the government here on limiting the Royal Nepalese Army within a five-km area and releasing of their leaders for holding third round of talks.
Maoists leader and coordinator for the talks, Dr Baburam
Bhattarai in a letter sent to minister for information and
communications, Kamal Thapa has said that the movement of the Royal
Nepalese Army should be limited within a five-km radius of the
barracks and that the rebel leaders should be released.
He also said that the whereabouts of the arrested comrades should be made public, the code of conduct by the army fully implemented and the five year anti-terrorism agreement with the US be cancelled, Nepali language daily Nepal Samacharpatra reported quoting the letter as saying.
''Either the King himself should be involved in the talks or he should authorise the government team to draft an agreement for a political resolution of the problem and make a commitment to fully implement it,'' the paper quoted the letter as saying.
The Royal Nepalese Army should make public the commitment to fully implement the agreement without any condition, the American army advisors and experts should be expelled from the country and the government should make public its views on the political agenda of talks, it said.
The Maoists have been saying that there was an agreement with the government on limiting the army within a five-km radius from the barracks. However, the government has said that no such agreement was signed during the second round of talks in may with the previous Lokendra Bahadur Chand government.
Mr Thapa, who is also a member of the government team in a letter sent to the Maoists on Friday said that it was not possible to limit the national army, which had the responsibility of safeguarding the national integrity. However, the government has said that it was ready to release the three central committee leaders and make public the whereabouts of 322 Maoists arrested after the imposition of state emergency in 2001. Bureau Report
He also said that the whereabouts of the arrested comrades should be made public, the code of conduct by the army fully implemented and the five year anti-terrorism agreement with the US be cancelled, Nepali language daily Nepal Samacharpatra reported quoting the letter as saying.
''Either the King himself should be involved in the talks or he should authorise the government team to draft an agreement for a political resolution of the problem and make a commitment to fully implement it,'' the paper quoted the letter as saying.
The Royal Nepalese Army should make public the commitment to fully implement the agreement without any condition, the American army advisors and experts should be expelled from the country and the government should make public its views on the political agenda of talks, it said.
The Maoists have been saying that there was an agreement with the government on limiting the army within a five-km radius from the barracks. However, the government has said that no such agreement was signed during the second round of talks in may with the previous Lokendra Bahadur Chand government.
Mr Thapa, who is also a member of the government team in a letter sent to the Maoists on Friday said that it was not possible to limit the national army, which had the responsibility of safeguarding the national integrity. However, the government has said that it was ready to release the three central committee leaders and make public the whereabouts of 322 Maoists arrested after the imposition of state emergency in 2001. Bureau Report