Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has accused the Maoists of backtracking from a fourth round of peace talks aimed at ending a six-year rebellion. "The government is still ready to hold the fourth round of talks with the Maoists to settle the problem in a peaceful manner," Deuba said.
"But the Maoist leaders have started to say that the government is not serious about the talks which is not true," he added at a public function in Kathmandu late Thursday.
The rebels have been fighting the government since 1996 and more than 1,800 people have died in the violence. There have been three rounds of peace talks between the two sides following a truce called in July after Deuba took power.
But this week Maoist party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachand, warned that its ceasefire with the government "could become meaningless" unless the peace process makes some headway, though he stopped short of saying that the ceasefire agreement had been withdrawn.
Deuba said the government wanted to hold the fourth round of talks as soon as possible. "The government is committed to peace talks and has made every possible effort to make the peace process a success," he said. Bureau Report