Maoists stall Parliament, demand withdrawal of murder case

Kathmandu: Maoists stalled the Parliament for a second day on Thursday demanding the withdrawal of charges against 13 of its cadres in connection with the murder of a school boy in 2004 during the civil strife in the country.

UCPN-Maoist lawmakers, speaking in the Parliament, accused the government of serving the interest of "undesirable foreign power centers" to derail the peace process and push the county back to chaos. The agitating lawmakers also claimed that they have found various power groups flexing their muscles to stop Nepal`s ongoing peace process from coming to a logical conclusion. The Maoist lawmakers distributed copies of a letter written by Royal Norwegian Embassy in Nepal to the South Asian Trust Chair and senior journalist Kanak Mani Dixit regarding the grant provided for a project titled "Using Media to promote regional peace and development". The Maoists claimed the letter to be the proof of how the foreign forces are funding media to impede the peace process in the country. UCPN-Maoist party members have reiterated that they would not let the house resume its normal business until and unless the government withdraws the case filed in the Chitwan court against 13 of its cadres for the murder of 16-year-old Krishna Prasad Adhikari of Gorkha district. The Maoists are against prosecution in war-time cases in the present criminal justice system. They have been demanding immediate formation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to deal with war-time cases. The civil strife in Nepal lasted from 1996 until 2006 and it claimed more than 16,000 lives.