Kathmandu, Nov 24: The agreement between Maoist rebels and the seven-party opposition alliance is an "unnatural pact" but any initiative made to establish peace
in the kingdom is a "good thing," a senior Nepalese minister has said.
He said the Royal government would soon make its views
public regarding the 12-point understanding reached between
the pro-democratic alliance and the Maoists. "The government
has taken it seriously and will react to it soon."
The government will not put obstacles to any efforts
being made to establish peace but it will not accept the
result of any "unnatural pact," Information Minister and
government spokesman Tanka Dhakal told reporters.
"Any initiative for peace is good thing, but if the
alliance of vested interests turns out to be unnatural, it
will be unfortunate," he said.
Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey, who returned from
South Africa tour yesterday, said, "a peace initiative taken
by any one is a matter of pleasure but it will not be at the
interest of the country if it happened at the behest of
'foreigners'."
Former Army chief and member of the Royal council
Satchit Shumsher Rana strongly reacted to the pact, saying "if
the political parties collaborate with 'terrorists,' the
government could take legal action against them."
Various civil society groups have issued separate
statements welcoming the parties-Maoists understanding to
restore democracy and limit power of the monarch. Those
welcoming the move include the Professional Alliance for pEace
and Democracy (Papad), the Federation of Nepalese Journalists
(FNJ) among others.
Bureau Report
