Nepal wary of rebel offer for peace talks

Kathmandu, July 20: Nepal responded cautiously on Saturday to an offer by Maoist guerrillas for peace talks to end a six-year-old bloody insurgency, saying it had been let down by the rebels in the past.

"We must be cautious and find out whether they (Maoists) sincerely want to join the mainstream through talks or simply want to use the meeting as a pretext for more violence," Physical Planning and Works Minister Chiranjibi Wagle said.

Last year Wagle held three rounds of talks with rebels who walked out of negotiations after the government refused to abolish constitutional monarchy, a popular institution in Nepal.
Bureau Report