From: "Stasi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Peoples War] Nepal: Rebels Free Captives - BBC Tuesday, 2 October, 2001, 14:06 GMT 15:06 UK Nepal rebels free captives ================== http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1574000/1574931.stm There are hopes peace talks could end the violence By Sushil Sharma in Kathmandu Maoist rebels in Nepal have released 17 policemen they were holding captive. The rebels handed over the captives to representatives of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) in Surkhet in the west of the country. The chairman of the underground Maoist Communist Party, Prachanda, announced last week that all remaining captives would be freed. Home Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka has pledged to reciprocate the move. Peace talks The two sides are still holding about 400 people in captivity. The rebels took up arms six years ago The rebels and the government exchanged several prisoners before the first round of formal peace talks last month. The authorities said earlier that the process of releasing all Maoist activists had already begun. They insisted that the rebels should first free the captives they had been holding. The latest developments are expected to create a more conducive atmosphere for the third round of dialogue after two inconclusive rounds. Interim government Maoist rebels want an interim government to frame a new constitution and a republican regime. The government is determined to defend the existing constitution which guarantees multi-party parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. The authorities say they are optimistic about a negotiated settlement to the six-year-old insurgency in which more than 1,800 people have been killed. They said that the rebels had been flexible but they did not elaborate. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
