From: "Stasi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Peoples War] Nepal: Govt Spurns Rebel Talks Offer - BBC Friday, 14 December, 2001, 14:41 GMT Nepal spurns rebel talks offer ==================== http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1711000/1711133.stm Indian helicopters will be used to counter the rebels By Sushil Sharma in Kathmandu The Nepalese authorities have ruled out resuming peace talks with Maoist rebels unless they pledge to give up violence. They were reacting to newspaper reports which said that the rebels had made a fresh offer to resume the aborted dialogue. The reports are the first published comments from the rebels after the government recently imposed a state of emergency and launched a military offensive to crush them. A close aide to the Nepalese prime minister described the rebel move as mere propaganda. Long standing demand The Nepali language newspaper, Kantipur, quoted two top Maoist leaders as saying that they were ready to suspend armed activities and resume peace talks if the government agreed to their long-standing demand for a constituent assembly. The prime minister is standing firm The rebels want the constituent assembly to clear the way for a new constitution and a republican regime. The newspaper quoted an undated letter purportedly sent by the Maoist leaders to a number of foreign governments, saying that they were ready to restart the dialogue if the government responded positively to their proposal. But the authorities have dismissed the proposal. They have reiterated Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's earlier statement which called for the rebels to first surrender. Mr Deuba's advisor, Prakash Sharan Mahat, told the BBC that peace talks can not resume unless the rebels give up arms and renounce violence. He accused the rebels of betraying the government - a reference to last month's attacks on government targets, in which dozens of security personnel were killed, after the rebels unilaterally broke a ceasefire and pulled out of peace talks. Foreign support The peace talks had got bogged down over the rebels' demand for a constituent assembly. The government rejected the demand, saying that it was determined to defend the present constitution which guarantees multi-party democracy and constitutional monarchy. Foreign governments including the United States and Nepal's two immediate neighbours, India and China, have backed the Nepalese Government. Some of them have even pledged logistical support to quell the Maoist insurgency in which more than two thousand people have died over the past six years. _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________
