Nepal declares Maoists terrorists

The decision was taken at the advice of the National Security Council, which met today. ‘‘The Maoists have started killing our people, there is no other way but to declare them terrorists,’’ said Finance Minister Prakash Chandra Lohani, who was a government negotiator with the rebels. The declaration comes after renewed violence by the Maoists, who followed up the unilateral withdrawal of ceasefire yesterday by attacking two Royal Nepal Army colonels in the capital today, killing one of them.

Security has been stepped up in and around Kathmandu following the shooting of the two senior Army officials. Meanwhile, the US government has deplored the Maoists’ decision yesterday to call-off the ceasefire. A release from the US Embassy said the Maoists are ignoring the overwhelming support within Nepal and the international community for a negotiated settlement of a senseless conflict, which has claimed thousands of lives.

The release also accused the Maoists of disrupting efforts to develop Nepal’s economic and political infrastructure. The US government also urged the Maoists to restore the ceasefire and resume the negotiation process, the release added.

The previous Sher Bahadur Deuba government first declared the Maoists as terrorists in November 2001 after a series of attacks on government installations.