Nepal govt declines Maoist ceasefire overture

In a response that would disappoint the international community as well as the pro-democracy forces in Nepal, the government today made it c...

In a response that would disappoint the international community as well as the pro-democracy forces in Nepal, the government today made it clear that it is not going to reciprocate the ceasefire called by the Maoists.

Announcing this at a press conference, Vice-Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Dr Tulsi Giri said the government did not want to get into an understanding which was essentially between the Maoists and the parties.

Giri said, “Maoists have not uttered a word of ceasefire with the government. Where is the question of our reciprocating it?”

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“Our road map is election—first to the municipal bodies and then to Parliament,” Dr Giri said claiming this has been possible as a result of the government’s success in containing “terrorism” after the royal takeover on February 1. “We have broken their back,” he said.

The government stance refusing to reciprocate the ceasefire comes in the wake of appeals from the United States to the Nepal King recently.

Responding to a question regarding the recent visit of Foreign Secretary Shyam Sharan, Dr Giri said there had been no shift in the stand that India had taken. “We have failed to understand why the February-1 move triggered such a reaction in India. All that we expect is that it should not give us a suggestion that we cannot digest. Such suggestions should be based on the principles of relationship between the two sovereign nations,” he added.

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