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No talks if cadres not released, claim armed Terai outfits

The talks between the government and four Terai-based armed outfits has become uncertain after the latter issued ultimatum to the government to release their cadres detained by police by 3 pm Saturday.

According to Pawan, coordinator of Samyukta Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha, one of the four outfits, they will not sit for talks if their cadres are not released by then.

The government talks team comprising seven party representatives had, on Friday, written a second letter inviting them for talks without setting any precondition.

According to Shankar Pokharel, a member of the team,it will not be possible for the government to release the detainees before the talks.

Earlier, the same precondition by the outfits had scuttled their talks with the government scheduled to take place in Janakpur on Friday.

The four armed outfits - Samyukta Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha, Terai Cobra, Madhesi Mukti Tigers and Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha - had earlier agreed to hold talks with the government.

They had even formed their talks team headed by Sanjay Gupta and including Jagadish Adhikary, Rajiv Jha and Binay Lal Das as members. But they later demanded thattheir cadres arrested by the police must be released first.

The four outfits, however, do not include Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM-Jwala Singh) and Akhil Terai Mukti Morcha led by Jai Krishna Goit - the two most active armed outfits in the region. nepalnews.com sd Mar 29 08