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| Kathmandu, Sunday February 09, 2003 Magh 26, 2059. |
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Form an inclusive negotiating team: British envoy
By Ameet Dhakal
KATHMANDU, Feb 8 :
While the constitution of a negotiating team for formal dialogue with the Maoist rebels
lingers on, Keith Bloomfield, the British Ambassador to Nepal has called upon the
government to form an inclusive democratic team to take on the Maoists.
In an exclusive
interview with The Sunday Post, Bloomfield said, "The actual composition of the team
is a matter of the government, and I really don’t want to interfere with that, but I
would urge that the government finds way to include all political parties in the
process."
Reaffirming his point,
the ambassador said, "We will continue to urge the government to carry with it in the
negotiations, the full range of the democratic constituencies."
Since the political
parties, the government and His Majesty the King have agreed that the bottom line is the
preservation of the multiparty democracy and the constitutional monarchy, added the
ambassador, "that seems to me the basis of the cross party approach to the
negotiation".
He expressed happiness
that Nepal has a cease-fire for the last 10 days but did not conceal his scepticism, too.
"We have always believed that the negotiated solution to conflict here in Nepal is,
by far, the best solution and we are delighted that we now seem to be on that track."
However, we treat the current process with a degree of scepticism that it deserves, said
the British envoy.
He also hinted that the
British government would continue to strengthen the government’s hand in enforcing
security. "We will not be letting down our guard; we will be continuing to support
the government efforts in strengthening their responses in a number of ways."
Britain has extended a
crucial support to Nepal in containing the Maoist insurgency. She initiated and chaired
the donor group’s meeting in London last August that discussed political, security
and development issues. Following the meeting, British government pledged supports that
included, among others, two combatant helicopters and military hardware. Department For
International Development, the British government’s funding agency, has one of the
largest conflict resolution programmes in Nepal.
Despite the scepticism,
Bloomfield sees a real chance of peace and expressed donor community’s willingness to
support it. He also revealed that the major donor agencies in Kathmandu have formed a
sub-committee to explore ways in which they can support the peace process in the coming
days.
We are ready to extend
any support, including the immediate technical assistance needed for the negotiation
process and medium term help for rehabilitation and reintegration of the victims of the
conflict, he said.
The sub-committee,
according to the ambassador, met with the government officials last week and expressed its
willingness to support the peace process. A government source told The Sunday Post that
the United Nations Development Programme has even proposed for a weekly appraisal of the
peace process to consolidate the fragile truce and to transform it into a lasting peace.
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