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| Kathmandu, Friday June 13, 2003 Jestha 30, 2060. |
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Govt names two-member talks
team
Post Report
KATHMANDU, June 12 : The government today formed
a two-member committee - comprising of senior cabinet ministers Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani
and Kamal Thapa - to revive the peace process with the Maoist rebels.
A decision to this effect was taken during the
first meeting of the Surya Bahadur Thapa-led cabinet, which was expanded yesterday.
Minister for Information and Communications
Kamal Thapa, who has also been appointed the spokesperson of the government as well as the
dialogue team, told The Kathmandu Post that other members to be included in the team would
be named after due consultation with the political parties. "The government will
start consulting the mainstream political parties immediately."
Prime Minister Thapa instructed the team members
to enhance cooperation and coordination with the political parties.
Minister Kamal Thapa said that the meeting also
decided to set up a secretariat of the team under the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO),
for providing permanent institutional support to the dialogue process.
A source in the cabinet disclosed that the
necessity of setting up a secretariat was felt on the basis of the past experience, when
documentation and record keeping turned out to be a problem.
The secretariat has been set up as per the
government policy to continue peace dialogue with the Maoists in a more systematic manner.
PM Thapa had in an interview given to The Kathmandu Post on Wednesday said that the peace
process would be expedited with a new spirit.
The erstwhile Lokendra Bahadur Chand-led
government have already held two rounds of talks with the rebels, who waged a violent
people’s war for seven years.
Two rounds of talks were held on April 27 and
May 9. The Maoists have put forth their 24-point demand during the talks but the
government is yet to respond to most of the demands, including the three political demands
- roundtable conference, formation of an all-party government and election to the
constituent assembly.
The spokesperson of the Maoists team, Krishna
Bahadur Mahara, commenting on the formation of the new government dialogue team, said the
changes don’t make any difference, if it gives continuity to the ongoing process.
"Our relation depends on the attitude that the new team shows towards implementation
of the agreements reached during the two rounds of talks."
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