Maoists ready for dialogue with Nepal's new govt

Maoists in Nepal today said they were ready to hold peace talks with the government to end the decade-old insurgency in the Himalayan kingdom. The announcement comes a day after the G P Koirala administration declared a ceasefire with the rebels and decided to remove the terrorist tag from them.

Welcoming the government's ceasefire announcement, Maoist chief Prachanda agreed to sit for a dialogue with the new interim government.

In a statement, Prachanda said the rebels were ready to hold a dialogue with the seven-party alliance (SPA) government. "We welcome the offer for talks (by the government) as a positive step towards the people's desire to establish 'loktantra' (democracy), peace and progress," he said.

Earlier in the day, Minister for Housing and Physical Planning Gopalman Shrestha said the government was willing to release Maoist leaders from jail if the rebels agreed to a dialogue. He said that after getting a response from the rebels, the next Cabinet meeting would decide about releasing the jailed Maoists.

Prachanda, in his statement, said his party was ready to initiate a fresh dialogue with the government on the basis of the 12-point agreement reached between the Maoists and the SPA.

"Our party expresses commitment to help the nation enter into a republican era through peace process as per the spirit of the 12-point understanding and the historic people's movement," the Maoist leader said.

"We welcome it (the government's ceasefire announcement and removal of terrorist tag from Maosits) as a positive move," Prachanda said. "We believe that the talks this time will not be unsuccessful like the two previous ones."

Peace talks between the government and Maoists in 2001 and 2003 broke down after several months.

The Maoist chief said the rebels had proposed a code of conduct for the peace talks and "hope the government will sincerely implement it."

"We are entering into a dialogue process, feeling deep responsibility for people's aspirations towards democracy and peace," he said.