CINA

Issuing a statement this afternoon, Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M), Prachanda alias Pushpa Kamal Dahal, said his party had decided to “halt all kinds of military actions in the Kathmandu Valley until the next statement from the party.”

The Maoist declaration comes three days ahead of the seven-party alliance’s (SPA) April 6-9 nationwide general strike and a major showdown in Kathmandu on April 8.

In the statement Prachanda has made it clear that his party had taken this decision “keeping in view the requests made by the seven parties and civil society groups and also to expose the claims by the royal government that the Maoists were planning to infiltrate the protest programmes organized by the SPA.

“To expose the conspiracy of the autocratic feudal group to instill military terror on the capital-focussed peaceful showdown under the pretext of infiltration by the People’s Liberation Army, to create an easy environment for the general public to move forward with the peaceful movement with determination, and taking seriously the requests made by the seven political parties and the civil society,” the statement reads, “all military actions in the Kathmandu Valley have been suspended until the next statement from the party.”   

The statement, however, reiterates the Maoists’ active support to SPA’s peaceful protest programmes and has appealed to the people of all levels “to come out on the streets to create a new history of a Loktantrik Nepal.”

Govt orders employees not to attend parties’ programmes

Meanwhile, the government today ordered all government employees not to participate in the SPA’s protest demonstrations.

The warning came in a letter sent to all the ministries and constitutional bodies by the Office of the Council of Ministers.

Yesterday, Chief Secretary Lok Man Singh Karki had said that the government would immediately take action against employees who participate in the SPA’s movement.

Meanwhile, talking to eKantipur over the phone, Nepali Congress Spokesperson Krishna Prasad Sitaula welcomed the Maoists’ announcement.

“The step taken by the Maoists in view of the peaceful demonstrations in Kathmandu is a welcome move,” said Sitaula, adding that it would help make the alliance’s programme peaceful.

Welcoming the Maoists’ declaration on a light note, UML Standing Committee member K.P. Sharma Oli urged the Maoist leadership to declare a truce nationwide.

“The valley-centred ceasefire is not satisfactory in the sense that it cannot make a positive contribution to restore peace in the country. The ceasefire should be made nationwide to make it a complete success,” he said.

Minendra Rijal, spokesperson of the Nepali Congress-Democratic said the Maoists have made an encouraging move.

He, however, said a nationwide ceasefire would be more effective to make the environment conducive for the alliance's peaceful movement. He said, “I hope the Maoists will think about it in the days ahead.”

Earlier this week, Home Minister Kamal Thapa claimed that the government will foil the upcoming parties’ four-day nationwide general strike, “at any cost”.

The Minister also reiterated that the government would “treat the seven-party alliance like the Maoists as the pre-planned programmes are that of the rebels.”

The government also issued a statement urging the public to defer visits to Kathmandu except in urgent cases saying that the measure was part of its strict security arrangement aimed at controlling "terrorist activities".

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