Annan urges government to reciprocate Maoists’ truce

Just two days before the unilateral ceasefire declared by the Maoists comes to an end, the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has urged the Nepal government to ‘reciprocate,’ reports said.

“The Secretary General is seriously concerned that fighting could escalate in Nepal after the four-month-old unilateral ceasefire declared by the Maoists expires on January 2, 2006,” AFP news agency quoted a spokesman for Annan as saying in a statement.

“In the interest of peace and the welfare of civilians throughout the country, the Secretary General, therefore, reiterates his strong appeal to the government of Nepal to reciprocate the ceasefire and to the Maoists to extend its unilateral ceasefire,” the statement added.

The UN also expressed its willingness to assist for the peace process in the country “The United Nations stands ready to assist in the realisation of this objective should the parties so desire,” it added.

The Maoists announced a three-month unilateral ceasefire in September and extended it by a month in December. However, the government has dismissed the ceasefire. nepalnews.com pb Dec 31 05

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