Tuladhar predicts unprecedented violence ahead
The government’s failure to reciprocate the Maoist unilateral ceasefire would lead the nation to an unprecedented armed violence, a leading human rights activist and former peace talks facilitator has said.
Speaking at a program in Kathmandu on Friday, rights activist Padma Ratna Tuladhar said, “Unless the unilateral truce is reciprocated, the nation will surely plunge into a big scale armed conflict during and after the proposed municipal polls.”
Tuladhar claimed that he was able to bear the entire responsibility to bring the rebels to the negotiating table provided he was approached for that. “If I am asked to broker peace talks, I am ready to arrange the talks in Geneva, Oslo or somewhere else.”
One of the architects of past two rounds of peace talks between the state and Maoists, which ended in deadlock, Tuladhar, however, had no idea if the rebels would extend the truce this time around. He said he was confused as to what will happen next.
Referring to UN general secretary Kofi Annan’s earlier statement in which he urged the Maoists to extend ceasefire for one more month, Tuladhar added, “Annan is silent now. He has not made similar appeal to the rebels. No-response from the state to the Maoist-initiated peace process will be the reason behind any adverse development ahead.”
He informed that he had recently talked with Home Minister Kamal Thapa, a member of last government-Maoist peace talks, on the current state of affairs. “I could not trace symptoms of reciprocation of ceasefire,” he said.
Tuladhar emerged vocal against the royal palace’s ‘uncooperative stance’ in initiating the peace process. “There was no encouraging backing from the palace in the previous talks,” the revealed.
“We never had access to the King to brief about the progress in talks or to suggest what could be the reconciling issues for sustainable peace,” he explained, recalling the difficulties the talks facilitators had in communicating their efforts with to the “main stakeholder of the entire peace process”.
According to him, Shailendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Karna Dhoj Adhikari, the two facilitators appointed from the state, were also denied audience with the King when the dialogue process was on. “Shailendra ji and Karna Dhoj ji wrote to the royal palace requesting an audience with the King in connection with peace talks. But there was no response.”
Asked whether he was in touch with the Maoists in recent days, Tuladhar answered rather diplomatically, “I am in touch with all.” He would not elaborate.
Tuladhar also made it a point to pass critical remarks over the OHCHR office in Kathmandu. “The OHCHR has not been able to live up to the expectations and I have heard people talking that the UN agency could do much more particularly at a time when human rights situation in the country is deteriorating.”
Speaking at the same program, the newly elect general secretary of FOPHUR, Gopal Siwakoti Chintan, emphasised on the necessity of modeling Nepal’s human rights movement as a mass-based movement rather than a project as it is at present. He also stressed the need to advocate in favor of Nepal’s human rights concerns at the international level more effectively. nepalnews.com Kamdev Khanal Dec 31 05
