Joint letter to UN by Wednesday : Minister Gyawali
Minister for Culture Tourism and Civil Aviation Pradeep Gyawali Tuesday said the government and the Maoists were preparing to send a joint letter to the United Nations on Wednesday, requesting the world body for help in the management of arms of the Nepali Army and the Maoist People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Minister Gyawali, who is also a member of the government talks team, said at an interaction program at the Reporters Club that the two sides were set to finalise the joint letter tomorrow, which will then be sent to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
He revealed that Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala gave directions to the government’s talks team to reach an agreement with the Maoist side over the joint better by tomorrow. The negotiating team had met with Koirala at the latter’s residence in Baluwatar this morning.
Ministe Gyawali, however, did not say how close the rebel side was regarding agreement on a joint letter.
Recently, Maoist supremo Prachanda in a letter to UN Secretary-General objected to the letter sent by PM Koirala inviting the UN for management of arms whereas the Nepali Army could be kept in its barracks. The rebel chief argued that the government did not consult with the Maoists while sending the letter and that the proposal of managing the arms of the Maoists alone was unacceptable.
Both sides failed to reach consensus even as the high-level assessment mission of the UN set a timeframe of three days – until its departure on August 03 for consensus on the issue of management of arms and armies.
The talks teams of the government and the Maoists had in their latest meeting agreed to prepare and send a joint letter to the UN. However, the two sides are yet to officially clarify what would be the point of consensus between them. nepalnews.com mk Aug 08 06
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