Delegation including Maoist 'party whip' preparing to attend UN assembly

All the party whips at the parliament have been included in the delegation that will attend the 62nd general assembly of the United Nations in New York, which will start in third week of September.

The delegation includes Maoist party whip Janardan Sharma aka Prabhakar. But since the US government denied visa to another Maoist leader Suresh Ale Magar in the past, Sharma – who is a deputy commander of the Maoists' People's Liberation Army (PLA) – could also face troubles in getting visa, say reports.

Foreign Minister Sahana Pradhan will be leading the Nepali delegation at the UN assembly. She will also be heading towards Brussels on Monday to take part in EU meeting.

Meanwhile, Nepal Samacharpatra daily has reported that the 'agreemo' papers for Maoist-nominated ambassadors could be rejected by foreign governments if the Maoists actually walk out of the government as they have threatened. The Maoists have threatened to quit the government and launch protests if their 22-point demands are not met by September 18.

The daily quoted senior diplomatic sources as revealing that international community will treat Maoists quitting the government as their attempt to run away from election. There are four Maoist nominees for ambassadors – Pampha Bhusal ( France), Yogendra Dhakal (Australia), Bijaya Kanta Lal Karna (Denmark) and Dr. Rishi Adhikary (Malaysia). All of them have been approved by the parliamentary hearing committee.

However, sources said that once the Maoists cease to remain in the coalition government, their 'agreemo' could be rejected. The daily further reports that although Maoists claim to have come closer to China, the latter reportedly suggested not to send Maoist-nominee as envoy to Beijing. "The entire international community is watching Maoist activities in a unified manner. It is the Maoists' failure to understand China if they think that they are close just because China arranged few visits for its leaders," the daily quotes the source as saying. nepalnews.com sd Sep 16 07