Maoists still listed under TEL by the US
A new US report says the leader of the current coalition government,
Unified CPN (Maoist), is still in Terrorist Exclusion List of the country,
that restricts the party's members from traveling to US.
However, top leaders of the party, including Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal
Dahal and Finance Minister Dr Babu Ram Bhattarai traveled to US in several
instances.
The report said, while Nepal experienced no significant acts of
international terrorism, several incidents of politically-motivated
violence occurred across the country in 2008.
In response to continued violence by Maoist-affiliated youth, other
political parties condoned the use of violence for their youth wings and
unrest in Terai increased with the proliferation of numerous armed groups,
the report adds.
Nevertheless, the Nepal government made some headway in counterterrorism
efforts, specifically with the passage of anti-money laundering
legislation which led to the creation of a Financial Information Unit
(FIU) subsequently freezing assets of individuals and entities involved in
the terrorist financing when or if such assets were discovered and the
arrest of individuals suspected of terrorist ties. But U.S. antiterrorism
assistance was constrained by the presence of the Maoists within the
government.
The interim Parliament passed anti-money laundering legislation in
January, although faced with resource and staffing constraints, the FIU
responded favorably to U.S. requests .
Though Maoists were voted as the largest party in CA polls and entered to lead the
coalition government, factions of the Maoists continued to engage in
violence, extortion, and abductions. The Maoist-affiliated Young Communist
League carried on the Maoist militia's tactics of abuse, abduction,
murder, intimidation, and extortion in cities and villages.
There were no indications that Nepal was a safe haven for other
international terrorists; however, authorities arrested several
individuals with suspected ties to Pakistani terrorist organisations using
Nepal to transit between Pakistan and India. nepalnews.com ia May 01 09
