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Meeting halfway for peace in Nepal
Talks between the government and the Maoists will be a major breakthrough.
- Gulf News
- Published: 00:00 August 9, 2006
Peace, that elusive bounty that has escaped the clutches of Nepal's politicians, is tantalisingly close despite the warning that talks between rebels and the government are close to collapse. The main points of contention, which are not insurmountable, seem to be the role of monarchy and disarmament.
Even the fact that peace talks are taking place, unthinkable just a few months ago, is a major breakthrough given the amount of distrust between the two sides. And progress has been made as indicated when the rebels ruled out an immediate return to arms if the talks collapsed. They would press their case, they insisted, by launching a new peaceful movement in the cities instead of returning to the jungles.
More than 13,000 people have been killed during a decade of Maoist revolt but now the two sides are getting ever closer towards an agreement for a future elected constituent assembly that could write a new constitution for the country.
The international community, notably India, the United States and the European Union, have made it quite clear to the Maoists that they cannot join any interim government with guns in hand. This is not an unreasonable stipulation considering that peace, if not at hand, is within grasp.
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