The Hindu : National : India welcomes Maoist ceasefire in Nepal

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Wednesday, Apr 05, 2006

National

National

India welcomes Maoist ceasefire in Nepal

Special Correspondent

Expresses the hope that it would be of a "permanent nature"

New Delhi: Saying that violence was not the answer to the problems facing Nepal, the Indian Government on Tuesday welcomed the Nepal Maoists' unilateral ceasefire in the Kathmandu valley and expressed the hope that it would be of a "permanent nature."

Asked about India's reaction to the Maoist announcement made on April 3, the External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said, "We welcome the ceasefire. As you know, India has always taken the position that violence is not the answer to the problems facing Nepal and that the Maoists should abandon violence as a political instrument. We trust that this ceasefire will be of a permanent nature and we continue to believe that the constitutional forces in Nepal should work together and find a lasting solution to the problems being faced by that country."

The Maoist announcement of a ceasefire comes in the run-up to the crucial joint mass protests that the rebel group is set to launch in partnership with the alliance of seven parliamentary parties ranged against King Gyanendra.

Though the United States has come out against the new partnership between the Maoists and the parties, the MEA spokesman parried the suggestion that Washington and New Delhi were at loggerheads on the question of how Nepal's Maoists should be engaged. "You know India's position on Nepal," Mr Sarna said, "but on this particular aspect of Maoists, I have just given you our response that we have never believed that violence is the answer. We believe that Maoists should shun violence as an instrument of politics and following from that, naturally, we welcome the ceasefire."

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