Chopper crash delays Nepal peace talks

A crucial round of peace negotiations between Nepal's government and the Maoist guerrillas, scheduled to be held Thursday after a hiatus of three months, was deferred yet again with the government saying it was busy with the last rites of a minister, who was among the 24 people killed in a chopper crash last week.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala sent Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula and his nephew, Shekhar Koirala, a growingly influential member of the Nepali Congress party due to his closeness to the premier, to convey to the Maoist leaders that the talks were postponed as the last rites of Gopal Rai, minister of state for forest and soil conservation, and the other crash victims, including top officials and conservationists, are to be held on Thursday.

Rai and 23 others were killed Saturday when the MI-17 helicopter ferrying them from remote Taplejung district in northern Nepal, close to the Tibet border, crashed after taking off.

The bleak terrain and continuous bad weather made search operations a nightmare and the bodies could be brought back to Kathmandu after several days' effort only on Wednesday.

After forensic tests at a Kathmandu hospital Wednesday to determine the identity of the bodies, since most of them were badly charred and mangled, the last rites of most of the victims would be held in the capital Thursday.

The disaster stunned the world and the Nepal government announced a public holiday as well as national mourning Wednesday, after the crash and the deaths were confirmed.

According to Nepal's state media, the postponed peace talks would be held Friday, though the time and venue have not been made public.

The Maoist guerrillas were not happy with the deferment, charging the government with delaying the vital round of negotiations on various pretexts.

"It is evident that the government is not sincere about holding talks and implementing the mandate given to it by the popular stir that put it in power," Maoist spokesperson and former legislator Krishna Bahadur Mahara said.

The rebels say the delay is part of a conspiracy between King Gyanendra, who was stripped of power in April by a mass uprising, and royalists in the seven-party alliance to scuttle the peace parleys that aim at abolishing monarchy.

Even the allies of the Koirala government said the government has been putting off the decisive round of talks since it has not been able to reach an understanding among the coalition partners on vital issues. These include the fate of the king and whether the Maoists should be allowed to join the government without laying down arms.

The two sides locked horns on the two key issues in June, after the third round of negotiations wad held, resulting in a stalemate for three months during which the rift between the two widened and the rebels once threatened to walk out and start a new revolt.

Nepal has been reeling under the communist insurgency since 1996 during which over 13,000 people were killed, thousands were displaced and the economy was reduced to a shambles.

The kingdom, among one of the poorest in the world, received a ray of hope this year when the parties and the rebels united to jointly oppose the king, who had grabbed power through a bloodless coup, and both sides declared a ceasefire with the king's ouster.

However, though fresh peace talks progressed and the warring sides asked the United Nations for help in facilitating the peace process, since then, the negotiations have been languishing.

"The talks might not be held even on Friday," Mahara told the local media. "The government could ditch us again."

Besides reaching an agreement on key issues, Thursday's talks were also important because it is the last working day before Nepal goes on a long holiday to celebrate Dashain, its biggest festival. The festivities would continue till October.

(IANS)

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