हाम्रो आवाज

The U.S. government’s change in policy comes after hectic meetings of the top U.S. diplomats with the Maoist leaders in the capital recently.

Talking to reporters, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Evan Feigenbaum said that the United States would work with the political parties including the Maoists, which emerged as the leading party in the Constituent Assembly election with the most seats, for the establishment of a stable, democratic, and prosperous Nepal.

The US government’s decision comes immediately after Nepal’s Constituent Assembly overwhelmingly voted to end the 240-year-old monarchy and declare a republic.

The U.S. government, once a top supplier of weapons to crush the armed Maoist insurgency, has not yet removed the former communist rebels from two categories of the terrorist lists– Terrorist Exclusion List, and the Specially Designated List. However, the Maoists do not fall under the Foreign Terrorist Organization, or FTO list. FTO list is a legal category and has broad legal implications, according to Feigenbaum. "The Maoists are not designated as an FTO," he said.

The Terrorist Exclusion List is a visa category. It has to do with entry and exit into the United States. And the Specially Designated List has to do with property. This law blocks all property and interests in property of designated terrorists and individuals who materially support them in the United States. Under this law the United States cannot negotiate with terrorist groups.

However, with the turnaround in policy, the US has started making contact with the Maoists. Recently US Ambassador to Nepal Nancy Powell and Deputy Assistant Secretary Feigenbaum had met the Maoists after the revision of the policy. "I do Nepal. I don’t do any other part of the world, so I’m not in a position to talk about any other group or any other place. But in the case of Nepal, we took a policy decision – Nancy in the first instance, then I in the second."

He ruled out any immediate removal of the two terrorist tag categories imposed on the Maoists. He said, "In terms of the next steps, you know, I really wouldn’t want to speculate. It’s going to depend. They’re on the list. They’ll remain on the list for the moment."

The US has a strict policy of not negotiating with any group designated as terrorists.

Earlier, the former US president and co-founder of the Carter Center, Jimmy Carter had asked the Bush administration to establish lines of communication with Nepal’s Maoists regarding the removal of the terrorist tag imposed on them.

Feigenbaum said that the United States softened its stance after the Maoists participated in the comprehensive peace agreement and the April 10 Constituent Assembly election.

The Maoists, who have been on the US terrorist list since 2003, had been urging the US government to take them off the list.

from kantipur