Issuing a press statement, the UCPN (Maoist) said the decision of the US authorities was an attempt to harm the dignity and standing of the Maoist party. “..we want to make it clear that we are compelled to take a decision to immediately call back comrades who have already left to take part in the program, to express our objection to this type of treatment,” the statement said. [break]
Maoist leaders CP Gajurel, Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and Pampha Bhusal are among 22 political party leaders and civil society members who left for the US on Thursday to take part in an intensive 10-day program in collaborative negotiations beginning June 25.
The program aims at honing practical negotiating skills to address critical political issues such as state structures and minority rights, army integration, constitution drafting and promoting cross-party trust and cooperation.
The US embassy in Kathmandu said Sapkota "could not be approved for travel due to serious and specific human rights allegations associated with his conduct during the insurgency".
“Until those allegations can be investigated and resolved we believed that it would be inappropriate to approve his travel to the United States,” US Ambassador to Nepal, Scott H DeLisi, said in a statement Friday.
"Although the Maoists remain on two US terrorist lists and and we are generally precluded from providing susbtantive support to the UCPN-M, the US government will authorise exceptions for them to participate in US government-funded programs that support the peace progress", the statement added.
The Maoists claimed that Sapkota had to shelve his visit at the eleventh hour after being denied a visa "partly also because of unsound objection by some INGOs, among others´. Adding that the party is taking the incident seriously, the Maoists said there was a serious discussion over the issue during the ongoing politburo meeting on Friday.
Earlier, the Australian embassy had also denied a visa to Sapkota, who has a diplomatic passport. He is accused of involvement in the murder of one Arjun Bahadur Lama in April 2005 in Kavre during the Maoist insurgency.
The Supreme Court has already ordered that a case be filed against Sapkota along with five other Maoist leaders: Yadav Poudel, Bhola Aryal, Karnakhar Gautam, Surya Man Donga and Norbu Moktan.
The US envoy expressed hope that the collaborative negotiation program will continue despite the disappointing withdrawal of the Maoists. “I hope it will prove to be helpful in building trust among the participants and will lead to creative and constructive thinking about the challenging issues under discussion,” he added.
koshraj@myrepublica.com
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