Govt initiates contacts with Tarai armed groups

BIRATNAGAR, June 23: The Peace Ministry has initiated telephone contacts with five armed groups in the Tarai to find out the situation and give continuity to talks held with armed groups by the previous government. The five armed groups were contacted over the phone. [break]

The Maoist government had held a first round of talks with the armed Tarai groups at the beginning of the year and imposed a code of conduct. However, following a dispute with the government over observation of the code, relations between the groups and the government became strained.

The new government has expressed willingness to start a review meeting at a time when the armed groups have been threatening the government over its high-handedness. The first round of talks has been initiated over the phone after the formation of a talks committee headed by Peace Minister Rakam Chemjong.

“We have spoken to the team by phone. The Peace Ministry will send a letter for review talks,” Ranjit Jha, President of Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha (Rajan faction), said.

Member of the JTMM talks team Manoj Jha said his group has given directions to be ready for the talks. “The president has been saying that we must sit for talks as soon as Madhav Kumar Nepal becomes prime minister,” Jha said, adding, “We are ready for talks. We have already held an informal conversation with the government.”

Although the previous government sent a “review letter” to the five Tarai armed groups and one armed group in the hills, talks could not materialize once the Maoist-led government fell.

Previous coordinator of the JTMM talks team Kautilya Sharma said the previous government was not serious about past understandings and agreements. “There is no point in just holding talks. The agreement has to be followed by both sides,” Sharma said.

The talks held with the Madhes Virus Killers too proved futile, with its cadres still behind bars. After Maoist activist from Rajbiraj Jyoti Jha, who mediated the earlier talks, disappeared the Madhes groups have been in a dilemma.

Active armed groups in the Tarai

Names of organizations	President/Coordinator
Akhil Tarai Mukti Morcha	Jayakrishna Goit (In action)
Janatantrik Tarai Tigers	Narendra Paswan (Jwala Singh) (In action)
Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha (Rajan faction)	Ranjit Jha (In talks)
Samyukta Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha (Pawan)	Pawan Giri (In talks)
Madhesi Mukti Tigers	Raman Singh (In talks)
Virus Killers	Jayaprakash Yadav (In talks)
Liberation Tarai Tigers (LTT)	(In talks)
Madhes Rastra Janatantrik Party (Revolutionary)	Manejar Mahato (Sandesh) (Neither in action nor in talks)
Tarai Utthan Sangh	Active in Bara and Parsa
Tarai Rastriya Mukti Sena (Prithvi faction)	(In action) (Active in Dhanusha and Siraha)
Nepal Defense Army	(Active in Sunsari and Morang)
Silent Killers	(Active in central and eastern Tarai)

Armed Groups in Eastern Hills

Name of organization	President/Coordinator
Federal Limbuwan State Council	Kumar Lingden (in talks)
Federal Limbuwan State Council	Sanjuhang Palungwa
Federal Limbuwan State Council	Misekhang
Khumbhuwan Democracy Forum
Pallo Kirant Limbuwan National Forum
Khumbhuwan National Morcha