(Updated at 1659 NST, 1114 GMT)
KATHMANDU, March 10: Formal talks between agitating Tharu and janajati groups and the government started peace negotiations at 4:30p.m., about one and half hours behind the schedule, Tuesday to end almost 10-day long Tharu-called strikes plaguing the country.
Formal doesn’t have to be boring
The formal talks were set to begin at 3pm, when the informal negotiations began.
After failing to form a collective talks team, four Tharu groups have started talks with the government collectively but put their demands separately.
Laxman Tharu has led a nine-member team of Tharu Joint Struggle Committee. Raj Kumar Lekhi has led a separate seven-member team comprising janajatis and Muslims, and Indrajit Tharu has led a team of Maoist-affiliated Tharu National Liberation Front. Likewise, Baburam Choudhary has led Nepal Democratic Tharu Association affiliated with CPN-UML.
“We will put our demands through our own perspectives at the meeting scheduled at 3 pm today,” Lekhi had said before the talks began.
