Nepal names peace team

Nepal names peace team

The rebels held their first mass rally in Kathmandu last month

The Nepalese Government has appointed a team to hold peace talks with Maoist rebels aimed at resolving years of conflict.

Deputy Prime Minister Badri Prasad Mandal has been named chief negotiator after weeks of delay and criticism from the rebels.

His Majesty's government is committed to the ceasefire and to converting it into permanent peace

Ramesh Nath Pandey
Telecoms minister

The rebels named their talks team soon after both sides announced a ceasefire in January.

No start date for formal talks has yet been set, but Mr Mandal says they will begin soon.

He told the BBC Nepali Service the two teams would sit down and hold a get-to-know session in the next two to three days.

"We will try to take the support and advice from all the political parties as the peace talks move forward," he said.

"Even if they [the opposition] do not co-operate, the government will sit down for peace talks with the Maoists."

The rebels' lead negotiator, Baburam Bhattarai, said he was delighted the government had finally appointed its team.

"Since the ministers are appointed by the king, we have no objection to holding talks with them," he told the AFP news agency.

Government 'stalling'

The government's move comes three days after it freed two jailed Maoist leaders, meeting a key rebel demand for the talks.

The government team comprises five senior ministers and one junior minister.

Narayan Singh Pun, who has been leading the government's peace efforts since the announcement of the ceasefire, has been retained.

Junior minister Anuradha Koirala is the team's only woman member.

Baburam Bhattarai: Delighted

The rebels named their negotiators in early February. They will be led by Mr Bhattarai, the rebels' second highest-ranking leader.

Last month, the rebel negotiators made their first public appearance in seven years of insurgency, ahead of the proposed talks.

They have been accusing the government of stalling the fledgling peace process.

The two sides have been holding informal consultations in recent weeks, but the date and venue of formal talks have not yet been set.

The proposed talks are aimed at ending a conflict which has left 7,000 people dead and the country's subsistence economy in tatters.