TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2003
Nepal Maoist leader orders cadres to halt extortion
PTI
KATHMANDU: In a bid to boost the peace initiative with Nepalese government, Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias 'Prachanda' has instructed his party cadres to immediately stop extortion and coercive donations.
In a statement released on Sunday, Dahal ordered party workers not to accept any donation except voluntary ones.
"We are committed to stopping all sorts of activities that may sabotage the ceasefire and proposed peace talks," he said in the statement.
Even after the ceasefire announced by the Maoists, its cadre was found to be involved in coerced fund raising in various parts of the country. Many businessmen, civil servants and teachers have been victims of the extortion practiced by the Maoists to fund their insurgency.
Prachanda said the order is aimed to foil attempts by vested interests to obstruct the peace process and to put blame on the Maoists, spreading false information through various media channels.
He accused government forces of building "mistrust" by continuing to target rebels despite the truce.
The rebel leader has also denied that there was any secret meeting between the King and prominent Maoist leaders immediately after the mutual ceasefire.
He said the Maoists agreed to the ceasefire as per the suggestions of the political parties and the civil society adding the party is ready to resolve the issue by holding a round table conference among all the pro-people forces including the parties and the civil society.
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