BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Nepal to offer talks with Maoists

Monday, 7 February, 2005, 09:07 GMT

The new royalist government in Nepal is to offer unconditional peace talks with the country's Maoists rebels, state media have reported. Some newspapers have pressed the government to lift curbs A government statement said it would appoint a team of negotiators. The rebels have turned down several calls to resume peace talks that were abandoned in late 2003. Nepal's King Gyanendra sacked the previous government last Tuesday, saying it had failed to tackle the Maoist rebel uprising. The rebels' demands "can be discussed at the negotiating table", the government statement released on state media said. The Maoists have opposed the royal takeover although they had previously said they would only negotiate with the king. 'New boldness' In a separate development, newspapers in Nepal have pressed the government to lift curbs on press freedom, imposed since the takeover. NEPAL IN CRISIS June 2001 - Gyanendra is crowned king following royal massacre July 2001 - Sher Bahadur Deuba becomes prime minister following Maoist violence Oct 2002 - King Gyanendra sacks Deuba and assumes executive power June 2004 - Deuba reappointed prime minister in place of Surya Bahadur Thapa Feb 2005 - Deuba sacked, king assumes direct power The Kathmandu Post daily published a leader on Monday entitled "Reconsider". It says it will not challenge the new government but asks it to reconsider certain provisions of the emergency. Similar articles have appeared in the Nepali-language paper, Kantipur, in what the BBC's Charles Haviland in Kathmandu describes as a new boldness creeping into the media. The new government has imposed heavy censorship on the media, mostly implemented by the military. Phone lines have been cut and internet services suspended since the takeover. Criticism In a new order on Monday the new government banned criticism of security forces "made directly or indirectly that is likely to have negative impact on their morale", the Associated Press quotes it as saying. Criticism of the security forces has been banned It also banned political activities by public servants and said the authorities could seize private property where required. The armed forces say that detentions and the suspension of liberties are necessary to let security forces concentrate on fighting the Maoist rebels. But their actions have been strongly criticised both at home and abroad. On Sunday, 25 human rights groups sent a message to some of the world's top leaders, including UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, US President George W Bush and many other heads of state and government. They said the Nepalese people were living under what they described as an illegal military rule headed by the king and that the monarch's actions violated international practices and legal standards. Some 11,000 people have died since the Maoists began their insurgency in 1996.

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