US sets conditions for taking Maoists off terrorist list

United States has set four broad conditions for the UCPN (Maoists) to fulfill in order to get their party removed from the US list of international terrorist organizations.

The US conditions for the Maoists came to public a day after the Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal repeated the request to the visiting US Principal Deputy Assistance Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Patrick Moon, to remove them from the list of terrorist organizations.

The US conditions include renouncing violence and terrorism, demonstrating commitment to the peace process, making their militant youth wing, Young Communist League (YCL), renounce violence and bringing out the truth about the killing of two US Mission staffers in Kathmandu back in 2001 and 2002 when the Maoist insurgency was at its peak.

The Maoists will have to renounce violence not just in words, but also in their actions.

The US continues to keep the Maoists in designated list of terrorist organizations even as the former rebel party came into mainstream politics in April, 2006 and even led coalition government for nine months after an election held in April, 2008. At least 13,000 people were killed in course of the decade-long Maoists insurgency that began in 1996.

Moon, who was on a four-day Nepal visit starting Sunday, met the Maoist Chairman Dahal at the latter´s residence on Tuesday. During the meeting, Dahal requested Moon to strike off the Maoist party from the US terrorist watch list and establish normal relations with them.

However, Moon told the Maoists that they needed to fulfill certain human rights and other obligations before US could think of removing the party from the terrorist list.

"One of the steps is that the Maoists renounce the use of violence and terrorism. Another would be that the Young Communist League to abandon violence and criminal activities,” said Moon.

He said the Maoists should also hold accountable to those who committed gross human rights abuses and actively participate in, and work together with the other parties, to support the ongoing peace process. "I have urged Chairman Dahal to take timely action, and we look forward to continuing the dialogue on this issue," he told media persons.

- Asian Tribune -