U.S. gov't refuses to take Maoist party off terrorism lists despite election win

[News_Editor]

U.S. gov't refuses to take Maoist party off terrorism lists despite election win

2011-08-30 21:57:39 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- The U.S. State Department on Tuesday said it continues to have concern about the activities of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) and will therefore not take it off its lists of terrorists.

UCPN-M leader Baburam Bhattarai was elected Nepal's 35th prime minister on Sunday during a vote in the Legislature-Parliament. He garnered 340 votes of the 575 present lawmakers while his opponent, Nepalese Congress Parliamentary Party leader Ram Chandra Paudel, secured only 235 votes.

However, the U.S. government previously designated the party as a 'Specially Designated Global Terrorist' and is included on the Terrorism Exclusion List, meaning members or supporters of the group may be prevented from entering the United States and prohibiting U.S. citizens to assist them.

In February 2009, then-U.S. State Department official Richard Boucher said the U.S. government had initiated a review to take the party off its terrorism lists, but there was no immediate word on why the U.S. has since decided to keep the party on its list. The UCPN-M launched an armed rebellion in 1996 but has since turned to politics.

"When we think they have done the necessary things to distance themselves, to reject terrorism in word and deed, and to take some of the actions against violence generally, then we'll be able to take them off the list and have a more normal relationship with them as a party," Boucher said during a press conference in February 2009.

But on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said it continues to have concern. "The [uCPN-M] is not included on the Foreign Terrorist Organization list, but remains a designated Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224 and is included on the Terrorism Exclusion List, pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act," the spokesperson said. "While the Party has taken some positive steps, we continue to have areas of concern which must be addressed before the Party could be de-listed."

It is unknown if and how the terrorism designations will affect the relationship between the United States and Nepal, as Boucher said in 2009 that the U.S. government does not have normal relations with the UCPN-M. But the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu on Monday congratulated Bhattarai on his election victory.

"We are hopeful that he and his team will vigorously pursue the priority goals he has spoken of: the completion of the peace process and the drafting of Nepal's new constitution," a statement issued by the Embassy's press office said. "We look forward to working with the new government, particularly on the serious economic and developmental challenges facing Nepal in an effort to create an environment of growth and achievement from which all Nepalis can benefit."

The main challenges which Bhattarai faces is the formation of a consensus government and the drafting of the constitution. A new constitution was a condition of a 2006 peace agreement which the Maoists signed with the government, ending a decade-long civil war, but the previous prime ministers have failed to do so.

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