Antony Stoke

(Photo Courtesy :The Himalayan Times)
One day after the US envoy to Nepal James F Moriarty expressed dissatisfaction over the 12-point agreement between seven political parties and Maoists, Antony Stokes, the head of the South Asian Group at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office has said that the 12-point understanding with the Maoists was not in ‘favour’ of the parties.

Stokes, who arrived in Kathmandu on Wednesday met Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala on Thursday and conveyed his government’s concerns about Nepal.

Stokes also suggested for ‘reconciliation’ between the constitutional forces (the monarch and parties) to “isolate Maoists nationally and internationally.”

“The British official expressed his government’s concerns and we put forward our stance, which is based on the six-point (common minimum) programme, and the 12-point understanding reached with the Maoists for peaceful transformation of the Maoist insurgency,” The Himalayan Times daily quoted Arjun Narsingh KC, Central Working Committee member of NC as saying.

KC refused to elaborate on what Stokes had told Koirala but said, “The international community may say what suits it, but we have clarified that the seven parties are firm to activate the Constitution and that the 12-point understanding with the Maoists was reached in a realistic context to bring Maoists to the mainstream.”

Party sources quoted Koirala as saying, “Foreigners don’t understand.” Sources add that Koirala told the visiting guest that the international community was ‘misunderstanding’ the spirit of the 12-point understanding. Stokes was also told that the King had failed to do anything to restore democracy.

According to the British embassy, the visiting official, who was here for two days, also met the government ministers, senior party figures and some diplomats based in Kathmandu. He left for New Delhi on Thursday.