The second round of government-Maoist peace talks in the offing after the first one became futile 14 months back is expected to end in a positive note as Ram Bahadur Thapa alias Badal, the major strategist behind the Maoist guerilla warfare has also been included in the dialogue committee announced by the party Sunday, published media reports said.

It may be recalled that the Maoists had unilaterally broken the ceasefire on November 19, 2001 and attacked the security forces in Dang and Syangja. Thapa has been identified as the leader who initially was against the idea of holding dialogue with the government to end the seven year long insurgency that has claimed seven thousand lives.

The Nepal Communist Party (Maoist) announced the formation of a five-member dialogue committee five days after the ceasefire. Senior member of the party’s Standing Committee Dr. Baburam Bhattarai has been appointed as the coordinator of the five-member dialogue committee formed to hold peace talks with the government.

The other members of the committee are Ram Bahadur Thapa (Badal), Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Dev Gurung and Matrika Prasad Yadav. Mahara was the coordinator of the previous dialogue committee while Gurung and Yadav are senior leaders who were released after serving long jail terms.

Gurung was released at the time when the Maoists released Deputy Superintendent of Police Thule Rai who was abducted from Mahat Police Post in Rukum. He was the President of the All Nepal National Free Students’ Union in 2042 BS. Yadav was released from custody by the then Sher Bahadur Deuba government in order to create congenial atmosphere for peace talks.

The names of Agni Prasad Sapkota and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi who were members of the dialogue committee in the talks held fourteen months back have been dropped from the present dialogue committee.

President of NCP (Maoist) Prachanda has in the press release issued Sunday appealed to the intellectuals and scholars to help as mediators to facilitate the peace talks. The government is expected to form the dialogue committee Monday to take the peace talks ahead.