KATHMANDU, July 30– Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, in a statement issued from UN Headquarters in New York at the fag end of the last month, has said he has been following with keen interest the peace process in Nepal in which His Majesty’s Government of Nepal and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) have for the last several months been engaged in negotiations to find a peaceful solution to the conflict that has caused the loss of thousands of lives and considerable suffering to civilians since 1996.
“While a ceasefire that came into effect in January of this year has been holding and the sides have engaged in a series of formal and informal discussions, the process has faced serious obstacles in recent weeks and has reached a critical stage.” said Kofi Annan.
The Secretary-General has welcomed the continued expression by the Government and the Maoist group of their commitment to a peaceful solution and has appreciated the intense efforts that are ongoing at present to overcome the hurdles and has urged the parties to persist with these efforts to bring the process back on track. The Secretary-General has stated that he remains at the disposal of Nepal to assist the achievement of a negotiated peaceful solution, states a press note recently issued by the UNDP in Kathmandu