Nepal Maoists opposed to diplomatic appointments

Kathmandu, June 29 : Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) has rejected the ambassadorial appointments proposed by the Nepal Government.Maoists say the appointments were proposed by the seven coalition parties before their induction into the interim Government.The seven parties had set aside Australia, France, South Korea and Denmark for Maoists to name their ambassadorial nominees.The Maoists have demanded that they should be given at least one out of the four "A-category" of nations - the US, Russia, China or India.CP Gajurel, chief of the foreign cell of the Maoists, said the list has to be approved by all eight parties.

According to the second amendment in the interim Constitution, ambassadorial nominees, besides the justices of the Supreme Court, must go through a parliamentary hearing before appointment.The special parliamentary committee on Thursday refused to proceed with the hearing on the list of recommended names after lawmakers of the CPN-M and People's Front Nepal expressed strong reservations over the procedure through which the names were selected.The committee asked the government to come up with a consensual list endorsed by the eight parties.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs on Tuesday had submitted a list of 14 nominees to the parliament secretariat for hearing."We will not let the hearing proceed as there is no Maoist nod in the proposed list", Maoists chief whip Dina Nath Sharma, was quoted as saying by a local daily.Among the Nepal ambassadors nominated by the Government are - Nepali Congress leader Shailaja Acharya for India, Prime Minister's foreign affairs advisor Dr. Suresh Chalise for the US, UML leader Tanka Karki for China, former Foreign Secretary Murari Raj Sharma for the UK and Parliament Secretariat General Secretary Surya Kiran Gurung for Russia.

Source: Malaysia Sun, June 29, 2007