Good news: Minister in 'iterim govt' Suresh Ale Magar's has been held up by US Embassy in KTM.

Please comment after the article:
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US embassy holds up visa for Maoist leader



BY TILAK P. POKHAREL


KATHMANDU, April 19 - The United States Embassy in Kathmandu has held up a visa for a top Maoist leader preparing to go to New York to participate in a United Nations program on transitional justice, among other activities.
Maoist Central Committee member Suresh Ale Magar is among 10 persons including senior government officials and civil society and political party leaders scheduled to go to New York and then on to Peru for the program.

Though all the other members have obtained US visas and are flying on Friday, Magar is still waiting for "clearance from the State Department" because his party is still a designated terrorist group and it's illegal under US law to issue visas to members of such groups.

On Thursday, the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) forwarded a letter from Lynn Pascoe, the UN Under Secretary-General for the Department of Political Affairs, to US Ambassador James F Moriarty, requesting the latter to issue visas to them, without naming any person. "While the delegation is on the New York leg of its trip, it has been invited to meetings at UN Headquarters in New York," said Kieran Dwyer, the UNMIN spokesperson.

The US provides "visa with certain restrictions (on their movement)" to persons belonging to US-banned organizations and groups who are going to participate in UN programs.

"The organizers have told me that the State Department has to give clearance to issue me the visa, which may happen tomorrow or the day after," Magar told the Post. The participants have also been invited by the New York-based Asia Society to participate in a discussion on Nepal, "The Road to Peace", on April 25.

The participants' travel and other expenses are being sponsored by the Nepal Transition to Peace Initiative, a project of the Washington DC-based Academy for Educational Development with financial support from USAID and the Swiss Development Cooperation.

The delegation that comprises (besides Magar) NC's Arjun Narsingh KC, UML's Bhim Rawal, NC-D's Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat, Deputy Speaker Chitra Lekha Yadav, civil society leaders Daman Nath Dhungana and Dr. Mathura Shrestha and government secretaries Umesh Mainali, Mohan Banjade and Bal Krishna Dahal, is returning on May 4.

When contacted, Sharon Hudson-Dean, Acting Public Affairs Officer at the US Embassy, said the embassy has a policy that "we don't talk about individual visa cases". "They have to go through a regular application process - filling up applications and coming up for interviews," she said.

Terrorists should not get a visa. They are not diplomats as of now. The US has shown consistancy while dealing with terroritts, whether its Yasar Arafat or Prachanda or magar. They all kiled people and US does not have to honor them.

Why does not US eliminate them, knowing that they are terrorists ?

they cant eliminate them coz its a matter of internal affair in Nepal. We dont allow a foreign country to interfere in our internal matters....Lunchtime !!!!! Nepal is not Iraq yet.......or afganistan.... Maoist dont equal Al-Quaeda

One thing I like abt US is : They don't give a shi**t no matter who the F***k r u!!All being treated equal..atleast for visa purpose..hahha

Good one Fuchee.

DAKY

Actually, Suresh Ale Magar (SAM) -- a former teacher of English at the Nepal Law Campus -- has been to the US before on a valid visa.

In the Fall of '97, he was in Boston to attend a
conference on janajati/indigenous people's issues at
the Harvard Divinity School.

At that time, I remember SAM's making quite an impression on the organizers with his impassioned, fiery, activism-oriented speeches.

Another US-based Nepali academic -- Dr. Pramod Parjuli -- was also there at that conference.

SAM later to spoke to a group of Nepalis at MIT. At that time, I did NOT know that SAM would be a big Maoist
figure someday in Nepal, though his anti-bahun/anti-Kathmandu position was clear to anyone who listened
to him then.

oohi
ashu

SHOOT EM ALL........................

These maoist were the one who were saying US believes in imperialism, they were the one who didn't wanted peace core voluntear serving in nepal. They used to say "NO TO US" where is ur lecture now ale magar.

some people here in sajha might say, bahun didn't wanted ale go himself, so they pull the string.

can nyone post his picture
let me see how he looks like??

interesting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i guess he's coming to US because UN is in NY?????????