Maoist minister denied visa to visit USA

By Bhola B Rana

Katmandu, 23 Nov: Maoist Minister for General Administration Pampha Bhusal has been denied a visa by the US embassy to visit USA, Naya Parika reports.
Bhusal , who flew for Brazil Saturday, has cancelled a three-day USA visit after the denial.
She applied for a visa Monday and had been called for an interview.
“I was called for an interview through my personal assistant; I talked with the foreign ministry; finally, I didn’t get the visa,” Bhusal told Naya Patrika.
Diplomatic visas are issued normally.
She asked Chief Seretary Dr Bhojraj Ghimere to effort a visa after summons.
“Foreign Secretary Gyan Chandra Acharya talked with the US embassy; but I didn’t get a visa,”
Acharya had no comments.
Law Minister Deb Gurung was also summoned to the embassy for a visa.
“It’s not dignified for an embassy to call a minister for an interview,” one unidentified person said in the newspaper.
Two months ago, Maoist assembly members Rupa Chaudhary and Parbati Thapa didn’t get visas when they didn’t to go for interviews.

[Note: Maoists gave visas to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Finance Secretary Dr Baburam Bhattarai to enter USA; it wasn’t known if they were summoned by he embassy. The embassy has been issuing visas selectively to Maoists. France rejected Bhusal’s appointment as Nepali ambassador during the Girija Prasad Koirala regime. USA has continues to put Maoists on its terrorist list although it has established direct contact with CPN (Maoist0 after the party was victorious in the 10 April elections. The Prachanda government has stopped USAID from investing in a development project not approved by government.]
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Maoist committees begin discussions

Kathmandu, 23 Nov: Twenty-one Maoist committees resumed discussions Sunday morning at 8.30 on Prime Minister Prachanda’s proposal for a transitional republic.
Discussions are also being held for an alternate proposal for a immediate people’s republic through revolt proposed by CPN (Maoist) organization chief Mohan Baidya Kiran.
Coordinators of committees will report later Sunday to the plenary on the committee discussions.
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