US Lobbying Efforts PRESS RELEASE

WASHINGTON D.C., March 11, 2005 A seven-member delegation led by Mr.
Suman Timsina visited the Capitol Hill to brief the Senators and Congressmen on the current situation in Nepal and to discuss strategies and ways to lead Nepal out of the crisis. The team included members of Nepali diaspora in the North America and were representating various Nepali-American organisations based in the United States. Other team members were Dr. Shyam Karki, Prof. Shiva Gautam, Ms Mary Carroll, Ms. Shakya amd Mr. Puru Subedi.

The team met officials from the offices of seven Senators and a Congressman: Senator Richard Lugar (Chairman, Foreign Relations Committee-IN), Senator Chuck Hagel (NE), Senator John Sununu (NH), Senator Joseph Biden (DE), Senator Lincoln Chaffee (RI), Senator Rick Santorum (PA), Senator Patrick Leahy (VT) and Representative Jim Walsh (NY).

The team highlighted following in its briefing:
1. The royal takeover does not help fight the Maoists but comes as a distraction. The team also briefed the deteriorating conditions of human rights and civil liberties in Nepal. The representatives displayed deep interest and appreciated more detailed information provided by the team based on its person to person contact with friends, family members and prominent civic society members. They commented it as very informative and enlightening in the context of the strict media censorship imposed currently in Nepal.
2. The team highlighted that the Maoist problem can be resolved only at the political level and military operations should be used in conjunction with political strategies to reach a final solution.
3. The team also asked to coordinate US efforts with India, UK and other nations to put substantial pressure on the King, political parties and Maoists to follow a democratic political process to resolve this issue.
The team made a strong argument of possible regional instability in absence of strong pressure on all three parties. They also made the point that if Maoists problem is not solved politically and a democratic political process is not restored, Nepal may turn into a 'safe heaven'
for terrorists
4. The team also informed of its strong condemnation of violation of human rights, extrajudicial disappearances both by the RNA and the Maoists and highly appreciated the strong condemnation of such acts by the US government and by members of the Congress.
5. The team made a strong recommendation for a special envoy to be appointed to coordinate US Nepal policy with other interested parties (India, China, Great Britain and the European countries) and also a total suspension of military aid until independent human rights monitoring is allowed and a political process is initiated to reinstate democracy. The Senate and the House informed the delegation of some of the measures already initiated by the US government and others in the planning stages.

A number of Senators have sent joint statements to the Department of State. A team of Representatives has already initiated a joint protest letter to King Gyanendra which has been endorsed by eleven Congressmen to date. The US Senators and Congressmen agreed that there is no military solution to the Maoist insurgency in Nepal and that the royal takeover and suspension of civil liberties and human rights hurt peace prospects more than helping it.

The delegation noted these actions and will continue to work closely with the US Senators and Congressmens offices to further the cause of Nepal, including suspension of the US military aid to Nepal, an initiation of a political process to solve the Maoists problem, and protection of human rights, civil liberties and democracy.