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Rediff.com  » News » Nepal for equidistant ties with India, China

Nepal for equidistant ties with India, China

Source: PTI
June 13, 2008 18:53 IST
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Nepal Maoist supremo Prachanda, who is poised to lead the next government in the Himalayan nation, has underlined his desire to follow a policy of "equidistance" in relationship with giant neighbours India and China.

The top Maoist leader, who has now emerged as the pivot in Nepal politics after leading a decade-long armed struggle, also expressed his eagerness to visit the village of the great revolutionary leader Mao Zedong in China for greater inspiration.

"Equidistance means not siding with one country against another. My exact meaning of equidistance is to have good relations with both the neighbours," he said in an interview to the state-run China Daily.

The CPN-Maoist party, which emerged as the surprise single biggest victors in landmark elections to the constituent assembly in April, is expected to lead a coalition

government to rebuild the Himalayan nation after a bloody civil war that killed over 13,000 people.

He said the Maoist-led government would take "strong measures" against "anti-China activities" in Nepal where Tibetan activists have been staging protests regularly against Chinese rule in Tibet.

The newspaper quoted him as saying that the new Maoist-led government would discuss with India the open border, which enables Tibetan demonstrators to come to Kathmandu from Dharamsala, the Dalai Lama's base in India.

"We will not tolerate anti-China activities on our soil and we will take strong administrative measures to control these activities," he said.

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