So should Chinese Communists!
B
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2
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Maoists to stay on US blacklist <file:///C:/site/images/spacer.gif>
KATHMANDU: The US said the Maoists will continue to remain on its list of
organisations supporting terrorist activities and blamed the former rebels
for the postponement of the key elections.
US ambassador to Nepal Nancy Powell said there was very little that would
inspire the US to change its policy towards the Maoists, according to the
Himalayan Times yesterday.
"It means the US will continue with the policy of not carrying out any
official communication with the Maoists," she said.
Powell said until there was substantial improvement on the part of the
Maoists, the Communist party would continue to remain on the US government's
terrorist watch-list. "The newspapers carry listing of the various
atrocities that have been committed by the Maoist group in one form or
another," Powell said.
The "happenings in the past four months" do not indicate to Powell a
continuing direction of improvement. She also blamed the Maoists for the
indefinite postponement of the elections that was scheduled for November to
choose an assembly.
The election of the constituent assembly is a key component of the peace
deal and the elected body was to draft the country's new constitution and
vote on the future of monarchy.
"The Maoists got to admit the majority of the blame for the cancellation of
the election with their demands and they are consistent that they could not
go forward with the election," Powell said.
Powell called for the elections to be held as soon as possible and said the
political parties must reach an agreement on the issue. Powell's interview
came amid Maoist claims that they are holding secret meetings with the US
government and are hopeful of being removed from its list of terrorist
organisations.
The Maoists, who were involved in a decade long insurgency to establish a
communist republic in the Himalayan nation, have been vehemently critical of
the US government and its support to Nepal in the past. Powell also ruled
out granting a visa to the Maoist leader Prachanda who has publicly said he
wishes to visit the US.
"As long as he is part of a terrorist organisation, individual decisions are
made on visas, but it would require us to issue a waiver and I don't think
that would be forthcoming," Powell said.
LOS ANGELES: Humanitarian groups claimed "a qualified victory" on Monday in
a court case challenging a law that makes it a crime to provide support,
including medical aid and political and human rights advocacy, to foreign
entities deemed terrorist groups by the US government.
The plaintiffs, who sued the US government in federal court in Los Angeles
in 1998, include six groups and two individuals who provided aid to the
Kurdistan Workers' Party of Turkey and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
The case, and a companion lawsuit filed in 2003, have been bouncing between
a federal trial court in Los Angeles and the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals
for nearly a decade, as Congress tries to plug constitutional holes in the
controversial law banning "material support" of terror groups.
The appellate court sided with the aid groups on Monday in finding some
language so vague as to be unenforceable, including bans on providing
"training", "expert advice or assistance", and "service" as part of the
prohibition against "material support".
The court left intact the government's power to designate groups as
terrorists, and denied the plaintiffs' claims that the law impinged on due
process rights by failing to require prosecutors to prove intent to aid
illegal activity.
"It's a qualified victory. We're happy to see the Court of Appeals agreed
... that large parts of the statute were so vague that an ordinary person
couldn't understand what was prohibited," attorney Shayana Kadidal, of the
Center for Constitutional Rights, said.
"But we're disappointed that the court left in place parts of the statute
that essentially allow for guilt by association," Kadidal said.
The government was reviewing the ruling and had no other comment, Justice
Department spokesman Charles Miller said.
The plaintiffs hope to carve out an exception for their activities in the
Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act and its 2004 amendment, the
Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act.
The groups say the provisions have stopped them from providing medical care,
rebuilding areas ravaged by war and natural disaster, and advocating for
peace and human rights in areas controlled by terror groups.
A second lawsuit challenging an administrative order by President Bush on
material support is pending in the same federal court in Los Angeles.
"Once we get an opinion in that case ... we will see if plaintiffs can go
forward with what they want to do," Kadidal said.-Reuters
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