Excerpts from an interview with Durga Subedi, a mediator employed by Krishna Prasad Bhattarai's government to bring the Maoists to talks.

How did you come in contact with the Maoist leaders?
I met them when they were in exile. After I moved away from Girija Prasad Koirala, I started attending their public meetings as a guest. Besides their arguments about Nepali politics and society, we used to agree on almost everything. I came close to them because of this association, I have gained their trust and it is very easy for me to contact them by any means when necessary. It was during the second half of 1999 that Prachanda and Baburam wrote to me saying they wanted to meet me. We met and discussed the possibility of their coming to dialogue and they told me that they were willing. General elections were to be held soon after, and there was a possibility that Krishna Prasad Bhattarai would become the prime minister. I then met the leaders of various political parties and conveyed the wishes of the Maoist leaders. All agreed dialogue should be held and this strengthened my position as a mediator. Around this time Khum Bahadur Khadka announced in a speech in Dang that it was possible to hold a dialogue with terrorists too.

How and when were you given the responsibility of an official mediator?
Although, I was in touch with the Maoists much before the general elections, I met the various political leaders after the polls and informed them about the aspirations of the Maoist leaders. I even spoke to then Prime Minister KP Bhattarai and informed him that I was in contact with them. Bhattarai told me that a conducive environment needed to be created for dialogue to be possible. All procedures and formalities were completed. I then asked the government to be officially appointed a mediator, and then Home Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka gave me a letter saying so. I met the Maoists secretly for four to five months. The issue of an exchange of prisoners came up. To build trust, the Maoists released Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Thule Rai; the government in return released Dev Gurung and Suresh Ale Magar. After this, Prachanda wrote a letter asking that the dialogue be started. The government formed a high level committee under the leadership of Sher Bahadur Deuba to take up the issue. Deuba and the Maoist representatives met a couple of times. As soon as this process started, the Congress party president [Girija Prasad Koirala] started a campaign to topple Bhattarai. Koirala became prime minister and started his campaign of suppressing the Maoists. He demanded that the Maoists give up their weapons. Koirala forgot that earlier when the Congress was holding a dialogue with the king, they had not given up their weapons. The weapons the Congress collected at that time are still stored in India under the directive of Koirala himself.

Do you have proof that these weapons are being held in India by Koirala's orders?
Umesh Giri has publicly said he was working under the direct orders of Koirala and that he himself hid the weapons. According to the information I have received, these weapons are in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, and the person keeping an eye on them is Narottham Das Kapoor, alias Bhaiyaji. We have proof that Koirala hadamassed and has stored 351 .303 guns, 45 SLR rifles, 25 carbines, 36 Stenguns, and many other weapons.

You have said the environment for dialogue was created over two years ago, and accuse Koirala of destroying the possibility of talks.
The Maoist revolution was just a stepping-stone to power for Koirala. He never made an effort to solve the problem. I do not trust Koirala's style of working. Padma Ratna (Tuladhar) was the mediator then... Today the top Maoist leaders and the prime minister are in direct contact again. I am still a mediator.

You could have been made the facilitator, then?
People representing the Maoists and government sides have become facilitators. A mediator is a person who has the trust of both sides. Once you become a facilitator, there could be problems with trust. I am happy to remain a mediator.