By pushing aside veteran peace personalities like Daman Nath Dhungana, Padma Ratna Tuladhar, Sudip Pathak, Shyam Shrestha and Malla K Sundar, two new faces hogged the limelight in the latest peace overtures between the government and Maoists. D R Lamichhane (below, right) and Birendra Shrestha 'Jhapali' (below, left) helped dialogue coordinator Minister Narayan Singh Pun make contact with the Maoist leadership. Jhapali runs Miteri Hospital at Bagh Bazar in the capital, which had been under security personnel surveillance since last year and was even raided for treating two wounded Maoists guerrillas. Police were withdrawn only after the declaration of ceasefire during the Deuba administration in August 2001. Lamichhane was the editor of Chhanbin weekly, which has ceased publication. After the vertical split in the CPN (UML) he joined the splinter ML faction led by Bamdev Gautam where he was the point man for contacts between Gautam and the Maoists. Lamicchane, who is not known for his attire or personal hygiene, has been seen in a suit and brandishing a mobile phone in the past few months. But not even that hinted at his mission to forge a ceasefire for the nation.