News of the offer of a unilateral month-long cease fire by Maoist leader Prachanda raised hopes that the violence between the security forces and the Maoists would end. But the Nepali government shattered people's hopes, saying it did not trust the Maoists, and that it would not go by an unsigned press release. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba who has refused the offer of peace talks, is visiting the US in the hope of seeking international support against the Maoists.

News of the ceasefire was published in Indian papers two days ago. Events took a dramatic turn when a person called "Bikram" said via email that he had sent out the emails and faxes with the ceasefire offer. In an exclusive interview with the BBC's Hindi Service, in New Delhi a Maoist politburo leader Dina Nath Sharma denied the statement and called it a government conspiracy. Excerpts of Sharma's retraction of the ceasefire as told to Renu Akar of the BBC:

Dina Nath Sharma: It is a conspiracy hatched by the government. One after another, the government is losing (in battles), and so it has created this conspiracy to weaken the morale of the people who support our war, and confuse our cadres. Our party president will deny the news today.

BBC Hindi Service: The news appeared in the Indian papers two days ago, and in the Nepali press the following day. How can an individual without access to a large network disseminate news left and right like this?
We never said anything along those lines. We don't know what was published or not published in the papers. We are not in favour of a ceasefire now, because we're winning the battle one after another. We are winning.

Is it possible that you've changed your stance after hearing the reaction of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, his rejection of the offer of ceasefire?
No, that's not so, that is definitely not so.

Please tell us what success you've achieved, what is happening?
The government has said more than 500, more than 300 Maoists have been killed. Our people are safe. We are winning the war. More soldiers have been killed. Our friends are safe, the fighters are safe. We had eleven casualties.

Is it part of your policy to destroy people-friendly infrastructure, like such as water purification systems, as is happening now.
It is not our policy. It is not our policy to destroy hydroelectricity projects. In the name of war, the government is killing innocent people who are not involved in the war. The people have done this (attacks on infrastructure) in retaliation. Where there is oppression, there's reaction.

They say women are suffering atrocities at the hands of the Maoists. Could you comment on that?
This has never happened. We've been fighting this war for seven years with the utmost moral strength, discipline, and maturity. That's why we're winning battle after battle.

Where does the support for your struggle come from?
The war is being fought by the Nepali people on their own strength. It is an internal matter of Nepal. It is the people's concern, the concern of democracy. This is a war for democracy and against feudalism, monarchy, and imperialism. We don't have the support of anyone.

Where did you get your weapons, your training?
Whatever weapons we have, we looted from the army and the police. Our weapons are those given by imperialists to the Nepali government. We take weapons from them and fight against them.

Will this continue to be your policy? Or will you return for talks?
We have expressed our principle: we are for talks. We are ready for talks. But if the government continues to behave like this, how can we talk?