Nepal Maoists Apologise To Climber's Widow
As peace negotiations continue in Nepal, Maoist leaders have reportedly apologised to the widow of Jean-Christophe Lafaille who was forced to pay a 'tax' in the aftermath of his death on Makalu.
Posted:
2 October 2006by
Jon
According to India
eNews.com, Maoist insurgents in Nepal have apologised to the
widow of French mountaineer Jean-Christophe Lafaille for demanding
money from her when she travelled to Nepal to pay her last respects
to her husband who went missing on Makalu.
The mountaineer went missing in late January during a solo winter attempt on the mountain, and the web site says
that Maoist insurgents forced Lafaille's family to pay 10,000 Nepali
rupees when they trekked up to Makalu base camp, a common practice at
the time.
Now two of the top maoist leaders have apologised to Katia
Lafaille and said that the money would be refunded to the French
embassy in Kathmandu saying that under the circumstances, the family
should have been exempted.
The gesture comes as talks continue between the rebels and the new
multi-party government which took power in April bringing a ceasefire
and ongoing negotiations to the troubled mountain country.
The gesture seems to be part of an ongoing maoist 'charm
offensive' at both local and national level, but it looks like good
news for trekkers with incidents of violence far more isolated than
over the past few years.
For background, see news.bbc.co.uk
for a country profile
Discuss this story
but Yahoo currency converter makes it out to be £72.38.
Pretty much pales into insignificance in comparison to the rest of the family's costs.
Posted: 03/10/2006 at 18:46
Costs, as in emotional or fiscal?
Every respect to Lafaille and his accomplishments; outstanding mountaineer.
Posted: 03/10/2006 at 21:18
