A faction of Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) has agreed to accept the Nepali government's proposal that all problems in southern Terai plains be solved peacefully through talks, a leading local media group's website eKantipur reported on Tuesday.

During an interview with the Kantipur media group, Jwala Singh, a leader of JTMM (Terai Democratic Liberation Front in English) said that his party made the decision after a meeting on Monday.

Talking over the telephone, Singh said that his party has halted all military actions and strike programs and was to discuss the problems of Madhesh with the government. JTMM has been carrying out armed struggles, sporadic abductions, killings and attacks on police posts.

Stating that Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's second address to the nation was "incomplete", the rebel leader said that the government was still afraid of declaring Terai an independent state. However, he said that they had indeed received the government's letter inviting them to talks and they had decided to go for dialogue.

In his second TV address to the nation on Feb. 7, Koirala called on the Madhesi communities to resolve all the problems through talks with the government.

He said that the eight political parties had agreed to offer support to amend the interim constitution. By amending the interim statue, Nepal may adopt federal government system, and constituencies in the Terai region will increase, which was among Madhesi activists' requirements.

Jwala Singh-led JTMM faction is one of the violent protest organizers in the Terai region. The violent protests from Jan. 19 to Feb. 7 claimed lives of more than 20 people.

JTMM is said to be a split from the Communist Party of Nepal ( CPN) (formerly known as guerilla). It has been demanding a separate state in southern Terai region.

Source: Xinhua