Prachanda accepts role in Interim Gov't
Rebels to Join Interim Nepal Government
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 16, 2006
Filed at 3:31 p.m. ET
KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) -- The chief of Nepal's Maoist rebels emerged from a landmark meeting with government leaders Friday to announce the guerrillas would join a new interim administration for the Himalayan kingdom.
The long-elusive rebel leader known as Prachanda said the new government would be formed within a month. ''This is a historic decision and will move the country in a new direction,'' he told reporters.
Officials of the government that took office after mass protests forced the king to give up absolute power April 24 had no immediate comment. But Home Minister Krishna Sitaula read the text of the deal before giving way so Prachanda could address reporters.
It remains to be seen if the leaders of the traditional political parties and the rebels can work together after a decade-long insurgency by the Maoists that killed 13,000 people and ruined Nepal's tourism business.
The interim government, which is to draw up a new constitution, will replace the current national parliament as well as the Maoists' ''people's government,'' which rules the territory they control, according to the deal.
The agreement also calls for creation of an interim constitution and for United Nations' oversight of both Nepalese soldiers and Maoist fighters. It makes no mention, however, of disarmament.
An agreement of some sort had been expected, and the deal was seen as a positive sign for Nepal, one of the world's poorest nations.
''Today's meeting was a breakthrough in establishing peace in Nepal,'' said Narayan Wagle, editor of Kantipur, the country's biggest newspaper. ''Prachanda appearing in public in the capital was a big achievement that guarantees that they (the rebels) will not be returning to the jungles.''
The past year has seen immense political changes in Nepal, where weeks of mass street protests and a general strike organized by an alliance between the rebels and the now-ruling parties forced King Gyanendra to relinquish the absolute power he had seized in early 2005.
Friday's announcement came after talks that began early in the morning, when Prachanda was flown to Katmandu in a government helicopter.
Prachanda and a deputy were escorted into the official residence of Prime Minster Girija Prasad Koirala under heavy security. Soon after, the heads of the political parties joined them.
The talks did not end until well after nightfall.
It was the first time Prachanda, whose real name is Pushpa Kamal Dahal, had met the country's top leadership since the insurgency began in 1996.
For a decade, Prachanda has been Nepal's most secretive figure, a one-time teacher and the son of a farmer whose rebel army took control of wide swaths of rural Nepal during its war to create a communist state. He seldom appeared in public, making only occasional visits to remote villages controlled by the rebels.
But dressed in gray shirt and trousers, he appeared at ease Friday during a brief meeting with reporters gathered in a tent set up in front of the prime minister's residence. He even made a joke about the tent not having lighting, saying that ''this is the state of the country.''
He said he intended to return soon to the rebel-controlled areas. Government officials refused to say where he would stay while in the capital.
Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said Sitaula, the home minister, flew by helicopter Friday morning to an unspecified location in western Nepal to pick up Prachanda and accompany him to Katmandu.
The first round of talks on ending the insurgency took place last month, when the two sides agreed on a code of conduct and said they would meet again.
On Thursday, during a second round of talks, government and rebel negotiators agreed to form a monitoring committee of peace activists and human rights workers with help from the United Nations.
The new government already released hundreds of rebels from jail, dropped terrorism charges against them, and agreed to a cease-fire. It also agreed to rewrite the constitution -- a key rebel demand that crippled peace talks in 2001 and 2003.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 16, 2006
Filed at 3:31 p.m. ET
KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) -- The chief of Nepal's Maoist rebels emerged from a landmark meeting with government leaders Friday to announce the guerrillas would join a new interim administration for the Himalayan kingdom.
The long-elusive rebel leader known as Prachanda said the new government would be formed within a month. ''This is a historic decision and will move the country in a new direction,'' he told reporters.
Officials of the government that took office after mass protests forced the king to give up absolute power April 24 had no immediate comment. But Home Minister Krishna Sitaula read the text of the deal before giving way so Prachanda could address reporters.
It remains to be seen if the leaders of the traditional political parties and the rebels can work together after a decade-long insurgency by the Maoists that killed 13,000 people and ruined Nepal's tourism business.
The interim government, which is to draw up a new constitution, will replace the current national parliament as well as the Maoists' ''people's government,'' which rules the territory they control, according to the deal.
The agreement also calls for creation of an interim constitution and for United Nations' oversight of both Nepalese soldiers and Maoist fighters. It makes no mention, however, of disarmament.
An agreement of some sort had been expected, and the deal was seen as a positive sign for Nepal, one of the world's poorest nations.
''Today's meeting was a breakthrough in establishing peace in Nepal,'' said Narayan Wagle, editor of Kantipur, the country's biggest newspaper. ''Prachanda appearing in public in the capital was a big achievement that guarantees that they (the rebels) will not be returning to the jungles.''
The past year has seen immense political changes in Nepal, where weeks of mass street protests and a general strike organized by an alliance between the rebels and the now-ruling parties forced King Gyanendra to relinquish the absolute power he had seized in early 2005.
Friday's announcement came after talks that began early in the morning, when Prachanda was flown to Katmandu in a government helicopter.
Prachanda and a deputy were escorted into the official residence of Prime Minster Girija Prasad Koirala under heavy security. Soon after, the heads of the political parties joined them.
The talks did not end until well after nightfall.
It was the first time Prachanda, whose real name is Pushpa Kamal Dahal, had met the country's top leadership since the insurgency began in 1996.
For a decade, Prachanda has been Nepal's most secretive figure, a one-time teacher and the son of a farmer whose rebel army took control of wide swaths of rural Nepal during its war to create a communist state. He seldom appeared in public, making only occasional visits to remote villages controlled by the rebels.
But dressed in gray shirt and trousers, he appeared at ease Friday during a brief meeting with reporters gathered in a tent set up in front of the prime minister's residence. He even made a joke about the tent not having lighting, saying that ''this is the state of the country.''
He said he intended to return soon to the rebel-controlled areas. Government officials refused to say where he would stay while in the capital.
Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said Sitaula, the home minister, flew by helicopter Friday morning to an unspecified location in western Nepal to pick up Prachanda and accompany him to Katmandu.
The first round of talks on ending the insurgency took place last month, when the two sides agreed on a code of conduct and said they would meet again.
On Thursday, during a second round of talks, government and rebel negotiators agreed to form a monitoring committee of peace activists and human rights workers with help from the United Nations.
The new government already released hundreds of rebels from jail, dropped terrorism charges against them, and agreed to a cease-fire. It also agreed to rewrite the constitution -- a key rebel demand that crippled peace talks in 2001 and 2003.
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