NEPAL: Nepal's Maoist rebels pledge truce a day before parliament re-convenes while thousands attend political rally a day ahead of parliament opening

Record ID: 214506

  • Title: NEPAL: Nepal's Maoist rebels pledge truce a day before parliament re-convenes while thousands attend political rally a day ahead of parliament opening
  • Date: 28th April 2006
  • Summary: HUT WOMEN WASHING CLOTHES WITH BUFFALOES IN WATER
  • Embargoed: 13th May 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Nepal
  • Country: Nepal
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA4N8WBWS6GUJ6D0OFOYBHMHVGO
  • Story Text: Deep in the forests of the southern plains, men and women in green combat fatigues loiter under trees and walk between the corn fields around a small village, red cloth on their lapels marking them out as the "People's Liberation Army".
    Carrying a motley array of weapons, they greet visitors with a stamp of the foot, a raised fist and a shout of "Lal Saalam", the Red Salute.
    This is Maoist land, where government troops dare not come, and it is clear the rebels are in determined mood.
    Here, one of Nepal's top Maoist leaders sits cross-legged in the airy loft of a wood and thatch house.
    His pistol slung over his green camouflage jacket, his black beard neatly trimmed, Comrade Sunil exudes a quiet authority, his bodyguard clutching a submachinegun at his side.
    Sunil said the rebels would not surrender arms ahead of elections to a constituent assembly, as parliament is likely to demand rather than "set them aside."
    "We are ready to go to the constituent assembly if the international organisations and institutions, reliable ones, monitor the ceasefire and ensure that weapons are not being used," he told Reuters in an exclusive interview in a secret location just hours after the rebels declared a unilateral three-month ceasefire.
    The rebel ceasefire was announced little more than 48 hours after King Gyanendra backed down in the face of massive street protests, handing over power to parliament and the country's main political parties.
    The new government is expected to reciprocate that ceasefire, raising hopes for an end to a decade-long insurgency which has claimed more than 13,000 lives and brought misery and fear to millions more. But major hurdles lie ahead.
    Maoists say the popular victory against King Gyanendra was also their victory, insisting that huge numbers of their cadres and supporters took part in street protests and raised slogans in favour of a republic. Now they want their reward - the constituent assembly they were promised when they entered a loose alliances with mainstream parties last year.
    Sunil says the rebels will honour the will of the people, and respect whatever verdict the constituent assembly delivers about the future for Nepal's once revered monarchy.
    But those sentiments do not impress American Ambassador James Moriarty, who habitually calls them terrorists who may use the gun to impose their rule.
    "What the American ambassador is saying is not true. We are not terrorists, they (not the American people, but leaders) are the terrorists because they have attacked over 135 countries. We're not terrorists because we are fighting for our people and country. They should be termed terrorists and the whole world needs to know," said Sunil.
    Meanwhile, thousands of Nepalese on Thursday (April 27) gathered at a rally in Kathmandu's central Ratna Park.
    At the start of this week, the impoverished kingdom was in the grip of huge anti-monarchy protests by hundreds of thousands of people, and there was no end in sight to years of Maoist insurgency in which more than 13,000 have been killed.
    King Gyanendra caved in to the pro-democracy movement on Monday (April 23), recalling the country's dissolved parliament.
    On Thursday, he formally appointed Girija Prasad Koirala, head of the Nepali Congress that is the largest in an alliance of mainstream parties, as prime minister.
    Koirala did not appear at the rally in Kathmandu, citing ill health. Angry participants said the 84-year-old should have attended and reassured the public of the plan to hold constituent assembly elections.
    A senior political leader welcomed the ceasefire and said the people would look forward to a new Nepal.
    "Now this old feudal language and culture will not help and we should throw this flashy language and culture into the Bagmati River. It is important to enforce the people's culture. Now it is not His Majesty's government, it should be the Nepal government," said Madhav Kumar Nepal, general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML), the second-largest in the main seven-party alliance.
    He also expected the government to announce a ceasefire of its own, release Maoist prisoners, withdraw international arrest warrants for its top leaders and invite them for talks.
    The Maoists had initially called the king's deal with the political parties a sham.
    Former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, whose government was sacked by the king 14 months ago, said the new government would prevent royal powers being used until a new constitution is drawn up.
    "Until the formation of the new constitution by the constituent assembly, the existing Clause 127 (dealing with royal powers) of the constitution will stand still," Deuba said in a fiery speech at the rally.
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