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Nepal rebels say they bear responsibility for peace

Posted on: Friday, 2 June 2006, 07:45 CDT

By Gopal Sharma

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Their fists raised in the air and clutching red flags, some 200,000 Nepalis gathered in the capital on Friday for the first Maoist rally in three years to build pressure for a constituent assembly to decide the country's future.

Tens of thousands of people filled into a public ground in Kathmandu, many berating King Gyanendra just 500 meters (yards) from the royal palace.

"We will burn the crown and we will run the country," they shouted. Chants of "Gyanendra thief, leave the country" and "Hang Gyanendra" were also heard.

Weeks of violent street protests forced Gyanendra in April to give up his absolute grip on power, reinstate the parliament he disbanded in 2002 and return power to political parties.

The Maoists have held rallies outside the capital to win support since Nepal's new multi-party government last month matched an earlier ceasefire declared by the militants.

But Krishna Bahadur Mahara, the chief Maoist negotiator for talks with the government, told the rally on Friday that the new government had been slow in implementing a decision to hold elections for a special assembly that would draft a new constitution.

He called for the formation of an interim government that would include the rebels and organize the assembly poll, and said his group was committed to peace talks.

"Our party has come for the talks with a big sense of responsibility for the people and we are very honest and sincere to make the meeting successful," Mahara said.

Dozens of soldiers carrying automatic rifles stood in front of the heavily guarded palace. Riot police maintained a vigil outside where hammer and sickle Maoist banners fluttered.

Armored cars and soldiers holding machine guns manned major road intersections.

A NEW NEPAL

Thousands of posters bearing the portraits of rebel leader Prachanda had been put up in the ancient temple-studded city, but he was not scheduled to attend the meeting.

"We want to build a new Nepal," said Chhemata Biswokarma, a 20-year-old woman who had traveled 200 km (125 miles) to attend the Kathmandu rally.

Prachanda told local journalists last week in a rare interview that the rebels would abide by the people's wishes.

"We have full confidence that 99 percent of Nepalese want a Republican state," he said. "If, however, people opt for any other system in spite of our presence in the interim government we are bound to accept the verdict."

Last week, the multi-party government and the Maoists held their first meeting since 2003 and agreed to hold elections to the constituent assembly.

But ordinary Nepalis just want peace.

"I don't support any party," said 56-year-old farmer Madhav Prasad Rijal. "We had enough bloodshed. We need peace now."

The Maoist insurgency has claimed more than 13,000 lives since 1996 and wrecked the economy of the tourism and aid-dependent kingdom.

Source: REUTERS

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