Maoists quit govt to force handover of power
Saturday, 14 June 2008
KATHMANDU, June 13 (Agencies): Nepal's ex-rebels quit the interim government to pressure the prime minister to step down and allow them to form an administration after they won most seats in parliamentary elections two months ago, according to Internet..
Five Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) ministers yesterday resigned from Girija Prasad Koirala's Cabinet, Nepalnews.com reported, citing the party. The move came hours after Maoist leader Prachanda, whose name means "fierce one," held talks with the prime minister.
The Maoists and Koirala's Nepali Congress, the second- biggest party in parliament, are at odds over who should become president and the integration of former rebel fighters into the army, Nepalnews.com said. Nepali Congress wants Koirala to become the first president while the Maoists are pressing for a non-political "national figure."
Koirala is currently premier and acting head of state after the national assembly abolished the 240-year-old monarchy at its first meeting on May 28. Prachanda wants to lead a coalition government of all parties that won seats in the national ballot, the first in 17 years.
Meanwhile, Nepal Maoist supremo Prachanda, who is poised to lead the next government in the Himalayan nation, has underlined his desire to follow a policy of 'equidistance' in relationship with giant neighbours India and China.
The top Maoist leader, who has now emerged as the pivot in Nepal politics after leading a decade-long armed struggle, also expressed his eagerness to visit the village of the great revolutionary leader Mao Zedong in China for greater inspiration.
"Equidistance means not siding with one country against another. My exact meaning of equidistance is to have good relations with both the neighbours," he said in an interview to the state-run China Daily.
As part of a 2006 peace accord that ended the Maoists' decade-long insurgency in the Himalayan nation, the rebels sent 23,500 fighters to camps and stored 3,428 weapons under United Nations supervision. The agreement said the fighters may join the ranks of the army, a move being resisted by the military.
The army's "purity" shouldn't be compromised "in the name of democratization," Chief of Staff General Rookmangud Katawal said in a speech yesterday marking the military's participation in UN peacekeeping forces, Nepalnews.com reported.
Prachanda, whose real name is Puspa Kamal Dahal, has said "democratizing" Nepal's army and making the rebel People's Liberation Army "professional" are key items on his agenda.
Koirala said earlier this year he opposes former guerrillas joining the army because he doesn't want the institution to be politicized. He suggested former rebels be recruited into a security force for industries.
Nepal faced a similar problem in 1951 when fighters of the Nepali Congress were to be integrated. The Nepal Police was formed as a result and Nepali Congress members recruited.
Under the peace accord, the army and the Maoists were confined to bases before the April 10 elections.
The Maoists won 220 seats in the ballot for the 601-member assembly. Nepali Congress took 110 seats, the CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist) secured 103 and the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, representing the Terai region bordering India, won 52.
Prachanda said the Maoist-led government would take 'strong measures' against 'anti-China activities' in Nepal where Tibetan activists have been staging protests regularly against Chinese rule in Tibet.
The newspaper quoted him as saying that the new Maoist-led government would discuss with India the open border, which enables Tibetan demonstrators to come to Kathmandu from Dharamsala, the Dalai Lamas base in India.
Five Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) ministers yesterday resigned from Girija Prasad Koirala's Cabinet, Nepalnews.com reported, citing the party. The move came hours after Maoist leader Prachanda, whose name means "fierce one," held talks with the prime minister.
The Maoists and Koirala's Nepali Congress, the second- biggest party in parliament, are at odds over who should become president and the integration of former rebel fighters into the army, Nepalnews.com said. Nepali Congress wants Koirala to become the first president while the Maoists are pressing for a non-political "national figure."
Koirala is currently premier and acting head of state after the national assembly abolished the 240-year-old monarchy at its first meeting on May 28. Prachanda wants to lead a coalition government of all parties that won seats in the national ballot, the first in 17 years.
Meanwhile, Nepal Maoist supremo Prachanda, who is poised to lead the next government in the Himalayan nation, has underlined his desire to follow a policy of 'equidistance' in relationship with giant neighbours India and China.
The top Maoist leader, who has now emerged as the pivot in Nepal politics after leading a decade-long armed struggle, also expressed his eagerness to visit the village of the great revolutionary leader Mao Zedong in China for greater inspiration.
"Equidistance means not siding with one country against another. My exact meaning of equidistance is to have good relations with both the neighbours," he said in an interview to the state-run China Daily.
As part of a 2006 peace accord that ended the Maoists' decade-long insurgency in the Himalayan nation, the rebels sent 23,500 fighters to camps and stored 3,428 weapons under United Nations supervision. The agreement said the fighters may join the ranks of the army, a move being resisted by the military.
The army's "purity" shouldn't be compromised "in the name of democratization," Chief of Staff General Rookmangud Katawal said in a speech yesterday marking the military's participation in UN peacekeeping forces, Nepalnews.com reported.
Prachanda, whose real name is Puspa Kamal Dahal, has said "democratizing" Nepal's army and making the rebel People's Liberation Army "professional" are key items on his agenda.
Koirala said earlier this year he opposes former guerrillas joining the army because he doesn't want the institution to be politicized. He suggested former rebels be recruited into a security force for industries.
Nepal faced a similar problem in 1951 when fighters of the Nepali Congress were to be integrated. The Nepal Police was formed as a result and Nepali Congress members recruited.
Under the peace accord, the army and the Maoists were confined to bases before the April 10 elections.
The Maoists won 220 seats in the ballot for the 601-member assembly. Nepali Congress took 110 seats, the CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist) secured 103 and the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, representing the Terai region bordering India, won 52.
Prachanda said the Maoist-led government would take 'strong measures' against 'anti-China activities' in Nepal where Tibetan activists have been staging protests regularly against Chinese rule in Tibet.
The newspaper quoted him as saying that the new Maoist-led government would discuss with India the open border, which enables Tibetan demonstrators to come to Kathmandu from Dharamsala, the Dalai Lamas base in India.