Fear starts to lift in rural Nepal after peace deal

BETAHANI, Nepal, June 18: Ram Kumar Jaisawal says the people of his tiny village on Nepal's baking southern plains would never have had the courage to speak out against Maoist rebels a few days ago.

But after a landmark peace deal between the government and rebels on Friday, the people of Maoist-dominated rural Nepal might gradually be finding their voices again.

Shortly after news of the deal filtered through, dozens of men and women gathered in a grove of mango trees in Betahani to protest against the Maoists and a commander who they say is intimidating them and extorting money.

''There is tremendous fear,'' said 50-year-old farmer Jaisawal.

''But since there is some unity between the government and the Maoists, now we think we can speak to the party and be heard.'' Under Friday's deal, the government agreed to dissolve parliament and invite the rebels to join an interim administration.

Elections will follow for a special assembly meant to draw up a new constitution and, the rebels hope, bring more than two centuries of monarchy to an end.

The peace process exploded into life when King Gyanendra surrendered power and reinstated parliament in April, after weeks of pro-democracy protests.

The new multi-party government quickly agreed a truce with the rebels, stripped the king of most powers and conceded to the Maoists' key demand -- constituent assembly elections.

The peace deal was sealed at Friday's meeting between Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and rebel chief Prachanda, making his first public appearance in the capital.

In Kathmandu, many people gave the pact a guarded welcome, but seemed slightly uncomfortable with the pace of change.

''Cutting the king's power is a drastic move but whether it will succeed is only 50-50,'' said Dipendra Shahi, a 30-year-old airline company manager. ''It is difficult to fulfill the Maoists' demands and I doubt there will be peace.''

FEAR OF THE GUN In the countryside, where the rebels hold sway and rule through the power of the gun, there was relief at the ceasefire agreement but suspicion of the Maoists' true intentions. ''When they hold meetings, they come with a big stick and say you must attend or pay us money,'' said a farmer from Ramawapur village on the fertile Terai plains, bordering India.

''When there is voting, people will vote for them out of fear.'' The Maoists say they are unwilling to surrender their arms ahead of the elections, arguing they do not trust the Nepalese army.

Instead they have proposed their forces -- as well as the government's -- be confined to camps during the vote.

The idea does not go down well with the political parties, nor with some of the villagers of southern Nepal.

''Until they deposit their weapons, we will be scared of them,'' said the farmer, sitting on a rope bed outside his home, which had an ornately carved door but no electricity. Reluctant to give his name, he said he would not have spoken out at all before the ceasefire.

The decade-long insurgency has killed around 13,000 people and brought more misery to one of the world's 10 poorest nations, tucked in the Himalayas between China and India.

In Betahani, this weekend's protest took place just a few yards from the Maoists' office, a bare shop occupied since the ceasefire and furnished with only a table, a telephone and peeling poster saying ''Love is Enough''.

Area committee member Ashok Verma, a 19-year-old boy wearing a US army T-shirt and with the fire of righteousness in his eyes, said any complaints about the local commander would be investigated. ''If people lodge a complaint with us, and we find him guilty, action will be taken,'' he said.

Reuters