Nepal rebels set to join parliament after peace pact

KATHMANDU, Jan 14 (Reuters) Nepal's Maoist rebels are set to put a decade of war against the monarchy behind them tomorow when they join an interim parliament as part of a peace process.

The Maoists look ready to settle into a more compromising stance and are unlikely to upset the peace process, analysts say. But rebel splinter groups remain a threat.

''The Maoists are not going back to the jungles but Nepal is not out of the woods yet,'' said Kunda Dixit, editor of the Nepali Times weekly.

''Although the Maoist insurgency may be over, hard line breakaway factions could continue the violence,'' he said.

The Maoists declared a ceasefire after mass protests forced King Gyanendra to give up direct rule in 2006.

In November, they signed a peace deal with the multi-party government declaring an end to the conflict in which more than 13,000 people have died.

They have also agreed to lock up their weapons under the United Nations' supervision, part of the deal struck with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala allowing the Maoists to join the interim government.

However, two groups that broke from the Maoists two years ago continue to fight in the southern plains, saying people in the region are not getting their fair share of jobs or government funding.

''That they (the main Maoists) are joining the parliament is a sign of their commitment to come into mainstream politics,'' Dixit said.

''Now they will have to learn the politics of compromise.

Their biggest challenge will be that they can't use the threat of violence to get their way in the parliament.'' As part of the deal, an interim constitution will be approved tomorrow by the current parliament, paving the way for an interim legislature, officials said.

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) will control at least 73 seats in the 330-member interim parliament, which will include 209 members of the existing legislature and 48 members of the public selected by the two sides by consensus.

GUERRILLAS SOFTEN Elections are expected in June for an assembly that will prepare a permanent constitution and take a final decision about the future of the monarchy, which the Maoists want abolished.

Analysts said the Maoists were softening their position, now preferring dialogue instead of violence as a means of persuasion.

''Even though the Maoists say they still believe in Marxism, Leninism and Maoism, they have changed their original position,'' said Lok Raj Baral, chief of the Nepal Centre for Strategic Studies, an independent think-tank.

''This is a big transformation of a guerrilla force. This is going to be an example for the rest of the world,'' he said.

The Maoists, who have vowed not to return to war, say fighters in all 28 of their camps are prepared to welcome the UN's advance team of dozens of arms monitors.

The United Nations wants the Security Council to authorise up to 186 monitors to help enforce the peace pact.

Meanwhile, the government has recruited 111 former Gurkha soldiers retired from the British and Indian armies to provide 24-hour watches at the weapon storage sites until the full UN mission takes control.

The United Nations is also sending election officials to help with the poll for the constituent assembly.

REUTERS SP KP1140