Nepal's Maoist rebels poised to enter parliament

KATHMANDU, Jan 15 (Reuters) Nepal's parliament opened today at the start of a historic day expected to see Maoist rebels take their seats in an interim legislature for the first time after a decade of civil war that killed thousands.

The sight of 83 rebel nominees sitting alongside those they opposed for so long may comfort even the most cynical Nepalis, who have seen their country brutalised by state and rebel killings and its tourism-dependent economy shattered.

Parliament speaker Subhash Nemwang said the existing House of Representatives would approve a new temporary constitution, prepared by the ruling seven-party alliance and the rebels.

It would then declare the setting up of a new interim legislature, in which the Maoists would be the second biggest group, perhaps the most significant step towards cementing a lasting peace since the rebels put down their guns in April.

''The House of Representatives will be dissolved after passing the constitution and declaring the composition of the interim legislature,'' Nemwang said of the parliament only reinstated in 2006 following weeks of bloody street protests against the king.

The Maoists were upbeat ahead of their big day.

''This is the achievement of 10 years of people's war waged by the Nepali people,'' senior Maoist leader Khim Lal Devkota told Reuters.

''We think the new interim legislature will give a new direction for the creation of a new Nepal,'' said Devkota, one of the nominees of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) to the proposed 330-member interim legislature.

The Maoists began fighting the monarchy in 1996, but declared a ceasefire last year after mass street demonstrations forced King Gyanendra to give up direct rule.

In November, the multiparty government and guerrillas struck a peace deal declaring an end to the conflict in which more than 13,000 people died in the Himalayan kingdom.

Under the pact they agreed to lock up their weapons under UN supervision in return for a promise by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala to name them in an interim government.

That administration is meant to oversee elections for an assembly tasked with preparing a new constitution and deciding the future of the monarchy, which the Maoists want abolished.

NO MORE THREATS Analysts said the deal showed the Maoists intended to join the mainstream.

''Now they will have to learn the politics of compromise,'' said Kunda Dixit, editor of the Nepali Times weekly. ''Their biggest challenge will be that they can't use the threat of violence to get their way in the parliament.'' The interim parliament will comprise 209 present members and the Maoists with 38 seats to be shared by constituents of the ruling alliance.

Critics say the draft interim constitution gives unlimited power to the prime minister, including the right to appoint the chief justice of the Supreme Court and has no provision for legislative control over the executive.

''It goes against the fundamental principles of the separation of power as both judiciary and legislature would be under the control of the government,'' said Yubaraj Ghimire, editor of the Samay magazine.

The Maoists, who have vowed not to return to war, were also set to start storing their arms in metal containers under UN supervision tomorrow, but keep the keys as part of the deal.

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

It is also sending officials to help with the election for the constituent assembly.

REUTERS SY BD0954