Nepal Maoists set to join interim government

Kathmandu, Mar 30: Nepal's once-feared Maoist rebels are close to joining an interim government, perhaps as early today, in what would be a major step in a peace deal ending a decade-old civil war that killed some 13,000 people.

Maoist chief Prachanda was to meet Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and leaders of the ruling seven-party alliance today to finalise the admission of the former rebels into a multiparty government.

''We are close to joining the interim government,'' Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara told Reuters.

''Final decision on this is expected to be taken in today's meeting between our comrade chairman and leaders of other political parties,'' he said.

The entry of the Maoists into the government would also be a boost for a peace process that has been strained this year after anti-government protests by ethnic groups in Nepal's southern plains, in which at least 58 died.

Political parties and human rights groups accuse the Maoists of continuing extortion, kidnappings and intimidation.

The US government has said the Maoists must fully renounce violence before they can become part of the political mainstream.

Under the peace deal signed in November, the Maoists have confined their 31,000 fighters to camps, handed over nearly 3,500 weapons to United Nations supervision and joined an interim parliament as the second-biggest group.

Officials said they were trying to name the Maoists in the interim cabinet before Koirala left for India on Sunday to attend a regional economic summit.

''We are continuing efforts to form the interim cabinet before that,'' said Ram Chandra Poudel, a senior leader of Koirala's Nepali Congress party.

The interim government plans to organise elections for a constituent assembly in June which will prepare a new constitution for the impoverished Himalayan nation and decide the future of a monarchy that the Maoists want abolished.

''The main agenda of the interim government is to hold the elections on time,'' Mahara said.

On Wednesday, Baburam Bhattarai, seen as number two in the Maoist party, told Reuters that any delay in forming the interim cabinet would make meeting the election deadline difficult.

The first major task of the interim government will be to fix the date for the elections, Nepal's first in eight years, officials said.

Reuters