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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 05 October 2006

NEPAL: Rebels threaten to disrupt peace process

KATHMANDU, 5 Oct 2006 (IRIN) - Frustrated with Nepal’s slow moving peace process, Maoist rebels have told the interim government to rapidly finalise a peace agreement or face a sustained uprising in the capital, Kathmandu.

“If the government fails to prepare itself to reach a political resolution during [forthcoming peace] talks, there is a possibility of an urban uprising,” said Maoist leader and negotiator Dinanath Sharma.

A series of peace talks have taken place between the two sides but they have yet to reach consensus due to disagreements over disarmament and the dissolution of parliament.

“Political issues should be resolved first and only then can arms management be dealt with,” said Maoist spokesman and senior leader Krishna Mahara.

The rebels have said they want this and other issues resolved during a much-anticipated summit scheduled for 8 October. The venue for talks has yet to be made public.

For the past 10 years, the Maoists waged an armed rebellion against the Nepalese state. They declared a ceasefire and began peace talks with the new interim government, formed by seven national parties in April.

Government negotiators want the rebels to disarm whilst continuing to talk. “The issue of arms management is most crucial to the peace process. This will itself determine the failure or success of the talks,” said finance minister Ram Sharan Mahat, a senior leader of the Nepali Congress (NC), the country’s largest political party.

The negotiating teams of both sides have been meeting regularly to make Sunday’s summit conclusive and move ahead with plans to form an interim government that would include the Maoists, hammer out an interim constitution and hold elections to a constituent assembly. Reports from pre-summit talks on Wednesday suggest there is not yet consensus on these issues.

NN/SC/JL

[ENDS]

This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2006