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Nepal Maoist chief says ready to break ties with fighters

Reuters

Maoist chief Prachanda listens during a meeting working professionals in Kathmandu, Nepal, on 12 May 2010.File photo/Reuters/Gopal Chitrakar/Nepal

Nepal’s Maoist chief said his party is willing to give up control of thousands of its former fighters now lodged in UN-monitored camps, a step that could help cement peace in the Himalayan nation.

Prachanda told a public rally late on Wednesday that he was willing to let a special committee headed by the prime minister take charge of the former fighters and decide on their rehabilitation.

The Maoists have been asking that their fighters be absorbed into the national army.

“Now our party is ready to break its relation with the PLA (People’s Liberation Army),” Prachanda said.

There was some scepticism about Prachanda’s offer because the Maoists have in the past broken promises.

“If what Prachanda says is implemented, it will definitely help the peace process,” said Bishnu Raj Upreti who teaches at Kathmandu University’s Human and Natural Resources Study Centre.

Four years ago, Nepal ended a decade-long Maoist insurgency but the question of rehabilitation of some 19,000 ex-rebel fighters has imperiled permanent peace.

As a buffer between rivals India and China, Nepal’s politics has regional implications. It has abundant potential to generate hydroelectric power and supply water for millions of people in India, and is seen by China as crucial to the security of Tibet.

The Maoists headed a strike last week, saying Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal must quit because he has been unable to forward the peace process and ensure the drafting of a new constitution.

Copyright © 2010 Reuters

Published in Reuters website