Nepali Maoists slam govt as peace talks delayed
Rebels demand referendum on monarchy
Reuters, afp, Kathmandu
Nepal's Maoist rebels accused the multi-party interim government on Thursday of reneging on promises and setting new conditions in a bid to hold on to power as formal peace talks between them were further delayed. Tourism Minister Pradip Gyanwali, a government negotiator, said that talks expected to resume on Friday had been put off until after the end of the Hindu festival of Dasain next week. "Both sides have decided to hold the summit meeting between their leaders on Oct. 8," the two sides said in a joint statement. "They have also agreed to take the ongoing talks forward to an early conclusion." The statement came after Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala held an informal meeting with rebel chief Prachanda. The negotiations aim to resolve differences between the two sides over disarming the rebels and the future of the monarchy before drafting a new constitution. The differences have stalled the peace process in the troubled country and delayed the Maoists' entry into the interim government. Some political parties say the rebels must give up their arms before joining the administration. The Maoists have rejected their demands and a top rebel leader accused the parties of delaying talks to hold on to the power they won after weeks of street protests in April ended King Gyanendra's absolute rule. "They don't want any progressive change. The government is dilly-dallying to continue in power," Baburam Bhattarai, number two to Prachanda, told Reuters earlier on Thursday. "Monarchy should be suspended, the (state) army as well as the economy should be restructured. These are the key issues that need to be sorted out in the talks," he said. Maoists on Wednesday demanded a referendum on the future of the monarch in the Himalayan nation, as high-level peace talks slated for this week looked increasingly unlikely. "On the question of monarchy, it should be suspended and a referendum held. This is our bottom line," the rebel's second-in-command, Baburam Bhatterai, told AFP. "The people's movement in April was directed against the monarchy," he said of the mass protests that forced Nepal's King Gyanendra to end 14-months of direct rule. The monarchy, Bhatterai asserted, "is one of the main stumbling blocks in this peace process." Koirala and Prachanda held their first formal talks in June and the two sides agreed that the Maoists should join an interim cabinet that is to oversee elections to a new assembly.
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