Maoists give 10-day ultimatum to form new government
Dec 20, 2006 - 3:48:38 AM
, Reviewed by: Priya Saxena
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The new move, coming days after both sides broke a deadlock to sign a new constitution for Nepal, has created consternation and anger among rebels who Monday postponed a key meeting of their leadership to discuss the development.
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By Sudeshna Sarkar, RxPG News Service,
[RxPG] Kathmandu, Dec 19 - Simmering over a sudden unilateral decision by the seven-party government to nominate envoys abroad including to India, Nepal's Maoist guerrillas Tuesday gave a 10-day ultimatum to form a new government and enforced a wildcat shutdown that paralysed Kathmandu Valley.
The rebels announced they were giving the government till Dec 30 to implement the new constitution signed three days ago, dissolve the present government and form a new one with them as partners.
'From Wednesday to Dec 30, we will conduct street programmes and other demonstrations,' Maoist chief Prachanda said in a statement issued late Tuesday. 'It will be followed by a 48-hour Nepal shutdown from Dec 31.'
Discord had erupted on the streets of Kathmandu valley Tuesday as rebels blocked roads by burning tyres and chanted anti-government slogans to the waving of red flags to protest the nomination of envoys by the government.
Vehicles disappeared from roads and highways, shops on main roads downed their shutters and schools and colleges remained closed during the first shutdown enforced by the rebels since signing a peace pact with the seven-party government after King Gyanendra's ouster in April.
'The government's decision to appoint ambassadors and proceed with other appointments not only goes against the spirit of the agreement between our party and the seven-party alliance but is also a grave conspiracy to affect future agreements,' Maoist spokesperson and former MP Krishna Bahadur Mahara said.
Meanwhile, news reports said Maoist guerrilla soldiers had started coming out of their makeshift cantonments in two eastern districts, Ilam and Morang near the Indian border, to stage a display of arms in public, create fresh fear among villagers and put further pressure on the government to revoke the nominations.
The furore started after Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala Monday held a special meeting of his cabinet, where the names of 14 ambassadors were approved.
These include appointments to key countries like India, the US and Britain. The posts have been lying vacant since April, when the royal appointees were recalled from Nepali missions abroad.
Besides the 14 ambassadors, the government also named a new permanent representative for the UN in Geneva and a new chief as well as four members for the National Human Rights Commission.
The new appointees include senior leaders from the ruling parties, bureaucrats and career diplomats.
Koirala and his Nepali Congress party's influence was clear in the new nominations with his niece and former deputy prime minister Shailaja Acharya named the new ambassador to India, and the prime minister's foreign affairs adviser Suresh Chalise earmarked for Washington.
The nominees will be appointed formally once the decision is approved by the concerned parliamentary committee.
The government action triggered a strong reaction from the Maoists who said they should have been consulted.
Stepping up pressure, the rebels announced a six-hour Kathmandu valley closure from 10 a.m. Tuesday and a two-hour token shutdown outside the region.
The East-West Highway that connects Nepal with India and is the landlocked kingdom's lifeline to supplies of essential goods, was affected by the protest and hundreds of passengers were left stranded.
Mahara said the nominations went against the ceasefire pact, which says an issue of national importance will be agreed upon only when both sides reach an agreement.
The new move, coming days after both sides broke a deadlock to sign a new constitution for Nepal, has created consternation and anger among rebels who Monday postponed a key meeting of their leadership to discuss the development.
Cutting across party lines, MPs Tuesday took the government to task for the move, saying it had undone all the good wrought by the ceasefire accord.
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