Maoists quit Nepal Government, Mukherjee says it is an internal matter

Former Maoist rebels in Nepal today said that they have quit the interim government of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala over the administrations dilly-dallying on the issue of the abolition of the monarchy ahead of Constituent Assembly elections due to be held in November.

Kathmandu/Seoul, Sept.18 : Former Maoist rebels in Nepal today said that they have quit the interim government of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala over the administration's dilly-dallying on the issue of the abolition of the monarchy ahead of Constituent Assembly elections due to be held in November.

"We have pulled out from the government this afternoon as the talks failed to reach an understanding on the immediate abolition of monarchy and a proportional election system," a senior Maoist leader, Dev Gurung, was quoted as saying.

One of the Maoists in the interim cabinet, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, blamed Prime Minister Koirala for the breakdown in talks.

"The prime minister was not ready to negotiate so his party is responsible. Now, we will focus on peaceful protests to meet our demands," Mahara said, ruling out the possibility of a return to armed conflict.

Reacting to the news, Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who was boarding a flight from Seoul to New Delhi, described the development as an internal matter to be resolved by Kathmandu itself.

"We would hope that based on our previous understanding (between New Delhi and Kathmandu) that all efforts would be directed at not letting peace come to a standstill," said Mukherjee at end of his three-day visit to South Korea.

Over the last year-and-a-half, India has played a crucial role in getting political leaders in Nepal to reach a consensus on the way forward after anti-royalists forced King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev to handover power to a civilian government. This role has been acknowledged by the international community, including the United States.

Prime Minister Koirala has, however, not budged from his stand that the Constituent Assembly itself must decide the fate of the monarchy.

Analysts say the Maoists will do badly in the polls. That maybe the reason why they have decided to quit.

The Maoist move is being described as the biggest setback to peace efforts since the rebels ended their insurgency last November.

The Maoists and the other seven parties in the interim government had been meeting in Kathmandu to try to iron out their differences over the monarchy.

Meanwhile, thousands of Maoists have gathered in Kathmandu for a rally in which their leaders are expected to outline their new strategy.

The civil war brought a decade of bloodshed to Nepal. Human rights groups regularly accused both the Maoists and the military of gross human rights abuses. The fighting brought further poverty and misery to one of the poorest countries in the world.

King Gyanendra was forced to surrender his powers in April 2006 after the Maoists joined forces with a coalition of seven political parties in a sustained campaign of street protests against his direct rule.

ANI