Nepal PM to meet Maoist rebel leaders in bid to resume peace process

NEPAL: Nepal's prime minister and ruling party officials are expected to meet top communist rebel leaders within a week in efforts to resume talks to end a decade-long insurgency, a government minister said Sunday.

Tourism Minister Pradeep Gyawali - a member of the government's peace talks team - said a date is yet to be fixed but that the much-anticipated meeting will be held within a week.

"The main focus of this meeting will be to clear up the misunderstandings and differences that have emerged between the two sides," Gyawali told The Associated Press.

The government and rebels signed a cease-fire and began peace talks in April aimed at permanently ending the Maoists' 10-year insurgency.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, leaders of the seven ruling parties and rebel leaders Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai agreed that the rebels should be included in an interim government and that an interim constitution must be drafted at the last round of peace talks in June.

But none of these agreements have yet been implemented.

Instead, there has been a bitter exchange of words between the two sides, with each blaming the other for the delays and of violating the terms of the cease-fire.

The main difference has been the issue of weapons held by the rebels. The government wants the rebels to give up their arms before they join the interim government, but the rebels are not willing to part with their guns.

"This meeting will discuss and decide on the issues of the interim government, constitution and arms management," Gyawali said. Meanwhile Maoist leader warned Saturday of mass protests in the streets of the capital Kathmandu if rebel demands for the election of a body to rewrite the country's constitution were not met.

"If a free and fair environment for constituent assembly elections is not created, we will launch a capital-centred revolution where we hope thousands of people will participate," Prachanda told a rally in the capital.

KATHMANDU, Sunday, AFP,AP