Nepal rebels say will not surrender arms 10 Jul 2006 12:52:53 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Gopal Sharma
KATHMANDU, July 10 (Reuters) - Nepal's Maoist rebels will not surrender their arms before next year's elections for a special assembly to map out the embattled Himalayan nation's political future, a top rebel leader said on Monday.
"Let everybody be clear -- we'll never surrender our arms," Baburam Bhattarai, seen as number two to Maoist chief Prachanda, told Reuters in an interview.
"We want the restructuring of the state and the army. In that restructured army our army will also be integrated."
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, appointed after King Gyanendra relinquished absolute powers following democracy protests in April, last month agreed to include the Maoists in an interim government.
The government is charged with overseeing the election of an assembly that will draft a new constitution and decide the future of the monarchy -- a key demand of the Maoists, whose decade-long fight for a Communist state has left more than 13,000 people dead.
The United States, which provides $45 million aid annually to impoverished Nepal -- more than 10 percent of total aid -- has threatened to withdraw funds if the Maoists, who it lists as terrorists, join the interim government without giving up arms.
The rebels have been inconsistent in their stand about whether the United Nations should be involved in monitoring arms held by Maoists and government troops in the run-up to the polls, despite a request from Koirala last week to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
The Maoists, who supported this year's democracy protests, began peace talks with the new multi-party government in May -- the first since 2003 -- but Bhattarai said progress had been slow.
"LACK OF WILLPOWER"
"Basically there seems to be lack of political willpower on the part of some in the government," he said, sitting on the balcony of a Kathmandu building.
But Bhattarai, who is considered a key ideologue of the rebels, said he and Prachanda were quietly meeting diplomats and political leaders to boost talks.
"There is tremendous pressure from the people who want to make the peace process a success," Bhattarai said, adding that the rebels would not return to war.
He accused some forces, such as royalists and supporters of political parties within the interim government, of trying to sabotage the talks but said he was determined to make the peace process a success.
Bhattarai said the guerrillas had no regrets about the war, which has ravaged infrastructure and displaced more than 200,000 of the country's 26 million population.
"We are proud of it. We have changed the whole scenario -- political, economic, social and cultural scenario in the country," he said.
Nepali political parties say the rebels have violated a ceasefire code of conduct signed in May and are still extorting money from the people and captured civilians.
