| Home > South-Asia >> Nepal | |
Nepal's Maoists search for coalition partners
Associated Press - July 1, 2010
Binaj Gurubacharya, Katmandu, Nepal – Nepal's communist former rebels reached out to other political parties Thursday to form a new coalition government, a day after the prime minister resigned following months of sometimes-violent protests.
"We want to end the political deadlock as soon as possible and will be talking to other parties to reach an agreement," said Baburam Bhattarai, deputy leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists).
The party said it established a three-member committee headed by its leader, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, to negotiate with other political parties on the formation of a new government.
The other main parties have agreed to hold talks, but it was unclear whether they would be interested in a Maoist-led government.
President Rambaran Yadav asked all parties to reach an agreement and form a new government by July 7. He did not say what he would do if they failed to meet the deadline.
Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned Wednesday, bowing to months of pressure from the Maoists, who demanded his ouster in parliament and in street demonstrations.
Nepal said he resigned to end the deadlock and shore up a peace process that ended the Maoists' 10-year insurgency, in which an estimated 13,000 people were killed.
The Maoists signed a peace agreement in 2006. Since then, they have confined their fighters to UN-monitored camps and joined mainstream politics, winning the most seats in 2008 elections.
The prime minister took the post in May 2009 after the previous government led by the Maoists resigned following differences with the president over the firing of the army chief.
In May, the Maoists called a general strike that shut down the nation for more than a week. Street demonstrations turned violent with clashes between communist supporters and police.
The protests also delayed the writing of a new constitution, which was supposed to be completed by May. The deadline was extended by a year.
See also:
 |