Maoists break national unity pact
Kathmandu (AsiaNews) – The Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) has quit the national unity government warning that if some of its demands are not met it will organise a series of protest actions ahead of next November elections to the Constituent Assembly. Among those demands are the abolition of the monarchy, the creation of a Republic of Nepal and proportional representation.
Matrika Yadav, Maoist minister of forestry and land reformation, has already resigned from his post. Other Maoists ministers have said they would resign if the conditions are not met. Altogether the CPN-M held five posts in the 21-member cabinet.
The other government parties have accused the CPN-M’s youth wing, the Young Communist League, of subversive activities designed to undermine the accords on which the national unity government is based. They also rejected Maoist demands, arguing that the issues raised by the Maoists should be decided after the elections to the Constituent Assembly, which will draft the new constitution
Hridayesh Tripathi, a senior leader in the eight-party coalition government, said that “conditions set by the Maoists on the eve of the elections are a clear signal that they want to boycott the path towards democracy.”
CPN-M leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) replied that if other parties do not agree with his party’s demands Maoists would quit the government and launch a protest movement.
Meanwhile, the United Nations mission to Nepal, established to collect weapons and establish peace in the country, has been unable to complete its task.
Despite the tripartite agreement, Maoists have stopped the weapons verification process citing political reasons. And more than a thousand of their fighters have fled the camps where they were supposed to gather.
For over a decade the CPN-M fought a guerrilla war against the Nepali Royal Army in order to set up a Communist state. Since 1996 more than 13,000 people died.
Earlier this year the Maoists agreed to lay down their arms under United Nations supervision and join the political process signing the national accord with the country’s other political parties.
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