Nepal on the brink as Maoists quit coalition

Nepal's peace process has been thrown into turmoil on Sept. 18 after the former rebel Maoists withdrew from the interim government. The apparent disintegration of the eight-party ruling coalition came after Maoist ministers failed to agree with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, on a timetable for declaring Nepal a republic. The Maoists, who abandoned their decade-long insurgency last year to join the peace process, had insisted that the monarchy should be abolished before elections on Nov. 22. They believed King Gyanendra, who has already been stripped of direct power and his status as head of state, would sabotage the poll with the help of his supporters. Other coalition partners disagreed with the Maoists, saying that a democratically elected special assembly should decide the fate of the monarchy and rewrite the constitution. In addition to the immediate declaration of a republic, the former rebels had requested a commission to investigate the disappearances of their supporters during the civil war, and to assess the salaried integration of their fighters into the national army. Last-ditch talks in Kathmandu between the Prime Minister and coalition leaders, to avert a political crisis, broke down with four Maoist ministers handing in their resignations after failing to push through their demands. "The Prime Minister was not ready to negotiate so his party is responsible," said Krishna Bahadur Mahara, one of the Maoists who left the interim Cabinet. The move is the biggest setback to peace efforts in the Himalayan country, one of the world's poorest, since the Maoist insurgents declared a cease-fire. Analysts said that it raised doubts about the ability of the interim government to hold representative elections. Several thousand Maoist supporters took to the streets of the Nepalese capital, banging drums, waving red flags and chanting, "Declare Nepal a republic," as they marched to a rally addressed by Prachanda, the Maoist leader. The former rebels insisted that they would stick to peaceful protests but warned of potential violence if their demonstrations were put down forcibly. "If there are attempts to crush our peaceful movement, we will also get violent," Baburam Bhattarai, the deputy leader, said. The Maoists gained a foothold in mainstream politics last year after months of protests and strikes against the King's autocratic rule forced him to give up direct rule. They joined the interim parliament in January, gaining 83 seats of the 330 seats, and in April secured cabinet posts. Under the historic peace treaty signed in November, the Maoists agreed to lock up their weapons in camps monitored by the United Nations. But tensions have persisted as the king refused to abdicate while continuing to flaunt his superiority–albeit substantially reduced–by hosting a lavish 60th birthday party at the palace. The Maoists threatened nationwide protests to force through their demand that the monarchy be abolished without a democratic vote. The stance prompted the US Ambassador to Nepal, James Moriarty, to describe their campaign as a quest for "absolute power" and to reiterate that they would remain on Washington's list of terrorist organizations. More than 13,000 people were killed during their ten-year fight for a communist republic.