Former rebels' bus journey signals end of conflict

NEPAL: Maoist rebels who fought to win power in Nepal this week entered parliament peacefully in Kathmandu

NEPAL:Maoist rebels who fought to win power in Nepal this week entered parliament peacefully in Kathmandu. Jas Kaminskiwas there

Most of Nepal's 27 million people carried on as normal this week in the wide Kathmandu valley and the villages of the rugged mountain regions for which the tiny Himalayan country is known throughout the world.

However by any measure of change, this was a momentous week in Nepal, as a number of seismic political steps took the country along a transitional route from monarchy to democracy.

The path has not always been easy for the Nepalese: the previous decade had witnessed a relentless guerrilla war which killed over 13,000 people, displaced 100,000 and destroyed vital infrastructure before Maoist rebels finally laid down their arms.

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Exchanging their camouflage battle fatigues for grey corporate jackets, the guerrillas made history on Monday when they took an oath of office to become a legitimate political party from an armed terrorist organisation.

"Today is a day of reconciliation among all the political parties and the people," the octogenarian prime minister, Girija Prasad Koirala, who has steered the peace process for the government side, said. Arriving by bus at the parliament, the Singha Durbar, the 73 former rebels, led by a former schoolteacher, returned to the building they had walked away from 14 years earlier, and from where they had been described as terrorists for mounting a campaign to topple the 238-year-old monarchy.

"This is a historic chance for us and other political parties to establish progress in Nepal," said a Maoist spokesman, Krishna Bahadur Mahara.

The Maoists have selected their new parliamentarians from marginalised groups they fought for, women and civil society activists.

For a party which put its faith in the gun and socket-bomb in the past, they have, curiously, chosen a Buddhist monk, Bhikshu Ananda, as one of their 10 further independent representatives.

They also, surprisingly, chose a retired soldier, Maj Gen Kumar Phodung, who served with the Royal Nepalese Army, the Maoists' bête noire, and a PhD student from Delhi.

But the top rebel leaders have not joined parliament. Maoist chief Prachanda and most of the senior party leaders have opted to direct affairs from outside the interim parliament. And with a combined 182 seats, a left-wing alliance is set to dominate proceedings in the new 330-member house.

The parliament's first act was to unanimously endorse a new constitution, Nepal's sixth since 1947.

However, the constitution differed from earlier ones, by making the people sovereign and, disregarding the Hindu Monarchy, by describing Nepal as a secular, sovereign and inclusive democratic country.

"Poor and Powerless Overnight" read the Kathmandu Post front-page headline, referring to King Gyanendra's removal as head of state and nationalisation of royal assets under the new constitution.

In welcoming the new parliamentarians, Indian and American diplomats were quick to remind them that decommissioning has to take place before a government can be formed, under the terms of the comprehensive peace accord signed by the main political parties last November.

The Maoists' rise to political power in Nepal has sent ripples through the international community who fear their success may give a fillip to other violent leftist movements, simmering below the political mainstream throughout Asia.

Ian Martin, the special representative of the United Nations secretary general, was careful to describe Wednesday's start to decommissioning as "the Maoists storing their weapons under United Nations supervision", at a Katmandu press conference.

Under the terms of the peace accord, the estimated 30,000 Maoist rebel forces have gathered at 28 rural camps for registration and disarmament.

The Nepalese army will also lock up a similar number of arms and restrict soldiers to barracks in a symbolic confidence-building gesture.

The UN will ensure the containers are kept locked by providing 24-hour surveillance cameras, sirens and a team of 186 international monitors.

However, in an interesting twist to the process, Maoist army commanders will hold the keys to the locks!

The Security Council in New York is also putting the finishing touches to a resolution this week that will create a new 12-month United Nations Mission in Nepal (Unmin) which will oversee the peace process.

The monarchy remains suspended until its fate is decided at the first assembly meeting following the elections in June.