Nepali King Gyanendra's assumption of power has opened the way for direct talks with Maoist guerrillas, the home minister said today as he
urged the rebels to seize a chance for peace after years of war.
Mr Dan Bahadur Shahi, making a first appeal to the rebels who hold swathes of countryside, said the new government was ready to discuss anything, including the constituent assembly the rebels are demanding to decide the role of the monarchy.
"We have kept our options open, let us first come to the table, we will discuss every aspect, including a constitutional assembly," Mr Shahi told reporters in an interview in his expansive office in the fortified Singha Durbar, the seat of government.
"Our first priority is peace, peace talks," said Mr Shahi, picked by the king to lead the powerful interior ministry which, together with the military, is in charge of tackling the rebellion that has killed more than 11,000 people in nine years.
Mr Shahi, a bureaucrat during the days of absolute monarchy until democracy in 1990, said the Maoists had long insisted on talking only to the king, and not to a succession of governments they considered powerless puppets.
King Gyanendra seized power and sacked the government last week.