Nepal interim constitution inked

Nepalese riot policemen stand guard on Friday outside Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's official residence in Kathmandu, as leaders of the seven ruling parties and top Maoist rebels met to finalize a temporary constitution. PHOTO: AP

Nepal's ruling parties and communist rebels worked out their differences and agreed yesterday on an interim constitution, a crucial development in the country's peace process, officials said.

The seven-party ruling alliance and rebels agreed that all executive powers would remain with the prime minister, and that King Gyanendra -- stripped of most of his powers and command of the army earlier this year -- would have "absolutely no power," said Arjun Narsingh of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's Nepali Congress party.

The king will remain without powers until the elected assembly decides whether the impoverished Himalayan nation should continue as a monarchy.

Koirala and the ruling-party leaders met through the night on Friday with Maoist rebel leader Prachanda, Narsingh said. Prachanda goes by a single name.

The negotiations on Friday began at 3pm and both sides worked all night at the prime minister's official residence, signing the agreement at 7:57am yesterday.

The ruling party and rebel leaders had been meeting over the past few days to work out the differences over the interim constitution.

Their main disagreements had been over the rebels' wishes to include education, health care and employment as fundamental rights.

The interim constitution will be in place until a permanent one is prepared by a special assembly, to be elected next year.

The assembly will also decide how Nepal's political system will operate.

The assembly had long been a demand for the rebels to end their anti-monarchy conflict which began in 1996 and which has seriously harmed the economy -- dependent on aid and tourism -- and displaced more than 200,000 people.

"It [the draft constitution] will be proclaimed after managing the arms and armies in seven to 10 days," Mahara said referring to an earlier agreement to mandate the UN to monitor their weapons.

The UN says up to 35 monitors are expected to begin work this month but the full monitoring mission will take more time. It has not given any specific timeframe.

The government and rebels last month signed a peace accord under which thousands of rebel fighters will be confined to UN-monitored camps without their weapons.

The Maoists, who have agreed to confine their fighters in camps and lock weapons in containers monitored by the UN, were upbeat.

"Now there is a guarantee that elections for the constituent assembly will be held on the basis of this constitution," chief rebel negotiator Krishna Bahadur Mahara said.

Under the agreement on arms management, the state army is also to remain in barracks in the run up to elections in June. An equal number of its arms are also to be locked in stores.