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Nepalese Maoists threaten to launch massive protests

The Nepalese Maoist leadership has threatened the government with a massive protest movement if the interim constitution is not promulgated within two weeks, newspaper reports said yesterday.

The daily Kantipur quoted top Maoist leader Prachanda, whose real name is Pushpa Kamal Dahal, as saying that his party had reached an agreement with the government to promulgate the interim constitution by Tuesday.

"I had issued the statement agreeing to allow establishment police posts across the country only after the government agreed to promulgate the constitution," Prachanda told journalists in Dolakha district, about 70km east of the Nepalese capital.

"If the constitution is not issued by January 15, there is no alternative but to start protest movement," Prachanda said.

He added, however, that any protests his party leads will be peaceful.

Police posts

Last week, Maoist rebels agreed to allow the establishment of hundreds of police posts across the country that had been disbanded during the decade-long insurgency.

During that time, Maoists systematically attacked isolated police posts, killing hundreds of police officers.

The issue of reestablishment of police posts led to difference between the government and the Maoists.

The government had insisted that the constituent assembly elections were not possible without the establishment of security structures.

However, the government has not commented on Prachanda's claim that it had agreed to promulgate the interim constitution in exchange for Maoist agreement on police posts.

Another point

Meanwhile, Nepal's Elections Commission has also warned that constituent assembly elections could not be held on schedule if there were any further delays in sending local government officials back to their villages.

Chief Election Commissioner Bhoj Raj Pokharel said that the absence of local government officials in the villages was hampering its efforts to update voters' list.

The government has said it plans to have local government officials at their respective areas by the middle of this month.
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