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Nepal rebel leader vows to reciprocate any gov't peace initiative+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)KATHMANDU, Feb. 7_(Kyodo) _ Nepal's top Maoist insurgent leader has said the rebels would reciprocate if the government were to take the initiative toward dialogue, according to remarks published Tuesday in two local newspapers. "We will reciprocate positively if the (government's) cease-fire seems to be leading to meaningful dialogue," Prachanda, chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), said in an interview with editors of The Kathmandu Post and the vernacular daily Kantipur. But the rebel leader added that he sees no chance of King Gyanendra's government coming out with any such initiative at the present time. The Maoists have intensified their attacks on government positions after their unilateral cease-fire ended. Prachanda said the rebels want the bloodshed to stop and to negotiate a solution. The bottom line, he said, is a 12-point understanding reached between the rebels and Nepal's seven mainstream parties last November, in which the two sides agreed on the need to elect a constituent assembly and to transform Nepal into a democratic republic. "The rebels will accept if the constituent assembly says 'we want monarchy.' But if the people say 'republic,' all should accept that," he said. The rebels have been waging a bloody war since 1996 in a bid to overthrow Nepal's monarchy. More than 13,000 people have died and tens of thousands have been displaced in 10 years of fighting. |