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Nepal rebels lend support to parties' bid to end autocracy+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)KATHMANDU, April 10_(Kyodo) _ Nepal's seven main political parties have received support from the warring Maoist rebels for their campaign to end King Gyanendra's rule and restore democracy. The parties, agitating over the seizure of executive powers by the king last year, on Sunday concluded a four-day general strike to protest the royal regime when the insurgents' support came in. In a statement late Sunday, Prachanda, chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), said his party lends support to the decision by the mainstream political parties to continue their struggle to end the king's absolute rule. "We also declare the ongoing struggle of the political parties as our own," said the top rebel leader. The Maoist party is waging an armed insurrection to topple the monarchy and set up a people's republic in Nepal. Prachanda reaffirmed the rebels' commitment to uphold and honor all understandings reached with the political parties, and said the insurgents would try to work together with the political parties at the village level. The Maoists would also try to take control of all highways in the country and pull down statues of kings and monarchs, he said. |