Nepal's Maoists on verge of joining interim cabinet

KATHMANDU, (Reuters)

Nepal's former Maoist rebels were on the verge of joining an interim government on Saturday, a historic step in the peace deal that ended their decade-old guerrilla war, officials said.

The agreement that cleared the way for the Maoists to join was reached late on Friday during a meeting between Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and Maoist chief Prachanda, which was attended by other leaders of the ruling seven-party alliance.

"Under the agreement Koirala will resign from his present position only to be re-elected by the parliament to head the interim government," said Ram Chandra Poudel, a senior leader of the Nepali Congress party, the Himalayan nation's biggest group.

"He will then announce the line-up of the multiparty cabinet, including the Maoists."

"The new government will then take the oath of office today," Poudel added.

The Maoists are already part of an interim parliament which they joined in January as part of the November peace deal.

The interim government will organise elections for a constituent assembly in June which is to map out the impoverished country's political future including that of the monarchy, which the Maoists want abolished.

For the first time there will be no role for King Gyanendra - stripped of nearly all powers after last year's mass protests forced him to end his absolute rule - in the appointment of the prime minister.

The Maoists were cautious as they readied themselves for power.

"The formation of the interim government should have taken place as soon as the peace deal was signed in November. But it was delayed for so long," senior Maoist leader Dev Gurung said.

Earlier this week, another senior Maoist leader said Koirala was not ready to share key cabinet portfolios such as home or defence with the former guerrillas.

The new cabinet incorporating the Maoists is expected to inject fresh energy into a peace process clouded after anti-government protests by ethnic groups in Nepal's southern plains, which have left at least 58 dead this year.

Political parties say the Maoists are continuing extortion, kidnappings and intimidation, despite the peace deal.

Under the peace deal the Maoists have housed their 31,000 fighters in camps and locked away nearly 3,500 weapons under United Nations supervision.

Poudel said a common minimum programme for the new government had been finalised but gave no details.

"With the Maoists joining the government one phase of the peace process that started last year is over," he said.

"Now the reconciliation and rehabilitation phase will begin."

Officials say the interim government will have to set an exact date for the constituent assembly elections, a key demand of the Maoists for ending a revolt that killed more than 13,000 people.