UN chief hails Maoists' move to rejoin Nepal govt
United Nations (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday welcomed the
weekend decision by Nepal's Maoist former rebels to rejoin their
country's interim government.
Ban "welcomes the decision by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
to rejoin the interim government," his press office said in a statement.
It added that the secretary general learned with satisfaction that
the seven-party alliance had reached an agreement on key issues of the
peace process.
The secretary general urged "all parties to swiftly move forward in
the implementation of the agreements reached and lay the ground for a
peaceful, inclusive, and credible Constituent Assembly election"
scheduled for next April.
The polls were postponed twice due to Maoist demands that the
electoral system be reformed.
Sunday, the Maoists agreed to rejoin the government in a deal to end
the country's long-running peace deadlock.
The ultra-leftists, who ended a decade-long insurgency late last
year, stormed out of an interim government in September, complaining
they were not being given equal representation in the peace process.
The new deal will see the government agree to abolish the monarchy
and declare the country a republic -- a key Maoist demand to ensure free
and fair elections that would shape the country's political future. |