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Nepal’s Maoists prepare for huge anti-government demo

KATHMANDU, May 2, 2010 AFP - Tens of thousands of Maoists massed in the streets of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu on Saturday for a huge protest to force the embattled government to quit.

Security was on high alert amid fears the demonstration could lead to fresh turmoil for the impoverished Himalayan nation, which is still recovering from a deadly civil war.

Riot police were posted at all major city intersections and at least 15,000 security personnel were being deployed to avert violence, police spokesman Bigyan Raj Sharma said.

Parts of the city were a sea of red flags waved by demonstrators who chanted: “Dissolve this puppet government and set up a national government.”

The Maoist party, which has the largest number of seats in parliament, is demanding the ruling coalition be replaced by a new, Maoist-led administration and said it expected half a million people to throng the city’s streets.

“The purpose of this demonstration is to pressure the government to resign and have a national government formed under our leadership,” Baburam Bhattarai, second in command of the Maoist party, said ahead of mass rally.

A previous Maoist government fell in March 2009 after the president overruled its decision to sack the head of the army. Since then, Maoists have staged regular protests, though Saturday’s rally was set to be the biggest.

“This is a very dangerous moment. The Maoists have mobilised their people in an unprecedented scale,” political commentator Prashant Jha told AFP.

If their demands are ignored, Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal — also known as Prachanda — has said they will begin an indefinite nationwide strike from Sunday.

At the same time as demonstrators were massing for the rally, the Maoists were meeting representatives of other major parties to try to break the political impasse.

Reports of Maoists taking part in military-style training and carrying weapons in the run-up to the rally stoked tensions in the capital.

On Friday, Bhattarai said the former rebels, who fought a decade-long civil war against the government, expected half a million people in the capital.

“Thousands of volunteers have been trained to maintain discipline during the demonstration,” he promised. “There will be no violence.”

Nepal’s lawmakers have until May 28 to complete a new constitution that analysts say is key to ensuring lasting peace between the Maoists and the state after the end of the civil war in 2006.

They must also reach agreement on the integration of nearly 20,000 former Maoist fighters languishing in cantonments around the country.

The UN secretary general’s representative in Nepal, Karin Langdren, urged that all parties exercise restraint.

He said the situation was “unpredictable, and may seriously endanger the peace process.”

She said she feared “potential spoilers of the peace process could provoke a clash.”

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal said he was willing to come to an agreement with the Maoists.

“I am open to discussion and reaching a consensus,” he said on Friday.

But he added “reports of Maoists carrying weapons ahead of the rally indicates the (possibility of the) use of force, which is quite alarming.”

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