Gyanendra: End of road

Kathmandu, May 20 (Reuters): Nepal has named a senior minister to hold preliminary talks with the Maoists to prepare for a direct meeting between rebel chief Prachanda and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, a minister said today.

The multi-party government, formed after King Gyanendra bowed to massive protests and handed power back to political parties, has appointed home minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula to head a three-member team, he said.

“Other members of the team will be named soon,” works and physical planning minister Gopal Man Shrestha said. “There will also be a separate multi-party party team to assist the government negotiators,” he said.

The Maoists, who have been fighting to topple the monarchy and set up a communist state in Nepal, have named their spokesman, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, for the preparatory talks.

Officials said the meeting, the first in nearly three years, would begin soon.

“These will be only preliminary talks,” Shrestha said. “There will be a higher-level team headed by the Prime Minister for the talks with Prachanda.” Early this month the government matched a rebel ceasefire and the two sides agreed to meet.

Preparations are also going ahead to hold elections for an assembly to draft a new constitution and decide the future of the monarchy.

This week, the parliament reinstated by Gyanendra stripped him of various powers and took away his control over the army.

The administration is now called the Nepal government instead of “His Majesty’s Government”.

RSS vigilance

The RSS today asked the people of Nepal to remain vigilant in order to protect their religious identity.

“The constitutional recognition of Nepal as a Hindu nation was symbolic of its ancient traditions and culture. This identity was so far safe under the constitution. But now the people of Nepal will have to maintain eternal vigilance to safeguard it,” RSS general secretary Mohan Bhagwat said in the sangh fountainhead's first comments on the proclamation.