Ending a decade of violent rebellion and after weeks of continuous negotiations, Nepali Maoist rebels are all set to join an interim government under a historic contract accomplished with Nepal’s principal coalition.
According to anonymous sources Maoists will seek a good number of seats, including the information and communication ministries, in the government.
As per the agreement, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s Nepali Congress party will have five ministries, including the key ministries of defense, home and finance. The Maoists will have five ministerial berths in the 21-member cabinet.
Apart from the Maoists, the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist) possibly will also seek five ministerial posts, together with the foreign affairs, and other lesser parties of the seven-party alliance will get their in the central ministry share as well.
The official declaration of the distribution of seats is expected today, just after the oath ceremony in the parliament.
The frequent conflicts in the late 1990s and the beginning of the twenty first century between Maoist rebels and Nepali troops had devoured above 13,000 lives from each side.
Most of the Maoists may have deposited their weapons, a prerequisite to join the government, under the direction of the United Nations, they have not resigned all their weapons and still indulge in kidnappings and intimidations. In a fresh clash between Maoists and the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) about 25 people were killed in southern Nepal.
