Q&A: Nepal peace talks

Q&A: Nepal peace talks

The Nepalese Government says peace talks with Maoist rebels to end seven years of war will begin soon, two months after both sides began a ceasefire. About 7,000 people have died in the violence.

What are the main issues?

There was a substantial shift in rebel policy in March when, for the first time, a leading negotiator said they would not try to force the abolition of the monarchy if the Nepalese people wanted to keep it.

Until then, they had insisted on the creation of a republic.

Their most-commonly stated public demands are for a round-table conference on Nepal's future, an interim government and a constituent assembly to frame a new constitution.

A code of conduct has also been agreed for the proposed peace talks.

The government has also been acting on the rebel demand to release Maoist prisoners.

The government has appointed a cabinet minister and respected political leader from a troubled Maoist area to work with rebel negotiators.

Why was a ceasefire called in January?

Correspondents say the security situation probably contributed to the Maoist decision to come to the table.

Neither side looked likely to win outright any time in the near future.

Reports also say that the murder in January, allegedly by the rebels, of the chief of armed police in Nepal and his wife may have played a part. Krishna Mohan Shrestha was the highest-ranking police official to be killed in the insurgency.

The killings were reported to have greatly perturbed King Gyanendra, who ordered Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand to take steps towards a ceasefire and peace talks.

These steps included a government agreement to stop calling the rebels terrorists, cancelling the bounty on the heads of rebel leaders and cancelling a notice to Interpol seeking their arrests.

Why did the rebels start their campaign?

Initially, the rebels, who claim to be inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, began a violent campaign in 1996 to abolish Nepal's constitutional monarchy and establish a communist state.

How much popular support the rebels have had is difficult to measure.

But they succeeded in taking control of substantial areas of the country, particularly in Nepal's mountains and hill regions which the government found difficult to police.

Will the peace talks succeed?

Analysts say the talks will take time. But the fact that the Maoists have shifted on their policy over the monarchy may help keep the process moving.

They say it is not clear how far the Maoist agenda has changed - and how many of demands would be accepted by the palace or political parties.

On the other hand, public pressure for the talks to succeed is strong.

Attempts at peace talks in August 2001 stalled after three rounds of negotiations over the question of the monarchy. The rebels accused the government of failing to listen to them and being rigid during negotiations

The Maoists walked out of the negotiations and in November the same year, broke the ceasefire and resumed attacks on government troops. A state of emergency, which lasted for 10 months, was imposed and the army was ordered to fight the rebels for the first time.

What do we know about the rebels?

The Maoist leaders took their communist faction underground in 1996 after winning only nine of the 205 seats in parliament in earlier elections.

Within months, leaders had created a highly organised insurgency.

Their shadowy leader's name, Prachanda, is translated as "the fierce one".

The group is modelled after Peru's Maoist Shining Path guerrillas.

Senior Nepalese military officers say there are between 2,000 and 4,000 well-trained Maoist fighters, known as the movement's "hard core".

Another 12,000-14,000 so called "militia" have fought alongside them.