Nepal Maoists are 'open to talks'

The rebels have fought an armed insurgency for nine years

Maoist rebels in Nepal say they are open to talks with the king following their announcement of a unilateral ceasefire at the weekend.

Senior rebel leader Prachanda said a dialogue could take place if the royalist government reciprocated the offer of a truce.

But he ruled out the possibility of immediate talks with the government.

The government has said it doubts the sincerity of the offer, but opposition parties have welcomed the move.

The comments by the rebel leader come less than a week after the rebels ruled out talks with the king and declared a three-month truce, in order to open a dialogue with the main opposition parties which have been protesting against the king.

Mr Prachanda said the rebels had never been indifferent to talks aimed at giving total powers to the people.

The opposition has been protesting against the king

In an interview with the rebel newspaper Janadesh, Prachanda said if the royal regime reciprocated the ceasefire and decided to let the people decide their own future, the rebels could agree to talks.

He said such talks would be held with the consent of the political parties and civil society groups.

Analysts say the government is unlikely to give a positive response.

Information Minister Tanka Dhakal said the government was not yet convinced about the sincerity of the rebels whom it had branded terrorists.

The rebels have unilaterally withdrawn from ceasefires twice over the four years, after abruptly pulling out of peace talks.

Rebel demand

More than 12,000 people have died since the rebels launched the insurrection in 1996.

Almost half of them died since peace talks broke down two years ago.

The rebels have been insisting on an interim government and elections for a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution that they believe would clear the way for replacing the monarchy with a republican regime.

Major opposition parties are at loggerheads with the king over his seizure of direct powers in February that the parties say was unconstitutional and undemocratic.

They said they would soon hold talks with the rebels but have not yet named negotiators, a date or a venue.