Nepal Maoists begin handing in their arms
Source: Reuters
(Recasts, adds details) By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Nepal's Maoists who joined an interim parliament nearly nine months after they declared a ceasefire and agreed to talks began locking up their arms on Wednesday, marking a key step in the peace process. "The registration and storing of arms has commenced and everything is proceeding in a very orderly and calm way," Kieran Dwyer, spokesman for the United Nations in charge of arms management, told Reuters. The Maoist guns will be stored in locked, metal containers and guarded by U.N. monitors around the clock. The move follows a landmark peace pact that the Maoists signed in November declaring an end to a decade-old conflict against the monarchy in which more than 13,000 people died. Dwyer said all combatants had to complete a form giving their personal details, rank and for how long they had been working in the Maoist army. "Some of them don't have the weapons. And those who do, have to show their weapons to the U.N. registration team that registers the details. Then the combatant ... puts the weapon in the container," he said. "It is not a surrender. It is storing the weapons." The work started at two Maoist camps in Chitwan, 80 km (50 miles) south of Kathmandu, and nearby Nawalparasi, the U.N. said in a statement. UN monitors were supported by Nepali Gurkha soldiers, retired from the British and Indian armies, to help monitor the sites. "Final logistical preparations are underway in the remaining five divisional cantonment sites so that registration can commence early next week," it said. The Maoists had declared a ceasefire in April after weeks of street protests forced King Gyanendra to restore parliament and end palace rule. Under the November peace deal, 83 Maoist nominees have taken seats in an interim legislature to become one of three main political groups. INTERIM PARLIAMENT The interim parliament met on Wednesday and re-elected Subas Nemwang, the speaker of the previous parliament, in his old role. Nemwang, a member of mainstream Communist Party of Nepal-UML, was proposed for the position by Krishna Bahadur Mahara, leader of the Maoist party in the interim legislature, an early sign of camaraderie between former foes, officials said. The Maoists are also due to join an interim government which will organise elections for a special assembly set up to map the country's political future and decide the fate of the monarchy, which the Maoists want abolished. But before that, Maoist fighters -- their leaders estimate their number at about 35,000 -- are to be confined to 28 camps and their arms locked up in seven areas under U.N. watch. The former rebels will keep the keys to the containers, while the army must store a similar number of weapons. Analysts and human rights workers say the number of Maoist fighters may be far lower than claimed, and that thousands of people -- many of them children -- were recruited to boost their credibility as the peace process developed. The United Nations plans to send up to 186 monitors to help enforce the peace pact, and to deploy officials to help with the assembly elections, which are expected to be held in June.
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