The government and Maoist rebels signed a peace deal today to end a 10-year insurgency, marking the start of a hopeful but uncertain political era in this Himalayan nation, the world's last Hindu monarchy.
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and rebel leader Prachanda signed the accord at a Katmandu convention hall packed with cheering officials, dignitaries and foreign diplomats.
"This ends the more than one decade of civil war in the country," said Prachanda, who goes by a single name. "We will now turn to a campaign of peace and building a new Nepal."
The prime minister also hailed the peace deal, saying it "has opened the door for a permanent peace and Nepal has entered a new era."
During the war, the Maoists took control of wide swaths of this Himalayan country, for decades a magnet for Westerners in search of Eastern spirituality and mountain climbers determined to scale the world's highest peaks — including Mount Everest.
The rebels built schools, tried to dismantle Hindu caste barriers and aided poor farmers, many of whom still live in near-feudal conditions.
But the Maoists also promoted a rigid communist orthodoxy and puritanical morals, and were known for murderously enforcing their will on opponents. It remains to be seen how much influence the new government will have in areas they control.
The agreement came after months of negotiations that centered on how to disarm the insurgents and bring them into the government, which they helped bring to power by backing mass protests in April against the monarch, King Gyanendra.
A government commission Monday issued a report blaming Gyanendra for the brutal crackdown on the April protests that left 19 people dead and hundreds wounded or arrested.
The commission recommended that the monarch be punished, and the prime minister has hinted that criminal charges are possible.
The government that took power last spring launched peace talks with the rebels and restored parliament, which the king had suspended 14 months earlier.
For Nepalese like Sangita Tamang, a domestic servant from eastern Nepal who fled to Katmandu a few years ago, today's peace agreement brought the chance for a fresh start.
"Finally, we can return to our villages and see our family and home," she said.
Those who took part in April's protests hailed the deal as a vindication of their struggle.
"This day is why tens of thousands of Nepalese took to the streets earlier this year," said Prabesh Gurung, a college student.
Under today's deal, the rebels will join parliament by Sunday with 73 of the chamber's 330 seats. Koirala's Nepali Congress party will remain the largest bloc in parliament with 85 seats, while the Maoists will be equal with the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist). The rest of the seats will be shared among other, smaller parties.
The rebels' representation in parliament should give them a significant role in a new interim government, scheduled to be in place by Dec. 1. Officials still were working out the details of how the administration would be set up.
The rebels also are supposed to play a major part in the planned election of a constituent assembly that is charged with rewriting the constitution and deciding on the monarchy's fate.
Centrist parties favor a constitution that preserves the monarchy in a ceremonial role, while the Maoists want the crown abolished.
A 2001, the Nepalese crown prince gunned down Gyanendra's older brother, the late King Birendra, and much of the royal family before killing himself. The massacre helped pierce the mystique surrounding Nepal's royalty.
Four years after Gyanendra took the throne, he dismissed parliament and seized sole power, saying he would bring order to a chaotic and corrupt political scene and quell the insurgency.
But the insurgency grew, the economy faltered and Gyanendra used banned criticism of himself, his government and the army.
In the months since April's unrest, Gyanendra has been stripped of his powers, command over the army and his immunity from prosecution.
Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and rebel leader Prachanda signed the accord at a Katmandu convention hall packed with cheering officials, dignitaries and foreign diplomats.
"This ends the more than one decade of civil war in the country," said Prachanda, who goes by a single name. "We will now turn to a campaign of peace and building a new Nepal."
The prime minister also hailed the peace deal, saying it "has opened the door for a permanent peace and Nepal has entered a new era."
During the war, the Maoists took control of wide swaths of this Himalayan country, for decades a magnet for Westerners in search of Eastern spirituality and mountain climbers determined to scale the world's highest peaks — including Mount Everest.
The rebels built schools, tried to dismantle Hindu caste barriers and aided poor farmers, many of whom still live in near-feudal conditions.
But the Maoists also promoted a rigid communist orthodoxy and puritanical morals, and were known for murderously enforcing their will on opponents. It remains to be seen how much influence the new government will have in areas they control.
The agreement came after months of negotiations that centered on how to disarm the insurgents and bring them into the government, which they helped bring to power by backing mass protests in April against the monarch, King Gyanendra.
A government commission Monday issued a report blaming Gyanendra for the brutal crackdown on the April protests that left 19 people dead and hundreds wounded or arrested.
The commission recommended that the monarch be punished, and the prime minister has hinted that criminal charges are possible.
The government that took power last spring launched peace talks with the rebels and restored parliament, which the king had suspended 14 months earlier.
For Nepalese like Sangita Tamang, a domestic servant from eastern Nepal who fled to Katmandu a few years ago, today's peace agreement brought the chance for a fresh start.
"Finally, we can return to our villages and see our family and home," she said.
Those who took part in April's protests hailed the deal as a vindication of their struggle.
"This day is why tens of thousands of Nepalese took to the streets earlier this year," said Prabesh Gurung, a college student.
Under today's deal, the rebels will join parliament by Sunday with 73 of the chamber's 330 seats. Koirala's Nepali Congress party will remain the largest bloc in parliament with 85 seats, while the Maoists will be equal with the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist). The rest of the seats will be shared among other, smaller parties.
The rebels' representation in parliament should give them a significant role in a new interim government, scheduled to be in place by Dec. 1. Officials still were working out the details of how the administration would be set up.
The rebels also are supposed to play a major part in the planned election of a constituent assembly that is charged with rewriting the constitution and deciding on the monarchy's fate.
Centrist parties favor a constitution that preserves the monarchy in a ceremonial role, while the Maoists want the crown abolished.
A 2001, the Nepalese crown prince gunned down Gyanendra's older brother, the late King Birendra, and much of the royal family before killing himself. The massacre helped pierce the mystique surrounding Nepal's royalty.
Four years after Gyanendra took the throne, he dismissed parliament and seized sole power, saying he would bring order to a chaotic and corrupt political scene and quell the insurgency.
But the insurgency grew, the economy faltered and Gyanendra used banned criticism of himself, his government and the army.
In the months since April's unrest, Gyanendra has been stripped of his powers, command over the army and his immunity from prosecution.
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