Massive show of rebel support

Nepal’s Maoist rebels held the largest mass rally ever in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu on Friday, when nearly 200,000 people gathered to listen to speeches from 13 of the movement’s leaders. Red communist flags could be seen fluttering from hundreds of locations throughout the city. Offices, businesses and schools were shut and public transport halted. Some residents said they were worried that the rebel presence in the capital meant the Maoists had taken control of the country. According to participants, most had come to the capital from rural areas, bussed in by the Maoists for the occasion. Village school children in uniforms were seen holding Maoist banners and shouting pro-rebel slogans. “They asked us to come and so we are here,” said a young female student, hesitantly. Over the last 10 years, the Maoists have been waging an armed rebellion against the Nepalese state. But a nationwide 19-day protest led by political parties and the Maoists in April ended direct rule by King Gyanendra and ushered in a ceasefire and peace talks. “We are here for peace,” said Maoist spokesperson Krishna Bahadur Mahara at the rally. He added that the next round of talks would include their demand for dissolving the Nepalese parliament and replacing it with a national assembly consisting of all parties as well as citizens’ groups. But Nepal has a long way to go before peace is a reality in the Himalayan kingdom. Mahara warned that the rebels were ready to return to war. He accused the new government of violating a 25-point agreement signed during the first round of talks by deploying the army on the streets of the capital. “The peace process cannot move forward unless the army comes under the people. The army has to be totally reorganised,” said Prabhakar, deputy commander of the military wing of the Maoists, who wants his forces integrated into a new national military.