Nepal rebel leader for new council to replace parliament

The once-elusive rebel leader arrived in the Nepalese capital Saturday to meet with political leaders and push forward a peace agenda agreed after King Gyanendra ended 14 months of direct rule following weeks of bloody protests.

Earlier this month the rebels and new government, who have been observing a ceasefire since the end of April, reached a landmark power-sharing agreement under which an interim constitution is to be drafted and an all-party interim government formed.

In a meeting with a senior politician Monday, the rebel leader proposed additionally that the recently reinstated parliament be replaced.

"He (Prachanda) proposed the formation of a council which would comprise representatives of the seven (political) parties, Maoists and civil society as an alternative to the current house of representatives," said Ram Baran Yadav, joint general secretary of the Nepali Congress party.

Yadav gave no further details about the rebel proposal.

The Maoists confirmed that they had discussed the forming of a replacement body to the house of representatives, but declined to give detailed information.

"We (Maoists) have begun discussions on the formation of a body that will replace the present house of representatives, but we have not reached any conclusion," said rebel spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara.

"At the moment our prime focus is on drafting the interim constitution and in the meantime we are preparing for the second round of high level peace talks," said Mahara.

The interim constitution had been expected to be released Friday, but delays in the formation of the drafting committee mean that the interim constitution is still at least two weeks away, the committee leader told AFP Tuesday.

King Gyanendra took direct control of the impoverished nation in February 2005, claiming that the elected government was corrupt and had failed to stem a decade-long insurgency.

Late last year, seven sidelined political parties entered a loose alliance with the rebels, and the parties and Maoists organized the mass protests in April in concert.