Maoists want to extend truce for 'lasting peace'

"As the peace process has moved in a positive direction, the three-month ceasefire will definitely be extended," Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara told AFP.

The spokesman did not reveal how long the ceasefire, which is slated to end in just over a week, would be extended but said the Maoists wanted "to establish lasting peace in the country."

The Maoists declared a ceasefire April 27 after King Gyanendra was forced to end 14 months of direct rule and reinstate parliament following weeks of pro-democracy protests.

The protests, which left 19 people dead and hundreds injured, were organized by political parties and Maoists who formed a loose alliance last November.

The rebels have pledged not to return to war and said they will return land and property that they seized during the 10-year conflict.

Both sides have agreed to hold elections to a body that will redraft Nepal's constitution and formally remove the king from politics.

On Friday, the rebel leadership is scheduled to meet Nepal's Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala for a second round of high-level peace talks.

After the first round June 16, the two sides announced they planned to draft a temporary constitution, dissolve the recently reinstated parliament and form an interim government that would include the rebels.

Since the rebels began their "people's war" in 1996, at least 12,500 people have been killed and some 200,000 displaced.

Meanwhile, Nepal's government plans to hold elections to a body to redraft the constitution before the end of next April, the country's premier said in a letter to the United Nations released Wednesday.

"As we plan to hold the election to the constituent assembly by the end of the current Nepali year (mid-April 2007), I would be grateful if you could start extending the necessary support of the United Nations," Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala said in a letter to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan sent on July 3.

The letter marks the first time the government has publicly given a time-frame for the constituent assembly elections.

The staging of the ballot is a key demand of Maoist rebels, who Wednesdaypledged to continue observing a truce with the Himalayan nation's recently reinstated government.

The two sides have been observing a ceasefire since weeks of street demonstrations forced King Gyanendra in late April to reinstate parliament and give up the direct power he had seized 14 months previously.

The protests, which left 19 people dead and hundreds injured, were organized by sidelined political parties and Maoists who formed a loose alliance last November.