Nepal rebels remain defiant

Nepalese activists attend a pro-democracy rally after King Gyanedra reinstated parliament. Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

SOUTHERN PLAINS, Nepal - Deep in the forests of the southern plains, one of Nepal's top Maoist leaders sits cross-legged in the airy loft of a wood and thatch house.

His pistol slung over his green camouflage jacket, his black beard neatly trimmed, Comrade Sunil exudes a quiet authority, his bodyguard clutching a submachinegun at his side.

"We cannot lay down our arms if the Royal Nepalese Army has arms -- that would be dangerous for the people of Nepal," he said from a secret location just hours after the rebels declared a unilateral three-month cease-fire.

"First the Royal Nepalese Army must be abolished."

Outside, men and women in green combat fatigues loiter under trees and walk between the corn fields around a small village, red cloth on their lapels marking them out as the "People's Liberation Army".

Carrying a motley array of weapons, they greet visitors with a stamp of the foot, a raised fist and a shout of "Lal Saalam", the Red Salute.

This is Maoist land, where government troops dare not come, and it is clear the rebels are in determined mood.

"We want to make it very clear. We do not want a ceremonial monarch, nor a constitutional monarch, we want a republic," said Sunil, a member of the Maoist Central Committee and head of the southern regional bureau, in charge of a vast swathe of land from the India border to the edge of the capital Kathmandu.

The rebel cease-fire was announced little more than 48 hours after King Gyanendra backed down in the face of massive street protests, handing over power to parliament and the country's main political parties.

The new government is expected to reciprocate that cease-fire, raising hopes for an end to a decade-long insurgency which has claimed more than 13,000 lives and brought misery and fear to millions more. But major hurdles lie ahead.

The Maoists are demanding that parliament calls elections for a special assembly to draft a new constitution - and expect action as soon as the House reconvenes on Friday for the first time in four years. Nor must there be any conditions attached - or any guarantees about the future of the monarchy.

But the rebels are reluctant to do what the parties are demanding they should - lay down their arms before those elections are held.

"We won't surrender our arms but we can keep them to one side, and only if some reliable institutions or international organisations take charge - and not America," Sunil said.

"We have asked international organisations and institutions, reliable ones, to monitor the cease-fire, and that weapons are not being used."

Maoists say the popular victory against King Gyanendra was also their victory, insisting that huge numbers of their cadres and supporters took part in street protests and raised slogans in favour of a republic.

Now they want their reward - the constituent assembly they were promised when they entered a loose alliances with mainstream parties last year.

Sunil says the rebels will honour the will of the people, and respect whatever verdict the constituent assembly delivers about the future for Nepal's once revered monarchy.

They are ready to take part in a multi-party democracy, he says, and believe in a free press, an end to corruption and respect for human rights.

But those sentiments do not impress American Ambassador James Moriarty, who habitually calls them terrorists who may use the gun to impose their rule.

"My real concern is that the successor government may end up being dominated by the Maoists," he said last week.

"The Maoists would under the current situation swing a lot of weight because they have the weapons and the parties do not."

- REUTERS