November 26, 2001	Monday	Ramazan 10, 1422

KATHMANDU, Nov 25: Maoist rebels killed six policemen in Nepal, police said Sunday, a day after the rebels broke a ceasefire by killing at least 40 security personnel and civilians.

An emergency meeting of the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) labelled the Maoists “terrorists” and gave the government permission to use all “constitutional and legal provisions to give the people a sense of security.”

However, it stopped short of allowing Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to declare a state of emergency in the areas worst affected by the Maoist violence.

Declaring an emergency would have allowed Deuba to use the full force of the army against the rebels.

Instead, the NC asked for a report, due Monday, on the legal provisions around declaring an emergency after some objections that it could go against democratic principles, a NC source said.

The government has previously held back from fully deploying the army to fight the rebels, fearing it could lead to civil war.

The six policemen who were killed were among 44 others who had been missing since Saturday evening when the bus they were travelling in was ambushed by the rebels in the southwestern Surkhet district.

Police said the other 38 policemen, who had been feared dead, were reported to be safe.

The Maoists, who have been fighting since 1996 to overthrow Nepal’s constitutional monarchy, broke a four-month ceasefire with a wave of attacks on Friday.

Fourteen soldiers, 24 policemen and two civilians were killed in Maoist attacks in the western Dang and Syangja districts, Home Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka said Saturday.

The rebels had also stolen 99 semi-automatic rifles.

Khadka said the army may have killed between 70 and 80 rebels in retaliation, although he had not been able to confirm the reports.

A statement after the NC meeting said: “In view of the violent developments in Dang, Surkhet, Syangja to the far west and southwest, and other parts of the country, the party has drawn the attention of the government to use all the constitutional and legal provisions to give the people a sense of security.”

“At a time when the government was trying to hold the fourth round of peace talks with them, the Maoists have foiled all such efforts and resorted to violence and terrorism,” it said.

PARTY FAILS TO GIVE MANDATE: The Central Working Committee (CWC) of the ruling Nepali Congress failed on Sunday to reach agreement on whether to brand Maoists rebels as terrorists or to impose an emergency.

An emergency meeting of the CWC was held to empower Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to take action after Maoists launched massive attacks across the country on Friday night that left at least 40 dead and hundreds injured.

Emerging from the meeting, party spokesman Arjun Narsingh K.C. told reporters that the meeting had failed to decide whether to call the Maoists terrorists or to impose an emergency.

He said the CWC had agreed to allow the government to use all the available security apparatus, including the Royal Nepal Army, to deal with the situation.

A statement said: “It is the responsibility of the government to provide peace and security to the people.

“In this context, the CWC instructs the government to use all means within the framework of the constitution and mobilise all security apparatus immediately and effectively to provide peace and security to the people.”

The statement also strongly condemned the Maoists for opting out of the talks and resuming violence.

The meeting is to continue Monday.

Sources within the party central committee said there were “deep divisions” within the ruling party over imposing an emergency or branding Maoists as terrorists.

The failure of the ruling party to mandate the government, political observers say, is due to the continuing rivalry between Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and the party president and former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala.

Koirala has been criticising Deuba for his alleged failure to deal effectively with the Maoist problem.

Deuba replaced Koirala as prime minister in late July after which a truce between the government and the Maoists came into effect followed by three rounds of talks.

The all-party meeting held Saturday evening empowered the prime minister to “undertake all measures to bring the situation under control”.

The Nepalese cabinet is to meet later Sunday when the government might decide on the next course of action despite the ruling party’s non-committal mandate.—AFP/dpa