January 10, 2008	Thursday	Zilhaj 30, 1428

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s Maoist leader slammed Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s refusal on Wednesday to accept former guerillas in the army, calling it a threat to the nation’s fragile peace process.

Koirala opposed integrating Maoist fighters into Nepal’s army on the grounds that it would “politicise” the institution, state-owned media Rising Nepal reported on Wednesday.

“The army is the nation’s wing and it should not be politicised,” Koirala said. “The Maoist army will not be integrated with the Nepal Army,” he added.

As part of a peace deal in November 2006 that ended a decades-long civil war by the Maoists to overthrow the monarchy, former rebel fighters have been housed in UN-monitored camps across the impoverished Himalayan country.

But just half of the Maoists’ claimed 32,250-strong rebel army are actually former guerillas, according to the UN, which was asked to count them under the peace deal.

“We’re alarmed by the prime minister’s remarks. It’s a threat to the peace process,” said Maoist chairman Prachanda in Kathmandu.

As part of a 23-point deal reached between the former rebels and government last month, both sides agreed to form a special committee to look into the integration of “verified” Maoist fighters into the army.

The Maoist chief said Koirala’s comments were “against the spirit of the interim constitution and the peace accord”.

“Such comments will only complicate the situation,” Prachanda warned, adding it could derail assembly polls slated to be held by mid-April to elect a constituent assembly that will draft the country’s new constitution.

The ultra-leftists quit the government in September in a row over the future of the monarchy and other issues but returned last month after lawmakers agreed to abolish the centuries-old institution and declare a republic.—AFP