Nepal govt holds talks with Maoists to reach accord on monarchy

Nepal's government and Maoist leaders held a fresh round of talks yesterday in a bid to reach agreement on the former rebels' demand for immediate abolition of the monarchy.
The nation was thrown into turmoil two weeks ago when the Maoists stormed out of the coalition government and demanded that King Gyanendra and his two-century-old dynasty be axed, jeopardising the nation's fragile peace.
"Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, Maoist chairman Prachanda and other leaders are holding discussions to end the political deadlock," Maoist deputy commander Ananta, who goes by one name, told AFP.
"Out bottom line is that the monarchy should be abolished immediately and a proportional election system should be adopted before November polls," senior Maoist leader Dev Gurung said.
"But during Friday's talks the prime minister did not agree to either of our demands," he said. "We'll focus on our protest programmes if the talks fail to make any breakthrough."
Gurung set no deadline for a successful conclusion to the latest set of talks, which began on Thursday.
The ultra-leftists say they have started a "door-to-door campaign" to lobby against King Gyanendra and his dynasty, which will be followed up by strikes and street protests that could dramatically raise tensions here.
Nepal's leaders, including the Maoists, had initially agreed to hold elections for a special assembly that is slated to draft a new constitution under a hybrid electoral system.
Some 240 members would be chosen in a first-past-the-post ballot while another 240 would be selected through proportional representation.
Now the Maoists want all of the assembly's members to be elected through proportional representation because analysts say the ex-rebels fear the first-past-the-post system would not give them enough seats.