Guest guest Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 All this over Ambassador appointments? What else will they demand and who is advising them?V Fresh discord in Nepal as rebels call strike Kathmandu, Dec 19: Students and labour groups backed by Nepal's Maoist rebels blocked traffic in the capital on Tuesday in a strike called to protest against the appointment of ambassadors by the interim government without consulting them. The day-long strike, the first by the rebel groups since they began a peace process with the government in May, pointed to fresh strains in their uneasy relationship. The rebels have called for transport, businesses, schools and factories to shut down in Kathmandu. Early morning traffic in the hill-ringed city was disrupted by protesters, some of whom tied a rope across a road, burned tyres and set up other roadblocks to stop vehicles. The Maoists and the government last month signed a landmark peace deal declaring an end to the decade-old anti-monarchy rebellion that has killed more than 13,000 people. "The appointment of the ambassadors is against the understanding reached between us and the government," senior Maoist leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara told Reuters. "We protest this as it was done without any consultation with us. We consider this as a conspiracy against the understandings and could seriously affect the peace process in future." The government, which named envoys to 14 countries including neighbouring India, the United States, Britain and Japan on Monday, denied it had done anything wrong. "I am really surprised," Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister K.P. Sharma Oli said in reaction to the protest. The ambassadors had been recalled by the interim administration set up after King Gyanendra ceded power following weeks of mass protests in April. The peace deal was signed after weeks of bickering over a range of disputes, mainly centred around the draft of an interim constitution and management of the rebels' arms. The roadmap to a final political settlement in Nepal includes elections to a special assembly next year which would write a new constitution and decide the fate of Nepal's monarchy. Bureau Report http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=342996&sid=SAS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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