Nepali PM pledges to make peace with Maoist rebels
AFP, Kathmandu
Nepal's prime minister pledged yesterday to seek peace with Maoist rebels after he was sworn in by the king, who had fired him two years earlier for failing to end the insurgency. Sher Bahadur Deuba also said he would try to bring into his government opposition parties which took to the streets after King Gyanendra ousted his elected government in 2002. "My top priority is to hold an election peacefully and I will try my best to form a government that includes all political parties," Deuba said after taking the oath from the king in a simple ceremony at the Narayanhiti Palace. "My other priority is to negotiate with the Maoists to make them declare a new ceasefire and hold talks," Deuba told reporters. Deuba, 57, has been holding talks with key opposition leaders, who have given mixed signals on whether they will support his government. Girija Prasad Koirala, leader of the kingdom's largest party, the Nepali Congress, congratulated Deuba after his reinstatement was announced Wednesday but declined to support the government. "I asked Deuba to reinstate the parliament. Then we can join the government," Koirala said. Koirala has a long personal rivalry with Deuba and expelled him from the Nepali Congress in June 2002, saying he had not been consulted on his recommendation to the king to dissolve the parliament and call early elections.
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