Kathmandu: After 10 years of being tagged a terrorist group that tried to establish a communist republic through violence, Nepal's Maoists have begun an image makeover as they get ready to join the government.
The top leadership of the once underground party, many of whom carried a price on their heads, last week held a mammoth meeting in the city of Bhaktapur to decide the new strategy, now that they are ready to return to mainstream politics.
The revolutionary People's Council of the guerrillas was disbanded to form a more politically correct Central Secretariat. Maoist chief Prachanda continues to lead the party, being made head of the secretariat.
Krishna Bahadur Mahara, rebel spokesperson and former MP from Rolpa, the cradle of the insurgency, has been chosen to lead the party in the new parliament.
The rebels have also finalised a list of leaders who will join the new government, though the list is being kept secret. Prachanda and his deputy Dr Baburam Bhattarai, however, will not join the new government.
The rebels this week gave a 10-day ultimatum to the seven-party government of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, asking him to implement the new constitution finalised Dec 16, dissolve the current government and form a new one with them as partners by Dec 30.
If the government fails to meet the deadline, the guerrillas have threatened to begin a series of retaliatory measures, starting with a two-day shutdown from December 31.
Besides revamping the party structure, the guerrillas have appointed Haribhakta Kandel, known in the party as Pratik, as its in-charge for its activities in India and decided to open a Europe bureau as well.
New village and district committees have also been formed keeping in mind the election scheduled to be held in June next year.
Nepal is next year due to hold an unprecedented election to choose a constituent assembly — an electoral college — that will decide if the country should keep its 238-year monarchy or become a republic.
The rebels, who are pressing for a republic with King Gyanendra and other royals' properties taken over by the state, have already begun limbering up to launch a pro-republic election campaign. However, the fighters are still not out of the woods yet.
If the government does not heed their ultimatum, they would be forced to enforce a general strike as well as other measures, which may alienate them from the parties as well as people.
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