Nepal's former rebels ask other parties to form new coalition government after PM resignation
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal's communist former rebels reached out to other political parties Thursday to form a new coalition government, a day after the prime minister resigned following months of sometimes-violent protests.
Leaders of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists) met in the morning and established a three-member committee headed by their leader, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, to negotiate with other parties on the formation of a new government, said the party's senior leader Amik Sherchan.
"We want to end the political deadlock as soon as possible and will be talking to other parties to reach an agreement," Maoists' deputy leader Baburam Bhattarai said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The main political parties have agreed to hold talks to form a national government, but it was unclear if other parties were interested in a Maoist-led government.
Nepal's Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned Wednesday after bowing to months of pressure from Maoists who demanded his ouster in parliament and in street demonstrations.
Nepal said he resigned to end the deadlock and shore up a peace process that ended 10 years of communist insurgency, which killed an estimated 13,000 people in the Himalayan nation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Maoists, the former rebels who won the most seats in 2008 elections, protested for months demanding Nepal's resignation and a new national government headed by them.
The prime minister took over the post in May 2009 after the previous government led by the Maoists resigned following differences with the president over the firing of the army chief.
In May, the Maoists called a general strike that shut down the nation for more than a week. Street demonstrations turned violent with clashes between communist supporters and police.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The protests also delayed the writing of a new constitution, which was supposed to be completed by May. The deadline was extended by a year.
The Maoists ended their decade-old rebellion in 2006 and joined a peace process. Since then they confined their fighters to U.N.-monitored camps and joined mainstream politics.