Nepal

New Prime Minister takes oath

Article published on the 2009-06-01 Latest update 2009-06-01 10:51 TU

Newar activists protest during a general strike in Kathmandu, 1 June 2009.
(Photo: Reuters/Gopal Chitrakar)

Madhav Mumar Nepal, a moderate leftist, was sworn in as the new prime minister on Monday in Kathmandu. One of his government's first tasks will be to decide on the fate of the army chief of staff General Rookmangud Katawal. Nepal's predecessor, Prachandra, the former Maoist rebel leader, wanted him sacked, and resigned when his bid failed.

Nepal,  the new prime minister, said that a formal decision regarding the army chief's future would be taken as soon as his cabinet was finalised. 

The Maoist government fired the army chief on 3 May for refusing to integrate 19,000 former Maoist rebel soldiers into the regular army. A peace accord that ended the decade-long civil war in 2006, and heralded the end of Nepal's monarchy, stipulated that the rebels, after disarming, should join the national army ranks. But President Ram Baran Yadav, a member of the main opposition party, told the head of the army to remain in his post.

Prachanda, who came to power in elections last year, condemned the intervention as "unconstitutional and undemocratic" and resigned.

The new prime minister has now appealed to the Maoists to join the government, saying their participation was needed to protect the peace process.

The new government is faced with other issues demanding urgent responses. Also in the capital on Monday, indigenous Newars called a strike to demand an autonomous territory in the Kathmandu Valley. The angry protestors burned tyres and police say they shut down shops and threw stones at vehicles.