Nepal names team for talks with ethnic protesters

(Recasts with government naming negotiating team)

By Gopal Sharma

KATHMANDU, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Nepal's government formed a team on Friday to etch out an agreement with ethnic Madhesi groups who called for an end to police action as a condition for ending protests in which at least 13 people have died.

The naming of a three-member team came two days after Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala vowed to turn Nepal into a federal state and increase representation of ethnic groups in a constituent assembly due to be elected later this year.

Koirala also invited protest leaders for talks with the government in a bid to end the unrest in the southern plains, known as the Terai.

"The team will listen to the grievances of the people in the Terai and discuss various alternatives (with protest leaders) to redress the problems," Tourism Minister Pradip Gyanwali told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

He said the team would be headed by Mahanta Thakur, agriculture minister, who is from the Madhesi community.

Earlier, Upendra Yadav, head of the Madhesi People's Rights Forum, demanded an end to police action against protests. He also said officials responsible for killing people he called peaceful protesters in the Terai should be punished before talks begin.

"The prime minister's offer (of a federal state) is unsatisfactory and does not address our demands completely. We will continue our protests until the genuine demands of the Madhesi people are met," he said.

Angry demonstrations in the Terai, a narrow strip of fertile plains bordering India and populated mainly by Madhesis, have also left scores wounded and cast a shadow over Nepal's fledgling peace process ending a decade-old conflict in which more than 13,000 people were killed.

Yadav's forum has led the protests, saying "ruling elites" dominated mainly by people from the hills had undermined them over jobs in the government, police, army and seats in parliament.

Separately, public transport, shops and businesses in many districts of Nepal's eastern hills were closed on Friday, the third day of a general strike sponsored by ethnic groups living in the mountains and also demanding more seats in the constituent assembly.

The latest turmoil is the worst since Nepal began a peace process with the Maoists following nearly 15 months of absolute rule by King Gyanendra in April last year.

The political changes and subsequent peace deal with Maoists put an end to the all-out crackdown on the independent media and opposition in the country, media group Reporters Without Borders said.

At least 245 journalists were arrested in Nepal in 2006, the Paris-based group said in a report.