(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.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Former guerrillas still recruiting child soldiers in Nepal: Human Rights Watch
The Associated Press
Friday, February 2, 2007
KATMANDU, Nepal
Nepal's former communist rebels continue to recruit child soldiers, Human Rights Watch said, despite signing a peace deal with the government that ended 10 years of fighting.
The Maoists also have not released thousands of children in their ranks used to fight the Nepalese government in the 1996-2006 civil war that killed more than 13,000 people, HRW said in a statement to The Associated Press received late Thursday.
"The Maoists should let the children go," HRW's Asia research director Sam Zarifi said. "The peace agreement explicitly forbids the use of child soldiers, and complying with this will be a key test of the Maoists' good faith to uphold the accord."
The former rebels "should immediately begin releasing the thousands of child soldiers in their ranks and cease recruiting more children," the statement said.
The rights group said its information was based on interviews with former child soldiers and Nepali and international monitors. Children as young as 14 received weapons training and carried out crucial military and logistical support duties, it said.
The Maoists, however, denied the allegations saying all of their fighters were over the age of 18.
"U.N. monitors have registered our armies in two camps in south Nepal, and none of them have been found to be under 18 years of age," Maoist leader Prachanda said at a press conference Thursday.
U.N. officials monitoring the disarmament of the former rebels were not immediately available for comment Friday.
Prachanda, whose real name is Pushpa Kamal Dahal, warned Thursday the former rebels may "return to the path of revolt." He stressed, however, that any protests would be peaceful.
The Maoists say Nepal's current coalition government has been slow in implementing aspects of the peace accord, such as releasing jailed fighters.
They are scheduled to join an interim government that will conduct upcoming elections, but this has been delayed by months, also angering the former guerrillas.
The Maoists began peace talks last year and signed the peace deal with the government in November.
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Friday, February 2, 2007
KATMANDU, Nepal
Nepal's former communist rebels continue to recruit child soldiers, Human Rights Watch said, despite signing a peace deal with the government that ended 10 years of fighting.
The Maoists also have not released thousands of children in their ranks used to fight the Nepalese government in the 1996-2006 civil war that killed more than 13,000 people, HRW said in a statement to The Associated Press received late Thursday.
"The Maoists should let the children go," HRW's Asia research director Sam Zarifi said. "The peace agreement explicitly forbids the use of child soldiers, and complying with this will be a key test of the Maoists' good faith to uphold the accord."
The former rebels "should immediately begin releasing the thousands of child soldiers in their ranks and cease recruiting more children," the statement said.
The rights group said its information was based on interviews with former child soldiers and Nepali and international monitors. Children as young as 14 received weapons training and carried out crucial military and logistical support duties, it said.
The Maoists, however, denied the allegations saying all of their fighters were over the age of 18.
"U.N. monitors have registered our armies in two camps in south Nepal, and none of them have been found to be under 18 years of age," Maoist leader Prachanda said at a press conference Thursday.
U.N. officials monitoring the disarmament of the former rebels were not immediately available for comment Friday.
Prachanda, whose real name is Pushpa Kamal Dahal, warned Thursday the former rebels may "return to the path of revolt." He stressed, however, that any protests would be peaceful.
The Maoists say Nepal's current coalition government has been slow in implementing aspects of the peace accord, such as releasing jailed fighters.
They are scheduled to join an interim government that will conduct upcoming elections, but this has been delayed by months, also angering the former guerrillas.
The Maoists began peace talks last year and signed the peace deal with the government in November.
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