Steps Taken for Establishing Peace

In June 2001, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba opened up a very positive perspective for a peaceful dialogue, but all hopes were shattered when the Maoists called off the dialogue and restarted their violent attacks in late November 2001. Then, a state of emergency was declared and the army mobilized to quell the militants. The government changed hands many times over until it culminated in the October 4, 2002 royal coup in which King Gyanendra sacked premier Sher Bahadur Deuba, accusing him of being incompetent to deal with the Maoists. Then, the Maoists opened the way to a dialogue with the state, demanding a roundtable conference of all political forces including the king, formation of an all-party interim government and elections for a constituent assembly to draw up a new constitution. On 29 January 2003, the government and the Maoist leaders again declared a ceasefire, followed by their agreement on a code of conduct for peace dialogue on 13 March 2003.
After three rounds of talks, the Maoists upheld only one of their fundamental demands, i. e.  elections to a constituent assembly. The royal government flatly rejected this and the Maoists on August 27, 2003, backed away from the peace dialogue and reverted to violence and destruction.

The Maoists were outspoken in the aim to establish a communist republic in Nepal and so they launched a full-size campaign to overthrow the constitutional monarchy. The conflict has left more than 13,000 people dead since it started in 1996. According to UN reports, more than 100,000 people have been displaced due to the rebellion. Torture was frequently used by both government forces (royal army and armed police force)  and the rebels and both sides repeatedly accused each other of
violating human rights.

protests led by general people against the kingpeace deal

Prachanda intervied by news reporters after the deal

On the political front, a strange turn took place in April 2006. The anti-king movement launched by the seven party alliance gained momentum with popular participation. Weeks of heavy protests against the king’s direct rule and the mounting international pressure compelled King Gyanendra to give up his absolute power and reinstate the parliament. This step effectively rendered him into only a ceremonial figure. Moreover, the country known as the only Hindu kingdom has now turned into a secular state. The new government under the Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala selected by leaders of seven-party alliance held peace talks with the rebels. This led to the signing of the conpresensive peace agreement between the seven party coalition government and the Communist
Party of Nepal –Maoist led by its chairman Prachanda.
Following this, a 3-month caesefirewas declared. With this, the Maoists have agreed to join the political mainstream and give up politics of violence and seek to install an elected assembly to write a new constitution.

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