Nepal's monarch welcomes landmark peace accord

Nepal's King Gyanendra has welcomed a peace accord between the government and rebels that may lead to the dissolution of the monarchy in the Himalayan country.

The settlement is in keeping with the "nation's need and the people's aspirations," the king said in a statement issued, Nov. 22 by the Royal Palace.

The peace accord between the government and communist rebels will end a 10–year insurgency that has killed more than 13,000 people.

The signing was postponed last week as both sides said some issues still had to be resolved. With the negotiations now complete, the Cabinet met as a formality prior to the signing ceremony, held at a convention hall in Kathmandu later Tuesday.

Earlier, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala met rebel leader Prachanda.

After months of negotiations, the rebels reached a landmark agreement with the government earlier this month on the key issues of how to disarm the guerrillas and bring them into an interim government.

The two sides agreed that rebel fighters would be confined to camps and their weapons locked up under United Nations monitoring by Nov. 21, another deadline that was missed.

Although thousands of rebels were heading to or had reached the areas where seven camps are to be set up, U.N. officials said they could not put monitors in place by the deadline. The officials were not sure when the monitors would be ready.

Under the agreement, the rebels are to join an interim parliament by Nov. 26. An interim government including the rebels is to be in place by Dec. 1.

A cease–fire was declared and peace talks began in April to try to end the conflict, which began in 1996 with the rebels fighting government troops to demand a communist state.