Last Updated: Thursday, 18 January 2007, 16:17 GMT
Nepal Maoists disband government http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6273535.stm
[The rebels are joining mainstream politics for the first time]
The leader of Nepal's Maoists has formally announced that the parallel government set up by the rebels during their insurgency has been dissolved.
The declaration was made by the Maoist leader, Prachanda, on Thursday.
Correspondents say abolishing the Maoist administration which holds sway over large areas of rural Nepal is one of the key steps in the peace process.
The move comes after Maoists joined other parties in parliament, with elections due to be held in June.
Widespread relief
"As per the agreement reached with the government, our party declares that the people's governments and people's courts run by our party in the past have been dissolved from today," Prachanda said.
[Maoists regarded their court system as the heart of their government]
Earlier he said that his party has not abandoned the goal of making Nepal a communist state.
The BBC's Charles Haviland in Kathmandu says there will be widespread relief in Nepal at Prachanda's statement about dissolving the parallel government.
Earlier this week, the Maoists began putting their weapons in storage as part of the peace deal agreed last year with the government.
A UN spokesman in Nepal, Ian Martin, told the BBC the weapons would still be accessible.
"The agreement doesn't envisage the weapons being put permanently beyond use at this stage," he said.
"On the contrary the agreement provides that both the Maoists and the equivalent number of Nepal army weapons will be locked under a single key system where the single key is retained by the army in question.
"They're being put under United Nations monitoring, not at this stage being put permanently beyond use."
[The rebels fought a 10-year guerrilla war]
Since the early days of the Maoist insurgency which lasted 10 years from 1996, huge numbers of Nepalis have been subject to what the Maoists called their people's government.
That has meant paying out large sums of money which the rebels call taxes and in rural areas having access to some mainly rudimentary Maoist infrastructure.
This included a large network of people's courts whose penalties were crude but swift and in some cases popular.
Without giving details, Prachanda said the Maoists had decided to have meetings with the people and apologise for past mistakes and weaknesses, which he admitted had been many.
But, as before, there was hardline rhetoric - he said that "regressive elements" continued to blame the rebels for having carried out extra-judicial killings.
Next step
The Maoists took their seats in an interim parliament on Monday.
The UN has played a critical part in brokering the peace deal.
Nine months ago the Maoists were still an outlawed group but they will now have a share of power in the Himalayan kingdom.
Under the interim constitution, they have about a quarter of parliament's 330 seats for their members.
These include a large number of women and members of marginalised social groups.
[Nepal's army will have to give up as many weapons as the Maoists]
Joining the new interim government, probably in February, will be the Maoists' next step.
The constituent assembly being elected in June will decide whether to scrap the monarchy or not.
King Gyanendra was forced to give up direct rule last year after mass protests.
He has since been stripped of all powers and does not have even a ceremonial role in the interim constitution.
In separate developments Prachanda said that he and two other Maoist leaders were unable to participate in the interim government of Prime Minister GP Koirala.
He said that it would only be appropriate for them to join the legislature after elections to the chamber had been held.