Nepal's sacked army chief refuses to quit, gov't cut to minority+

KATHMANDU, May 3 Kyodo -
Nepal's Council of Ministers fired army chief Gen. Rookmangud Katawal on
Sunday, saying the government was dissatisfied with Katawal's explanation of
acts the government says were in defiance of its orders, Minister for
Information and government spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara said.

But Katawal has so far refused to accept a termination letter from the
government even though Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) Chairman and
Premier Prachanda made the move with the support of ministers from his party.
Prachanda's decision to move forward without his partners may also have
backfired -- the second-largest partner in his coalition quit the government
later Sunday, leaving the Maoists with only minority support.
Ishwor Pokharel, general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified
Marxist Leninist) said his party's 109 members, the third-largest number in the
assembly, will no longer support the government.
Earlier Sunday, 17 of the 24 political parties represented in Nepal's special
assembly pressed the government to reverse its decision on Katawal and also
asked President Ram Baran Yadav to step in.
A meeting of the parties called by the main opposition Nepali Congress asked
Yadav to ''defend'' the interim constitution that states all major political
decisions should be taken by forging consensus among political parties.
Yadav is originally from Nepali Congress.
Prachanda's coalition partners had boycotted the ministers' meeting, expressing
reservations over the action against Katawal.
And the two major coalition partners, the CPN(UML) and the Madhesi People's
Rights Forum, who are opposed to the decision, had also refused to attend the
Council of Ministers.
Nepali Congress President and former Premier Girija Prasad Koirala had earlier
urged Prachanda not to take such drastic decision, according to Nepali Congress
leader Prakash Sharan Mahat.
The firing fiasco definitely deepens the political crisis that has gripped the
country since the government sought explanations from Katawal on April 20.
On Sunday, the government promoted Lt. Gen. Kul Bahadur Khadka to the army's
top post to replace Katawal.
Khadka is seen as loyal to the Maoists and under Khadka's leadership Prachanda
hopes to speed up the integration of Maoist former combatants into the state
army, something Katawal opposed.
There are more than 19,000 legitimate Maoist combatants in U.N.-monitored camps
awaiting integration with state forces.
The government charged Katawal defied its directives by taking in new recruits,
reinstating eight brigadiers ordered to retire by the government, and pulling
athletes from National Games over participation by rebel army members.
President Yadav, during a telephone conversation with Prachanda on Sunday,
expressed disappointment with the decision to fire Katawal, according to
presidential press advisor Rajendra Dahal.
The president had repeatedly urged Prachanda to forge a consensus before taking
any decision.
In his explanation for his actions to the government April 21, Katawal had said
he took in new recruits to fill existing positions in the army that were vacant
through retirements and he argued it was lawful to fill the vacancies as the
government issues a budget to pay army personnel occupying those positions.
He said he welcomed the eight brigadiers back to office after the apex court
overturned the government's order to sack them.
On the pullout of the athletes, he claimed it was not his decision but that of
the army's Sports Wing.
Some insiders in the Maoist party say the issues raised by the government were
just for appearances.
''The plan is to appoint Maoist army commander Nanda Kishore Pun as the deputy
of the new army chief and integrate all Maoist fighters with the army under the
new leadership,'' a Maoist parliamentarian and close aide of Prachanda told
Kyodo News.
Katawal, who was opposed to integration of ''politically indoctrinated'' Maoist
fighters into the army, was due to retire in four months, but Khadka would have
had to retire next month if he had not got a promotion.
Nepali Congress has been holding up parliamentary proceedings over the move on
Katawal and India and the United States have expressed opposition to the
sacking.
But Japan termed the decision an internal matter for Nepal to determine as it
sees fit.
Nepal's Maoists fought a violent insurgency with state forces, principally the
army, for a decade until joining a peace process in 2006.
The insurgency left more than 13,000 dead.
But the Maoists won a national election last year and now lead the coalition
government.
The assembly is tasked with writing a new constitution and integrating and
rehabilitating former Maoist fighters back into everyday life.
==Kyodo