KATHMANDU — Nepal's opposition Maoists on Tuesday set a one-month deadline for the formation of a national unity government and vowed to launch an indefinite strike if their demand was not met.
The ultra-leftists won elections last year, after they ended their deadly "People's War" which claimed 16,000 lives, but quit the government in May over a row with the country's first president about the sacking of the army chief.
"If our demands for a national government and restoration of civilian supremacy are not fulfilled by the deadline (of January 24), we will go for an indefinite general strike the next day," said Maoist leader Prachanda.
Prachanda, who goes by a nom de guerre meaning "fierce one" although his real name is Pushpa Kamal Dahal, has previously spoken of a need for a national unity administration but has never set a deadline.
"We are giving a month's time to the government and political parties to consider our demands," Prachanda told cheering supporters in the capital.
Police estimated that the crowd, whose members held aloft hammer-and-sickle flags, numbered 10,000.
"Nobody will be able to stop us when we launch our next phase of protest and it will be a decisive one," Prachanda said.
The Maoists have held regular protests in Nepal, saying the president's dismissal of the army chief compromised civilian supremacy over the military.
They have called for an apology from the president and a parliamentary debate over the extent of his powers.
Prachanda's comments came at the end of a three-day nationwide general strike which paralysed the nation.
On the final day of the strike, schools, shops and markets remained shut as thousands of Maoist activists gathered in the capital shouting: "Puppet government resign!" and "Long live the Maoists!"
"The three-day general strike was a huge success. It is not our desire to launch protests and strikes but we have been compelled to take such a step," said Prachanda.
The Maoists fought a decade-long civil war with the state before signing a peace deal in 2006 and winning elections two years later.
They remain the biggest party in parliament with around 40 percent of the seats, and Prachanda said he wanted to "move forward through consensus" with rival parties to bring the peace process to a conclusion.
The government has consistently rejected calls for its resignation but has in the past invited Maoists to be in the cabinet.
Prachanda accused the ruling coalition of trying to isolate the Maoists.
"Those who are dreaming of bringing Maoists to their knees -- their dreams will never be fulfilled," he said.
In a growing sign of the worsening dispute, the Maoists have even declared "autonomous states" in some areas to protest against the government.
"If you push them too far, they (the Maoists) can paralyse the country and bring anarchy," Lok Raj Baral, political science professor at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan University, told AFP earlier this week,
Focus: Trouble on streets reflects Nepal's post-war paralysis.
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